《Abyssal Awakening》 Chapter 1: The Desire To Live Under the shadow of the moonlight phasing through panes of ss, a young woman sat on a in white bed while gazing up towards the window. That was her only connection to the outside world. A single window where she could admire the radiance of the moon, the soft passing of the clouds and the gentle warmth of the sun. Confined in a small room surrounded by walls of pure white with a heavy iron door blocking her exit, not a single spot of impurity existed in the room. The girl''s eyes were unfocused as she gazed at the window. The vestiges of her sanityy hidden in the dream of a mesmerizingke, of crystal-clear waters reflecting the world in breathtaking rity, the gentle rays of the sun and the soft embrace of the clear white clouds. She heardughter ring out in the spring breeze while a girl looked upon her family. Soft smiles decorated their faces, their love boundless like the oceans. They would''ve offered the world to her. Yet much like the reflection upon the water, it was all but a trick of the light. A single droplet, a single realisation shattered the illusion with countless ripples. The girl trembled ever-so-slightly. The feeling brought fear and joy in equal parts to her. Yet, she could not stop her mind from falling into the sickening maw of memories deep within. It was her tenth birthday. The birthday of the youngest daughter belonging to the esteemed Zenia family, a household belonging to high nobility. Gifts reached as far as the eye could see, words of praise filled the girl''s head with flowers and pride¡­ while political machinations brewed in the shadows. All she could hear was the sound of panic, screams, and cries. She knew nothing of what happened back then. All she could see was that the love and adoration in the eyes of her family, servants, and guards had all but vanished. The love was gone. She was told flowery lies and forced into a room of tall figures dressed in white. Strangers that pinned her to the table, tore away at her body with metal des, cutting her flesh apart, extracting her blood till she was faint in the head and decorated her body with countless needles and tubes. Her cries of help, tears of fear and begging fell upon deaf ears. The kind smile of her father, warmth of her siblings affection, all unable to be found. They watched on with cold indifference. Confusion filled her mind. Why are they doing nothing? Why are they letting strange people cut her apart? Why are they no longer watching her with warmth? Why did she deserve all of this? She cried until she lost her voice, silent screams and dried up tears. But they never stopped. When the experiment had finally ended, she was tossed into a white room. Her bandages soaked with her own blood, her body on the verge of breaking apart. Pain, confusion and fear gnawed away at her mind with countless questions sending her through abyrinth of insanity. The sun set and the moon graced her room with light. Food was ced in her room yet she had no strength to move. She hoped it was all a nightmare, a hell of her own creation. But it was reality. Day broke and the experiments continued. She punched, she kicked, she tried to run. Yet it was futile. The fear of the next experiment, the fear of the sharp knives cutting across her skin, the fear of her father watching her descend into madness without offering a single hand to help. Tables, chairs, the bed even the walls. She tried to harm herself in rebellion just to escape the pain of the experiments. But she lived. Walls were changed to soft material, the tables adjusted and under the guise of protection, cuffs were secured around her wrists and ankles, stealing away her freedom. As she delved further into insanity, she discovered the truth. It had been revealed to her in a bid to stop her self-harm and earn her cooperation. She was a mutation. In their society, there was one substance that revolutionised the world to a degree that even children was taught its allure. The Abyss Blood. A substance discovered in the bodies of beasts hailing from the Abyss, a realm mirroring their own like a reflection. Each injection of the Abyss Blood granted the recipient inhuman abilities that transcendedmon knowledge. Some could make you jump higher than 2 story buildings, another could make you breath waves of fire. One could heal you from the brink of death and another make you a weapon of war, unable to be stopped with conventional weapons. Medication, transportation, day to day life applications, the Abyss Blood allowed the civilization to bloom into a golden age. Abyss Blood enhanced the body and flowed through the machineries that scatter through the cities. Their society was dependant on the substance. But there are no such things as free food. With greater benefits came greater risks. There was always the chance that the Abyss would reim the boons it granted to the individual, consuming you and turn you into one of its many pawns. Deformations in the body, changes to the mind and even theplete transformation into an Abyss Beast. Thus few would inject Abyss Blood of the untested variety, no matter how sweet the temptation was. Yet it changed when her mutation was revealed on her birthday. There was an assassination attempt by a rival family. One that targeted Zenia''s youngest daughter. A vial of blood so potent that it would transform anyone into a blood hungry beast. When they least expected, it was injected into Alice and she tore away at the guests. She had be a malformed chimera seeking to destroy all she could get her hands on. A beast of the Abyss fated to die by the hands of the Hunters. But then she returned. Her body recovered and she reimed the form of a human. An impossibility was witnessed. It was then discovered her mutation allowed her to resist the effects of the Abyss Blood. No matter what they tested, no matter what side effects, she would recover. She who was strangely resistant to the Abyss Blood, could not experience the permanentsting effects. Regardless of good or bad. And so they tested without restraint. With authority granted by the head of the family, Alice''s father, they were allowed to tear away at her flesh so long as she lived. She was a blessing to the Zenia family. Her mutation allowed them to blossom into a noble family famed for their Abyss Blood research. They innovated, brought light to hidden effects and offered medicine to the Church of the Moon. Alice was a gift of knowledge, a pathway to understanding the Abyss Blood''s secrets. She was a gift from the unseen gods overlooking this world. She realised she would forever be trapped in a cycle where her body is torn apart for their sake. They tried to convince her, how one''s suffering benefitted the world. But why her? Why did it have to be her? She never asked for any of this. But the experiments never stopped and she grew to loath her life. She couldn''t harm the people who cut her apart, she couldn''t harm her father or her siblings that would watch on in coldness. So she decided to end it all. If she ended it all, she wouldn''t have to suffer. No more pain, no more fear. No more empty stares and res of hatred from her family. She would be free. A shot of pain, a flood of vitality. Her eyes snapped open, she was still in this room. She had failed to take her life and in response to her actions, a cor was ced around her neck. A device engineered through Abyss Blood designed to keep her alive. Should she no longer have a pulse, a shot of healing Abyss Blood would bring her back to life. No matter how much she harmed herself, no matter what method she used, she would always be brought back alive. 10 winters. That''s how long she had spent her life within this room. 10 years of love, 10 years of hatred. Rubbing her hand across her cor, shes of nightmarish scenes flickered through her mind. Times where her flesh had been parted to reveal her bones and veins. Moments where she would watch in horror and pain when they would remove her organs one by one to test the effectiveness of the healing Abyss Blood. The sensation of having one''s eyes gouged out and left blinded for several weeks. Her sibling''s hatred as they punched away at her, the moment their anger became pleasure from seeing her suffer. For 10 long years has she fostered her anger and hatred, for a moment when she finally escape this room. It had been her only reason to press on. With death now out of her grasp, she could only turn to the faint hope of vengeance to keep her will alive. All the pain she felt, all her torment, she would return it all. But she was at her limit, with no end in sight, how was she going to fight back? Every time she felt numb, felt her mes of vengeance diminishing, she would end it all just to feel the breath of life once more. Her life would reignite and so would her desire to hunt and kill. The sound of metal scraping against itself rang out in the empty confines of her room. The door sealing her exit opened, yet she had no thoughts of freedom and curiosity. Believing the guest to be one of her siblings looking to vent their anger on her, Alice sat motionless on the bed. "The hell is all this." A voice rang out with annoyance in his tone. It was unfamiliar. Finally turning her gaze towards the door, she could see a tall, strange man wearing a jacket with raven feathers. He kicked aside the heavy iron door as though it was nothing. Upon his entrance, shadows swirled around him with each and every step he took. They seemed to stretch out towards him, as if to embrace his figure in reverence. Beneath his jacket, he wore a in ck outfit to match. He wore a pair of gloves dripping in fresh blood, staining the floor in a shade of red Alice felt oddly attracted to. His sharp eyes scanned the room beforending on her. "Hou? What do we have here." His voice held a mixture of curiosity and amusement. Stepping out of the door frame, he revealed himself to Alice. Long ck hair that swayed with every step, wild and unruly like his demeanor. A pair of cold ck eyes scanned her up and down before looking at her neck, where a cory, sped tightly around her fragile skin. "Aren''t you a strange one. I had seen guards surrounding this ce, barring my entry so I thought they were hiding some form of treasure. Instead, for all the trouble I had to go through to find this ce, all I find is a brat cored and sealed in a room. Who the hell uses that many guards and defences for a simple brat?!" Heined while scratching his head in annoyance. Narrowing his eyes at Alice, he wondered why she was locked up in such a ce. Alice wanted to ask who the man was, but her voice failed to escape her throat. She felt like she was stared down by a being that struck a primal sense of fear in her heart. Noticing something strange, the man frowned before leaning closer to her. Slowly, a smile crept up on his face. He saw something deep in her eyes. "Seems like you don''t want to stay in this ce. Do you dream of the outside world?" He asked. His voice filled with allure and temptation. His words made her freeze up. For a second, sanity was forgotten and insanity weed itself into her heart. An odd feeling welled up within her. It felt suffocating and muddy, like bile stuck in the throat. It burned her. "So¡­" He asked. "Do you want to leave this hell, and trade it for another?" She nodded. The fire of vengeance burned bright within her heart. Chapter 2: Diving Into The Abyss "Do you dream of the outside world?" It was a sentence Alice never imagined herself to be hearing after all this time. Words of temptation that caused her to hope. Hope that would push her on only to despair at her captivity. Clenching her fists, she wondered what the price of such a notion could be. The price of freedom she yearned for so long. "So¡­" He asked. "Do you want to leave this hell, and trade it for another?" She nodded. For what hell could be worse than what she had experienced within thest ten years? Meanwhile, the raven d man stared at her patiently. He could see the fire in her eyes, burning at the thought of escape. Yet, her face failed to reveal any emotions. For the girl in front of him, her eyes truly were the window to her soul. "Or would you rather remain locked up in this room?" He added, seeking to edge her on. There was something in her, something that reminded him of the past. The memory of a dauntless woman he once knew. He could see the same determination in her as he did in the woman. Realising her hope was on the verge of extinguishing, Alice reached out in a panic. Grabbing him by the sleeves, she bit her lip before opening her mouth. "Don''t want to stay¡­ please." She uttered with difficulty. "But¡­ I know¡­a price needs to be paid. " She wanted to convey her thoughts better but there was a limit to what she could say. Alice was not allowed to interact with anyone except for those that tore away at her, thus she struggled to formte the right words to properly express her thoughts. Blinking his eyes in bewilderment, the man was at a loss of words. The youngdy in front of him seems to be in her early adulthood. Yet her manner of speech was roughly patched together. A mismatch of tone. He could tell how hard she was trying to convey her thoughts butcked the words to do so. Her desperate gaze hoping that he understood what she was thinking inside. Squatting down, the man sighed deeply before raising his hand. Thinking that he was going to hit her since she had grabbed onto him, Alice jumped back. She didn''t want to offend her would-be saviour if she could help it. "???" "I was just going to pat your head but I suppose it might not be the right move." The man raised an eyebrow. "But, that''s fine. There''s an old promise I once made to someone. It''s highly annoying, by the way. So, I''m hoping someone else can help me fulfill it. I want you to be the one. In return, I will give you a way out of here. But it won''t be easy." Alice nodded without thinking twice. She held on only with the thought of revenge for 10 long years. She was not going to give up so easily. The man smiled. "Alright. My request is that I want you to survive in the Abyss. Travel further than anyone has travelled, uncover the truth through mire and blood. It is in the Abyss that you will help me fulfill my promise. It is also in the Abyss where you will find what you seek. Be that vengeance or a new life." He said. His words stopped her for but a second before she nodded again. She did notpletely understand the ramifications of her agreement to this deal, but they did not matter to her. She could almost taste it. Freedom. "Now, to ensure you fulfill your end of the bargain, I need one more thing." Alice stared at him, her eyes filled with confusion. Before she could ask what, the man moved. "The final price, is that I require an eye." He smiled ominously. From the darkness, a w reached out before Alice could react and grabbed her right eye. In one swift motion, it pulled her eyeball out. The pain was a surprise for her as she did not expect the sudden attack, causing her to flinch in panic. She did not scream, though. ws gripped her ankles and started to drag her down as the man chuckled at the disy. "When you arrive in the Abyss, find a woman called Allura, she will be your guiding light. Knowing what she''s like, she''ll keep you safe." And in that moment, the light disappeared from Alice''s world. The shadows consumed her, leaving behind only a mangled cor that had stolen her freedom for all these years. Standing alone in the room, the man tilted his head back and sighed. Bittersweet memories of an age long lost flooded his mind as he shook his head. "I have given the girl the Eye, that will let Allura to find her." He smiled. Upon exiting the room, the man found himself in a hallway littered with shredded clothes and blood. ring red lights shed incessantly in the halls. All a result of his own doing. "We''ll meet again once you have made a home of the Abyss. I wonder how Allura will react upon seeing me." He muttered in a joyful tone before disappearing from where he stood. ### Falling through the darkness, Alice felt like she was sinking through the ocean. Her limbs felt as if they were bound and impossible to move from the crushing pressure around her. No sight, no sound, no feeling. She could feel nothing. It was a strange feeling, drifting aimlessly amidst the darkness. But it was oddly calming for her. It gave her a moment to digest what had just happened. She was unsure if she was still dreaming, that this was just a trick yed by her mind in order to escape the cruel reality of her situation. A dive into insanity. But if it wasn''t a dream, her heart burned with the will to live. Her soul wanted to indulge in the all-consuming hatred hidden deep within Alice''s heart for her family. Her freedom was a golden opportunity, one she wouldn''t give up for the world. With determination flowing through her mind, Alice snapped her eyes open within the darkness, gaze steadfast and focused. Reaching her hand out, she wed away at the sludge that was around her. The thick viscous darkness paved her way up toward the surface as a faint glimmer of light managed to break through theyers of shadow. With the exit now in sight and her freedom at her fingertips, she climbed forth with reinvigorated passion. Her hand broke open the surface of the darkness with a loud ssh. Grabbing hold of the nearest object she could find, Alice heaved her body out of the viscous waters. As her head broke the surface, she sucked in a mouthful of air, refilling her lungs while letting energy return to her body. Nausea burned her mind, but she forced herself to reach safend first. She would have plenty of time to sumb to fatigue once her life wasn''t in the threat of drowning in deep water. The strange liquid stuck to her like glue as it obscured her vision. All Alice could make out was a strange body of sand. It was illuminated with a dual tint of silver and purple, unlike the radiant gold sand usually takes. Ignoring the abnormality, she made her way to the edge before copsing on the sand. Facing up against the sky, she opened her eyes hoping to see the clear blue sky and passing clouds of her dreams, to reignite the final vestige of her sanity and celebrate a return to freedom. But all she could see was a strange purple moon surrounded by dark clouds. Yet she was free from her prison. Basking in her newfound escape from captivity, the light of hope returned to her eyes yet her expression remained stone cold. It was a habit that she had developed, one to make sure they couldn''t enjoy themselves from watching her suffer. Even as they tore her chest apart, her expression would not change. ''Where am I?'' She thought to herself. The man she met at the Zenia prison said that he would send her to the Abyss. Was this it? It seemed strange to her. Alice didn''t even know the man''s name, yet she owed him a debtrger than life. Wiping some of the strange liquid off her, a nagging feeling Alice couldn''t quite out her finger on throbbed in her mind. Setting aside the thought, she looked at her reflection in the inky, yet reflective liquid. Thanks to the moonlight, she could somewhat see her face. The liquid she was covered in was highly reflective on the surface, despite the imprable darkness of the waters close to her. The first thing Alice saw were her eyes. They were now a vibrant purple and her supposedly missing right eye grew itself back. The right sclera was now coloured ck with the pupil being purple. Her hair was messy and unkempt from the years of negligence. Their original colour was a dark brown like the rest of the her family. But in the ce of the dark brown was a split of white and dark purple, the snowy hair taking the right side above the darkened eyes while the violet took the left. ''Wasn''t my eye gone? Why is it fine now? Alice thought to herself while observing her new right eye. The observations were short-lived as she suddenly retched, throwing up the same ck liquid that filled theke. Her eyes widened in panic as the liquid flowed from her orifices. It felt as though her insides were being cut apart with des before transforming into this substance that forced itself out of her body. Within this panic, she understood what she had been swimming in. The waters of the Abyss. With the appearance of the Abyss in their world, knowledge of its malevolent nature was shared and disseminated to most people, to the extent it became a part of curriculum in schools. Even children knew about the waters of the Abyss, the dark realm''s ck seas. Much like the Abyss Blood, the waters were contaminated with the same malicious energy that tainted every being that resided within the hollowed chasms of the Abyss. A normal humaning in contact with this water would be required to be quarantined lest they mutate and infect the people around them. Anyone unlucky enough to be doused, or worse,pletely submerged in the waters of the Abyss would witness their entire being mutate and transform into a malformed beast ovee with bloodlust. Even with her mutated resistance, Alice couldn''t have this liquid within her body for a long period of time. Plus, she didn''t have the healing blood injected by her cor to keep herself alive anymore. Forcing herself to throw up as much of this liquid as possible, Alice felt blood dripping from her nose. Her vision blurred red around the edges. ''Sh*t¡­'' She cursed in her mind. Her body lost strength, and Alice copsed in the pile of ck liquid she just regurgitated. She knew that the Abyss wasposed of severalyers, each filled with its own dangers and reached far and wide like the surface. With a feeling of nausea spreading through her mind and weakness taking over, Alice copsed against the silver sand while a figure appeared, treading through the rolling mist covering thends. "Another one lost to the deep. Urg¡­ Hm?" Noticing something off, he leaned down and saw that the girl was still alive, her body spasming from the effects of the Abyss waters, but not dead yet. "Alive¡­? Oh, yes. Although it''s a matter of time before she bes part of the dark mother, she''ll make a fine addition to the ughter Docks. Hehehe. You''re in luck, youngss. You''ll have a purpose instead of rotting out in the wild." He grinned, knowing that she''ll fetch a few decent coins for his wallet. Grabbing her by the cor of her dress, he threw the girl against the pile of corpses lined on his wagon. Cracking his neck and stretching the rest of his body, the man grabbed the wagon and made his way through the thick mist that was rolling in. The echoing sounds of his whistle rang out amidst the fog while merging with the distant calls of Abyss Beasts. Chapter 3: New Prison A myriad of whispers filled her mind like tiny ants crawling within her ear. The cries of the Abyss and the howls of those who lost their life. As though she was hearing the history of every victim imed by the Abyss Waters, their haunting melodies clinging to her mind and body, Alice writhed in agony. "!!!" Jolting upright out of panic, Alice panted heavily as she quickly checked her body. Thest thing she remembered was sumbing to the effects of the Abyss Waters. Without anything to heal her, she should have died before her body could purge the effects. But she was alive. Joy filled her heart as her eyes glimmered with the shine of a thousand stars. Then she noticed the cuffs and a suffocating feeling wed through her heart. It tore away the joy and bared its fangs at her throat, sinking them deep in her flesh. Panic and anxiety crashed against her mind as she slowly raised her hand and ced it against the cold metal cor next to her throat. Panting heavily, she could feel her heart attempting to burst out of her chest while a deafening ringing sound echoed against her ear, blocking out all noise. Gritting her teeth, she tore away at the cor, trying her best to take it off. The shing sound of metal filled the room as Alice mmed her body against the metal bars of her cage. ''Was all of it a dream? Was the hope that I finally felt after all those years a lie?'' She asked herself while going mad from rage. Biting her lip, Alice continued to m her hands against her cor in a vain attempt to free herself. The metal refused to budge. A blinding sh of light obscured her vision as the taste of iron flooded her mouth. She felt as though the world crashed against the side of her face as blood rushed towards the impact point. The impact caused Alice to relinquish all forms of control she had over her body, mming against the metal bars. Her vision became blurred and a certain numbness settled within her mind. Blinking her eyes in confusion, she failed to understand what just happened. All she could see was blood dripping against the rusted iron floor of her cage. From the numbness and heat, pain shed through her consciousness. It was then Alice realised she was hit by something against the side of her head. The pain knocked Alice out of her panic attack. She was now able to calm herself to a certain degree in spite of being injured. It allowed Alice to reassess her situation. While there was indeed a cor around her neck, the girl understood that this was not the prison she grew up in. After all, the one who had just punched her did not look like he belonged to a big family. Countless, haphazard stitches stretched across his body with patches of skin belonging to different bodies covering the surface. She could only describe him as a towering monstrosity with malformed muscles. It looked like the muscles were expressly needed to lift the sheer weight of the cuffs and chains around his wrists. Arge, rusted iron helmet welded together from scrap metal dug into his flesh as gaping wounds bled open on the thing''s neck. Despite it all, the wounds didn''t seem to inconvenience the behemoth. Seeing the dent in her cage, she realised that he tried to punch her. The iron bars saved her life. If not for them, she wouldn''t be left off with just a bleeding wound. With Alice now no longer making a scene by trying to get the cor off her neck, the giant sat down and slumped over. Soon, rhythmic breathing sounds reached Alice''s ears. Looking around her, Alice noticed she wasn''t the only one locked up. Tens, if not hundreds of deformed captives were in a simr situation to her, their limbs bound to the cage. Some of the captives had more deformities than the others, looking neither man nor beast ¡ª a side effect of Abyss Blood usage. The degree of some mutations made Alice wonder if the captors were using illegal, experimental Abyss Blood. The worst case she could see within this room was a man firmly attached to the wooden walls with roots growing out of his body. He was in thete stages of transforming into a nt-based Abyss Beast. A familiar variety at that. He had iridescent purple flowers created from his yed flesh blossoming across his back and body. A glowing stamen within the centre of the flower dripped with his blood as emerald vines weaved through his skin like thread on fabric. Bloodied roots took hold of his wounds as the man took care not to move from his spot. Even the smallest movement caused the roots to split, making the man wince from the pain. All of this pointed to one Beast in particr, one whose blood Alice experienced first hand during her time within the Zenia prison. During those days, the head scientist leading the experiments would document the Abyss Blood administered, the different types used inbination and those without, including the part the blood came from, the Beast it came from and the results. Alice took care to memorise as much as possible since it was the only other form of ''entertainment'' she could upy herself with. ''Blood Lily, a carnivorous flower thaty traps for its prey with poisoned thorns and can keep itself alive through blood. When their ''blood'' is extracted, the properties you''ll gain is increased healing throughing into contact with any kind of blood. It can even go as far as regrowing lost limbs¡­'' Alice thought to herself before ncing back at the man. ''Side effects include flowers slowly blooming on the body of the person the more they use this blood. And so, they had their name changed to Vampire Lily and deemed unusable for the general public.'' Judging by his physical state, Alice understood that just one more dose of the blood would kill the man. She couldn''t help but think back to the head scientist who constantly preached about how her body was a gift from the unseen gods, a path for humanity to discover the uses of Abyss Blood. He showered her with news on what thetest product had done for the world. His fanaticism with the cursed blood that runs through the depths of the Abyss reached heights Alice couldn''t even imagine, with her body the perfect toy for him to use. He would talk about how, if one person''s suffering could cure the world, it was that person''s job to offer themselves up. Alice shivered. Shaking her head, she tried her best to ignore the past. She needed to find out about her location. The strange man told her to search for a woman called Allura, but he didn''t mention what she looked like nor what her full name was. How was Alice supposed to find a woman just based on the first name? Standing up, she instantly felt a wave of lethargy kick in from the head trauma as she tripped over her own feet. "Unless you want the Bruiser to punch through that cage and kill you, I suggest you don''t move around too much and just sleep." A voice whispered as Alice nced over. The voice belonged to a sickly woman with short grey hair that looked as if it had the colour sucked out of them. She had a single golden pupil, the other having disappeared into a flower. Simr to the man in thete stages of Vampire Lily abuse, the woman''s eye was turned into a Vampire Lily. She wore a tattered bup sack with the same cuffs and chains as Alice. "Okay. Erm¡­ here, where?" Alice asked after a short pause, trying to find the words in her mind. After being thrown into the prison with nothing but experiments to look forward to, her family didn''t really ce education high on the list of things to do. "That''s a weird way of talking, but okay. I''m not too sure either since I''ve been recently resold to this ce after myst owner got fed up with me. They said this ce was like a fighting arena or something. That''s all I know, sorry." She apologised with a small smile. "I''m guessing we''ll find out tomorrow so just rest for now. Plus, you got this guy sitting in front of our cage. It''s best we stop talking and just sleep." The woman pointed at the Bruiser twitching and showing signs of waking up once more. Nodding her head slowly, Aliceid down and stared at the metal roof of her cage. Countless thoughts crossed her mind but she only had one goal. To get out of this ce and find the woman who would apparently help her get her revenge. She was skeptical of the strange man''s lofty promises but for someone like her, this was probably the best chance she''s got to get back some semnce of life. ''Please don''t let this be a dream¡­ I don''t want to go back. I can handle being cored like this¡­ At least I can die if I want to¡­'' Alice thought to herself as she rubbed her finger against her choker once more. She didn''t fear death. For her, she had been living side by side with death for 10 long years. What she feared was a life worse than death, one where she couldn''t end it even if she desired. Suppressing the anxiety within her mind, she allowed herself to rest on the stack of straw in her cage. Even though this cage couldn''tpare to the room Alice''s family gave her, she felt more rxed here. ### Standing in the empty white room while holding a mangled cor, a man stood in deafening silence. Wearing a decorative red coat that hung off his shoulders, adorned with golden markings, the man wore a ck and gold nobleman''s attire beneath the jacket with an ornate sword hanging off his waist. Despite his age, he still had a head of dark brown hair swept back along with a full beard. Behind him was a corridor filled with countless patches of blood and hundreds of bodies. They were some of the finest guards in the Zenia family, yet all of them met the same fate. Known by the name Luthor Zenia, head of the Zenia family, he was Alice''s father. The one who ordered she be imprisoned after her physique was discovered. He could remember the creature he kept in this room, the one who used to be his daughter. Clenching his fists, he shattered the cor without any issues. Bitter memories from Alice''s birthday filled his mind, a time where his world was cut in two. "Assign people to find out what has happened here. Get our trackers to hunt down any traces. I want to know exactly what the hell happened in this room. If the subject is alive, she cannot be allowed into the hands of another family. Capture her at all costs." He ordered through gritted teeth. "If you can''t capture her¡­ "Kill her." His eyes zed with a cold me. The light in the corridor flickered as a few dozen shadows appeared for a moment, coalescing into monstrous figures, before disappearing into nothingness. Once alone, he pulled out a locket. Opening it, he gazed at the picture of a beautiful woman. She had dark purple hair tied into a low ponytail. Wearing a silver dress, the woman carried a small child in her arms while two boys stood beside her. "Sienna¡­" He muttered before taking a deep breath and putting the locket away. "Concerned about the monster we kept in here, dear husband?" A feminine voice rang out behind him as Luthor shook his head. "Do not worry about it. A monster like her has nowhere to go." Luthor reassured while leaving the white room without looking back. Chapter 4: Fighting Arena Waking up from the sound of chains shing around her, Alice sat up to see several Bruisers moving about, ordered around by men in ck cloaks. Looking at the disy in confusion, she spotted the Bruisers carry different cages onto a leather belt moving on cylinders. There was a tube ced along the length of the belt with a shing red liquid moving around from within. ''Is that¡­ Abyss Engineering?'' Alice wondered to herself, finding the sightpletely alien to her understanding. She only heard bits and pieces of information about such technology, from the scientists who sometimes chatted with each other while she was experimented upon. Noticing something off to her left, she nced over and widened her eyes in shock. The man fromst night hadpletely melded to the wooden walls behind him. His skin was a deep, sickly shade of green, while a pool of fresh blood oozed out of him. Flowers blossomed all over his body as he stood motionless. ''Did he die in his sleep?'' Alice thought to herself with little pity. Perhaps it was from seeing her own body being opened up countless times before but she didn''t even feel her heart fluctuate at the sight. "Seems like he died while everyone was sleeping. Poor guy overdosed on A.B. I must say you don''t seem surprised by his body, did youe from a battlefield?" Hearing the voice, Alice turned to her side. It was the same woman fromst night. She was currently sitting with her legs crossed while watching the Bruisers carry people away. "A.B?" "Yeah. Abyss Blood. Hm, I thought with how you talked, you probably came from the streets. But it doesn''t seem that way if you don''t know about A.B." The woman scratched her head in confusion. "Sorry, situation weird." Alice apologised. She didn''t want to go into detail of her past with someone she had just met, especially someone in this weird ce. "Fair. No one has a normal situation if they got sold here. You do seem out of it, to boot. Regardless, it was nice talking to you. I hope we meet again." The woman smiled while pointing at the Bruiser about to lift her cage away. "Ah, your name?" Alice asked in a hurried tone. "My name? You can just call me Lilia." She replied, giving Alice a small wave. "My name¡­ Alice!" Alice shouted out before she lost sight of the woman. Sitting back down on her cage, there was a hint of happiness in her eyes. It was her first time talking to someone else like a normal person after 10 years. ''I''m d she''s a nice person.'' Alice thought inwardly. Despite her happy mood, her face did not reveal any of her thoughts. It was nk as usual. Soon, her cage was ced on the leather belt and moved through the building. She didn''t know what to expect so she could only do her best to calm her heart. There were others in a simr situation to her, but they soon disappeared from view as her cage was ced into a wooden box. Considering that the man she sawst night died from Abyss Blood, Alice knew that the substance was most likely going to be involved. The only issuey in how it was used. ''I don''t want toe into contact with any of the blood, if possible. If anybody finds out about my mutation like they did, who knows what will happen to me.'' Alice bit her lip in fear as she hugged her arms at the thought of her old family. Tilting her head back, she peeked through the gaps of the wooden box. She was currently on some tform that may raise her up, since there was arge empty space directly above. With no idea about what was going on, she could only wait in silence. Thankfully, the wait was rather short. mouring sounds could be heard above along with the echoes of many footsteps and the chatter of hundreds of people. Alice couldn''t hear what they were saying. But she knew that more and more people were filling up the arena, as the sounds only got louder. The footsteps continued for a time before a loud voice overwhelmed all noise. "Wee,dies and gentlemen! I am happy to wee you to tonight''s coliseum event! I am sure that many of you are excited to find out what we have nned for tonight! You''ve heard the rumours! You''ve seen the posters! And you certainly know the dangers! We are excited to announce that we have obtained the infamous Grave Robber! A behemoth of flesh and bones, stalking the shadows of the ughter Docks and digging up the bones of Hunters! "And tonight! He''ll be facing against a batch of newly acquired ves from around the Abyss! There are some finebat ves along with a few poor souls who are simply in the wrong ce at the wrong time! Feast your eyes tonight and bid to your hearts'' content! We have plenty of hunters to assure that the asset you win will be protected should they be chosen!" He shouted out with glee in his voice while the thunderous cheers in the crowd shook the coliseum. Before Alice could continue listening in on the announcements, a blue glow appeared on her choker as the number 10 manifested itself. Understanding that this was how they were going to identify her, Alice could feel her tform being raised up towards the trap door. ''From the sound of things, it seems like I''ll have to fight against Abyss Beasts. If they get interested in me, I''ll be bid on and protected.'' Alice thought to herself while clutching her chest. She had no experience fighting anyone, let alone Abyss Beasts. However,pared to the fear of going back to that white room or dying before she could get her revenge, a little bit of fighting didn''t even make Alice react. Filling herself with a false sense of bravery, Alice clenched her fist and focused up. The moment her cage opened, things will be a battle of life and death. As her cage reached the surface, Alice could see more than 20 ves in different cages being released into the arena. There was threeyers to the coliseum. First, the base arena, where a myriad of obstacles, walls, and tforms were ced. Second, the viewing stands where hundreds of people watched with smiles on their faces, their identities hidden with masks, each of them provided with a wooden board for bidding purposes. Third, a ce exclusively for VIPs. They had special rooms hanging over the arena to allow for a full view. Despite their distance, Alice found it strange she could see them in full rity. Her eyesight was never this good before. Furrowing her brows, she turned her attention back to the arena. Her cage had been opened as she was allowed to step out. She could feel several nces, probably due to her weird hair colour. However, the gazes were brief since she wasn''t the main attraction of tonight''s event. Aside from the Abyss Beast that they had brought in, the announcer started to introduce one of the ves. "Plucked from the front lines of the twilight zone, our ve here has seen the battle with his very own eyes! He was arrested for epting bribes and allowing criminals through the defensive line, causing the assassination of his superior! He has not been branded by the ve brand yet, so you can be the very first owner! Despite his traitorous behaviour, he is a three sigil warrior!" The announcer shouted out in excitement as the crowd went wild. ''Three sigil warrior? What''s that?" Confusion filled Alice''s mind as she turned towards where the spotlight was focused towards. A single man that stood in the centre of the arena. He looked to be middle aged, with scars across his body. The side of his brown hair had been shaven clean while the top of his hair was tied back into a ponytail. He was given a rough set of clothing that was still much finer than what Alice wore. He was also equipped with a longsword and shield. The cuffs around his body were much bigger than those around the other ves. There were glowing purple runes etched on their surface. "Lars! Show the power of your sigils!" The announcer shouted as the cuffs started to glow with a purple hue. Faint sparks of electricity crackled as the man flinched before gritting his teeth. Through the gaps of his clothes, one could see a writhing shadow expanding into a tattoo that spread across his body, forming intricate sigils across his skin. One was on his neck, one was on his right hand and thest was on his back. Hearing that he was going to demonstrate what it meant to be a three sigil warrior, Alice focused her attention on him. Taking a deep breath in, Lars gritted his teeth as the sigil on his neck started to glow with a golden hue. His flesh started to bulge as rock-like material started to pierce through his skin and reinforced his body in a suit of armour. As the second sigil activated, mes erupted through the gaps of his armour. Waving his sword, he stabbed it into the ground before pulling it out. The de was now covered with ayer of molten rock that spewed mes with each wave. With the final sigil lighting up, all of the mes turned blue and his body started to grow in size. Cracking his mouth open, he let out an earth-shattering roar that resounded throughout the arena, causing the crowd to cheer even louder. "And there you have it! A quick demonstration of his sigils so that our fantastic VIPs know his potential! I can guarantee that he will make a spectacr battle ve once you purchase him! He will be proving his worth through a battle against the Grave Robber tonight while the other ves will fight against our regr entertainment beasts. Keep an eye out though, there may be a diamond in the rough amongst this batch! You never know what might happen!" From the opposite side of the arena, several new cages appeared from the ground. Each cage holding a nearly identical quadrupedal beast without a speck of fur. Grey muscle covered its body while sharp talons protruded from the spine and ws. Its whole body seemed to be shaped for speed as it had an arrow shaped head with crimson eyes. Standing out from the batch of monsters in cages was a single reinforced prison holding a ghastly white behemoth of bone and flesh. Three skulls adorned its humanoid body, with one on the neck and one on each shoulder. A stinger-like tail protruded from the back of the head and whipped against the cage while an iridescent glow reflected from its skin due to the lights shining against the surface. A low growl reminiscent of the clicking of rocks echoing against each other escaped its skulls. Beads of red lit up in the eye cavities and focused upon Lars. It seemed to have recognised him as the biggest threat. But it sensed someone else, too. A faint resonance from within the group of ves, something that sent an aura of oppression within the Grave Robber''s body. Before it could focus its attention to the source of the resonance, Lars released a wave of killing intent towards the beast. He knew that his future depended on how well he performed. If he surprised the VIPs with his power, he''ll be treated better than the average ve. "It''s you and me, beast!" Lars roared with a mboyant re, making sure all eyes were on him. "Seems like our main attraction can''t wait any longer! Then let''s get the show on the road! Release the beasts!" The announcer shouted as the crowd cheered. *CLANG! With a loud rumble, the cage bars dropped as the beasts jumped into the arena. Despite the obstacles in the arena, the hound-like beasts immediately started hunting down the weak looking ves as they couldn''t deal with Lars. Alice braced herself for the iing battle. Chapter 5: Abyss Hound As the event began, Alice could no longer keep her attention on Lars. Her own survival was now at stake. But in the short moment she observed him, she gained information about things previously unknown to her. ''So, sigils are powers that appear on a person''s body?'' She wasn''t sure. She hadn''t seen anything like it. ''It seems like the more sigils you have the more powerful you are and the more favourably you are looked upon. Unlike the powers of the Abyss Blood, it seems like sigils don''t affect your physical traits permanently, either.'' She mused to herself. In a way, it was functionally simr to how her mutation worked. ''How nice¡­ If only I had something like that.'' She nced at Lars fighting the Grave Robber in wonder. Feeling a set of eyes lock onto her, Alice turned away from the fight between monsters. One of the Abyss Hounds, which Alice deemed appropriate to name, crouched above a set of wooden walls next to her, its body low and ready to pounce at a moment''s notice. Alice could feel her hands shaking in fear. Her body felt sluggish and her vision seemed to focus in on the Hound''s jaws and ws. Did she fear the pain she could feel? No, she didn''t. Did she fear death? She didn''t either. She will not let such a beast take her chance at vengeance away from her! There were several weapons stabbed into the ground surrounding the arena. Most of them were toorge or heavy for Alice to use. However, there was a shortsword near where she was. The de looked red and broken, but she wasn''t sure. As the two stared down at each other, Alice could hear the sound of battles erupting around her. The sudden movements of the Hounds, the shing of bone against steel, the screams of the dying. Ignoring everything, her attention was solely focused on the beast in front of her. She didn''t know why but her eyesight seemed to have improved dramatically. She could see the faint contractions of its muscle fibres, the small flicker of its eyes as it scanned her up and down. Unable to hold herself back anymore, she rushed forward in impatience, lunging to grab the sword. But she was too slow. While Alice wasn''t drained of energy, she wasn''t exactly overflowing with vigour either. The Abyss Hound could smell something strange from the girl. It made the Beast hesitate to strike. However, with Alice making the first move, it gave in to baser instincts and bared its fangs. *BANG! Launching itself off the wooden walls, the Hound leaped at Alice, the sheer force of its jump shattering the nks behind it. Widening her eyes in shock, Alice''s brows furrowed before she stretched her hand forward and barely grasped the sword. Desperately pulling and swinging it from an awkward angle, she tried to protect herself. Feeling a stinging pain on her shoulder, Alice crashed to the side and rolled across the floor. Blood oozed from the girl''s shoulder as the Hound''s w cleaved her flesh. He barely missed her neck. The Beast turned and began to circle around her once more, relentlessly looking for another chance to kill its prey. ''How the hell does anyone fight beasts like this?!'' She screamed in her mind. Although Alice knew the bedtime stories she heard of heroes fighting Abyss Beasts with ease were fake, nothing could prepare her for the sheer hopelessness of her current situation. The stories of Abyssal Hunters sung of calm and fearless warriors, heroes who, no matter what tried to kill them, would stare down death without flinching. They wouldn''t miss a single moment of weakness and strike the beasts, ending them in one blow. But she wasn''t like that. She could feel her knees buckling from the weight of the beast''s attack, her mind muddied with confusion as to what the beast would do next. She could feel her heart pounding against her ears as the world seemed to darken around the Hound. Sensing her confusion and fear, the Hound curled its bestial maws into a haunting smile that sent shivers down Alice''s spine. Sadistic pleasure radiated from its eyes. Itunched towards Alice once more. This time, its body exploded with even greater speed, causing dust to scatter behind it. Alice froze in fear. The smile was familiar to her. It was something she had seen often before, stered across the face of her tormenters. As the face of her tormentors and the Beast ovepped, she could feel a wave of anger rising from her heart. Her instinct of survival merged with rage and desperation as Alice rolled off to the side and grabbed the corner of a wooden barricade scattered across the arena as part of an obstacle. Using it to throw herself away from danger, she watched as the Hound mmed against several barrels, breaking them apart as though they were made from paper. ''The pain from my shoulder isn''t something I can''t handle. But I can''t use my left arm well.'' Alice gritted her teeth. She could only dread what kind of damage the Beast''s lunge would have done to her body this time. Scanning her eyes around, Alice found no additional weapons for her to easily use. To her left were several wooden walls, one of which she used to pull herself from danger. To her right, a set of barrels the Hound crashed through. There was another beast and ve locked inbat not far from her position. The path behind it would lead her closer to the centre of the arena, where the main attraction fought. ''What can I do? I can''t fight the Hound at all. Fighting it head-on is suicide¡­ The only weapon I have is this stupid sword I can barely swing. If I run towards the middle, I''m asking to get killed by the big thing fighting Lars. I doubt he''ll care about my issues considering he''s got a fight of his own.'' Without realising, Alice had started to scratch her neck out of stress, a habit she slowly developed over time. It helped her focus. She was trying her best to rationalise all possible options. Panicking would only increase her chances of death. She couldn''t deny the fact that she was anxious. She didn''t want her life to end here. But, Alice''s body didn''t move the way she wanted it to. She just wasn''t fit enough to perform acts of strength like taking down this Hound in a head-on fight. ''Then stop thinking that way!'' She smacked her neck in frustration. ''I have to fight this Beast! I have to kill it no matter what. If I don''t, I''ll die and everything will be for naught. I didn''t hold out for 10 years to get ended by some stupid mutt.'' Taking a deep breath, Alice got back onto her feet. She could feel a throbbing pain in her shoulder. It didn''t bother her, though; a mere shoulder injury was nothingpared to seeing your own ribs being pulled apart. She could hear the sound of wooden nks being pushed aside as the hound recovered and began to search for her once more. ''I can probably use the wooden walls to my advantage. If I make it crash into a bunch of them, it should give me a chance to attack him.'' Grabbing the sword by the handle with her mouth, she reached up with her good arm and hauled herself up on the wall. Stabilising herself momentarily, she red at the hound and waited patiently. She wanted it to throw itself against the wall in an attempt to knock her off and take that chance to stab it from above. While Alice couldn''t help but admit that it was a little above her skill level right now, she had to start somewhere. Seeing her provocative stance, the Hound bared its fangs once more and let out an intimidating howl. Alice remained unfazed, ring with determination at the Beast. Circling around the wall for a short moment, the Hound dashed toward her. Contrary to her expectations, the Hound didn''t ram against the wall as she hoped but leaped up and aimed for her jugr. Taking a deep breath, she quickly jumped back so that she was out of harm''s way andnded roughly against the ground. With the target now missing, the Hound overshot its jump on the wall and collided with a stack of nks. ''A chance!'' Charging at what she perceived as a golden opportunity, Alice ran with a fool''s courage in an all-or-nothing effort with her de in hand. With the Hound still recovering from its jump, she dashed behind him and plunged the de down. Unfortunately for Alice, her technique wascking. The de tip collided harshly against a protruding bone and veered off to the side. ''You''ve got to be shitting me!'' She cursed out in her mind. She had finally worked up the courage, but her attack just missed! The Hound moved its head towards her with fury. The cowardly prey quivering in fear actually tried to kill it?! Lashing out in blind rage, the Hound sunk its teeth into Alice''s forearm. Gritting her teeth, Alice tried to throw both of them against the wooden walls in hopes of trying to get it to let go of her arm. But its bite was firm. It refused to let go no matter what, wanting to take a chunk out of her flesh. At this rate, she would lose her arm to this Hound. Until she gets her hands on some Abyss Blood, any and every wound was dangerous. Her vision started to turn red as there was only a single thought in her mind. Kill! She had to kill or be killed! No matter the method, she had to kill this beast in front of her to live another day! Opening her mouth, she sunk her teeth into the Hound''s neck. Chapter 6: Beast Vs Beast While not many were looking at Alice due to the main attraction being the battle between Lars and the Grave Robber, those who did nce upon her couldn''t help but exim in shock! "What the hell is that girl doing?!" A woman called out in shock. Slowly, the attention of some people in the crowd turned to Alice. She was currently biting the Hound by the neck while it tried to tear her arm apart. It was a battle between beasts. Having tossed aside her sword, Alice''s body was the only weapon left to fight the Hound. She mustered all the strength in her body and sunk her teeth further. Grabbing the Hound in a chokehold while making sure her arm wasn''t in danger of beingpletely torn off yet, Alice used the chains on her arms to her advantage, wrapping them around the beast''s neck. Ignoring the pain of its sharp bones piercing into her body with each moment, she climbed onto the monster''s back in order to keep a full grapple against it. Writhing in pain of having its own neck bitten by Alice, the Abyss Hound refused to let go of her arm, trying to shake its prey off. But Alice''s grip was like iron. She didn''t let go. No matter what the beast did, whether that be mming the girl against the wall or rolling across the ground, Alice didn''t let go. The Abyss Hound''s bones punctured into her flesh, but she held on. Blood stained her white dress, but it only made Alice more vicious. More and more eyes turned towards her as the crowd could barely tell who was the Abyss Beast in that situation! Clenching her jaw, Alice could feel the taste of iron invading her mouth; the feeling of hot blood pouring down her throat, into the pits of her stomach. Within the depths, the grasp of the abyss wed against her body once more as dark powers pulsed through her body. She could feel a flow of energy pumping into her muscles as the tips of her fingers started to turn the same shade of colour as the muscles on the Hound''s body. Her canines sharpened and her body threatened to transform to match the source of the blood. ''I can''t drink anymore, or else the effects will be too obvious! I can still bluff my way through with just minor changes.'' Alice warred against her instincts to stop herself from drinking more blood. With an intoxicating surge of power now reinforcing her body, she tightened her grip on the Hound''s neck, forcing it to let go of her arm. Unfortunately for her, the Hound didn''t have any regenerative properties so her wounds didn''t get healed. Blood dripped from the corners of Alice''s mouth as the injured beast looked at her with wariness. What the Abyss Hound perceived as easy prey now fought back much harder than it deemed worth. If it could choose, the beast would rather run away and find new prey than continue fighting. But, it knew that wasn''t going to happen. Alice was dead set on killing it one way or another. Narrowing her eyes, Alice crouched down slightly. There was an¡­ alluring aroma now drifting through the air. A sweet smell that caused her vision to be hazy. She didn''t know why, but there was a faint trail of crimson light flowing like water through her vision, slithering through the air till it reached the hound''s wound. There was now an unquenchable thirst in her throat screaming for her to drink blood. Realising her strange reaction, Alice tried to calm herself down. But it was already toote. She could feel herself sumbing to the thirst for blood. Releasing the energy stored in her legs, she shot forward with speedparable to the Hound and managed to surprise him. Grabbing the sword with her working hand, she closed the gap within mere moments, taking the Hound by surprise. Opening its jaw, the Hound immediately tried to bite Alice. It didn''t know that was exactly what she wanted. ''Its weapons are those ws and mouth. But since it needs the ws to stabilise its footing, the only option would be his mouth!'' Jabbing forward with her sword, she stabbed the de into the Hound''s tongue and pushed her weight down towards the ground. The trajectory of the sword swerved down and pierced through the underside of its jaw. Whimpers escaped the Hound but Alice didn''t stop. With the Hound now pinned against the ground with a de through its mouth, she raised her foot and mmed it against the beast''s shoulder, pushing it back and causing the de to cut through parts of its jaw. ''It''s not enough!'' Gritting her teeth, Alice tried to kick it again but the Hound wed against her thighs, digging its ws deep. It caused her to pause and take a sharp breath from the stinging sensation. Pulling her leg back out of pure instinct, she cried out in pain as the ws dug out some of her flesh, leaving them hanging by loose threads of muscle and sinew. A wave of dizziness washed over Alice''s mind but she quickly shook it off. She can rest when the Hound in front of her was dead! Ignoring the pain, Alice gathered as much strength as she could and kicked the Hound in the head, causing a small crack to resound near the connection point between the jaw and the skull. Realising that this was her chance, Alice positioned herself beside the Hound, grabbing its jaw with both her hands while using the de as an anchor. "ARGGGGG!!!!!" Letting out a cry to squeeze as much strength as she could from her body, Alice tried to dislocate the Hound''s jaw so that it would lose one of its main weapons. As she pushed her strength to its limit, the Hound resisted with everything it had. Just as the tension reached its peak, a pop echoed in the surroundings. Stumbling back, Alice watched on as the beast cried in pain from the de shredding its muscles. His jaw now hung loosely with the de still piercing through its flesh, blood dripping down the rusted surface. Seeing its bloodshot eyes, Alice could tell that the beast and her were the same; neither would stop until the other died. Both no longer cared about their own survival and only sought to kill the one in front of them. ### In the spectator stands, there was a ck haired woman who looked to be in herte 20''s. She had a pair of pure white eyes with a set of earrings on her right ear. She wore a ck coat with a sleeveless turtleneck shirt and a pair of tight leather pants. While smoking a cigarette, she narrowed her gaze at Alice. "That eye, not to mention the white in her hair..." she muttered. Furrowing her brows, she spat out the cigarette on the ground and stomped it in annoyance. "What the hell¡­ Did Kaden really just give that girl the Eye of all things? What the hell is he thinking?" She scratched her hair in annoyance. ''Is he trying to run away? Or does he really think that this girl has what it takes?'' She thought to herself while sitting down. Contemting for a moment, she wondered if she should just purchase the girl outright or keep watching for a few more days. "I suppose Kaden wants me to appraise this girl myself and see if she''s fit for the job." She grumbled. Taking out another cigarette, she flicked her index finger and a me danced on its tip, lighting up the cigarette. Taking a deep breath, she puffed out a cloud of smoke before pulling out a note from her pocket and writing something down. A small part of her shadow flickered for a moment before a bird appeared from it. "Take this letter back to that bastard master of yours. Tsk, annoying me even after we went our separate ways." She sighed while massaging her head. ''It seems like she''s caught the eye of a VIP. They don''t seem to be purchasing her outright, though. They probably put a sponsor for her, so that she continues to fight within this arena until their mind is made up¡­'' Shrugging, the woman decided to keep observing for now. ### Despite the condition Alice was in, she felt strangely calm. The deafening cheers of the crowd, the screams of the other ves, the roar of the Grave Robber ¡ª she could no longer hear anything. Her attention was focused solely on the Hound before her. In her current state, it was as though the only thing that existed in this world was the Hound. Every movement, every breath, was captured in slow motion by Alice. ''Ah¡­ did I go crazy?'' She wondered to herself. Perhaps she was seeing her death y out in her final moments. Alice felt like she could see everything in the world. Even the smallest movement couldn''t escape her sight. As the Hound crouched down and dashed toward her with fury burning in its eyes, Alice stood still. Even her own movements felt slow. Without any thought, she moved. Her rational mind told her to dodge, but her instincts screamed otherwise. ''I can see it¡­ I can see how I should kill this beast.'' She thought as adrenaline pumped through her body. She had a chance to kill the Hound. It wasn''t a false opportunity like earlier. Something felt different to her. Chapter 7: Killing The Hound Twisting her body to the side, Alice evaded the Hound''s jaw by a hair''s width before plunging her finger into its eye. Without an ounce of hesitation, she crushed the eyeball with her finger as blood dripped into her palm. Using the Hound''s inertia against itself, she mmed it against the ground and jammed her finger further into the skull, remaining just shy of piercing the brain. Gritting her teeth, she pulled the finger out and reached for the sword in one smooth motion. wing at its own face in an attempt to dig into Alice''s arm, the Hound was unable to urately hit her after losing sight on its right side. The weakness was fully exposed and Alice plunged the sword towards the orifice and gave the sword a twist after piercing the brain. As the Hound struggled itsst, Alice snapped out of her focused state and took rapid breaths as panic flooded her mind once more. While the imminent danger was dealt with, Alice had to sort out her blood loss soon otherwise she would follow the Hound shortly. Unfortunately, while her knowledge of different kinds of Abyss Blood was plentiful, she was ignorant when it came to medical science. All she could think of right now was to make sure the chunk of flesh hanging off her thigh was pressed tightly to reduce further blood loss. Looking at the dead hound, Alice thought of a risky idea. But, assuming it to be better than dying here and now, she grabbed the sword and started to harvest some of the Hound''s ws along with the sharp teeth. She was going to use them as makeshift pins to hold her flesh together. It was simr to the pins that held her skin in ce when Alice was operated on by the scientists. Though she didn''t have the benefit of Abyss Blood to heal her. Taking a deep breath, she gritted her teeth and stabbed the ws through the flesh and hooked it against her thigh. It took five ws to make sure the flesh was in ce without risk of falling off. The pain was tolerable as she tore off a strip of her dress to be used as bandages. Sighing in relief, Alice leaned against the wooden wall and nced around her. In the time she had taken to kill one Hound, around seven ves had already died, while others barely managed to hold on. Some also found ways to kill their target one way or another. But they were heavily wounded just like her. Unfortunately, she wasn''t safe just yet. One of the remaining hounds turned to face her. She didn''t want to indulge in the Abyss Blood too much, since the side effects would be too obvious. But she had no choice. Biting her lip, Alice carefully shuffled over to the corpse of the Hound that she just killed. There was only one way to get away with drinking too much blood and not encounter side effects. Purity! To her knowledge, there were four levels of purity. First was the impure kind she just drank. They brought low results with lots of side effects. The second kind had higher potency while a third, higher category belonged to blood the nobility consumed to minimize the side effects. But Alice neither knew the purity of each level nor where she should extract the blood efficiently. However, to obtain the highest level, there was only one ce she could extract it from. The heart! Level four, also known as the Heart Blood, was the purest blood anyone could extract. It had the strongest positive effects and little to no side effects. Though once it was exposed to the air, it would rapidly decrease in purity. Hence, actually buying a vial of Heart Blood that remained pure was a difficult task. Those who somehow manage to extract Heart Blood sessfully would seldom sell the precious vial. But if they do, the money they could earn would be astronomical even for the standards of the aristocrats. And this Heart Blood was her goal. It hasn''t been long since she had killed the Hound, so the purity of the Heart Blood should be rtively high. If she drinks that, no one wouldin about finding no side effects on her body. ''Though the hound seems to be rather weak, since it could be killed by me with a rusted de.'' Alice thought to herself. Grabbing her de, she sunk it deep into the corpse of the Hound and pierced the heart. Moving the de to widen the hole, she reached in with her hands and cupped a handful of Heart Blood. Bringing it to her mouth, Alice drank as much as she could before the Hounds decided to attack her. Feeling the energy flow through her body, she estimated that it should be around the third level in purity if not level two. It was more than enough for now as she felt reinvigorated. With another dose of the blood, her eyes momentarily turned into bestial slits as she red towards the two hounds with killing intent. The two hounds that had been eyeing her hesitated to strike. What they perceived as weak prey suddenly found a second wind. Deciding that she was not going to be as easypared to the other prey, the Hounds turned their attention elsewhere. Sighing out in relief, Alice felt d she didn''t have to fight. Even if she got another boost in energy, her body simply didn''t have the strength or mobility to keep fighting. With her fight now over, she nced towards the center of the area. She was curious about Lars and the power of his sigils. There were some visible wounds on Lars but it was nothingpared to the damage he dealt. Two of the Grave Robber''s skulls was missing followed byrge cuts and burns decorating its body. Gritting his teeth, Lars nced around him and found most of the Hounds leaving him alone to go for the other survivors. It was a relief for him since he wasn''t sure how well he could do if all of them attacked at once. But if it was just this Grave Robber, there will be no issues! Stomping down, mes roared out with his renewed fighting spirit. Dashing towards the Grave Robber, Lars''s first sigil glowed with a golden aura as a shield formed on his arm. Seeing Lars charging towards it, the Grave Robber whipped its head to the side as the stinger attached to the back of its skullshed out towards the enemy. Green liquid flowed out from its tip as it neared Lars. He couldn''t let himself get hit by it. If he did, his body would get paralysed, and his bones dug out. *BANG!!!* Parrying the stinger with his shield, Lars mmed it down and grabbed the tail with both hands. His biceps bulged as power flowed through them, dragging the monster towards him. In this contest of strength, he was stronger! A high-pitched screech followed by a rumbling clicking sound escaped the Grave Robber''s mouth as it reached towards Lars'' head with its ws. Ducking down, Lars dodged the w and swung up with his de. Blue mes roaring out like a serpent, coiling around the Grave Robber''s body while leaving burns across its skin. Weakening the flesh around the joint with fire, the metal de cleaved through it, shredding the tendons and separating the bone that connected the Grave Robber''s arm and torso. "URAHHH!!" Letting out a cry of power, the spectators cheered upon seeing Lars rip the Grave Robber''s arm off. Stumbling in pain, the Grave Robber swung its shoulder towards Lars in an attempt to blind him with blood. But he saw iting. Flicking his hand, he grabbed his de in a reverse grip and stabbed it down. *CRACK!!* Snapping the Grave Robber''s cor bone in half, the tip of the sword sunk deep into its flesh as radiant blue mes flooded the insides of the monster. Due to the semi-transparency of the Grave Robber''s skin, the mes caused him to glow like antern as fire erupted from his wounds. Curling his lips into a grin, Lars pulled down on his de like a lever, gouging a deep, diagonal cut across the Grave Robber''s chest. Evaporated, steaming blood and mes exploded out from the newly opened cavity. The smell of cooked flesh permeated the arena with the air warping from the heat of Lars''s mes. *BANG!!* Kneeling down from the injuries, the Grave Robber was unable to fight any further. But Lars was far from done. Pulling out his de, he stabbed it deep into the Grave Robber''s neck before grabbing it by the skull. With a single pull, he tore the head off the shoulders while using his de to cut away any resistance. Raising the skull and spine towards the air with a triumphant roar, Lars mmed his hand against his chest for all to see, proving his worth as a warrior. Chapter 8: Visions Of The Past With the main attraction dead and bids rolling in, Hunters poured into the arena to subdue the leftover beasts while helping those who needed assistance. Ignoring the call for bids, Alice kept her eyes on Lars. The power that he demonstrated with the Sigils, the way he could conjure their might at will; it was a whole new world for Alice, a world of power she had no knowledge about. ''How does someone get a Sigil? What''s the limit? If I can get my hands on Sigils, would it be enough to defeat the Zenia family?'' Countless questions passed through her mind. However, the biggest question that dominated her thinking was how one could obtain a Sigil. ''Is there a specific monster that needs to be killed? Regardless, I need to get my hands on Sigils. If I can master the power of Sigils along with Abyss Blood, I''ll have the tools necessary to get my revenge.'' Alice thought to herself, clenching her fist in determination. "Did you get hit in the head? Hello?" Hearing the voice next to her, Alice turned her attention away from Lars and saw a Hunter crouching next to her. They wore arge cloak that hid their body shape. Yet, their voice revealed their gender. The coat had a hood that covered the Hunter''s head while a ck mask covered his face, except the eyes. But her focus wasn''t on their identity. She was concerned whether or not they noticed the abnormality with her body. ''If things went wrong, it''ll be the past repeating all over again!'' Alice panicked in her mind. "Seems like you can hear just fine. That, there, was a haphazard job, youngdy. But if it wasn''t for that, you might be in a worse state than you are now." The hunter exined while pointing at her thigh. "But, you''re pretty impressive, if not a little reckless." The Hunter chuckled. Alice wanted to say something, but she felt drained of energy. ''Seems like he didn''t notice anything strange with my side effects.'' She sighed in relief. Now that her biggest concern was dealt with for the time being, all her fatigue rushed forth along with the side effects of using the Abyss Blood. Alice estimated the effect of the blood she drank had something to do with reinforcing her physique momentarily, since her muscles spasmed due to strain. Seeing Alice remove the ws from her thigh that held the flesh in ce, the Hunter couldn''t help but feel shocked in his heart. Not only did she not wince or cry, she even seemed unperturbed by the gruesome sight. "Uh," Shaking out of his reverie, the Hunter spoke. "I suppose congrattions are in order. You''ve been sponsored. I won''t patch up your injurypletely since you''ve been granted a vial of high-quality Vampire Lily. It''ll heal your injuries without too many side effects." The hunter exined as he gave Alice a fresh set of bandages for her wounds. "Can you stand?" Hearing this, Alice shook her head. With Alice unable to walk, the hunter thought to himself for a moment before carrying her on his back. "I''ll take you back to your cage. The next round ofpetition is starting soon. It wouldn''t be good for people to linger." He exined as Alice nodded her head. Hearing that, Alice finally realized she did not spot Lilia once in the arena. ''I hope she''s fine.'' She thought as fatigue warred against her mind. Feeling her eyelids drooping, Alice felt sleep take over, but not before she said one thing to the Hunter, "Erm. Thank¡­ you." Raising an eyebrow in surprise, the hunter looked back and noticed that Alice had passed out. Letting out a weary smile, he shook his head and felt pity for the girl. After all, being sponsored is thest thing you want in this Colosseum. ### Wandering the streets, a man d in a raven feathered cloak reached out with his hand to receive a small bird. iming the letter in the bird''s grasp, he couldn''t help butugh at the message. "She''s the same as ever, still pissy that I''m leaving everything to her." Heughed out loud. He wasn''t afraid that Allura wouldn''t look after Alice. After all, despite how she was on the outside, the woman was a huge softy inside. She would pity Alice''s situation and help her out in the end, especially since he gave the eye to the girl. "Yo, wouldn''t you say this is a good asion? I''ve managed to change a brat''s fate by sending her to an old friend of mine. With that brat''s strange body, she''ll make a fine partner for the Eye I nted in her. Look at me doing some good for the world!" Kadenughed while ncing at his right. He was currently holding a man by his head as a light flickered through his eyes. The man''s gaze quivered in fear, streams of sweat dripping down his head. "Since I''m in a good mood, I''ll let you off easy. Generous, aren''t I?" "P-Please, let me go! Stop, you fiend¡ª" Crushing the man''s head, Kaden watched his body squirm with satisfaction before it fell limp. Shaking the blood off his hand, he walked away from the area while the letter slowly disintegrated into ash. Kaden recalled the moment heid his eyes on Alice. At that time, he used an Abyss Beast''s ability to hypnotise her so that she wouldn''t get in the way of his search. Yet strangely, the effect onlysted for a short moment before fading away. ''That brat is resistant to the effects of the Abyss. If Allura does what she''s good at, this''ll be a chance for both of us to break free.'' He thought to himself with a smile. ### Alice didn''t know what happened afterwards. She was in a state of semi-consciousness. She felt like her mind was drifting off in a body of water where all that existed were her own thoughts. Visions of her past, before her 10th birthday, shed before her. All of the happiness she felt, the joys of life ¡ª it was all a lie. After that day, all she could see was the ugly truth. The needles, the experiments, everything. Their family''s history was built upon a mountain of corpses as far as the eye could see. Every breakthrough, every innovation, they sacrificed everything and nothing! They sat upon wealth given through blood and tears. Theughter of the head scientist as he tore away at her body. The gruesome sights of her blood sttering against the lights, basking thebs in a crimson hue. Echoes of his voice ringing through her mind, praising her tolerance and tenacity while tearing out her organs. "Show me more! Can you still breathe and live if I remove your lungs? What if I feed you blood that gives you gills?! Show me your secrets, o gift of the unseen gods!" His haunting voice cornered Alice to a door behind walls, the final bastion within her own mind. How many times has she tried tosh out against him? How many times has she tried to use the blood against her captives? How many times has she failed? When did she stop fighting back? Why did she stop? Why did she begin to wait eagerly for the experiments, before that feeling too died and all that was left was numbness? Why did she stop feeling anything? Yet it was futile with each attempt. They were nightmares that lost their meaning, questions that held no significance once their circumstances ended. Her blood boiled, her flesh carved and her bones broken. Each sh of light in her mind showed a different torture, a different vial of blood that tore away at her body. Behind the scientist, Alice could see her father, his cold eyes watching her torture without any emotion. Was her life a lie? She reached out with her hands, but they weren''t hers. Her flesh bulged under the skin, strange limbs exploded out of the arms and insectoid legs crawled across the bones. Alice felt herself splitting into a myriad different beasts, a moment when her resistances disappeared and the Abyss tore her to pieces. The sudden fear she felt towards such a fate snapped her out of the nightmare. With wide, dazed eyes, Alice looked around frantically. Once Alice noticed she was back in the cage, a relieved, grateful sigh escaped out her lips. However, the cold sweat coating her back remained a sombre reminder of the nightmare. Trying her best to sit up, she was surprised by theck of pain. Her body had been bandaged up and there were several patches of dried blood on the fabric. Feeling no pain from her thigh, she peeked through the bandages and saw that her flesh had beenpletely healed back up. Alice realized she must''ve been fed the vial of blood given by her sponsor upon passing out. Looking down at her dress, she was happy that it was still holding together despite the beating it suffered. The torn portions were covered by bandages hiding her body. Looking at the damage, Alice estimated that it could hold on for another fight or two so long as she limits the damage taken by her body. With furrowed brows, she felt the ufortable metal choker around her neck, secured tightly with no signs of being removed. "You''re up. It seems like we both survived today." A voice rang out as Alice nced over, seeing Lilia grinning happily in the cage next to her. There were visible blood stains around her clothes, but it seemed as though she had also gotten a vial of blood. "How long I... sleep?" She asked. Alice wasn''t sure how long she was out. If Lilia had fought her own event separately, after her at that, then it must''ve been a few hours. "Hmm¡­ I''d say about 3 or 4 hours? I finished my battle after your batch got escorted out of the arena. I''m surprised you lived though. Not that I''m saying I hope you died, but fighting those dogs isn''t easy. They''re pretty vicious b*stards." Lilia sighed out while leaning against her cage. "Luck. But why so happy? Fighting makes you happy?" "Eh? I mean. Not really. I''m just happy I get to live another day. I''d rather stay and fight for a bit if I can instead of being sold off to a bad buyer again." Lilia smiled bitterly while holding her arms tightly. Shaking her head, she looked at Alice. "It seems like both of us got sponsored. I heard a bit about that when I wasing back but it seems like they want us to stay and fight in this ce for a bit longer. Maybe to train us into betterbat ves since sponsorships are usually reserved for those that show potential. For now, just get as much rest as you can while they''re filtering through the other ves. I''m hoping we get a full day''s break." Lilia said while stretching her body. Making herselffortable in her cage, Lilia nced over. "If we survived the first day the other days shouldn''t be too hard." Hearing her optimism, Alice couldn''t help but nod her head. She was still a little confused as to why she was sounding so happy and being nice to her since there was nothing free in this world. Her own family taught her that. But for the time being, it was a nicepany to have. ''It''s better than going insane by myself I suppose.'' Alice thought to herself while hugging her knees. Thinking back to her visions earlier, she could feel an all-consuming rage flooding her heart. She had wondered many times during her imprisonment about how she should feel towards her family. If they had a chance to sit down and talk, if everything was a misunderstanding. If her family asked for her forgiveness, could she give it? "Never." Alice muttered coldly as pure killing intent flooded from her gaze. She would never forgive them for the harm they caused onto her. The pain she felt when her father watched on coldly as his 10 year old daughter was torn apart by des. They don''t deserve her pity, they only deserve her hatred. Chapter 9: Breakfast? "Never what?" Lilia''s voice rang out as she noticed Alice''s serious expression. While her face was always serious without much emotion, her eyes betrayed a lot of what she thought inside. Lilia felt chills just looking at her. For a girl like Alice, even for the short time they''ve known each other, Lilia didn''t think she had such hostility within her. Everyone has their own story, especially if they ended up in a ce like the ve coliseum, but Lilia couldn''t deny that she was curious about Alice. "Oh. Sorry, just thinking¡­ about what happened before here." Alice shook her head as she paused for a bit, half-way through her sentence. Just calling those people family made her want to throw up in revulsion. "Hmm, I''m assuming from your reaction, you don''t want to think about them anymore." Lilia chuckled as Alice nodded in response. "What about you? Did you hate¡­ people before here too?" Hearing this, Lilia paused. shes of her past flickered in her mind. The sight of a boy''s body, the visions of a girl younger than her, both sharing her features. The smell of iron drifting through the air as she was covered head to toe in blood overtook her senses for a moment. Clenching her arms tightly, Lilia forced a smile and nodded. "Yes, I hated it. I hated it a lot. It''s why I''m here after all. But enough about our past. What do you think they''ll have us fight tomorrow?" Lilia asked, changing the subject. She''d rather not take the time to dwell on her past if she can help it. "Maybe something weaker than Grave Robber. But stronger than the dog." Alice guessed. However, if the enemy was indeed something stronger than the Hound she killed earlier, things were going to be much harder than before. Alice had never trained her body. She didn''t ever get to learn anybat techniques to help her survive such a situation either. The only reason she won yesterday was due to drinking the beast''s blood along with her perception seeing an increase. If the Hound was a little smarter or if Alice made a single fatal mistake, she would be a corpse in the arena right now. "Maybe. But I''m guessing we might have to eventually fight other ves." Lilia replied in a low voice while eyeing the rest of the captives. "I don''t know the exact details of what goes on in this ce but I have heard of ves being pitted against one another on a whim. I know you showed no reaction to the body of the guy that died to the Lily AB, but have you ever killed anyone?" Lilia asked, her voice sounding serious. Hearing this, Alice paused. Did she ever kill anyone? Never. Did she think about it? Plenty of times. But thinking and acting are two very different things. The feeling of extinguishing a life with your own hands, seeing the soul fade from their eyes as it loses its light amidst fear and desperation ¡ª Alice doesn''t think she could do it. Not unless it was towards her old family. If she could help it, she would rather not fight. Yet for the sake of survival, she must revel in such acts to live. Thinking to herself for a long moment, she eventually opened her mouth. "Never killed. But if killing means I live, I will do it." Seeing Alice''s determination, Lilia couldn''t help but feel pity for the girl. If she weren''t in a horrible situation herself, Lilia would have wanted to protect Alice, if possible. It would be an act of repentance for her sins in the past. "Well, it''s very unlikely, so you should be fine. As long as you can kill Abyss Beasts, that''s all that matters. Just get some sleep for now. I had asked earlier about our schedule. It seems like once we wake up in the morning, we''ll be given breakfast then sent off to do somebour before fighting again at night." Lilia waved her hand dismissively as sheid on her back and closed her eye. Seeing this, Alice nodded and did the same. If they were going to be doing work early in the morning, it would be a good chance for her to build up some physical strength. She was simply too weak right now. She hoped she wouldn''t get the strange vision again since she needed a good night''s rest. That night, Alice dreamed of a time before her 10 years of pain. A time where things seemed too good to be real. She felt as though there was something she was forgetting. Something which served as the key to everything that happened. Yet her memories were fractured. All she could remember were the sights of her birthday banquet. The moment where things went wrong. Splintered visions of blood and death, moments where strange monstrous limbs would rupture from her own body. Cries and screams, panicked calls of her name. A blurred vision of a woman jumping in front of her. But she did not stop. She was an unstoppable killing machine and her thirst for blood could not be satiated. Snapping her eyes open, Alice shot up in cold sweat as her memories of the strange dream blurred and faded. But the feelings were all real. Looking down at her hands, shes of blood flickered through Alice''s vision. She clutched her head from the pain. "Alice? Alice! Can you hear me?" Hearing Lilia calling her name, Alice looked over, finding the girl looking at her cage with worry on her face. "Can hear. Sorry¡­ bad dreams." Alice sighed as the pain faded away. "If you''re having bad dreams about it then I guess it must be pretty fresh in your mind then." "No, 10 years old." Alice shook her head as she should''ve stopped having nightmares about that event by now, yet something spurred it to re-enter her dreams. ''Am I missing something from that day?'' She wondered to herself. Before their conversation could continue, a metal bowl was mmed in front of them with scratches and dents visible on the surface. A thick, viscous fluid was pped into the bowl with a loud st as some of the liquid managed to get Alice in the face. Feeling the texture and smelling the odour from the fluid, Alice felt disgust rising up from the pits of her heart. The sludge itself was creamy in colour with hints of green and purple. Strange chunks of what she imagined to be vegetables and other ingredients sunk into the fluid, unable to keep themselves buoyant. "I''m guessing you never ate something like this, ahahaha! It''s pretty much the usual food for ves in these parts. Disgusting yet nutritious and very easy to make." Liliaughed. "This¡­ Common?" Alice asked while prodding the breakfast with her finger. The fact that her finger did not sink into the fluid nor did any of it stick to her finger caused Alice to do a double take. "Yep. It''s a blended mesh of vegetables, wheat and some other leftovers they have lying around. Gives you what you need for the day and pretty damn hard for your body to chew through all of it, so it''llst the whole day." Lilia shrugged while picking up the bowl. Even though Lilia said it wasmon and that she''d seen it plenty of times before, it still didn''t detract from the innate disgust Alice felt towards the sludge. "Here''s a tip. Don''t smell it, don''t take a moment to savour how it tastes, and don''t pause to chew it either. It''s already blended and the chunks are small enough to just be swallowed without issue. The moment you pause and think about how it tastes you''ll regret it. Here, let me show you a demonstration." Lilia exined as she gestured for Alice to look towards her direction. Pinching her nose, she grabbed the bowl and opened her mouth wide. Drinking the sludge in one motion without taking the time to chew, she swallowed it all in one go before mming her bowl down. Gritting her teeth, she forced a brave smile towards Alice while tears threatened to fall from her eyes. Lilia punched herself in the chest and gave a wide, teary smile. To Alice, it looked like she almost threw up. "Whatever you do, don''t throw it up. If you do, you''ll be forced to clean it. Trust me, you don''t want that to happen." Lilia warned repeatedly as Alice furrowed her brows and grabbed the bowl. Pinching her nose in the same manner as Lilia, Alice squeezed her eyes shut and opened her mouth. The moment her tongue came into contact with the sludge, she already wanted to throw it away. It was stone cold to the touch, sending shivers through her entire body. But since the sludge seemed to be the only meal they would have today, Alice could not afford to waste it no matter how much she hated it. With tears in her eyes, Alice forced herself to swallow the sludge as the cold thick mishmash of disgusting ingredients flowed down her throat before entering her stomach. She could feel where the food went due to the difference in temperature. She tried her best not to gag or retch. The moment any of that happened, Alice didn''t think she could hold herself back from throwing up. "You can do it Alice! Just a bit left!" Lilia cheered, praying hard that Alice could get used to the food for the time they were in the colosseum. Gritting her teeth, Alice swallowed thest mouthful and mmed her bowl down before looking towards Lilia. While her face was stone cold like before, the pain in her eyes and the slight redness to her cheeks from holding everything in betrayed her inner thoughts and her anguish from having to eat this type of food. Giving Alice a thumbs up, Lilia had to admit that the fact that she didn''t throw up on her first meal was impressive already. Chapter 10: Under The Coliseum With breakfast over, the two had a few short moments to themselves before needing to work. ording to Lilia, there were three types ofbour ves were forced to do in these parts. First wasbour on the ships that entered the ughter Docks. ves would be responsible for carrying parts of the cargo to their superiors. That was usually left to thebat ves either belonging to an owner or those who haven''t been sold yet. They were, after all, ves who had their physique enhanced by sigils or blood. Since neither Alice nor Lilia belonged to this group of ves, they weren''t going to help out on the docks. The second type ofbour was performed by the carrier ves. Hunters will often temporarily hire these ves to help them, whether that be carrying their luggage or helping them hunt. Until they earn enough to buy a ve outright, they would usually borrow them. Naturally, if a ve dies out in the field, the Hunter would have to pay a penalty. Butpared to losing one''s life in the wild, letting a ve die in the Hunter''s ce was a much easier option. Thus, the casualty rate of ves was high. "Both of us have been sponsored, so we won''t be getting this type of job either. After all, if a ve one of the VIPs has their eyes on died, it''ll bring bad rep for the hosts of this ce. Hence why it''s most likely we''ll get the third type ofbour. I suppose we can call it the easiest type." Lilia exined while scratching her cheek. "We just have to help out whereever we can. It can be deep in the mining shafts or helping out at an apothecary. Depending on what''s avable that day, it could be easier or harder." Lilia shrugged. "You know lots." Alice couldn''t help but appreciate Lilia''s knowledge. "Ahaha, well it''s nothing. I was a ve before arriving in this ce so I''ve already been through a bunch of these things. I''m not sure how things work in this city since it''s a new ce but it shouldn''t be too different." "Even so. Still knowledge." Alice reaffirmed as Lilia nodded. "It is indeed still knowledge." Lilia puffed her chest out. Looking at Alice''s honest eyes and slight hints of curiosity, Lilia couldn''t help but be reminded of her own sister. Despite Alice''s appearance, she was more akin to a young teen with her mindset. Lilia didn''t know what caused such a disparity between her actions and appearance but it was most likely something along the lines of confinement. One that didn''t allow her to interact with others. Either way, Lilia wanted to make life a little easier for Alice if she could. They didn''t have to wait long. A man dressed in an all ck outfit with a silver chest piece, shoulder guards, and wrist guards approached their cage. Grabbing a chain, he secured it against their cors and opened the door of both cages. Without saying anything, he tugged the chain and turned around, dragging the two against their will. Alice noticed that Lilia was being oddly quiet, her usually cheerful disposition nowhere to be seen as she stared at the ground. ''They''ll probably treat us worse if they see us being happy.'' Alice mused. It was the only exnation for Lilia''s actions she could think of. With the two of them following the man without saying a single word, they were led through the facilities of the Coliseum. As they walked through the ce, Alice spotted the main arena through the gaps of the wooden walls. Most of the obstacles they had ced there during the events couldn''t be seen anymore. Furthermore, the area had been repurposed into a marketce. Whether that was the main market for citizens or the ck market where underground trade urred, Alice wasn''t sure. ncing away from the arena, Alice saw waves of workers moving back and forth. cksmiths in the red hue of the smithy hammered away at metal cors while Abyssal Beasts were chained up in cages, awaiting harnesses. Apothecaries extracted the blood of Abyss Beasts while keeping them alive,rge Bruisers with iron cages over their heads guarded the entrance to each facility, and mysterious cloaked figures wandered around the ce, making their way toward the ve quarters. ''They''re probably here to buy ves without letting people know their identity.'' Alice thought to herself. While she wasn''t sure about the overall ve system and the public opinion on it, Alice could still imagine that the cloaked figures probably didn''t want to parade around town letting everyone know they bought a ve. But those were just her own thoughts. Once they were opposite the ve quarters on the other side of the building, the two were led into an elevator that sent them underground. The elevator was running on the same red liquid Alice had seen on the conveyor belts that sent the cages towards the arena during her first day here. If she remembered correctly, all of this was due to ''Abyss Engineering'', running on blood. Descending into the depths of the coliseum, Alice could feel the temperature drop as water droplets formed on the rock walls surrounding the elevator. The echo of machinery from above slowly faded out into the distance with the sound of shifting gears ringing ever louder in the silence. Neither Alice nor Lilia made a single peep. The person leading them away was silent as well. They assumed he would exin their job to them once they get to the bottom. ''How far are we even going¡­'' Alice thought to herself with a frown as the lights around the elevator flickered to life, illuminating the three of them in an orange hue. Strangely, the rocks surrounding them lit up with a fluorescent green colour in the presence of light. Turning to Lilia to see if she knew what was going on, the curious light in the older girl''s eyes told Alice everything she needed to know. Lilia didn''t know where they were. Once they reached the bottom, the man tugged their chains once more. He didn''t even let the two admire their surroundings. The girls didn''t imagine a ce like this even existed. There was a single river flowing through the cave, reflecting the soft rays of light emitted by glowing bugs on the ceiling. Large stgmites surrounded them with the rhythmic sound of water dripping every so often from the ceiling. Above, the stctites slowly faded into a strange, translucent crystal that gathered a clear fluid which coalesced into an orb of water and sshed into the rocks below. In the distance,nterns had been set up to light up the cave. The mes inside flickered against a soft gust of wind that flowed through the cave. With each flicker, the cave would shine with the fluorescent green Alice saw on the way down. In the presence of the glowing rocks, there was a strange fluid mixed into the river that lit it up with a neon blue, turning the ordinary body of water into an ephemeral sight that flowed like graceful silk. In all her years trapped within the Zenia prison, she had never heard or imagined such a scene. How much of the world had she missed? How many sights like this exist in the world? Clutching her chest, she could feel a fire burning within. A desire to see more of this sight. She wanted to witness the beauty of the world she lived in. Seeing Alice''s enraptured gaze, Lilia couldn''t help but chuckle. She found it rather cute how Alice was so enamoured by such a sight. Though she wasn''t any better since this was the first time she had seen something like this as well. With the two of them standing still, the man frowned and gave the chain a hard tug, causing Alice to fall forward while Lilia barely managed to keep herself on her feet. "Stop dawdling." He uttered coldly. There was a clear sign of disdain in his eyes as though he was questioning why he had to be the one to show them where to go. "Sorry." Lilia apologised while helping Alice up. "Lets keep up with him. The more we annoy him the worse it''ll get for us." She whispered to Alice while dusting her skirt. Nodding her head in agreement, Alice gave the cavern onest nce before jogging behind the man. Leading the two through the cavern, they soon arrived at a man made entrance surrounded bynterns that illuminated the surroundings. The entrance was in the form of arge set of stone doors that had the visage of a multi-limbed beast in a low crouching position. Strange glyphs and patterns surrounded the beast with a single red jewel serving as the eye of the beast. Pushing the door open without any issues, he revealed a prison of sorts, hiding a myriad of Abyss Beasts within the cells, chained against walls. Their bodies were malnourished and theycked energy, a clear sign of having their blood repeatedly extracted for their effects. Alice could even spot arge cluster of Vampire Lilies attached to one of the walls with several lilies already wilting in the darkness. However this wasn''t their stop. Their destination was much further into the prison. Chapter 11: Titan Beneath The Surface The sound of their footsteps filled the silence within the rooms as all of the Abyss Beasts were currently resting. Those that were awake dare not make a single sound less the man in the armour turned his attention towards them. Seeing the fear within their eyes and the way they shrunk into a corner, Alice was reminded of herself. How she wanted to be ignored so that she could be spared from the experiments. ncing around the prison, Alice could say that her room within the Zenia household was much better than what they got. Bloodied and rusted chains that hung off the ceiling, constant echos of water drops filling their mind, the humidity of the rooms and the stench given off by other beasts. Both the smell of rotting flesh and mould forming on wilted and dried up nts mixed into a horrendous blend that invaded the nose. Reaching the end of the prison, there was another elevator that greeted them as the man opened his mouth. "This is thest elevator, get in. Once you''re at the bottom, someone else will take over. You''ll be given a task and I''ll collect you once it''s time for you to fight in 2 days." The man exined coldly before tugging their chains and pushing the two of them into the elevator. Without waiting for a response, he watched as the two descended into the darkness before turning around. Now that they were left alone, both Alice and Lilia sighed in relief. "Urg what a rude b*stard. I didn''t want to say anything the entire time since I know what kind of person he is. The more we talk during that moment the more he''ll just hit us." Liliained while stretching her body. Standing up, she helped Alice to her feet. "From the sounds of things, we''ll be staying at wherever we''re going for the next to days then we have to fight again. Do you think he''s sending us to the mines?" Lilia asked while trying to get a peek of what was below them, but she couldn''t see anything. "Don''t know¡­ But unlikely. This ce for beasts." Alice shook her head. From the rooms above, she could tell that this entire ce was for keeping Beasts. There were other levels to the prison but the man had taken them straight to the elevator down. Meaning their destination was not within the usual prison cells. As they continued to descend, their questions were answered. "Say Alice¡­ You don''t suppose our job has something to do with that thing now do you?" Lilia asked hesitantly. "Don''t know. But hope not." Alice shook her head. She''s heard of Abyss Beasts, she''s experienced their blood and she remembers their information. Yet despite all of this, she had never imagined or heard of a beast of this magnitude. Large chains with each segment bigger than the cages the two were in hung from the walls and ceiling towards a pit of crimson within the depths of this cavity deep below the surface. Charred skeletal ting served asnd to walk on with what seems to be skin ripped and burned into the surface. Tworge dorsal fins cleaved the chasm in half asrge metal spikes were stapled through the flesh and bones of this behemoth. Jagged bone dyed with the brightest red erupted from the back of the head, spine and elbows, threatening to destroy anything that stood in its way. The ting around the arms and body seemed to mimic muscle anatomy as cracks could be observed across the surface, yet there were signs that such armour could be abandoned at will. Red flesh peaked through the gaps and twitched with life. Its skull was segmented into four parts that was split with a cross, each covering a quarter of its monstrous head. Three gaps in the bone armour revealed dormant eyes that threatened to awaken at a moments notice while waves upon waves of teeth are sheathed behind the ting. It had fourrge arms pierced and chained tightly against the walls while two smaller arms could be seen hugging its chest. Each breath it took caused the tes around its body to shake while a pulse of orange spread across the gaps. Smoke formed from its body and shot out of the gaps across the ting while the unstable ground beneath the titan would quiver at each breath. A monster of this size dwarfed the arena and Alice couldn''t imagine the devastation such a beast could bring. Yet there was another thought surfacing in her mind. What if she drank its blood? The beast was still alive that was certain. What power could she harvest from such a beast? Just thinking of the possibilities caused Alice''s mouth to water. ''Could it be enough to go against the Zenia family?'' She wondered to herself but rejected the notion. While she was imprisoned for ten long years, she knew that her family was famed for its research and strength to protect itself. With her new knowledge regarding Sigils and how they seemed to be more permanent forms of Abyss Blood power without side effects, there was no doubt that her family must own Sigil warriors of their own. ''I don''t know what kind of power this monster''s blood would give me but if I get a chance, I should harvest some into a container. It mighte in handy when I fight again in the arena.'' Alice thought to herself. However, it couldn''t be any random container since the purity of the blood will drop as time passes. Ideally it should be a ss vial designed to hold Abyss Blood with a cap. But such a handy thing was too hard for Alice to get her hands on right now so any sealed container would do. ''Though I doubt they''ll let me carry a container of blood with me no matter how much I try.'' She sighed inwardly before turning her attention towards the buildings that surround the titan. Tall towers could be seen at each mass of stone protruding from the pit of crimson. Interconnecting bridges stretched across the towers at different levels, creating abyrinth of paths with ves walking in single file lines. Protruding tforms could be seen with bipedal Abyss Beasts crouching on the edges with wings folded on their back. Iron armour decorated their bodies and guards could be seen saddled on the backs of such beasts. Large bodies ofva pooled out from gaps within the towers, formingvafalls that poured into the depths without signs of stopping and the heat rising from below warped the light around the buildings. The sound of metal shing against one another melded into loud rhythmic symphonies that weed Alice and Lilia into the pits of hell while the screeches of Abyss Beasts sounded their arrival. Looking at one another, the two couldn''t help but swallow their saliva in nervousness. "At least it''s only two days right?" Lilia forced a smile in an attempt to lift the mood. Nodding her head, Alice was now grateful that it was only two days. While the allure of powerful blood was nice, she didn''t want to be anywhere near the titan when it might wake up! Upon arriving at the bottom, the two could see an old man waiting with a list in his hands. He wore a pair of sses,rge white beard, bald with several scars showing from his eye to the back of his head. His outfit consisted of a single cloak with a hood, a sleeveless shirt, some basic pants and a pair of brown boots. Strapped to his waist was several pouches and leather whip. "Hmm let''s see¡­ Only two for area 4." He muttered before eyeing both Alice and Lilia up and down. "Can you two even lift the bloody thing? Whatever. I''m not one to distribute what the ves do here. You two! Follow me. Your job for two days is to harvest some tes from the big b*stards back and carry it to the other ves." He sighed deeply while gesturing for both Alice and Lilia to follow him. Bringing his finger to his mouth, he whistled loudly as soft rumbles could be heard nearby. What they thought was arge boulder was in fact an Abyss Beast that stood up on all fours. The rock acted as a shell on its back as soft flesh could be seen through the gaps now that it was standing up. A small round head poked out of the body and nced towards the man as though awaiting orders. Deep cuts could be seen carved into its forehead, allowing a metal helmet to be stabbed into its skull, permanently embedding itself as the flesh bulged out and grew around the helmet. Grabbing onto one of the rocks on its shell, the man hoisted himself onto the back and nced towards Alice and Lilia. "Climb on however you want. If you fall you''re getting dragged across the floor." He warned while grabbing their chains and cuffing it against a hoop that was pierced through one of the rocks. Hearing this, the two quickly grabbed on and found some footholds to keep themselves attached to the beast. Without waiting to see if the two were ready, the man ordered the beast to move towards their next destination. Chapter 12: Harvesting Material As the beast carried them to their next destination, each of its footsteps caused the ground to shake from its weight. Holding tightly onto the side of the beast, Alice couldn''t help but notice something on the skin of the ves that carried different parts of the titan. Each of them had a brand that was seared into their skin. Within the brand, a dark purple glow was present at all times, stretching out like roots. "It''s the ve brand. They''re usually one time uses to make the ve obedient but that strips them of their free will. Makes it so that they can only follow orders and can''t do things on their own." Lilia whispered over. "It does cause the body to deteriorate though so it''s more ast resort." Hearing this, Alice couldn''t help but feel shock and be grateful that the Zenia family never resorted to such a method. ''Though I suppose they didn''t brand me because they wanted to get as much out of me as they could.'' Alice thought to herself. "It''s ast resort because the brand is created by mixing two types of A.B. The first is belongs to a hive mind type beast while the second is a parasitic type. It eats away at the host while making sure they''re obedient since it injects a venom that affects the mind. Once it finishes eating away at the host, the host dies and the ve is lost." Lilia exined while thinking back to the time before she turned up at this ce. "My old owner exined this to scare me and my sister and it worked to an extent." Seeing the forced smile on Lilia''s face, Alice felt pity for the girl since she had her own story. One that caused her grief. Turning her attention back to the ves, Alice could see that they carried a variety of parts freshly extracted from the body of the titan. From skeletal ting to lumps of flesh, blood would drip against their skin, burning the surface as their own flesh would bubble and boil. Yet all of the ves did not react and continued to work as if nothing was wrong. She could see just how oppressive this brand was with this demonstration. Their journey was short since the beast they were holding onto tookrge steps at a time, covering a surprising amount of distance. The ce they arrived was directly next to the beast and had arge bridge created from metal hammered into the shell of the titan. From affair, the shell looked smooth but now that they were within touching distance, Alice could see countless jaggedyers ovepping each other on the surface. It created a decent foothold for them to stand on while more metal spikes can chains were inserted into the shell, creating a pathway onto the titan''s back. "Wait here. I''m going to get some equipment." The man ordered as he jumped off the back of the beast and made his way to a nearby building situated next to the bridge. Jumping off the back of the beast as well, the two of them watched as it dug a hole nearly and sat down. Sitting there unmoving, the beast became no different to a pile of rocks. Coming out with a pair of pickaxes and boots, he threw them towards the two girls. "Your job will be to harvest bone tes from the back of this beast. There''s a supervisor above and he''ll assign you an area. You''re responsible for yourself if you fall you fall. We''re not going to break our backs saving some ves. Now hurry up and get up there so I can take my break." The manined. Nodding their heads, the two quickly put on the boots and made their way up the bridge. The steps were carved out of metal with the edges being worn down from repeated use. Some of the steps werepletely unusable as Lilia had to help Alice to avoid her stumbling down. Seeing that both of them were making their way up, the man went back into the building. "Phew¡­ Goodness, I didn''t think a monster like this would exist." Lilia sighed out in relief seeing that they were no longer being monitored by that man. Peering over the edge of the bridge, she held on tight against the chains to stop herself from falling. At first, she thought the monster was being chained from below but after peering over the edge, she saw the truth. It was missing its lower half and being suspended by metal chains and stakes. Blood continuously dripped down to the crimson depths while strands of organs hung loose. "Ignoring the fact that a monster like this even exists, what the hell do you think can even harm it?" Lilia asked as she continued up the steps. "No clue. Maybe someone with lots of Sigils." Alice replied while pulling herself up with the held of the chains. She had to admit that wearing boots felt weird as she had spent most of her life without shoes. Since she was trapped in the room with nothing that could harm her, they saw no reason to give her footwear. Now that she was wearing a set of boots, it felt ufortable and hard to walk in. Hence her trouble climbing up the steps. Seeing Alice''s eyebrows furrowing at the sight of steps, Lilia couldn''t help butugh. While they haven''t known each other for long, Lilia enjoyed Alice''spany. She understood that Alice rarely showed emotion on her face even if she''s happy. Most of her emotions would be seen in Alice''s eyes with the exception of frustration and annoyance. "Struggling with the steps?" Lilia asked while reaching out to help Alice. "No, just shoes annoying." Aliceined. Grabbing onto Lilia''s hand, she skipped a few steps as the two of them continued to the top of the titan. As they approached the top, they could hear the sounds of pickaxes shing against the hard skeletal ting growing louder with each step followed by frustrated shouts of the supervisor. "Are you actually trying to get the te or are you trying to destroy it!? Cut around the damn thing you useless sack of sh*t! Stop hitting the centre!" The supervisor shouted out in anger. He was a short and stout old man with long frizzled grey hair. Soot covered parts of his face along with arge unkempt beard. He wore a sleeveless shirt with a leather chest piece adorned with silver buckles. A pair of thick boots stomped against the ground as Alice could see the vein on his forehead bulging from his anger. "The f*ck? Two newbies? Perfect! YOU TWO! Get over there and take his ce! The dumb motherf*cker can''t even harvest tes properly! And you! Get your daft ass over there and harvest the flesh instead!" The supervisor shouted out as he pointed at Alice and Lilia before gesturing towards the set of skeletal tes that was being harvested by one of the ves. Looking at one another, the two nodded their heads and made their way over since it was better than getting shouted at by the supervisor. Taking the spot of the other ve, Alice nced around her and observed how the other ves hacked away at the tes. They would space out their targets, creating a line of evenly spaced out holes. Once that was done, they jammed the sharp end of the pickaxe into the centre hole and through the use of leverage, create a split that stretched across the entire te, connecting the holes to one another. All of the ves hacked at the same pace, creating a rhythmic beat to help them work through the hours. It was a way for them to use muscle memory in order to make work easier. Taking a deep breath, Alice grabbed the handle of the pickaxe and tried her best to keep up with the beat. Bringing her arms back, she pushed strength through her body and took a wide stance before letting out a hard swing against the ting. *CLANG!!!! A harsh sound resounded through the area as the vibration travelled up the pickaxe and into Alice''s arm, forcing her to drop the equipment. "What the hell are you doing! Are you struggling with just swinging a damn pickaxe?! Pick it up and do it properly!" The supervisor shouted out as the harsh sound had disrupted the rhythm. Picking up the pickaxe, Alice furrowed her brows and aimed again. "Don''t use your full strength. Just use enough to chip away at the te. Aim for the same spot so a hole can be made." The ve next to her whispered over quietly while keeping his gaze focused on his own task. Hearing this, Alice nodded her head while Lilia whispered a quiet thank you to the man. With new advice, they were able to make more progress without disrupting the rhythm. Naturally, Alice and Lilia were still struggling but they were able to hold on. The vibrations that coursed through the pickaxe left Alice''s hands numb, yet this was nothing she couldn''t handle. Chapter 13: Someone To Protect As she continued to hack away at the bone ting with the pickaxe, Alice soon got into a rhythm as she was able to keep up with the other ves to a certain extent. Naturally, with her physical powers, her work speed was much slower but she made up with technique. Thanks to the advice of the ve next to her, she was able to get more hints from observing the others. How they prepared their body for the swing, the anticipation of each impact and the recovery. How they used the rebound from the pickaxe to prepare their next swing so that they didn''t need to fight against the force. It was a strange moment simr to what had happened during her fight against the hounds. The world seemed to slow and she understood that it was not adrenaline but rather a strange condition with her body. The moment her focus exceeds a certain threshold, the world seemed slow down around her. Her eyesight improves drastically and her mind seemed toprehend the actions with greater efficiency. But the duration was brief. What felt like a minute or so was in fact only a few seconds for Alice. ''Could it be because of this eye?'' Alice thought to herself as strange things keep happening to her body after the man nted this eye in her. There was simply too many mysteries that she had no way to solve as of this moment. Her future was still uncertain with her current identity as a ve. While her stamina could not keep up with the work, Alice''s will did not falter and she continued to push on. She viewed this as a chance for her to build her stamina as it was abysmally poor at this moment. She could barely handle a fight with a dog and had to rely on a boost of power given by its blood. If she couldn''t drink any blood, she would''ve died within that arena. Just this fact alone was enough motivation for her to push through the exhausting task presented to her. ''If a task like this is enough to cause me to falter, I can forget about getting revenge!'' Hours passed as sweat soaked Alice''s clothes. Since she didn''t change her bandages, they were still soaked in her blood. Spots of red started to bleed through to her dress but she didn''t care. As long as the clothes were enough to cover her and didn''t interfere withbat, she was content. There was no benefits to dressing up cutely like she did ten years ago. Alice had immersed herself in the acts of hacking away at the tes to the point she didn''t even notice how much time had passed. Lilia needed to take regr breaks from theck of stamina. Yet every time she turned her gaze towards Alice, she could see Alice being 100% focused with her task to the point she practically ignored her own fatigue. Seeing this, it was hard for Lilia to sit still as she pushed herself past her limits. "Alright! All of you can stop! They are going to collect everything that you''ve harvested. Once they''re done you''ll go back to work!" The supervisor shouted out as everyone dropped their pickaxes and copsed on the floor. Hearing that she could stop, Alice felt a wave of fatigue hit her like a wall of force, knocking her against her floor. Her lungs burned and her heart pounded. The world seemed to be spinning yet she had never felt more alive. The light within her eyes burned with vitality. This pain, this fatigue, this satisfaction from moving her body. It was all proof that she was alive. Proof that she was no longer just waiting for the next experiment. "Ha¡­ I''ve¡­ Never seen anyone¡­ so happy after such¡­ a workout." Lilia gasped as sheid on her back. "I''m alive." Alice replied simply as her throat burned with the desire for water. "Of course you are¡­ You''re breathing are you not?" Lilia joked. Before Alice could reply, the sound of a metal te being hit cut her thoughts off. ncing towards the source of the noise, they could see a group of ves carrying arge barrel of water towards the centre of the area. "Here''s some water. Move out of the way so that the others can collect the materials!" The supervisor shouted as the ves scrambled to the barrel for a desperate drink of water. Helping Alice to her feet, Lilia grabbed both of the pickaxes and moved with the other ves. With the second group of workersing from the other side of the titan, Alice could see that they were simr to the group of ves she saw on the way here. The ones branded by the ve brand and carried flesh that burned their hands. As Alice was observing the new group of ves while also queuing up for a drink herself, Lilia spent the time seeing if anyone was kind enough to share some information with her. Information regarding where they are and some knowledge on what''s going to happen next. Who their sponsors might be and so on. She wanted to gather as much information as she could and share what she knows with Alice. It was strange but Lilia saw her little sister in Alice. Someone who was na?ve yet curious about the world. Someone she wanted to protect. Unfortunately for her, there wasn''t much to be gained from the ves. After all, they were in the same situation. Most of them were rather new to this ce as well as they hade a few days before Alice and Lilia. Naturally, she couldn''t count on the supervisor to be kind enough to give her any information. But despite all of this, she managed to get some decent information about where they are and how the Colosseum functioned within the ughter Docks. Making her way back to Alice, the two of them got a drink and sat down on the ground while watching the other ves carry away the bone tes. "Now then, I managed to get some good news for us." Lilia grinned as Alice listened intently. "There wasn''t much I could gather but I can make a few educated guesses here and there. With the ughter docks being arge trade port within the Abyss, especially when ite to ve trades, they allowed this ce to be legal. Naturally the governor of the docks gain money from this too. Most of the VIP''s are merchants or nobles that are just visiting." "That''s¡­ Good news?" Alice raised an eyebrow, unsure if this could be ssified as good news or not. "No that''s not the good news. The good news is regarding the next round ofbat. We''ll be allowed to choose two items to assist us when we fight. One being our weapon, the other being a vial of blood. It can be healing A.B or an offensive one its up to you. But apparently the selection is quiet vast." Lilia shook her head as Alice was silent. "But wouldn''t that mean our next fight will be much harder if we need the blood?" "Honestly it''s a coin flip. The beasts we fight next round will depend on who''s the main attraction. If they are weak, the beasts we fight will be stronger. If the main attraction is strong, our opponents will be weaker. Its so that the fight is more entertaining for the guests. I''m hoping that the main attraction for when we fight is someone actuallypetent." Lilia shrugged. Nodding her head in agreement, Alice had the same thought. However, she was more curious about what kind of blood they could choose. And more importantly, if she could sneak an empty vial for herself. If she could use it to collect the blood of the titan they were standing on, it''ll be a good lifeline for her survival. The only issue with this is that she didn''t know the side effects of consuming the blood of such a behemoth. If the side effect was something major, she might as well forget about escaping from this ce. ''Maybe I could try obtain a drop of the beast''s bloodter in the night when everyone is sleeping. But with guards on the backs of those flying beasts, it''ll be hard to go unnoticed. And there''s no guarantee that she coulde back to this ce after her fight. Shaking her head, Alice couldn''t see a way for her to obtain any of this blood nor a way to find out its side effects. The risks were simply too big for her to take the gamble. ''With my skill level, a defensive Abyss Blood is pretty much asking to get killed. I need something that can end the fight quickly. The longer the fight drags on, the worse it bes for me.'' Alice thought to herself with a sigh. Her fight against the Hound made it clear to her that she couldn''t fight a prolonged battle. She had to aim for ending the fight as quick as possible. Chapter 14: Lilias Family Once their drink break was over, both Alice and Lilia returned to work. Even though she understood the technique, the second round of work became much harder as her muscles screamed out in pain. Every swing she took towards the te would cause her skin to split apart. However, Alice didn''t notice the blood that was slowly dripping from her hands and onto the pickaxe. It wasn''t until Lilia stopped her did Alice see what had happened. Using some of the bandages on her body, she cleaned her wound as quick as she could before the Supervisor could scream at her and got back to work. "Just take it slow for now. You don''t want to get splinters in your hands." Lilia whispered as Alice nodded her head after a short pause. ". . . Okay, I slow down." Alice whispered back. She understood that she couldn''t force her body to keep working at the same pace as she did at the start. Even if she could hold on through sheer will power, her body could not keep up. The mind was willing but the bodycked. Repeating the cycle of working, drink break and working again, Alice could barely feel her body anymore. Even raising her hand was difficult as Lilia was in the same situation especially since she took on some of Alice''s burdens. Thankfully, their work shift was over as the Supervisor instructed everyone to leave so the next batch can work without them taking up all the space. "Follow me! If any of you tries to run just remember what''s waiting above. And if you are caught, I can guarantee that you''ll be branded like those b*stards over there." The Supervisor shouted out while scratching his beard. Leading the way down the steps, he made his way into the building next to the steps. It was the same building where the previous man had given Alice and Lilia their equipment. Following the group down, Alice noticed that Lilia was clenching her fists tightly. There was a faint trail of green oozing from the side, causing Alice to frown slightly. "Bleeding. You shouldn''t take my work." Alice sighed. "Oh don''t worry about it. Even if I didn''t do the extra work, it wouldn''t matter." Lilia shook her head. "Don''t feel guilty. I''m taking your part of the work because I want to." Hearing this, Alice''s gaze fluctuated for a moment as she was unsure as to why Lilia was like this. Why was she being so nice to her? Why was she going out of way to take extra work so that she could have it easier? She didn''t know if she could trust the help that Lilia was giving her as doubts surfaced in her heart. "Oh don''t look at me like that. I''m doing it because you remind me of my younger sister ahaha. We got sold to our old owner at the same time but she couldn''t make it. I wasn''t able to do enough for her when she was around so I''m just making up for that." Lilia reassured as she could see the doubts in Alice''s eyes. "Even so¡­ Lilia is too kind." Alice sighed. "I''m not that kind. Like I said, I''m only doing it because you remind me of my sister. Now stop thinking too much." Lilia reassured while giving Alice''s head a gentle knock with her hand. Following the group to the building, Alice saw that there were several staircases leading down. On the surface, this building was rather unimpressive but that was only because it''s built into the stone tform they were on. Steel braziers could be seen lighting up the interior with an orange hue. Cells decorated each side of the hallway, each fitted with two beds each. Though calling it a ''bed'' was putting it lightly as it was simply a stone block and a thin sheet of fabric. Assigning cells to the ves in pairs, Alice and Lilia were put together in a cell one floor down. Laying on the stone bed, Alice nced towards Lilia and hesitated. ''Why do I remind her of her sister? Is that really enough for her to do so much for me?'' "You know, usually people would talk if they have a question." Lilia sighed seeing Alice stare at her so intently. "I''ve noticed that you don''t speak unless necessary. But even for me, it gets a little hard to talk to myself you know? Especially when you have questions. Sadly I didn''t learn how to mind read." Lilia joked. "Sorry, not used to talking a lot. Spent long time alone. People thate only hurt so I don''t talk to them." Alice replied as she tried her best to find the correct words. "Well that''s fine. So long as you take the time you have now to improve. I don''t know what your situation is before but at least now, you have a chance to find a good buyer." "Mnm¡­ Can you tell about your sister? Why me and her simr." Alice asked, causing Lilia to pause as memories flooded into her mind. Clutching her arms, Lilia sighed andid down on the bed and looked at the ceiling. "Sure why not. We got a few hours to sleep before going back to work. Hmm lets see¡­ I suppose I should exin my family first." Lilia smiled softly. "I don''t remember much about my mother and father since I''ve been a ve since I was young. The only people I remember clearly are my little sister and little brother. My brother was the hyperactive type, always looking for ways to spend his energy. He loved to fight and would protect me and our little sister if we ever got picked on¡­" Lilia exined remembering the fond memories with her brother. "As for my little sister, she was quiet like you. Not because of what happened in her life but naturally quiet. She didn''t like to bring attention to herself. She was a curious kid though, always loved to run around and finding new things to y with. The three of us were always sold as a batch since we were pretty cheap." She chuckled. "My brother was considered a free guard while they paid mostly for me and my sister. As for what happenedter¡­ Well my brother was sent to the arenas to fight." Upon saying this, Lilia bit her lip as she was forced to remember the sight of her brother being torn apart by beasts. "After that it was just me and my sister. You can guess what happened to her since I''m here alone now. She passed away too and now it''s just me. Since there''s a chance to make up for the time I lost with her, I took it. Though it''s just me soothing my own heart I suppose." Lilia smiled bitterly as Alice was silent. "But what about yourself? I told you about my family maybe you should tell me a little about what happened before you came here. But don''t feel pressured if you''re ufortable. Just take things at your own pace." Hearing this, Alice was silent. She felt the cor around her throat gently as she remembered her 10 years of torment. "My family locked me away alone for 10 winters. Cor kept me alive even when I wanted to die. Didn''t know why they hated me. Then strange man arrived at my prison, sent me to this ce. And that''s when you saw me in cage." Alice confessed slowly as she hid parts of the truth. Even though she somewhat trusted Lilia, having a body that was resistant to the adverse effects of Abyss Blood wasn''t something she could reveal lightly. Not when she could see that Lilia was suffering from Vampire Lily. "I see¡­ that''s why you panicked when you saw the cor on the first day¡­" Lilia muttered feeling pity for Alice. While she has been a ve for longer, she couldn''t fathom the pain of 10 years in solitude. Not only that, it was a state where she couldn''t even die if she wanted to. With the freedom of death taken from her, she had to suffer every agonising moment throughout the decade. Clenching her fist, Lilia made up her mind. "We only have a few more days to stay here. Since we''ve been sponsored, there''s a high chance we''ll be picked. We definitely need to help you recover some of the ten years that you missed." Lilia smiled. Hearing this, Alice''s eyes flickered as a warm feeling entered her heart. The thought of exploring the world after leaving this ce gave her a feeling she had never felt within her time at the prison. "I want to look for story shop. One that told story of Hunters." Her response took Lilia by surprise as she didn''t think Alice was interested in children books. But thinking back to how she said she was imprisoned for 10 years, she must''ve been quite young at the time of her capture. "Alright, a story shop it is. Honestly, I thought you would be interested in other things but this is fine." Liliaughed. "What shop do you like?" Alice asked curiously. "Hmm¡­ Probably just some clothing shops. I want to find some really cute dresses." Talking between themselves for a little longer, the two fell asleep. Chapter 15: Information On The Next Beast Waking up in after a few hours, Alice and Lilia was forced back to work as they had to work on another part of the titan. It was the same work but different location. Unfortunately for Alice, the wounds on her palms have not healed up yet as the bandages stuck to her flesh. Each swing she took with the axe would reopen the wounds causing fresh blood to soak the bandages. By the end of the second day, Alice''s bandages were nowpletely red with her cleaning her wounds using some of the drinking water left over when needed. Food was the same disgusting sludge they had the other day with the only change being the liquid being much thicker due to the heat. It stuck on the walls of her throat on its way down, causing her to feel more of its texture with each swallow. Thankfully their time within this underground prison was temporary as their next fight was scheduled for the next day. During this time, Lilia managed to get a bit more information that could be useful for the two of them. It was regarding a new import of Abyss Beasts that was recently acquired by the coliseum and she shared the news once they got back to their cell. "Some of the guards were talking about it when they were doing patrols. I didn''t hear their full conversation, but I got a gist of their description. They said it was apparently a beast that walked on all fours and had two tail looking things on their back. A bunch of bone spikes all over their body too." Lilia exined as Alice tried to match that description with any of the beasts she had heard of before. There was a few that came to mind but she needed to hear more before she could make an educated guess. "Do you know more? Maybe what the head looks like?" Alice asked as she had a few candidates in mind. "What the head looks like? Hmm no they didn''t mention anything like that. What they did mention though was what the main attraction looked like. They sounded pretty excited when talking about it too." Lilia shook her head. "Apparently the beast was donated by one of the VIP''s because they wanted to test one of thebat ves they had their eyes on. So they specifically acquired this beast from the wilds and donated it to the coliseum. They said it was an overgrown spider with des on each of its legs. The main body is covered from head to toe with something simr to metal." Lilia exined as Alice furrowed her brows. "Did they see pattern on back? If they did, bad news." Alice frowned as she hoped it wasn''t what she thought it was. "A pattern? They said there was a red pattern on the back. Something like a crescent moon with a dot." Lilia replied while recalling what she overheard. "Not good. That spider blood makes person hallucinate. They should have strong illusion power, very dangerous." "Eh? You know about this spider?" Lilia blinked her eyes in surprise. From what Alice had told her, she should''ve been in a prison for 10 years. The fact that she even knew about this Abyss Beast was very surprising. "Yes. Blood called Twilight Reflection. While spider called Twilight Hunter. Lots of illusion powers and strong paralysis poison. Blood worked as hallucinogenic drug and very addictive. One dose makes you happy but two doses give nightmare. Second dose can even make you rip own body apart." Alice exined seriously. From her own experiences, the first dosage was like heaven. It gave you the most pleasant feeling you could ever feel, one that freed you from all the worries in the world. But once you starting down from the high of the first dose, an insatiable thirst for a second dose would overwhelm you. The first dose also granted the body super human strength in order to im the second dose from whoever you set your eyes on. It was a drug she never wanted to experience ever again since she could clearly remember her maniacal screams for the blood. The way she tore away at herself, feeling stinging sensations from not drinking more. The blood itself was a trap as once you take the first sip, it was very hard to escape the cycle before you died. Each subsequent sip would only amplify your desire for more, making it harder and harder to stop yourself. Once the substance ran out, the victim wouldn''t even notice themselves peeling their own skin and flesh from the side effects before dying a painful death with a smile on their face. ''It took a few days to flush the blood out of my systems even with my resistances. They had to strap me to a chair and constantly give me healing blood.'' Alice shivered at the memory of this incident. "That''s all from its blood right? Urg¡­ I can''t imagine what the spider can do. And we have to fight in the same arena too???" Liliained while leaning against the wall. "I don''t know a lot about beast abilities. I only know need to be careful of legs. Legs inject the venom so getting hit by it is dangerous." Alice shook her head. She wished the head scientist told her more about what each monster did. But he only focused on the effects of blood and rarely talked about the abilities belonging to the beast they harvested the blood from. "Hmm, then maybe we should get a shield when they let us pick the weapons. If the spider is dangerous like you said, we want to kill our enemies as quick as possible then probably hide until the fight is over." Lilia shrugged as Alice agreed with her thoughts. "For blood, probably find healing one. Or something that can detoxify. Just in case things go wrong. Safety first." "Yep, safety first. If the two of us group quickly, we can kill one of the beasts before focusing on another." Lilia grinned as their n for tomorrow has been set. "Speaking of which, what weapon do you prefer?" Thinking about this for a moment, Alice shrugged. "Used swordst time. Felt weird." "Maybe you''re just not used to it since a sword is the most basic. Personally, I got more experience with daggers. Lets me get close and personal while controlling what I want to do." Lilia replied, mimicking the hand movements of using a dagger. "What kind of weapon do you want to master? I hate to say it but with the world we''re in, a person needs to learn how to defend themselves one way or another." Lilia shrugged. "Hmm¡­" cing her hand on her chin, Alice thought about how she wanted to fight. Naturally, she wanted to use her physique to her advantage but she needed a weapon for moments where she couldn''t drink blood. She could use a bow but she didn''t know if she had the strength needed. After all, for an arrow to pierce the armour of an Abyss Beast the tension in the bowstring couldn''t be pulled back by just anyone. Heavy weapons such as a hammer, axe, greatsword and so on were off limits for her. ''Ideally I should use finesse weapons. Something that doesn''t require strength¡­'' Alice thought to herself. She still wasn''t sure but daggers are probably a good start for her. "Daggers maybe. Something that don''t need strength." "Good choice. Though I thought you were pretty strength based no? Considering you bit the Hound on its neck and even dislocated its head." Liliaughed as she remembers the talks of both guards and ves that saw her in action. She truly couldn''t believe a frail looking girl like Alice could fight in such a vicious matter. Who in their right mind would bite back at a beast and even drink blood directly at the source? Yet Alice did just that. "That was¡­ Special. Blood gave me boost to strength. Otherwise cannot fight with strength." Alice shook her head. She knew that an amateur like herself couldn''t contest with the beasts, not without taking them by surprise. Had the Hound been prepared, the fight wouldn''t have ended in her favour. "If two of us surprise one beast, we can kill quick. Then it''ll be easier to fight against thest one. If you go with dagger, maybe I use weapon to hold beast still." Alice suggested. If she was to restrain the beast momentarily, it''ll allow Lilia tond the killing blow without issues. "That sounds good. We''ll need to try group up quickly since there''s no guarantee that we''ll be ced next to each other. I think a spear or a shield will probably be good for you if you want to restrain the beasts so I can kill it." Thinking about it, Alice would much rather having a spear than a shield. At least with the spear she has the option to try killing something herself. "I go spear then." "Sounds like a n. Rest up for tonight and let''s give it our all tomorrow." Lilia grinned while raising her fist towards Alice. Tilting her head in confusion, Alice wasn''t sure what Lilia was wanting to do. "Bump fists with me. Hmm I suppose you can say it''s like an act of agreement and an action between friends." Lilia exined. Furrowing her brows, Alice nodded her head and bumped fists with Lilia awkwardly. "Eh, good enough." Shrugging her shoulders, Liliaid down and went to sleep while Alice was thinking about what she had just said. ''Friends¡­'' It was a word she hadn''t heard in a long time as all of her connections had been cut off after she was locked away. She could feel a warm feeling spreading through her heart as sheid down and gave Lilia once more nce before going to sleep herself. Chapter 16: Choosing Abyss Blood Waking up in the morning, their routine was the same as it had been for 2 days. Wake up, eat sludge, prepare for work. Only this time they were escorted out of the underground area. They were led back to the elevator up as both of them gave the giant titan onest nce before focusing their mind on the task at hand. Neither of them talked much as they were making mental preparations. ''If it really is the Twilight Hunter in the arena, we need to be careful about getting hit by any stray attacks. If either of us is harmed by it, it''s safe to assume we''ll be taken out of the fight. I might be fine since I have my resistance and as long as I hold on, it''ll be flushed out of my system in due time. I can''t say the same for Lilia though¡­ She''s already suffering from Vampire Lily. I doubt she can survive a hit from the spider without it creating a negative reaction with the Lily.'' Alice thought to herself as she wondered what kind of blood she wanted to choose. Arriving at the top of the elevator, they could see the same armoured man that brought them here 2 days ago. Seeing their dishevelled appearance, bloodied bandages and unkempt hair, the man smirked as this was more in line with how a ve should look. What annoyed him however was the fact that there was still life in their eyes. If it wasn''t for the VIP sponsor on these two, he would''ve punched the life out of their eyes since they''re expendable goods anyways. Without saying anything, he connected a chain to their cors once more as he gave them a harsh tug and dragged them away. Almost falling over from the sudden tug, both Alice and Lilia jogged after him. Making their way through the iridescent cavern, they soon arrived at the surface and the man threw the two of them to a nearby Hunter. "Take them to get healed them prepare them for the second round. The VIP wants them in their best condition when they fight." He instructed as the Hunter nodded his head and obeyed. Unlike the armoured man, the Hunter didn''t radiate malice as he simply gestured to where they were going without tugging harshly on the chains. Going around the outer edges of the arena, he showed them to what seems to be an apothecary. Myriad of dried nts hung from the ceiling while vials, bottles and jars full of different liquids decorated the shelves. Countless drawers with harsh scribbles can be seen below the shelves as a woman would open them without looking and grab strange ingredients before cing them into a bottle. She had long brown hair andrge earrings, deep sunken eyes and dark bags under her eyes. The woman wore arge ck robe that hid her body. It was adorned with mechanical trinkets that seem to assist her with potion making as half of her face was covered by a mask with several magnifying lenses. "What do you want?" The woman asked as she noticed the Hunter with the two ves. "Two Vampire Lily Vials." "Quality?" "High since the VIP wants them at their best." The Hunter replied as the woman squinted her eyes towards Lilia. "Alright. I don''t think that girl can take any more low quality vials anyways if you want her at her best." She nodded before reaching her hand toward a drawer near her. Opening it gently, the sound of ss vials shuffling in their stands could be heard as she pulled out two vials and offered it to the girls. "Drink it now and give me the vials back." She ordered. Looking at each other, both Alice and Lilia took a vial each before opening the lid and drinking the contents. Feeling the wounds on her palms stitching together, Alice could see the faint signs of roots appearing beneath the bandages before withering away and disappearing. As for Lilia, the colours of the flower growing from her eye seem to twitch momentarily before falling silent again. Handing the vial back to the woman, they were guided away from the store. In the distance, Alice could see heavily armoured boxes being ced on the belts and sent underground. The low screeches echoing from the boxes told her that the beasts were being kept inside. Peeking through the gaps of the walls, she could see the arena already being set up with tall tforms, hanging bars and a myriad of other obstacles that will help the ves hide from the beasts. ''From how much they''re setting up, it seems like this event will be bigger than the one I was in two days ago. The one before was only a few weapons scattered around the ce and a few walls, but this is a full terrain.'' Alice mused to herself. But even for someone like her, she understood that this terrain benefitted the monster the most. As a spider, the Twilight Hunter prefers setting traps rather than up front confrontations. Arriving at arge staircase down, the Hunter turned to the two. "You won''t be in cages for this round. Pick a weapon and some blood. Once things are ready, the gate doors will open and you''ll be allowed in." The Hunter exined before removing the chain from their cors. Guiding Alice and Lilia down, they realised that they were in a waiting room of sorts with armoured hunters watching silently around the corners of the room, presumably to kill those that try to escape or rebel with the weapons. With the new additions, the other ves nced towards their direction. Their gaze focused on Alice''s strange hair and eye before losing interest. They just assumed her hair and eye was a result of Abyss Blood. "Pick any weapon from the weapon rack then go to the counter. There will be a list of Blood that you can choose from." Nodding her head, Alice walked over to the weapon rack and started to look through the options. As previously discussed with Lilia, she chose the spear and felt the weight in her hands. Moving the spear around, Alice furrowed her brows realising that it was going to be more annoying to use this than a sword. If the beasts get past the spear tip, it''ll be hard to push them off or protect herself unlike the sword. But since they were working together this time, Lilia will be able to help her cover this weakness. Plus, if they were trying to kill her, it meant that Lilia will be able to get a free attack against them. With the weapon now obtained, they walked over to the counter situated near the staircase and saw a list of blood. There was three categories to choose from, offensive, defensive and healing. Unfortunately for them, all of the blood was low quality which meant the side effects are stronger. ''The woman earlier said that Lilia shouldn''t have any more low quality healing blood so she''ll have to pick the offensive type. If we want the battle to end as soon as possible, it''s probably better to have two offensive vials ready.'' "We should both get offensive blood. That way we can keep the fight short." Lilia suggested just as Alice thought the same. Nodding her head, she nced through the options. There was a total of 4 options for the offensive type and she recognised only one of the names. The other three waspletely foreign to her. The one she was familiar with was extracted from a beast called the Frozen Sloth. It''s an offensive type blood that allowed you to coat your arms in ice and cold mist. The moment you touch your enemy, they will freeze from the inside out. Slowing their movements and making it easier to causerge internal damage with a single attack. On the list, the Frozen Sloth blood was simply noted as such: [Frozen Sloth ¨C Slow enemies through touch.] It wasn''t incorrect but it wasn''t exactly correct either. All of the listings failed to mention the side effects, so they needed to guess. [Spore Queen ¨C Infections make wounds worse.] [Copper Fang ¨C Large boost to strength, reinforces arms.] [Blood Rabbit ¨C Huge Boost to Speed and leg power.] Furrowing her brows, Alice turned to the Hunter behind the counter. "What side effect?" She asked, causing him tough. "If I tell you, there''s no fun in that. Just pick one and sit down. We''re not forcing you to drink the blood." The Hunter shrugged. "Hmm¡­ I''m thinking of grabbing Frozen Sloth or Blood Rabbit. Either of these will be quite helpful though they don''t give much in terms of offensive power." Lilia muttered softly. "Alright I''ve made up my mind. Can I have a vial of Blood Rabbit?" Lilia asked as the Hunter nodded his head. Reaching down and out of sight, he pulled out a small vial of fluorescent blue blood. "What are you going to pick?" Lilia turned to Alice who was still weighing her options. In the end, she decided to choose something she was familiar with. She didn''t know the side effects of the other blood and it could even expose her secret. With the Frozen Sloth, she knows that one dose of this blood, even low quality, will only transform your hands for a short period of time. But the permanent side effect was slowly freezing your internal organs. It''ll slowly decrease your temperature until you die. Since it was internal, they wouldn''t know if the side effects disappeared. Collecting the small vial of blood from the hunter, the two sat down on an empty bench and waited for the event to begin. Chapter 17: Round Two Hearing the mouring of guests entering the arena, Alice nced past the gates and watched the influx of people slowly filling the arena seats. Now that she wasn''t dropped into the arena immediately, she took the time to observe the VIP decks that hung above the arena. It was connected by four bridges that stretched to the edge of the coliseum as she guessed there was possibly four rooms or onerge room for many guests. ''Are they not afraid about their safety? What if the beast jumps up and breaks one of the bridges? If that happens the whole deck would crumble down.'' Alice thought to herself as she didn''t know why they would make such an illogical set up. As the guests filled the seats, a familiar voice started to introduce the event as the main attraction appeared in the middle of the arena. Shadows flickered under the spotlights before gathering in the centre. A man slowly crawled out and nced towards the audience before giving a small bow. He wore arge tattered robe that covered his entire body with golden chains around his arms. A variety of trinkets and pouches could be seen hidden around his body. Raising his arms from under his robes, he revealed his forearms as ck marking slowly revealed themselves before solidifying as a pair of borate Sigils that covered his entire forearm. *CRACK! Breaking through his skin, handles crafted from his own bones could be seen as he pulled out a pair of daggers. Once the daggers were removed, his skin started to repair itself and returned to normal. ''Is one of his powers to create daggers from his bones? Doesn''t look like his actual bones are missing. Maybe it''s making a set of duplicates.'' Alice wondered to herself while the man demonstrated more of his talents. Just like Lars, he is also a 3 Sigil bearer with his second ability seemingly to be the ability to increase his speed in shadows and move through them. The third ability was unseen as Alice assumed it to be something that takes affect within the opponent. ''His power to move through shadows reminds me of the man who freed me¡­ I wonder how many Sigils he has? If he could send me to the Abyss with ease then he should rather powerful.'' Alice thought to herself. Turning to her side, Alice noticed Lilia having a worried expression. "Something wrong?" "Hm? Oh just a little. If the main attraction is someone specialised in assassination, it might be a bit more annoying for us. Since that means he wouldn''t have the power to go head to head with the main beast. If the beast turns its attention elsewhere during the fight, some of the ves will be in trouble." Lilia frowned as Alice agreed with her worries. Since he seemed to be an assassin, revealing himself would be throwing away his biggest advantage. ''Either way, his goal is to kill the Twilight Hunter, it''s not something we should be concerned about. Our concern is the small beasts the coliseum chose for us. We have no idea what beasts they are. Lilia got some info but it''s still uncertain.'' Alice thought to herself. Announcing the Assassins'' name as Raine, the announcer called for all the ves to enter the arena. The sound of gears turning could be heard as the metal gates dropped down, allowing the ves to enter the arena. Looking at each other, both Alice and Lilia nodded as they made their way inside. Their first goal is to find an advantageous location away from the others. If they group up with too many people, it''s asking for trouble. There''s no guarantee that one of the others wouldn''t push them from behind or use them as meat shields. It''s better for the two of them to rely on each other without others. With the arena now transformed into somewhat of abyrinth with splitting paths, tall walls and dead ends, the two eventually decided on hiding near the edges. It reduces the areas where they could be attacked from while the other ves seemed to have split into their own groups. There was a total of 30 ves within the arena this time, not including the main attraction. But considering the beasts were going to be harder this round, it was a way to stop it from being a one-sided massacre. With all the contestants ready inside the arena, the announcer signalled for the beasts to be released as Raine blended with the shadows and disappeared from the arena. He wanted to take the main beast by surprise so it wouldn''t be good if the beast saw him at the start. Crouching near the edge of the walls, Alice poked her head out so that she could see what kind of beast they were going against. One by one, metal cages were dropped down into the arena and there seemed to be around 20 small cages and onerge cage, meaning each beast aside from the main one had to handle more than one ve on average. As the cage doors opened with a m, Alice was able to see what kind of beast they had to fight against. They had long elongated bodies with arge muscr torso. Dark grey muscles simr to what she saw with the Abyss Hounds. Connected to the torso was tworge humanoid arms with ws on the end and bones erupting from their forearms up to their elbows. Aside from the arms, they had 3 pairs of insectoid legs attached to their serpentine bodies that ended with a tail. A myriad of dark crystals pierced out of their back that hummed with a purple glow. On their head was arge skeletal helmet that didn''t have any openings for their eyes. A forked tongue flicked out from the gaps of the skull as Alice swallowed her saliva. "Do you think you can kill in one go?" Alice asked as Lilia was behind her. "With that much armour? No. Unless we can get a hit on the stomach area, it''ll be hard for me to kill them." Lilia frowned as this was different from what she heard. The guards whispered rumours of a beast without armour and two tails, not whatever this was. Letting out a hissing sound as thoughmunicating with each other, they slowly wed their way towards thebyrinth of tall walls. Meanwhile, therge cage opened and the beast within caused Alice to furrow her brows. She was somewhat familiar with what the Twilight Hunter looks like but this did not match the head scientist''s description of it. It was much bigger than she expected and white chitin armour covered it from head to toe. Large red eyes, scythe like legs that was dyed a deep red at the edges and arge red pattern that covered its entire body. On its back, a myriad of crystals could be seen simr to the earlier beasts that had appeared. ''Apparently, a normal Twilight Hunter should have dark armour. Is this one a mutation? A variant?'' Alice thought to herself. From above, the announcer exined that the beast was indeed a Twilight Hunter while the smaller beasts were called Dusk Reapers. "Say Alice, didn''t you say the Twilight Hunter had dark armour? Why is this one white and red?" Lilia asked. Sweat covered her palms as she felt nervous just being in the presence of such a beast. "Don''t know. Maybe a variant of Twilight Hunter." Alice shook her head. She didn''t know what kind of power this new variant would bring but it didn''t give her a good feeling, especially when the Assassin was now missing from the arena. While Alice and Lilia were contemting their options, the Twilight Hunter narrowed its beady eyes and scanned its gaze across the arena. It could tell there was another presence watching it from the shadows but it didn''t know where. However, it''s attention was dragged away by a strange aura it was feeling. Something that could also be a threat towards it. Snapping its head towards Alice''s location, it let out a low screech as Alice felt a chill down her spine. Tapping her legs a few times, several Dusk Reapers started to make their way towards Alice''s location. Seeing their shadows flickering past the ground, Alice knew were in trouble and grabbed Lilia by the wrist. "RUN!" She shouted out in a panic. *BANG!!! Just as they moved, the body of a Dusk Reaper dropped down from above right where they were a moment ago. *HISSS!!! Letting out a threatening hiss, it wed towards the two of them as Alice turned around with her spear in hand and aimed it towards its mouth. It didn''t expect Alice''s retaliation as emerald blood sttered across the walls. Swinging its head, Alice was flung up as she was unable to keep it restrained. "ALICE!" Shouting out in surprise, Lilia gritted her teeth and narrowed her eye towards the beast. Crouching down low, she dashed towards its neck while it was trying to pull the spear out. Cutting the beast once in the armpit, she tore through one of its tendons before stabbing her spare dagger under the skull armour it had on its head. Injured from the sudden attack, itshed its tail towards Lilia and smacked her towards Alice''s location. Unfortunately, Lilia was unable to retrieve the dagger she left in the beast''s head but she didn''t care. Sliding on her feet, she ran over to Alice and helped her up. "Are you okay?" She asked, wanting to make sure Alice wasn''t harmed too much. "Can move. Though rotation is limited." Alice frowned while feeling pain across her torso. Before they could retrieve their weapons, they watched as two more Dusk Hunters climbed above the walls and turned their heads towards the duo. Now that it was a three vs two situation, both Alice and Lilia took a step back with a frown on their faces. It was now harder to retrieve their weapons from the body of the first Dusk Hunter that was still alive. Chapter 18: Facing Dusk Hunters With three of the beasts now eyeing them down, Alice narrowed her eyes as she slowly backed up with Lilia. Even with the benefit of the blood they chose, fighting against three was still a difficult task. ''I kept the vial of blood under my bandage. Thankfully it wasn''t shattered by the first attack or else I''ll be in trouble.'' Alice thought to herself in relief. Since she didn''t have pockets, she could only keep the vial under the bandage around her chest. "On the count of three, we should run and find a better ce to fight." Lilia asked as Alice nodded her head. She had an idea but it will require the help from the other group of ves. ''I should try get the spear back if I can. I''d rather not fight without a weapon.'' As Lilia slowly counted to three, both of them turned around and broke into a sprint at once as the sounds of enraged hissing could be heard from behind. Turning the corner, they then the sense of death from behind as Alice quickly grabbed Lilia and tugged her down harshly. *BANG!!!! Looking above Lilia, they could see a crystal embedded into the walls as one of the Dusk Hunters had catapulted a crystal from its tail. "They can do that???" Lilia eximed in shock as Alice continued to drag her forward. She could feel their gazes on her back as it was like prickles on the surface of her skin. The closer danger was, the stronger the reaction. Alice didn''t know what the cause of this was, but she focused on this feeling to keep them alive. "Other ves, where? Need their help." Alice asked as she panted heavily from running at full speed. Her lungs burned as her muscles screamed out for a moment of rest, but Alice knew she couldn''t slow down. If she did, she''ll have to fight at a disadvantage against these beasts. "Follow me." Lilia replied as she started to run ahead. As they were running through the maze, they could see the shadows of two Dusk Hunters flickering form above, they were chasing them along the top of these walls all while waiting for the moment they run out of stamina. Feeling a sharp prickle on her skin, Alice immediately reacted and pushed the two of them apart. *BANG! Another crystal was shot towards them but they managed to dodge it once more. However, this pause in their momentum caused Alice''s to stumble from the exhaustion. Seeing that Alice was in no state to run, Lilia gritted her teeth and prepared to fight with her dagger in hand. Narrowing her eyes, Alice could see one of the hunters embedding its ws deep into the walls as it slowly crawled down while another waited at the top. The third one that they had injured first couldn''t be seen just yet so it was a two verses two. ''There are still holes in their tails and crystals are slowly regenerating. Maybe they can''t fire the crystals just yet. Lilia has a weapon so we could get a chance to kill one of these and make it easier to fight the other one.'' Formting a n in her mind, Alice gestured for Lilia''s attention. "Keep running in a moment. Then I''ll drink blood and turn around. We focus on killing one of them since I can''t run too much anymore." Alice sighed as Lilia furrowed her brows before nodding. "Do you need my vial as well? For that extra boost?" Shaking her head, Alice didn''t want to use up all their resources immediately. "One is good enough." Plus, each vial was akin to a adrenaline booster so she''ll recover parts of her stamina once she consumes this vial. "Alright, I''ll trust you on this." Nodding her head, Alice turned around and started to jog while grabbing her vial of Frozen Sloth blood. Sensing a decrease in the prey''s speed, the closest Dusk Hunter reared its head back and let out a strange gurling sound mixed with some hisses towards the other Dusk Hunter waiting above. Getting a response, it crouched low before dashing towards the two at full speed. The strength of its ws and legs dug deep holes along the walls as it closed the distance between them. ''Not yet¡­'' Alice thought to herself as she watched the distance close between them. Waiting till it was roughly a few meters away, she opened the vial and drank all of its contents in one go. Feeling the ice cold fluid travel down her throat, Alice threw the vial aside as ayer of ice started to form from her elbow to the tip of the fingers. With the ice now reinforcing her arms, Alice knew that they were tough enough to help her parry a few attacks. The only issue lie in how long the duration was going tost with each vial being low quality. Once the blood hadpletely taken effect, Alice stomped down and swung her momentum backwards towards the beast. Her eyes focused on its movements, the way it had jumped out towards them with both its ws reached out. She understood that she could get through the gap in the middle and counter the beast. ''I just need to focus¡­'' She muttered to herself. During her time mining on the back of the titan underground, she understood that she needed to fully focus on whatever she was targeting for her vision to improve. A moment of focus where the world will seemingly slow down. ''Now!'' Rushing forward, she dodged the two ws as she came face to face with the beast. The motion of its tongue and the saliva dripping from its teeth. Ducking down, Alice wrapped her arms around the beast''s neck while flipping her body onto its side to avoid getting crushed. *BANG!!! Colliding harshly against the ground, missing its initial target, the Dusk Hunter hissed in annoyance feeling a flow of coldness invading its body. Ice seemed to form on its joints, causing it to stumble as it tried to bite towards Alice to no avail. Twisting its body along the ground, it tried to get Alice off through crushing her with its weight, but Alice was already prepared. Adjusting her grip, she swung her body around to the other side and avoided the first attack. With enough ice now forming on its limbs, Alice could see the range of motion decreasing while the Dusk Hunter above noticed the anomaly and dashed towards them. They only had a few moments to try kill this beast before the other arrived. "Lilia!" Alice shouted out as she pulled back as hard as she could, exposing the beast''s neck towards herpanion. Seeing the opening that Alice gave her, Lilia gritted her teeth and plunged her dagger into the neck of the beast. After her failed first attack, she knew that it wasn''t going to be enough so she didn''t stop. Grabbing the dagger with both her hands, she tore apart the soft part of its skin, revealing the rib cages along with the organs it was protecting. Without turning back to see how close the other beast was, she shredded holes into its lungs and shoved her hand up the ribcage towards the heart. During this time, the beast was failing its limbs, trying its best to kill Lilia but the ice on its joints allowed Lilia to dodge its attacks with rtive ease. Cutting the heart in two, she pulled her hand out and jumped to the side as blood coated her body. Even without Alice warning her, she knew the other beast was close and had to dodge. Seeing that Lilia seeded in giving what she assumes to be lethal wounds, Alice jumped back and avoided the second beast. Hearing its angry hiss while standing over the corpse of its fallen ally, Alice knew that the second beast was going to be wary of them, making the fight harder. Wiping some of the blood from her face, Lilia slowly walked next to Alice while making sure the beast was on guard and didn''t attack. Her entire front side was coated with the Dusk Hunter''s blood and she could tell the second beast''s attention was focused on her. "How long do you think you got left for the blood? Is it going tost another battle or should we run to the other group?" Lilia asked while trying to catch her breath. "Not sure. But probably not long left. Ideally we should run to other group. We also don''t know where first beast is. One I stabbed with spear." Alice sighed. "Think it died from the wounds?" "If we''re lucky yes. If we''re not lucky no." Alice shrugged. She could feel her fatigue setting in once more but the ice from her arms weren''t fading, meaning she might be able to fit another fight within the duration she has left. Just as she was about to rush forward, Alice noticed a growing shadow aiming for their general direction and jumped towards Lilia. Grabbing her by the waist, Alice took cover with Lilia as a cloud of dust was kicked up by the sudden attack of a foreign object. Standing back up, Alice nced towards the source of the attack and paled seeing that it was the body of the first Dusk Hunter they fought, one that had the spear pierced in its mouth. Neither of them dared to breath as a looming figure slowly revealed itself in the distance. Without the Assassin keeping it busy, the Twilight Hunter was allowed to observe the fight and move at will. Following its initial attraction towards Alice''s aura, it eventually decided to target her first. Since the Assassin wasn''t going to reveal himself just yet, it was going to start culling the people within this arena. With the Twilight Hunter now on the move, the remaining Dusk Hunter of the trio seemed panicked as it immediatley scuttled away, not daring to share the area with the spider. Quickly grabbing Lilia by the wrist, Alice started to run without looking back. It could feel the spider''s gaze locked onto her back as it slowly pushed aside the walls that had been put in ce. This was not the time for her to stand still. She had to move or die! Chapter 19: Going For The Kill As the two scrambled through the paths while trying their best to avoid the spider, Alice knew that it was just toying with them. She could sense its beady eyes focused on her back while slowly throwing parts of the walls towards their general area, forcing them to run at their top speed as their life depended on it. It wasn''t aiming towards Lilia at all, but she was just unfortunate enough to be within Alice''s area. "What did you do to piss it off?!" Lilia shouted as she dodged some iing debris. "Don''t! Know!" Alice shouted back through gritted teeth. Grabbing Lilia''s wrist, Alice swung Lilia around the next corner while Lilia did the same, cutting the time needed for both of them to run. As bad as it was, they had to group up with the other ves so its attention could be divided amongst everyone. While they may not be the weakest of this batch, they are certainly not the strongest! Seeing the shredded corpses of the ves with crystals embedded into their chests, Alice knew that they had struggled against the Dusk Hunters. However, with the Twilight Hunter on the move, everyone was running away, friend or foe. Picking up a left over spear from one of the ves, Alice furrowed her brows in annoyance seeing a hand still holding onto the shaft. Flicking the hand away, she nced back and saw a thread shooting towards her face. Widening her eyes, she instinctively threw the spear back and ducked to the side. *TSSSSSS!!! Melting the spear, Alice understood that there was acid spread on those threads. ''Tsk! I just got that spear!'' Sheined in her mind before conjuring a new n in her mind. ''My stamina is limited. Even with the boost I got from the sloth blood, it''s running out and I can feel it. The ves are also running so it''ll be hard for us to catch up with them. The Assassin is waiting for the perfect chance. Meaning he won''t make a move until the spider lets down its guard.'' Alice thought to herself. She knew the spider still had its guard up since the biggest danger was the Assassin while the Assassin was probably waiting for one of them to die before making the move. Scratching her neck out of annoyance, Alice gritted her teeth since her options were fading. She cursed the fact that the main attraction was an Assassin of all things and not someone that could face it head on. Picking up a dagger on the floor, she turned the next corner and hugged the walls. Seeing that Alice wasn''t running, Lilia panicked. "Keep running!" Alice shouted, not wanting Lilia to waste her time. Lilia wanted toin but seeing the frustration and annoyance in Alice''s eyes, she knew that Alice wouldn''t suggest this if she wasn''t prepared. Gritting her teeth, she dashed around the next corner. Sighing in relief, Alice took a moment to catch her breath while keeping an ear out for the spider''s movements. Alice''s n was simple, stall out the fight! She wanted to stall the fight until the Assassin has no choice but to move. If the spectators get bored, the hosts of this event will force the Assassin to intervene in order to not lose public interest. Her idea was to take advantage of her eye in order to run circles under the spider and keep it in the same ce. It was a fool''s n, but it was the best she could think of. There was still some Abyss Blood left in her body so she can make use of its slowly attributes. Taking deep breaths to prepare herself, Alice tightened her grip on the dagger as the ice on her arms started to coat the dagger as well. *BANG!!! Crashing against the wall, Alice could see the giant spider from below. Each segment of its legs was just as tall as her while the main body towered over her in size. Alice didn''t make her move just yet. The longer she waited, the more beneficial it is for her. Just as she expected, the spider didn''t chase after Lilia, it was locked onto Alice''s aura and slowly turned its body to see where Alice had been hiding. However, Alice was not there as she was now sneaking behind the spider. She was using the advantage of her new perceptive abilities in short bursts to control where she was within the spider''s eyesight. A low hiss could be heard from the spider as it slowly approached the spot on the wall. It could still sense Alice''s aura nearby, but the small human was no where to be seen. Understanding that Alice should be in the same area, the spider turned its body around and came face to face with Alice. Even though Alice could see iting, her body was simply too slow to react to the sudden movement. With no other choice, she held her breath and lunged forward with her dagger, stabbing the spider in the eye and dragging the de across its face as much as possible before letting go and rolling back to avoid the iling of its ws. Lifting her head, she widened her eyes as she was greeted with one of the spider''s legs almost piercing her head. Quickly tilting her head to the side, the leg shaved off part of her hair. A faint green liquid could be seen on the tip as Alice knew that it was the venom the Twilight Hunter would inject into its prey. The same venom that''s present within its blood and causes people to hallucinate. ''One wound from that and I''m done for!'' Alice shouted in her mind as she jumped back to create some distance. Seeing that the spider was enraged from Alice injuring its eyes, Alice knew it was going to stop ying around with its food and aim for the kill. Focusing her mind, she wanted to take advantage of the perceptive abilities she had received her in trying to do so, she felt a pain in her right eye, forcing her to close it momentarily. ''Did I strain it too much already? I used it against the first Dusk Hunter, then I used it against the second. I used it in short bursts against the spider when I was hiding from it¡­ Sh*t!'' Alice cursed in her mind as she had overused it from how much danger she had been in. It was no wonder her eye would be strained. Clutching her eye, Alice slowly backed away from the spider as she wanted to find a chance to run but the spider was not allowing such a thing to happen. Rearing its head back, it spat a ball of webs that erupted into a web wall, blocking Alice''s path of retreat. ''You''ve got to be kidding me¡­'' Standing up with fatigue, Alice looked up at the sky and sighed. Shaking her head, she red at the spider. If it was thinking she''ll give up and allow herself to get killed, it''s in for a rude awakening. She wasn''t going to go down without a fight! Before she could charge towards the spider, she noticed a spear being thrown towards the spider''s head. Quickly turning around, the spider blocked the spear with one of its legs and noticed Lilia above the wall with a myriad of weapons next to her. "Alice!" Lilia shouted out as she grabbed another spear and threw it. This time it was aimed towards Alice so that she had a weapon to defend herself. Once she was sure that Alice received the weapon, Lilia opened her vial of Abyss Blood and drank the contents in one go. Gritting her teeth, she grabbed two daggers and jumped down from the wall before kicking off the surface and charging towards the spider. Letting out a loud hiss, it tried to stab Lilia in mid air but she managed to twist her body and dodge to the side. Getting within the range of the spider, Lilia swung her daggers up at the joints, causing orange blood to spill before ducking out the way since she remembered what Alice said about its blood. One dose of that and she could forget about surviving this fight. "Just stall! Don''t risk yourself trying to kill. If it gets too boring, Assassin has to fight!" Alice shouted back as Lilia nced back and nodded her head. If her only task was to stall, it''ll be a lot easier. Ducking through the legs, she left a myriad of cuts across its abdominal area before throwing a spare dagger towards the face, blinding another eye. "How do you want to stall it? Keep running circles around it while wounding it or threaten the kill? If a bunch of no named ves like us take the kill without the main attraction doing anything, don''t you think he''ll be in trouble?" Lilia grinned as she was annoyed by the actions of that Assassin. "Let''s threaten kill." Alice nodded in seriousness. "Then let''s go before the blood runs out!" Crouching down, Lilia charged towards the spider while Alice forced her eye open and readied her spear. Seeing the actions y out in slow motion, she intercepted the spider''s attack with her spear, allowing Lilia to get closer andnding more cuts across its body as well as a few stabs into the joints of its legs, causing them to fall limp. Feeling a sharp pain in her eye, Alice was forced to close it once more as Lilia was about to stab the base of the spider''s neck when a sudden force threw her backwards. Furrowing her brow, she saw that it was the Assassin who grabbed her by the back of her dress and threw her aside. "Know your damn ce." He grumbled in annoyance as he heard their n of going for the kill. "About f*cking time you showed up,zy b*stard. We practically delivered the kill to you." Liliaughed as shended next to Alice. The show was now out of their hands, it was time for the main attraction to earn his pay. Chapter 20: Trap Ignoring the remark that Lilia had just made, the Assassin narrowed his eyes at the spider. There was a bad feeling in his heart hence why he chose to hide but he couldn''t hide any longer. If he let these two girls steal the show, his own future will be at risk. Summoning his des, he threw both of them towards the spider before crouching down low and dashing towards the beast. He had already made his observations. With what the spider has shown, killing it was simple as long as he avoids the legs. Entering the spider''s attack radius, he dodged the legs with ease while cutting the joint areas, focusing the spider to fall limp before attempting to finish it in on go. However, sensing the danger, the spider released arge web in the area around it, coated with the venom from its body. ''Not good.'' The Assassin thought to himself as his instincts were screaming for him to dodge the attack. Trusting in his senses, he stopped his attack andtched onto the wall while watching the spider trying its best to get back on its feet to no avail. ring at the assassin in annoyance, it snapped open its mouth and let out a ear piercing screech. Furrowing his brows, the Assassin noticed the Dusk Hunters converging towards their location, specifically towards him and clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Dusk Hunters areing. F*ck off if you don''t want to die." He shouted out towards Lilia and Alice since he didn''t want them stealing his show any more than they already have. "We were about to run without you telling us!" Lilia retorted in annoyance since they''ve been trying to cut apart the web behind them to open a path of escape. They barely managed to open a hole big enough for them to crawl through when the spider called towards its allies. Seeing that both Alice and Lilia now left the area, the Assassin ignored their presence since it was his show now. The main act. Summoning another pair of daggers, he stood straight on the side of the wall as a myriad of Dusk Hunters shot their crystals towards him. Flicking out his cloak for extra re for the audience, he parried each of the crystals with ease before diving into the shadows and appearing behind one of the Dusk Hunters that shot first. Stabbing both daggers into its back, the Assassin yed its back, revealing the bones and organs. A third Sigil lit up on his arms as ck spikes erupted from the organs, piercing through other important organs as coteral. With one Dusk Hunter down, he bent his body back and fell into his own shadow before disappearing once more, leaving the other beasts confused. Jumping out of the shadows of a second beast, he stabs a dagger to the back of the neck before kicking it with the back of his heel, decapitating the beast without an issue. All of the Dusk Hunters were small fries to him but he had to make up for the time he spent observing the spider. ''There are 8 of these small fries left. If I kill them then focus back on the spider, it should make up for everything and give me a good standing with the VIP''s.'' He thought to himself as he threw two daggers at the beast that lunged towards him while finishing it off with a final stab to its brain from under the jaw. With 7 beasts remain, he danged through the shadows like a phantom, leaving behind corpses with ck spikes erupting form their bodies. Seeing the main attraction finally making a move, the crowd cheered for each kill while the announcer tried his best to keep the crowd entertained. He was just happy the Assassin finally made a move since it had him worried. Many of the VIP''s were expressing their discontent seeing the Twilight Hunter going for some no bodies while the main attraction watched while doing nothing. Once he was finished with the fodder, the Assassin turned towards the spider once more as it was thest beast in the arena. Once he kills the spider, the event will be over. Looking down at the beast from above, it noticed a few faint glimmers due to the light. "So you made some traps while I was killing your allies. That makes sense since you''re a beast that uses traps. Not its no use." He smiled confidently. He figured that he must''ve been too cautious at the start when he heard that the VIP captured this beast specifically and thought there was something special to it. But regardless the form, a beast is a beast, no match for a human. Created a handful of daggers, he threw them with pinpoint uracy and destroyed all of the webs before jumping down headfirst. Power surged through his muscles as the look of fear within the spider''s eyes caused his lips to curl up into a smile. *BANG!!! Transferring all of his force into a downward swing, he tried to decapitate the monster but it was able to use webs to pull itself to the side, dodging the blow. Spitting out a mouthful of venom towards the man, the spider let out a furious screech while the man fell into his shadow and dodged the attack. "Is this all you''ve got?" He asked with a confident smirk. Appearing next to the spider, he twisted his body andunched a kick to the spider''s body, causing it to crash against the arena wall as blood dripped from its body. Twitching on the spot while iling what remains of its legs, it tried to get up and failed to do so. The Assassin knew that he could y with the spider some more, get more reactions out of the crowd but things had to end. Just as he was about to decapitate the spider, his dagger missed its target and the world seemed to spin. "What the??" The lights within this arena seemed to flicker with a myriad of colours while the walls and the spider itself twisted together before disappearing from his view. Clutching his head, he could feel himself losing energy as he stumbled on the spot and barely managed to keep himself upright. ''The fumes!'' Widening his eyes, he understood that he was being poisoned from the fumes of its blood. "Damn beast!" He shouted in anger and kicked forward. Feeling his kick connect with the body of the beast, he sighed in relief since all he had to do was kill it now. Flicking his wrist, he summoned a dagger and stabbed it into the beast''s body before activating his third Sigil. ck spikes erupted from the spider and the kill was secured. Standing up, he was about to celebrate his victory to the crowd when he noticed something was off. There was no one in the stalls and the arena was empty except for him. A sense of harrowing unease flooded his mind as the grips of panic wrapped around his heart. Looking up, he could see the beady eyes of the spider acting as moons in the sky. Stumbling back, he started to take rapid breaths as he frantically threw daggers towards the eyes in an attempt to break the strange illusion. "!!!" Pausing in shock, he slowly looked down and saw the spider''s leg piercing through his chest. In a moment of soberness, he managed to break out of the illusion and saw that what he was hitting was the moulted skin of the spider. Coughing up a mouthful of blood, he gritted his teeth and nced back. He could see the new form of the spider. Unlike its previous body, it was now coated with a pristine white with red highlights across its back. The tips of its legs akin to scythes dipped in a pool of blood while a ghostly glow radiated from its body. Summoning a dagger, the Assassin turned to strike at the spider. "You damn inferior beas-!!!" Before he could finish his sentence, the spider opened its jaws and crushed the Assassin''s head. The sound of bones crunching silenced the crowd as the Assassin''s body twitched momentarily before falling limp. cing the corpse on the ground, it started to eat away while replenishing its strength. Meanwhile, both Alice and Lilia were shocked as they watched everything happen all at once. The moment the Assassin entered the range, he had already sealed his fate as he didn''t even notice the spider moulting its outer shell. "You don''t happen to know what kind of spider it changed into now would you? Because that is definitely not a Twilight Hunter." Lilia asked while trying her best to sound calm. Unlike before, the spider now radiated an overpowering aura that caused her to be breathless. Each breath was taken with great difficulty as it felt like she was getting strangled by the spider. However, Alice did not respond. There was a strange foreign feeling within her, as though something was reaching out to her from the depths of the Abyss. It felt simr to the moment she killed the Abyss Hound only this time it was much stronger. She felt as though she was sinking down with no signs of stopping. She did not hear nor see anything. Yet she instinctively felt it in her heart. A question for her, the bearer of the Eye. Do you wish to hunt this beast? Chapter 21: Do You Wish To Hunt This Beast Do you wish to hunt this beast? It was a strange feeling in her heart. As though the world was at her fingertips. She was no longer in her own body but rather overlooking the arena. Looking at her hands, she could no longer see her physical body. There was nothing, she was here with her consciousness. There seemed to be a water reflection beneath her that revealed the arena while darkness surrounded her on all sides. Spotting the spider, there was something around it that wasn''t there before. A ck and green swirl pulsed around the spider as the question rang out in her mind once more. Do you wish to hunt this beast? There was no one asking this question. A strange sensation as though someone was directly giving her the question into her brain. ''What do I get if I hunt it?'' Alice asked after a short pause. She wanted to find out what this strange phenomenon was. If it could ask her this question, could it answer her queries? However, she did not get an answer. Instead, the question changed. Would you like to designate this beast as your bounty? ''Bounty? What do you mean by bounty? If it''s a bounty, does it mean I get something from it?'' Alice asked, but once again, there was no answer. Furrowing her brows, Alice wanted to ask more questions, but she knew it was futile. That was fine, she was looking to kill this beast anyways since it had already locked its attention onto her again. With herck of stamina, there was no way for her to run. ''Since I''m going to be forced to fight it anyways, I might as well see what this is about.'' Upon thinking this, the swirls around the beast halted as a connection was formed between the two of them. A tether connected them to each other as Alice started to fall. Colliding against the reflection, her mind was shot back into her own body as she could no longer observe from above. "Are you alright?" Lilia asked with a frown on her face. "Hm? Yes. You should get away. Spider focused on me." Alice said as she stabilised herself and picked up a spare dagger that Lilia had thrown earlier. "You know I can''t do that Alice. We just have to wait, the Hunters will clean things up since the main attraction is dead." Lilia tried to persuade. But before she could head Alice''s response, she watched as Alice pushed her to the side ducking down, dodging the web that the spider had just shot out. "It''s not going to wait that long." Alice shook her head while dashing towards the spider. She didn''t know what was going through her mind but she felt like she could do anything. As though something was urging her forward. The smell of blood in the air, the feeling of barely dodging an attack that could end her life, everything felt just ecstatic for Alice. She could certainly wait for the Hunters to sort things out but that wouldn''t be a Hunt. No, she wanted something more, something that got her blood pumping through her body from sheer excitement. Throwing the dagger towards the spider, Alice took a sharp right as she dashed towards the corpse of a Dusk Hunter that was killed by the Assassin. Grabbing the head of the beast, Alice tilted her own head back as she opened her mouth, allowing a stream of blood to enter body. Feeling the flow of energy in her body, Alice couldn''t help but let out augh. Throwing the head aside, she jumped to the side, dodging the spider''s attack with ease as was in a state of euphoria. Grabbing one of the bone daggers that belonged to the Assassin, Alice threw it towards the spider while dashing forward in a straight line. Not only did she get a boost in stamina thanks to the blood, she could also tell what ability she got from it. Heightened senses! She could feel the stare of the beast against her skin, the moment when an attack is about to hit, even the vibrations through the ground. All of her senses except for sight had been boosted dramatically with the only downside being tiny crystals growing near her eyes. Had she drank more, she figured that they would''ve covered her sight as payment for heightened senses. But for the duration, this was the best effect she could''ve asked for! Paired with her eye, it was easy for her to see every attack that was going her way. Even with herck of physical capabilities, as long as she moved ahead of time it''ll be as though she could see the future. Closing into the attack range of the spider, she could see the surprise in its eyes as it cut a wound into its own leg in an attempt to poison her through smell. A good tactic but she wasn''t bothered by that. Holding her breath, Alice narrowed her eyes and stabbed the dagger into the spider''s face before swinging herself behind it. Grabbing a dagger from the moulted corpse of the spider, she stabbed two more into its back before jumping off and grabbing another pair. There was more than enough daggers for her to use as the Assassin had kindly created plentiful. Littering the spider''s back with daggers, she avoided its legs before stabbing a de into the joint. Kicking the handle, she tore the spider''s leg off as blood poured out from the wound. Even though the spider had evolved into a new form, it was still low on energy having fought the Assassin earlier and put to a near death state. If it wasn''t for this, it wouldn''t be this slow! Hissing out in frustration, it swung its legs around blindly but Alice was unphased. She onlyughed as there was a light of insanity in her eyes. From the outside perspective, it seemed as though she was drunk from the adrenaline pumping through her body. Seeing Alice breath in the fumes from its blood, the spider crouched down and wanted to sneak away momentarily beforending a final strike. Yet the moment it turned its back, it felt a chill and quickly stabbed towards Alice''s location out of pure instinct. Seeing its leg missed its target, the spider widened its eyes when Alice cleaved up with the dagger, tearing apart the joints. Grabbing the leg, Alice looked at the scythe like tip as a sadistic light filled her eyes. "Say ah." She grinned as she stabbed a dagger into one side of its jaw, forcing the mouth loose. Holding the spider''s leg, Aliceughed while jamming the de like appendage into the spider''s mouth. The hunters that were making their way into the arena paused in shock seeing the ferocity of the girl in a white dress that was now coated in blood. Herugher ringing out extra loud against the silence of the crowd seeing her jam the leg into the beast until it died from blood loss. However, Alice did not register the death of the beast. She continued stabbing the corpse as the fumes of the blood warped her perception. No longer was she stabbing the corpse of a spider, instead she was now stabbing the body of her own father. Her cruel smile seeing the life fade from his eyes, her revenge for the years of suffering she had to endure. This was far from enough. Grabbing the daggers, she started to shred the corpse until it was split in two and she sat in a pool of the spider''s blood. Her vision was hazy as she had overtaxed her own stamina. Standing up, she slowly stumbled towards where Lilia was before copsing on the floor. Thest thing that she could remember was a swirl of energy that was around the spider gathering towards her forearm as a single sentence appeared in her mind. Bounty imed. Upon hearing the sentence, the feeling of a knife cutting across her arm could be felt as the energy craved itself upon her flesh, manifesting as a ck tattoo that twisted before fading away. ''Ah¡­ the bounty was a Sigil¡­'' Alice thought to herself before losing consciousness. ### Watching everything unfold from the VIP suits, a woman with long ck wavy hair furrowed her brows and frowned at the conclusion. She wore an elegant ck and red dress that entuated her curves while revealing her cleavage and a peek of her thighs towards the other guests. A semi transparent silk jacket was draped over her shoulders while a single rose adorned the side of her dress. She had captured a beast for the Assassin as a test. A test to see his capabilities and to see if he was worth her coin. Yet not only did the assassin die, but she also couldn''t salvage the beast either! After all, it was in by a girl she had sponsored out of a whim and brutalised in front of the entire crowd. ''A freshly evolved Twilight Hunter could''ve brought in more coin than any three Sigil hunter! If the Assassin died so be it. But the only thing I have to show for this farce is a single girl that doesn''t even have a Sigil?! How can she evenpare to the profit I could''ve gained from the spider or the Assassin???'' She thought to herself as she gritted her teeth in annoyance. ring at the duo of Lilia and Alice, an idea surfaced in her mind as there was a way to make things profitable for her. Flicking her fingers towards her servant, she whispered a few instructions she wanted him to tell the host of this ce. She wans''t going to let Alice off easily for killing her prize. Chapter 22: An Offer For Lilia With Alice now passed out and the spider dead, they were taken out of the arena as the Hunters started to clean the ce up. Just as Lilia was about to be taken back to the cages with Alice, she was separated from the group. ''What''s happening?'' Lilia furrowed her brows in confusion as she should logically be taken back to the cages with everyone else. Instead, she was taken up a flight of stairs and towards a luxurious room. A myriad of paintings were ced upon the white walls, tworge windows could be seen while a chandelier hung above her. There was a round table in the center while two sofas nked the table. Facing the door, was a single table and a woman sat upon the surface. Behind Lilia, two masked Hunters stood on either side of the door and guarded the entrance while there was another Hunter besides the woman. Lilia didn''t dare utter a word since she knew who this woman was. She was the VIP that sponsored her and Alice. Any wrong move here and she may as well forfeit her life. "Wee. You know, finding information about you was a little annoying Miss Walker. I wanted to find the background of the two who decided to kill my little pet and I must say, I did not expect you to have that kind of past." The woman chuckled as she narrowed her eyes at Lilia who only looked down while biting her lip. "Mother and father, both AB addicts who turned to gambling so that they could purchase their next dose. Going into debt, they sold you first, then your brother and finally your sister. Brother died in an arena like this one while your little sister eventually begged her new master to purchase you so you two could reunite. But by then you already had that flower growing out of your eye." Hearing all of this, Lilia clenched her fist and tried her best to block out the words as to not hear them. However, the woman stepped towards her and grabbed Lilia by the chin. Forcing her to look up, she curled her lips into a grin. "From what I heard, you stole the master''s attention away from your sister, making him only look for you. With your sister losing interest from the master, she got tossed to the tavern for some coin. What a cruel big sister you are. Your little sister helped you from dying to Vampire Lily and all you do is steal her master while she''s tossed away." The womanughed as she touched the flower growing from Lilia''s eye. "Then you found her body sprawled out next to the stables lifeless and took it upon yourself to kill your master in a delusion. Did you think it wasn''t you who sealed your sister''s fate because you feared the same oue?" "What do you want?" Lilia squeezed through her gritted teeth as she didn''t want to hear anymore of her past. She didn''t want to remember the scene of seeing her sister''s dead body in the morning. The results of her selfishness. Losing her smile, the woman stared at Lilia before pping her across the cheek, causing Lilia to fall to the ground. "Don''t interrupt me you vile thing. Tsk, I feel dirty just hitting you." The woman red before tossing aside her gloves. "Anyways, before you rudely interrupted me, I was going to give you a little task for a new start. We''ll wipe out your history, free you of your ve status and even help you get surgery to remove parts of the Vampire Lily. If you do a simple task for us." She smiled cruelly as Lilia listened to the task. Hearing the contents of the task, Lilia widened her eyes and wanted to deny. "Don''t think about denying. Because if not you, we''ll get someone stronger to do it." The woman cut her off as Lilia hesitated for a moment. A sadistic light filled the woman''s eyes as she watched Lilia struggle from the choice of whether or not she should go ahead with the task or not. Gritting her teeth, Lilia nodded her head. "Fine, I''ll do it." Hearing this, the woman pped her hands. "That''s what I like to hear. I''ll set things up for an underground match in round 3. You can go back for now. And remember, I have eyes and ears everywhere. So if you decide to leak it, neither of you are going to have a good time." The woman threatened with a smile. Without replying, Lilia bit her lip and nodded her head before being taken out of the room. "Do you think she''ll be able to carry out that task?" The hunter beside the woman asked as she shook her head. "I say there''s about a 20 to 30% chance that she''ll actually carry out my orders. After all, she''s already betrayed her family once. Doing it a second time will be difficult." The woman shrugged. "Then why did you trust her to do this? Wouldn''t it be better to get the half white haired girl to do it instead?" "No chance. We don''t know anything about her. We don''t know her name, background or where she even came from. We just know that someone found her on the beach and sold her to this ce. Without any information to go off, it''ll be difficult." She sighed while pulling out a stack of paper. "But we can dig up a bunch of old trauma for that Lilia girl. There''s a few ways we can force her hand but we''ll just see how things progress for now. And if nothing happens¡­ well, there''s always other ways I can earn somepensation from them." Hearing his master''s ns for the two girls, the Hunter couldn''t help but shake his head but made no action to change his master''s mind. ### Standing above the arena, Allura could be spotted sitting on the edge as her hair fluttered from the wind. There was a single cigarette in her mouth as she was contemting on what she should do next. She was observing the second round to see how Alice was going to fare but things go more out of hand than she expected. If Alice was in threat of dying, she would''ve stepped in at a moment''s notice. ''She seems to have unlocked more powers than I initially estimated. Her kic vision improved and so has her absorption of blood. Though the key is still her obtaining a bounty and getting her first Sigil¡­ I didn''t think she''ll get this far.'' Allura thought to herself while taking a deep breath before blowing out a cloud of smoke. "Hey Gin, what''s the schedule looking like for the next few days?" Allura asked as there was a man standing next to her. He had medium length grey hair that''s been pulled back, a pair of ck eyes with a scar over the bridge of his nose, a full beard and wore a rather simple suit with arge jacket. "A little busy. There''s some strange movement with the sailors and Hunters outside of the city. Some of the cargo was¡­ tampered with. There are two newmissions that needs to be urgently dealt with." Gin sighed as he groaned while sitting down. "You should stop calling me to damn ces like this. Do you know how hard it is to climb up with my old bones?" Heined as Allura offered him a smoke but he shook his head. "I had to keep an eye on a someone today. Plus it''s not like I''m calling you to ces like this all the time." Allura shrugged but Gin only stared at her. "What?" "Nothing. Just admiring how shameless you are without batting a single eyelid. Anyways, setting that aside, which one do you want to handle?" Gin asked while looking down at the arena and noticed the brutalized corpse of the spider. "Hmm¡­ Give me the closest one to the city while you prepare some funds for me." Allura replied after a short pause. "Are you nning to buy a ve? Didn''t think you were the type to purchase ves. If you need an extra hand, you got my granddaughter following you around religiously like a fanatic." Gin sighed while massaging his forehead. Just remembering how his granddaughter acted gave him a headache. "Yeah. Sadly some b*stard from my past decided to drop a brat here of all ces and want''s me to take care of them. I''ll need about 35 tinum pieces since a VIP got their eyes on her." "THIRY FIVE?! Do you think I''m still in business?!" Gin shouted out in shock. "It''s only seven years worth of earnings for a small family. Isn''t it pocket money for you?" Allura smirked while ncing at Gin without turning her head. "Even so-" "I''ll sort out the mission in one day for you. And you can think the coin as an investment." Allura interrupted. "An investment in what?" Gin furrowed his brows. "In me not killing the woman trying to purchase who I got my eyes on. Thought she was pretty important for your city?" ". . . Fine. I''ll get the money ready for you while you sort out your mission. It should be ready by the time you get back." Gin sighed as Allura grinned. "Pleasure doing business with you." "F*ck off." Gin rolled his eyes while holding a hand out. "Hm?" "A smoke. I need one after spending thirty f*cking five tina on you." Gin clicked his tongue as Allura nodded her head with augh. Handing him a cigarette, she lit it with a small me on the tip of her finger. ### Returning to her cage, Lilia sat down and sighed deeply. Looking towards Alice''s cage, she could see Alice seemingly suffering a nightmare as cold sweat filled her forehead. Leaning against her cage with her back facing Alice, Lilia closed her eyes and sighed to herself. "Sh*t¡­ Is this karma for what I did before?" She questioned herself softly. Shaking her head, sheid down and went to sleep. There was nothing else that can be done. If she rejected the task, someone else would do it. ''I haven''t even known her for that long¡­'' Lilia thought to herself as she drifted off to sleep, dreaming about the sins of her past. Chapter 23: First Sigil Alice didn''t know when she woke up but she found herself in a strange corridor. Tall walls nked her sides as she couldn''t see the top of the walls. Decorated with a dirty cream coloured wallpaper, rotting wooden pirs was spaced out evenly along the length of the wall. Darkness surrounded on all sides with no end nor start in sight. ''Where am I?'' Alice wondered to herself as she started to walk down this corridor. The longer she walked, the deeper her frown. She tried to damage the walls, whether that be through punching scratching or other methods, but nothing worked. The walls remained the same while her surroundings didn''t change. Letting out a frustrated sigh, she continued to walk down the path as she slowly reached towards her neck and started to scratch. It was at this moment she noticed that she no longer had a cor on. Touching her neck, her eyes widened in surprise. ''This is wrong. I should still have the cor around my neck¡­ Lilia should be in the arena and I had just killed the spider and got a bounty.'' Alice frowned as she started to sprint down the corridor. She noticed that she had be faster and she wasn''t even close to being out of breath. Stopping in her tracks, she looked down and wondered if it was the Sigil causing this change within her body. Recalling where she saw the pattern emerging, she nced towards her forearm and saw an eye staring back at her. Before she could react, the eye sunk into her body and could no longer be seen. ''What the hell?!'' Examining her arm closer, she couldn''t see any scars or wounds where the eye was. Almost as though she was hallucinating. Taking a step back, unfamiliar controls assaulted her mind as she stumbled over her own legs. Just as she was about to clutch her head from the sudden headache, Alice saw a pair of scythes swinging towards her face. ''Are these¡­ my hands?'' She questioned with disbelief as her heartbeat started to increase. Looking down slowly, she could see de like appendages acting as legs while arge mound of flesh protruded from behind her. She was now in the form of a spider, the same spider she had killed in the arena. Trying to move her body, she realized that she was rooted in ce. Her body not her''s to control and felt as though thousands of strings were threaded through her body, forcing her to dance to another''s tunes. The way she breathed, the way she looked around, everything was out of her control. She was merely there in consciousness. Then she saw her, a visage of her own body. A vicious demon with the cruelest smile and eyes that illuminated the darkness with malice and sadistic lust. Alice watched as her other self threw a wave of daggers towards her before taking a sharp turn. The glee in her eyes as she drank the blood of a fallen Dusk Hunter. She understood that this was a recreation of their fight but this time she was in the ce of the spider! A foreign sense of fear wormed its way into her heart as she witnessed her other self tear off the leg of the spider and jammed it into its mouth, killing it through internal wounds. Feeling the fear and despair of the spider, Alice watched as it was torn to shreds. Even after its death, she did not stop. Alice had no recollection of this, she only remembered feeling intoxicated from the taste of blood before seeing the spider''s corpse. Aplicated expression could be seen on her face as she was unsure of what to feel towards this vision of her berserk self. The way she lost control, how sheughed as she brutalized the corpse. Was this really her? Before she could dive deeper into this feeling, she felt a stinging pain on her arm. Shadows slithered across the surface of her skin and started to converge into a pattern yet it wasn''t fully formed. There was still one thing that was missing. The power she wished to steal from the Spider. ncing towards the corpse of beast, she could see a purple me dancing in the air above the body. Reaching out towards the me, Alice watched as it split into three paths with each one showing a different scene. The first path showed the spider swinging its scythe like legs, cutting apart anything in her way. This then transformed into the figure of a man doing the same with scythes erupting from his forearms. The second path disyed the spider firing its webs coated with acid that melted everything it touched while also restraining the target. As for the figure of the man, he would weave webs between his palms before doing the same. The third and final path was the most confusing as the spider was not doing anything. It merely showed the spider standing still with a wound on its body and the sight of people stumbling over their own feet. It was the same vision for the man, he simply stood still with a wound on his body. ''Are these¡­ abilities that I can choose? Is this the final thing needed to achieve my first Sigil?'' Alice wondered to herself as she theorized on what she was supposed to do. Analyzing the different paths, she came to a conclusion on what kind of power she was getting. ''The first path allows me to grow weapons from my arms. Useful if I was strong physically. The second path seems to be simr to the first except this was more controlling a target rather than damaging it. The acid is nice but the main benefits seem to be restriction. It''ll require strong physical powers if I want to restrain a target. As for the third¡­ Seems like it''s poison blood. The spider was able to affect both me and the Assassin with just fumes from its blood. I assume taking this path means I get the same ability.'' Furrowing her brows, Alice started to scratch her neck while thinking of what she should do. She wasn''t a physical fighter at all so the first one waspletely off the table. She preferred the restraint option if she could but shecked the powers to do so at this moment. Thus she only really had one choice with this matter. Poisoned Blood! With poison blood, even if she takes damage during a fight, the scent of her blood would affect her target, letting her have an easier time as the fight continues. Plus, this will also help her outside of fighting if she was to extract her own blood. With her mind made up, she stepped towards the third path as the other two paths extinguished themselves. A wall of mes coiled around her body yet strangely, they did not hurt at all. It converged towards the ink on her forearm as a sudden burst of pain filled Alice''s body. Her heart felt as though it had been set aze while her blood began to boil. Little by little, the outline of the Sigil revealed itself on her left forearm starting from the tip of her ring finger. A streak of darkness that slithered up her arm as curled hooks branched out from the main body. From afar, the Sigil looked simr to a weave of thorns, a beast''s w or to some, even a heart at certain parts. Etching itself permanently on Alice''s skin, it slowly faded away as there was now a foreign power that flowed through her body. She instinctively understood that her body had been changed and if she was to reach out for this power, the Sigil would manifest itself and activate the powers along with it. With the branding of the Sigilplete, Alice felt a wave of lethargy hit her mind as she was forced out of this realm. Feeling control being returned to her body, Alice sat up in a panic and saw what she was now back at the cage where she first arrived at this ce. Furrowing her brows, she felt the cor on her neck once more. But unlike before, she didn''t feel as weak as she did back then. She felt¡­ energetic. Looking down at her left arm, she reached within for the foreign power and felt a surge of heat on her forearm. Little by little, the Sigil manifested itself. ''So it seems like I can get Sigils through killing beasts. But it doesn''t seem to be just any beast¡­ Something to do with a bounty. I also need to know more about the abilities of my current Sigil. I need to know the potency and effectiveness against beasts and people.'' Alice thought to herself. But despite all of this, there was a sense of excitement fluttering in her heart. Letting go of the power within, her Sigil faded away and her arm returned to its previous state. Looking to her side, she saw that Lilia was in deep slumber and seemed to be on the verge of waking up from the noise. With a Sigil at her disposal and the two of them safe after thest fight, Alice sighed in relief andid down in her cage. She''ll ask Liliater about what will happen to them now that they''ve passed the second round, on what their VIP sponsor would do. Chapter 24: A Lesson On Weakpoints Waking up in the morning with a long stretch, Alice felt strangely refreshed after obtaining a Sigil. Her body felt stronger and each of her movements was filled with energy. She wanted to jump, run and enjoy her body to its fullest but with her being restrained in the cage, she had to restrain herself. Looking to the side, she noticed that Lilia had woke up but looked devoid of energypared to how she felt. "Are you okay?" Alice asked curiously as Lilia nced over and forced a smile. "Yea I am. Just a little out of it after the fight yesterday." ". . ." Nodding her head, Alice sat down. She looked at the cold bowl of sludge ced in her cage as breakfast while two words ran clear in her mind. She''s lying. Alice has seen that smile plenty of times before. A smile that attempted to hide something deep within. The guilt in her eyes that ate away at her mind. Something happened in the time she was unconscious. Alice didn''t know what had changed but she knew Lilia was feeling great about it. "So how are you feeling? Are you feeling any side effects from the fumes of the blood?" Lilia asked with genuine concern as Alice picked up on this. ''Maybe it''s just something that happened to her. If its private, it makes sense she doesn''t want to share it.'' "I''m feeling¡­ energetic? Not tired. Maybe because spider died, fumes didn''t affect me too much. It''s also different from normal Twilight Hunter so maybe different effect." Alice bluffed. She knew that the fumes had indeed taken effect on her and wore off in the same she was sleeping, same with the effect she gained from drinking Dusk Hunter blood. Both of these side effects couldn''t be detected too easily which makes it easier to draw less suspicion upon herself. The only issue now is how she drew attention to herself with the act of killing that spider. Alice didn''t know what came over her, but it was not normal. ''Now that they saw how I killed the spider, there will be more pressure with how strong the enemies are. I''m not sure if they saw the Sigil on my arm either.'' Alice sighed to herself. "Hmm that''s a little strange. I thought you would be feeling sore with how much you were moving yesterday." Lilia scratched her hair in confusion while Alice shook her head. "No sores. Anyway, do you know where we¡­ going next? Underground again or somewhere else?" Alice asked curiously. She wanted to know what kind of fight they were going to have next so she could do some tests with her Sigil. "I don''t know how many days it''ll be, but I do know what the event is." Lilia replied slowly as she looked down and bit her lip. Taking a deep breath, she looked back at Alice. "It''ll be an underground fight. The two of us will be pitted against a few others for all to see. It''ll be hosted in the same arena as always, but standard bidders won''t be allowed to watch. I''m not sure how many obstacles there will be but expect a head on fight most of the time. Thankfully, we''re against humans so smaller weapons that we can use easily are pretty handy this time." Lilia exined as Alice nodded her head. "I guess¡­ we make traps? If there are obstacles." "Exactly. We need to take advantage of sneak attacks since we don''t have their power or durability. Which role do you want? The one that kills or baits them out? You have to remember that being the bait is the more dangerous and harder task." Lilia asked seriously. ''I can use my first Sigil as a hidden trump card if things go south¡­ Even with my increased physical powers¡­ I don''t know how thatpares to the others so it''ll be best if I don''t force things. Lilia is used to Assassination while my eye lets me see things in slow motion.'' Alice analysed as she opened her mouth. "Bait. I''ll be bait. It''s better if you go for kill." Hearing this, Lilia furrowed her brows. "You''ve been the bait for thest fight as well. I know you can dodge well but are you sure? Our attacking power is roughly the same so if you want to be the one whonds the final hit that''s fine too." Lilia asked as she wanted Alice to change her mind. Being the bait was going to put her life in more danger. "It''s fine. Safer if me being bait. Less chance of death." Alice reassured as Lilia scratched her hair and nodded her head. "Alright. But once we get our first kill, we''ll see what happens. If the others be wary, I''ll take over as bait and you kill okay?" Coming to apromise, the two discussed some ns while Lilia showed Alice certain weak points that can be exploited. "Listen to me Alice, since neither of us are head on fighters, ignoring what you did yesterday, we need to fight dirty. Sand in the eyes, tripping people over and so on, nothing is off limits. That means underhanded methods like poking eyes, hitting crotch if they''re male, stabbing the chest if they''re female or even going for the butt, all of that is extra good for fighters like us." Lilia exined while pointing at parts of her own body to demonstrate. "Don''t get go of your weapon if you can help it, don''t jump into their reach unless you''re absolutely sure you can go for the kill. Sometimes people will fake weaknesses and then hit you with arge counter. If your attack doesn''t kill, they won''t care." Hearing all of this, Alice nodded her head earnestly while trying to make a mental note on all the points that Lilia raised. "Okay so¡­ if I can poke eye, why not just stab mouth? Big hole, I stab." Alice asked curiously. "I mean, I never said you can''t. Just they don''t usually open their mouth unless they talk." "Then let them talk. Or ask question middle of fight. Or just stab anyways. Stabbing teeth hurts." Alice said while pointing at her own teeth. "Pft, ahahaha, that''s true. Stabbing teeth does hurt. But either way, as long as you can disable them momentarily it''ll help you set up the next attack." Liliaughed with a small smile on her face seeing Alice''s earnest eyes while talking about how to best kill a man. It was a strange sight to be sure but for Lilia, seeing Alice happy like this wasn''t a bad sight. Perhaps she would''ve seen more of this happiness on her sister''s face if she had helped her instead of actually happened in reality. But there was nothing she could do now. Her sister was dead, her brother was dead and now she was in this hellhole. The only thing she can do is to keep moving forward and atone for her mistakes. "Something wrong?" Alice asked seeing Lilia stare at her face without saying anything. "Nothing. Just focus up for tomorrow and we''ll get through it easily." Lilia shook her head as Alice nodded. ### The next morning, both Alice and Lilia was taken out of their cages before they could have breakfast. Neither of them were dragged by their necks and the cuffs around their wrists were undone. Bringing them to the weapon room, the Hunter waited for them to pick a weapon. Nodding at one another, they followed their previously discussed n and chose daggers. "Follow me. You''ll both be on the same tform." The Hunter said coldly as he led them to the tform. Closing the gates, he left them to themselves as Alice took a few breaths to calm her nerves. Fighting monsters was one thing, since they could be predictable. But fighting humans was another matter. Just like how she could use underhanded tactics to fight, they can do the same. "Nervous?" Lilia asked with a chuckle. "A little. Human different to beasts like the spider." Alice sighed. "Mnm, though if we''re lucky, it''ll be easier since humans are more likely to drop their guard. Give them a false destination and they''ll drop their guard right after achieving it and that''s your time to strike. Remember that." Hearing this, Alice took the advice to heart as it would be the perfect time to use her Sigil if the situation ever arises. A moment when they think they''ve won. It was the same way the Assassin died to the spider. He thought he won only for the spider to use the blood against him. If she wanted to use her Sigil well, she had to do the same. She had to adopt the mindset of a hunter,ying down traps for her prey. In this situation, the prey was the other ves they had to kill. Thinking about what she must do, Alice thought back to what Lilia asked. If she has ever killed a person or if she was willing to. If it meant her freedom? Yes, the lives of these ves are of no importance to her. She''ll kill them all if she has to. She knew that this is a brutal world. One where the weak were abused and tossed aside. ''I''ll do it. I''ll use every method avable to me in order to survive.'' Chapter 25: Fighting A Sigil Bearer Standing in the cage, Alice focused her mind while peeking through some of the gaps. She noticed that the patrons are already in the arena andpared to the usual patrons, they seemed more serious. Without an introduction, the cages were slowly raised into the arena as Alice immediately analysed their surroundings and looked to see if there was anything they could use to their advantage. High ground, cover and so on. Simr to the round with the spider, there was tall walls surrounding the ce with steps hammered into the side to allow for easy climbing while also having small wooden walls. A variety of barrels, boxes and even broken debris were ced within the arena. "Look up." Lilia whispered as Alice nced up and saw arge wooden board with names written on panels. Beside the names were numbers that seemed to be the money that was being betted on each of them. "12 names¡­ If working in groups of two, that''s 5 other teams." Alice furrowed her brows. Looking at the bets, she could see that their duo was rather high up, presumably due to the fact that she had killed the spider in thest round. The same spider that killed a three Sigil Assassin. ''That also means more groups will be focusing us if they saw what happened in the arena.'' Alice thought with a frown. If more teams focused on them, the chances of survival will dwindle rapidly. ''Will my Sigil even be potent enough to disarm the other groups? Would the hosts allow it? There will definitely be questions if I use the Sigil. Better save it until thest moment even if we''re outnumbered.'' "Let''s try set up traps once we''re a little further away from the cage. I can probably hide in some debris and wait for a good chance." Lilia said as she adjusted her grips on the daggers that she had picked. "Okay." Right after finishing their n of action, the doors to the cage dropped down as the two looked at each other and nodded their head. Running to the right side, they made their way into the forest of tall walls. However, they noticed something strange upon entering the area. The walls were differentpared to the fight with the spider as mechanical parts could be seen around the top and the edges. As the gears started to turn, a row of turrets were mounted at the top of certain turrets near each turn and exit. A bad feeling surfaced in Alice''s heart as she couldn''t help but doubt their choice of entering this area. "Can''t go back now. If we do, there might be a group waiting for stragglers. Without the advantage of a surprise attack, it''ll be more disadvantageous for us." Lilia furrowed her brows while looking up at the turrets. She wasn''t sure if she wanted to test her luck by climbing up since there''s no telling what will happen if she does. They might fire on sight and that wasn''t a risk Lilia wanted to take. "I''ll go on ahead and find some hiding spots. It''ll be harder to take them by surprise if I''m always by your side." Hearing this, Alice nodded her head as she watched Lilia sprint ahead. Now that she was on her own, Alice started to investigate the rubble around her. She wanted to see if there were any spare weapons or tools she could use. Unfortunately for her, there was nothing at all. Scratching her hair in annoyance, she started to walk towards where Lilia had ran off to. She was going to conserve her stamina where possible. ''Lilia should''ve had enough time to hide. I don''t hear any fighting yet¡­ Not sure if the patrons are enjoying the silence.'' Alice though to herself while ncing towards the crowd. They seemed to be whispering amongst each other while pointing towards her location. Feeling that something was wrong, Alice wanted to get away from her current location when the turrets that she had walked pass started to turn towards her location. Widening her eyes, Alice''s instincts were warning her as she immediately started to run away. From the turrets, a wave of fire rushed out, burning the path she had juste from. With the wall of fire rushing towards her, Alice had no choice but to run. ''Are they just forcing people to meet now?'' Alice thought to herself with a frown since she could see the other turrets activating as well. With several paths now cut off, she could only grit her teeth and keep running towards the fight with no other option left to her. Turning the corner, Alice felt the surface of her skin tingle with goosebumps on the left side. Trusting her instincts, she jumped towards the right and bent her body back. Watching a sword miss the side of her face, Alice widened her eyes and rolled back before adjusting her body so that she was back on her feet. "Eh? I could''ve sworn that would''ve taken your head off. No matter, just means I''ll have to use more effort to kill you. I don''t even know how a brat like you got such a high bounty. Did you even kill that spider? Or did you just get lucky?" A guy asked with a crooked smile. Despite being a ve, he seemed a little different than the others and had more armour on. It reminded her of the main attractions of each event. He wore a dark red shirt and jacket that showed off his chest with a variety of belts, buckles and armour around the shoulders. A pair of leather pants and brown boots. Attached to his belt was two sheaths, one still having the sword inside while the other is in his hand. He had short brown hair and a pair of blue eyes that found interest in seeing how Alice was able to dodge his surprise attack. ''He doesn''t feel as dangerous as Lars or the Assassin¡­ Perhaps he''s got less Sigils than them?'' Alice thought to herself while slowly backing off. She didn''t know where his partner was since this was teams of two. "Though I suppose I can see how you could get lucky considering that you dodged my attack. But if you get lucky multiple times in a row, can it really be called luck?" The asked while slowly approaching Alice. He had one hand on his sheathed sword, ready to pull it out at a moment''s notice. "Where your friend? Thought this was teams of two?" Alice asked as she adjusted her grip on the dagger. Since he was most likely another Sigil bearer, it was going to be hard to outrun him. "Hou~? Are you asking that because you want to fight us two against one, or are you asking that because you''re worried that he''ll sneak attack you while you fight me? Either way, it''s just me around here so don''t worry." He smiled while dashing towards Alice with his sword swinging down in a downward motion. Seeing this, Alice wanted to parry the de to the side but eventually decided against it. She was fast enough to dodge so there was no need to risk things just yet. However, the main thing she noticed was that he was lying. His friend was around here somewhere just like how Lilia was waiting in the dark. With both sides keeping one partner hidden, it was going to be a fight of who forces the other first. ''If Lilia appears first, we''ll be at a disadvantage. I need to hold my ground and try push him into a bad position. Let''s try force out his Sigil powers.'' Narrowing her eyes, Alice decided to go for the initiative. With the man missing his cleave down, she rushed in from the side and stabbed towards his armpit with her dagger. She wanted to injure his shoulder to remove the threat of him being able to dual wield. "That''s pretty vicious of you." Heughed while blocking her dagger with his sheath. Twisting his body, he wanted to sweep Alice off her feet but she was prepared. She had flicked her wrist upwards and the second dagger was flying towards his face while she jumped over the leg sweep. With no other choice, the man parried her dagger with his sword and managed to dodge the attack in time. Clicking her tongue in annoyance, Alice decided to stab towards the thigh instead. Surprised by Alice''s ruthlessness, the man stopped smiling and pulled his leg back before creating some distance between them. "You know, I have to say I was rather confused. These underground fights are usually done with ves that only have two Sigils. Once we win one of these fights, we''ll be allowed to see the Shaman to take a bounty for a third Sigil. After that, we''ll be a main attraction for the fights. Yet somehow, you and your friend were chosen for this fight despite not having a single Sigil. I underestimated you and for that, I''m sorry." The man apologized as he unsheathed his second de. "Clearly I''ll be making a fool out of myself if I don''t take this a little seriously so don''t hold it against me." He narrowed his eyes. Shadows lurked around his body before converging towards his chest and forming a Sigil on his cor bone while a second Sigil formed around his eye. ''Two Sigil user!'' Alice widened her eyes. She understood that she had been sabotaged. The VIP that brought the spider must''ve been annoyed that she killed it after the main attraction died. Gritting her teeth, Alice couldn''t help but curse the VIP in her mind while trying to keep her focus up against this man. She had never fought another person never mind a two Sigil user. One wrong step and this was going to be her end. Chapter 26: Using The First Sigil With things as they were, it was very risky for Lilia to reveal herself. ''Every contestant in this arena has two Sigils, if what he said was correct. While I do have one Sigil, Lilia doesn''t have any. The moment she appears, she''ll most likely get killed by the other person that''s hiding.'' Alice thought to herself. "Before we start fighting for real, care to tell me your name?" The man asked with a smile. "Only if you tell me yours." "It''s only natural of me to do so. Alright, the name is Tristan. Now, may I know the name of thedy I''m about to kill?" Tristan asked as he entered a battle stance with his des. "Alice." Right after finishing her reply, Alice dashed forward. She had to pressure him and force his partner to reveal himself! Just before reaching Tristan, she stopped her momentum and kicked dirt towards his face, causing him to frown before swinging in Alice''s direction. Missing his attack, Tristan immediately backed up while preparing the second de for a follow up if Alice revealed herself. A small hand suddenly grabbed his wrist, preventing him from swinging the second de. "!!!" Widening his eyes in shock, Tristan watched as Alice swung herself behind him with her momentum in an attempt to stab him in the back. Using his main sword, he parried her attack before letting go of the other de. Grabbing Alice by the wrist, Tristan attempted to swing her over his shoulder and into the ground. However, just as he swung Alice over his shoulders, a dirty foot kicked him in the face, some dirt entering his eyes. Stumbling back, he let go of Alice and wiped his face to get the dirt out of his eyes. Once he managed to open his eyes, Tristan watched a de enter his vision, threatening to cut his head in two. ''Is this really a girl with no Sigils??? She fights more viciously than some of the beasts I''ve killed in the past!'' Tristan screamed in his mind as he bent his body back, narrowly avoiding the de. Before he could counter, Alice had already abandoned the sword that was more than half her size, knowing she could not recover fast enough for a follow up swing. There was simply too much momentum for her to stop. With the de now tossed aside, Alice returned to her original spot after picking up the dagger she threw earlier. Seeing that Tristan was not harmed in the slightest, she clicked her tongue in frustration. She had tried her best during that barrage of attacks, yet none of themnded. Panting softly, she was trying to catch her breath since it seemed as though Tristan was also taking a moment to recover. As much as she wanted to attack him again, she didn''t have the stamina to keep up a fast-paced assault like that back-to-back. "No more ying around!" Tristan gritted his teeth as his first Sigil lit up with a purple glow. Dashing forward, he twisted his body, putting his full force into the swing. Watching it in slow motion, Alice caught a small flicker of lightning on the de. She knew she had to dodge. Putting as much force into her legs as she could muster, she barely dodged a streak of lightning that exploded forth from the de. *KSH!!!* Striking the wall behind Alice, the wood was ripped apart and set ame. She couldn''t help but sweat at the thought of what might have happened if it hit her. If she wasn''t able to dodge in time, she would''ve been taken out of this fight. Gritting her teeth, she lunged towards Tristan in desperation. There was no telling how many times she would be able to dodge the lightning. She couldn''t hold back. Shocked that she was able to dodge the lightning, Tristan paused for a moment before quickly recovering as he adjusted his grip and thrust his sword forward. A streak of lightning arced towards Alice''s face, but once again, she was able to dodge it. She had rxed her legs and rolled across the floor. She could feel her hair stand up from the lightning. Throwing her dagger, Alice took the small window of time to drag the de of the other dagger across her palm. Since her first Sigil was in her blood, she wasn''t sure if it was a passive effect that permanently changed her blood or if the poison was something she had to activate manually. Either way, it was a good time to test its effectiveness. As long as she cuts him or finds a way for her blood to enter his body, she should be able to test if it worked passively or not! With a n in mind, she jumped towards him with her dagger hidden behind her. "You damn brat!" Tristan shouted out in frustration, hisposure long gone. He couldn''t believe he wasn''t able to kill a brat despite having two Sigils. Closing his left eye for a moment, he reopened it as Alice felt the fear of death. *BANG!!!* Before she could react, a bolt of lightning dropped down from the skies and struck her body. The power of this lightning was weaker than the previous strikes, but it made up for that in terms of activation speed. Seeing Alice drop to her knees while struggling to stay conscious, Tristan sighed in relief. He couldn''t admit that a no-Sigil brat actually made him panic, but it was the truth. The way she moved, her reaction speed and her instincts were all top tier. Had it not been for the unseen surprise attack thanks to his second Sigil, he didn''t think he would be able to catch her without exerting himself to the limit. But now that Alice was defenseless, he sheathed his second de and prepared to kill her with his main sword. ''NOW!'' Snapping her eyes open, Alice red at Tristan who had walked within her range and lunged towards him despite being riddled with open wounds and burns. ''She can still move in that state!?!?'' Stumbling back in shock, Tristan was unable to react in time as Alice managed to stab her dagger deep into his forearm. With her blood now entering his body, she gave the dagger a twist just to make the wound bigger. Just as Tristan wanted to throw Alice away, he buckled over on one knee as strength left his body. His muscles fell limp as he seemed to be struggling against something. Seeing this, Alice realised that her blood had indeed changed; it was passively acting as the Twilight Hunter''s poison. However, the potency of the blood was severely weakened as Tristan snapped out of his stupor and grabbed Alice by the head before mming her against the ground. *COUGH!* Feeling the wind being pushed out of her lungs, Alice was not able to move her body at all. With anger in his eyes, Tristan no longer wasted any time and tried to stab her with his de. "ARGGGG!" Before he could kill Alice, Lilia appeared behind him and stabbed his heel. Forcing him to copse onto his knees, she sighed in relief seeing the sword miss Alice. Her life was spared, for now. Changing her target to his neck, she was about to end his life when a wave of spikes shot towards her location. Quickly jumping back, she grabbed Alice''s body and created some distance between them. "Don''t smell blood. Careful." Alice muttered as Lilia furrowed her brows. However, she had already breathed in the fumes. Her body was continuously losing strength. Widening her eyes, it reminded her of what happened to the Assassin against the spider. ''It can''t be¡­'' Lilia furrowed her brows since Alice shouldn''t have been able to get a Sigil from that kill. However, if she had seen a shaman before arriving at the docks, it would make sense why she was adamant on killing that Spider. But these were questions she could askter, once they got out of their predicament. "Kill them both! Especially that flower eye brat! Make sure she dies painfully!" Tristan ra as he was clutching his heels in pain. His friend that had arrived was dressed in a simr fashion only with his forearms fully exposed. Spikes could be seen growing out from his forearms towards his fist and it was these same spikes that had forced Lilia to back off. He was also a two Sigil user as a Sigil could be seen on his forearms and on his neck. "Alright." The man nodded his head as the Sigil on his forearms lit up with an orange glow. Flicking his arms, tens of spikesunched towards the two of them as Lilia grabbed some nearby nks and used it as cover. However, the spikes easily demolished the nk as though it was nothing. But Lilia''s goal had been reached and it served as a small protection against the lethal spikes. She covered for Alice and was littered with wounds from head to toe. "Things are looking a tad rough huh? If you have any more Twilight Hunter blood, this might be the time to use it." Lilia forced a smile since facing against a duo of two Sigil users was not what she had expecteding into this. "Alright." Alice nodded her head. This was no time to hold back. She understood that her first Sigil now had a passive effect, one that was slightly weaker than the Twilight Hunter poison. But there was something more. She could still feel that her Sigil could grant her another ability, an active ability. Alice just had to reach deep inside and pull out the abyssal power that dwelled within her body. One that required her to active her Sigil. Taking a deep breath, she could feel a wave of shadows squirming towards her arm as it solidified into her first Sigil. A deep crimson energy pulsed out as a new sensation filled Alice''s body. Seeing the Sigil on Alice''s arm, Lilia was shocked speechless, but a smile appeared on her face. She understood that Alice was something that could protect herself when needed. She wasn''t something that needed Lilia''s protection constantly. Chapter 27: Active Ability "Get back and find a chance when you can. I don''t know what else my Sigil can do. Might drag you into it." Alice muttered as she was about to activate her Sigil''s ability. Nodding her head in understanding, Lilia jumped back as Alice seemed confident that she could handle this. ''I''ll look for a chance to sneak attack the lightning guy while they''re focused on Alice.'' Now that she was on her own for now, Alice dashed into some cover and coated her dagger with some of her blood once more. Taking a deep breath to prepare herself, she jumped up and threw her dagger towards the duo while activating her Sigil. Waiting for her dagger to react, she was shocked to see nothing happened. Noticing Tristan with his eye closed, Alice widened her eyes and tried to get back into cover but it was toote. Watching the skies rumble momentarily before a bolt of lightning struck towards her, she watched everything happening in slow motion as her body reacted much faster than she had expected. Within this slowed world, she was moving as though in normal speed. *BANG!!! Dodging the lightning strike with ease, Alice understood what her active ability was. The passive allowed her blood to poison while the active enhanced her physical capabilities. The only issue with this is that it increased the amount of blood she was losing through her wounds. ''I can probably use this in small bursts like I do with my eye. Overuse it too quickly and I''ll pass out from blood-loss. I''m already feeling dizzy from the short burst that I used it.'' Alice thought to herself with a frown while deactivating her Sigil. Clutching her head, she wasn''t allowed to rest as the second manunched another barrage of spikes towards her location. Dodging the strikes, she took a deep breath and scanned the battlefield. Both of her daggers were beside the duo meaning she had to run towards them bare handed. She only needed to take out the spiked man since he was the only one that could still move. ''Since my blood affected Lilia, it''s safe to assume that Tristan can''t use his lightning near his duo unless he wants to kill us both. While the spiked man can''t use his ranged ability near Tristan or else he might die. Its risky to run towards them but in the grand scheme of things, I''m at an advantage!'' Making up her mind, Alice vaulted over the cover and dashed towards them while keeping her body low to the ground. She was prepared to activate her Sigil when needed to dodge the lightning. Seeing Alice charging towards them, the spiked man nced at Tristan and nodded his head. His second Sigil lit up with a golden colour as spikes grew all over his body, forming into ayer of armour. Charging towards Alice with a surprising burst of speed for a man of his stature. Widening her eyes, she wanted to dodge his charge when he activated his first Sigil,unching a barrage of spikes in close proximity. Gritting her teeth, she activated her Sigil ability once more as blood rushed through her body. Observing the iing wave of spikes in slow motion, she dodged the barrage and grabbed the dagger on the floor. Grabbing one of the spikes on his back, she used it to swing herself onto his shoulders and prepared to stab down with her dagger. Feeling a sense of unease in her heart, she looked up and saw the bolt of lightning falling towards her location. ''Sh*t!'' Cursing inwardly in panic, she gave up on her attack and jumped away. *BANG!!! As the lightning crashed into the second man, Alice watched as he escaped unharmed. Understanding that Tristan will just target his friend if she tries to kill them, Alice turned her attention to him and narrowed her eyes. Activating her Sigil, she dashed towards him but Tristan was unphased. A wall of spikes shot out from the ground, protecting him. Widening her eyes, Alice felt her vision blur. A skull splitting headache assaulted her mind as she saw the second man charging towards her at full force but she didn''t have the strength to dodge. With no other choice than to just brace herself for impact, Alice crossed her arms and protected her upper chest and head. *CRACK!!! Feeling an unstoppable force crashing into her body, Alice could feel several spikes piercing into her flesh as she was flung back. Rolling across the ground, Alice coughed profusely as blood started to pool under her body. She could feel the heat departing from her body as the tips of her fingers became cold. Her vision was growing darker and darker with each passing moment. She could see the barrier of spikes around Tristan dropping as he prepared to kill her with lightning. However, before he could, a figure dashed behind him as both of their attention had been ced on Alice. Flicking her wrist, Lilia stabbed down with her daggers into Tristan''s neck. There was one dagger on each side and she gave the des a harsh twist as Tristan shock in his eyes, unable to process what had just happened. Decapitating Tristan, Lilia turned her attention to the man in the spiked armour. She could see several gaps within and knew she only had a short window to kill while he was shocked over his friend''s death. Stabbing the back of his knees, she kicked him in the legs, forcing him to copse on his knees before narrowing her eye. A cruel light flicked through her gaze as she plunged the de down against his upper spine. Jolting up from the shock, the man wanted to scream out but his body was unresponsive. "!!!" Widening his eyes in shock, he was unable toprehend what had just happened as heid against the ground, trying his best to move his body as dread filled his heart. "W-WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME! IS THIS A SIGIL?!?! ANSWER ME WOMAN!" He shouted out with fear overwhelming his body. He tried his best to activate his Sigil but the spikes did not fire towards her direction. With him unable to control his arms, it would only fire backwards, away from his target. She could see the panic in his eyes as he was trying his best to move his body. "It''s no Sigil. I''m just a ve who understood the human body after killing her old master." Lilia spoke coldly as she kicked him only his back. With him unable to react, he could only try to use his second Sigil to harm her but she was already on guard against it. Grabbing the corpse of Tristan, she threw it against his chest before sitting down, using Tristan as a seat. Taking hold of his chin, she narrowed her eyes before grabbing her dagger and plunging the de into his face repeatedly. Every stab caused blood to stter around her as the flowers on her body seem to revel in the bloodshed. With the man''s face now mutted beyond recognition, she stabbed the de into his ear and pierced his brain. Seeing the Sigils deactivate, Lilia sighed in relief before making her way over to Alice. Alice was barely conscious as her body heat was rapidly decreasing. Turning Alice onto her back, Lilia grabbed her knife and narrowed her eyes at Alice. "Lilia¡­" Alice muttered softly. "I''m sorry." Lilia apologised as that was thest thing Alice heard before darkness gripped her mind once more. ### Standing alone in a cave, Allura furrowed her brows in annoyance as there was nothing but false clues within this cave. All of the people here were expendable pawns with some being brainwashed members belonging to the Church of the Sun. "The sun worshipping b*stards aren''t gonna like this. Urg, there''s going to be a bunch of them in the ughter Docks in theing weeks." Allura sighed as she massaged her head. Right now, there was already quite a few Church of the Moon followers residing in the ughter Docks. If the Church of the Sun arrive, tensions will be high and fights could break out at a moment''s notice. Shaking her head, Allura wanted to investigate more when she sensed a connection faltering, a sense of death. Widening her eyes, she snapped her head towards the direction of the ughter docks and gritted her teeth. Throwing her cigarette aside, she exploded in a burst of mes and disappeared from the cave. She transformed into a streak of light that cut a path towards the ughter Docks. Her eyes narrowed in annoyance as she didn''t even contact Gin about the results of the mission. She had bigger worries in her mind right now. Chapter 28: Concequences Standing in a familiar room, Lilia stood without saying a single word while the VIP stared at her silently. The guards around her blocked the exit while another guard stood beside her as usual. Nothing had changed since she hadst arrived in this ce. "Now I must say, I do believe I have been quite kind to you. Even now, I''m expressing a tremendous amount of patience. And it all hinges on how you will respond to me from this moment onwards. I do hope that you prepared an adequate exnation for why you deviated from the ns." The woman asked as Lilia stood still. "Because if I didn''t make a move I would''ve died with her. I could find anot-" Lilia tried to exin but the woman shook her head. "No no, what I''m asking is why you decided to feed her your own Vampire Lily blood at the end. She would''ve easily died from her wounds sooner orter yet you decided to feed her your own blood." The woman narrowed her eyes with a re. When a person suffering from the side effects of Vampire Lily begins to reach the final stages of their transformation, their blood will take on the properties of Vampire Lily. Meaning it was a slightly weaker healing tonic if given to someone. While the potency of such a haphazard fix was low, it was good enough to seal a few wounds and stop blood loss. The important fact was that it had allowed Alice to survive. "Though I must say, I was rather surprised by both of your performances. Hers especially. Who knew she actually got a Sigil from her fight against the spider, perhaps that was why she was so adamant in killing it despite the dangers and the Assassin already having died to the spider. Either way, I have discovered more uses for that girl but for you¡­ your uses are running out." The woman sighed while standing up. Walking around her desk, she sat on the table and looked at Lilia before crossing her legs. "What reason do I even have to keep you around?" She asked as Lilia gritted her teeth and had nothing to say. "How about this? I want you to carve off everything affected by Vampire Lily manually. After that, I''ll forgive you for what you have done in round 3. Surely, this is easier to do than to sacrifice your friend, right? I''m just asking you to take out everything that''s negatively influencing your body." The woman asked as she gestured for her guard to throw Lilia a dagger. She wasn''t scared of Lilia attacking her with the de since there was three guards in the room. Widening her eyes, Lilia knew that the woman was just ying around with her but there was nothing she could do about it. Holding the dagger in front of her, Lilia bit her lip and adjusted her grip. "If I carve out everything you''ll forgive me right?" Lilia asked as her voice quivered from the thought of carving her own flesh. "Of course, you have my word. In fact, we''ll even make sure you live through the process." The woman smiled. There was a glint of amusement in her eyes. Taking a deep breath, Lilia plunged the de into the flower growing out of her eye. "ARGG!!!" Letting out a scream of pain, Lilia wanted to stop but she had to keep going. She had already betrayed her own flesh and blood once! She refused to do it again for someone like Alice. Someone who she wanted to protect like her little sister. Tensing her jaw as hard as possible, she continued to dig away at the flower as green and red blood sttered across the floor. Grabbing the petals, she tore it out with her own hands before throwing it against the ground. "You''re not done yet." The womanughed. Ignoring what the woman said, Lilia continued to y her skin as she tore out the roots growing through her body. The flowers that slowly blossomed on the side of her body, her back, everything. Every root, every flesh petal, she carved it all out. Her bloodshot eyes continued to re as she carved thest piece of flesh and tore out the roots. The entire right side of Lilia''s body was now torn and bloodied withrge chunks of infected flesh tossed out around her. "PFTT!!! Ahahaha okay okay, I didn''t think you''ll actually go that far. Oh goodness, alright I''ll reward you for that. Keep her alive with this, I don''t want to touch her." The womanughed while throwing a blue vial to her guard. Kneeling next to Lilia, he stuffed the vial into her mouth as her flesh started to melt together before stopping. Once all of her wounds had been patched up, the guard could see Lilia''s gaze fluctuating as she was barely keeping herself conscious. The amount of pain and shock she must''ve gone through was enough to knock out a seasoned Hunter yet she was able to keep herself awake during all of that. "As promised, I''ll forgive you for what you''ve done." The woman smiled as Lilia felt relieved. "Thank-" "Don''t thank me just yet. Just because I forgive you doesn''t mean I don''t have more jobs for you to do." She grinned sadistically as Lilia felt her heart sink through her chest. "Take her away, I''ll have the hosts set up round 4 in an hour. And take her to Kailn while you''re at it. Make sure she actually does her job this time." The woman narrowed her eyes. Hearing this, Lilia widened her eye and grabbed the de. She wanted to see if there was even a small chance that she''ll let them go. But with things as it stands, she had nothing to lose. Throwing the dagger towards the woman, she wanted to lunge forward and kill her but her actions had been predicated. An expectant gaze could be seen on her face as the guard parried Lilia''s dagger before grabbing her by the throat and mming her against the floor, causing the wooden boards to crack from the force. "What did I say? She''ll try to kill me no matter what." The woman chuckled. "Setting that aside, has the hosts given a deadline for purchasing Alice?" "Not yet. It seems they are apologetic that both the spider and the Assassin died in the same fight. They''re extending the grace period for a little longer if you wish to y around some more." The guard shook his head. "Perfect. That means my ns for today can go ahead as expected." The woman smiled in satisfaction. "Once the meeting with Kailn finishes, go take the half and half girl to the arena then wake her up with Vampire Lily. Nodding his head, he understood that Alice was in for a terrible life at the hands of this woman. Making his way out of the room, he went to notify the hosts that his master wished for round four to start in an hour as Lilia was now on a timer while Alice was still suffering from wounds. ''Dirty jobs as always¡­'' He sighed. But as much as he hates what he has to do under that woman''s name, he had to follow orders. He was simply a guard doing his duty. With the hosts notified, he arrived at Alice''s cage and unlocked the cage. Seeing that she was pale from the blood loss, he was tempted to feed her some blood now to stabilise her condition but that was not what his master wanted. Taking her away from her cage, he lifted her up on his shoulder and made his way to the arena where round four was going to be hosted. It''s a much smaller venuepared to the main arenas for the more¡­ intimatebat scenarios. One on one fights. ### Feeling a bright light shining against her face, Alice furrowed her brows and slowly opened her eyes. She still felt lightheaded but it was manageable. She could faintly taste the vour of iron in her mouth as she understood that she was fed some blood while she was unconscious. ''Did I get healed?'' Alice wondered to herself while clutching her head. There was a single bright light shining in her direction making it hard for her to see anything around her. Furrowing her brows, she tried to remember what had happened before this moment and realised that she had been knocked out after witnessing Lilia finish off the other two. ''Is Lilia safe?'' Ignoring the headache, she walked out of the spotlight so that she could make out her surroundings. Compared to the usual arena, this ce was much smaller on scale withrge metal chains forming a web around the edges, preventing her from leaving. A myriad of weapons was scattered about in a simr manner to the arena meaning she had to fight something. ''If I''m still alive then that means we made it out of that round.'' Walking over to a dagger and a single sword, she adjusted her grip on both weapons before walking around the arena, trying to see what she was going up against. She noticed that there was an extra extravagant seat just outside the arena and a beautiful woman in a red dress sat upon the seat with a small smile on her face. "Who are you?" Alice asked with a frown. There was something unsettling about this woman that was triggering rms within her head. She couldn''t put a finger to what the feeling was but she did not want anything to do with it. "I''m your sponsor, dear. Let''s just say I''m interested in what you can do so this will be thest round in the arena. If you win, I will purchase you, be your new master and grant you a life much better than this one. If you lose¡­ well you die." The woman shrugged as Alice furrowed her brows. pping her hands, the sounds of chains rustling echoed out from above the arena as Alice took a few steps back in caution. "And let''s just say your friend Lilia has been given the same opportunity." She chuckled. Slowly entering the spotlight, Alice saw Lilia, or rather what she had be climbing upon the chains surrounding the arena. Clutching her chest, she understood why she had an uneasy feeling with the woman. She had the same smile as the scientists that experimented on her, the uncanny smile that viewed everything as a test to see what result humoured her. Large stiches could be seen across Lilia''s body as her limbs had been separated at the joints and connected with mechanical contraptions that pulsed with red tubes threading through her skin. Unnatural cannisters and gears clicked across Lilia''s torso as her body twitched with each movement. She was like a clockwork doll that was crafted from an amalgamation of flesh and machinery. Her jaw had been entirely reced by a mechanical mask while her bloodshot eyes roamed around the arena before focusing on Alice. Twisting her body 180 degrees, she dropped down into the arena, revealing her yed back. It waspletely exposed as her lungs had been reced by rhythmic pumps that pushed red fluid through her body. Her heart, beating against the machinery with several vials attached to her veins, each carrying a vial of unknown blood. Her skin had been stretched and sown to represent wings while blood dripped from the wounds. "Lilia?" Alice muttered in horror as Lilia slowly stumbled towards her with mechanical movements. "A¡­li¡­ce¡­" Chapter 29: Alices Choice Hearing Lilia call out her name in such a manner, a surge of pain flooded Alice''s heart as she red towards the woman with wrath filled eyes. "YOU! What did you do to her!" Alice roared out, surprising the woman with the sheer amount of emotions she was disying. "Oh my, who knew you could show this much emotion. Let''s just say¡­ I had someone make her morepliant so she actually follows orders properly." The woman chuckled, before pping her hands. "Dance girl, show your friend your new form." The woman grinned as Lilia started to twitch before her limbs were forced into a dancing posture. Each movement she did caused Lilia to cry out in pain as Alice dashed towards the woman and grabbed onto the chains separating the two of them. "Stop that! What do you even want with us!" Alice shouted out while shaking the chains, hoping to tear them apart so that she could reach the woman. "I just want some entertainment. I lost a lot of money after both the Assassin and the spider died. So I''m getting my money''s worth. You shouldn''t turn your back against your friend though, since in this arena, you two are enemies." The woman smiled while snapping her fingers. "ARGGGG!!!" des erupted from Lilia''s body as she burst into a crawl before lunging towards Alice with her elongated limbs. Gritting her teeth, Alice rolled to the side before taking a few step backs. However, Lilia was persistent as she continued to throwrge swings towards Alice with her des. Each swing caused her skin to rip as blood dripped against the white floor of the arena. Panic filled Alice''s mind as she didn''t know what she should do. She didn''t know how she should return Lilia to normal. How would she fix Lilia''s body? She didn''t know. "Lets make her a little¡­ motivated shall we? Can''t have you dodging constantly." The womanughed while pping her hands. To her, this was like a circus where two actors threw knives at one another, each threatening to take their life. But the daggers always went wide, there was no excitement in this. She wanted to see the moment where the knife brushes against on of their cheeks, the moment where blood is spilled and the cold ws of death gripped their throats with each subsequent throw. She desired to see that bone chilling rush of adrenaline with this fight. With hermand, one of the vials within Lilia''s back started to empty out as the vial of blood coursed through her body. Her veins were dyed in a deep green as the machinery around her body roared into life. Steam escaped through parts of her body as the red fluid within turned a deep shade of green. Lilia''s body contorted as vines erupted from her limbs and covered the ground of the arena. Furrowing her brows, Alice wanted to cut away the vines but she understood that doing so would cause Lilia a great deal of pain. ''Deep Root Spirit Blood. Blood belonging to a type of nt beast that sets traps on the ground. Each of its vines are highly sensitive and the moment it senses a foreign living being, it''ll snap up and trap the opponent. Drinking the blood gives you the same type of ability as you''ll be able to set traps. But the downsides are that pain is significantly enhanced due to the sensitivity. A great torture tool.'' Alice recited in her mind. She could vividly remember the sensation of having the roots being cut off from her body when she was undergoing the experiment. It felt as though her nerves were being torn out strand by strand, little by little while making sure it was as painful as possible. Since cutting the vines will be harmful for Lilia, Alice gritted her teeth since there was only one thing that she could do! She had to kill the woman givingmands to Lilia. Doing so may help Lilia momentarily. Jumping up, she grabbed onto the chains as she cut a line across her palm. Coating her dagger with blood she flung the dagger towards the woman in one swift motion. "Why are the two of you both like this?" The woman sighed in disappoint. "All you have to do is kill the other and you''ll be allowed what I promised." Before the dagger couldnd against her, the guard knocked it aside while also making sure none of the blood even came close to hitting her. "I don''t believe I have ever broke a promise that I''ve set. Granted, whates after is up for debate but I did what I promised." The woman joked before snapping her finger once more. Another vial activated as more blood was injected into Lilia''s body. ring at the woman for a moment, Alice turned her attention back to Lilia who was now clutching her body while making groaning sounds. Gritting her teeth, Alice watched as the two Abyss Bloods mixed within Lilia''s body, forming an unholy union that sent shivers down her spine. Tworge horns erupted from her forehead as ck ichor erupted from her orifices. Her eye turnedpletely ck as it was hard to tell where she was looking. "I''m¡­ S¡­orry¡­" Hearing the groans from Lilia, Alice bit her lip and held back the flood of anger in her heart. Lilia was someone she considered to be a friend. Something she thought was impossible for 10 whole winters. She was someone who helped her out in this ce yet the woman who sponsored her revelled in Lilia''s pain. As her anger reached its peak, Alice looked towards the ground and saw another sword pierced into the floor. Leaping down, she grabbed the sword and rolled to the side, sensing danger from behind. A wave of vines spread this ck substance wherever it touched as Alice dipped the tip of her sword into this fluid. Seeing that there was no reaction, she could only estimate that it reacted based on human contact but it was a blood type she had never seen before nor felt the sensation of. Adjusting her grip on her swords, Alice stared at Lilia who slowly turned her body towards Alice''s direction. "I''m¡­ S¡­ orry¡­" She repeated once more as Alice made up her mind. She didn''t know if it was the right answer but it was the only thought of mercy she could imagine. The look of fear in Lilia''s eyes, the pain of having one''s body yed open and injected with a myriad of blood, she understood it all. It was a demon she has fought for 10 long winters. Had it not been for her unnatural mutation, she would not have recovered from the experiments just like Lilia. Biting her lip, Alice adjusted her gaze on Lilia. The shaking of her grip against the sword, she was nervous. Alice understood that while she may try fool herself into a mindset internally, her bodynguage betrayed her fear, her anger and her sadness of what she wanted to do. She wanted to put Lilia out of her misery but to her, it was not entirely an act of selflessness. It was selfishness. Selfishness in wanting to survive this god forsaken ce and see the light of day once more. With her mind now made her, Alice could only pray for redemption in her mind as she dashed towards Lilia, causing the woman to sit up on her seat. Her eyes flickering with expectation as she understood the light in Alice''s eyes. Her mind was made up and she was going for the final kill! Excitement filled her heart as she wanted to capture every moment. From the instant that Alice''s face warps from realisation at what she had just done to the anger she''ll feel towards her. She wanted to see it all. Dodging through Lilia''s attacks, Alice broke through her defence with ease. Her chest was fully open, one twist of the sword was all it''ll take to extinguish this life. All she had to do was plunge the de in and the fight will be over. But she hesitated. Simply because it was Lilia. With her unable to take the final strike, Alice gritted her teeth and jumped back, avoiding the vines that were about to grab her. "Why! Why did you give up at thest moment! There was such beauty in your gaze! That fiery passion, that resolve to kill your friend! Why did you stop!?" The woman shouted out in annoyance as Alice only red towards her. "Tsk! Fine, let''s do it this way then!" Snapping her fingers, the rest of the vials emptied out into Lilia''s body as she started to twitch from the pain. Her body contorted with bones and flesh bursting out of her torso while tears of blood streaked down her cheeks. "What''s your answer now Alice! Will you kill or be killed!?" The woman questioned while Alice could only clench her fist. Biting her lip, Alice tried to dodge as much as she could but the ferocity of the attacks were increasing. "A..lice¡­" Looking up, Alice watched as Lilia opened her arms as though weing a hug, exposing her chest. Mustering the best smile she could in this condition, she tried her best to halt her attacks. "Do¡­ it¡­" Hearing this, something snapped within Alice''s mind as she let out a gut wrenching cry before dashing towards Lilia. Plunging her sword into Lilia''s chest, she twisted the de as ck blood flooded the arena floor. Holding back her feelings of pain, Lilia gave Alice a hug as images of her sister and brother shed through her mind. But there was one more thing she wanted to do. Something she had to do to make sure Alice didn''t me herself. "Thank¡­ You¡­" Squeezing out thest two words with what remained of her energy, she fell limp next to Alice. Feeling Lilia''s body fall limp next to her, Alice started to pant heavily as anger and sadness surged in her heart. Gritting her teeth, she red at the woman who orchestrated all of this. She was going to kill this woman if it''s thest thing she did. Chapter 30: Fighting Gallard Grabbing one of the swords, Alice continued to re at the woman while jamming the de into the gaps of the chains that surrounded the arena. Activating her Sigil, a surge of power flooded her body as she pushed down on the chains in an attempt to break them. "re at me all you want but it doesn''t change the truth. You killed her. But that is the face I like to see. I was afraid you know? Afraid that my efforts were in vain and I would''ve missed such a sight." The woman taunted while Alice continued her attempts to pry the chains apart without a second word. Seeing that she was getting no response from Alice, the woman frowned. "Tsk, no fun. Gard, go knock her out. Tell the hosts I want the most secure bindings for when I take her home with me." The woman sat down on the chair, having full faith in her servant. Sighing softly, Gard nodded his head. "I will do as yo-" Before he could finish his sentence, the two of them heard a snap from behind as he immediately drew his sword and parried a flying de that was about to hit the woman. ncing back, he could see an enraged Alice standing in front of a pile of broken chains. Her bloodshot eyes ring at the two of them menacingly as her first Sigil red with an abyssal might that surged through her body. ''How did she¡­ Even with the first Sigil granting the user a boost in strength, it shouldn''t be enough to break chains of this strength.'' Gard thought to himself with a frown. With the chains now broken, there was nothing blocking them from one another. Grabbing a dagger from the arena, Alice charged towards Gard who readied his de. "OUT! OF! MY! WAY!" Alice shouted out in pure rage. Slicing the dagger across her palm, she threw her blood towards Gard. Seeing this, he immediately held his breath since he knew what her Sigil''s ability was. He witnessed it during her fight against Tristan yet it was still a moment toote as he could feel the strength leaving his body. Widening his eyes, he couldn''t believe the potency of her blood as it was something that shouldn''t be affecting him. Yet his vision was blurring from the fumes. Furrowing his brows, he activated his own Sigil ability as he sliced forward with his sword. A ring of crimson energy burst forth as it threatened to cleave Alice in half. But everything was captured within Alice''s vision. Stepping to the side, she dodged the ring of energy before twisting her body,unching the dagger at the woman behind Gard. "Forget the previousmand! Kill her!" The woman panicked seeing things beginning to get out of hand. Gritting his teeth, Gard dashed in front of the woman and parried the dagger. Activating his second Sigil, a simr ring of energy erupted out around him before expanding out in an instant. Jumping over the pulse of energy, Alice grabbed her de while ring at the two. She could see it, see how she should proceed with the tools she had avable to her. She could feel the bleeding on her palm worsening from her active ability but it was fine. The more blood she sprayed onto this battlefield, the more beneficial it was for her! Throwing her dagger once more, Alicended on the ground before pushing as much force as she could into her legs, dashing towards the sword she first threw after breaking the chains. Blocking the dagger that Alice threw, Gard wanted to parry Alice''s de but his sword was mispositioned to parry a second time in quick session. With him having to protect the woman behind him, it was difficult to fight how he wanted. He would''ve been fine alone but Alice''s attacks were much more relentless than he had expected and it was taking more out of him to fight against the effects of her poison. Even now, more of his strength was being drained with each passing second. Gritting his teeth, he activated his third Sigil as energy pulsed out from his body, covering him in a crimson glow. The pulse caused Alice to be pushed back as she adjusted the grip on her sword to slow herself to a half. Three rings appeared behind him as he designated Alice as the target of attack. With the target now selected, the three rings shot towards her. ''Three Sigil bearer!'' Widening her eyes, Alice was d that her first Sigil ability was one that weakened her target otherwise this fight will be much harder than it already is. Focusing her gaze, she forced her eye to overexert itself as everything in her vision slowed down once more. Dodging the first ring, she parried the second. But this proved to be a mistake as the ring began to shave off the metal of the de. Furrowing her brow, she adjusted her grip to save as much of the sword as she could before rolling out of the way for the third ring. Seeing as how the rings were swerving around to attack her again, Alice gritted her teeth and dashed towards Gard. Since they were looping back around, she doubted that Gard will risk harming himself of the master behind him with his third Sigil ability. "You did well, if you had more Sigils I''m afraid this wouldn''t have been easy for me. But I''m sorry, this is as far as you get." Gard apologised as a fourth marking appeared above his left eye. ''Four Sigils!'' Widening her eyes, Alice wanted to dodge but was toote. Around her, crimson rings manifested themselves as her movement was restricted. Gritting her teeth, she was unable to move a single limb as Gard sighed in relief. Having finally caught her, he approached Alice and prepared to cut her head off in one swift motion. But before he could, Alice opened her mouth and spat towards him. Widening his eyes, he watched as a spray of blood sttered against his face with some getting in his mouth. ''She bit off her tongue!'' Gard thought as he never experienced fighting someone as maniacal as Alice! With her biting off her own tongue, she was able to pool enough blood in her own mouth to spit towards him. Feeling his vision fluctuate with hallucinations haunting his peripherals, he was unable to concentrate and copsed onto one knee. "Run!" Gard shouted out with difficulty as he was trying to resist the hallucinations from Alice''s Sigil. But it was toote. Having been freed from Gard''s fourth Sigil ability, Alice grabbed her de before vaulting over him and lunging towards the woman who was paralysed in fear. The initial use of her passive Sigil ability had left her unable to run as she was just an ordinary person. "W-wait! If you ki-" Without letting the woman finish her sentence, Alice plunged her de into the woman''s neck. She wasn''t going to let the woman have an easy death since she had toyed with Lilia in such a way. ''Since my Sigil is from the Twilight Hunter, my blood should have the same properties the drug counterpart.'' Alice thought to herself as she forced the woman''s mouth open before holding out her palm, allowing her blood to flow into the woman''s mouth. Watching her eyes widen, Alice continued to feed her blood even after noticing that Gard had broke free of her Sigil''s power. Seeing him charge towards her, she fed the woman as much blood as possible before dodging out of the way. Narrowing her eyes, Alice curled her mouth into a grind as she noticed the effects of her blood slowly activating within the woman''s body. Twilight Reflection was a drug that caused you to hallucinate and experience the greatest high. While Alice was unsure of how addictive her own blood was considering it only weakened Sigil users, she was happy to see the woman already beginning to scratch away at her own skin. Her nails dug deep against her flesh, wing her skin away before digging against her own flesh. ring at Alice with bloodshot eyes, the woman pointed at Alice before trying to say something. However, with the hole in her throat, only gurgling sounds could be heard but it was enough to activate the ve mark on Gard''s body! A purple brand appeared on the back of Gard''s neck as he widened his eyes. Pain surged through his body as his body''s control was wrestled away from him. Moving against his own will, he charged towards Alice despite his master''s condition deteriorating. Dodging the first few attacks, Alice tried to weaken Gard with her blood but he seemed to have grown resistant towards the effects. With her already overworking her eye, Alice was unable to react in time as Gard reached out for her neck and mmed her against the ground. Pinning Alice against the wall, he slowly tightened his grip. Struggling for breath, Alice tried her best to pry Gard''s grip from her neck but his strength was firm like the mountains, unmoving. No matter what she tried, Gard doesn''t seem to react as he continued to tighten his grip. With her vision blurring and her arms losing strength, the world around Alice darkened as the cold embrace of death weed her presence. *BANG!!! Crashing through the walls, a ball of mes collided against Gard, forcing him to drop Alice. "What the hell happened here." A woman''s voice rang out as Alice could feel a pair of arms catching her before she fell to the ground. ncing above her, she could see a beautiful woman with long ck hair and a pair of pure white eyes looking down at her. Strangely enough, despite this being the first time she''s met this woman, there was a sense of connection with her. Something that caused her to feel safe within her presence. Meanwhile, Allura was angry at herself. At the fact that she was almost toote and at the fact that she didn''t make a choice sooner. Now that she was here, she''ll clean up this mess and do what she''s meant to do since the beginning. Chapter 31: Saving Alice Holding Alice in her arms, Allura could see that she was deadly pale from the blood-loss of using her first Sigil. Before she could reach for some healing blood for Alice, a ring of crimson energy surged towards them. "Oi, take care of your own master first before trying to kill us." Allura clicked her tongue in annoyance as she reached out for the ring and caught it with her fingers. Widening his eyes in shock, Gard couldn''t believe that it was caught just like that. ''If she is strong enough to do this, why is that half and half girl a ve?'' Gard thought to himself since the woman was more than capable enough of helping Alice yet only showed up now. Shaking his head, he purged the unnecessary thoughts. The only thing he needed to do right now was to kill Alice! That was themand that his master gave him, one that he couldn''t disobey even if he tried. Crouching down, he activated both first and second Sigils simultaneously as a of energy rushed towards them. cing Alice against some rubble, Allura brought out a cigarette and lit it with her finger. "F*ck sake. I alright gave you a warning and you don''t want to listen." Allura clicked her tongue in annoyance. With the same fire she used to lit her cigarette, she aimed it towards the of energy before flicking the small me towards it. *BANG!!!!! Exploding into a giant wall of fire upon contact, Allura rushed through the mes and appeared in front of Gard. Grabbing him by the head, she mmed in against the ground, forcing him to activate his second Sigil once more as a pulse of energy rushed out. Snapping her finger, mes enveloped Allura''s body as she shattered the pulse of energy without an issue. "ARGGGG!!!" Roaring out in anger, Gard ignored the mes and kicked Allura away before activating his third Sigil. Three rings manifested once more behind him as he designated Allura as the target. "Urg, don''t make me do more work than I need to do." Allura sighed as she dropped her jacket on the floor. She was currently wearing a sleeveless ck shirt, leaving her toned arms exposed. Taking a big breath of her cigarette, Allura ignited both her hands with fire and charged towards Gard. Breaking apart the rings with one punch, she flickered in front of Gard and ced her palm against his chest. Widening his eyes, he was unable to react in time as a colossal wall of force mmed into his body, sending him crashing against the walls and breaking apart his armour. *COUGH!!! Catching his breath, Gard was bleeding from his wounds as he could feel several bones being broken from just one attack. Gritting his teeth, he freed himself from the wall before ring at Allura. He was trying to work out how many Sigils she was using, how powerful she was and what he could do to defeat her. Noticing this, Allura lifted her head and pulled now the cor of her shirt and grinned. "I''m using just one Sigil, Mr four Sigils." Allura taunted, causing Gard to activate his fourth Sigil while also reactivating his third Sigil. Feeling her body being restrained, Allura had azy smile on her face while the rings charged towards her, threatening to cut her in half. *KRRR Hearing the sound of the restrains breaking, Gard was in disbelief. Little by little, the inside of the restraint started to warp as the ring of energy was evaporated before it could even reach her. "Surprised?" Allura asked as she simply walked out of his fourth ability while being on fire. Standing in front of him, she finished her cigarette before blowing a mouthful of smoke into his face. Immediately drawing his de, he tried to cut her apart, but the de was shattered with a single punch. Kicking him in the side of the body, Allura watched as he mmed against the walls before passing out. Walking over to the woman who was clutching her throat in fear while also scratching away at her body, she crouched down and stared at the woman before sighing. "Now, usually I would finish you off as well, Be. But, since you''re the target of her revenge, I''ll leave you be. I''m not one to strip others of their revenge. You can also think of me sparing you on behalf of your husband since we used to be drinking buddies." Allura scratched her hair. "But you f*cked up royally you know that? Look at what you did to that Lilia girl. Alice is going toe for your head if you don''t die today. But that''s none of my business. I''ll be taking her from you now. Oh, you can rest easy though. If you survive today and Alicees for you again, I won''t be helping her." Standing up, Allura walked over to Alice who was struggling to keep herself conscious. "You can sleep. I''ll take care of you now. I''m sorry I wasn''t here earlier." Allura apologised as she was truly guilty that she had taken this long to decide. And this dy caused Alice the pain of losing a friend. Looking towards Allura, Alice embraced the feeling of safety before ncing towards Lilia''s corpse once more. Despite her form, Alice could see the peaceful expression on Lilia''s face in herst moments. Biting her lips, Alice remembered the short time they spent together. ''Sleep well Lilia. May you be reunited with your family.'' ### Seeing Alice fall asleep, Allura sighed before looking towards the ceiling. Jumping out of the arena, shended on the roof and saw Gin waiting for her. "Yo." "Yo! My ass, what the f*ck happened?" Gin retorted before pausing, noticing Alice on her shoulder. "She almost died. I''m not too clear but it seems like she''s formed a grudge against Be, one that doesn''t end until one of them is dead. Naturally I''m going to take a neutral stance in all of this but I''m not going to neglect my duties in teaching Alice what she needs to learn." Allura shrugged. Hearing this, Gin widened his eyes. "Be?! Theron''s wife??? Ah f*ck. He''s not gonna like this." Gin face palmed. "Well, it''s a shame but I got my own responsibilities. Care to leave a message to Theron for me?" "Why me?! You know he''s going to be pissed!" Gin gritted his teeth. "You''re the messenger. Of course, I''ll have you do it. Who else would I ask?" Allura raised an eyebrow. ". . . Fine. What do you want me to tell him?" Gin sighed, bringing out a sk to drink. "Just tell him that if he loves his wife then he should spend the rest of this time with her. You can word it however you want but the main message is for him to prepare himself to lose his wife in due time." Allura shrugged. "Ah speaking of which, I''ll give you the report on what happened outside the cityter. Now that I''m taking care of Alice, I might go for a little trip to Zadash just so Alice has the time to develop herself." "I''lle with you once I finish delivering the message. I got a few jobs I need to manage outside of this ce anyways. Plus, my granddaughter''s been hounding me about you so you might as well keep her with you for a while. I doubt you''re taking any more jobs right?" Gin asked, offering the same sk to Allura who shook her head. "No thanks. And no, I''m not taking anymore jobs for now. Well, unless they have connections to the strange movements we''ve been picking up. But sure, taking care of two brats shouldn''t be an issue. She''s on her third Sigil right? Want me to help her find her fourth?" Allura offered while bringing out another cigarette. "Give it some time. She only recently got her third Sigil after all. I don''t want to rush her through Sigil without her understanding their power unlike the silver spoon kids that noble raise. They only know more Sigils equal more power. Such wasted potential." Gin sighed. "Well you know how they are. Didn''t you rush your first 4 Sigils too? Anyways, I''ll take Alice to a proper healer and get her body checked out. I also need to buy her some clothes since she only has this. Oh before I forget, help me forge an ID for her will you?" Before Gin could respond, Allura had already ran away with Alice. ". . ." Feeling his anger rising, Gin gritted his teeth and walked away while massaging his eyes. He could only hope that Alice wouldn''t be influenced by Allura. If she does, he doesn''t know how he could deal with two Allura''s when one was already giving him this much headache. "Since we''re going to Zadash, I''ll need to arrange a carriage, some provisions and clothing for the trip ahead." Gin sighed. He had retired because there was too much work for him to do and he wanted a break. Yet despite this, Allura kept pilling the amount of work he needed to do. Shaking his head, he contemted how to break the news to Theron. No matter how he worded it, Theron was gonna be pissed. "F*ck it. I''ll just me Allura if ites down to it." Gin shrugged before leaving the area. Chapter 32: Allura Drifting through her slumber, Alice found herself standing in a pool blood that restricted her movements. The scent of iron permeated the air she breathed while the river beneath her dyed her body in crimson. Furrowing her brows, Alice looked around to get an understanding of where she was. *Drip~ "Hm?" Alice turned towards the source of the noise out of curiosity only to freeze up at the sight. She could see Lilia standing in the pool of blood just like her, only with a wound in her chest and an unceasing flow of blood that created this pool. Blinking her eyes, Lilia was now in front of her and Alice was holding a de through Lilia''s chest. The look of betrayal and shock in her eyes¡­ The burning hatred. Snapping her eyes open from her nightmare, Alice panted as cold sweat covered her back. ''It didn''t go like that¡­'' She thought to herself while biting her lip. Clutching her chest, she could still feel the sensation of thrusting that sword through Lilia''s chest. ''It didn''t go like that?'' She asked herself once more, this time unsure of her own words. She didn''t know if she was trying to convince herself that she did the right thing or that it was truly what Lilia had wished for. Regardless of the context, the truth was that Lilia died by her hand. Clenching her fist, Alice couldn''t help but wonder if the VIP had died or not. If she did, so be it. But if she somehow survived, Alice wanted to inflict the same if not more pain than what she did to Lilia. Holding her head, her memories of what happened before she passed out was rather blurred. She remembers a burst of crimson before everything became hazy. ''I was saved by someone. But who?'' Alice furrowed her brows before looking around her. It was only now that she realised she was sitting on something soft. She was currently sitting on a bed much better than what is afforded to a ve. The gentle embrace of the bed cover andfort of the pillow should be out of reach. Yet here she was sitting in one. Furrowing her brows, Alice paused when she noticed a weight missing from her body. The feeling of cold hard metal pressing against her limbs and more importantly, her neck, was now absent. Hesitantly reached up with her hand, she tried to feel for restraints but there was nothing. She could feel her neck in its entirely with nothing blocking her hand. Emotions welled up within her body as her hands started to shake, unable to contain herself. Scanning the room, she noticed a mirror and immediately jumped out of the bed in excitement. Rushing in front of the mirror, she looked at her own reflection. As expected, there was no longer any restraints on her body. All she was wearing was a brand new white dress, simply yetfortable along with some medical patches around parts of her body. There were many questions flying through her mind yet her attention was stolen by her newfound sense of freedom. No longer was she restrained as a prisoner of the Zenia family nor was she was ve. She was finally free. ''Now how to leave this room¡­'' Alice thought to herself while scanning her surroundings. While the chances that whoever helped her had no bad intentions was high, she couldn''t bring herself to take it for granted. There was something they want from her and she didn''t know what that was. It was better to have an escape n than not have one. Walking over to the window, she could see the bustling streets of the ughter docks below. The cobbled path with water filling the gaps,rge carcases of Abyss Beasts that belong in the Abyss Water hung above the streets usingrge hooks while workers peeled themyer byyer, salvaging any useful parts they could harvest. Boats sailed into the docks from the distance with Abyss Beasts being restrained in cages amidst the other cargo. Looking above the streets, Alice could seerge buildings crafted from wood and stone. Rope bridges threaded the gap between buildings, forming a chaotic web. Some hung clothes off these ropes while most used them as ways to traverse different buildings. Despite the window being shut, Alice could still hear the merchants shouting for attention towards their wares, Hunters having conflicts with one another, the bell tolls of the church and the priests trying to resolve fights. This was the ughter Docks and this was her first proper view of the city. Remembering the cost of such a sight, her excitement died down as she began looking for a route of escape. The most likely one being through the ropes and onto the rooftops. Tapping the surface of the ss, Alice estimated that with a hard object, it wouldn''t be too hard to break the thick ss window with the help of her first Sigil. With one route in mind, she turned away from the window and looked for other options. Except for the bed, there was only a single table in the room with a metal candle holder on the tabletop while the drawers were empty. ''I can use the chair as a distraction while the candle holder works as I weapon I suppose¡­ Better than nothing.'' Alice shrugged while holding the handle holder awkwardly. It was the type with a single long main body that split into three cups that would hold a candle each. Giving it a swing, she figured that it''ll probably work as a make shift hammer for now. Just as she finished adjusting to her new weapon, Alice picked up on the feint sound of footsteps approaching her room. Quickly jumping back into her bed, Alice hid the candle holder within the sheets before faking a sleeping posture while keeping one eye slightly open. *ck Hearing the door open, the smell of smoke immediately assaulted the room as Alice tried her best not to react. "You know, if you''re already awake you should just sit properly. I could hear you from downstairs that''s why I came up. No point jumping back into bed." A woman''s voice rang out as Alice slowly sat up while narrowing her eyes towards the visitor. Upon seeing the woman, her memories became clear as this was the same person that saved her before she passed out. "Maybe ce the candle holder back on the table too. I can still see the three candles you removed from it ya know?" Allura sighed while sitting on the chair in front of the desk. She had made sure to finish her cigarette before entering this ce yet the smell of smoke still followed her in. Hearing this, Alice clicked her tongue before slowly pulling out the candle holder from beneath the sheets and ced it back on the table. "There we go. Now how are you feeling? Any injuries still lingering?" Allura asked while adopting a rxedzy posture on the chair. "None." Shaking her head, Alice had already checked for any injuries but there were none. "That means the blood did its job and so did the doctors. Now! I''m not sure if you remember but I''m the one who saved you yesterday. As I said yesterday, I''m sorry for beingte. Had I not dyed what I nned to do, you would''ve been spared from performing that act." Allura apologised sincerely as her eyes were serious. Hearing this, Alice looked down at her hands. She knows that it''s not the woman''s fault for arrivingte, but rather an unfortunate y of events and circumstances. The one at fault is the VIP for doing such a thing to Lilia. Lilia''s condition was irreversible, but it''s no excuse for wielding the de that killed her. "I hope you can forgive me for my tardiness and that the two of us can get to know one another properly. Honestly, I don''t know how much Kaden has told you but I''m essentially your new guardian." Allura scratched her head awkwardly. She wasn''t used to talking like this but this was a serious topic so she had to be serious about it. "Kaden? Who that?" Alice tilted her head in confusion. "Eh? He didn''t tell you his name? Tsk,zy b*stard, leaving everything to me like always." Allura broke character as she immediately rapid fired curses towards Kaden, surprising Alice who thought she was the serious type from how she talked. "Ahem. Kaden is the one who dropped you in the middle of the Abyss. He''s also the one that gave your Right eye. I''m sure you felt some of the power the eye brings from how you moved." Allura sighed. Widening her eyes, Alice understood that Kaden was the raven man who pulled her from the Zenia family prison. Going by the flow of this conversation, Alice had an idea on who this woman was but she wasn''t 100% sure. "Are you Allura?" Alice asked hesitantly. "Oh! So he doesn''t forget to give you MY f*cking name but forgets his own. Let me guess, he also didn''t tell you jack sh*t about anything and threw you into the Abyss right?" Allura rolled her eyes in annoyance. "But yes, I am Allura. I''m your new guardian for the time being." Chapter 33: Ways To Obtain Sigils Hearing the name Allura, Alice recalled who she was told to find. Allura who was going to be her guiding light, the one that''ll keep her safe. Having suffered through the coliseum, she finally found Allura. "Now I''m not sure how much you know but that eye he lodged into your skull, but you need to know that it is very important. I can''t say much right now since honestly, the less you know the better it is for you. As you get stronger, you''ll learn more about what having this eye entails. Right now, all you need to know that it is a direct connection to the Abyss and it grants you enhanced kic vision based on your own abilities." Allura exined while Alice sat silently and nodded her head. She was no longer as wary as she was earlier after knowing Allura''s identity. "Eye made things slow. Is that the power?" Alice asked curiously. "Yes and no. You got a Sigil right? You''re not supposed to be able to get them just like that you know?" Allura chuckled while pointing at Alice''s forearm. "Sigils can only be gained through two avenues. The mostmon being through Shamans. They are special people who are born with an innate resonance with this realm. They can forge connections between the realm and a person by acting as a bridge. It is through this bridge that the Abyss grants a person something called a ''Bounty''. "A bounty is when the Abyss grants you a choice of targets to kill and in doing so sessfully, you will gain one of its powers in the form of a Sigil." Allura exined, showing her own Sigil. "Now, the issue with doing this through a Shaman is that the choices are now limited since you''re doing this through a third party and the choices of bounty is limited to only 3. Once you pick a bounty, it is marked onto your soul. If you don''t kill it, you can never change the Bounty nor can you advance. You are stuck." "Wait¡­ So if I didn''t kill the spider, and someone else did after saying yes to bounty, I would be stuck?" Alice asked with a frown. "Yes and no. Yes in the fact that you missed your first kill so you are stuck. No because there will be another spider for you to kill in the Abyss, it''ll be up to you to find them. While we''re on this topic, I might as well exin what failing a bounty entails." Allura shrugged as she was trying her best to fight back the urge of smoking. "If you fail a bounty, the difficulty of said bounty sky rockets. Meaning the next time you try fight the same creature, it''ll get boons to fend against you. Each time you fail, the monster will keep growing stronger. There are two conditions of failure. The first is that you miss the final hit. If something else kills your target then you''ve failed the hunt. The second condition is participation. If someone else does all the work for you and then you get the final hit, it will not count as a sess. Remember this, the Abyss has eyes of its own." Allura exined while pointing at her eyes. "If I had to judge, I''d say during the spider fight it was a close 50/50 split between you and the Assassin. The fact that you got the Sigil means you won just barely." Hearing this, Alice understood that she was lucky in having obtained this Sigil. Otherwise it may take much much longer before she obtained the first Sigil due to the bounty having failed the first time. "But setting that aside, we go to the second avenue. Communing with the Abyss itself and asking for a bounty. There are certain spots within the realm where the Abyss''s powers are extra concentrated. In these areas, your consciousness will be transported into a separate realm where you can directly obtain a bounty. It grant you a decent variety of beasts to choose from. The downside for this is that the power is not unlimited and it will be exhausted after several uses and most noble families andrge groups have a monopoly over these areas if they are ever discovered." pping her hands together, Allura then pointed at Alice. "Thenes the third hidden option." She grinned. "The Eye." Alice furrowed her brows while holding her hand over her right eye. "Bingo. Your right eye has a special connection with the Abyss. You are allowed to designate any beast as a hunting target while also being able to designate the target whenever you want. However! That''s only if you have domination over the Eye." Allura narrowed her eyes as Alice paused at this revtion. ''Wait¡­ If her words are correct then that means my Eye could rebel if I don''t have domination over it?'' Alice thought to herself in confusion. "That Eye has thoughts of its own. You will find out in due time since its still adapting to your body. During this period, you''ll be able to use some of its abilities as you wish but the main one right now, choosing bounties will be surrendered to it once it fully wakes up. So I suggest you take advantage of that as much as you can right now." Allura chuckled before leaning back. "That''s enough of ss for now. I''ll exin more that you don''t knowter but we need to deal with some things here and now. First you need a change of clothes then I''ll need to fully understand how well you fight. I only saw you fight twice which isn''t much to go off of. I want to see how you adapt, how you fight and how you think during a fight. Once I see that, I can make an urate n on how to help you." Standing up, Allura leaned against the door before bringing out her cigarette and lighting it up with her finger. Taking a deep breath, she sighed on in rxation as the smell of smoke drifted to the corridor. "Aside from these, I don''t know if there''s any more things you need to do in this city. However, I could be wrong so feel free to let me know if you have any thing you need to do." "Um¡­ What happened to woman who hurt Lilia?" Alice asked with a frown. Since Allura saved her from the four Sigil user, she should know what happened to them. "Oh Be? Yeah she''s still alive. Though I imagine she''s going to be quite angry at you as you are with her. I decided not to finish her or her guard since its your revenge to take. My only job was to make sure you survive that day and teach you how things go in the Abyss. I will say however, now that you failed to kill them, the second attempt will be much harder. She''ll be employing more guards around her so moving to a different city for now will be your best bet." Allura shrugged. "You sound like you know her. Who is she?" Alice furrowed her brows since she wanted to know who she was up against. From the way that Allura was describing it, it seemed like she was more important than what Alice had expected. Even with her being a VIP. "Oh I do know her. Well¡­ More urately I know her husband. Theron Merias. One of the pirs of the ughter Docks and someone I had worked with quite a few times in the past. You can think of him as one of the lords of this ownerless city. Simply put, Be is only an VIP because she is married to him. And Theron is not someone you want to annoy." Allura glossed over with a chuckle. "Wait, if he is someone you worked with in the past, why help me over him?" Alice asked, feeling confused by her choice. "I tend to abide by my code of being neutral. I help out anyone and everyone if it benefits me to a certain extent while keeping the bnce. I keep many connections open while not tethering myself to anyone. Just because I worked with him in the past doesn''t mean we won''t be enemies the next day. Anything else you want to ask?" Allura smiled while gesturing with her hands in a dramatic fashion. "None." Alice shook her head. ''If I want to kill Be and take revenge for Lilia, I''ll need to be strong enough to face off against Theron too. And if he''s strong enough to be one of the supposed lords of this city, then he''s going to be much stronger than a four Sigil hunter ced as a guard.'' Alice thought to herself as her thirst for power only grew with this experience. Power allowed her to be free, power allowed her to protect and power allowed her to take revenge. No matter what she did, she needed power. And Allura was going to be her path towards power within the Abyss. "Where are we going now?" Alice asked, climbing out of the bed. "We''re going to get you dressed for the road ahead then find my friend Gin for a set of ID for you." Allura grinned, finishing her cigarette and stepping out the door. Chapter 34: Sera Following behind Allura, Alice was unsure of where they are. It didn''t seem like the coliseum from the way people was dressed and how well maintained the corridor was. With the way how Alice was trying her best to keep as close to Allura as she could without colliding into her was almost as though she was a lost kid. This was more evident while they stood next to each other. Alice was a little on the short side at 5ft 2 but it was still rather average. Yetpared to Allura who looked giant to her, it was no surprise that she was seem like a child inparison. After all, Allura was a giant 6ft 6. ''Pft, cute.'' Allura thought to herself seeing Alice''s eyes dart from left to right. Her curiosity knows no bounds as she practically left her thoughts through her eyes while her face was unreactive. Just one nce at the eyes told Allura everything she needed to know. "After buying you from that ce, I brought you to a healer to get checked out. And once I was sure you were okay, I rented a room for the night so you could have a good sleep." Allura exined while patting her head, taking Alice by surprise. She was to absorbed in her surroundings to react to the head pat causing her to jerk up from the sudden touch. "Why do both you and Kaden like this action?" Alice asked with a frown, unsure as to what this action achieved. "Hmm¡­ We''re just old b*stards. Don''t mind it. And I suppose it''s just a way to express what we find adorable? You''re like a small rabbit right now, scared and curious of your surroundings." Alluraughed as they reached the front desk. While Allura was returning the keys for the rooms, Alice couldn''t help but notice the stares being directed her way. With her only wearing a dress, it was simplepared to what others were wearing not to mention the fact that she had no shoes. "We can just say your hair and eye are side effects if anyone asks." Allura smiled, knowing it was a result of the Eye. "Nowe on, let''s get you some clothes. Do you want me to carry you there?" She offered since walking around bare foot was going to be rather painful. They don''t know if there was going to be anything sharp on the roads. "No is okay. Don''t need more eyes on me." Alice shook her head rapidly. With how many eyes were staring at her, it gave her a sense of difort. They were all observing and silently judging. It reminded her of a time where her father and her other family members would just stand there and stare at her during the experiment. Seeing this, Allura nodded her head and took off her jacket. With its size, Alice could easily hide her body within. "Use this for now. Once we get you something to wear, you can be less conspicuous okay?" Receiving the jacket, Alice felt grateful as she nodded her head and followed behind closely. Walking onto the streets, she could feel the cold smooth stone coated in water beneath her. The different textures of the world against her body. The gust of wind, the smells of sea beasts, sweaty sailors and different smokes, while not pleasant, showed that she was outside in the world. She was not constrained or locked away. She walked with her own feet, made her own choices and was allowed to do whatever she wanted. She had told herself the same words over and over when she was sent to the coliseums. But it was hard to truly believe those words when a cor was chained against her neck. But now she could truly believe in her own freedom. "I never asked, but how are you feeling? Kaden gave you the Eye and sent you into the Abyss without telling you much. And honestly, even without you knowing what you must do in the future it''s quite the big task. If you don''t think you can handle it, feel free to tell me okay?" Allura assured, giving Alice a path out if she couldn''t continue. "What happens if I stop?" ''Would they take away my freedom? Send me back to the Zenia''s?'' Alice thought to herself with a frown. "Nothing will happen. I''ll help you get a new Eye and things will stay as they are. I won''t force you to do anything against your will, everything you earned up to that point is yours and yours alone. I suppose you can do whatever you want." Allura shrugged. She wasn''t one to force their mission on a girl they''ve just met. It was not how she did things. Hearing this, Alice nodded in understanding. She was d that she was allowed a way out but that''s not what she was going to do. After all, the price of freedom was steep. As long as its not something that vites what she believed was right, she didn''t mind carrying out the task. She wasn''t someone who''ll just forget about her debts just because someone said it was okay to do so. "I''ll continue. But just to make sure, it''s nothing¡­ Evil right?" Alice asked, causing Allura tough. "PFT, if it was evil do you think I would tell you? But no, don''t worry it''s nothing evil. I swear that upon my name, which I know doesn''t sound like much but trust me, you''ll see in the future." Allura winked. Realising how stupid of a question she had just asked, Alice gave herself a face palm internally. Following behind Allura, they soon arrived at an inconspicuous building located in an alley way. There was a single main door and a window disy that showed luxurious clothing for Hunters and Nobles alike. Walking through the main doorway, the sound of bells echoed out as a woman poked her head out from behind the store. She had dark tanned skin, a pair of golden eyes and long ck hair that was tied into a high pony tail. Theyout of the store was neat and tidy with one half being reserved for male outfits while the other for females. Several tables in the middle of the store disyed outfits for themon citizen. "Sera! How''s it going?" Allura called out with a smile. "Oh for f*ck sake. Allura! I told you to not drag your smoke into my store urg." Sera rolled her eyes in annoyance as Allura still had her cigarette in her mouth. Walking over, she jumped up slightly and snatched the cigarette before extinguishing it on the floor outside her shop. "You know I hate the smell of smoke inside." Sera huffed causing Allura to shrug. "Sorry sorry, I was excited to see my favourite tailor and I forgot about the cigarette." "Stop with the tone. Makes my skin crawl hearing it from you of all people. So what do you want? You never visit me unless its something you need. So do I have to deal with my old crew again? Rogue pirates or something else entirely." Sera asked, sitting down on the table and leaned back slightly. "Nothing to do with pirates. You might not believe it but I''m actually here to hire your talent as a tailor. I recently picked up this kid and she''s gonna be following me around for a bit. Can''t have her walking around in her bare feet now can I?" Allura smiled, gesturing to Alice beside her. "I''m not a kid. I''m¡­20? I think." Alice frowned, trying to recall if she was 20 or 21. She barely remembered her birthday when her family was being nice to her, never mind the period where she was locked up. The only way she could tell her passing of age was based on how many winters passed by. "Trust me kid, it doesn''t matter if you''re 20 or 50 you''re still a kidpared to me." Allura chuckled while patting Alice''s head. "So what do you think?" Allura asked, turning her attention to Sera who was watching silently. "What do I think? I think I can adjust a product of mine to suit her. A client had cancelled their order due to the unfortunate circumstance of death. They already made a payment for the materials so all you have to pay for is the effort it takes me. Which is around 15 tina." Sera smirked. "Perfect, I have 15 on hand right now." Sorting out some coins into a separate bag, Allura tossed it over to Sera before taking a seat in the shop. "Thank you for your patronage. Now then, what''s your name youngdy?" "Alice." "Follow me to the back. I''ll need to take some measurements quickly and you''ll be able to wait out here with Allura." Sera smiled as she gestured to the back of the shop. Giving Allura quick nce, Alice followed Sera to the back while Allura only closed her eyes and tilted her head back to rx herself. Now that she has taken Alice under her wing, there will be a period of calm before things start getting out of control. She could only hope that others won''t take long to realise the Eye has been passed down. How much time did she have to teach Alice everything she needs to know? How much time did she had to prepare Alice? To help her hunt for Sigils? She didn''t know. "Let''s just hope Sun Moon and Eclipse are too preupied with one another to notice." She muttered softly while thinking back to an forgotten era. Chapter 35: The Sun Moon And Eclipse "Sun? Moon? Eclipse?" Alice''s voice rang out, surprising Allura out of her rest. "Holy sh*t she''s done already???" Allura blinked her eyes in surprise. She knew that Sera was good but she didn''t think she was THAT good. "Mnm. She said the client who bought was simr to my sizes. Only small adjustments needed. Can be done quickly." Alice nodded her head. "Ah¡­ I see. Lucky break then." Allura nodded her head. "So who are Sun Moon and Eclipse? You made them sound like people." Alice asked curiously. "Oh boy¡­ Take a seat." Allura sighed while patting the spot next to her. "They''re not¡­ People per say. They are the three main religions that dominate the Abyss. Church of the Sun, Church of the Moon and the Cult of Eclipse." Allura held up three fingers. "Church of the Sun believe in two doctrines. The path of Preservation and the path of Protection. Believers of Preservation believe that so long as humanity lives on in the end, it does not matter what form they take nor does it matter about who lives in the end. All that matters is that the concept and humanity as a whole survives through the ages. They are the kind that say the results justify the means. "Now the path of Protection is a little better but they hate change more than anyone. They protect the current order of things and refuse change unless it benefits them and only them. While their titles may be fancy, honestly I hate how they operate." Allura shrugged, not hiding her disproval of their ways. "The second is the Church of the Moon. Like the Sun, their followers believe in two main doctrines. Path of Immortality and path of Spirituality. They are¡­ ''pacifists.'' Or so they like to advertise. They wee all on their path to im immortality of body and spirit so long as they surrender themselves to the grace of the Moon God. The path of Immortality believe in longevity through an immortal body that cannot die. While Spirituality believe in longevity through the immortal soul. Between the two, Spirituality is definitely the worse since the mortal flesh hold no value to them." Alura shrugged. "They especially love the use of Abyss Blood even the ones with strong side effects." Hearing this, Alice couldn''t help but wonder if her family has any connections towards this Church. "Sadly they are also the ones responsible for most of the healing against the side effects of Abyss Blood so it''s the more popr religion out of the three. "Thest one isn''t called a Church since their doctrine is hated by most of the people. They revel in the belief of War and Famine. They''re what the Sun and Moon call an evil religion but some people don''t think so. They believe in cementing the human history through war. They wish to die where they felt most alive, in the heat of battle. While Famine wishes to tread the path between life and death through hunger. They say that only when a person endures Famine do they truly appreciate the value of life and thus they seek for all to endure the Trial of Famine. And with that, you now know the three main religions in this world of darkness. Feeling excited to join any of them?" Allura asked with augh. Shaking her head, Alice didn''t like the sound of the choices. Church of the Sun seemed to only care about their own grand design while the Moon abandoned the mortal form. And there was no need to think about the Cult of Eclipse. "Don''t want to join any. All three sound terrible." "Yeah me neither. That''s why I didn''t join any of them. I''m pretty much a freencer right now." Allura nodded her head seeing that Alice had the same thoughts as her. "Terrible as they may by, they are unfortunately necessary. All three have skeletons in their closet but Allura''s only telling you of the most extreme beliefs of the churches. Formon folk, the Moon is probably the best choice since they pursue immortality and don''t mind healing people." Sera interrupted as she came out from the back of the store. "Which one did you join?" Alice asked curiously. "Me? I didn''t join any of them. Didn''t suit me while I''m out at sea. Out there, the only thing you can trust is your own power and your allies. Ain''t no church belief helping you out there." Sera chuckled while pointing at the set of folded clothes in her hands. "Here they are. They should be just your size though I may be wrong. Give them a try in the changing rooms and see how they feel." Sera smiled as Alice nodded her head. Taking the clothes, she entered the changing rooms while Sera turned her attention to Allura. "When did you be the teacher. Even when Gin''s granddaughter asked you a bunch of questions, you pretty much gave her short answers. Rarely did you go in depth like this." Sera asked with a raised eyebrow. "Well unlike Ria, Alice is more my responsibility. I''m basically her guardian so I''m responsible on teaching her about this world and the Abyss. I''ve only known her for a few hours but honestly, she''s curious and doesn''t know much. I figured someone her age would know all of this by now, especially the religions but she knows nothing." Allura replied as she had a serious expression on her face. Even thought she didn''t show it during her conversation with Alice, she was concerned with how little Alice seemed to know about the world. Especially things that was consideredmon sense. "I don''t know where she was beforeing here, but she was probably sheltered from the outside world." "That so? Hmm¡­ You''ve got a lot to teach her then." Sera sighed with pity. "Yep. Though we should have plenty of time for now. Our next destination is actually Zadash." Hearing this, Sera was about to say something when Alice walked out of the changing room with her new outfit. There was an obvious light of excitement in her eyes as her bodynguage told the two all they needed to know. She loved the new outfit. "Well well well, would you look at that. Not bad kid." Allura praised with a thumbs up. "Any tight areas? I can make more adjustments if needed." Sera asked. The outfit was a fancy set of Hunter armour. She wore a simple white shirt, a brown vest with a buttoned jacket over the top. Golden buttons held the sides together while a bag for blood vials was attached to the belt. The jacket extended past her waist and stopped around calf height. She wore a set of leather pants with a pair of long boots that reached up to her knees and was fastened with ckces and golden buckles. Draped over her shoulder was a medium sized cloak attached by a single lock in the centre. The material was soft to the touch and flexible yet strangely durable and didn''t seem like it''ll tear easily. "Seems like you like the outfit. That''s good to know. Take this as well, you wouldn''t want your hair to be fluttering about in the middle of a fight. Allura''s a special case since she literally sets herself on fire." Sera chuckled as she handed Alice a hair tie. Thanking Sera, Alice tied her hair into a low pony tail so that it didn''t get in the way too much. "Erm¡­ Thank you for all of this. In future how I repay?" Alice asked. Even with Allura paying for this, it was still much better than what she had expected. She wanted to show Sera some gratitude herself and not just from Allura paying what was owed. "Oh don''t worry about that. Juste back to the store in the future when you need a recement. The outfit willst you but you never know what kind of fights you''ll get into." Sera smiled. "She''s right you know. She makes some of the best hunting equipment I know. If it wasn''t for this damn location, more Hunters would visit to buy her wears. That and they''re all stupidly expensive." Allura cut in as she patted Alice''s head. "Its expensive because the materials are good. Aren''t you wearing what I made yourself?" Sera clicked her tongue in annoyance. "True. The outfit wouldn''t break easily but that doesn''t mean you won''t get wounded from a direct hit. Just means you won''t have as many open wounds and mostly bruises." "Anyways if that''s everything, care to be out of my shop now? I was dealing with another order until you two came in." Sera waved her hand as Allura shrugged. "You heard her, let''s go. All that''s left to do is to get your ID from Gin." Allura grinned while leading Alice out of the shop. "See you around Sera." Waving back to Allura and Alice, Sera had a smile on her face seeing the two walk away. Even though Allura was always acting cheerful, there was a darkness in her heart. But it seemed to be elevated just a little by Alice''s presence. Sera didn''t know why nor did she know Allura''s ns for Alice but she wasn''t one to meddle in other''s business. She was just d that Allura looked more alive than before. Chapter 36: Sigil Types Leaving the store, Allura brought out a cigarette and smiled in satisfaction. "You really like that don''t you?" Alice asked while waving her hands, trying to push away the smoke. "Yep. Helps me out a tad." Allura chuckled. "Now then, we''re off to find Gin. He''s an old friend of mine that handles all sorts of things that goes on in different cities. He''s a retired Hunter and used to be pretty high up in the ranks of the Hunter''s Guild. He eventually gave up and made a name for himself underground. Now he''s just an old man that looks out for his granddaughter while also helping me out." Hearing this, Alice blinked her eyes in surprise since that''s quite the lineup of achievements. While she wasn''t sure what the Hunter''s Guild was, the fact that he''s a retired Hunter and someone supposedly made a name for himself underground spoke volumes of his capabilities. She still remembers what they said about Hunters when she was a young girl. They all died young. But for an old man to be around after being a Hunter¡­ he was either lucky or had the strength to back it up. "And speak of the devil, here he is." Allura smiled while pointing at a figure approaching them from the distance. Seeing the man in arge trench coat, swept back hair and a pair of fierce eyes, Alice felt a shiver down her spine. Even though he wasn''t radiating any sort of malice, just being in his presence caused her palms to sweat and itched for a weapon out of her fight or flight instincts. The scar over the bridge of his nose and his beard only amplified this feeling. "Oi Gin! Might want to rx yourself a bit. You''re scaring the poor girl." Allura called out as the invisible pressure rxed itself. "Sorry, a little on edge after meeting Theron. You should be surprised that I''m even here unscathed after what you told me to tell him." Gin sighed in annoyance while massaging his neck. "I mean, he knows he shouldn''t take you out since you''re important to a lot of ces after all. Doing so is just weing destruction to his doorstep." Allura reassured with a grin. "So is this the girl? Here''s the card. All you need now is her name, age and a picture. I''ve already filled out the rest and had her registered as your extended family member." ncing at Alice briefly, Gin focused back on Allura and handed her a card. "Alright, I''ll get that done tonight then. Is the carriage prepared? We''ll leave for the other city tonight." Allura asked while cing the card into her pocket. "It''s prepared. You can find it outside the city gates when you''re done with the documents. My granddaughter will meet you on the way there while I still have some things I need to sort out before I leave. I''ll meet you in Zadash." Gin patted Allura''s shoulder before walking away. "Seems like he''s quite busy if he''s not sticking around. Well whatever. Want to get some food while I fill in your ID?" Allura asked as Alice nodded her head. "Now then¡­ Name is naturally Alice. You got a surname?" Allura asked as Alice shook her head. She no longer wanted to be associated with the Zenia family. "In that case I''ll give you my surname. Agnelia. From now you''ll be called Alice Agnelia." Allura smiled as she patted Alice on the head. Age¡­ you mentioned 20 so I''ll put that as your age. Birthday¡­ Do you know your birthday? If not, how did you track it?" "Don''t know. Tracked using winter." Alice shook her head. "Don''t know huh? Alright I''ll make your birthday in the middle of winter then. Every winter we''ll celebrate your birthday, though winter doesn''t reallye to the Abyss." Allura chuckled. "All that''s left is for you to take a picture. Follow me." The process for taking the picture was rather simple as it was done quickly. Once they were done with picture, they made their way to a restaurant. After ordering a few dishes, Allura turned to Alice. "So let''s continue with the lessons. How much do you know about the Abyss? It can be anything, just give me a rundown of what you know." Allura asked, wanting to see the depths of Alice''s knowledge. With everything she''s demonstrated so far, it was clear that she was ignorant when it came to the outside world. Therefore Allura wanted to see what she was working with before nning out her lessons. "Hmm¡­ I know a lot about Abyss Blood, their side effects and some Abyss Beasts. Oh and what you taught me about Sigils." Alice muttered while counting with her fingers. "Only that much? Hm alright. I''ll give a quick lesson for now then tell you a little more about your Sigil. First, there are four key things you need to know about the Abyss. First, the Abyss itself. Second, the Beasts. Third, the Blood andstly, the Sigils. These four are the corner stones of life in the Abyss. "The cycle of the Abyss is as such. You kill beasts, you get their blood, you use that blood to help you with bounty hunts. You get Sigils and repeat. This is the cycle that every Hunter abides by. With this in mind, every Hunter makes it a habit to memorise as much of the Abyss Bestiary as possible. That way when you''re out in the field, you know what you''re up against. Naturally it''s not the be all end all since new beasts are being found every so often but it certainly helps." Allura smiled. "Unfortunately, I don''t have a copy on hand so we''ll have to buy er. But with this in mind, we''ll use what we know so far to determine the abilities of your first Sigil. After all, I don''t think you quite understand what you killed for the Sigil since it wasn''t a Twilight Hunter that you killed." Hearing this, Alice paused in surprise. While the armour was indeed different from what she remembered, everything else was the same. She chalked it up to being a unique variant nothing more. "I thought it was just a unique Twilight Hunter, is it not?" Alice asked as she nced at her forearm. "Well it was. Until it shed its skin and ascended to the next stage. It had advanced from being a special Twilight Hunter to a Spectral Hunter. The difference between these two is that the longer it fights, the stronger it bes. So long as it doesn''t sustain any damage. Give it enough time to stalk a prey and it has the power to kill a 5 Sigil user in just one hit. From the strength you demonstrated, I''d say you got the same Sigil ability." Allura smiled while tapping the table. "Your passive ability seems to be one that controls the enemy while your active ability is something that boosts your own strength. Honestly, I can''t tell if your Sigil is Anti Hunter or Anti Monster." Shrugging her shoulders, Allura leaned back on her seat. "Anti Hunter? Anti Monster?" "Yep. Sigils are separated into 3 types of focus broadly speaking. There are the Anti Hunter Sigils, powers you use to kill other Hunters. So powers that enhance your one on onebat ability is Anti Hunter. Anti Monster abilities focus on killing Beasts. So things like making the Beast weaker or making yourself tougher to contest against them. Good examples will be that Lars brat you saw on the first day and the Assassin who died." Allura exined while holding up two fingers. "Lars would be ssed as a Anti Monster user since his Sigils focus on making him fight against Abyss Beasts in a head on collision. While the Assassin would be Anti Hunter since all of his skills are good against Humans but less effective against Abyss Beasts. With that in mind, can you see why your Sigil is a little weird? Since it''s a mix of both. "There is a third type of focus but you don''t need to worry about that for now." Nodding her head, Alice digested all of this information as she wondered about her own Sigil. ''Allura''s words make sense. My active ability enhances my physical abilities but also makes my wounds worse. If I don''t wound myself or let others wound me, my physical abilities will only keep increasing until my body can''t take it anymore. Or so I assume. But once I sustain a wound, I''ll have to rely on the passive ability of disorientating my enemies to escape¡­ It sounds like an Anti Hunter ability with properties of Anti Monster due to its passive effect.'' Seeing Alice thinking to herself with a serious expression, Allura couldn''t help but chuckle to herself. She was d to see Alice working through the questions with the information she''d been given and figuring out the answers herself. To her, Alice''s first Sigil was strictly an Anti Hunter Sigil since the passive ability was weak against beasts. While she could augment this effectter with Sigils, the core of the Sigil was still building up towards the one hit kill. Either way, Allura could see Alice having an affinity towards being a Hunter with the way she thinks and considers the information she''s been given. Chapter 37: Journey To Zadash After finishing their food, it was time for them to prepare for departure as Allura handled the documentation. While Alice was waiting for Allura to finish everything, she was experimenting with what she had learned about her Sigil. If Allura was correct with her Sigil, she should be able to build up some strength by just keeping her Sigil activated. As long as she doesn''t have any wounds, it''ll continue to build power until her body couldn''t take it. With this new knowledge, Alice understood that she''d have to change her way of fighting. After their meal, Allura had told her a little more regarding Sigils. The first news was that they were permanent. Unfortunately, there was no way for you to change a Sigil after acquiring one since a Sigil fundamentally changed a person''s body. For Allura, her first three Sigils were all me based, a choice she made when she was na?ve and regretted her choice but she learned to live with her decisions. Alice wanted to ask about her other Sigils but Allura only dismissed the question saying she''ll show her when the timees. The second piece of news that Allura gave Alice was the usage limit of a Sigil. Each Sigil had a different usage limit with a good example being Alice''s first Sigil. It could be used constantly so long as you didn''t sustain a wound. But once she did, she was on a timer before she passed out from blood loss. In Allura''s words, ''There are no Sigil without an internal cool down or downtime.'' It''s her job to find the weakness and exploit it when she fights other Sigil users. But this was easier said than done. Alice tried to figure out the draw backs of Lars and the Assassin but she couldn''t find anything. Their abilities seemed well rounded and didn''t have a cool down that could be exploited. Yet Allura reassured her that there was a ratherrge ring weakness to both of their powers. Shaking her head, Alice focused her mind back on her own Sigil as she was trying to gather as much power as she could internally. She could feel the blood rushing through her body as power started to gather. Based on her own estimates, Alice theorised that she could go almost twice as fast as what she had demonstrated before. Only if she was given enough time to focus her mind on gathering the power needed. If she was distracted, it was harder to build up sufficient power without taxing her body greatly. ''I need to distribute the strength evenly or else I riskpromising one of my limbs. But that''s only when I want to draw as much power as possible. If I space it out, I can take people by surprise.'' Alice thought to herself, remembering Lilia''s lesson regarding weak points. ''How much effectiveness do I lose if I start storing my own blood in a vial? Maybe I can draw out some blood for battle.'' Alice thought to herself while touching the pouch on her waist. With the way the pouch was designed and how it would hold the vials inside, even if she was to fall directly on the pouch the vials would be safe. But if the pouch takes a direct hit, the vials won''t be safe. A quick exploration of her outfit showed her own many secret pockets were scattered about, enough for her to hide daggers or other small hidden weapons. ''I need to earn money if I want to buy the things I need¡­ But how do I earn money? The only thing I can do right now is fight¡­'' Alice thought with a frown. "You look upset. Something wrong?" Allura''s voice interrupted Alice''s thoughts as she had just finished handling the documents. "Thinking about earning money. Too poor to buy anything." Alice sighed. "That''s what you''re worried about? Well earning money is both easy and hard I suppose. Depends on what path you want to take for it. But don''t worry about money for now, I''ll get you some basic equipment. Here''s your card, keep that on you at all times and don''t lose it." Allura smiled, handing Alice the finished ID card. "It''ll let you travel city to city without a bunch of paperwork. Once we reach Zadash, we''ll need to make you a Hunter Guild ID so you can takemissions." Allura sighed while lighting up a cigarette. "Another ID?" Alice raised an eyebrow since she thought one would be enough. "Of course. Did you think one ID was the be all end all? Hell no. This ID proves you''re a person and can travel to ces while Hunter Guild ID lets you use their services. Every ce needs a different ID. It''s annoying but unfortunately, a single ID for everything doesn''t exist. You can''t get something that convenient with a snap of a finger." Allura shrugged dismissively. "Setting that aside,e with me. We''re going to the carriage now. It''ll be roughly a 4 day journey to Zadash. I''ll tell you a little about it on the way and we''ll also be picking up Gin''s granddaughter on the second day. She''s pretty fun, I think you two should get along pretty well since both of you will be under my care for a bit. For her it''s more training purposes." "What''s her name?" Alice asked curiously since it sounds like she''ll be spending a lot of time together with this person. "Her name''s Ria. It''s better for you two to get to know each other without learning about her from me. Plus, it''s easier for you to see how she''s like." Allura smiled. Nodding her head, Alice followed behind Allura as the two of them approached the city gates. Unlike the fishing docks that was near the sea, the gate was not overwhelmed by the smell of dead Abyss Beasts. Severalrge stables could be seen next to the gate as there were different queues for people entering or leaving the city. Walking over to thergest stable, Allura talked to the stablemaster and brought out arge wooden carriage with two horse like Abyss Beasts attached at the front. Their fur was a deep purple with a bright red mane and ruby eyes. A ck skeletal armour covered parts of their body as they red at Allura for a moment before bing docile. "Jump on the back. The driver will be here momentarily." Allura said as she nced back at Alice. Nodding her head, Alice climbed onto the back. She wanted to sit where they usually kept the luggage since they weren''t carrying anything. Sitting here allowed her to observe the world fully. Seeing this, Allura only shrugged and let Alice do whatever she wanted. ''. . .'' Sitting silently, Alice nced towards the city. A myriad of thoughts flooded her mind but in the end, she could only think about Lilia. When she arrived in this ce, she was alone and didn''t know where to go. She was only told to find a woman called Allura and nothing else. Captured once more, she was to survive in the coliseum. Then Lilia appeared and gave her the helping hand she needed. Lilia taught her how things worked, looked out for her and protected her when possible. If it wasn''t for Lilia, Alice didn''t know if she could''ve made it out in one piece. Yet it was also these hands of her''s that took Lilia''s life. ''This second chance you gave me at the cost of your own life¡­ I won''t squander it. I promise you Lilia.'' Alice vowed to herself. Lilia gave herself up at thest moment so that she could live. Narrowing her eyes, Alice engraved the image of this city into her mind. She was going toe back one day to get revenge against Lilia''s killer. Everyone that was involved in her death had to die. The bodyguard and the VIP. "Look at you brooding all by yourself. Thinking about vengeance? Have you made your final farewells to this city? We won''t being back for a while since I''ll be taking you around the Abyss to train." Allura''s voice interrupted her thoughts as Alice looked back in surprise since she didn''t think Allura could tell what she was thinking. "Oh don''t look at me that way. You''re practically radiating malice. Your face is stone cold but your eyes and aura give away what you think way too easily. Honestly, if you learn how to hide all of your emotions and expression in your eyes, it''ll be a formidable weapon for you." Allura shrugged. "How do I do that?" "Dunno. Do I look like the emotionless type? Either way, it''s something you''ll figure our yourself. Anyways, make sure you don''t fall off, we''re setting off now." Allura grinned as Alice nodded her head. Making herselffortable, she could feel the carriage moving as the sound of hoovers cking against the cobbled ground rang out. "So the city we''re going to is called Zadash. It''s also known as the city of young Hunters since there''s a rather big training facility. You can visit it if you want but we''ll mostly be going for practical experience. It''s better to learn first hand after all." Allura exined. "Okay, I learn faster by doing anyways." Alice agreed with a serious expression. Hearing this, Allura grinned deviously as Alice didn''t know what she had just signed herself up for. And so, the duo started their journey towards the city of Young Hunters, Zadash. Chapter 38: Spectral Maiden Tall elongated feminine figures with spectral veils covering their body. A crown of silver that draped shadow over their faces. Strange bone like spikes jutted out from the bottom of their skirt while two freakishly long fingers held antern delicately. These were called Spectral Maidens and they wandered silent forests. Anyone who is caught by these woman had their essence drained from their body and sealed within thentern. The brighter the glow, the stronger the Maiden. Usually, one would find a singr Maiden wandering a single forest. Yet Alice was surrounded by more than 15 of these creatures of darkness. Sitting on a tree branch while trying her best to keep herself silent, Alice gritted her teeth thinking back to what Allura had said on the carriage. ### A good lesson to learn as a hunter is stealth! With stealth, you are able to approach your pray and study it without being discovered. Stealth is especially important for you since your first Sigil relies on a one hit kill with overwhelming force or it bes disadvantageous for you." Allura grinned as she gestured for the driver to stop next to a seemingly normal forest. "Therefore, I want you take ap around the forest. There are a few Abyss Beasts but nothing too serious. As long as you learn how to hide yourself, you''ll get through easily." She reassured with a grin. "How should I take thep? Are there checkpoints?" Alice asked curiously while ncing towards the forest. It was a strange forest as the tree''s themselves seemed to be alive with the way they were swaying yet there was no signs of life. Their branches were oddly flexible while the rustling of their leaves served as ambience. "As you enter the forest, there is a special area deep within where the leaves turn to a vibrant shade of purple. Just pluck a few of the leaves and bring them back. "I don''t have a map so just err¡­ keep walking forward until you find it." Hearing this ''advice'', Alice supressed the urge to retort about how little she was telling her. But a task is a task and if this helps her get stronger, Alice didn''t see any reason not to do it. "Just normal beasts yeah?" Alice asked as Allura nodded her head, yet she only felt more suspicious with Allura''s smile. Ignoring her instincts, Alice jumped off the carriage and made her way into the forest. Since Allura wanted her to work on her stealth, Alice assumed Allura was wanting her to be both fast and undetected. Narrowing her eyes, she jumped up onto the branches and started to make her way through the forest using the branches. "What is she? A monkey?" Allura blinked her eyes while pulling out a cigarette. "Whatever. She''ll need to hide in the branches if she want''s to dodge the Spectral Maidens. If she alerts one, the others will find out and rush to her position unless she kills it in one go." Allura smirked while giving her body a stretch. She knew that there was a slight abnormality within these forests as Maiden''s don''t usually gather like this. But it was a good chance for training. She wasn''t irresponsible to the point where she won''t even observe the situation after saying she''ll look after Alice. It was the minimum she should do to keep Alice safe. And if it truly came down to it, she''ll intervene but only at thest possible moment. The threat of death kept a Hunter on their toes after all. ### ''Normal beasts my ass! These are f*cking Spectral Maidens!!! Even someone like me knows about them.'' Alice gritted her teeth since these are thest things you want to run into when you''re alone. They were often the target for scary bedtime stories told towards children who wished to stay upte. A story about an old woman who lost her children to the dark. Wandering out into the forest, she carries a singlentern and her cries forever echoing out, searching for her child. The misfortunate children that enter their sights will never see their family again as their souls join the others within thentern. Thentern containing the misfortunate souls whom the Maiden mistook as her child. While most of the tale wasrgely exaggerated and changed to scare the children, it did not change the fact that they did indeed kill on sight. Taking several deep breaths to steady herself, Alice peaked over the tree trunk and made a mental note on how many Maidens were wandering around her area. ''I still haven''t found the purple leaves yet. There are two Maiden''s to my left, three on my right and one that''s standing in the middle. There are others but they wander to other ces beforeing back¡­ How many are there?'' Alice thought to herself as she prepared to jump to another branch. She didn''t know why they were patrolling around this area. Were they looking for something? Or was there so many Maidens that they were simply relocated to this area. Either way, Alice didn''t want to stay around and find out. All she wanted to get was the purple leaf then she can leave without looking back. Jumping over the gap, Alicended roughly on the branch and quickly hid herself on the branch above. Just as she hid herself, two Maidens swarmed hernding spot. Their hollowed voices sent shivers down Alice''s spine as the eerie glow of theirnterns reflected the faces of dead Hunters that they captured. Finding nothing, the two eventually returned back to their original position as the sound of whispering faded away, allowing Alice a moment to properly recover her breath. Calming her nerves, Alice looked for the nextnding spot. If what Allura said was correct, she had to keep going forward in order to find the special area. While she hasn''t exactly made a bee line towards the spot due to the presence of these Maidens, Alice estimated that she should be on the right track. ''How long is left? Urg¡­ next time I''ll ask her to tell me everything about the training before I actually do it. I almost got caught earlier because I wasn''t prepared for Maidens to appear in this forest.'' Alice sighed inwardly as she repeated the process until the presence of the Spectral Maiden''s could no longer be sensed or seen. Once she was in the clear, Alice took the biggest sigh of relief she had done in a while. With the Maidens now out of the way, she should have a rtively easy path forward. Unlike the earlier area that was swarming with Maidens, this area was strangely silent. It was the kind of silent that screamed something was off. There was wind yet the leaves made no sound. Stepping on one of the branches, Alice snapped it in half yet she could hear nothing. Furrowing her brows, a bad feeling surfaced in her heart as she wanted to turn around and run away from this area. But it was already toote. A strange melody fluctuated through the air as Alice could feel her body''s control being wrestled away from her. Little by little, her legs moved against her will and she stumbled further north. Despite her trying her best to control her body, her mind was losing its grip as well. This melody, thisfort that it brings. The allure was something irresistible. Walking past some foliage, Alice could see that she arrived at a clearing with a singleke surrounded by tall trees. Within theke, a single blond woman stood while singing her beautiful melody. As her voice rang out, Alice saw that she wasn''t the only one trapped by her song. Several others including Maidens were enraptured by her singing as they slowly approached the river only to be snapped up by something unseen. Understanding that things would be dangerous if she entered the water, Alice tried her best to fight against this choir of allure and temptation. Thankfully, she felt the grips of this song loosening as she jumped back and stumbled against the wet mud. Copsing on the floor, she nced back and saw the figure slowly turning towards her location. ''I know Allura said I should be stealthy, but I need to stop this song!'' Gritting her teeth, Alice activated her first Sigil as she grabbed a nearby pebble and threw it as hard as she could at the woman''s head to stop the singing. Surprisingly, she didn''t even attempt to dodge as the rock collided against her head, causing it to fall limp. While she had seeded in silencing the song, the eerie feeling did not fade away. Little by little, the hair of the woman started to unfurl and so did the rest of her body. Turning inside out, the grotesque form revealed itself while basking in the centre of theke. With ck tentacles crawling out from within, sharp teeth lined the edges of her flesh like a zipper while numerous hands wed the water around it. A single opening on the chest resumed the song she had been singing but the effects had already started to fade for Alice. All that it achieved was decreasing her physical powers. Thankfully, her first Sigilbatted this effect. Seeing that Alice was no longer affected by her song, the creature seemed to shake on the spot as the water around it started to boil. Chapter 39: Trapped Understanding that this was her cue to run, Alice did not dawdle and immediately turned around. Seeing this sudden action, the creature raised one of her many hands and let out an ear piercing screech that snapped the enraptured beasts out of their stupor. Locking their eyes onto Alice''s position, they crouched down before charging towards her with feral instinct. "Oh sh-!" Before she could finish her curse, she had to rolled across the floor to dodge a bone javelin that one of the beasts threw towards her. Getting back on her feet, Alice jumped up and grabbed a branch before flipping herself upright. She needed to figure out how to lose them and fast. Thankfully, the strange creature in theke seemed to be stuck there as she only had to worry about the myriad of beasts chasing behind her. Refusing to stay in one position for too long, Alice jumped towards what she perceived as a branch only for the outer bark to peel away, revealing the body of a great serpent beast that red at her. "!!!" Widening her eyes, Alice wished she had a weapon on hand right now as the best she could do was to fall down in order to dodge the snake. With Maidens, beasts and a myriad of other monstrosities behind her and arge serpent in front, there was little Alice could do since going to her left would only bring her back to theke where the strange singer was. Ducking down, Alice scanned her surroundings and nned a route of escape. With the n in mind, all that''s left was to execute it with deadly precision and hope that she was physically capable of pulling off the feats she had in mind. Running towards the serpent, she crouched down and grabbed a handful of mud before throwing it at its eyes. With the serpent distracted by the mud, she kneeled down and slid under its tail, using it as a barrier against the others for now. But it wasn''t over yet since it was just a minor distraction. Ensuring that her first Sigil remains activated, Alice could feel a stead buildup of power through her body as she catapulted herself through the treetops. Jumping above the forest, she twisted her body and scanned her surroundings. She wanted to see if she could spot the special zone within the forest that Allura spoke about. If possible, finishing her mission while also leaving would be optimal. Yet she couldn''t find a spot of difference at all. Every single tree looked the same and reached as far as the eye could see. Gritting her teeth, Alice could only keep venturing north. Using the branches to decrease her fall speed, she nced back to see where the beasts were. However, an opened jaw weed her view as she quickly grabbed the serpent by the top of the jaw while jamming her foot on its lower jaw, preventing it from closing. "Damn snake!" Alice shouted out in frustration. With her unable to keep her footing, she was swept away by the serpents momentum. Thankfully, it was taking her north so she was saving some time. *BANG!!! Crashing through the trunk of a tree, Alice red at the snake in anger as she strengthened her grip against the jaw. It was only right for her to hit it back if it injured her! "ARGH!!!!" Letting out a cry while releasing the dormant strength hidden within her body, she dislocated the snake''s jaw as the sudden jolt of pain caused the beast to rear its head back in shock. Tossed into the air, Alice narrowed her eyes at the beast and adjusted her posture to increase her fall speed. Grabbing the snake''s eyelid, she pulled it as hard as she could while slowing her decent. Forcing the snake out ofmission to recover itself, Alice continued to run as the howls of the beasts filled the forest. Vaulting over a dirt mound, her foot identally got caught by some wood, causing her to fall head first as she raised her arm to protect her head. Crashing against the first, Alice felt the wind being knocked out of her lungs as she forced herself back on her feet. Seeing that the snake was staying behind, she sighed out in relief. Unfortunately for her, this relief was short lived as she noticed why it was staying behind. The cold breath followed by a low whisper. Not daring to turn around, Alice could tell that a Maiden was behind her. ''Everything has a weakness¡­'' She thought to herself, remembering Lilia''s lesson for her. There were two options that she could think of right now. The second being a product of choice one if what she expects doesn''t ur. Looking down at the floor, she narrowed her eyes towards the part where the light was brightest. ''NOW!'' Twisting her body, she grabbed thentern of the Maiden, taking it by surprise. Putting for in her hands, she yanked it away before throwing thentern towards the crowd of beasts. *HISSSS!!!! Letting out a panicked cry, the Maiden rushed towards herntern as Alice took this chance to run. She needed to quickly get out of sight or else this chase will never end. Alice was mapping her route while travelling so she could go back whenever she wanted but things were looking dire. With each second of this chase, she was getting further and further from her objective. Thinking about it for a moment, Alice decided to give it one more try. She''ll try get to the special zone one more time before turning back. It was a shame to fail the task but the important part was to keep her life. Taking a sharp right, Alice wanted to run around theke before travelling further ind. She didn''t see the strange purple leaves that Allura was talking about when she jumped up so she assumed they were further north than she had expected. Thankfully, it seemed like throwing thentern back was the right move since the beasts were preupied with one another and didn''t chase after her. After running through the forest for a while, the sound of beasts faded away and she was clear of danger for now. Theke was long behind her as she took this chance to recover some stamina. Sitting on a branch, Alice took a break while making sure she wasn''t injured. The pump of adrenaline during the chase could''ve made her ignore injuries but thankfully, there were no cuts and only bruises at worse. Once she rested up for a while, she climbed to the top and scouted around but it was the same as before. No sign of the special purple leaves. Scratching her hair in annoyance, she jumped down and made a mini map on the floor using a stick. ''I think I should travel for a little longer than turn back. Any further and it might get annoying to get out of the forest.'' Alice thought to herself while destroying the make shift map she drew. Crouching down, she started to dash towards north once more. But no matter how far she ran, the special zone never appeared. Standing still, Alice scratched her head in annoyance as she sighed and prepared to leave. Turning around, she paused as dread filled her head. Besides the tree, there was a pile of freshly dug up dirt that covered up some markings on the ground. Furrowing her brows, Alice hesitantly brushed the dirt aside and saw the left over markings of her map. Most of it was destroyed but she could tell it was the same one that she drew. ''Sh*t! Where the hell am I?!'' Cursing in her mind, she immediately started to run back the way she came from but the scenery kept repeating itself. She could constantlye back to the pile of dirt that she had left behind. With no other choice, Alice sat down and frowned. She tried to dig through her knowledge of Abyss Beasts but she couldn''t think of anything that matches what was happening to her right now. Grabbing a pebble, she threw it as hard as she could, expecting the pebble toe back and hit her. Yet that never happened. ''Wait¡­'' Narrowing her eyes, Alice made some more markings before trying to walk out once more. Just like before, she returned to her start position. This time, she grabbed pebble she used as a marking before throwing it out once more. ''It hasn''t returned¡­'' Furrowing her brows, Alice tried to escape once more and yet again, returned to the same spot. Only this time the pebble was gone from the floor. Sitting down, Alice started to scratch her neck as her brain started to think about the possibilities. The most likely answer was that this is merely an ability of a beast that messes with her senses. Otherwise, the rocks she threw would''vee back by now. Taking a deep breath, Alice narrowed her eyes. There was a n she had in mind but she wasn''t sure if it''ll work. But it was the only thing she could think of right now. Rolling up her sleeve, she bit down on her forearm until she started to bleed. Making sure the wound was big enough, she started to sprinkle her blood everywhere around her. If it was indeed a beast, her blood should have some effect on it, allowing her to break out of this strange illusion. Chapter 40: Desperate Measures Granted, the choice of wounding herself was rather extreme but it was the only way she could think of getting out of this situation. Through her trials, she estimated that the ability of the beast was the same as her own blood. One that messed with the senses. Otherwise it wouldn''t exin how the pebbles she threw never came back. Since it was an ability that messed with the senses, she''ll use the same strategy to defeat it. Walking around the area where she''s been imprisoned, she made sure to sprinkle a little of her blood in every corner, spacing them out evenly so the fumes could reach as far as possible. The only issue with this strategy was how much blood she could afford to lose before she started to get dizzy and had to stop. It was also a way for her to prepare for future battles. If she could mentally calcte how much blood she is allowed to lose, she could make ns around that value. As she was walking around, she started to notice some changes in her scenery. Previous markings not matching up properly, bushes where they shouldn''t be and so on. Her blood was having an effect and the beast was clearly struggling to maintain the illusion. ''Judging by how it''s trying its best to keep the illusion, maybe it''s a beast that hunts through making its prey waste their energy trying to get out. Otherwise, it should''ve tried to kill me already.'' Alice thought to herself with a frown. Despite being in this situation, she was in rtively low danger since it hadn''t made a move to attack her in this illusion. It was unlike how her Sigil worked where she could still attack them if they fall victim to the poison effects. ''Perhaps it''s a weaker version of the Twilight Hunter.'' Shaking her head, she continued to spread blood through the area. Sweat started to umte on her skin as she felt the tips of her limbs turning cold. She knew that she was approaching the limit of how much blood she could afford to lose. But she couldn''t stop now, not when she was this close to breaking out of the illusion. Clutching her head, Alice ignored her headache while continuing to spread blood. Trying her best to regte her breaths, she watched as her vision started to flicker. The trees warped while the ground seemed to spin. Alice didn''t know if this was the result of blood loss or the beast losing its ability to maintain the illusion but whatever it was, she had to stop her own bleeding soon. She didn''t have any bandages on hand so the best she could do was to cover the wound with her jacket to reduce the blood loss. Stumbling over her own feet, Alice kneeled down as sweat dripped against the grass. She could barely muster the energy to walk anymore as her nausea was getting worse. Biting her lip, she wanted to continue when a strange leaf appeared in front of her. It was iridescent purple in colour and basked the grass in a purple glow. Widening her eyes, she raised her head and saw the source of the leaf. Surrounding her were tall willow trees with purple leaves that pulsed with life. Arge waterfall could be seen across the smallke that reflected the purple glow while small flowers could be seen across the ground. Looking up, she could no longer see the sky as a nket of green leaves could be seen hiding this view from above while the underside reflected the pink and purple lights, making this area seem as though it belonged to the faeries. Around her, Alice could see her blood being sprinkled in a circle and understood that she had been walking in the same spot. Not only that, she could also see strange trees with a skull like head made from bark. Purple leaves coated their body as they were struggling to stand up properly. Understanding that it was these creatures that had trapped her in the illusion, Alice forced herself to stand up as she had to deal with them before they recovered from her Sigil''s ability. Gritting her teeth, she took off her cloak and tied it over her wound, stopping the blood loss momentarily. Looking around for a weapon, she picked up a spare rock and jumped towards the closest tree. There were about four of these creatures surrounding her so she had to make it fast. Bashing the rock against its skull, Alice grabbed the loose bark and tore it off without any mercy. Despite being created from wood, it was somehow able to scream yet Alice ignored that. ''There are still three others I need to kill once I deal with this one.'' She thought with a frown since her own energy was dropping rapidly due to her blood loss. Raising her hand, she repeatedly smashed the rock against the tree that was unable to retaliate. Bark, leaves and sap flew everywhere with each hit, some even getting on Alice''s body, staining her skin with a deep yellow. Once the head waspletely crushed, Alice forced herself to stand up and make sure the tree was dead before turning her attention to the other creatures. Two seemed to be on the verge of recovering since the potency of her blood was low. The only reason it was able to affect them was due to how much blood she had spilled. Clearing all thoughts in her mind, she only needed to kill these three and take their leaves as proof. As soon as shepletes this, she''ll be allowed to leave and properly rest. Rushing towards the creature that seemed closest to breaking out of her ability, she activated her Sigil momentarily to gain a boost of strength so that she could finish off the beast quickly. *CRACK!!! Plunging her fist through the torso of the beast, she gritted her teeth and plunged her other hand into the chest as well. Ignoring the pain in her hand, she let out a cry as she tore the tree in half. Shaking her head to dismiss the headaches, she red at the third tree. It seemed to have broken out of the effects as Alice''s surroundings started to shift. ''Not good!'' Activating her eye to slow time down, she kept her Sigil activated while rushing towards the tree before she could lose sight of it. Jumping up, she mmed her knee into its face and forced it against the ground. Stopping the illusion from being re-established, Alice jammed her foot against its throat before twisting her ankle, crushing the throat and separating the head from the body. Taking several deep breaths, Alice turned off her Sigil before she caused herself to die from blood loss. ring at thest beast, she could see that it had already broken out of the illusion and was now staring at her with fear. Alice could feel its panic, the urge to turn around and run away. With her being in no shape to kill it quickly without reactivating her Sigil, Alice didn''t want to push herself more than needed. "Do you want to join them? I can make that happen." Alice threatened as she grabbed the head of the creature and crushed it with her hands. Understanding that Alice was giving it a chance to run away, the beast immediately turned around and scurried off. Sighing in relief, Alice leaned down and picked up a handful of purple leaves before stuffing them into her pocket. ''Now, how to get out of here¡­'' Alice thought to herself as she didn''t know when she was trapped by the creature''s illusions. Wanting to walk away, Alice could feel the energy draining from her limbs and understood that she was in no condition to make her way out of the forest. Gritting her teeth, looked for a tree to rest her body for now. Just as she was about to climb up, a harrowing cry reverberated through the zone as turned her head towards the source. She could see a distant shadow approaching closer from the forest as the trees were being pushed aside. *BANG!!! Breaking through the wall of tree''s, arge creature ten times as tall as Alice could be seen. Giant roots twisted and threated together to form its torso awhile giant trunks acted as its limbs. A flow of green energy enveloped its body from within as a set of emerald glows acted as its eyes. It was also covered by an amour of silver thorns around its shoulders and torso. On its shoulder, was the creature that Alice had spared just a moment ago. "You''ve got to be kidding me¡­" Alice muttered as she understood she should never leave any survivors in case things like this happened. Resisting the urge to facepalm, she needed to run away from this area as soon as possible. She instinctively knew that she couldn''tpete against this creature no matter how much she tried. It was not something she could kill in her peak state much less her current condition where she is already on the verge of death. Just as she turned around to run, she could feel its eyes lock onto her back as the small tree creature let out an enraged roar while pointing towards her direction. ''M*therf*cker!'' Cursing out in her mind, Alice did not hesitate and immediately started to dash away while the behemoth of a creature charged from behind, destroying everything it came across. She so dearly wished she could curse Allura right now for sending her towards a ce like this. ''A few Abyss Beasts she said, nothing serious she imed. B*llshit!!!'' Chapter 41: Seeking Escape Gritting her teeth, Alice tried her best to ignore the splitting headache she was receiving due to blood loss. Adrenaline constantly pumped through her body as she couldn''t afford to slow down right now. The moment she did, she''ll die to the behemoth tree that was chasing after her. ncing back, she could see the excited figure of the small tree that she had spared. "I WILL MOUNT YOUR HEAD ON STICK AND BURN IT TO ASH!" Alice shouted out in anger as she was reaching her limit. She truly regretted not killing the beast when she had the chance. She had spared him out of concern that she couldn''t fight anymore yet doing so only made matters worse. Had she known this oue, she would''ve killed him if it was thest thing she did before passing out! At least then she would be rtively safe. It got to the point she was constantly hurling insults towards the duo that was constantly on her tail even though she usually didn''t speak much. Flipping over a branch, Alice was tempted to use her blood but any more blood loss and she can forget about moving. Even though, her bleeding was reduced thanks to the cloak, her movement would reopen the wound. The only saving grace was that she spotted previous signs of battle meaning she was getting close to her original trail. All that was left to do was to figure out how close or how far she was from theke. If she was to lead the tree to theke, there was a good chance that the two may fight. Either that or both of them would try to kill her. However, it was a risk she was willing to take since she wasn''t going to outrun this behemoth any time soon. She could tell that they were just ying around with her, waiting for the moment she became tired and could not run anymore. The mere thought only caused her anger to increase as the small beast was annoying the hell out of her with its motives. Landing on the floor, she crouched down and grabbed a rock before twisting her body clockwise. Throwing the rock towards the small tree, she watched as it collided with the tree''s head, causing it to stumble. Satisfaction emerged in her heart as she felt content before resuming her escape. Naturally, her action only served to aggravate the small beast. Commanding therge tree to increase its speed, the tree red at Alice, waiting for the moment he captured her. The moment she could no longer move, it''ll make sure she suffers all kinds of torture at its hands. With the beast now increasing its speed, Alice had to force herself to run faster as her lungs burned with each breath. She could barely control her body as each step she took was one taken with great difficulty. Jumping through the bushes, Alice could see a stream of water leading further forward and estimated that she was getting close to theke. ''Almost there¡­'' She thought to herself, mustering up as much strength as possible. *BANG!!! A tangle of roots crashed down behind her, barely missing her legs as it forced her to increase her speed once more. She was not allowed to slow down as the moment she did, the beast would threaten her with death. ''Just you f*cking wait!'' Alice cursed out inwardly. Approaching the clearing, she could almost feel her burden''s lifting. The chase was almost over. As long as she she is able to cause the two to fight then hide, she''ll be allowed to leave. However, the moment she saw theke, her heart dropped as theke waspletely empty. There was no sign of the singing beast nor was there any sign of the other Abyss Beasts that had chased her earlier. "You got to be kidding me¡­" Alice muttered, feeling defeated. Just as she was about to dive into theke to seek some cover, she noticed something strange on the edge. It was a pure white pile of flesh that started to bulge and twist with a multitude of hands poking out from the folds of its flesh. Recognising it to be the body of the strange singing beast, Alice couldn''t help but wonder what had happened. Was it like the spider that moulted its skin? Or did something happen toe along and kill the beast. Whatever it was, Alice had to gamble. It was her final chance at escaping. Dashing towards the corpse, she heard the rumble of lightning as she nced up at the sky. Dark clouds seemed to gather as a pir of lightning struck down towards the corpse. The resulting shockwave caused her to beunched into the forest as she mmed against the trees. "Gods dammit! Disgusting f*cking thing ate me!?" A feminine voice shouted out in anger as a pair of hands pierced through theyer of flesh and tore it to shreds. Widening her eyes, Alice could see a female figure excavate herself from the flesh as flickers of lightning burned away the blood covering her body. She had long sky blue hair with purple glows on the underside. A pair of radiant purple eyes that flickered with energy while lightning coursed through her body. The woman wore a sleeveless midnight blue jacket adorned with silver metal. An assortment of silver buttons and jewelry lined her jacket while the faint pattern of a flower could be seen on the material. Gloves that reached from her hands to her biceps, a pair of ck shorts and long thigh boots that showed off some skin between the boots and shorts. Stomping down against the corpse of the beast, lightning covered her body like a suit of armour as it was concentrated around her arms, shoulder and legs. On her shoulder, a Sigil could be seen pulsing with purple energy. "Hm?" Noticing Alice, the woman was about to say something when the giant behemoth tree burst through the foliage, letting out a giant scream that caught her attention. "Another one??? How many abnormalities is in this forest!? It shouldn''t even be this bad, dammit!" She shouted out in annoyance. Cracking her neck, she crouched down as lightning surged through her body. *BANG!!! The sound of thunder rang out as sheunched herself towards the beast with a crazed glow in her eyes. Lightning arced from her body and struck the beast as she mmed down with her hands, tearing apart the wood while pieces would be charred from the lightning. "URAHHHHH!!!" Roaring out in anger, the behemoth raised its other hand and mmed it towards the woman who onlyughed. Twisting her body, she kicked up with her legs, causing a de of lightning to split the arm in half. ''Two Sigils!'' Alice thought to herself, noticing a Sigil appear on her thigh. However, the behemoth wasn''t done. Green energy rushed towards its body from the surroundings as the wounds were starting to repair themselves. "Oh? A recovery type ability hmm¡­" The woman muttered as she jumped back momentarily to create some distance between the two of them. "That''s fine. Let''s test out my new ability." Stomping down, another bolt of lightning descended from above as the woman''s hair red up from the power coursing through her body. Electricity wrapped around her body fully, making it seem as though she was entirely created from lightning. A monstrous growl seemed to echo out from her body as she crouched down and transformed into a streak of lightning that rushed towards the beast. *BANG!!! Each hit sounded like a lightning strike as Alice was speechless. This power¡­ It was far superior to what she had seen in the coliseum. Lars, the assassin and even the bodyguard couldn''tpare to what she was seeing. The blue haired woman was simply unstoppable with her ability as she jumped above the beast. Gathering all of her lightning into her hands, she grinned and pulled back her arm. "HAHH!!!!!" Letting out a loud shout, she threw the lightning down. *KSHHH!!!!! A streak of lightning cleaved the beast in half but it was far from done. From above, countless bolts of lightning continued to fall in the same spot, erasing any remnants the beast including the small tree beast that was on its shoulder. Crashing down, the woman dismissed her lightning as she returned back to normal. The purple glow no longer being seen in her hair as she massaged her shoulders with a frown on her face. "Tsk, the third ability is too hard to use dammit. Takes too long to charge and drains so much from me. All the lightning I charge up is basically gone with one strike." Sheined while turning her attention to Alice. "Yo! What did you do to annoy the tree? Not that it should be this far out in the forest to begin with." The woman asked curiously while walking over to Alice. "Spared small tree. It ran away and big tree came running." Alice replied bitterly. "Hah??? You spared it? Yeah no wonder it got the big one toe kill you goodness. Never spare an Abyss Beast, they always, ALWAYS go for the kill." The woman shrugged while crouching down next to Alice. "Need some help to get out? I''m on my way to find someone so I don''t mind giving you a helping hand." She offered with a smile. "Thank you. Your name?" Alice asked curiously. "My name? It''s Ria, nice to meet you." Chapter 42: Ria Hearing her name, Alice paused in surprise. She remembered that Allura had mentioned the name of the person they were going to meet. The granddaughter of Gin, Ria. ''Allura only mentioned her name and didn''t say what she was like¡­ She said Ria was fun and that the two of us will get along pretty well and that we''ll both be under her care.'' Alice mused to herself while Ria was bewildered by Alice''s reaction. "Erm¡­ Hello? Is there something wrong with my name?" Ria asked in confusion. After hearing her name, Alice simply turned silent while staring at her. "No, sorry. Was just surprised." Alice shook her head. "Surprised by what? Bah, forget that. Do you need some healing blood? Your wound seems quite serious." Ria frowned as she could see Alice''s cloak being drenched with her blood. "It should be okay. Just be careful, since poisonous. Let''s leave the forest first. There are some Spectral Maidens on the way out. Dangerous." Alice warned. "Hmm¡­ They shouldn''t be too difficult to be dealt with. Just follow behind me, I''ll keep you safe." Ria puffed out her chest as she helped Alice back on her feet. Surprised by how helpful Ria was being, Alice couldn''t help but wonder if she had any ulterior motive. ''Is itmon for people to be this nice?'' She thought to herself while eyeing Ria''s back suspiciously. Ignoring Alice''s stare, Ria started to lead the way out confidently. Anything that showed hostility would be sted to pieces with her lightning. Seeing the corpse of the Abyss Beast going to waste, Alice couldn''t help but wish she had an extractor on hand so that she could harvest some of the blood forter use. Especially the blood of the tree creatures since it seemed as though they had strong regenerative powers. It further reinforced her desire to start earning some money so she wouldn''t be poor. But as she continued to follow Ria, confusion filled her heart as they still haven''t reached the exit of the forest. Alice wanted to ask but seeing as how Ria was not saying anything, she assumed that Ria had it all under control. "Stand back a moment, I''ll carve a way out for us. Don''t you think it''s rather annoying to that this many trees in the way?" Ria smiled while pointing towards the forest. ". . ." ''If you''re lost just say so!'' "Let me try find out where we are." Alice sighed as she gestured for Ria to follow them. Alice was going to back track a little so that she could return to the route she had previously taken when entering the forest. "No no no, there''s no need." Ria shook her head profusely. "I know a route. Less time spent that way." Alice retorted. If they spend any longer trying to get out of this damn forest, she was going to die of blood loss first! Sighing in defeat, Ria raised her hands behind her head and followed behind Alice. "Howe you in this forest?" Alice couldn''t help but ask curiously since they were supposed to meet Ria tomorrow on the way to Zadash. But with things as they are, they would''ve missed each other had Allura not told her to enter this forest. "Well¡­ I had amission near here. I figured it was a good idea since it''ll let me find the people I need to meet. But I may have¡­ Overstayed my wee for a few days. I got carried away with killing things and things happened." ". . ." ''So you got loss¡­'' Face palming inwardly, Alice couldn''t help but admire Ria''s sense of direction. Orck thereof. Granted, she could''vee from the opposite side of the forest in which case getting loss makes sense. But just from the brief period they''ve known each other, that possibility seems unlikely as Ria got loss just trying to walk in a straight line. They would unknowingly drift to the right or to the left as they walked. And with Alice allowing Ria to take the lead, they eventually walked in arge circle. "So why did youe to this forest? Most would onlye here when they have two to three Sigils so they can handle the beasts that appear. With your condition, you either came here early or took a big hit unexpectedly." Ria asked curiously. If Alice hade here early, they she was both foolish and brave. "Wound self inflicted. Needed it to activate first Sigil ability. Then small tree call big tree and I had to run." Alice exined while looking for their way back. "Self inflicted? Damn you must''ve got unlucky then. It''s gonna be hard for you to get a useful second Sigil if you need to harm yourself to activate your ability." Ria shrugged. While self harming Sigil''s do exist, few would ept them due to their nature. It takes a while for a properbination of Sigil abilities to be gathered before the ability bes good enough to use hence why most would only take this kind of Sigilter down the line. Yet if it was the this strange girl''s first Sigil, Ria couldn''t help but feel sorry for her future. After all, with such a Sigil, killing bounties was going to be very difficult. "Its has its uses." Alice shrugged. She knew the risks of this Sigil yet it had proven to be very helpful thus far. Itcked offensive capabilities side from a boost to physical strength but the effects of the poison was more than satisfactory. After all, it allowed her to survive several tough encounters. Of course, the help of Allura and Ria was the main reason she survived but she couldn''t deny the potency of her Sigil. Right now, there was two avenues she could focus on for her development. First was the aspect of enhancing her own body. If she was to go down this route, she''ll take the role of someone that can kill with one hit. Her next Sigils will revolve around augmenting this build up of physical strength to increase its lethality. But it didn''t suit the way Alice wanted to do things. The second avenue was capitalising on the blood''s passive strength as a poison. If she was to choose her bounties correctly and find a way to recover her missing blood whenever she uses the ability, she''ll be able to constantly use the powerful hallucinogenic abilities of the blood to augment her fighting. Not only that, if she does indeed find a way to recover her blood loss, the active ability of her first Sigil will be pivotal in her future fights. After all, it''ll speed up her blood loss allowing her to spread the poison faster. And in doing so, increasing the chances of victory when her opponent suffers from the adverse effects. All that''s left to do was to find the right beast to serve as a bounty. ''Allura mentioned that I''ll be able to choose my bounties thanks to the eye. From the top of my head, there are only two Abyss Beasts that matches the description of what I''m looking for. They''re both highly ranked beasts in terms of regenerative powers that the Zenia family prioritized and tested their effects extensively on me.'' Alice thought while narrowing her eyes. The first beast was one that was ''farmed''. Like her, it was locked away and harvested constantly for its blood due its precious nature. Titled the Shackled Matron, the beast was a faceless woman with red streaks down the side of her face. Iron wings that resembled coffins sprouted from her back while barbed chains constantly pierced her body, causing her to bleed permanently without stop. Her limbs would be bound by the chains but when her life is threatened, she''ll be able to break out into a frenzy. The abilities of her blood granted superior regeneration at the cost of an endless thirst for blood while permanent side effects of prolonged use would cause barbed chains to slowly appear across the skin and a coffin shaped wound to appear on the back. Once the coffin was fully manifested, it would snap shut, killing the user an bing an offering to birth a new Shackled Matron. But with them being able to constantly harvest the Matron, a supply of high quality blood was often guaranteed thus the price soared as a result. Everything granted by the Shackled Matron matched the desires of Alice and what she wanted for a Sigil to augment her blood but there was one more beast that fit her liking. One that would significantly increase her offensive capabilities while also ensuring her survivability. Unlike the Shackled Matron, the beast''s name didn''t instil a sense of awe or fear towards it. Instead, it sounded painfully ordinary in a world where beasts like Vampire Lilies, Shackled Matrons and Twilight Hunters existed. Yet one could not deny its abilities or effectiveness. Blood Raven. It was a simple raven with most of its body being created from blood. All of its ''feathers'' was blood and it could erge and reduce its size at will so long as it can ess blood nearby. But this wasn''t the highlight of its ability. If ites in contact with you, it could inject its own blood into your body, hijacking your system and draining you of all your blood. Taking a wound from the Blood Raven equates to death, and its abilities are something that Alice desires for her next Sigil. With the Blood Raven Sigilbined with the Spectral Hunter Sigil, the ways she could utilise the abilities will increase massively. Chapter 43: Misunderstanding There was one problem when it came to killing the Blood Raven. And that was its ability to turn itself into a pool of blood and escape. If she were to choose one as her next bounty, she needs to make sure she can kill it in one go. ''I can probably stock up on some Abyss Blood through hunts. I''ll need to buy an extractor and find an excuse for Allura since I doubt Hunters would drink this much blood just for a hunt. Though that''s because their previous benefits are mostly permanent.'' Alice sighed inwardly. Hunters would build up their base strength through consuming Abyss Blood, but such a method didn''t work for her. With all of the benefits being temporary, she could only drink arge quantity of blood before each hunt to prepare herself if the battle was going to be tough. Meaning she''ll need to exin to Allura sooner orter. ''I shouldn''t tell anyone about my body. Perhaps I can just exin that all of the blood I extract are high purity but that''s going to be tough.'' Shaking her head, Alice cleared her mind and focused back to the task at hand. She had managed to find signs of their previous path and already started to make their way out of the forest. Most of the beasts that the singing beast had controlled already ran away while the few that remained was taken care of by Ria. Seeing her lightning powers, Alice couldn''t help but wonder what kind of beast she obtained the Sigils from and what was their exact power. ''Sigil one seems to be one that coats her body with lightning while focusing them around her limbs¡­ Sigil two seems to allow her to fire the lightning in a ranged attack while the third sounds like it would take everything she gathered and release it in one go.'' Alice thought to herself as she wanted to practice guessing Sigil abilities. She knew that in the future, when she fights other Sigil bearers, the faster she figures out their abilities the quicker she can turn fights in her favour. "So judging by your outfit, you must be pretty rich right? The quality of your armour is high and not something new hunters wear." Ria asked since all she was doing was following and killing any stray beasts they run across. "No. Someone else paid for this. Got lucky." Alice shook her head. What Ria said reminded her of her continued debt towards Allura for everything she''s done so far. "Oh damn, if someone else paid for it then you must''ve done them a big favour no?" "None. They saved me from very and bought this. Said I can''t walk around wearing only dress." Alice replied, causing Ria to paused mid step. ''Wait¡­ If she got something this expensive after someone saved her from very then¡­ Sugar mom or sugar dad???'' Ria thought to herself while observing Alice. ''I mean¡­ I can see it happening. Her hair is a tad weird and same with her eye, but it''s nothing too majorpared to other side effects of Abyss Blood¡­ She has a pretty good figure and face too hmm¡­ Aint no way someone bought something that expensive for a fling right? Right? Plus if they got her for a fling why is she out here hunting instead of being in their bedroom?'' Feeling Ria''s conflicted gaze on her back, Alice couldn''t help but be confused by her reaction. ''Did I say something wrong?'' "Say¡­ What''s your name?" Ria asked. "It''s Alice." "Right then, Alice, this person¡­ They saved you from very right? Did they ask for anything from you while buying you stuff?" "?" Confused by her question, Alice thought to herself for a moment before opening her mouth. "They didn''t really ask for anything. They''re looking after me now and buys me a bunch of stuff." Alice replied, tilting her head while trying to remember what else Allura asked of her. But that was essentially everything since all Allura needed was for her to fulfil a task that she doesn''t know just yet. Hearing this, Ria reaffirmed the thoughts in her mind. ''Bought a bunch of stuff without asking for anything? They''re definitely nning to take advantage of her! But that still doesn''t exin why she''s in this forest. She said she was here because of a task¡­ Hmm¡­'' "Alice, can you tell me a little about how you met with this saviour of yours?" "Huh? I mean I guess so. Was going to die, then they save me. I wake up on bed and they take me shopping then left city with me." Alice replied, feeling more and more confused by the questions Ria was asking. "What were you wearing when you woke up?" "Err¡­ Only white dress and bandages. Why such questions?" Alice asked, hoping to get some answers of her own since she doesn''t know if these are questions people usually asked one another. For all she knows, this could bepletely normal and it was her that was being weird. Holding Alice''s shoulders, Ria looked at her with pity and sighed. "Which city are you going to?" Ria asked. "Going to Zadash." "Perfect. If things don''t work out, look for Ria Sarza at the Hunters guild okay? I should be around Zadash for a while and if your saviour treats you bad just tell me. I can guarantee your safety if you need to run." Ria promised as Alice was even more confused than ever. She had no idea what Ria was talking about and why she thought she was in any danger or why Allura would treat her badly. Considering they were both going under her care, it was a very confusing statement to make. ''Ah right, she doesn''t know where going to be acquainted with one another. Well¡­ she seems eager so I guess I''ll stay silent for now.'' Alice thought to herself in realisation. "Okay, I''ll remember." Alice nodded. Hearing this, Ria smiled happily. "Great! Now then, let''s get out of this forest. Zadash is still pretty far away all things considered. I should be able to find the one who helped you so I''ll see how they are before I leave. If they''re as bad as I think they are, I''ll deal with it first." Ria grinned while cracking her knuckles. Raising her eyebrow, Alice couldn''t help but shake her head with a shrug. If circumstances were bad, this kind of thought process may make things much much worse. ''She makes it sound like Allura is bad to me with how I described her. If Allura was truly bad, I don''t think Ria will be able to fight her much less make life better I guess.'' But that was something Ria had to deal with herself since it''s not Alice''s ce to lecture her about how she should live her life. After all, Alice herself had barely lived her own. As they approached the area where there should be several Spectral Maidens going on patrol, Alice noticed tracks of them making their way to another part of the forest. Whether that was due to the fighting or something else, Alice couldn''t say for sure. But something felt off and she couldn''t quite put a finger on the source of that feeling. Thankfully, it wasn''t just her as Ria was also frowning at this discovery. "Sudden influx of beasts¡­ Appearance of beasts that shouldn''t be in this region along with Maiden''s grouping up even though they shouldn''t¡­ Hmm¡­ Too strange. I''ll need to report this to the guild once I get to Zadash and have them look at this since this is too unnatural." Ria muttered. Following her path back, the two soon reached the edge of the forest and saw the carriage that Alice arrived in. Sitting on the roof looking rxed as Allura who was currently smoking a cigarette. "I''m back. Here are the purple leaves. Forest too strange, too many dangerous things." Alice sighed while reaching into her pocket and pulling out the leaves that she had collected. Receiving them, Allura nodded before pointing inside the carriage. "There''s some healing blood inside if you want to take that for your blood loss. Spend the next few days resting and tell me about how you want to fight from now on. This trip should''ve taught you a little about how you want to survive in the Abyss. We''ll use that knowledge to decide your next Sigils." Allura smiled as Alice nodded her head. Climbing into the carriage, she saw the vial of healing blood and drank a sip. Just a single sip already started her healing process as Alice was surprised by how effective the blood was. Understanding that Allura had bought something high quality, Alice drank enough to keep herself alive before keeping the rest in her pouch. She didn''t want to use up everything, especially when it was something of this quality. While Alice was resting, Ria was speechless. She didn''t think that the person who saved Alice was Allura. Thinking back, her words seemed rather funny especially with her imagining Allura as Alice''s sugar mom. Facepalming inwardly, Ria cleared her throat and ran over to Allura''s side. "Weren''t you supposed to meet us tomorrow? Howe you''re here today? If I didn''t get Alice to go collect the leaves you wouldn''t been missing." Allura raised an eyebrow while Ria coughed awkwardly. "Got lost¡­ Again." Staring at Ria silently with eye''s of disbelief, Allura couldn''t believe that this girl was still getting lost. Even when she would take quests that should only take a few hours of travel, she would get lost for a whole day. If it wasn''t for the fact that she could handle herself, Allura would never let her go solo and neither would her grandfather. ". . . I need to strap a tracking cor on you or something." Chapter 44: Alluras Sigils While Alice was resting herself within the carriage, both Allura and Ria sat on the roof. "So is she the one I''m supposed to meet?" Ria asked while pointing at the carriage. "Yep. You two will be under my care for a bit since I''m going to be teaching her everything about the Abyss. And your grandfather said I might as well take you along while I''m at it." Allura nodded her head with a smile. "So what do you think of Alice for now? Any impressions?" Allura asked, curious to see how Ria felt about Alice and see if the two werepatible as training partners. With Ria being a three Sigil user and Alice only beginning, the two could help each other grow. Ria will show Alice how to fight as a three Sigil bearer while Alice would show Ria an adaptive type of fighting as well as new ideas. If the two can help each other, they''ll grow to new heights. "Hmm¡­ She seems¡­ Strange I guess? Not really much else to say. She talks a bit weird, very silent unless I''m the one doing the talking and she just kind of stares at me." Ria shrugged since there wasn''t much she could say about Alice. "I''d be more concerned if she opened herself up to you more considering what she''s been through. But what I meant was her fighting style and how she handles herself in a stressful situation." Allura chuckled. "Oh that''s what you meant. Hmm¡­ She''s resourceful. I didn''t see her peak form but the way she handled herself while being wounded, I''d say she''s the more annoying kind of fighter. One that will get hurt easily but if you let them do their thing, she''ll be very annoying to deal with. She mentioned that her blood was poisonous, what Sigil did she get for her first one?" "She killed a Spectral Hunter." Allura smiled, causing Ria to freeze up. "A Spectral Hunter? Not a Twilight one?" "Yep. She got pretty lucky, it had just advanced from being a Twilight Hunter to a Spectral Hunter so it didn''t have time to prepare traps. She chose the poison blood ability that also boosts her physical strength the longer she has it activated. The only downside is that if she''s wounded, it''ll speed up her blood loss." "Makes sense." Ria nodded as the wound Alice had suffered on her arm shouldn''t have reduced her to such a state. Yet she was on the verge of passing out due to blood loss. "There is one thing I will say though. She chooses the extreme options far too easily." Allura sighed while taking a big breath of her cigarette. "I was watching how she fought. Both in the arena and in the forest. She does not put importance on her own body to the extent that other people would, opting to harm it without much thought. While her first Sigil does indeed support this kind of fighting style, at least the passive part does, it still doesn''t exin her thought process. Take the moment she stepped into the special zone for example. "What she fought was something called Dream Callers. They are beasts that trap their victims in a strange illusion by hypnotising their senses. Not only are they unable to attack while putting their victims into the illusion but their only method of attack is to wear them down and wait until the person passes out." Allura exined while pulling out the purple leaves that Alice had handed to her. "Once a Hunter discovers that they''ve been trapped in an illusion, they would reduce the senses they are currently using to dispel the illusion. Such as covering their ears, holding their breath and closing their eyes. It takes a while for the illusion to reestablish itself once you begin cutting off your senses momentarily. A very simple counter to what is considered fodder and easy target to hunters. "But do you know what she did? She decided to fight fire with fire. She used the passive ability of her first Sigil to fight these trees at what they do best, illusions. I was this close to interrupting the fight if it wasn''t for the fact that she was able to oust them. From one of the easiest beasts to fight against to something that put her on the verge of death. All because of how quickly she chose to harm herself." Allura exined while finishing her cigarette. Lightning the bud on fire, she burned it to ash before pulling out another one. "I have no clue what kind of life she lived but I need to get this habit out of her system. This level of self harm will not help her in the future, even if she was to get Sigils that support this habit of hers." Hearing this, Ria agreed with Allura''s sentiment. "So what''s the n then? I''m assuming once we get to Zadash you''ll want to get experience. So getting a Hunter license is needed and perhaps even signing her up for the training program." Ria asked but Allura shook her head. "I don''t n on sending her to the training program. I''ll have her do research on her own and give her nudges in the direction if she stays too far. If I hold her hand through everything, it''ll suppress her own intuition. But setting aside the case of Alice, we need to sort you out as well you know?" Alluraughed while patting Ria on the head. "Eh? I thought I was doing okay?" Ria furrowed her brows but Allura shook her head. "I saw how you fought, it''s a tad too linear with the Sigils you''ve acquired. You need to open your mind to fresh ideas, think about what you can do to push the boundaries of each Sigil. There are those that follow a guideline for Sigils, then there are those that innovate the uses themselves. You need to be the kind that innovates if you want to stand out as a Sigil user." Alluraughed. "Why else do you think I keep myself to using only three Sigils? Naturally, I have more and I can end the fights easier since I''m primarily an Anti Hunter Sigil user, but using the first three lets me optimize how I approach fights." Flicking her wrists, three Sigils appeared on her body as mes erupted from her hands. "Granted, my first three Sigils are also a tad ipatible with my other ones since I chose these when I was a young brat like you and Alice." Allura admitted with augh. "Eh? Really? What did you choose for your fourth Sigil then?" Ria asked in surprise. She wanted to know what path Allura decided to choose if her first three Sigils were ipatible. There was arge jump in power between the third and fourth Sigil and same with the sixth and seventh Sigil. If done well, this gap would be insurmountable with the amount of power you can derive from the fourth Sigil. It was also why Ria was holding herself back from just obtaining the fourth Sigil. A saying is passed around in the Huntermunity. Sigils one through three can be killed by normal people if they take you by surprise. But once you reach four Sigils, only another Sigil bearer can kill you. She wanted to develop her powers and prove to the Abyss that she can take stronger bounties. "I chose something that allowed me to bring others to my level for my fourth Sigil. It strips them of their power while boosting my own." Allura smiled mysteriously, refusing to borate on the limits of her ability. "Wait so¡­ What happens if you use it on someone weaker than you?" "Then they be normal people. That''s the key difference between Anti Monster and Anti Hunter. I focused on Anti Hunter so it strips people of their power and makes it easier for me to kill them. It''s less effective on monsters sadly." Allura shrugged. Making a note in her mind, Ria wondered what she should choose for her fourth Sigil. With the direction of her first three Sigils, she was leaning towards being a front-line fighter with raw power. Before she could think more, Allura flicked her on the forehead. "Ah! What was that for???" Ria pouted while holding her forehead. "I know that look. You were thinking about your fourth Sigil right? Trust me when I say this. Don''t rush it. Open your mind to the first three and think about what you can do with them. Once you can fight those with 5 Sigils with just three Sigils, THEN you should think about what you should get for your fourth Sigil. These days, people only think about the honour and respect thates with having more Sigils instead of the practicality." Allura shook her head. The strength of Sigil users between the fourth and sixth Sigil had dropped dramatically since the old era with people now unable to cross the gap into seven Sigils. Granted, the situation was a little better in more popted areas within the Abyss but the decrease in power could not be ignored. ''I need to make sure both Alice and Ria takes it slow when ites to their Sigils. Rush too much and it''ll mess with their foundation, making it impossible for them to ascend as seven Sigil users.'' Allura thought to herself while lying down on the roof of the carriage. There was no rush for the next few days as she didn''t have any more ns to send Alice into dangerous locations. She had seen what she needed to see, all that''s left is to organise a training n. Chapter 45: A Hunters Growth "Hng¡­" Slowly opening her eyes, Alice yawned as she was happy that she finally got some uninterrupted sleep. Every time she had passed out so far only reminded her of her past but this time, there was nothing. Sitting up, she nced out the window and saw that they were currently resting in the dead of night. There was a small campfire while both Ria and Allura was chatting besides it. The driver of the carriage has already gone to sleep. Alice checked her arm and was happy to see her wound being fully healed. She was still feeling a little light in the head, but it was much better than before. Upon stepping out of the carriage, both Ria and Allura turned towards her. "You''re up. Feeling hungry?" Allura smiled, gesturing to some meat that they were cooking over the fire. "Mnm a little." Alice nodded her head. "You two can talk for a bit. I''ll go sleep now." Ria yawned while stretching her body. Bidding the two good night, sheid down in her own bedroll. "Now then, after your first experience outside of the coliseum and fighting your own battles, how do you feel?" Allura asked with a smile. She wanted to see what Alice took away from the experience herself. "It''s hard¡­ Everything very dangerous. Need to get more Sigils." Alice replied honestly since it was what she believed. If she had more Sigils, she''ll be able to ovee these issues. "You''re only half right. The monsters you fought at the start are dangerous. That I agree with. But the one at the end? They''re cannon fodder. Lowest of the low. What you need is not more Sigils. What you need is knowledge and mindset." Allura pointed at her head. "You see, the trees you fought could''ve been defeated by just holding your breath, closing your eyes and blocking your ears. But what happened? You bit yourself to use your blood and almost died from blood loss because of it. If you continue like this, no matter how many Sigils you get, you''ll still die from the weakest beasts." Hearing this, Alice paused in contemtion. She knew that Allura wouldn''t lie when she mentioned how weak the beasts were. She knew it herself with how low their defences were. If she wasn''t on a timer due to her blood loss, she could easily tear them to pieces. "While the Abyss does not impose any time restriction on acquiring Sigils, the time between gathering Sigils allow you to hone your existing strength and prove yourself to the Abyss. Personally, this is the cycle I like to use." Grabbing a wooden stick, Allura extinguished the me before drawing a diagram on the floor. "We''ll skip step one since you already got your first Sigil. What we need to focus on is the time between your first and your second Sigil. You need to use this time to fully understand the pros and cons of your ability. Mindset is a very important aspect of this. With the right mindset and creativity, you can do many things with even the simplest of abilities." Flicking her wrist, Allura''s first Sigil lit up as mes danced across her fingertips. "My first Sigil is simple. I obtained it after killing an Ember Wyrm. They have the ability to coat their entire body in mes. Now, usually the Ember Wyrm would be chosen as the second or third Sigil due to the fact that they can control their mes at will. But I killed it without any Sigils and without any Abyss Blood." Allura grinned, causing Alice to blink her eyes in surprise. "How did you do it?" "It was simple. I spent about 2 weeks observing the Wyrm. Once I knew its route, I set up a water trap, waited for the f*cker to drop in and stabbed a sword through the head. It couldn''t light itself on fire if it''s doused with water. Naturally, this wouldn''t have worked if it was already on fire since ayer of protection is formed, blocking out the water. But because I knew its weak point and found its route, I was able to kill it without any Sigils or Abyss Blood to help. And that, is mindset and creativity. "Now back to you. I must ask, why is your first instinct to harm yourself and brute force your way out? The first solution you find may not necessarily be the correct solution or the most efficient solution. I''m not saying what you did was wrong, because at the end of the day you still survived. What I''m asking you to do is to reflect upon your actions and think about the consequences. What would''ve happened if Ria wasn''t there, if the trees ousted you and maintained the illusion." Leaning back a little, Alice thought to herself. Why was her first instinct to harm herself to use her blood? Perhaps all those years in the Zenia prison made her numb to the importance of her own body. She wasn''t bothered by the pain and her blood was poisonous to others, why shouldn''t she use it to her advantage? The only issue was how she almost ran out of blood, but she sought to remedy it using the power of Sigils. ''So this is what Allura means by mindset huh?'' Alice thought bitterly since she could already see the issue. She wasn''t thinking about how she could remedy this issue with what she had already. Instead, she only sought more. And the way she was thinking of her own abilities¡­ it was no different to the scientists. She didn''t care about the damage, only the result. It is only when she almost died did she think back to the damage she was taking. "Seems like you''re understanding the issue. That''s a good start. You understand the mindset you need to adopt now, the drive to find a multitude of solutions and the creativity needed to hunt beasts. The next step is to understand your own power. With my first Sigil being one that lets me cover myself with mes and control it, what do you think I can do with this ability?" Allura asked. "Hmm¡­" Furrowing her brows, Alice thought of the possibilities. If she was given the same ability. ''She can set herself on fire and control the mes¡­ With these options maybe she can make a sword light up with fire too? Or maybe she can set someone on fire from the inside out if she can get her hand inside them.'' Exining the options to Allura, Alice watched as she demonstrated what she described. "Not too bad but very rudimentary. 50% of a Hunters growth lies in experimentation. Finding the conduit of your power, how the Sigils manifest their abilities and how far these abilities extend. After I tested my ability, I found out something rather interesting with my first Sigil." Allura smiled. Flicking her finger, a small me appeared on her fingertip. "It''s the ability to hijack any me. You see, if I allow this small flicker of fire to enter the campfire, this campfire falls under my control. Since it bes part of my fire." cing her hand into the fire, the mes started to dance before transforming into the shape of a wyrm. "With this knowledge, I can spend less energy exerting myself to produce fire while all I need to do is to carry around some oil and alcohol. That way, I can get ten times the result with a tenth of the effort." Allura chuckled before returning the fire back to normal. Seeing this, it was like a whole world was opened to Alice. Ideas flooded her head as her mind started to turn. The conduit of her ability was her own blood. It was her blood that allowed the first Sigil to activate. However, was there perhaps something more? Could she perform a simr feat to Allura where her blood hijacks another body of blood? Or perhaps if she was to dilute it in water, would it still retain the effects? Would the water be a drug that can be used as a trap? ''If the source of the poison is my blood, can I turn my blood into something that will diffuse the poison more? If that is possible I can poison an entire room without almost killing myself with blood loss.'' With this realisation, Alice understood that she shouldn''t rush to get her second Sigil. There was already plenty of possibilities with her first and she should explore every avenue before securing her second. After all, each choice was permanent and shouldn''t be taken hastily. Her physique made it so that she couldn''t get permanent boosts from Abyss Blood which meant that she had to be extra careful with each Sigil she obtains since they''re her only form of power boost. Quickly finishing her food, she said thank to you Allura before looking for some sharp objects, vials and water sks. With the healing blood that Allura had given her, she''ll be able to sustain herself through her experiments to find the best way to utilize her first Sigil. Countless possibilities manifested themselves as Allura watched Alice with a smile on her face. ''That''s it, keep thinking. Explore the possibilities, visualise the effects and don''t be scared to take risks on oundish ideas. It is this mindset that will carry you to the ends of the Abyss.'' Allura thought to herself. If Alice continues down this path, she''ll be able to handle things herself and understand the best course of action for her Sigils. Chapter 46: Experiments With a myriad of ideas now floating through her mind, Alice wanted to begin the experiments immediately but there was a slight issue. Due to the nature of her first Sigil, testing out the potency of her blood was going to be difficult. As the bearer, she herself wasn''t affected by the poison meaning she''ll need to find some subjects for her to use. "There are some beasts that roam around at night for you to test on. They''re not too dangerous and only have abilities that augment their own attack. It should be pretty easy for you to deal with them." Allura called out, knowing that Alice was excited. "Thank you." Nodding her head, Alice packed everything into a small cloth before strapping it around her back. Dashing away from the campfire, there were three things that Alice wanted to test. First was how long her blood poisonsted without her interference. Second, can she turn a foreign pool of blood into poison? Andstly, will her blood still work if kept in a separate vial? The third experiment was going to be the one she doesst since she only had one vial on hand and that contained the healing blood that Allura gave up. ''The first experiment can be done with me just making a small wound and letting the blood dry. I''ll see how long the fumesst for and see if they still have any reaction towards it. The second can be done if I capture a beast as a target.'' Alice thought to herself as she circted her first Sigil''s ability, boosting her speed. The area surrounding the camp was essentially t ground and road with the exception of a small forest in the distance. It was a different forest to the one she almost died in and if Allura''s words were to be trusted, there should be nothing that will pose a danger to her if she is careful enough. Naturally, with the lesson she learnedst time, she assumes that what Allura calls ''pretty easy'' should be corrected to pretty difficult. Arriving at the forest, Alice hoped that she wouldn''t run into anything that was ghost like simr to the Spectral Maiden. Otherwise, her blood may be less effective and wouldn''t give her urate results. Jumping up on a branch, Alice prepared the materials she needed for her experiments. Grabbing a spare piece of cloth, Alice tore it into four pieces before biting a wound on her forearm. She drenched the different pieces of cloth in blood before drinking the healing blood to heal herself. The set up was simple, each piece was going to be hung out for a different amount of time and she''ll test the effectiveness of each piece. The time it takes for the beast to get affected, the time it takes to wear off and so on. Ideally, it''ll give her a rough estimate of the potency of her blood after it''s left her body. The second test was a simr concept but with two parts as she wants to see how effective her blood will be when diluted and when it''s been mixed with another blood. Standing up. Alice took arge breath of air as she prepared herself for the long night ahead. ### Waking up in the morning, Ria looked around her and was surprised that neither Alice nor Allura could be found. But seeing as how the carriage was still here with most of their supplies, she figured that they most likely went to hunt for some breakfast. Giving her body a stretch, Ria yawned before making her way to the river. But the moment she entered the forest, she blinked her eyes in disbelief. "What the¡­" Hanging from the trees were a variety of blood-soaked cloths with markings being etched onto the tree bark. Furrowing her brows, she couldn''t help but be reminded of the ''decorations'' that the Cult of the Eclipse performs. ''Did the cult appear? Is that why Allura and Alice are gone?'' Ria thought to herself with a frown as she jumped up to the trees and narrowed her eyes at the cloths. The colour of the blood was close to beingpletely ck as it turned hard to the touch. The usual faint metallic scent of the blood had been reced by a sharp putrid rotting smell that caused Ria to recoil back in disgust. Not only that, just the smell made her lose her strength and almost cause her fall from the branch. ''Is this Alice''s blood?!'' Ria thought with a panic since she remembers Alice mentioning that her blood was poisonous. Making up her mind, she jumped down from the tree and circted lightning through her body. Rushing forward in a straight line, she wanted to find whatever tracks she could. "Hm?" Noticing something by theke, Ria rushed over and spotted Alice who was tending to what seemed to be an Abyss Beast. "Alice!" Ria called out, causing Alice to jolt up in surprise. "Huh?" "Are you okay? Were you hurt? Did the cult appear? What happened?" Ria asked in quick session, confusing Alice. "Huh? Oh it''s morning." Alice yawned. "Why panicked? Or did you see my blood? Sorry was for testing." Hearing this, Ria paused in realisation. Face palming, she understood that she had jumped to the conclusion that the Cult of the Eclipse appeared. "Did you stay up all night?" Ria asked, feeling calmer now that she understood what had happened. "Mnm. Allura told me about tests. Gave ideas for what Sigil can do, so I was testing all night. Found out my blood isn''t lethal unlike original beast. Only made you¡­ weirdly rxed." Alice exined as she ced the beast down on the floor. It was a strange furry Abyss Beast with ck fur and a strange skull over its head. It had two legs and a pair of wings too small to fly but enough to give it some height while jumping and gliding. Alice had found this beast when she was hunting through the night and it was rtively harmless. It only hunted for corpses and had rtively low attack power. One dose of her blood was able to disarm the beast for around 20 minutes give or take. Using this beast, she was able to find out quite a lot about her own abilities as the time it took to recover from one dose stayed the same, and it served as a baseline for Alice''s experiments. With the beast being rtively harmless to her, Alice didn''t want to kill it especially after it had helped her this much. In a sense, it reminded Alice of herself. Only with less gruesome experiments. "Ah she gave you that lesson huh? Yeah she did the same with me before. Though I wasn''t as gung-ho about it as you considering you stayed up all night for this." Riaughed as she sat down and crossed her legs. "So what did you learn about your first Sigil? For it to havested the whole night you must''ve learned quite a bit right?" She asked, feeling rather excited to hear about what Alice had found. "Erm¡­ It''ll take long time. Since hard to... use right words." Alice furrowed her brows. She didn''t want to take too much of Ria''s time. "Oh that''s fine, just use me as practice. I know that you have a hard time speaking and putting thoughts to words." Ria encouraged with an honest grin. Seeing this, Alice nodded her head. Since they were going to be spending a lot of time due to both being under Allura''s care, it''ll be good to get used to speaking early. Especially since Ria seems to be the outgoing type. While she was exining the results of her experiments, Ria listened carefully while trying to learn Alice''s speaking patterns. There was three conclusions that Alice derived from her experiments. First was that the longer her blood was left out, the more condensed the effect became. With the dried blood, the scent would instantly cause someone to lose their strength, but it onlysted for a second or two. Not only that, once this time passes it''ll take while before her dried blood starts to have an effect again on the opponent. The second result was simr to the first. She can indeed have her blood ''infiltrate'' a foreign body of blood if needed but it depended on the dosage. If she was to mix it with healing blood, the healing blood would gain the side effects of her poison. But just like the first result, the effects were reduced. But it was the third test result that kept Alice up the most. Simr to Abyss Blood, her own blood kept its special abilities while being extracted into a vial. So long as she kept the seal, the passive poison will not deteriorate. However, that was not all. If she consumes the blood, it''ll act as a extra boost in strength, increasing her physical power and giving her a jump in stamina. If she was to collect several vials, she''ll be able to use it as small boosters without activating her first Sigil. With the two chatting away at theke, they didn''t notice Allura observing in the distance. She watched everything unfold and was d that the two were getting along just fine. Taking out her cigarette, Allura took a deep breath before sighing out. Memories of her own happiness returned to her. The days she spent with Kaden, the time they spent hunting beasts, getting stronger and protecting the kingdom. Shaking her head, Allura dismissed the thoughts. It was a time she could no longer get back and her task now was to raise the next generation. Chapter 47: Zadash After talking with Ria, Alice''s speaking had improved a little but was still rather disjointed. During the talk, Ria would often correct her and give her the proper sentences that she was trying to use. "Seems like we''ve taken a bit more time than expected. Want to head back? I''m sure Allura is waiting for us." Ria asked with a smile. "Okay¡­ Erm, let me.. go grab my¡­ stuff?" Alice replied, trying to correct her way of speaking. "Try to sound less confused at the end ahaha, but yes. I assume your stuff is the blood cloths that you hung up over night?" Nodding her head, Alice made her way over to the tree and collected all of her test samples. After all, she can continue to see how her blood changed over time. The only issue she could think of is the stench since calling it unpleasant was putting it lightly. "You really want to keep them?" "Yes¡­ Can be helpful, when I see how they¡­ react over long time." Alice nodded her head. "If you say so. Though you''ll probably need to get a suitcase from Allura or something since I don''t think the driver would be too pleased to smell this scent for several days." Ria forced a smile. She wasn''t even sure if the inn they were going to would allow Alice to keep her blood cloths. "Hmm¡­ Okay, I can test in future." Alice shrugged. It wasn''t too big of a loss since she had already discovered plenty of useful information from one night of testing. Once they reach Zadash, there were two goals for her. First was to obtain the Bestiary so she could memorise the book. It''ll make her ventures out to the wilds a lot safer if she knew what she was up against. Second was a set of equipment that''ll let her extract blood. She needed a less¡­ dangerous way of extracting her own blood while also needing a way to harvest the blood from beasts. As it stands, she has no way of properly harvesting the useful materials from the beasts she kills. A big waste of resources that could help her in the long run. Gathering all of her equipment, she separated the pile into two. One for things that she can still use while the other is for things she should throw away and destroy. Just as she was about to leave, Ria grabbed her shoulder and pointed at the pile she left behind. "Don''t think you should leave what you don''t need behind." "Huh?" Tilting her head in confusion, Alice wasn''t sure what Ria meant. "Were you never taught that you should throw your trash in the bin? Leaving out like this is bad." Ria furrowed her brows in confusion, but Alice shook her head. "What?" Watching Alice walk over and pick up the trash she left behind, Ria was left somewhat conflicted. She felt bad for saying that now since it seemed as though Alice''s parents were also bad. Scratching her head awkwardly, Ria sighed and made her way over to Alice and helped with picking up the trash. "Sorry." Ria apologised but Alice shook her head. "Is okay. Thank you for telling me. In future, please tell me more. If I make mistakes." Picking up the trash, the two made their way back to the camp but the atmosphere was now silent while Allura was left confused. ''I turn my head for two seconds and these two argued???'' Allura thought to herself in disbelief. Sitting on the back of the carriage, Alice sat silently while both Allura and Ria sat inside. "What the hell happened?" Allura whispered while Ria exined what had happened. "Oh yikes. Maybe I should go have a talk with her, figure out her background a little." Allura sighed. Climbing out of the carriage, she sat down next to Alice who was surprised that Allura was sitting here. "Ria told me what happened. Anything you want to get off your chest? You look like you have a lot of things on your mind." Allura asked. Seeing the conflict in Alice''s eyes, Allura couldn''t help but sigh inwardly. ''It must be a difficult past to talk about. Though I suppose I can guess what happened with how she''s acted so far and how bad she is with talking to people.'' Allura thought to herself. "Erm¡­ Ria told you?" Alice asked as Allura nodded. "Then do you know¡­ How to get rid of these?" Alice sighed while pointing at the trash she had collected from the forest. "Huh?" "Ria said I shouldn''t leave these out¡­ But don''t know how I should get rid of them. What''s bin? She said these should be put in bin. But I don''t know what it is." Alice scratched her hair in frustration. Hearing this, Allura burst out inughter. "Ahahahaha, seems like both me and Ria misunderstood you." "What did you think¡­ I was talking about?" "Ria thought you were sad being reminded of your past since she asked if you were never taught." Allura smiled, pulling out a cigarette. "Why I be sad over it? It just makes me angry." Alice frowned as Allura patted her head. "Well Ria was just worried since we don''t know much about you. We thought you''d be more upset since some people are just like that." Hearing this, Alice understood where they wereing from. ''If we''re going to spending more time together, perhaps it''s better if I tell them a little about what had happened. Otherwise, Ria and Allura might have simr misunderstandings in the future.'' "So what do you¡­ want to know?" Alice asked, hoping to answer their questions. The rest of the journey towards Zadash was filled with Ria and Allura asking Alice questions about her past. While she kept most of the important information to herself, such as her body being special and that she was captured for experimentation, she didn''t shy away from telling them about where she got her information. How she was separated from her family since she was a child as they were the ones that allowed the experiments, how the scientists ''taught'' her everything she knows regarding Abyss Blood and certain Abyss Beasts. While Ria was listening to all of this, she was bewildered by how nonchnt she was regarding losing 10 years of her life to this. She couldn''t imagine what it was like to try and adapt to a new world. To put it bluntly, Alice was essentially a child''s mind in an adult''s body. Her mental age and physical age wasn''t matching up. As for Allura, she was more confused as to why Kaden chose Alice in the end. She heard about how he broke into the prison and got her out. But with her knowledge of how Kaden was, there had to be something more. Not only that, there was some discrepancies with Alice''s explination. If she indeed suffered lots of experimentation, even if they ''healed'' herter, effects would show up. ''The b*stard does things on a whim. If he sees a heavily guarded ce, he''ll break through just for the hell of it. That does exin everything though. If it was enough to interest Kaden, why was Alice captured in such a ce? Moreover, what did he see in Alice for him to nt the Eye in her.'' Allura thought to herself. She had to admit that Alice was a little better at fighting than the average hunter and had the creative mind to match but that wasn''t enough for Kaden to give her the Eye. If it was enough, they would''ve just given the Eye to Ria. ''Well if Alice doesn''t want to say, it''s probably something serious. Kaden wouldn''t just give the Eye to anyone either. I''ll trust his judgement.'' She sighed, feeling annoyed that Kaden left all of this to her without saying anything. He didn''t reply to her mails, nor sent her any mails. All he did was drop Alice into the Abyss with the Eye and called it a day. ''Next time I see his raven cloaked ass, he''d better wish he improved his defences after all these years.'' Allura thought to herself, feeling her rage rising with just the thought of Kaden. While it was reassuring that this part of him hasn''t changed after all these years, it was still annoying that Kaden left everything to her. With the matter of Alice''s past now understood, the group was a day or so from reaching Zadash. Compared to the coastal city of the ughter Docks, where thend surrounding the location was a mix of Abyss Water and tall cliffs, Zadash was surrounded by mainly forests, t ins and caves that reached underground. Despite the journey being a day away, the group could already see the city of Zadash as Alice was speechless. While she knew that Zadash was going to be big based on Allura''s description of it being the hub of young Hunters, she didn''t expect it to be a colossal sprawling metropolis built upon the side of a mountain erected in the middle of the ins. A myriad of tall towers with pointed roofs, spiked fences and bridges connecting the path between towers could be seen, acting akin to a fence for the under city. Faint mist from the top of the mountain drifted down, nketing the city with a air of mystery while the tall buildings peeking out from the mist looked as though they were the sharp teeth of a beast. Flickering lights shifted from beneath the mist while a purple moon hung over the city. This is the city of Zadash, the city of young Hunters. Chapter 48: The Hunters Guild Upon arriving at the gates of the city of Zadash, they were asked to present a set of ID as well as a travel permit. Naturally, Allura had both and they were allowed in rather easily. Compared to the ughter Docks, Alice noticed an increase of Hunterspared to civilians. If the ughter Docks had a ratio of 1 Hunter for every 10 civilians, in Zadash, it was 1 civilian for every 3 Hunters. Peeking her head out of the carriage, Alice couldn''t hide her excitement as she was curious to find out what their Sigil powers were like. Having experimented with her own, she now understood that each Sigil had a newyer of depth to them. This understanding also allowed her to see that she had gotten VERY lucky in the fights within the coliseum. Had they fully understood how to utilize each Sigil, she wouldn''t have even been able to approach them without getting shredded to pieces. Lining the streets of Zadash was a myriad of inn''s, smithies and apothecaries that dealt with Abyss Blood. There were rarely a shop open for themon citizen with most of the shops being tailored to support Hunter''s with their work. "Pst pst, Alice." Ria called out, grabbing Alice''s attention. "You''ve never been to Zadash right? You see those five towers? The biggest ones in the city?" Ria asked, pointing at the tall spires that could be seen from the outside with multiple interconnecting bridges. "They''re the most important buildings within this city. The first is the Hunter''s Guild, they deal with giving hunting targets and registering all Hunters so that their information can be carried to other cities, making it easier for you to travel between ces. The second is the Apothecary Guild, like the Hunter''s Guild, they deal with all manners of Abyss Blood as well as medical usages of certain Abyss Beast body parts." Each of the towers looked simr with only minor changes. The Hunter''s Guild having the crest of the Hunters, which was a sword being held upside down with a runic marking in the background. The Apothecary Guild''s marking was two vials of blood. "The third tower is the City Lord''s tower, it''s in the centre and is also the biggest tower. The fourth tower belongs to the Academy, a ce dedicated to teaching and training young hunters and people aspiring to be a hunter. Andst but not least, the fifth tower that is dedicated to the Engineer''s Guild. They focus on using Abyss Blood as an energy source to make devices and other helpful tools that assist both Hunters and civilians alike." Ria exined as she pointed at thest tower. Compared to the other towers, this one was adorned with a myriad of strange contractions on the outside with tubes of glowing red blood running up the side of the building. "It''s a tadplicated but apparently it''s something along the lines of this: A special type of blood increases volitivity, it reacts and jumpstarts an engine, and there''s a neutraliser to stop it when they finish using it." Ria tried to exin but Allura returned and gently knocked her on the head. "You''re jumping a few steps there. That''s just what Luke told you so you didn''t bother him with his studies. You forget what he told you regarding Abyss Engineering?" Allura grinned. "Yes yes, he said "Exining Abyss Engineering to me would be like exining it to a duck. And even then the duck might know more."Both of you bully me about this." Ria pouted. She knew that herprehensive abilities regarding this field of study was poor but that was because she was more of a fighter than someone who likes to sit down and study. It had taken Luke quite a while before Ria understood the basic concepts behind Abyss Engineering and he vowed to not do it again. "But as Ria kindly exined, those are the main five towers that make up this city. Everything is done in support for the Hunter''s way of life and we''ll be visiting one of them today. That being the Hunter''s Guild. We''ll need to go there and help you set up an ID. They will need to take a picture as well as requiring some information regarding your Sigils. It''s to see what missions suit you best and see if you''re able to take that mission." Allura smiled. "Wait¡­ I need to tell, them my Sigils too?" Alice asked. Exposing all of the information about herself, especially her Sigil, made her ufortable since she wanted to keep that information hidden. "Unfortunately yes. Though you can lie about them too so long as the effects are simr." Ria winked with a grin. "I told them my Sigils were: Thunder Falcon, Storm Brawler and a Charged Kail. All three have simr effects to what I actually got but to a much lesser extent." Hearing this, Alice nodded her head in understanding. With the way her Sigil worked, it can just be summarised as a quick boost in physical power. There was no need to mention the poison abilities. "What beast is just physical boost?" Alice asked Allura. "Hmm¡­ With how your Sigil works as a stacking physical boost, you can probably just say it belongs to the Undead Fiend. The Sigil you get from that beast looks pretty simr to the one on your forearm. The Undead Fiend is a four armed beast with ck and red muscles that look like magma. One of its main traits is that the more it takes damage, the more power it gains." Allura exined as Alice nodded her head. With the basics exined, Allura thanked the driver before grabbing the little luggage they have. "I''ll go rent us some inn rooms if you want to take Alice to the Hunter''s Guild to get signed up Ria. You''ve already been through the process so it shouldn''t be too different." Allura asked as Ria nodded her head. "I''ll meet you at the guild once I''m finished since it shouldn''t take too long. I also need to find a few friends that I haven''t seen in a while too." Allura smiled before walking away. "Follow me. Let''s get you registered so we can start hunting as early as tomorrow. Allura said this will be our hub for a little while but she never mentioned we couldn''t take the airships to other locations." Ria grinned excitedly since her hunts have usually been solo thus far. Having someone to hunt with will be handy. Not to mention most of her time spent was trying to find her way home rather than actual hunting. With Alice around, things will be more efficient for her. Nodding her head, Alice followed behind Ria as the two made their way through the mist covered city of Zadash. There was the asional cloud of mist that obscured their vision, making it hard to see the path ahead but the streetmps made things easier. In terms of the location of the towers, the Hunters Guild and City Lord''s tower were the ones closest to the heart of the city while the others circled around the edges. The next closest would be the Academy for Hunters as wasn''t too far from the heart. And even near the entrance of this city, Alice could see what seemed to be students. They each wore varying outfits but what stood out was the emblem they had engraved on the shoulder. The emblem for the Academy was the icon of an eye with a sword piercing through the middle. It was the same sword that was seen in the Hunter''s Guild emblem which made Alice wonder if there was history regarding that de. As they approached the Hunters Guild, more and more Hunters could be seen withrge cluster of shops nearby, each vying for the attention of Hunters. From cksmith shouting out sales within their shops to young woman holding up signs for the potions shop, it was far busier than what the ughter Docks couldpare to. Ignoring all of it, the two approached the Hunter''s Guild and entered through therge open doors. Inside, it was akin to arge banquet hall withrge tables being set up. Groupsughing and drinking in the day while talking about their next hunt. Huntersying out maps of certain cities and the areas they need to scout, waiters bringing over their food, Hunters making their way up and down the tower. It was something that Alice hadn''t seen before and her astonishment was there for all to see. "Wee to the Hunters Guild. First floor is mostly for basic missions, socialising and general help from the receptionists. The floors above are for harder missions, registering missions for Hunters to take and registration for new Hunters. We''ll be going to the third floor to register you." Ria exined while leading the way to the elevators. They were simr to the ones Alice saw in the coliseum only these were made from metal and had more safety features such as railing. Entering the elevator for the third floor, Ria pulled a lever as a metal gate closed off the entrance and they started to ascend the tower. "If you''re saying your Sigil is the Undead Fiend, try not to show too much of your strength since the boost it gives without taking any damage is rather small. Usually they wouldn''t ask for you to verify but this is just in case." Ria warned as Alice nodded her head. Reaching the third floor, the gate opened and they were weed by the sight of young Hunters asking to be registered. Chapter 49: Head Instructor Neal With so many young Hunters looking to register for the guild, Alice and Ria had to queue up for quite a while before they reached the front. Their receptionist is a dignified old man with carefully styled grey hair that was swept back, a pair of sses and a thick moustache. He wore a grey suit and tie adorned with silver buttons. "Good day to youdies, how may I help you today?" He asked with a smile while setting aside some documents that he had just handled. "We''re looking to sign her up for a Hunting License." Ria smiled while gesturing to Alice. "Hm¡­ I see, very well. Do you have a form of ID on hand?" Nodding her head, Alice pulled out the ID that Allura had created for her and hoped that it''ll work. She didn''t know the consequences of walking around with a fake ID but she wasn''t too keen on finding out. "Let''s see¡­ Alice Agnelia, age 20¡­" The man muttered whileparing Alice''s picture to the ID. Pulling out a form, he started to fill in the empty boxes before stamping it with a red stamp he brought out from his inner pocket. "Take this to the next floor and bring it to the receptionist, it''ll prove that you are allowed to take the exam to determine your rank and have your picture taken for the Hunter''s Guild ID. I also want you to fill in some information about yourself on the back before you hand it to the receptionist." The man smiled before gesturing for the duo to make their way up the stairs. "Thank you." As they were walking away, he called another group over. With how many Hunters the man needed to talk to, Alice couldn''t help but admire his patience for being able to keep a smile on his face at all times. Setting her mind to the document, she turned it to the back and noticed that it was asking her what kind of jobs she would like to take along with what Sigils she had. Finding a seat, Alice started to fill in the details. ''With my understanding of Abyss Blood, I should be able to take some jobs to do with being an Apothecary. Though I''m not too sure what it entails so it might be better to keep this empty for now and register for an apothecary licenseter. Hunting jobs are obviously the main one''s I''m looking for.'' Alice thought to herself. In the end, she signed herself up for hunting quests, gathering and delivery quests. There was also the options of escorting and rescuing but Alice didn''t think she was ready for them yet. With her abilities right now, it was going to be difficult to properly escort or save someone. As for her Sigil ability, she marked it down as Undead Fiend just like Allura mentioned. "Gods, I can''t wait for us to take hunt quests together. With you joining, we''ll be able to tackle harder targets." Ria grinned excitedly while kicking her legs back and forth. "Did you¡­ Also go solo before?" "Yep. I joined some hunting groups but the way they split loot and rewards kind of annoyed me. Picture this for me Alice, here I am busting my ass to cover for the group, jumping in to take aggro and killing several beasts with lightning. Then I get paid the same as the f*cker that idently miss fired an arrow that dragged all the beasts towards us in the first ce! So naturally I quit that group." Ria shrugged with annoyance all over her face. "Then I joined some groups that do performance based pay. At first I thought this was a great idea until they couldn''t figure out who did more for the life of them. ''Oh I did more because my skill trapped the beast.'' ''Oh I did more because I''m the one who actually killed it.'' And so on. You can imagine how much they argued for pay." Hearing this, Alice felt sorry that Ria had to go through all of this. "Then I just ran solo. The pay isn''t as high as running with a group and the danger is higher but less of a headache when ites to the post hunt stuff." Ria smiled while sticking out her tongue. "But that''s gonna change when you register. We''ll take hunts together and we can just split the pay 50/50. If you need to buy anything and don''t have enough money, don''t hesitate to ask me for some help too. We''re both staying with Allura so it''s only natural that we help one another." Nodding her head, Alice agreed with Ria''s sentiment as she had the same n. Though she wasn''t in any position to offer help with her being the weaker of the duo and not having any money to boot. Once she was done with filling up all of the information, she didn''t even have time to stand up before Ria jumped onto her feet and dragged Alice towards the second floor. Seeing how excited Ria was, Alice''s gaze softened and allowed herself to get swept up by her excitement. It allowed her to take her mind off Lilia''s death and enjoy this new freedom of her''s. Running up to the second floor, Ria showed Alice to the second receptionist who was currently free with no queue. Handing over the documents with her ID momentarily, they were told to take a seat so that they could see if there were any instructors avable to finalise thest part of the procedure. "This is going to be a fight. Since you only have one Sigil, you don''t really need to much and they won''t test your Sigil too much since they think it''s only physical reinforcement. In the future when you get more Sigils, you''ll need to redo these tests so they can update your license to match your power. Makes epting hunts easier." Ria whispered over. "Okay." Alice nodded. She wasn''t nning on showing the instructor too much anyways, just enough to get her license. "Miss Agnelia, the instructor is ready. Please go to training room number 3 to proceed with the final part of your registration process." The receptionist said as Ria showed Alice to where the training rooms were. There was a path next to the receptionist that allowed them to ess the outer circle of the tower on this floor and it was filled with different training rooms. Most of them seemed upied as the sound ofbat would leak out from the behind the doors. From the roaring mes to harsh cracking of ice, a myriad of different abilities could be heard. Finding training room 3, the two entered and saw arge figure standing in the middle of the room with a smile on his face. He had spiky short blond hair that was pulled back with the exception of a few strands, a pair of golden eyes and arge muscr stature that looked lean as he was wearing a suit. Deep scars could be seen on the right side of his face with smaller scars on the left cheek. He looked to be in his 30''s to 40''s as there were wrinkles visible on his skin. "Oh? For just one Sigil, you seemed to have suffered quite the side effects. Did you drink too much Abyss Blood during your bounty hunt?" He asked, surprised by Alice''s hair and eye. While he saw her document, seeing it with his own eyes was different to seeing the picture. "Mnm I did." Alice nodded her head as it was the most convenient exnation. "Well try to reduce how much you drink in the future or else you''ll return to the dark mother before you can get more Sigils. I''ll be your instructor for today, the name is Neal. On your document you wrote that your Sigil is Undead Fiend right? I expect to see good usage of the Sigil along with your own personalbat experience in order to give you the green light for your license." Neal smiled as Ria froze up at his name. Gesturing for Alice toe over, Ria whispered into her ear. "That''s head instructor Neal. I heard rumours about him but they''re not bad. He''s the most fair instructor you can get within these walls, he won''t let you be a hunter if you show half assed results because then you''ll just be sending yourself to die. He''s the ''final boss'' if you want to be properly registered as a four Sigil user. I haven''t fought him yet since I''m still three Sigils but I didn''t think he would be your instructor. You''ll need to show a little more or else you won''t be allowed to get the license." She warned. Hearing this, Alice nodded her head. She wasn''t nning on taking it easy either, not after they made eye contact. Simr to the feeling with Gin, he felt like a sheathed de, ready to unleash ughter at a moment''s notice. It was a kind of feeling that could only be felt from veterans, ones that have survived hell. "I''m d to see that you''re on guard. Most would take it easy seeing how I am." Neal chuckled. Taking off his suit jacket, he ced it on the side and rolled up his shirt sleeves. "The metric of passing this test is up to me. I will see if you are worthy enough to be a hunter and that you''re not just sending yourself to death''s jaws. Alice Agnelia, approach and prove that you can hunt." Neal smiled as an aura of intimidation erupted from him, a beast''s killing intent and the threat of death. But despite this, it wasn''t anything that Alice couldn''t deal with. She''s seen death face to face plenty of times already, danced with her upon the precipice of life and death itself. Fear is for the weak that run from death. She was someone who had danced with her so what was there for her to fear? Walking towards Neal unaffected, Alice''sck of fear surprised Neal as this re was something he would only seen on the face of those that have almost died in hunts many times before. ''Interesting.'' He smiled, feeling a little hopeful for the potential this seedling was going to demonstrate. Chapter 50: Fighting Neal Taking deep breaths while making some mental calctions in her mind, Alice observed her opponent. Unlike out in the wilds, there was no threat of death here so she could be a little more experimental with her abilities. A good chance to test her limits. "Can I pick weapon? Or only hands and Sigil?" Alice asked, holding her empty hands up. "There''s a weapon rack to your left. Pick anything from there, I will wait." Neal chuckled while folding his arms in front of him. He was curious to see what kind of weapon Alice would choose. With his understanding of Hunters, she wouldn''t go for anything heavy since her physique doesn''t support such a fighting style. He could be wrong but there was a high chance that she''ll pick something light. ''Maybe she''ll use kicking power more. Or perhaps finesse weapons. She''s seems to be looking at daggers and short swords.'' Neal thought to himself as he was familiar with a variety of fighting styles, their benefits and shortings. Whatever Alice picked, he wasn''t going to make it easy for her to pass. In the end, she picked a dagger and short swordbination with some throwing knives she spotted in a barrel. Hiding the throwing knives across the different straps on her outfit, Alice adjusted her grip on the short sword and dagger before nodding her head in satisfaction. Compared to the weapons they were given in the arena, these were of a much higher quality and each one looked rather new. "Sorry for long wait." Alice apologised. "It''s fine, you can start whenever you want. Nothing is off limits, just demonstrate to me how well you can fight while also using your Sigil." Neal dismissed as he cracked his neck and entered a fighting stance with his bare fist. With him giving her the green light, Alice crouched down slowly before narrowing her eyes. Even without shing with him, she knows that his defences were going to be quite tough. Even now, she couldn''t think she could throw anything fast enough for it to hit his body. The dormant power hidden behind each of his muscles threatened to burst out at a moment''s notice. Breaking out into a sprint, Alice held the dagger in her mouth before throwing a handful of small rocks and dust she found near the weapon rack. Naturally, it was easily blocked with a side swipe from Neal but she never expected it to work in the first ce, it was to allow her to close the gap between them. ''He said he''ll let me do whatever but that doesn''t guarantee he won''t attack me the moment I enter a certain range.'' Alice thought to herself with a frown as she reached down and grabbed two throwing knives nimbly with her fingers. Her fighting experience was nothing to be proud of. But with the benefits of her eye, she was able to handle small knives like trained professionals and throw them urately. The moment she should let go, how much power she should put into the throw to ensure uracy and how she should hold the knife for it to fly straight. Her instincts were honed towards these hidden weapons and a single nce at how the Assassin in the arena fought was enough to teach her these techniques. Neal was stillposed. Everything he is seeing thus far was nothing special as he caught the knives with his fingers while keeping an eye on Alice. ''There''s a third dagger just behind the two and she''ll take this chance for a lunge.'' He mused to himself, twisting his body to dodge the third dagger before stomping his foot towards her, breaking up her momentum and making it harder for her to attack. If she ignored the warnings and continued forward, Neal will be able to hit her with a hard counter punch at maximum power. ''Ohya?'' Raising an eyebrow in amusement, Neal watched as Alice took a step back but attempted to cut his achillies heel with her short sword. "You don''t have the speed for these attacks yet." Neal lectured as he pulled his foot back, avoiding the de. While his defences are indeed high enough to ignore the damage these weapons would cause to him, it wouldn''t be far for Alice if he took advantage of his veteran status in such a way. Hence he was going to make sure she couldn''tnd a hit. He was going to test how she was going to surpass this wall. Without saying anything in return, Alice didn''t need Neal to tell her that she was slow to him. With how her eye worked, everything would slow down in her vision. Yet there were still moments where Neal would move like usual. Meaning even if she watched the world in slow motion, he would still be able tounch a barrage of punches as though he was in normal speed. But one didn''t need to be fast if they wanted to be annoying. Her left hand waspletely free as two knives were thrown towards Neal''s knee. ''That makes five knives. She took 8 knives, a short sword and a dagger. Meaning there should be 3 more knives that she can throw before she''s forced to fight me head on.'' Neal thought to herself. By his estimations, she''ll try to use one knife to close the gap once more and find a chance to throw thest two up close. However, things don''t often go to n. Instead of throwing more knives, Alice twisted her body and made a wide arching sh with her short sword. Raising an eyebrow, Neal caught the tip of the de with his fingers before adjusting for a punch towards her head. He made sure to adjust is speed to match the speed that she''s demonstrated thus far. Watching her skilfully twist her body to dodge his punch, Neal immediately understood that she had great kic vision. ''She was already prepared the dodge once punched towards her head. She definitely saw the trajectory of my punch. Seems like I should up my speed and see how good her kic vision is.'' Neal mused to himself while trying to shake Alice off but she was persistent. Jumping up, she attempted to kick Neal in the face as he reached out to catch her foot. If he catches her, he''ll be able to prepare for arge attack and m her into the ground. Knowing this risk, Alice flicked her wrist and threw the dagger towards his eye. Neal had to make a choice. Either block the dagger or grab the foot. He could see that behind the dagger, two knives followed closely. If he moved his head to dodge while grabbing her foot, one of the knives would hit him. ''Her instincts for opportunity are pretty spot on. She definitely suits the job of being a Hunter. Though with what she''s demonstrated so far, she''s more of an assassin than someone who hunts beasts.'' Opting to block the dagger and knives, Neal took a step back to dodge Alice''s kick. But Alice wasn''t done, if this was the limit of her flurry of attacks she wouldn''t have survived the arena! Twisting her body, she used leverage to break the short sword from his fingers as she swung up with the de, forcing him to take another step back. ''Let''s see how she defends. I''ve been on the defensive for long enough.'' Aiming for the moment shends on the ground, Neal leaned forward for a harsh punch. Twisting her body once more, she forced herself to make another attack but this time she used her Sigil to enhance her power. Seeing the sudden increase of speed and power, Neal was forced to pull back his punch as Alicended against the floor harshly and rolled away. "I assume that is your Sigil. Is that the limit of the physical boost? Knowing what the Undead Fiend is like, the base enhancement should be pretty low until you take damage." Neal asked as he brushed off the dust on his body. However, Alice didn''t reply since she was formting some back up ns in her mind. Herck of reaction caused him to chuckle as he adjusted his arm before punching out towards her direction. A sudden gust of wind assaulted her as dust was kicked up from the pressure. Widening her eyes in shock, she watched as Neal charged towards her like an unstoppable beast. She knows that she couldn''t afford to be hit by this attack. She had one more gamble she could take but this one was going to be riskier than what she had demonstrated. Leaning forwards, she raised her de and used it as a shield to block Neal''s punch at thest moment. Yet that wasn''t enough to fully nullify the force of his punch as her de warped while sending her crashing backwards. But her goal was achieved as she had tossed out a small handful of her powdered dried blood. The effects should be rather quick and the opportunity of attack was small but it was her best chance. Quickly recovering her posture, she charged onwards with the final knife she saved for an instance such as this one. But to her disappointment, the gap was much smaller than she initially expected as Neal had already recovered and caught her de. "Poison. Though dried so the effects were reduced. Had it been a stronger poison, I might''ve been forced to do more. You never nned to fight this fairly did you?" Neal chuckled though he didn''t me her. He did say anything goes. "Well that''s enough for today. I''ve seen everything I needed to see. You and your friend can wait in the hall while I finalise the report." Neal smiled, causing Alice to sigh in disappointment before thanking him and walking away. ''I wonder what poison that was. It even made me lose all my strength for a split second. If she was someone on the same power as me, that split second could''ve been the deciding factor.'' He thought to himself since thatst moment took him by surprise. While she was unable to a hit, she definitely proved herself more than worthy to be a Hunter. Chapter 51: Strange Space Walking away from the arena, Alice couldn''t help but frown at the result. With how quick he recovered from the poison, she doubts that he''ll go down even if she was to use her own blood. His resistance was simply that high. Not only that, his physical power was off the charts. ''For him to be able to move at normal speed while the world was slowed down, so effortlessly at that¡­ How fast would his full speed be?'' Alice asked herself but the answer evaded her. Whatever it was, it was clear that she was no match for him. And the best chance she had, he was still fast enough to recover. ''Unlike others, Abyss Blood does not leave a permanent boost for me. My base strength will forever be below other Sigil users. The only time I''ll get a permanent boost is when I obtain a Sigil, the moment I siphon the beast''s strength for myself.'' Alice sighed inwardly. While Allura may be right regarding not rushing head first into things, there were gaps that technique simply couldn''t cross. Of course, it was arrogant of her to think that she had tried everything but she shouldn''t rule out the possibility of getting a Sigil early. ''How should I even exin this to Allura? Regardless, I need to study up on different Abyss Beasts so I have a better idea of what I want for my second Sigil.'' Meanwhile, Ria wasn''t sure what to say seeing the disappointment in Alice''s eyes. "You feeling alright? If you''re upset about notnding a hit on him don''t worry! Not a lot of people can especially when they only have one Sigil. I''m sure once you get more fighting experience, you''ll be able to overtake him in no time!" Ria cheered as Alice nodded her head. "I want to hunt already." Alice sighed. She wanted to hunt so that she could earn some coin to buy the stuff she needs. She couldn''t keep asking Allura to pay the costs. "Ohhh itching to go out and fight are we? Lets hope the process doesn''t take too long so we can go grab a mission from downstairs." Ria grinned excitedly. She was d to see that Alice was as excited about fighting as she was, someone who she could truly resonate with. "Mnm. Speaking of mission¡­ You said you needed to report? About the forest." Hearing this, Ria froze up. In her eagerness to help Alice, she hadpletely forgotten what she was going to do after reaching Zadash. "Right, there was that I needed to do. I''ll pop downstairs quickly to hand in the report then." Watching Ria run towards the elevators, Alice couldn''t help but chuckled in her mind as she sat down and waited for Neal to finish the registration process. This moment of silence to herself allowed her to reflect on the fight. Closing her eyes, she thought about what else she could do in that moment. With the limited tools she was given, what could she have done? She wanted to set some traps using her blood and the knives, but with how closely Neal was observing her, it was hard to do anything without him noticing. ''Perhaps I should ask Allura what I should do in that kind of situation. I need to be able to set traps with my blood without my opponent noticing if an upfront confrontation happens.'' Alice thought to herself. One of her original ns was to coat one of the knives with her poison then embedded it into the ground. That way, the moment he takes a step towards her, the de should cut the sole of his foot. However, not only did he see through her n, but he also made sure to keep an eye on her hands to make sure she couldn''t do anything of the sort. ''Plus, I don''t think the knife would be able to pierce his boots. He would''ve just broken the de when he stepped down.'' Alice sighed. Shaking her head, she nced to the side and noticed a pile of newspaper being left on the table. Grabbing one, she was curious to see what it was about. Unfortunately, most of the words eluded her as she was only able to read around half of the page. But just this half was able to give her some information about what was happening out in the world. ''Strange¡­ beasts¡­ movement of churches¡­ murders of high clergy members¡­ War between nations¡­ Apostle of Famine rumoured to appear?'' Alice furrowed her brows, unsure as to what to make of these titles. All of the news in these papers were focused on the events happening in the Abyss, causing Alice to wonder what was happening above ground. How she could return to the surface and how the Zenia family was coping without her being around for them to experiment on. Their production of usable Abyss Blood would''ve slowed without her being around. ''Knowing them, they might be experimenting with other people to get the same results.'' Alice frowned. Running her hand through her hair, Alice learned back and sighed. She ced her hand over her right eye and wondered what else this eye could do. ''Allura said the Eye has a mind of its own. It''ll take a while for it to awaken fully so for now, I have ess to two functions. One being a bounty an the other being able to slow down time¡­ Do I have to see the monster for the bounty function or can I just¡­ activate it?'' Alice wondered to herself. In this moment, she felt a surge of power from deep within. The world around her darkened as she was transported to the void where she chose her Sigil power after killing the spider. Widening her eyes, Alice could see the reflection of this void beneath her as though it was the surface of a mirror. In her mind, words started to echo. [What do you wish to hunt?] ''No way¡­'' Alice paused in disbelief. Furrowing her brows, she wanted to experiment with what the eye could do. "What can I hunt? What can I choose?" She asked. Without replying, her surroundings lit up with ghostly replicas of beasts. From tall monstrosities to small insects, every single beast that she could choose was avable to her. Swallowing her saliva, she wondered if she could categorise the beasts based on what she required. "Can you show me the Sigils¡­ That will give me poison powers in my blood?" Alice asked. Answering her question, hundreds of beasts disappeared, leaving behind those that matched her question. Alice''s breathing hastened as excitement welled up in her mind. She didn''t want to say the name of the beasts that she was thinking of just yet since she wasn''t sure if it''ll lock in her choice for the bounty. If it did, she''ll be forced to hunt that beast for her next bounty. "Show me¡­ Beasts that have blood powers along with poison." Once again, the catalogue of beasts changed as the list became smaller. There were a few that Alice recognised within the group but many of them were unfamiliar. Walking through this strange realm, Alice wanted to explore more when she felt a crawling sensation on her skin. A gaze on her back. Turning around, she froze up at what she saw in the sky of this strange realm. It was a single eye that was barely opened. The gaze scanned through the realm before stopping on Alice. It felt as though she was being stared at by something primordial, something that reminded him of what she felt from Kaden the first time they met. In this instant, Alice wished she disappeared from this realm and returned to reality. "!!!" Snapping her eyes open, Alice panted and saw that she was still on the seat within the Hunter''s Guild. Holding her eye, cold sweat filled her back as that eye in the sky looked exactly the same as the Eye that was nted into her eye socket. Regting her breathing, she calmed her beating heart and thought about what she had just learned. ''I can look through what seems to be a catalogue of beasts. I can filter it based on my thoughts and the key to entering this realm ismanding the Eye in my mind. To leave is the same as entering.'' Alice thought to herself as she looked at the floor. ''The time I have within this ce seems to be limited as the giant Eye in the sky doesn''t seem too weing of me. That feeling¡­ I don''t want to see what happens if I awaken it fully. I should only enter that realm once I properly ready to designate my next bounty.'' Making up her mind, Alice adjusted her sitting posture and waited patiently. Time passed as she watched the myriad of Hunters moving back and forth through the building. She found it rather curious as to how the Guild was responsible for all of these Hunters. Was there a reason they had to obey? What stopped this ce from copsing in on itself if Hunters decided to rebel? Curious thoughts flowed through her mind as she spotted Nealing out of the training rooms with his jacket on. Whispering something to the receptionist, he called out towards Alice. "Miss Alice, your Hunter''s Guild License has been processed and you are now officially a Hunter. Right now, you have ess to the most basic missions but once you demonstrate knowledge and strength befitting of harder missions, your license will be upgraded. You need to keep this license safe and the moment it is lost, you should get a recement as soon as possible as you will not be able to ept any missions or get discounts from the stores affiliated with the Guild." Neal exined while handing Alice a card simr to her ID card. [Hunters Guild License] Name: Alice Agnelia Age: 20 1 Star Hunter (One Sigil) "The missions you can ept right now are on the one star mission board. The number of stars should roughly equal to how many Sigils you own but some are harder than the others. Just because one mission was easier doesn''t mean all missions of the same star grade are just as easy so keep that in mind. I look forward to your future young Hunter." Neal smiled. "Thank you." Walking away with the License in hand, Alice couldn''t wait to ept a mission and begin earning some coin. Chapter 52: Hunting Missions Making her way downstairs, Alice couldn''t see Ria anywhere and understood she must''ve been taken away to provide more information regarding the strange movements in the forest. ''There were some articles mentioning strange beasts¡­ Though I''m not sure if they''re talking about the forest or not. Either way, the guild must be taking this rather seriously with the news even reporting about it.'' Alice mused to herself while making her way to the mission boards. On the first floor, there were 3 mission boards. 1 star missions, 2 star missions and 3 star missions. Each board had a small crowd of Hunters surrounding them with guild employees asionally adding new missions to the board. Unfortunately for Alice, her height didn''t allow her to see most of the missions on the board with how tall the Hunters were. They all stood head and shoulders above her, forcing her to push through and make her way to the front. At first, the Hunters were annoyed by someone pushing through but seeing her height, they understood she couldn''t see anything so allowed her to the front. ''Lets see¡­'' Scanning her eyes through the different missions avable, Alice noticed that most of the one star missions were rather mundane from finding lost items to clearing up small rodents. There were a few Hunting quests but all the ones that she saw were snatched up quickly by the other Hunters. Scratching her hair in frustration, Alice wondered what she should get. ''I''m not really fit for finding lost item quests since I don''t have any tracking abilities¡­ I suppose I could take the clear out rodent quest. Though I wouldn''t be able to know if I killed all of them if they hide themselves.'' Alice furrowed her brows. Her n for the rodent quest was to simply attract all of their attention then drug them with her blood. That way, it''ll be easier to kill them all in one fell swoop. After browsing the board for a while, Alice decided not to take anything for now. She''ll ask Allura and Ria''s opinions regarding itter. For now, she had to find Ria. ### Walking through the city, Allura had a strangely serious expression for once as she was no longer smiling. Turning into the alleyway, she leaned against the wall and knocked against the wall. "Dark mother''s blessings." Allura spoke while finishing her cigarette. After speaking the code, a portion of the wall opened up as she leaned down and stepped through the gap. Behind her, the door closed once more. There was a single dimly lit path down as Allura sighed. "They need to raise the ceiling of this damn ce." Sheined. With her height, she had to constantly lean down to not hit the roof. Making her way down, the dimly lit passage slowly opened up to reveal a strange temple at the bottom of this city. Tall pirs with red banners supported the ceiling of this cavern while broken chains dangled from the roof. In the ages of old, something colossal had been imprisoned here. But once it broke free, the residents rebuilt the city and repurposed this ce into something different. As she descended into the temple, she could see masked puppets dancing on balconies that were out of reach. A myriad of people talked in private stalls, but Allura ignored all of that. There was only one ce she needed to go here, one ce for her to get the answers she needed. Approaching the temple, a myriad of floating towers could be observed as they were connected with an invisible string of energy. Stepping through therge open gates of the temple, Allura watched as the world changed around her. In front of her, an altar with a strange tree in the shape of a person could be seen. The head of this person was missing as it was transformed into a myriad of branches. Kneeling in front of this statue, was a single person adorned with avish ck gold and red jacket, a white shirt and ck pants. He had medium length ck hair with red highlights and a pair of crimson eyes. "If it isn''t Allura, the esteemed patron of the Underground. How may I help you today?" The man smiled as he stood up and turned around. "I need information. Movement of the cult, what happened in ughter Docks and the situation in the war zone." "Ah but of course. Is there a time limit for this information?" He asked while flicking his fingers. The floor opened up as two chairs and a table appeared. "Just tell me what you know for now and deliver the restter." Allura sat down and pulled out a cigarette. "Very well. For the movement of the cult, most of their attention is focused on the war zone with the two apostles being tempted to make a move but the other churches are keeping them in check. Tensions are high but all three seems to be waiting for something to appear within the desert. "For the ughter Docks, I assume you are interested in the strange movement of people on the outskirts and the casualties of the churches. Sadly, even we''re in the dark about this. The only link we have is that what we assume to be blood rituals are being performed everywhere. We''re still investigating this but incidents like this are popping up more frequently." The man frowned, surprising Allura momentarily as the Underground were the best in obtaining information. "Situation in the war zone is closely linked to the movement of the cult. The war between the nations seems to be a diversion created by the Apostle of War, but the other Apostles have already seen through this, resulting in the situation at the desert. This is all that we know thus far. As a branch of the underground, the information we have may be limited so you might find out more in the future if you visit the main temple. Naturally, if we get any updates regarding your questions we''ll deliver it to your inn." Nodding her head, Allura stood up. "As always, we are pleased to have you use our services. May I assume that youngdy Ria and youngdy Alice will be joining you in due time?" "Perhaps." Allura replied without turning around. Making her way out of the temple, she took a deep breath and sighed out. ''The Apostles are making bigger movements¡­ It''s going to be hard to stay out of it. Movement in the desert hmm¡­ It might not be what I''m thinking about so only time will tell.'' Allura thought to herself. With how much they''re focusing on the Abyss, Allura wonders if it was because Kaden had imnted the Eye into Alice. If not for this, they should be focusing on the tasks on the surface. "Tch! Annoying bastard leaving everything to me as usual. He''d better take care of the sh*t on the surface if he''s leaving this much to me." Allura cursed in annoyance before speeding up slightly. Now that she had gotten what she wanted from the Underground as well as renting some rooms for Alice and Ria, it was time to meet up with them again and n her next ''lesson'' for Alice. ### Finding a seat on the first floor, it didn''t take too long for Alice to spot Riaing down from upper floors as she too spotted Alice. With her unique hair, it was rather easy to see her. "Alice!" Ria called out with a smile. "Did you get your license?" "Mnm did. One star hunter." Alice nodded her head. "Now we can do some missions together. Since I haven''t done too many three star missions just yet, I can''t take you to them. The most I can do I take you to the two star ones but they give a decent amount of money. Have you seen Allura? Or is she not here yet?" Ria asked curiously. "Not here yet." Alice shook her head. However, before Ria could say anything, the two of them paused noticing a shadow in their peripherals. "Who''s not here yet?" Allura grinned while sitting at the same table. "Arg! When the hell did you get here?!" Ria cried out in surprise. "Just now. But sounds like you two have finished getting Alice her ID." Alluraughed. "Gods, please don''t just appear like that. But yes, we did get Alice her ID. We''re just thinking of taking some two star Hunting quests for now so that Alice can get some experience and earn a bit of coin." Ria nodded her head. "That''s perfect then. I was going to say you should take Alice to some two star hunt quests since one star doesn''t usually deal with hunt targets. Let Alice deal with the beast solo and see how she fairs, don''t interfere and let her figure out things herself." Hearing this, Ria furrowed her brows. "But aren''t they meant to be taken on by two Sigil bearers? I know that you want us to fight harder opponents but wouldn''t it be better for Alice to get used to them first?" Ria asked but Allura shook her head. "Even within Sigils, there are a difference in quality. The Spectral Hunter Sigil belongs to a higher quality than usual with most taking this Sigilter down the line. The normal one star Hunters and beasts cannotpare to Alice so might as well get her used to taking out two star hunts." Allura reasoned as Alice agreed with her thought process. ''Two star hunts shouldn''t be that bad right?'' Chapter 53: Two Star Hunt "Alright, I''ll go look for some suitable two star hunts then. I won''t choose an easy one nor would I choose one that''s bordering on three stars is that okay?" Ria asked as Allura nodded. "Just get her the standard two star hunt." Nodding her head, Ria jogged over to the two star hunt board and started to look through the avable missions. Meanwhile, Alice and Allura were left at the table while Allura ordered some snacks from the waitress. "You look like you got something to ask me. Care to share over some snacks?" Allura offered, pointing towards the food that just arrived. "Mnm, just wondering when¡­ I should get second Sigil. And that when I was think about it, I was taken to strange ce where bunch of beasts appeared, and giant eye in sky." Hearing this, Allura paused. "Hmm¡­ I''ll tell you about the Eye first. The ce you went was usually what Shaman''s and people who find a special connection to the Abyss find themselves at when searching for bounties. I''m guessing you were able to filter through them to find one that you wanted? That is the benefit thates with the possessor of the Eye." Allura exined while ordering some alcohol for herself. "I don''t suggest you use that until you know what you want to hunt since it''ll only speed up the process of the Eye awakening. After that, well, it''ll be a contest between you and the Eye, to see if you can dominate it. Second, why are you in a hurry with your second Sigil?" Allura asked curiously. She still remembers their talk the other night regarding being creative with the Sigil and not rushing head on, after a night of experiments Alice definitely discovered new uses yet she''s still wanting a second Sigil. Allura wanted to know her reasons, understand her thought process. "Erm¡­ I fought someone called Neal. For my test. There wasn''t much I can do with what I have right now, and when I did surprise him, he was just faster. Unlike others, I don''t have the¡­ base strength needed." Alice exined as Allura was silent. A low base strength is indeed an issue as Allura recalled all of Alice''s fights. She was definitely dexterous but her strength was low. Most wouldpensate thisck of strength using Abyss Blood or pure training but high strength didn''t suit Alice''s fighting style. ''What she''s wanting is not strength, but more speed. I suppose we can mix some lower body training with some high quality Abyss Blood to give her a slight boost since she is indeed weaker than the standard hunter right now.'' While the boost in strength the first Sigil granted was indeed impressive, it merely allowed Alice to stand her ground. ''If she needs to understand that with her first Sigil, she needs to set up traps rather than upfront confrontations. A hunter would usually take after the beasts they hunt for Sigils, Alice is trying to fight as a head on fighter rather than a trapper like the Spectral Hunter.'' "Alright. I still wouldn''t suggest you getting a second Sigil just yet. I''m guessing you want speed right?" Allura asked as Alice nodded her head. "Then we can pair that with some lower body training, a tiny bit of Abyss Blood usage but the key part is for you to understand the strengths of your Sigil. You need to understand that in a fight, a head on confrontation should always, always, be yourst resort. And the only time you should reveal yourself is when you have finished setting up your traps and you''re trying to lure them towards the area." Allura exined. Seeing the slight frown on Alice''s face, Allura sighed. "Try this for now then. For the two star hunt, I want you to spend a day or two observing the beast. Then on the second day, prepare traps for it with your blood and build up one shot damage potential with your active ability. In the meantime, I''ll go purchase some blood kits for you so that you can extract your blood for traps. Let me know any other items that you need, I''ll keep it on a tab so you can just pay me back when you start finishing more hunts." Allura offered as Alice nodded her head. But Allura misread her disappointment. She wasn''t disappointed with the training n nor Allura''s idea of having her understand her Sigil. What she was disappointed about was the fact that part of the n was to enhance her physical power through Abyss Blood, something that wouldn''t work with her. Once again, she was left cursing her physique. Had it not have been for this physique, she wouldn''t have been locked away. Had it not have been for this physique, she would be able to utilize the benefits of blood like everyone else. Sighing inwardly, Alice dismissed these thoughts since reality couldn''t be changed. Everything that had happened, happened. There was no denying history. All that she could do now was to try her best towards the future. Thinking to herself, she asked Allura if she could have a bundle of thin wire that wouldn''t break easily. If she wanted to set up traps, the best way would be to soak some thin wires with her blood so that she could spread the scent out further. Not only that, if the beast they''re hunting gets caught by the wires, they''ll be stuck momentarily, allowing her an easy target. "Alright, I''ll see what I can do. Any requests for the wire? I can ask a cksmith that I know for something a little special if you want." Allura asked. "No, just basic things for now. I want to learn from basic." Hearing this, Allura grinned and patted Alice''s head. "I like your attitude. Alright, I''ll get you the basic things you need, let Ria know when shees back. Oh and remember, when you know what you''re hunting, find some books to do with the beast first then you should go observe it in person. You need to have some idea of what you''re killing before venturing out." Allura reminded as she left the Hunter''s Guild hall. Watching Allura leave, Alice couldn''t help visualise how she should utilise her Sigils with Allura mentioning that she should leave head on confrontations as ast resort. "Huh? Where did Allura go?" Ria asked as she returned after registering for a new mission. "She went to buy some stuff for me. Next hunt I''ll be learning how to make traps." "And she didn''t even tell me. Urg,ing and going as she pleases." Ria sighed while sitting down. "Here''s your next hunt target. The Kata Charger. This beast is known for its unstoppable charging power and brute strength. It has no eyes but has a very keen sense of smell and hearing." Ria introduced as she ced the mission poster on the table. On the poster, Alice could see a behemoth almost twice the size of a normal human being. Menacing ck muscles all over its body with hard ting on its back acting as armour. Tworge horns protruded from the side of its shoulders, hiding the beast''s neck. Its head was connected to a ting on the back of the body as there was no eyes or features expect for a wide mouth with a row of jagged teeth. It seemed to be able to walk bipedally but the giant muscr arms suggest it''s mostly quadrupedal. Strange insectoid legs protruded from its abdominal area with the details being hidden by its arms. "It''s the only ''normal'' two star hunt I could find sadly. It''s a bit strange since Kata Chargers aren''t usually seen around these areas but if there''s one around then might as well kill it. The coin reward for this thing is 30 gold pieces, pretty good if you ask me. It''s roughly 3 weeks of earnings for a standard family." Ria smiled as Alice nodded her head. "Allura told me, to find book on beast. Do you know where to find?" "There should be a library down the street. We can also go to a book store instead since you need to buy a bestiary don''t you? If I knew you needed one I would''ve kept my old one with a bunch of notes in it from back home." Ria sighed. It was a book that her grandfather had forced her to memorise that contained a bunch of notes from when he was a young adventurer. In fact, some of the entries in that book was submitted by himself with the notes he wrote, a true treasure. "I''ve already memorised it all so I don''t have a use for it. I can probably ask my grandfather to bring it over if you want. He''ll be here in a few days." Ria offered but Alice shook her head. "Is okay, I''ll learn little by little." "If you say so. We got 3 to 4 days to try kill this beast so we got a bit of time for you to study it. What do you want to do now? Allura mentioned letting you do the work so I''ll have you take the lead. I''ll just help out with where things are." Ria asked. "Hmm¡­ Library. I want to learn a bit about¡­ Kata Charger first. Then after Allura returns with the stuff she said she was getting, I need to extract some blood so I can use it as poison." Alice replied while thinking of what else she needed. "Alright, I''ll take you to the library first then. I''m sure Allura will find uster or appear out of nowhere like she did earlier." Finishing up the food that Allura had ordered, the two left the Guild Hall and made their way to the library. Chapter 54: Library "Now the library I''m taking you to is usually used by students so you might get quite a few eyes turning your way since you''re not a student. But this is the best library in this city and nothing canpare to it. It might not look very big once we get there but trust me, every book in there is worth thousands." Ria boasted while leading Alice through the confusing maze of a city that is Zadash. Upon arriving at the library, the outside of the store looked inconspicuous as it seemed like an ordinary house with the exception of a single emblem above the door. What truly changed was the moment they entered through the door. Tens of bookshelves lined up on the sides of the house while a singlerge pir rose up in the centre of the room adorned with a globe surrounded by rings that were connected by a thin metal bar. A myriad of books decorated the base of the pir while there was a single desk at the back of the shop with a man reading a book without looking up at the new arrivals. He had short greyish purple hair, a pair of ck eyes, sses and wore a smart suit. Besides him was a cup of what is presumed to be coffee. "Mister Nalem, do you happen to have any books on the Kata Charger? We''re nning to hunt it and my friend Alice here wants to learn as much as possible before fighting the beast." Ria asked as Nalem nced up from the book without moving his head. Observing the duo for a moment, he nodded his head slightly. "Shelf 4 row 1, find the book called Compendium on Blind Beasts. You should find information regarding the Kata Charger in there. If that is not enough, there is also Shelf 3 row 3, An In Depth Study on two star beasts. These two should have what you need. There is no one in the library right now so feel free to stay at any table you find. As always return the books to the ce you got them after you''re done. Laziness will not be tolerated." Nalem guided before focusing back on the book in his hand. "Thank you very much." Ria smiled before turning to Alice. "Let''s go, we got permission now." Despite being confused by the interaction, Alice followed Ria without saying anything for now. Once Ria found both of the books, the two sat down at a table. "You sounded like you know the store owner." Alice asked once they sat down. "Hm? Oh yeah I do. My grandfather showed me this store when I was younger. He said it was a ce he always liked to use and Mister Nalem provides every book you need. It''s strange since the books within this store change often yet he is still able to provide what''s needed. But that''s the only strange part. Other than that, all you need to remember is that Mister Nalem loves his books so you need to treat the ones you borrow with respect." Ria exined. "Don''t bend, dirty, or damage any book. Return them where you found them, vition of these rules marks you as banned from this store and all knowledge obtained about this store and from the books within this store are to be wiped from memory." Hearing this, Alice raised an eyebrow. What strange powers did he obtain from Sigils in order to impose such a rule? "Personally, I haven''t seen anyone vite this rule but let''s not be the first. This store will help you out a lot if you are careful." Ria chuckled while pushing the books towards Alice. "I''ve already had my fair share of studying so I''ll just rest a bit while you read up." Ria stretched before resting her head on her arms. Seeing this, Aliceughed inwardly before looking toward the books. Since the first book that Nalem rmended was the Compendium on Blind Beasts, she figured she might as well give that book a read first. Flipping to the index of the book, she looked through the words before barely finding Kata Charger. ''I really need to improve on my reading.'' Alice sighed inwardly. While she could read some words, it was very limited. She figured that if she started to struggle a lot, she''ll ask Ria for some help regarding the information. Flipping to the page about the Kata Charger, Alice started to read its information. ''The Kata Charger, while blind, is by no means a beast you should look down upon¡­ With the sense of sight being deprived from this beast, its smell and hearing has been significantly enhanced to the point that it can tell when something has been tampered with. ''To approach a Kata Charger is to blend yourself in with its natural habitat, a difficult task as each human has their own scent. Even if you are to cover yourself head to toe with the foliage surrounding the home of a Kata Charger, it will still discover you.'' Reading this, Alice furrowed her brows as her options was now further limited. If it could tell what''s different, trying to set up a trap was going to be very difficult. ''Maybe I can annoy it with a scent it dislikes and force it to jump into my trap.'' She mused while continuing to read. She wanted to find any notes on what it dislikes but the rest of the text focused on the Charger''s habits and home. With quite a few of the paragraphs being unreadable, Alice could only leave the book forter. Focusing on the second book, An In Depth Study On Two Star Beasts, Alice found the page that detailed the Kata Charger. ''Despite its body shape looking akin to that of a bull¡­ The Kata Charger can actually extent the head and abdomen forward up to 10 meters???? TO EAT THE PREY??? They have a special hinge around their shoulders that will shoot the head forward at blistering speeds to take people off guard¡­ The fuck??? Is this a charger or is this an assassin? What kind of beast is this?'' Alice thought to herself in disbelief as the image depicted the Kata Charger dislodging its head. The strange insectoid legs on its stomach was actually to help it move itsrge neck back to the body. ''Try fight from range so that you can react to the head extension. Avoid close quartersbat¡­'' Furrowing her brows, Alice skimmed through the rest of the information with it basically telling her what to avoid when fighting the beast. Leaning back, Alice couldn''t help but feel grateful towards Allura. If Allura didn''t tell her to research on this beast, she would''ve never known that it would shoot its head forward like that. She shuddered thinking about the potential consequences of fighting that beast without knowing this fact. Taking the books, she returned them back to where she got them and made her way to the counter while Nalem was still reading his book. "Erm¡­ Mister Nalem." Alice called out hesitantly. "Mnm?" "Do you have any books about¡­ how to use poison Sigils? And types of traps you can make with them?" Alice asked as Nalem stared at her for a moment before cing down his book. "Are you nning on poisoning the Kata Charger?" "Poison fumes. I''m not¡­ too familiar with the Sigil. Need to learn what traps and how to use before getting second Sigil." Alice admitted. "Hm, interesting. What Sigil did you get?" Hearing this, Alice hesitated for a moment but decided to tell the truth since it was better if she could get as much information as she could. "Spectral Hunter." "First or second Sigil?" Nalem followed up while leaning back a little. "First." "Oh? Spectral Hunter for your first Sigil? I haven''t seen that done in a while. Alright, there are two books you want to get. Shelf 1 row 6, A Guide to Poison Beasts and shelf 8 row 1, A Hunter''s Guide to Traps." Nalem nodded before standing up. "Since I haven''t seen a Hunter take the Spectral Hunter Sigil as their first Sigil in a long time, I''ll lend you something from a private collection." Turning around without waiting for Alice to react, he tapped his finger on one of the pirs and a staircase opened up leading down. Feeling confused, Alice decided to find the books that he mentioned first. ''I wonder what he''s going to give me?'' She couldn''t help but wonder. ording to Ria, Nalem had been the owner of this store for a long time now. If he''s lending her something from his own private collection then whatever book it was, it may be potentially priceless. Finding the books that Nalem told her to find, she spotted himing out of the bottom floor with a strange book in his hand. It looked simr to a journal as the pages and cover showed its age despite the care that Nalem was showing it. "This is the journal that an old acquaintance of mine kept. He focused heavily on poisons and his first Sigil was the Spectral Hunter just like you. Perhaps you may get some inspiration after reading these notes." Nalem smiled fondly at the journal. Seeing this, Alice couldn''t help but wonder if his friend had passed away. "I know that look. No, he is not dead. We merely went our separate ways. Perhaps you might even run into him one day if you follow the path of poison." Nalem shrugged while handing Alice the book. Thanking him once more, she took the stack books back to the table. Chapter 55: Leoric Sitting back down at the table, Alice started to reach through A Guide to Poison Beasts. However, the book contained vocabry that was far too difficult for her along with a myriad of other strange nts that she''d never heard of before along with different beast bloodbinations. That being said, she did get some ideas regarding her own poison. ording to the book, the Spectral Hunter poison is one of the most adaptive poisons a low tier beast could have. It could work as a base for any poisonbination and work as a hallucinogenic that dulls their senses to the real poison, making it effective for even those with four or more Sigils. The key was the secondary poison. If the secondary poison used to merge with the Spectral Hunter poison is good, it;ll create a harmonic effect that significantly boosts the potency of the poison. ''One of the best poisons to mix with the Spectral Hunter, is the Moonlight Knari, a deadly poison that grows in deep in the Abyss. Its effects are to paralyse the Hunter or beast that smells the poison and take over their body like a parasite. When mixed with the Spectral Hunter, the effects are almost instantaneous, resulting in immediate separation of the effected body part or risk dying.'' Alice read as she examined the nt in question. The image in the book showed the petals as semi transparent with a swirl of blues and reds and small dots as though it was a gxy. The way the petals are drawn made them look like silk as even the stalk was of the same material. ording to the notes, one can spot a Moonlight Knari easily as it glows extremely bright. Yet by the time you see the glow, you''ve already inhaled its poison. Reading this, Alice couldn''t help but shudder. ''Symptoms of this poison arerge blisters that can burst into a simr flower, hazy vision that continuously flickers, memory loss, internal bleeding and loss of motor functions. Victims of this poison will eventually find themselves bing a thrall to the flower, spreading its poison as far as you can before finding the highest spot nearby to die so the poison spreads further. If spotted in a city, must be quarantined and dealt with immediately.'' Furrowing her brows, Alice flipped to the next page and widened her eyes in shock. A whole city burned to the ground with corpses littering the rooftops. Charred yet the flower is still recognisable. Countless news articles documenting what abination of Spectral Hunter and the Moonlight Knari could do. Many have started to destroy the flower on sight, refusing to let such a breakout happen again. As much as Alice wanted more ways to use her poison, this was not the future she envisioned for herself. Indiscriminate ughter. Closing the book, Alice leaned back and sighed. Her blood was already rather dangerous if she fights alongside anyone since it''ll affect them. In a situation where she''ll be on the verge of death and an ally tries to help her, it''ll only result in negative consequences. With doubts in her mind regarding how much she wanted to develop her poison, Alice flipped to the next book, A Hunter''s Guide to Traps. The book detailed how she could use a variety of wires, rope, sticks and other items she could find easily to make traps for beasts. Their lethality varied but most only had the goal of hindering the beast before either poisoning it or killing the beast in one hit. Memorising some of the diagrams and the steps to make the trap, Alice couldn''t help but think back to the first book. The scenes of the city that was destroyed via poison was burned into her mind. If she continued her path of poison, that was something she had to deal with eventually. ''I''m not a physical fighter and I''m having doubts about poison with what it can do. Is this truly the path I want to take? Or is the first Sigil a mistake simr to what Allura experienced¡­'' Thinking to herself, she wondered what other avenues she could take with her Sigil yet nothing came to mind just yet. Sighing out softly, she ced the two books down and nced at the journal that Nalem handed to her. ''His old acquaintance must be pretty old considering the state of the journal¡­ And Nalem says he''s still alive too¡­ I wonder how powerful he is.'' Alice mused to herself while opening the journal. ''Journal of Leoric Becker, first son of the Becker family¡­'' The first parts of the journal documented Leoric''s life before he gained a Sigil. His family were apothecaries that dealt with Abyss Blood often and as the first born son, he was taught the knowledge required to inherit such a craft. He was taught the benefits of blood, how to tell the quality between two vials of blood and so on. His family taught him everything yet that was not what he wanted. He wanted to be a Hunter. He believed that he was not destined to live as an apothecary. Then came the day he was to get his first Sigil. He had approached the Shaman in hopes of getting a bounty worthy of being a Hunter. Unfortunately, he was only given two choices. The first, a weakbat Sigil but excelled in distinguishing the effects of blood and being able to manipte it to some degree. A Sigil that will help his path as an apothecary. The second, the Spectral Hunter. An ambush beast with a deadly poison. In that moment, he had to choose. He had to choose the path he wanted to follow and thus, he chose to hunt the spider that many would avoid. With his extensive knowledge of Abyss Blood, he was able to gather a variety of blood to counter the Hunter''s abilities and his first Sigil was obtained. The ability he gained was to turn his blood into a poison that could disorientate most foes. But as his only ability, iming the second Sigil was going to prove to be difficult yet he did not despair. In this journal he documented a few of his experiments but as a passive ability, this Sigil was limited when it came to hunting beasts. So he sought for something more deadly for his second Sigil. He understood that the time between Sigils can change the options that the Abyss grants you. If you show more affinity with poisons, the chances of a poison beast being your bounty increases. Armed with that knowledge, he eventually got his wish. The bounty of a beast called the ck Lotus Wasp. It was a beast that injected a bone melting poison into your body and around the area where it stung, a pattern of a ck lotus will slowly emerge. Once the pattern fully manifests, the victim dies. With hisbination between the Spectral Hunter and the ck Lotus Wasp, everyone that breathes his poison will slowly have their bones melted from the inside out. Naturally, the intensity of this effect varies based on how his victimes in contact with his poison but it was a good start. Not only that, he found a way to produce an antidote as well. He had to mix is own blood with the blood of a beast called the Mirror Escalda. It was a small beast prized for the properties of its blood and usually used to produce shields. After all, the blood of a Mirror Escalda when used, allows the user to gain an adaptive counter to whatever element they face for a short period of time. cksmiths would coat this blood over the surface of their shields to make it a great defensive option against beasts that utilize the elements. For Leoric however, when mixed with his bone melting poison blood, it became an antidote that helped heal the body if he ever mistakenly injures his future allies or perhaps he could use it to ckmail any enemies he wishes to profit from. The blood of a Mirror Escalda was expensive but it was worth it to carry a vial or two of antidote on his body just in case. His third Sigil¡­ Fourth¡­ Fifth¡­ As Alice continued to read the progression of Leoric, she couldn''t help but sweat at the effects of his blood. He had turned his entire body into a crucible of poison. The moment anyone harms him, if they don''t have the proper preparations, they will start to melt from the inside out along with a myriad of other effects that rendered them defenseless. Yet through all of this, he never once wondered about the chaos he could potentially cause should someone get their hands on his blood after a battle and spread it through a city. Reading through the journal, it seemed as though Leoric stopped writing about his Sigils after the sixth one. He documented how difficult it was to prepare for the seventh Sigil yet in this time, he came to know Nalem. With his interest in knowledge and books, the two enjoyed each other''spany and journeyed around the Abyss seeking ways of getting stronger. Even though Leoric didn''t write in depth about their adventures, Alice could see that the two looked out for one another. Nalem studied Leoric''s poisons and the two worked together to make medicines. After his sixth Sigil, Nalem was able to control theposition of his poison, making it so that it could fight against the poisons that Hunters suffer when fighting poison beasts. And thus, the two provided antidotes to any Hunter that wished to purchase one. As she turned to thest few pages, she furrowed her brows seeing that they had been torn out. ''Did Leoric tear it out himself? Or did Nalem do it? Considering this book is in Nalem''s possession it might''ve been him. But why?'' However, despite the missing pages, Alice understood one thing. The path of Leoric was not one she wanted to take. He wanted to capitalize on the poison in his blood but the end result was far from what she had desired. Even though Leoric could control theposition of his poison, he could not control whether or not it damaged friend or foe. Chapter 56: Buying Abyss Blood cing all of the books down, Alice leaned back and sighed. Tapping her finger on the table for a few moments, she stood up and prepared to return the books. She was grateful to Nalem for giving her this book as Leoric''s notes demonstrated how hard it was to make poisons safe when you''re fighting with allies. It was the reason why he kept antidotes on hand. But she didn''t have the luxury of purchasing Mirror Escalda blood. Not only that, due to how her body functioned and the innate resistance to Abyss Blood, she wasn''t sure if the mixture would work the same way it did for Leoric. There were simply too many questions and her path through poison has be uncertain. Returning the first two books back to where she collected them from, she approached Nalem who closed his book and looked up at Alice. "I hope the books have been a pleasant read." "Mnm, they have. Though Leoric''s journal not as helpful. I don''t think I want to¡­ make my poison as scary as his." Alice nodded her head as Nalem smiled. "Indeed. Very few would choose to fight him and fewer would choose to be his friend." Nalem chuckled while receiving the journal and ced it on the table next to him. "However, it seems like you have indeed gained a bit of knowledge from his old journal, so it seems that this rmendation has proven fruitful." "What happened at the end? If¡­ you can tell me. I saw the pages being torn out." Alice asked curiously. Hearing this, Nalem paused for a moment before leaning back and thinking about what he should say. "That was something of my own doing. Some events are better left unsaid¡­ But let''s just say after this, we stopped talking to one another and he became known as the Lord of Poisons." Nalem sighed, shaking his head to indicate he no longer wished to talk more about this incident. "Setting that aside, I''m rather curious about what you decide to choose. Despite having the same Sigil as Leoric and expressing the idea of wanting to improve your poison, it seems as though his choices through life are disapproved by you." "Ah erm¡­ It''s just¡­ Indiscriminate poison doesn''t seem to be the kind of power, I wish for in the end. I have¡­ clear targets. I don''t want the aftermath to ruin a city. I saw what kind of results Spectral Hunter poison could bring when mixed with the Moonlight Knari." Alice replied, thinking carefully of why she disliked the idea. It was the mental image of that city gued with people crawling to the rooftops with flowers bursting from their bodies that haunted her. If she truly develops her blood like Leoric, could such a scene be the normality? If she were to keep developing her poison, would she bring a risk to both Allura and Ria? Even though they''ve only met briefly, Allura has saved her life and Ria could be called a friend. She didn''t wish to harm them at all. "Indeed¡­ That incident was one that shook the hearts of many and caused the supply of Moonlight Knari to almost dwindle into extinction. Now, with the exception of collectors and certain areas where the flower managed to survive, one would rarely see such a flower even if they spent their lifetime searching for it." Nalem nodded in agreement. "Then I can only hope you find sess in your adventures with the Spectral Hunter Sigil. Aside from my friend Leoric, I have seen a myriad of people who started with the same Sigil. Yet they either focus on the poison or the physical aspect. I cannot help but say that I mildly interested by what you n to do. My shop will always be here in the future should you require more books and knowledge." He chuckled, rxing himself in the chair. "The Sigils granted by the Abyss vary in power and potency, it is merely hindered by theck of imagination. Now I believe is nothing else you require from the store. If I am wrong, feel free to tell me. If not, I''m afraid I have to say that I''m closing the store early for today. After reminiscing about my old friend, I desire a bit of time to myself." Nalem smiled, gesturing to the door. "Alright, thank you for your help." Alice nodded her head as she made her way to Ria to wake her up so the two of them could leave. "Of course, it''s been a pleasure." Sitting back down, he leaned back and closed his eyes. Grabbing Ria''s shoulders, Alice gave her a gentle shake and woke her up as Ria seemed to be remembering an old memory. "Hm? Are you done with the books?" Ria asked, giving her body a stretch. "Yeah, got some ideas and some ns for the future." Alice nodded with a smile, feeling her path forward slowly revealing itself. "That''s good. Let''s go find Allura then." Ria stood up and made her way to the counter. "See youter Mister Nalem." Ria waved as he nodded his head. "Safe travels." Upon leaving the shop, Ria was about to lead the way when she paused. "Err¡­ Alice?" "Hm?" "Did Allura say where she was going or where to meet her?" Ria asked. Pausing in realisation, Alice understood that they had no way to find Allura nor did they know where the inn was. "Seems like we''re on our own for a while. Anything you want to do or buy? I got some funds on me if you need to buy anything." Ria offered with augh. "Don''t have anything I want to buy. Allura already buying things I need." Alice shook her head. "That''s fair. In that case shall we go peruse the Apothecaries? I want to restock on some blood since I lost a bunch when I was in the forest and some got crushed. Any blood you got your mind on? Or just some standard healing blood." Ria asked curiously. "Just healing blood." "How many potions can your bag hold? Mine holds around 10 vials." Ria asked, mentally calcting how much money she had to spend for this purchase of theirs. Checking her bag, Alice could see a total of eight slots to hold the vials. "I can hold 8 vials." "So that''ll be 16 healing blood and 2 berserk blood. Euff, this is gonna cost me quite a bit." Ria sighed, scratching her hair. "Wait, 2 berserk blood?" "Yeah. One for me one for you. In a life or death situation, having a vial of berserk blood is good to either kill the thing trying to kill you or get enough speed to run away. Just think of it as insurance. Every Hunter has a vial of berserk blood for when shit hits the fan." Ria nodded her head while leading the way forward. Even though her sense of direction was rather terrible, he was quite familiar with this city so navigating it was a piece of cake. All she had to do was ask a new passerby every corner they cook and soon enough, they arrived at the Apothecaries. Upon entering the store, they could see that it was split into three floors. The first had the most customers while a few would show a special badge and be led upstairs. The first floor was split into 3 sections with one being separated from the main room by arge counter that stretched across the length of the store. The main section of this floor was for Hunters who were queuing up, waiting to collect their vials while thest section had tables with books, presumably to see what was in stock right now. Walking over to the catalogs, Ria flipped through and navigated to the healing blood section and picked out a few medium-quality blood with as few side effects as possible. She eventually settled for the ck ze Blood, sold for 5 gold per vial with the side effects including a rise in temperature and a high weakness to fire for an hour or so. The permanent side effects being ayer of your skin bing dry and mmable like the skin of the ck ze, a beast that catches on fire easily yet boasts an impressive healing factor. Since the quality she chose was medium, the side effects couldrgely be ignored through moisturising the affected skin or cutting it off and letting it regrow should the affected area be too big. "Just don''t drink this when you''re fighting a fire type beast and you''ll be fine. Try to take breaks in between so the effects don''t stack or else it''ll be permanent." Ria warned while flipping to the page where it documented the berserk blood. Compared to the healing blood, these were several times more expensive due to the fact that it can save your life. If Ria hadn''t crushed her vial by ident, she wouldn''t need to buy another vial of berserk blood. But all of that blood was now wasted and she had to buy more. Choosing the Crimson Shade blood selling at 30 gold for each vial, Ria could feel her heart being wed out as she paid 140 gold in total for 18 vials of blood. Handing Alice 7 ck ze Blood and 1 Crimson Shade Blood, Ria stored her own away into her bag. "The Crimson Shade blood makes it so that your speed is heavily enhanced while the rest of your body will be reinforced if you happen to drink blood during this period of being berserked. Only warning is try not to drink blood with lots of allies around while this vial is in effect as it has a chance to make you attack your own allies, doing more damage than good. As for side effects, makes you a little more vtile and a hunger for blood but the side effects should be rather small to notice." Storing the vials away in her bag, Alice understood how expensive these truly were considering the hunt for the Kata Charger only rewarded them with 30 gold. Even if she was to seed, most of the gold would''ve been spent on more potions if she got injured during the fight. Chapter 57: Minstrels Dance With potions now prepared, there was nothing else Alice could think of that they needed to do. She had done her research, made her preparations and Ria even purchased blood for when things went south. All that''s left was for Allura to give her the wires and blood extraction kit. "Is Allura still not here yet? Usually she''s pretty on time. What did you say she was going to get?" Ria asked curiously, wondering where Allura was. "She said she was going to buy blood extractor and some wires." "And she never said where she was getting them from?" Ria raised an eyebrow. Seeing Alice shake her head, Ria scratched her hair in annoyance as she made up her mind. "Alright, I got an idea. Let''s go gambling." She grinned, causing Alice to pause. "Gambling?" "Yep. I got a great ce to show you." Ria rubbed her hands in excitement. "No, you are not taking Alice to gambling." A voice cut her off as the two turned around and saw Allura approaching from the street. She had a bag in her left hand while her right was holding her jacket that was fluttering from the wind. She had a cigarette in her mouth as usual and used her tongue to move it to the side. "I know where you want to take her. Let''s not go gamble through fighting. I do believe you remember what happenedst time you went gambling." Allura sighed. "Sh*t, why did you appear right as I told Alice I was gonna take her some ce fun." Ria pouted. The ce she wanted to take Alice was a fighting ring where you can choose to fight certain opponents for a fee. However, if you win the fight you get to keep your money and earn more while you''re at it. Naturally, there was a limit to how many times you can fight along with who you can fight but to Ria, it was a sure-fire way to earn some quick coin. "Some ce fun? Last time you needed your grandfather to break you out of that ce because you kept beating people up when they were trying to keep you there since you won too much. They wanted to force you to fight a 5 Sigil user before you left since you kept boasting about how you were going to knock out anyone that came your way." Allura clicked her tongue in annoyance as she flicked Ria on the forehead. "Alice, listen to me. If Ria ever tells you that she wants to take you gambling, say no and make sure she doesn''t leave your sight." Allura warned sternly as Alice nodded her head. "Good, now here are the things you needed. It took a little while since I decided to visit some old acquaintances to get my hands on some good wire for you to use." Handing over the bag to Alice, Allura finished her cigarette before sighing out a cloud of smoke. "I''m going to be a little busy over the next few days which is pretty good considering you two are on a mission. Here are the keys to your room and some funds for travel. I should be back by the time you two are finished but if not, take a few more missions and I''ll find you eventually." Allura said as she pulled out another cigarette, causing Ria to wonder where she keeps grabbing these from. Giving Ria a small coin purse, Allura turned to Alice. "Any questions before I go?" "Mnm¡­ Only one. What else¡­ do you think works well with my Sigil? I did some research and¡­ Poison not what I want." Alice asked as she wanted to hear Allura''s thoughts regarding what direction she went with her Sigil. "Oh? I thought you were pretty excited about the poison thing, what changed?" "I was lent a journal, that belonged to someone called Leoric Becker." Hearing this name, Allura paused for a long moment before sighing out. "Lord of Poisons¡­ No wonder you got put off. He''s pretty infamous once you make your way to the ''upper society'' of Hunters I suppose. Personally, I''ve never really had any interaction with him so I can''t say for certain but if you don''t want to go down the path of poison then my initial suggestion still remains. Try to focus on the physical aspect since it''s the part I''m most familiar with." Allura said while flexing her bicep jokingly. "But since I know you don''t want that, I suppose you could think about what Sigils can unlock more uses. Your original idea was to use poison Sigils to enhance your passive ability of having poison blood. Maybe your next Sigil could be something that grants your blood elemental properties and so on. The limit is your imagination I suppose." Allura joked. Naturally, she had more ideas but she wanted Alice to figure things out herself when she can. Helping too much would only dampen her creativity. "Hmm¡­ Alright, thank you." "You''re wee. The inn I''ve booked for us is called the Minstrel''s Dance. It''s not too far from the entrance so even someone like Ria should be able to find it. I suggest you get a good night''s sleep, get used to your new wire as well as extract some blood if that''s what you n and take a carriage tomorrow." Allura exined while ignoring the annoyed shouts of Ria in the background. "Now that you know, I''ll take my leave. Ah also, Gin will be in this city in a few days so keep an eye out for him." Giving the two a wave, Allura turned around and instantly lost her smile. She didn''t want to deal with all the issues popping up recently but things couldn''t be simply ignored right now. ''Is it because the Eye found a new host? Is that why the Abyss is acting weird?'' Allura thought with a frown. Shaking her head, she was going to deal with this issue as soon as she could so that the training period bes a little safer for Alice and Ria. Plus, this is just a two star Hunt. With someone like Ria around, the two of them should be safe. Watching Allura leave, Ria huffed in annoyance but gave up on her idea of taking Alice to the gambling area. "Let''s go find the Inn I suppose. Do you drink?" Ria asked, feeling tempted to rx herself with a bit of drinking. "Drink? Like water or?" "Nono, drink as in alcohol." Ria corrected herself as Alice shook her head. "Never had." "Is that so? Interesting¡­ I wonder what a drunk Alice looks like ahahaha,e on, let''s go find this inn." Ria grinned eagerly as she was feeling excited about this drink now. Raising an eyebrow, Alice couldn''t help but feel a little uneasy at heart while following behind Ria. Looking down at the bag that Allura gave her, she wondered what the blood extraction kit looked like considering most would use it on beasts rather than humans. Opening the bag slightly to peek inside, Alice could see a transparent container holding two syringe tips, a rubber tube and what seems to a holder for the vials. It was a simr kit that she was familiar with as all she needed to do was insert the syringe into her arm and attach the vial. Once that was done, blood would flow into the container. The kit didn''t always look like this though. Early on, they would simply use a syringe or poke a hole in your arm and drain it into a bowl. Looking carefully at the syringe tips, she understood that one was for her, and the other was for beasts considering the size of the syringe itself was many times thicker than the one used for humans. Within this container, there was also a small pouch with extra syringe tips for future extractions. ''Maybe I can extract the blood of the Kata Charger and see what the effects are.'' Alice mused to herself while checking out the other pouch within this bag. It was separate from the container and she assumed it to be the wire that Allura had ordered for her. "Don''t fall behind now Alice. I know you''re excited about new stuff but we can look at them at the inn." Ria called out as she was quite far away now. Nodding her head, Alice closed the bag back up and jogged after Ria. The Minstrel''s Dance wasn''t too difficult to find as it was one of the more popr inn''s for travelers. They didn''t need to ask for directions as the music, shouting andughter made it obvious which one was the inn. Hearing all of this noise, Alice had a frown on her face as she was already feeling a headache from outside of the building. Entering was no better as the scene of men and womanughing while raising their tankards, people fighting and waitresses bringing over food to different tables. Going over to the counter, they could see someone who seemed to be the owner arm wrestling a well dressed young man. He had a top hat ced on the side of the table while wearing a monocle on his face. He had a forced smile while the owner had the same and despite his lean stature, the sleeves of his jacket stretched to the point of almost breaking due to his biceps. He was currently at a standstill with the owner who looked as though he was made from muscle. He had a short beard, a pair of focused eyes, swept back hair and wore a rather simple jacket, shirt, pants and bootsbination. As their arm wrestle continued, creaking could be heard as their elbows had dented the table. "Well I''ll be damned. A skinnyd like you actually packed some power. Alright, food is on me for tonight." The owner grinned while pulling out a smoking pipe from under the desk. Thanking the owner, the man walked back to what seems to be his friends as he ryed the news. Soon after, cheers could be heard as the owner turned his gaze towards Alice and Ria. "Now then, how can I help the two of you?" Chapter 58: Alluras Gift "We''re just here to confirm our rooms and get some food and drinks for the night." Ria replied while showing him the room keys that Allura had given them. "Ahhh you''re with that talldy. That damn nearly snapped my arm''s off my shoulder and rented the best rooms for cheap." The owner replied while massaging his right shoulder. "She only bought the rooms though. If you want some cheap food though, you can always arm wrestle me to see if you get a discount." He grinned. "What if we lose the arm wrestle?" Ria asked, feeling a little tempted at the offer. She had already spent a bunch of coin today just buying some Abyss Blood so she''ll be happy to save what little coin she could. While Allura did indeed give them some funds to use, Ria wanted to save it and let Alice buy whatever she needed since she was just starting out her career as a Hunter. There will be a lot of things that she needs to buyter down the line. "If you lose, you just have to pay for an extra portion. For your reference, meals here are 1 gold piece per meal while drinks are 100 silver per cup. Meaning you''ll need to pay up an extra 1 gold and 100 silver if you lose." "And if we win?" Ria asked as she recalled the gentlemen dressed in a suit monocle and top hat getting free food for the night. "If you tie with me, foods on me for the night. If you win, breakfast is also on me." The ownerughed. "Do you even profit with this? Wouldn''t every Hunter just arm wrestle you for the free food." Ria asked, feeling a little confused at his business strategy. "Oh I do, I profit from the drinks. And if they don''t win, I even get paid an extra portion." The ownerughed while pointing at a few tables that had numerous empty tankards sitting on the table while ordering some more. "So, do you want to try arm wrestling this old man for a discount?" The owner asked as he ced his burly arm on the counter. "Hah??? Look at your arm. That''s the size of my damn torso and you think it''s a fair fight?" Ria furrowed her brows. "I''ll allow you to use your Sigils. I may not look like it but I''m an old hunter myself." Hearing this, Ria was taken aback but had a grin on her face. "Alright, just a warning though my Sigils are lightning based." Ria grinned while warming up her arm. Approaching the table, she ced her elbows on the surface and got ready for the arm wrestle. "If it''s lightning then give me a quick moment." Leaning down, the owner pulled out a singr glove and wore it on his hand before getting into position. "I''ll let you start whenever you want." The owner chuckled while smoking his pipe. "Don''t go back on your word now!" Activating all three of her Sigils, Ria''s body erupted with lightning energy as the chairs around her were blown back by the surge of power. However, the owner''s arm did not move at all. Widening her eyes, he was like an unstoppable mountain that refused to budge. Gritting her teeth, veins bulged on Ria''s forehead as she stomped down and tried to muster up as much power as she could. *CRRRRRR!!!! The wood beneath her started to creak yet the owner still didn''t budge. "I''m not using any Sigils youngdy. Not yet at least." The owner taunted with augh. "ARGGG!!!" Letting out a cry, Ria stomped down, cracking the floor and managed to make the owner budge his arm just silently. "Hou?" The owner narrowed his eyes before flexing his arm momentarily. The sudden force caused Ria to fall backwards as she crashed against the floor. "Not too shabby young miss. You actually moved my arm." The owner grinned while leaning over the counter. Laying on the floor, Ria dismissed her Sigils as sheid there in silence from the shock of what just happened. Despite using as much strength as she could, the owner barely budged without using any Sigils. Scratching her hair, she sat up with a frown. "Arg what the hell. How are you this damn strong???" Ria huffed in frustration while standing back up. "I''m just a beefy man. But you''re not shabby yourself, made my arm budge and no one has done that in a while. At least not with three Sigils. Just for that, dinner, breakfast and drinks are on me. And don''t worry about the damages." The ownerughed. "Find a table and I''ll bring over some food myself." Nodding her head, Ria looked for an empty table to sit at with Alice. "I swear that owner is abnormal. I guess that''s why he''s offering arm wrestles." Ria sighed while resting her chin on the table. Understanding that Ria was frustrated with her loss even though they got what they wanted, Alice wasn''t sure about how she shouldfort Ria. "Erm¡­ Maybe he has a lot of Sigils. I''m sure you will be stronger in future." Hearing this and seeing the worry in Alice''s eyes, Ria couldn''t help butugh. "Ahaha don''t worry, I know I will get stronger in future. Bah let''s forget about what happened and just enjoy the food for now. For a meal that costs 1 gold, I''m sure it''s going to be something good." Ria smiled. "In the meantime, do you want to have a look at the wire you got from Allura? For something that took this long, I''m sure it''s going to be something good." Nodding her head, Alice pulled out the pouch for the wire and opened it up. Within the pouch there were 3 items. Gloves, what seems to be small mechanical contraptions and arge coil of wire. Within the gloves were a piece of paper that seemed to have instructions for the wires. ''Gloves of the Arachnid¡­ When installed, can set up wires between two designated points by firing small anchors. Wires crafted from the silk harvested from cial Silkworms, high tensile strength, hard to break and can be used as weapons. Mechanical parts on the gloves can shoot the wires instead of cing traps though attack power of piercing attacks are low.'' Reading through the note, Alice couldn''t help but wonder how strong the wires are if it''s quoted as hard to break. "Is there something wrong with the instructions?" Ria asked curiously after seeing the confusion on Alice''s face. Without saying anything, Alice handed over the piece of paper while cing the pouch back into the bag for now. "Hmm¡­ What the¡­ How did she even get her hands on this??? So quickly too!" Ria muttered in a mixture of confusion and surprise. "I''ll¡­ exin once we''re in a room. But you just need to know that she got you something¡­ VERY expensive." Ria exined while handing back the piece of paper. "Really?" "Yeah. Let''s just say¡­ The cial Silkworm is a beast that despite being small, can kill veteran Hunters easily. Even though they''re called cial Silkworms, they don''t actually have ice based powers. It''s merely due to the fact that they can survive in the harsh cold climates. They''ve been hunted down for their silk due to the benefits they give such as elemental resistance and makes great material to fight against fire." Looking around her, Ria gestured for Alice to lean in so that she could whisper the next parts. "It is said that even five Sigil Hunters go nuts for their silk so that they can make cloaks with their silk. The fact that you have this much wire means they coulde to try kill you for this." Ria whispered as a chill went down Alice''s spine. ''Allura gave me something like this?!?!? Isn''t this just painting a target on my damn back???'' Alice shouted out in her mind as she had to be careful regarding when she reveals this. "Avoid using the wires near Hunters, especially veterans. If news starts to travel things will get messy." Ria warned seriously as Alice nodded her head. Before they could discuss further, the owner arrived with two trays worth of food, one tray for the each of them along with two tankards of what seems to be mead. "If you two need any more drinks just give me a shout by the counter." The owner grinned as Ria nodded her head. "Thank you." The meal that the owner had prepared for them consisted of arge ham steak, roasted vegetables with sauce and some bread. Just the smell alone caused Alice''s mouth to water uncontrobly as she had been eating rations and whatever they could find while being on the road. Unable to stop herself, she was about to grab the ham steak with her hands when Ria stopped her. "I know we eat with our hands when we''re out on the road but here you should use the knife and fork." She chuckled, pointing at the cutlery on the side. "Ah, okay." Alice nodded. Grabbing the fork like how she would with a knife, she stabbed it in the middle of the ham steak and started to takerge bites out of it. Ria could only describe her eating habits as ''hearty''. Shaking her head with a smallugh, Ria started to eat her meal while the sound of customersughing and shouting started to mix with the music that was being yed. Once they finished the meal, they returned back to their rooms. Allura had prepared two separate rooms for them as Alice started to investigate the gloves and wires before heading to bed. If these wires were as good as Ria said they were, she wanted to be somewhat familiar with them before using them in a hunt. Chapter 59: Using The Gloves Wearing the gloves on her hands, Alice followed the instructions and attached the mechanism onto the glove itself. It was a strange mix of metal and wires. There was a cuff around the wrist and small rings around each of the fingers that seemed to help aim the silk. Not only that, there was also a small section near the base of the glove that housed a red capsule with what seems to be blood inside the container. It reminded Alice of the Abyss Engineering that she had spotted a few times during her stay in the Abyss thus far. ''The instructions said that I can aim where I want the silk to by fired. I wonder how I can do that¡­'' Alice muttered in her own head while reading the instructions. Grabbing the coil of silk from the pouch, she installed a small bag onto her waist while connecting it to the gloves under her jacket. Flicking her wrist a few times, it doesn''t seem like the silk was going to be fired this way. Scratching her head in confusion, she flipped the instruction manual over to the other side, yet it still didn''t exin much. All it said was to aim towards the location and fire. The issue was how to make the gloves fire the silk. Waving her arms around, Alice tried a myriad of different positions to see if the gloves reacted but there was only silence. "Did Allura give me something faulty?" Alice sighed while reaching towards the chair so that she could sit down. Suddenly, she felt the coils within the glove spin to life as five strands of silk shot out with hooks on the tip and embedded themselves into the walls before being pulled tight by the mechanism in the gloves. Widening her eyes, Alice could feel a tugging force against her arm, urging. Keeping her hand steady, she observed to see what position it was in when the silk fired. ''Wait¡­ I''ve tried this hand pose before, why didn''t it work then?'' Alice furrowed her brows in confusion. Pulling out the hooks from the wall, she flicked her wrist back and watched the silk get pulled back into the gloves. A small realisation sparked in her mind as she narrowed her eyes to the opposite wall. Flicking her wrist in one swift movement, she aimed her index, middle and thumb towards the wall and watched three strands of silk being shot out. Pulling back with her hand and grabbing the strands, she watched as the silk was pulled taut. ''So that''s how! It''s based on how fast I flick my wrist and how many fingers I''m aiming towards the actual target.'' Flicking her wrist back, the silk unhooked itself and returned to the gloves. A spark of enjoyment red in Alice''s eyes as her interests was piqued by the strangeness of this contraption. Thinking to herself, she looked towards the table for a pen and started to scribble her own notes into the instruction sheet. She wanted to figure out what was possible with these gloves, how she could set traps, how strong the silk strands were and the different ways she could use it to her advantage. With the limitations of her first Sigil, these gloves were possibly the bests weapons that Allura could''ve gotten her. All that she needs to do now was to learn how to use these gloves properly. Reading through the instruction book carefully now that she knows how to fire and retrieve the silk, Alice spent the whole night experimenting with her new weapon. ### After finishing their meal, Ria had returned to her room without saying anything. At first, she was nning on talking to Alice but changed her mind eventually. Locking the doors to her room, she sat down on her bed and started to get undressed into her pyjamas. As she took off pieces of her clothes, the scars that had been carefully hidden away slowly revealed themselves as deep wounds carved into her back revealed their ghastly visage. Reaching behind her, Ria touched the scarred skin and sat silently. Closing her eyes, she thought back to the arm wrestle, that moment she felt like she was wrestling against the might of an unstoppable mountain. If a tavern owner had this much strength, what hope was there for her to fight against the Cult of the Eclipse? Gritting her teeth, Ria punched her fist against the pillows on her bed and sighed deeply. "Are three Sigils still not enough? If I rush things Allura and grandfather will be unhappy¡­ But I can''t keep staying like this." Ria muttered softly. Comparted to her usual outgoing nature, she was now much quieter andcked the explosive aura she usually carries with her. "No, I can''t stay like this." Opening her eyes, there was a new sense of focus in her gaze. Standing up, she grabbed a tank top shirt from her luggage before starting some push ups to warm herself up. She wasn''t feeling tired at all so she decided to use this time to strengthen her body instead. As a physical fighter, base strength was key. Abyss Blood and Sigils gave her boosts in strength but that all depends on her own base strength. The lesson that Allura taught her was such: "As a physical fighter, you have to think about your base strength and the think of external help as multipliers. If your base strength is 1, and the Sigil gives you a multiplier of 2, your new strength is 2. However, if your base strength is let''s say 2, your new strength bes 4. The higher your base strength, the more benefits you get from getting Sigils and drinking Abyss Blood." Thus Ria understood that she couldn''t ck on improving her base strength. Naturally, there was a limit to how much she wanted to bulk up her muscle mass. Too much and she gives up her natural flexibility, something she prided herself in. The delicate bnce between power, speed and flexibility was something Ria had to keep in bnce to be a good physical fighter. All for the future where she hunts down every Cult of the Eclipse member she could get her hands on. All of her hard work was for that singr dream. ### Early in the morning, both girls left their room and went to get breakfast. Despite theirck of sleep, they did not seem sleep deprived at all. In fact, they seemed energetic. There was a glimmer of excitement and eagerness in Alice''s eyes as she wore the gloves and tinkered slightly with the mechanisms. "Seems like you didn''t sleep either. I assume you learned something about the gloves?" Ria asked with a chuckle. "Yep. I learned how to use the silk and how to make traps. The traps I know how to make are a little limited since I don''t want to waste silk. If I cut it to separate myself from a trap, I won''t be able to use the silk anymore. There are spare hooks but prefer not to waste expensive things." Alice shrugged as Ria nced at her gloves. "That''s good news then. How confident are you at killing the Kata Charger now then?" "Hmm¡­ With gloves, poison, knowledge and if I set up trap properly, 80% chance I''m confident. I''m not sure how good the trap will be since it has a sensitive smell. It might know what I n." Alice admitted. She had spent most of the night familiarising herself with the gloves and didn''t spend any time to think about how she should counter the sensitive sense of smell. Even if she was to camouge herself with the smells of the surroundings, she would still be discovered. "80%? For your first proper hunt, that''s pretty damn high. I''m not saying confidence is bad but let''s hope it doesn''t bite you back in the ass." Ria grinned. "As Allura said, I won''t be doing much this time and I''ll only watch unless you can''t handle it anymore. I''ll keep any stray beasts away from the fight so you can hunt the Kata Charger without any worries." Hearing this, Alice felt reassured as her other concern was what other beasts would be around the area. If there were too many, it will definitely be difficult even with her new weapon. "The location we''ll be travelling to is a ce marked as the Inferno Tower Ruins. Apparently, in the days of old, there was a tower built upon a pool of magma that flowed underground. But after a battle, the tower copsed and the magma flowed to the surface before drying up. From the reports, there''s been arge migration of foreign Abyss Beasts that shouldn''t be close to this area and the Kata Charger is one of them." Ria started to exin while the two of them made their way to the stables. "The Guild is still looking for the answers but the cause is unclear. Last time I reported the situation in the forest, the guild took it very seriously and even sent a party of 4 three Sigil Hunters to investigate the situation. And I''m telling you all of this is because if something goes wrong and the situation bes rough for the both of us, we''re going to retreat and report it to the Guild okay?" Ria warned with a serious expression. She still remembers getting eaten by that strange beast who kept singing. One moment she was deep in the forest, the next she was facing its jaws and got swallowed. If not for the fact that she had three Sigils and a physical fighter, she might''ve not gotten out. "Okay." Alice nodded her head. If it gets to a situation where not even Ria could handle it then they would definitely need to run. After all, Ria was their safety for now. Chapter 60: Trip To The Inferno Towers Upon arriving at the stables, they hired a wagon driver for a round trip to the Inferno Tower Ruins. However, there was a slightplication that neither of them foresaw. "Haaa??? You won''t do a round trip? Why?" Ria asked with a frown. "There''s been some rumours going around for the drivers right now. Going to any of those areas for a round trip means death. I can do a one way trip but not round trip, I''m not camping there sorryss." The driver apologised while the other drivers seemed to have the same sentiment. "What about an area nearby then? Maybe you can drop us off there and camp a fair bit away?" Ria asked, hoping to get apromise. "Sorryss, no can do. That area is forbidden for us drivers right now. It''s not even a matter where we want to upcharge you. No amount is worth our lives." The driver apologised with a helpless sigh. As drivers for Hunters, they were familiar with risks and there weren''t many they would refuse to go. However, this situation was truly strange. "Look, there might be a few if you ask around but most of them will say no. Too many drivers have gone and never returned, until the guild gives us a proper exnation on what happened, there''s not much we can do." Hearing this, Ria sighed in frustration. "Then do you know anyone that might be interested?" "Personally no. But like I said, there are probably a few b*stards crazy enough to take your job offer." Thanking the driver, the two asked around for a while but it didn''t seem like anyone was wanting to take the job. Naturally, the news got passed around that two girls were looking for a round trip to the Inferno Tower Ruins. After trying for the better half of a day, Ria gave up and sat by a water fountain. Leaning back, she looked up at the sky and let out a big sigh. "Just our luck. I don''t think we''ll be able to get anyone to take us there and back. A singr trip will get us to where we need but honestly, I don''t trust myself to bring us back. And you aren''t familiar with the surrounding area yet." Riamented. If they have a guaranteed way to get back to the city, she wouldn''t mind a one way trip. "True. If we follow you, probably get lost and find new city." Alice agreed, causing Ria to smack her gently on the shoulder. "Hey! That''s too much trust in me. If we find a new city we''ll at least get a way back to Zadash. The realistic situation will be we idently walk a loop back to the Ruins." Ria joked with a grin. "Do you want to keep asking around? Or are we giving up on this hunt?" Alice asked, curious as to what they n on doing next. "Here''s the good part. We don''t do anything for now. We''ve spread some rumours about what we want, the drivers that want to take the job will reach out to us since we never set a price. There will probably be a few that will try to rip us off with high fees. Depending on how the fee bes, we''ll see if we want to continue this hunt or abandon it. The key is to get a good reason." Ria exined. "A good reason?" "Yep, If a Hunter declines a hunt after epting, the Guild needs a good reason or it''ll be marked as a penalty. Our reason can either be there are no drivers willing to take us there or that the prices outweigh the hunt rewards. Either of these will work but the second reason just means we have to be careful with our next hunt. If we forfeit twice in a row after epting, there will be a penalty incurred." Ria exined before pointing to a man that seems to be approaching them. He wore arge bagged coat while holding a bottle in his hands. "You two the ones looking for a roun'' trip to the Ruins?" He asked while narrowing his eyes at their outfits to judge how wealthy they may be. "Yep. How much for the round trip?" Ria nodded while crossing her legs. "20 Gold." The man held up two fingers. "20 Gold? That''s like two damn weeks worth of payment. No deal." Ria frowned and shook her head. "Lookss, I''m risking my life here to send you to that bleedin'' ce and you want to haggle?" The man scratched his hair. "15 Gold is the highest I''ll go. Round trip, camping 3 to 4 days." "Hah! 15 Gold for 4 days of risking my damn life. Dream onss, 20 Gold, not a silver cheaper." The manughed but held his ground. "Then we''ll just look for someone else or forfeit the hunt. It''s up to you if you want to take the job or not." Ria shrugged. 20 Gold was simply too steep of a price for a 30 Gold hunt. Staring at Ria for a good moment, the man narrowed his eyes before taking a swing of his alcohol. "I''ll do 18 Coins." He offered but Ria shook her head. "15 is the most I''ll go." "Tsk, listen heress, a man''s life is not worth 15 Coins." He scratched his hair in annoyance. "Oh I know, I''ve killed for less. But if you''re here risking your life for a measly 18 to 20 Gold then clearly you know something others don''t and have a safe route in mind." Ria countered as her smile faded. Feeling a chill in the air next to her, Alice was surprised to feel this kind of killing intent from Ria of all people. She was like a sword being unsheathed at this moment and the man knew she wasn''t budging on her price. "Tsk, then how about this. 18 for the trip, 2 for the information of why people aren''t willing to go." The man offered, surprising both Alice. "You know the reason? I thought the Guild was still investigating the issues?" Alice asked curiously. "Oh they are. But there are a few things that only a select few know. I was close to the Ruins when sh*t went south so I know a little more. If you pay me 2 Gold first, I will tell you what I know then you can think if its worth paying me another 18 Gold for the trip okay?" Thinking about it for a moment, Ria nodded her head. "Fine." "Follow me to my carriage. Some information are better left unspoken in a public ce. There''s a reason why the Guild haven''t said anything yet." The man smiled as Alice and Ria looked at one another before standing up. Following the man to his carriage, he sat down and made sure no one was listening in before gesturing for the two to lean closer. "You see, the Guild''s been awfully quiet since a branch of the Cult of Eclipse might''ve moved near the Tower Ruins. The day I managed to escape the Ruins, I saw a crowd of hooded men moving through the forest, capturing everyone they came across. I was lucky that I was far away." Hearing this, Ria widened her eyes as she heard of the Cult''s involvement within this. "But that''s not the only reason. On the same day, despite being far away, I could see a great shadow looming over the Ruins. It didn''t make a sound, but it felt like I''ll die if it looked at me. The Guild''s trying to determine what''s actually going on without causing panic to the public." He exined as ria handed him two gold coins. "I''ll pay the 18 Coins. Let''s do 10 Coins now and 8 coins for the trip back. Just in case." Scratching his chin, the man nodded his head. "Alright. The journey will only take half a day. I''ll be stopping at some roads near the Ruin but it''ll still be a distance away. It''s just so I get a head start if that giant beast shows itself again okay?" "That''s fine. Here''s the 10 Gold." Handing over the 10 Gold, Ria sat in the carriage silently while looking out of the window. Meanwhile, Alice was left with some questions as Ria''s reaction towards the mention of a Cult seems to be highly unnatural. "Are¡­ You okay?" Alice asked hesitantly. "Hm? Yeah. It''s a little more expensive than I hoped but the information is worth it. Just focus on your hunt, I''ll keep the coast clear. As for the giant beast, I''ll figure out something if it does get to that stage. We are both pretty fast at running so it''ll be fine." Ria reassured with a false smile as Alice yed with her fingers momentarily before opening her mouth. "I know. I''m worried about your reaction to the Cult." ". . ." Taking a deep breath, Ria sighed out. "Well¡­ It''s a littleplicated. But the reason why I''m staying with my grandfather is because of them. I just don''t like the Cult b*stards snooping around the ce all the time." Ria frowned in disgust towards any mention of the Cult. "I should be able¡­ to end the hunt in two days. Want to use thest two days to look for clues?" Alice offered. With Allura and Ria helping her out in more ways than one, she wanted to repay them however she could. If Ria has any issues with the Cult, assisting her was the least she could do. Hearing Alice''s reply, Ria didn''t know what to say back. Pausing for a brief moment, Ria smiled softly and nodded her head. "Thank you, truly." It was not energetic or boisterous. It was a soft and genuine thank you from Ria''s heart. Chapter 61: Arriving At The Ruins Not long after, they left the city and started their journey on the roads. With the Ruins being half a day away, it''ll be rather close to ''night'' when they arrive. Without the skies ever changing in the Abyss, it was hard to get a grasp of time but most follow the established time above ground. There wererge clock towers that had been spread across the city so that people knew what time it was. Due to the trip needing half a day, Alice was allowed more time to practice with her wires while Ria was surprised by how quickly she was able to familiarise herself with the new weapon. It was troublesome weapon to use but once you understand the functions, the versatility was unparallel. With the durability of the Silk, Alice discovered that it was strong enough to support her weight. Which is to be expected if she wanted it to trap the Kata Charger or at least restrain it momentarily. Inspired by Alice''s eagerness, Ria started to explore ways she could use her own Sigils. With her Sigils requiring her to use her body as a conduit for her lightning, she was trying to find a more efficient way of channelling her power. Thankfully, the trip was uneventful as most merchants, drivers and other Hunters seemed to be avoiding the road towards the Ruins. Even if their destination was not the Ruins, no one was on the road towards the same direction. Naturally, Alice could understand that they must be afraid due to rumours of deaths and possibly thatrge shadow their driver witnessed. Thinking back to arge beast, Alice couldn''t help but remember the giant titan beneath the city of ughter Docks. A beast sorge that she could stand on its back as though it was a ind. So many ves were chipping away at its armour only made one imagine howrge it must''ve been in its prime. Not only that, what kind of being was strong enough to cleave the beast in half and imprison it in such a state. A state where it was on the verge of death and harvested for the armour. ''I wonder why they didn''t go for the blood. Or perhaps the side effects were too strong?'' Alice wondered to herself. If the blood of a normal Abyss Beast attracted a person''s attention, then the blood of such a behemoth will definitely be desired. ''Maybe they did collect it and sell it to rich people instead. I doubt they''ll sell the blood of that titan for cheap¡­ Ah¡­ I should''ve asked mister Nalem about that beast and the chains that bind it. Maybe he''ll know what kind of beast it was.'' Alice paused in realisation. Sighing out in slight regret, she nced out of the carriage towards the mountains and admired the passing scenery. Despite the urge to get stronger, she felt more peaceful than ever. Noticing Alice''s mood, Ria couldn''t help but chuckle. She had to admit that Alice had a great poker face. But that was only if they didn''t include the eyes. If they included her eyes, one could read her like a book. "Alice, you might want to work on hiding what you''re thinking all the time." Ria called out as Alice turned her head back. "What do you mean?" "Your eyes. They tell people what you''re thinking all the time. Whether that be happy, angry, sad or curious. In a fight, it might be disadvantageous for you if others can keep seeing how you''re feeling." Ria exined while Alice tilted her head in confusion. Furrowing her brows, she wondered how she could hide what she felt. "How to hide¡­ eyes?" Alice asked in bewilderment. "You¡­ Hm. That''s a good question. The only reference I got is Allura I suppose. I can never tell what that woman is thinking about. She shows you what she wants to reveal and keeps everything else under tight wraps." Ria shrugged. "So maybe you can try keeping a nk stare? For Allura, it think her grins and explosive actions make a good distraction but you''re different. So maybe start with a nk stare and work up from there." She suggested as Alice nodded her head slowly. She still wasn''t too sure about what Ria was talking about but if it''s a nk stare, there was one that she had seen plenty of times to serve as a reference. Her father''s stare. Closing her eyes momentarily, she remembered her first experience with that stare. The first experiment where he looked on coldly. As she opened her eyes once more, the atmosphere of the carriage turned frosty as Ria was forced to hold her breath from the sudden sense of pressure. It was simr to when she saw her grandfather being serious, a stare that belonged to one that stood above all. One that judged everything with cold indifference. Cold sweat dripped down Ria''s back as she felt something trying to trigger her fight or flight senses. She knew that she was stronger than Alice but now, doubts started to crawl through her mind. Disappearing as fast as it appeared, the pressure dissipated after Alice closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Something like that?" She asked, seeing Ria not saying anything. "Well¡­ It''ll certainly work in a fight. I wouldn''t say it''ll be handy if you need a poker face for negotiations though since it might antagonise them." Ria forced a smile as she could imagine a scenario where Alice is meant to keep a poker face but pisses the trader off instead with a threatening aura. "Where did you even get such a re from in the first ce?" Ria asked while rubbing her arms, feeling the goosebumps. "My father." Alice replied with a light shrug. Hearing this, Ria paused as she couldn''t imagine what young Alice must''ve felt seeing that re enough times to memorise and even replicate it. "I''m sorry." Ria apologised, causing Alice to blink her eyes in confusion. "Why are you apologising." "Hm? Oh no, I just thought mentioning it would make you sad." Ria scratched her hair awkwardly. "Why would I be sad over him?" ". . . That is a fair point. My bad." Ria raised her eyebrow in understanding. Meanwhile, her reply only left Alice more confused than ever. ''??? Your bad? Why is it Ria''s fault again? Did I miss something?'' Alice thought to herself in confusion while Ria had already turned her attention to the scenery around them, showing no indication of needing to exin herself. ### As the day went on, the two had short naps in the carriage to replenish their strength after a sleepless night. Ria made sure she wasn''t in deep sleep as she kept half of her focus on the surroundings. Naturally, Alice tried the same but was unable to, eventually letting out small snores while sleeping, causing Ria to chuckle at the disy. Upon reaching their destination, Ria could feel the carriagee to a stop and opened her eyes. The driver had brought them to an abandoned vige with arge broken windmill. In the distance, the tower stood ominously with a myriad of broken ruins and forest surrounding the area. "I''ll make a camp here. This is far enough to guarantee some degree of safety but we''ll need to be careful about smoke and light. Only use some smallnterns in the houses if needed." The driver exined since he was already feeling nervous about approaching this area. "Any house you want to rmend?" "A few but the windmill is the best option we''ve got. The walls are mostly in tact there so it''ll shield us from the wind and keep a lot of the light from escaping." He replied while pointing towards the broken windmill. Nodding her head, Ria nudged Alice''s shoulder to wake her up. "Hng? Hm? Huh?" Opening one of her eyes, Alice was still half asleep as she didn''t have the strength to open the other eye. "We''re here." "Oh, okay." Nodding her head, Alice yawned before going back to sleep. ". . ." Speechless, Ria gave Alice a few more nudges before finally being able to wake her up for good. Giving her body arge stretch, Alice yawned before following behind Ria to set up camp for the night. Now that they were near the Ruins, they needed to scout out the beast tomorrow so that she could formte some ns on how to deal with the beast itself. Alice wanted to see how strong the trees were and what kind of traps she can make with the Silk. If the area was too small or if there were no suitable ces for her toy traps, she''ll be forced to improvise on what to do. A situation she hopes to avoid if possible. Not only that, Ria will need to see what kind of beasts are nearby and how to keep them away from the fight without the Kata Charger running away. There was a long night ahead for the two of them from this moment on and there was no time to spare. ### Deep in the forest, a beast stalked the area as its horns brokerge chunks of a tree trunk without any issue. A purple liquid seemed to flow out of its maw with each step being taken with great difficulty. Letting out a pained growl, it copsed onto its knees while the muscles on its body started to twitch and bulge. In the space behind it, arge figure narrowed its glowing eyes at the Kata Charger. Opening its jaw, a ck mist spewed out before being infused into the Charger''s body. Cracking sounds echoed through the Charger''s body as it reared its head back and let out a ground shaking cry that blended with the calls of beasts through the forest. Chapter 62: Caves Leading Down Jumping through the forest at night, Alice had a serious expression on her face. With the camp now set up properly near the ruined vige, both Alice and Ria had made their way to the forest early to see if they could scout out any beasts that were asleep. They wanted to keep a rough track of what''s around but the more they scouted around the forest, the deeper their frowns. Ria''s sense of direction was bad but that did not apply to her knowledge of the beast''s habitats and where they usually rest. They had heard the calls of beast hours prior but now that they were here again, the forest was dead silent. Landing roughly against a branch, Ria stabilised herself by holding onto the trunk before gesturing for Alice to stop. "This is too weird. We have already scouted out main area around where the Charger should be yet there''s no beasts around nor are there any corpses or signs of battle. There are definitely signs that there were indeed Abyss Beasts roaming at some point but no more." Ria frowned. "Do you think its because Charger is foreign?" Alice asked. There was the possibility that with the arrival of the Kata Charger, most of the native beasts had fled in fear. "Maybe, but that still doesn''t exin theck of damage to the surroundings. The Kata Charger is a pretty violent beast so in theory, it should''ve broke several tree''s while hunting. The most we''ve seen are a few grooves but nothing that showed there was a hunt. It''s as though the Charger just disappeared from this area." Ria scratched her hair. "Let''s see if we can find a ''home'' of sorts. The Charger should''ve made a resting ce somewhere nearby. If we can find it, it might give us some clues." Ria suggested. Thinking back to the books that she read at the library, she remembered that the Kata Charger preferred to have some walls when resting thus would opt to either sleep in a cave or under a rockface. With this in mind, there were only a handful of locations that could match this description. On their way here, they had passed by several cave entrances that seemed to be leading deep into the earth. Due to the risks of entering the caves, they had set them aside forter. Now they were presented with two options. They could either scout out further into the forest to find the ''home'' or they can descend underground. "I think it''s a bit too risky to go deeper into the forest right now. We still don''t know what thatrge figure the driver saw is. If it''s deeper in the forest, we might be biting off more than we can chew." Ria suggested while ncing back at Alice. "Mnm. Let''s check out that cave." Agreeing with one another, they turned around and made their way to the caves. The entrance of the caves were unlike anything they have ever seen. While the opening was rather small, once they got through, a seemingly endless pit to the bowls of the Abyss revealed itself with a myriad of makeshift bridges created fromrge fallen rock. It created a path down with luminescent moss lightning up the area. While the lightning was rather poor, it allowed them to get a rough grasp of where they''re supposed to walk. As they descended, Ria made sure to create markings so that they can find their way back in case they get lost. "I don''t even know if the Charger will be able to get down here at this point." Ria muttered while ncing up. There was a small area the Charger could''ve used to sleep but they''ve already passed that point. However, Alice didn''t reply. She didn''t know how to exin it but there was something calling her from below. In the darkness, there was something that resonated, urging her to keep going, to find out what''s underneath the veil of darkness. As they continued, purple and blue lights started to illuminate their surroundings as strange mushrooms with glowing undersides started to appear. At first they were small but soon, their sizes started to increase to the point they could be used as footpaths leading down. The temperature started to decrease the deeper they went. Cold mist escaped their mouth with each breath. Slowly, the cave started to open itself up as mushrooms pushed against the ceiling of the cave, lightning up the entire area. With the entire area now basked in an ephemeral purple and blue, Ria widened her eyes in awe at the sight. "Who knew this was underneath this ce the whole time¡­ There were no records about this." Ria muttered while taking in the sight. Cold blue mist floated across the floor while a faintyer of ice could be seen on the rocks. With the base of therge mushrooms extending to the ceiling, it looked simr to a distant city frozen by ice. "Maybe it was recently opened up." Alice shrugged as she noticed something in the mist. Jumping down carefully, they could feel the chill invading their body as they explored this strange frozen mushroom forest. "We''ll explore for a little longer then head back. This is uncharted territory and we''re getting distracted." Ria reminded while keeping a lookout for any beasts that might appear. Nodding her head in agreement, Alice was about to continue when she paused mid step. Slowly revealing itself within the mist, arge shadow could be seen as both of them held their breaths while preparing to either fight or flee. As the mist cleared, they could see that it was the frozen corpse of a colossal mushroom beast. It had four limbs simr to a humanoid but its entire body was made from the same material as the mushrooms around them. Noticing cracks across its body, they realised theyer of ice had been broken. Despite the urge of wanting to go deeper into the caves, Alice''s instincts were telling her to leave. Fighting against the urge, she slowly took a few steps back with Ria doing the same. ''If the ice is cracked, that means something was here to crack it. It looks recent so they could still be around.'' Alice thought with a deep frown on her face. *CRR!! Hearing the ice crack once more, both of them widened their eyes as a long elongated shadow reared its head from the corpse of the beast. They couldn''t see the details clearly due to the mist wrapping around its body but both of them knew instinctively that this was not a beast to be trifled with. Holding their breaths, neither of them made a single move, hoping this beast will just ignore them. At first, they thought this beast was merely long but that was not the case. Slowly unfurling itself, the beast had long spider like limbs connected to each other with a thin web of skin. Its shadow was a of flesh and bone that slowly covered the area. Seeing this trait, Ria recognised the beast and immediately grabbed Alice by the arms before bursting into lightning and dashing away from the area. Feeling the sudden force yank her away, Alice flinched from the lightning and nced back. Pausing at the sight of panic in Ria''s eyes, Alice knew that they had messed up. Just as Ria dashed away, the beast mmed down on the area they were just in and started to chase after them. "Sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t!" Ria cursed out while twisting her body. Throwing Alice as hard as she could towards the path, she turned around and kicked up with her leg, creating an arc of lightning and shed against the skin of the beast but it only bounced off, causing her to widen her eyes in shock. Gritting her teeth, she dodged the beast as beast she could and caught back up with Alice as the two ran to the exit of the cave. Once they reached the top, they copsed against the walls and sighed in relief while trying to catch their breaths. "What *pant* the hell *pant* was that???" Alice asked, still feeling chills when she saw the giant form of the beast. "That was just, the damn tail of the thing." "The tail???" Hearing this, Alice sat up straight in shock as Ria nodded her head. "That beast is called the Shasura. Once it catches you with its tail, you can forget about getting out. It''sced with a reflective material that will reduce the effectiveness of your attacks. Its primarily known for itsrge size and the distinct tail shape." Ria sighed as she knew it was a Shasura once she saw the tail unfurl itself. "Say Alice, do you know theyers of the Abyss?" Ria asked, surprising Alice. "A little." "I''m sure she''s told you about Reflection Layer, where most will travel between the surface and the Abyss. The Twilight Layer, where we are. Let''s just say Shasura only appears in the Howling Depths. This is a cave to the next damnyer of the Abyss. An unregistered entrance at that." Ria sighed while scratching her hair. "We''ll need to report this to the guild once we get back. This''ll put more priority on sorting out this area once they realise there''s a path further down." Remembering the sight of that giant tail, Alice wondered about what she''ll need to do in order to defeat such a beast. ''Poison might work but I don''t want to do the same thing Leoric did. It''s too dangerous. Physical reinforcement doesn''t match me¡­ Allura mentioned I should think about the conduit of my power, which is my blood¡­ Perhaps I should get a blood rted Sigil.'' Alice mused to herself but eventually shook her head. "Let''s go back for now. If a fight breaks out, the Shasura mighte up from below." Alice suggested as Ria nodded her head in agreement. "Let''s see what we can find tomorrow if we go deeper in the forest." Chapter 63: Movement Beneath The Surface Making their way back to the camp, the duo made sure to rest up while Ria made some notes about the Shasura and where they had found it. She had to document as much as she could remember so that she could give the most urate information to the Guild. Not only that, in her documents she decided to add some notes regarding the rumours she''s heard thus far about the Cult and the strange figure the driver had seen towering over the forest. While Ria was documenting their discoveries so far, Alice had gone to sleep. With nothing else to do for the rest of the night, she wanted to catch up on the rest she wascking. Before she fell asleep however, she recalled the feeling she felt when making her way down into the depths. She couldn''t put her finger on that feeling but it kept gnawing away at her mind. ### Alice didn''t know when she had fallen asleep but by the time she was conscious, she realised she was dreaming. A myriad of shing des sounded out while silver lights flickered through the darkness. Her body was bound in ce as a sh of light cleaved through her arm. "ARG!!" Letting out a cry of pain, Alice could feel the cut deep into her soul as though her own mind was being erased with that injury. But the cuts didn''t end there. It slowly carved away at her flesh and with each injury, her consciousness would diminish continuously. In the end, she was left with nothing but a head. Reality seemed to warp as a mirror like surface reflected in her eyes. It showed her who she was. She had a snow white hair, a different face, a pair of ck eyes with purple irises. Lifeless eyes stared into the mirror as the image shifted. It was now Alice''s own face, dark purple hair and a pair of purple eyes. The lifeless eyes stared back at her as ''Alice'' reached out with her hand. Breaching the mirror like surface and gouged out her eye. She could only watch as ''Alice''s'' appearance changed upon imnting the eye, bing what she was familiar with. This hatred that she felt, this anger, this fury. It did not belong to her. "Leave." ### "!!!" Waking up in shock, Alice could feel cold sweat dripping down her back as she could still hear the cold voicemanding her to leave. She didn''t know who that voice belonged to but she knew she had to get some answers from Allura when they meet again. Making her way to the river to calm herself, she took several deep breaths before looking at her reflection in the water. Seeing the right side of her being different to the left, she couldn''t help but sight. Shaking her head, she made her way back and had some breakfast. "So, the n today is to scout out the main forest. It''s just out of the area the mission gave us but it shouldn''t be too bad. I''m hoping we can collect some information on the Charger. Honestly, the longer we stay here the more this ce gives me to the creeps." Ria admitted as the driverughed. "Getting cold feet?" He taunted, causing Ria to throw some bones aat him. "Shaddap. You missed it yesterday, there wasn''t a single beast in the forest except for one f*cker at leading to the Howling Depths." Ria rolled her eyes. "So how many more days do you want to stay here?" The driver asked. With how things were going, it seemed like the trip was going to end faster than he initially estimated which was more than wee. "Probably one more day right? If we don''t find any traces of the beast, we''ll need to report it to the Guild along with everything else we found." Ria sighed while ncing over to Alice who seemed absent minded. "Alice?" "Hm? Oh sorry. Yes, one more day then let''s go back." Alice nodded her head as she was preupied with the thought she had regarding her Sigils fromst night. "Alright, since we only have one day left, let''s not dally." Ria nodded her head with a smile as she stood up and finished off her meal quickly. Doing the same, the two approached the forest once more. ### Unbeknownst to Alice and Ria, several hooded figures roamed the underground of the forest. It was a simr cave entrance to the one that Alice and Ria descended the other night but far deeper into the forest. As they descended into the Howling Depths, they arrived in front of arge set of doors. Etched upon the door was arge four armed creature, demonic horns that erupted from its head, a skeletal body and what seems to be darkness permeating its body. The design was reminiscent of the Titan that Alice saw beneath the ughter Docks. Pushing open the door, the thick stench of blood erupted out from within as the hooded men ignored the smell before going down. "That should be all of the beasts within the forest. I believe we can move locations after this right?" One of the men asked as the one in the lead nodded his head. "There is onest offering to the Lord of Famine and then we shall be done for this location." Hearing this, the first man nodded his head and went silent. There was a sense of nervousness in his eyes as he wished these cultists would leave already as he had spotted Alice and Ria entering the forestst night. He had done as much as he could to keep them undetected as he guessed that they had been sent by the Guild. He too was an operative though one sent to infiltrate the Cult to see what their movements were like. ''They seemed to be sent by the Guild¡­ I thought they had blocked all of the drivers froming here. They might''ve found another way here. Either way, they need to leave soon or else no one is leaving.'' He thought with a frown. He needed to find a chance to leave this ce as well so that he could pass on all of the information that he had gathered thus far. The movement of the Cult, their goals and what they have done in this forest. He needed to report so that the Guild could prepare counter measures. Descending into the caverns, the man could see the familiarke of blood that they had created in their time here. Every man and beast had been starved and forced to fight one another. The blood that was spilled in this battle along with the aspect of famine created the foundation of their ritual. Situated in the centre of thiske was the same monster that the door had depicted. Simr to the Titan, the beast had its lower half shredded apart now contributing to the pool of blood. Its limbs had been pinned down byrge metal robs while an infectious bulb wrapped around the head. "Oh? It seems like one of the beasts managed to oust everything and it''s still holding on." Hearing this, the man looked down and noticed the Kata Charger bathing in theke of blood while trying to escape. However, the blood acted like chains, locking it down and preventing the beast from escaping. "How amusing. Perhaps we can make something special with that beast." Upon reaching the bottom, they crossed arge bridge and arrived at the base of the Titan. Standing beneath the Titan, a woman could be seen looking up at the beast. She had deep red hair simr to that of blood and words of the oldnguage carved into her flesh. She wore a revealing outfit that only covered her chest and waist while the hooded cloak had been tossed aside. She reached out with her hands and felt the blood that was oozing out of the beast and into the pool. "Archbishop Mahri, there are no more beasts to be obtained from thisnd." One of the hooded men approached and bowed respectfully. "Is that so? No matter. I can feel it, the essence of the Titan''s blood has almost been fully absorbed. Once it is done, the fruits of ourbour shall be born." She smiled while narrowing her eyes towards the bulb on the Titan''s head. While it may seem small on the Titan, it was in fact many timesrger than the average beast and would tower over the trees in this forest with ease. "But it we harvested more than we initially expected. To think a simple Charger would be able to bathe in the Titan''s blood for this long without being consumed. For now, retrieve it from the pool so it will not hinder the metamorphosis." She ordered as a group of men made their way to the pool. "Now I believe you have a second thing to tell me?" Mahri asked as she nced back with a smile. "We have spotted a group of people that arrived yesterday. Two girls and an old driver." Hearing this, the Guild Spy froze up momentarily before sighing inwardly. He could only pray that they have left already to save him the guilt of having to hunt them down himself. As much as he wanted to help them, he could not risk exposing himself! "Ohya? Well I was wondering why no one approached this area at all. What to do¡­ Well seeing as how you are also from the Guild, why don''t you deal with them yourself?" Mahri asked as she turned her gaze towards the Guild Spy. Hearing this, a chill rushed down his spine as he knew he had to leave now that his cover has been blown. Chapter 64: Archbishop Mahri "Aw don''t make that face. It''s not very hard to guess when you keep snooping around. Plus, you don''t smell like the rest of us." Mahri narrowed her eyes as the spy wanted to run but his legs were held in ce by red tendrilsing out of the floor. "Don''t run, not while you have the privilege of witnessing the birth of something far greater than yourself." Mahriughed. "But I''ll take it as that you don''t want to kill your fellow Guildmates. Bravo, such sense of camaraderie." She pped while walking over to him. "So tell me, have you ever felt the gaze of death? The moment you know you are facing something outside the realm ofmon sense, a beast that makes you want to run the moment you set your eyes upon it? The moment you feel as though you face the devil." Mahri asked while narrowing her eyes. Kneeling down, she grabbed his chin and made sure he kept his eyes upon the bulb that sat upon the head of the Titan. "One does not often get the chance to witness the birth of such a being. Consider yourself lucky to be here at this moment. With each passing moment, I can feel the pulse of life increasing in strength." At that moment, the spy could feel a pair of eyes staring back at him. Unable to turn his head away, he was forced to watch as the skin of the bulb started to stretch to abnormal degrees. Behind the thin veil of skin, a skull could be seen pressing against the material, making itself seen. The two zing orbs of hatred and vengeance zed in the eye sockets as the beast let out a piercing scream that caused a myriad of shadowed spectral figures to lung out at the spy. Feeling his mind on the verge of breaking from just hearing a single scream, he knew he had to run no matter the sacrifice. He had to take this information back with him, the Guild MUST know what''sing. Gritting his teeth, he started to gather his strength as six bone spikes pierced out of the bulb, rupturing the material and erupting with a fountain of blood. Perched atop the now hollowed out head of the Titan, the beast stood at 100 feet tall with ghastly white spikes and bones acting as armour across its whole body. It primarily had a humanoid shape with two smaller arms crossing its chest. Arge spine like tail whipped behind it as a single swipe caused the head of the Titan to separate from its shoulders and fall to the ground with a resounding crash. The skeletal beast had a bestial skull with exposed teeth, a pair of crimson orbs for eyes and a crown of darkened bone. Rearing its head back, it let out another roar causing the bone armour around his body to break apart and expand, revealing the red flesh beneath before hundreds of tentacles erupted out with its cry. The edges of its bone armour started to dye itself in a blood red as the tentacles retracted itself and the armour wrapped around its body once more. "Such beauty, such raw terror. A beast created from the body of a Titan and the blood tribute from hundreds of starved beasts, forced to kill one another for survival. The manifestation of that desire! Let us coronate the birth of this beast of death with a name!" Mahri dered while spreading out her arms in awe. "The beast of hunger, White Death." *BANG!!!!! Breaking out of his bindings, the spy''s cloak was shredded apart as it revealed 4 Sigils ring across his skin. Turning around, he didn''t waste a single moment and broke out into a sprint. "Archbishop, your orders?" "Go after him. Take the Charger if you need and use a ve cor on it to keep it under your control. I''m taking the White Death through the Howling Depths and transporting him elsewhere. I do hope that I don''t have to interfere with this." Mahri smiled as the man shook his head. "We will deal with it, rest assured Archbishop." Giving her one more bow, he ryed the information for the other cultists. It was time to chase down a rat. ### While Alice and Ria were scouting around the forest, they could feel the ground tremor lightly. Stopping the both of them, Ria frowned and ced her hand and ear against the ground. Waiting for a few moments, it started tremor once more as Ria noticed it was a scream. "What the hell? I don''t think a Shasura should sound like that¡­ Was there another beast big enough to make this kind of cry?" Ria muttered in confusion as she could barely make out the sound, yet the ground still shook. Looking back, Ria could see Alice staring off into the distance with a frown. Narrowing her eyes, she slowly reached into her bag and grabbed her gloves. "Something wrong?" Ria asked with a frown. "Something''sing. That direction, bad feeling. Unnatural, underground, shouldn''t exist." Alice replied softly as she was trying to find the source of this difort. It was as though something was drilling this sense of difort into her mind, warning her. Clutching her right eye, blood started to cloud her vision as she could see a white beast walking slowly through the cave system. Just as she spotted it, it swung its head back 180 degrees and stared back at her. The red orbs floating in its eye sockets stared deep into her soul as Alice wanted to stop this vision but was unable to separate this connection. It was only when Ria grabbed Alice by the arm and shook her several times did the connection finally break, causing Alice to pant heavily while trying to control her breathing. "Alice? Alice! What happened?" Ria asked, confused as to why she suddenly stood still and started to shiver. "Don''t know, will tell youter." Alice shook her head as she could the forest starting to shift. ncing back, Ria narrowed her eyes and nodded her head. "Alright, you can tell meter. And I''m assuming Allura is going to have to exin a lot of sh*t as well." Ria sighed as she knew that whatever was happening to Alice, Allura probably knows the answers. Breaking through the tree''s, a man could be seen with rugged clothes and several fresh wounds across his body. He had dark brown hair and a pair of red bloodshot eyes with a mask across his face. "Why are you still here?! Run dammit! Don''t get caught!" He shouted out in anger as he twisted his body and parried two ice des that was sent spinning towards his back. Before Ria could reply, she noticed the people chasing him and her eyes immediately focused on their style of clothing, methods and their way of fighting. "Damned Cult!" Ria shouted out in annoyance as she red up with lightning before rushing towards the group, taking both Alice and the spy off guard. "What are you doing?! Do you not understand the meaning of f*cking RUN!?!?!" He shouted out. Ignoring the spy, Ria charged head first into the crowd of Cultists with killing intent. Seeing this, Alice ignored what she was nning and jumped into the fray as well. ''There are 7 of them and only three of us. If I y it safe, I''ll be able to support Ria from behind.'' Alice thought to herself as she narrowed her eyes. Her mind immediately started to calcte which is the best route for her to take as she could not fight any of them head on. Thankfully, she had already equipped her gloves so she grabbed a vial of her own blood. ''If Ice the wires with my blood then scratch them, Ria will have an easier time.'' With the n in mind, she poured her blood onto the wires before storing the vial away. Watching all of this happen, the spy clicked his tongue and prepared to leave. He had to take this information back now that he knows what kind of beast the White Death was born from. This information is more important than two lives of people he didn''t know. However, he had already turned around. He could not allow himself to run away while these two youths fought against the cult. ''If we''re fast enough, we''ll be able to leave before the Archbishop decides to interfere. There''s also the issue of the Kata Charger, I''m not sure how strong it is now after it bathed in the Cult''s blood ritual that birthed the White Death.'' He thought to himself while running past Alice. "I''ll take care of 4 of them! Deal with the other three yourself!" The spy shouted out as crimson armour wrapped around his legs. Boosting forward with a giant increase in speed, he mmed his arms against two of the cultists,unching them through the forest while grabbing another two by the head and forcefully separating them from the group. He had taken the 4 that felt the strongest to him as he saw the lightning girl only having 3 Sigils. After all, the Cultists were either 3 Sigil owners or 4 Sigil owners just like him. The n was to stall these four until the girls finished up on their side. That way they cane assist him with his fight. Even for him, fighting against four of them was beyond his power. But if it was just stalling them? He could go all day. Now that Alice and Ria only needed to fight 3 of the Cultists, the odds seemed more favourable as Ria had been trained by both Allura and Gin. Even if they have four Sigils, Ria will be able to hold her own to some degree. But this wasn''t on Ria''s mind. All Ria wanted to do right now was kill every Cultist she could see. Chapter 65: Start Of A Hunt Without waiting for Alice to catch up, Ria activated her first Sigil and coated her body with ayer of lightning. However,pared to the moment where she and Alice first met, the amount of lightning she had charged up was significantly lower. Her first Sigil increases in effectiveness over time. The longer she fights, the more lightning courses through her body, enhancing her physical power. Her second Sigil allowed her to expend a small portion of this generated lightning into her attacks, arcing it into long ranged des and so on. As for her third ability, it gathered all of the lightning she has generated and discharges it in one lethal attack, resetting everything back to zero. Despite her anger, Ria knew she had to stall for a slight moment to generate enough lightning so that she could kill these cultists. Without knowing her opponent''s Sigils, her n was to speed blitz them if possible and overwhelm them from the start! Twisting her body, she kicked against the trees and gave herself an extra boost, mming into the closest Cult member to her. The other two nked her sides but Ria wasn''t afraid. Grabbing the Cultist by the scruff of his neck, she mmed her head against his before raising him as a shield to help block one side. Before the third Cultist could attack, three threads were shot towards his face, threatening to pierce his eyes and forcing him to raise his arms to block. The wires were pulled taut as Alice came flying in with a kick. "I''ll take care of this one if I can!" She shouted out, making Riaugh and nodded her head. "Alright! Now it''s a party!" Ria roared. Raising her hand, lightning started to arc from her hand as she jammed it into the Cultist''s mouth and mmed him against the ground. Meanwhile, Alice flicked her hand and hooked three threads against the Cultist''s robe in front of her and twisted her body in midair. Activating her Sigil, she mustered as much power as she could throwing him away from Ria as it was the best case scenario for them. With her being the weakest here, if she could dy just one of them, it''ll give the other two some breathing space! "DAMNED WENCH!" The Cultist shouted in anger. Grabbing the threads, he pulled her towards him in an attempt to m her against the ground but Alicended on her feet without an issue. Narrowing her eyes, she pulled back with her hand as the gloves started to retrieve the threads. However, the two of them were stuck in ce as neither yielded to the other. Curling his mouth into a grin, the man activated his Sigils as two lit up simultaneously. Beneath him, his shadow started to flicker as two bestial maws connected by dark mist shot out towards Alice, aiming to tear her shoulders apart. Seeing this, Alice dropped down and pulled tightly on her threads, pulling herself towards the Cultist and dodging the bestial maws while using her spare hand to throw two small daggers at his head. "Arg!" Knocking the daggers aside in sheer annoyance, the cultist red at Alice who had forced him to let go of the wires. ''I have already used up one vial of blood. I have 3 more vials left of blood, 5 vials of healing and 1 vial of berserk. At most, I can spare one vial for blood then use the other two for the rest of the cultists. If not, I''ll have to injure myself.'' Alice thought with a frown as she had a myriad of worries flooding her mind. With so many concerns, she could feel her movements slowing down as her movements felt sluggish. Something was holding back and it felt like wearing an ufortable suit that hindered all of her movements. She could visualise what she wanted to do her she simply couldn''t. Gritting her teeth, Alice was forced to jump back as the two shadowy maws tried to dig their teeth deep into her flesh. Meanwhile, the Cultist no longer had a smile on his face. Despite theck of power, he understood that he could no underestimate the girl in front of her. For Hunters, they were most vulnerable in their early stages. During Sigils 1 to 3, even normal humans could kill them with a bit of luck unless you kept consuming blood and obtained Sigils that boosted your physical body. It was only when you attained your fourth Sigil do you get that extra boost to be called inhuman. But he was not at that stage yet so he could not let his guard down! Taking a deep breath, he activated his third Sigil and an orb of shadows wrapped around his body before splitting apart, revealing flickering shadows that coated his body with armour. Without waiting for Alice to make the first move, the Cultist dashed towards her. Seeing this, Alice widened her eyes and grabbed some of the threads and pulled it together into a makeshift shield. *BANG!!! The force of the punch send Alice flying back as she could feel the bones in her arms screaming out in pain. Rolling across the ground, she mmed into a tree and felt the wind being forced out from her lungs. She could barely regte her breathing as she felt the sense of death approaching from above. Gritting her teeth, she rolled out of the way and threw some daggers to counter. However, the daggers hardly made a dent on his barrier. "Is that all?" The Cultist narrowed his eyes. ". . ." Hearing this, Alice was silent. She stabilised herself and took a deep breath. ''His defence has increased after his third Sigil. Just throwing daggers won''t work anymore. I''m not sure how much strength I can gather without being wounded if this carries on¡­'' Alice thought to herself. She wasn''t sure why her movements felt slow and sluggish. During her fight against the Spider, she felt free, her movements flowed how she wished. Was it the hesitation of taking human life? Alice doubted that. But upon hearing this, shes of Lilia''s face appeared in her mind. That moment where she took Lilia''s life. The moment she extinguished her friend''sst breaths. ''Ah¡­'' Tilting her head back, Alice understood. Taking a deep breath, she clenched her fist before opening her mouth. "I understand¡­" She muttered. This hesitation, this sluggishness. There was a simply solution for her. One that will allow her to fight freely without the regret of taking Lilia''s life. Lilia''s death brought back the feeling of importance towards human life for Alice. "The solution is simple." She chuckled softly. Seeing this, the Cultist was confused as to why Alice started to talk to herself. ''Did she go crazy?'' He thought to himself. "From this moment on, it will be a Hunt." Alice dered while looking up at the moon that hung up in the sky. "A Hunt between predator and prey. And you¡­" Alice muttered, pointing at the Cultist. "You are not a human to me. You are simply a beast I need to Hunt." She narrowed her eyes as her lips curled up into a smile. "!!!" Widening his eyes, the Cultist felt his fight or flight response being triggered instantly as he knew something had flipped in Alice''s mind. Disappearing from his spot, he shot towards Alice like a bullet, hoping to take her head off. "Pft! Ahahahaha~ This was the feeling. Yes¡­ it''s same as that time." Aliceughed out loud while bending her body back. Dodging the attack, she hooked three threads against his shirt before twisting her body. Using his own momentum against him, he flipped him over her shoulders and mmed him against the ground. Rolling across the ground, the Cultist gritted his teeth and sent out the jaws to snap Alice in half. He didn''t know what had changed but she had truly lost her marbles. That maniacal glint in her eyes was no different from what he sees in the archbishop''s eyes. Seeing the jaws shooting towards her, Alice simply smiled while flicking her wrist, firing wires at a nearby tree. Pulling herself away, she used the momentum to swing herself through the forest while throwing two daggers at the Cultist. "That won''t work!" "Are you sure?" Alice''sughter rang out as he could barely see her shadow flickering through the trees. Narrowing his eyes, he kept his guard up while trying to predict where she will appear from within the forest. ''There!'' Commanding the shadows to attack, he watched as a tree was snapped in half but there was no sign of Alice''s corpse. "Wrong guess!" Hearing the voice from behind, he quickly swung his arm back but missed once more. Alice had hooked several wires against his back and swung herself between his legs, allowing her to attack his back! Curling her lips into a sickening grin, she opened her mouth and sunk her teeth into his neck. "GAH!!!! You wench!" Grabbing Alice by her hair, he threw her off his back as blood poured out from his neck. Holding his neck while attempting to stop the bleeding, cold sweat dripped down his face as he stared at Alice. A sliver of fear creeping into the corners of his heart. Her smile, the glint in her eyes, the joy as she spat out the flesh she tore out and savoured the blood in her mouth. It felt like he was fighting a beast in the disguise of a human. "Warm blood tastes so much better than cold. Who knew your blood can act like a stamina boost when you use Sigils." Alice chuckled, feeling the energy surge through her body. With his Sigils now ring with power, the Cultist''s blood felt no different from a beast''s blood. Licking her lips, Alice could feel the heat of battle permeating through her body. The shackles that held her mind back now broken; she was free to express herself however she wanted. The insanity she cultivated in the Zenia prison was now her weapon, one that allowed her to fight free. "I''m sure a corpse has no use for that much blood." Alice licked her lips while pulling out a vial of her own blood. She could feel the light of victory shining over her. Chapter 66: Discovery With the flow of battle now shifted into her favour momentarily, Alice grinned and dashed towards the Cultist with no fear in her eyes. All of the tools she has in her arsenal, all of the options presented themselves within her mind as she calcted the best ways she could utilize them to win this battle. ''He has two moves thus far. An attack with his shadow jaws and having those shadows protect him. Offensively, he''s nothing remarkable. I don''t know what he has under his sleeves though.'' Alice thought while dodging more of his attacks. Entering close-quartersbat range, she flicked her wrist and sent a dagger flying up while stabbing toward his joints with a smaller dagger. His shadow armour didn''t cover all of his body so Alice wanted to see if her daggers could still pierce his body. With her shallow knowledge of Sigils at this moment, there was a possibility that the power flowing through his blood would enhance his physical body while the Sigil was activated. Potentially an opposite of her own Sigil. Just as her dagger was about to hit his joints, a wave of shadows moved over, blocking her attack. ''His body is not enhanced!'' She thought with a maddening glint in her eyes. With her obtaining the information she needed, she kicked off his chest before jumping up into the air. Tying the end of the dagger handle with her threads, Alice twisted her body and slung the dagger towards the Cultist. Exploding forth with surprising speed, the Cultist was unable to respond as the dagger cut the side of his face, causing him to grit his teeth in anger. Crouching down, he dashed towards Alice, waiting for the moment shended. Seeing this, Alice quickly grabbed a vial of her own blood before throwing it against the ground, shattering it to pieces. At first, the Cultist was wary of what the vial could do but seeing no response, he managed to reach Alice and stomp down with his foot. ''Is he going for a punch?'' Alice thought to herself while raising her guard. However, she felt the smile of death behind her and trusted her instincts. Twisting her body, she sacrificed her left arm as one of the jaws tore off arge chunk of her flesh, causing her blood to explode out of her body due to having her Sigil activated. Gritting her teeth, Alice shed the blood into the Cultist''s face before backing away. Grabbing a vial of healing blood, she tore off the lid with her mouth before drinking it. Little by little, her wound started to patch itself together while Alice could feel a burning sensation rising in her body. ''Damn are these defective goods??? Why is the side effect so strong!'' Alice screamed out in her mind as this was much stronger than what she had anticipated. Trying her best to fire growing inside her, Alice narrowed her eyes at the Cultist who was annoyed that his attack had missed. His Sigils allowed him to conjure bestial jaws from shadows that he was in contact with. It doesn''t have to be his own as long as he''s in contact with a shadow. He had to admit that Alice''s instincts were on point as she was able to dodge something that most would''ve died at this point. ''I don''t think she''s figured out all of my powers yet. She seems to enjoy skirmishes¡­ If I lure her into the forest I''ll have ess to more shadows but it''ll leave me defenseless and drain me of the stamina I have left.'' The Cultist thought with a frown. Just as he was about to move, he felt his knees buckle under him as the edges of his vision started to blur. Unable to stand up straight, he copsed on one knee feeling the strength drain from his body. Seeing this, Alice curled her lips into a grin and did not hesitate to run towards him. Not only was he breathing in the fumes of the blood she kept in the vial, he was also directly sshed by her fresh blood. She had a small window to act before he recovered. But there was a theory that Alice wanted to test, one that might allow her to incapacitate her opponents more. Arriving in front of the Cultist, she dodged his panicked attack before erging the wound on his neck. Flicking her wrist, she tied him up and pinned him against the ground before rolling up her sleeve and biting a wound on her own arm. "You see, the properties of my blood act as a poison. What do you think will happen if I pump it into your body directly?" Alice asked with a grin as she pressed her wound against his neck. Activating her Sigil, her blood started to surge into his body while she would drink a vial of blood to replenish herself when needed. Unable to fight back, the Cultist could only feel his body continuously losing strength as the world around him started to warp. Seeing her blood being super effective when directly pumped into the body, Alice grabbed a dagger before finishing the Cultist off. With her opponent now dead, Alice was about to make her way back to Ria when she remembered something that happened during the fight. She had taken a bit of his blood and gained a boost simr to what she felt if she drank a beast''s blood. With this thought in mind, she narrowed her eyes at his corpse before curling her lips into a grin. Grabbing a vial, she extracted some blood before drinking it all in one gulp. Feeling the energy surge through her body, she could feel something else flowing within. A foreign power not unlike her own Sigil but fleeting like the powers she gains from blood. Widening her eyes, she slowly looked down at her hands and channeled her power simr to how she activated her own Sigil. Little by little, a mark started to appear on her arm as her shadow started to flicker. Ultimately, the power faded away before it could truly solidify itself. Seeing this reaction, Alice''s heart started to pound in excitement. ''Can I borrow a Sigil''s power momentarily?'' She asked herself in disbelief. Looking down at the man''s chest, she couldn''t help but swallow her saliva as a desire appeared in her mind. The purest blood, the heart blood. If she extracts that from his heart, would she be able to sustain this power for longer? With questions flooding her mind, she pulled out the extraction kit and carved a hold into his chest while ignoring the mess she was making. She was going to extract as much heart blood as she could before going back to help Ria. If she is able to borrow the powers of others thanks to her strange constitution without being affected by side effects, then she may have to rethink her future battle ns. While Alice was extracting heart blood from the Cultists, Ria fought to a standstill against the two Cultists she was trying to deal with. The first had a set of fire type moves that caused the ground beneath her to explode while also sending ming orbs to circle around her. But he wasn''t the main issue. The issue was the second Cultist. While the first was a three Sigil bearer, the second Cultist had four Sigils! It was thanks to her speed that she was able to stall to this point, but things weren''t looking optimistic. After all, the second Cultist had Sigils that allowed him to conjure a myriad of metal weaponry to keep her at bay whenever she tries to attack. From what she has seen thus far, Ria could estimate their Sigil abilities to some degree. Before she could formte any ns, Cultist 1 conjured a group of ming orbs around her before attempting to detonate them. With Ria having fought for quite a while, she was starting to show signs of fatigue. Even though her speed may have increased due to her Sigil gathering power, her movements were sluggish and made more mistakes as time went on. Taking deep breaths to calm herself, Ria gathered her thoughts and tried to estimate what was possible and what wasn''t. ''The first Cultist makes the ground explode and make fire orbs. I don''t know what his third Sigil is despite glowing several times showing that its been activated. The second cultist has shown the abilities of creating metal weapons from the ground around them and nothing else¡­ Is that the ability the product of several Sigils or just one?'' Regardless, she had to try end things now while her charge was at its highest. ''If I take care of just one of them, it should make the fight easier!'' Crouching down, she dashed towards the first Cultist as he was her target! With the amount of power she has gathered, killing him should be a piece of cake. Noticing her intent, the second Cultist mmed his hand against the ground,unching metal spears upwards in an attempt to skewer her. Narrowing her eyes, Ria coated herself with some of the energy she has gathered and dodged with a sudden boost in speed. "!!!" Widening his eyes at her aggression, the first Cultist panicked and surrounded himself with ming orbs to stop Ria''s advance. "Oi¡­ Did you think a bit of fire was going to stop me?" Ria''s voice rang out from behind as she had wed through the ming orbs. Pushing the orbs aside, she ignored the burning around her body as she grabbed the man by the back of his neck. *BANG!!!!!!! Expelling all of the energy within her through her hands, his entire neck was obliterated in a sh of lightning as the mes extinguished themselves around her. "Only you left." Ria grinned as she nced back at the second Cultist while pulling out a vial of healing blood. Chapter 67: Dilemma Despite her smile, Ria was trying to conceal the nervousness inside. Without her charge of energy now boosting her speed along with her fatigue, it was going to be much harder dodging his attacks. "I had saved this considering I didn''t want to harm my own ally. Even if I didn''t like him much." The Cultist spoke slowly as he pulled down his hood and de-robed his upper body until the waist. Allowing the robe to act as a waist skirt, he revealed his toned torso with two Sigils already glowing. The ground around him started to shift as more des appeared but then a third Sigil lit up on his back. His entire skin as turned ck as crimson cuts appeared around his body. His eyes lit up in a fiery glow as Ria felt the threat of death emanating from this man. The air around him started to warp as the heat being emitted by him started to boil the surroundings. Each of his swords started to melt, revealing an obsidian core with red glows through the cracks. "Had I used this Sigil while my ally was around, they would die without question. So I reserve this for when I''m alone." Taking a deep breath, his fourth Sigil lit up as mes erupted from his back, turning into a serpent that coiled around his arm. Reaching for one of the swords near him, the serpent exhaled a wave of mes that coated the de with fire. Adjusting himself into a stance, he shot forth with explosive speed that outpaced everything Ria had shown thus far. Widening her eyes, Ria twisted her body to the side as fast as she could yet the de still dug deep into her stomach, tearing out arge chunk of her body while she crashed against the floor. The Cultist looked at her with surprise as she had actually managed to move in time to avoid a fatal blow. His goal was to cut her in half but he was only able to shred a third of her abdominal area. Quickly grabbing two vials to healing blood, Ria did not hesitate to drink them both at the same time asva seemed to spill out from her wound, mending itself while she jumped back to create more distance between them. Not giving her the chance to run, he adjusted his de into a reverse grip before stabbing it into the ground. shing upwards, a wave of mes spewed out towards Ria as she dodged out of the way with a roll. The mes caught one of her sleeves as she quickly tossed it aside to avoid the rest of her being burnt. ''Just when I told Alice not to use these types of healing blood against fire. Of course, he just so happens to f*cking use fire Sigils!'' Ria cursed out in her mind. If she takes a direct hit from his mes, she''ll start burning from the insane out, a fate she wishes to avoid. "What''s wrong? I don''t see that previous bravado you had." The Cultist taunted while aiming his sword at her. Erupting from the ground, 4 more swords appeared as the serpent coated them all in mes before sending them out toward her. Gritting her teeth, she mmed her hand into the ground, cracking it with her lightning before kicking the debris towards the des. While the des managed to melt the rocks like it was nothing, it gave her enough time to dodge. Rolling against the floor, Ria narrowed her eyes and gathered lightning into her legs. Just as the Cultist thought she was going to charge at him, she spun around and dashed into the forest towards where the Spy and Alice had left. ". . ." Furrowing his brows, he chased after her. He had thought that with how she had charged into the fray, she would face him head on even if things seemed bad. But this was not what he had expected. Just as he ran past one of the trees, he noticed a small orb hidden in one of the groves. Widening his eyes, he wanted to raise his guard but was unable to block in time. *BANG!!!! Lightning exploded from the tree as Ria had set down a remote explosion with what little Lightning energy she had gathered within her body. With the Cultist distracted by the explosion, Ria jumped above him with killing intent in her eyes and coated her leg with lightning energy. "HAAA!!!" Swimming her leg down, she tried to mmed it against the top of his head, forcing him to m against the ground, cracking it in the process. Flinching slightly from the mes, she jumped away in annoyance. Every hit she did while being near him threatened to set her aze while her attacks were weak right now as she didn''t have enough time to stockpile the amount of lightning energy within her body. ''If I had enough time to stockpile my lightning, I''ll be able to erase this bastard.'' She thought to herself in anger as she could see a faint shadow in the distance. Guessing that it was Alice, she sped up so that they could regroup. Jumping through the forest, she reached Alice and widened her eyes at the scene. Alice was currently sitting on the Cultist''s corpse with a hole in his chest and Alice being covered with his blood. "Ria! Did you kill your opponents too?" Alice asked with a gruesome smile, still feeling the high from having discovered a new use of her constitution as well as the adrenaline of battle. Seeing Alice smile and the tone in her voice, Ria felt a shiver down her spine as it felt uncanny and unnatural. While they haven''t known each other for long, she had gotten used to how Alice carried herself. How she rarely smiled and kept a rather neutral tone of voice. "Not yet. There''s one bastard left, uses fire andunches ming des. If you get hit, it''ll counter our healing blood and set us on fire from within. Very dangerous, keep your distance and if you have some spare blood we can maybe try incapacitate him that way." Ria formted a n quickly as Alice nodded her head. "I see I see¡­ Alright, I got an idea. Follow me." Alice narrowed her eyes as she stood up and dashed further into the forest while Ria followed behind. Pulling some wire from her gloves, she hooked it against some trees before grabbing a vial of her own blood. Wrapping it in the wires, she made sure it wasn''t pulled tightly before gesturing for Ria to wait next to her. "What''s the n?" Ria asked with a frown as she wasn''t sure if this was going to work. "Flick the vial into his face and hope he loses strength with my blood." Alice shrugged. There wasn''t much else she could do as this was herst vial of her own blood. The only blood she had left was a few healing vials and one berserk vial. But unlike what they expected, the Cultist never ran into the forest. Noticing something was wrong, they could see the edge of the forest being set ame as arge axe appeared in their vision. Widening their eyes, Alice immediately destroyed her trap to retrieve the wires and dashed to the side with Ria. However, before they could escape, a wall of fire erupted into the forest as Ria gritted her teeth and grabbed Alice by the ankles. Gathering most of the energy in her body, she twisted her body and threw Alice as far as she could. Widening her eyes, Alice was unable to call out for Ria as mes enveloped the area. "RIA!" Alice shouted out while crashing against the ground. The mes having torn apart the forest with parts will flickering with embers. Within the mass of mes, Ria''s shadow could be seen as she with blood boiling out of her body. She had covered herself with electricity at thest possible moment as a form of defence but it was barely enough. Rushing out of the forest, she gritted her teeth and plunged her hand into her left arm socket. Tearing out the arm that was on fire along with rest of her body parts, she drank the remaining healing vials while copsed on the floor. Seeing this, Alice panicked and reached into her bag for healing vials as she could feel the enemy approaching. "Just run. I messed up¡­ Sorry for bringing you into this." Ria apologised as she forced herself to sit up. As she had drank several healing vials in quick session, she could feel the side effects stacking onto of one another. Even now, her body was threatening tobust. She knew that if she hadn''t charged into the Cultists, they wouldn''t be in this position. But she simply couldn''t leave knowing that they were nearby and that she had ran away. Unable to say a word, Alice bit her lip before taking a deep breath. "Why did you throw me away instead of saving yourself?" "Hm? That''s a dumb question. Why wouldn''t I help a friend?" Riaughed softly before sighing out. "But I don''t want the Cult to take more from me. So run, run while you still can. I''ll stall him as long as possible." Ria ordered as she tried to sit up. Gritting her teeth, Alice hesitated on what to do. Does she expose her biggest secret? Risk herself to go back to a life of captivity where she was exploited for her benefits. Just the thought caused her body to shiver and her breathing to hasten. If she was to run, she could easily get away. ''Should I expose myself or should I not?'' Alice asked herself as she was rooted in ce. Deep in her heart, she wanted to stay and help. But she didn''t want to risk all of her newfound freedom. 10 winters it took for her to be freed from the Zenia prison. How many more would it take if she exposes herself here? Clenching her fist, she toiled on the choice before gritting her teeth and dashing the opposite direction. Seeing this, Ria smiled in satisfaction beforeying back down, devoid of the strength to stand up. "I don''t think I can stall for long¡­" Ria chuckled as sheid on her back. Feeling the Cultist approach, she prepared herself for the final blow. *BANG!! Opening her eyes in confusion, Ria was surprised to see that Alice had returned this time with a vial of blood in her mouth. Chapter 68: Borrowed Power Seeing that Alice was back, Ria felt warmth in her heart yet she was also scared. "Why did youe back?!" Ria shouted, but Alice ignored her. She had grabbed a random chunk of debris to act as a weapon for now since she couldn''t touch the fire directly. Pushing against the debris, she swung her head back and drank all of the blood in an instant. "!!!" Feeling the swell of power within her body, Alice gritted her teeth and spat the vial towards his face. Jumping back, she grabbed Ria and started to run into the forest. "Why did y-" "Shut up! Just promise me one thing. Whatever you see from now on, you better keep it a secret." Alice squeezed out through gritted teeth. It was a little different than what she had expected. It was as though her body was changing from the inside out to suit the power she had borrowed with the blood. Each second that passed she could feel something moving within her body, something that shredded her from the inside out. Feeling the heat starting to approach from a distance, Alice knew that he hadunched another attack. Immediately cing Ria on the ground, Alice took a deep breath. There was a reason she took them into the forest. Each of the trees had their own shadow! mming her hands down, the shadows surrounding them started to vibrate. A wall of darkness erupted from the ground, forming a dome protecting the two of them. Twisting her body, the dome started to rotate, dispersing the mes as tears started to appear across Alice''s skin. Meanwhile, Ria was speechless. She knew that Alice''s Sigil was that of the Spectral Hunter. There were no Spectral Hunters that had the ability to control shadows. Not only that, a foreign Sigil could be seen across Alice''s arms. Once the mes dissipated, Alice dismissed the dome and took several deep breaths to suppress the pain she was feeling in her body. The longer Alice connected with these shadows, the more she felt like they were trying to tear her apart. Standing up, she narrowed her eyes at the Cultist in the distance who seemed surprised that she was able to survive that attack. The ming serpent on his back seemed to be on the verge of extinguishing. Alice took it as a sign that he was running dry on stamina. ''I don''t know how long this borrowed power willst. It''s better that I try to finish this up as soon as possible. The guy said that he only needs to touch a shadow in order to activate his powers. Using the forest as a conduit right now is too dangerous since he can dodge with ease. The best options would be to use the shadows under him.'' Alice thought to herself as she took a deep breath and grabbed a vial of healing blood. She was tempted to use the berserk blood but decided not to. For now. With more Cultists being handled by the other person, she didn''t know if it would prove usefulter or not. Crouching, she pulled out her final dagger and dashed towards the Cultist. At this stage, all she had left were her wires, a dagger, and Sigil powers that he doesn''t know about. ''I need to force him to use his mes more!'' With a n in mind, Alice flicked her wrist and sent out three threads towards his eyes while channelling as much power as she could through her legs. Thankfully, the use of her own Sigil was not restricted at the moment, allowing her to improve her physical stats further. Furrowing his brows at the annoyance of these two, the Cultist swung his sword down, creating a wall of mes that threatened to burn the threads away. However, just as he was about to rush forward, the threads pierced through the mes without being harmed. "!!!" Widening his eyes in surprise, he was barely able to dodge when the threads hooked against the skin of his neck. ''What the hell are these threads made of?!'' The Cultist thought to himself as he attempted to remove the hooks. But it was toote. Sensing that her hooks found its target, Alice stomped down and pulled back with her hand. Once she was sure of the connection, she tugged even harder and threw herself towards him while he grabbed the threads with a hand before cleaving his sword towards her. Naturally, Alice was prepared for this oue. In fact, she preferred this oue since it opened him up to her next attack. Shooting out from the ground beneath him, bestial jaws mped against his arm, threatening to tear it apart while another shot out behind him and bit down into his neck. "What the hell!? This¡­ this is Ryder''s Sigil!" He shouted in surprise. Gritting his teeth, he gave up on his attack against Alice and released a wave of mes around him. Pulling back with her threads, Alice created some distance to avoid the mes. The more the cultist used his mes, the better it was for her. "What the hell did you do to Ryder?! Why do you have his Sigils!?" The Cultist shouted out with a mix of anger and confusion. Ryder''s abilities were abination of two Sigils that people rarely take back-to-back. The cultist was familiar with the power, hence he immediately understood that Alice had done something. "Who knows. He''s missing a few vital organs now, so he might not be able to answer your questions." Alice taunted while preparing her next attack. "Enough is enough. You two may run like cockroaches but I''ll make sure you cannot survive after this." The Cultist frowned as more mes erupted from his body. The serpent around him seemed to have been reinvigorated. Alice''s eyes widened in surprise. Immediately activating the Sigils, she sent two bestial jaws towards him that were instantly dispelled by a pulse of fire. "Now that I know you''ve done something to Ryder to steal his power, I also know how to deal with it. This will be your downfall." He spoke coldly. All the mes around him seemed to disappear in an instant as they gathered towards his de. A single, zing edge appeared on the cultist''s sword as he rushed towards Alice. Just being close to the de caused the forest tobust into mes. Alice hastily raised a wall of shadows, but it was cut down in an instant. Looking on in shock, there was nothing else left for Alice to do other than watch the dee down slowly. *BANG!!!* Before the cultist''s de could hurt Alice, a spear of lightning pierced into his shoulder, pushing him away from her. Alice crashed against the ground and rolled back to create some distance. ncing back, she could see Ria barely stand up with the help of a tree. "I should be able to help a bit more now. Had a power nap, you see." Ria forced a smile. She couldn''t keep watching Alice fight alone. Even with the power Alice was demonstrating, the might of a four Sigil bearer was not something they could breach single-handedly as of this moment. There was no shame in running but they didn''t think they could run in their current state. "Shall we find the other guy that left with 4 of the Cultists?" Alice asked as he seemed to be quite powerful in order to handle four of them alone. "Maybe, but we might want to wait a little. If we bring this guy over, it might put us in a bigger mess." Ria frowned. They didn''t know if the others had four Sigils as well. If they did, it would simply make the situation worse. Dodging eruption after eruption, the two couldn''t do anything about the fire spreading through the forest. Thankfully, it seemed that the trees were resistant to some extent, as the fire didn''t spread as much as they expected. The only issue was that tens of trees would stillbust into mes as the Cultist approached the two. If a fire did spread, it was not something they could deal with right now. "What. Can. You. Do. With. Your. Power?" Ria asked while dodging attacks andunching a barrage of lightning bolts towards the Cultist. They were weak in power but served to annoy him further. Despite his power, his speed had been drastically reduced, allowing Alice and Ria to keep a bit of distance between them. "Shadows. That''s about all I know." "Hah? Shadows? Care to expand or is that it?" Ria raised an eyebrow while Alice shrugged. She didn''t collect these Sigils herself, what she knew was what the Cultist showed. As much as she was experimenting with this vial of blood, she had her doubts if the Cultist would give her enough time to find out what she could do before losing the ability. However, remembering that, Alice had another idea in her mind. It was a little risky due to the nature of their healing blood, but if it went well, it may allow them to turn the battle around. "Are you able to hold back his mes for a bit?" Alice asked while grabbing something from her bag. "Only for a short bit. I barely have any lightning charged up. What are you nning?" Ria asked as they temporarily hid to catch their breaths. "I''m going to try something a bit stupid, but also effective. Maybe?" "Hah??? You''re not even sure it''s going to work?! And please, exin it to me, dammit." Ria grunted as she felt like she wanted to cry on the inside. It was akin to dealing with a second Allura, someone who said they have a n but doesn''t say what it was! "It''s a risk but if it works, I''ll be able to borrow his mes for a little bit." Alice whispered briefly while dragging her down to avoid a horizontal sh that set the trees around them aze. Hearing this, Ria sighed deeply before nodding her head. "Dammit! This better work okay?!" Ria shouted out as she jumped up and dashed towards the Cultist with lightning flickering around her. Behind her, Alice prepared her dagger and extraction kit. Once the timing reveals itself, she was going to steal his blood and borrow his powers. Chapter 69: Killing The Cultist Coating her arms with lightning, Ria avoided a streak of fire before punching the ground in front of the cultist, causing dirt to fly towards his face while twisting her body in order tounch a kick against his chest. She knew that her stamina was limited as she pushed herself beyond what she could handle. Even now, her body was screaming at her to rest, of which she barely had any. But for the sake of survival and creating an opening for Alice, she had to do this! Kicking the Cultist back, she ducked and dodged another attack beforeunching her shoe at his face. "Damn you!" Annoyed by her fighting style, the Cultist felt insulted as Ria tossed her shoe at him. He never faced that kind of disrespect from any opponent till then. "What are you gonna do about it? Kill me?" Ria taunted while grabbing a handful of dirt. Stepping to the side, she pped some dirt into his hand, forcing his grip on the sword to slip a little before kicking him in the elbow. With the threat of death just around the corner, Ria entered a state of concentration she had never experienced before. Any move the cultist made, she felt as though a counter for it immediately appeared in her mind. All she had to do was execute the actions and follow her instincts. Feeling his rage build up once more, the Cultist stomped his foot on the ground and created a bed of spikes around him. Instantly, Ria dodged upwards while shooting two bolts of lightning into his shoulders. Her palms were burned by the mes but she ignored the pain and continued to fight. Grabbing him by his hair, she pulled him back in an attempt to m him against his own spikes. Unfortunately, that didn''t work as the metal wrapped around the cultist''s legs, preventing him from falling over. Feeling danger, Ria nced up and saw the serpent around him prepare to release a fire breath. ''Sh*t!'' Letting go of the Cultist, she bent her body out of the way and watched as a wave of mes shot out above her. Gritting her teeth, she suppressed the pain. Ria was extra sensitive to mes due to her intake of the healing blood. Taking a deep breath, she felt embarrassed at what she was about to do. But she had to try! Anything goes! Reaching down, she grabbed the edge of the cultist''s pants and pulled down as hard as she could, threatening to expose his everything from the waist down. Seeing this, the Cultist panicked out of shame and grabbed his belt. "UNHAND ME, YOU WENCH!!! WHAT KIND OF HUNTER FIGHTS LIKE THIS!?!?" He screamed. ''A chance!'' Stomping as hard as she could, Alice rushed towards the Cultist who was still preupied with Ria, trying to tear his pants off. With only his sword hand free right now, he swung down towards Ria while trying to dodge Alice. Letting go, Ria fired one more bolt of lightning into the man, paralyzing him momentarily from the shock, which allowed Alice to reach him without being harmed. Stabbing the needle into his neck, Alice swung herself around and jammed her dagger against his corbone to use as a handle while extracting as much blood as she could. Watching the blood flow into the vial, Alice could see the serpent slowly disappear as the cultist''s stamina ran out. "ARGGGG!!!" Letting out a cry, the Cultist stabbed his sword down, causing the earth around him to erupt. Alice and Ria jumped away, forced to cease their assault. Immediately, he pulled out a vial of blood from his clothes. "Berserk blood! Stop him!" Ria shouted in panic. If the Cultist got any stronger, everything they did thus far would be a waste. Knowing that they were trying to stop him, the Cultist summoned what little strength he had left and funneled it into the serpent, bringing it back to life as it roared out and surrounded the man, protecting him from external harm. Just when he thought he was safe, a pair of hands ripped through the mes. "What the-?!" Eyes wide in shock, he watched as Alice forcefully pushed through his barrier of mes. This time, her form was simr to his as her skin turned ck like charred wood with a crimson glow seeping out through the gaps. Opening her mouth, fire seemed to erupt from within her, withva dripping from her lips. mming her hand down, mes erupted from the earth with countless sharp needles piercing them. "GAH!" Feeling the metal stab into his body, he widened his eyes in shock as Alice willingly let herself get dragged into the area of attack. Grabbing one of therge needles from the ground, Alice stabbed it towards the vial of blood in his hands, forcing him to try drink it as quick as possible. "Gotcha." Alice grinned. The shadow cast by the vial of blood and his hand connected with the shadow cast by the needle in her hands. Erupting from his body, a bestial maw ripped off the man''s lower jaw before smacking the vial of blood aside, causing it to evaporate in the mes surrounding them. Without giving him a moment of rest, Alice fired three hooks at the back of his throat, dragging his head towards her before stabbing a dagger through his eye. "ARGGGGG!!" Letting out a blood-curdling scream, the man''s bloodshot eyes red at Alice as he discarded his weapon and grabbed her head. "Let go of my friend!" Ria roared as she threw one of the giant needles towards the man''s arm, piercing it and forcing him to let go of Alice. With his options now limited, the Cultist released arge pulse of mes in the hopes of taking both Alice and Ria with him. But Alice wasn''t going to allow that. Using the threads to help her jump up, she cut arge wound on her arm before activating her own Sigil. Arge amount of blood started to pour into the man''s open mouth as she stabilised herself. Little by little, the mes died out as he started to lose his strength. Meanwhile, Alice''s skin had turned back to normal as she was only able to use his powers momentarily due to the small dosage. Stumbling back, she tried her best to avoid the needles as she copsed on the ground. The world around her started to turn dark as a wave of cold slowly spread through her body from the tip of her limbs. Forcing herself to stand up, Ria stumbled towards the Cultist as she grabbed his sword and mmed down towards his neck, separating the head from the body. Taking a deep breath of relief, she walked next to Alice and rummaged through her bag. Seeing that there were no healing vials left, she widened her eyes and grabbed Alice''s bag. With onest healing vial, Ria sighed out in relief and fed Alice the vial. Watching her wounds close, she smiled and copsed on the ground. Neither of them could move anymore. Yet, they did it. A three-sigil bearer and a one-sigil bearer managed to take down someone with four Sigils. While she was unsure of how Alice was able to ''borrow'' the Cultist''s powers, there was neither time to ask nor did she n to. She could still remember Alice''s hesitation. ''This probably has ties to why her family locked her away¡­'' Ria thought to herself as she nced to the side and saw that Alice''s condition had stabilised. With this burden now off her mind, she could feel her own fatigue settling in. Even if she wanted to take Alice and run, she was unable to. ''There are still four Cultists around¡­ we¡­ need¡­ to run¡­'' Unable to keep herself awake, Ria sunk into the darkness of her consciousness. Unbeknownst to the duo, the Kata Charger slowly emerged from the forest while coated in a thickyer of blood. After its controller died in the fight against the spy, it rebelled and attacked everyone around it. With the Cultists tired and preupied with the Spy, its sudden change of allegiance took them by surprise, allowing it to easily finish them off. Smelling the thick scent of blooding from this area, it followed the scent to discover an unconscious Alice and Ria along with the corpse of the Cultist. Standing still, the head shot out and grabbed the corpse of the Cultist with its insectoid legs and dragged it back to the body in an instant, crunching the bones to pieces within its torso. Unsatisfied with its meal, the Charger slowly turned to Alice. But before it couldunch its attack, Alice''s right eye snapped open and stared at the Charger. Feeling the re, the Kata Charger froze up. Its body shook in fear. The deep purple glow of the eye seemed to consume the world around it as it slowly took a step back but not before making sure to bow to show its submission. Seemingly satisfied with the response, the eye stopped ring, giving the Charger permission to leave. Without daring to turn around, the Charger dashed into the forest, unwilling to turn back. Once it was sure the Charger had left, the eye nced down at Alice''s body before looking over to Ria. Rolling itself in a strange mix of annoyance and disbelief, the eye slowly closed itself out of fatigue. Meanwhile, the old driver approached the area out of concern from seeing the mes spewing in the distance. It was only when everything settled down did he dare to check out the situation. Seeing therge dried up pile of blood along with Alice and Ria''s unconscious body, the driver blinked in bewilderment. "What in the f*ck???" Chapter 70: The Old Drivers Past Finding herself back in the strange realm where she saw projections of the different beasts she could hunt, Alice felt a chill run down her spine. She immediately turned around and saw the eye staring back at her. Sensing it judging her, Alice wanted to leave. However, she was unable to. Her body was rooted in ce and her mind was imprisoned within this realm, a helpless subject to the whims of the eye. Unable to utter a word, she could only stand still as the eye slowly scanned her up and down. [Weak¡­ Strange¡­ Abnormal?... Impossibility¡­] A voice rang out in her mind. It was the sound of a woman speaking to her. [No one should be able to drink deep of the Abyss''s strength ande out unscathed¡­] [But you? How does the Abyss have no hold over you? Why?] [Strange¡­ Very strange¡­] Squinting towards Alice as though trying to see something within her, the eye closed itself before opening once more. [My slumber encroaches once more¡­ But the time of my awakening is nigh, try to stay alive till then, my strange new master¡­] [Leave.] "!!!" Snapping her eyes open, Alice realised that she was now back at the camp with Ria next to her. Both of them had some rudimentary first aid performed on their body. They werr still wearing their damaged clothing, however. Looking to the side, she noticed the old driver sleeping by an extinguished campfire. Realising that he must''ve saved them, Alice couldn''t help but wonder about what happened to the other Cultists. Shaking her head, she wanted to stand up but felt pain shoot through her body. Looking down, she saw some blood seeping through the bandages as she looked under theyers and saw that her skin was suffering fromrge rips and tears on the surface. ncing into her bag, she saw that she only had one vial of blood left ¡ª the berserk vial ¡ª and her extraction kit waspletely destroyed. "Hng¡­ Oh, you''re awake." The old driver grumbled as he was woken up from his sleep by all of the noise. With both Alice and Ria taken out ofmission, he had to keep himself in a state of light sleep so he could react to any changes in their surroundings. "Mhm, did you see what happened? Was there anyone else?" Alice asked, but the driver shook his head. "All I saw was you two passed out and a beast running away. It looked like a fight took ce, and I didn''t want to stick around if I could help it, so I carried the two of you and drove away. I don''t know if there was anyone else, but they never paid me, so they''re not high on my priority list." He chuckled while making himselffortable. "Thank you." Alice didn''t want to ask if he had taken anything as he did save their lives. But she couldn''t help but wonder why he didn''t just loot their body and then run away. "What''s with that look,ss? I can''t read minds so just ask me whatever you want." The driver sighed. "Erm¡­ why didn''t you take our money and leave? It was more dangerous if you stayed." Alice asked. "Is that the situation you hoped would''ve happened?" The driver raised an eyebrow in confusion, but Alice shook her head. "Well¡­ Even for me, there are bottom lines I don''t like to cross. If there was a big danger to my life, then I won''t show myself. However, I judged that there was no issue at that time. So, I did what I could. Young hunters like you die early because they don''t judge the danger they are in and pass out." The driver sighed while tilting his head back. "I was a hunter like you, many¡­ many long winters ago. I was out hunting with my wife one time, and got forced into a hard battle. Both of us were pushed to the edge but we survived and passed out before we could get to safety. But because we passed out, we couldn''t stop another beast from taking us away. She was eaten and I was saved as food forter. I was lucky to survive and yed dead until I could run away." The driver smiled bitterly as he unbuttoned his shirt and revealed his chest to Alice. There was a gruesome scar across his chest with several deep grooves where his ribs should have been. But, it had caved in. Those were scars that couldn''t be healed by healing blood due to the passage of time. Seeing this, Alice couldn''t help but wonder what the driver''s condition would have been when he first received those wounds. "I doubt a youngdy like you would like to have wounds like these. So, next time, learn to run to safety even if you''re about to pass out. When you''re out in the wild, danger is lurking around every corner." He chuckled while sighing softly. Giving the old driver a nod, Alice felt grateful that he took them out of the forest. Just as she was about toy down, she noticed something flicker above his head. Focusing her eyes on that, it slowly revealed itself to be 4 markings that resembled Sigils. ''What is that?'' Alice wondered to herself. "Erm¡­ You said you were a hunter before, right?" Alice asked as the driver nodded in response. "How many Sigils did you have?" "My Sigils? I have four of them. Though being a driver rarely requires their uses. I hardly use them anymore, unless I need to defend myself." He chuckled. Hearing this, Alice nodded her head, wondering if the thing she was seeing turned out to be urate. ''The eye mentioned that it was waking up soon¡­ Does that mean more of its abilities were unlocked? What did I do to- ah¡­ perhaps borrowing other Sigil powers caused the eye to wake up sooner¡­'' Alice thought with a frown before ncing at Ria. Focusing her gaze, she noticed 3 markings above her head, signifying the power of three Sigils. ''Slowing down perceived time, choosing Sigils and being able to obtain information on others that would normally be impossible¡­ And this is before the eye wakes up.'' Alice thought to herself in disbelief. With that information, she wondered how strong the original owner of the eye was and what it could do at full power. ''Kaden gave something like this to me¡­ What do he and Allura expect from me?'' With questions in her mind, Alice decided to sleep for now and recover her strength. ### In an unknown area, Allura was sitting atop a mountain of corpses, all with strange scars freshly carved into their backs. She was covered with sshes of blood but nheless pulled out a cigarette. Taking arge breath, she sighed in annoyance. "What the hell is happening over at Alice''s area¡­" She frowned. As much as she wanted to leave, she could not make it there in time. She was too far away for that. Even if she was to go at her full speed, it would be toote. During her mission, she sensed Alice''s connection with the Abyss and the Eye waning before reaching a level where the Eye almost woke up, only for her to fall back to the verge of death. With constant fluctuations of such a degree, Allura had several questions for Alice when she returned. However, her main concern was what she was dealing with now. The strange blood rituals that were happening all over the Abyss concerned her. Their faith and belief did not belong to any of the major religions she knew of. "This isn''t the work of Famine or War. Preservation wouldn''t do something like this, nor would Protection. Those two are too far up their arse to bother with something like this. Immortality and Spirituality wouldn''t go through such a roundabout method to achieve their goals¡­" Allura muttered. None of this matched the behaviour or beliefs of any Apostle nor did it match their gods. The God of Eclipses would reject this kind of suffering devoid of War or Famine. Sun rejected the methods involving blood to this degree. Moon enjoyed enforcing her mask of benevolence and would never allow her followers to perform such demonic rituals. Scratching her hair in annoyance, Allura snapped her finger and set the pile of corpses beneath her ame before walking over to the leader of the corpses. She had kept him alive in order to interrogate him and find out what he knew. ''I don''t have any interrogation Sigils. I didn''t bring anyone over either. Tsk, I doubt he''ll survive long enough for me to take him to an interrogator.'' Allura spat out before standing before the man. He was currently chained against the wall with his limbs bound and broken. He was hanging onto the edge of his life as Allura had stopped him frommitting suicide not long ago. With no healing blood on hand, this was the best she could do. "Oi, answer me. What were you doing here?" Allura asked while lifting his head with a hand. "Hehehe, I didn''t tell you earlier¡­ I wouldn''t tell you now¡­ Stay in your world of confusion while everything you know changes before your very eyes." The manughed weakly while Allura could only re at him with frustration. It was in moments like these where she wished she had obtained an interrogation style Sigil instead of going full battle junkie. ''If Kaden, that bastard, was here, he would be able to sort out this sh*t easily.'' Allura scratched her head. They had bnced each other out, while she focused onbat he worked from the shadows. "Last warning, either tell me or die." Allura said coldly. The man smiled at her. "Tsk." Grabbing his head, she crushed it with her hand before flicking the flesh away. Just as she was about to walk away, she froze in ce. There was a faint trail of energy in the air, barely distinguishable, but Allura could never forget this feeling. Veins bulged on her forearm and neck as she could feel her blood rushing through her entire body. Her eyes were bloodshot and a rage from long ago red up in her heart. She immediately turned back to look at it. The trace of energy belonged to the body of a dead god. Chapter 71: Seeking Help From The Church Waking up in the morning, Alice noticed that they had been moved onto the carriage and were now on their way back from the ruins. Alice wasn''t sure how long they were on the road for, but she felt it wouldn''t take them long before they were back in Zadash. Looking to her side, she noticed that Ria was still asleep with a frown on her face, suffering from the effects of drinking too much Abyss Blood. "You''re awake. Your friend woke up a few times, but it didn''tst long before she fell unconscious again. I''m not sure what kind of blood you drank but you probably want to go see a Moon cleric upon reaching Zadash. They might have some medicine or Abyss Blood to offset the side effects." The driver suggested while ncing back at Alice. "Thank you, I''ll keep that in mind." Alice nodded. Alice wasn''t familiar with these medications since she never needed them. Even now, she was no longer feeling the effects of the Abyss Blood, only the wounds it left behind. If she had any Abyss Blood left, she could drink that now and heal her wounds. But that was not the case for Ria. Just ncing at her bandages told Alice that she still hadn''t healed from her wounds. The duo tried to rest up as much as they could for the rest of the journey. They stopped asionally, for the driver to get them some food. Ria was unable to eat properly due to remaining unconscious the whole time. The best Alice could do was feed her small parts while hoping she would swallow the food. Once they were back at the city, the driver didn''t hesitate to lead them towards the Church of the Moon. While Zadash was primarily a Hunters'' city, there were still small branches of the churches within. However, their sphere of influence was smaller than that of other cities. Arriving at the Cathedral, Alice was shocked by the sheer scale of the building despite it being a small branch. ''Allura didn''t seem to like any of the churches. But this is all we can do for now.'' Alice thought with a frown as she followed the driver inside the Church. Entering the Cathedral, Alice noticed arge open area with rows upon rows of benches facing an altar. Behind the altar was the statue of a woman whom she figured to be the Goddess of the Moon. Behind the statue were massive stained ss windows. Above it was another of the same windows. However, it seemed to focus the radiance of the moon upon the statue itself. There were a few people praying by the benches, but the group didn''t bother them. Standing at the altar was a priestess adorned with delicate ck robes. Silver cuffs around the waist, neck and wrists embellished her attire. A silver mask covered the upper faces of the people inside, while a ring of metal signifying the moon hovered behind their heads. She had long gray hair peeking out from her hood. "A driver and two esteemed Hunters. How may this Reverend assist you today?" The woman smiled softly as she nced at Alice before looking down at Ria. "This young Hunter is suffering from the side effects of Abyss Blood due to an incident. The blood in question is ck ze Blood." The driver exined. Alice had informed him about the blood on their way back. "Ah¡­ If I recall correctly¡­ that blood increases one''s weakness to mes after consumption, yes?" She asked while the driver nodded quickly. Walking down, she lifted one of Ria''s bandages. Her skin had been split apart with red embers inside her body, still burning away slowly at her. "She must''ve been in quite some danger for her to consume so much. May I presume you will be able to pay for the treatment?" She asked as the driver hesitated for a moment. "How much is it?" Alice asked. "For this level of injury, I''m afraid it will cost 3 tina. Naturally, we can write up a tab with no interest as I believe this is our first encounter." The Reverend offered. ''3 tina¡­ That''s about 300 Gold if I remember correctly¡­'' "After the treatment, will she be cured?" Alice asked with a frown. "Yes, she will be, to a certain extent. However, as you know, side effects of this scale are usually permanent. While we can reduce the impact as well as the effects, she will forever be weak to mes." Hearing this, Alice nodded. "Alright, please go ahead with the treatment. I''ll figure out a way to get the money." "Fantastic. Please take the young Hunter to a treatment room with this sister while I prepare the contract with the Hunter besides you." Just as she said this, a nun approached the group and gestured for the driver to follow her. ncing back at Alice momentarily, the driver took Ria and left the main hall with the nun. "Now then, I would require an ID. The Hunter''s Guild will work with us on this. They will take a portion of your reward from each sessful hunt to repay this debt." She exined as Alice nodded her head. Rummaging through her pockets, she brought out the card that was her Hunter''s Guild ID. "Please, follow me while I get the contract." Following behind the Reverend, Alice walked through the halls of the Church in a mix of awe, curiosity, and hesitance. While she did have some knowledge regarding the Church of the Moon, it was only surface-level and rudimentary at best. ''When I was locked away, the Zenia family had trades with the Church of the Moon. But it was only in medicine. They knew what kind of Abyss Beasts to look for since my body told them of the effects. As much as I am loath to admit it, it is true that they do have superior healing blood that can help Ria.'' Alice thought to herself. The sooner she left this ce, the better it would be for her. She was just d she hadn''t seen any Zenia family markings around this ce yet. Upon arriving at the Reverend''s office, the woman searched for a scroll before presenting it to Alice. "Here is the contract. You will be paying 20% of yourmission fees every time to pay back the debt. Naturally, you can pay it back in full whenever you want. You merely need to tell the Hunter''s Guild and they will forward it to me. There are three copies of this contract; one for you, one for me and one for the Guild. When you fulfill the terms of the contract, the Guild will mark it off and it will naturally be updated on my end. You may read through the Contract if you wish to make sure everything is correct." She smiled while offering the contract to Alice. Picking it up, Alice read through the uses, which seemed OK to her. She wasn''t sure what some of the things meant but Ria needed help and she wasn''t sure if they had the time to spare. ''There''s no time limit for this¡­ It should be fine. I''ll ask Allura about itter when shees back. I need to learn more about thenguage used here.'' Alice thought to herself while signing the contract with a bloody fingerprint. Feeling something reach out from the contract and connect with her, Alice furrowed her brows. Before she could dwell on the feeling, it faded away. "Perfect. I will send a copy to the Hunter''s Guild right away." "When will Ria be healed?" Alice asked curiously, as the sooner they got to leave the ce, the better it would be. Just being in the church reminded her of the Zenia Family. "Hmm, the process should only take about an hour or so. If you wish, you can wait outside the treatment room." The Reverend offered. Naturally, Alice epted. Following her to the treatment room, she noticed the driver sitting down outside. "Ah, you''re still here." Alice uttered in surprise. She thought he would''ve left by now. "Well, I''ll feel guilty if I just left. The least I can do is to see if she''s fully healed or not." He shrugged. The two sat down while waiting for news regarding Ria''s condition. "So, I don''t think you told me about why you became a Hunter, youngss. A girl like you should have quite a few jobs you can do other than risking your life, no?" Hearing this, Alice fell silent for a moment before opening her mouth. "Because being a Hunter makes me stronger. If I''m stronger, others can''t control me or do stuff to me." Alice shrugged. At first, she wasn''t sure, but the opportunity that Kaden and Allura offered to her allowed her to see a future where she could take down the Zenia family. If she grew strong enough, they would no longer be able to threaten her. All she needed now was time, time to foster her own growth and time to collect more Sigils. Allura mentioned that people can only have one set of Sigils, but this rule did not apply to her. If she consumes someone else''s blood, she can take their power for herself, albeit temporarily. It gave her an edge that others didn''t have, even if the Abyss Blood they consumed permanently boosted their power. "Strength and freedom, huh? That''s one of the reasons why most Hunters exist. In this world where the blood of beasts gives you power and hunting them down gives you Sigils, it makes sense that people will want to protect themselves. Without power, what''s stopping them from taking all that you hold dear?" The driver chuckled as this was his reason to work as a Hunter in the beginning as well. "It''s an endless pursuit that few can walk to the end. I never dared to keep going." Alice agreed with his sentiment. But for her, she had no choice to keep going. She wouldn''t be satisfied otherwise. Chapter 72: The Law Of Agreement After a while, the nun opened the door to the treatment room. "She has been stabilised and the effects of the Abyss Blood have been reduced as much as possible. There might be a few scars left, but they should be hardly visible. She''s waiting for you inside." Giving both the driver and Alice a slight bow, the nun left the premises as Alice rushed into the room and sighed in relief upon seeing Ria sitting on a chair in the middle of the room. "Yo~" Raising her hand, Ria smiled awkwardly, knowing that she must''ve been in quite a bad state to wake up in the Church of the Moon back in Zadash. Seeing that Ria could still smile in this situation, Alice sighed in relief once again. "I''m guessing there''s a lot I need to know. Fancy telling me stuff after we get back to the Minstrel''s Dance?" Ria offered. "Sure, but we need to go to the Guild first. We have to report the weird things we saw." Alice nodded. "Right, right, there''s that issue. Speaking of which, howe you''re still here?" Ria asked curiously as she turned her attention to the old driver. "Just making sure you woke up properly before I leave," He chuckled, "Now that I know you two are safe, it''s fine for me to leave. This has been one heck of a ride considering the sh*t I saw." But before he could leave, Alice grabbed his jacket and stopped him from leaving. "He saved our lives, carried us to the carriage while we were unconscious, and gave us some treatment. We still need to pay him with the rest of the gold." Alice said with conviction as Ria nodded and pulled out the rest of the driver''s payment and a bit extra for the fact that he saved their lives. With the majority of her gold now spent, she could onlyment the result of their hunt being unsessful. "Do you think the discoveries we made will make up for not being able to hunt the Charger?" Alice asked. "Hmm¡­ Probably. I mean if we provide good information we might even be reimbursed for what we spent. Speaking of spending, how much do you owe the Moon Church? They are stingy b*stards when ites to treatment, but they''re good." Ria asked while they were on their way to the Guild. There were some scars on Ria''s arms and torso, but unless you looked for them deliberately, it was hard to notice. "It was 3 tina. I signed a contract thingy that will take some of my hunt rewards to them for paying the debt." "PFFF!!! 3 PLATINA???" Ria shouted in bewilderment. "Alice, show me that contract. Now. Do you even know what you signed? What if they made you sign a ve contract?" Ria panicked. "Erm¡­ I think it was okay? I didn''t see anything that was off¡­ I think." Reaching into her pockets, Alice grabbed the Contract the Reverend had provided to her and handed it to Ria. Scanning her eyes across the contract, Ria scrutinized every single detail to make sure Alice wasn''t getting cheated. A short whileter, she sighed in relief seeing that it was an honest contract, to a degree. "Gods, please don''t sign contracts in the future if you can avoid it. You never know what they might sneak in since these contracts aren''t just paper, words, and trust. They''re binding in more ways than one." Ria sighed, handing the paper back to her. Storing it away safely, Alice was confused. "Binding in more ways than one?" "Yes. Every proper contract sheet is created with something called the Law of Agreement. It''s a fancy name for an Abyss Beast power, but, essentially, once two people sign one of these contracts together, the power activates and a mark is attached to the signee until the moment they finish the contract. The degree of punishment varies based on the contract, but if you sign a faulty agreement, you could be in debt for life." Ria scratched her hair while trying to recall as much information as she could. Hearing this, Alice realized that the strange feeling she felt must''ve been the Mark attaching itself to her. However, with her physique that was resistant to Abyss Blood and its effects, she couldn''t help but wonder if this Mark really was as dangerous to her as it was to other people. But it wasn''t something she was eager to test, at the moment. "But, urgh¡­ that 3 tina hurts. Maybe we can get the Guild to sponsor this if we give them good enough information? They''re usually pretty generous with this kind of reimbursement." Ria sighed. ''I wonder if I should tell them about the white Abyss Beast I saw underground. The Eye helped me see it, but it also saw me¡­ Ria didn''te face to face with it, so she might be curious as to why I know about the Beast. She''s already got plenty of questions after our fight with the Cultists, so adding onto them might not be good.'' Alice thought to herself with an inward sigh. She didn''t want to talk about what happened, if possible. It was not something Alice wanted to exin if she could help it. Walking through the misty streets of Zadash with countless Hunters and civilians, the duo soon reached the Guild and made their way up the floors to report the incidents that urred during their hunt. Usually, these reports would consist of casualties and such where the Guild made sure it wasn''t due to an argument between Hunters, since there had been cases of Hunters killing one another out of simple disagreements. After exining a little of what happened to the receptionist, Alice and Ria were told to find Office 2 on the floor above them, where upon entering, they were greeted by a familiar duo. The first was the head instructor that fought against Alice, Neal, and the other was someone they recently met. "Ah! It''s you! The one who fought four of the cultist b*stards!" Ria eximed in surprise while pointing at the spy, who seemed to be heavily wounded. "Seems like you two got back safely as well. That''s good to see." "How did you even get out of there alive? I''m pretty sure there were some four Sigil users, right?" Ria asked curiously as she couldn''t imagine the spy surviving a fight of four against one, all powerful foes at that. "Oh, gee. Thanks, I also wonder why I''m alive." The spy rolled his eyes. "A spy doesn''t divulge secrets, but I killed 2 and dragged the other two away. Unfortunately, they''re still alive. I''m more surprised you two survived against a four Sigil bearer considering one is a somewhat-experienced three Sigil user and the other is a fresh one Sigil user." He narrowed his eyes at both Ria and Alice. It was suspicious, and something was up; he could sense it. With how the Cult chose their members, killing the four Sigil user wouldn''t have been just dumb luck, especially with trying to bridge the gap between three Sigils and four with only a one Sigil user as support. "Now, now. Let''s just be happy that all three of you are alive." Neal interrupted as he made sure the door was locked behind them before sitting down. Removing the smile on his face, he looked at the three seriously. "Now then, shall we discuss more in detail about what you found? I''ve heard a little of what Otto found during his time in the cult, but things are still shrouded in mystery. Can you tell us everything you discovered? Naturally, we''llpensate you for a failed hunt, since the Cult was involved. Of course, the amount will include all the costs incurred during this incident." Neal offered them a seat as Alice nced at Ria since she was more suited to exining things like this. "Hmm, alright. So..." Little by little, Ria exined their discoveries. The strangeck of beasts in the area, the numerous caves down into the loweryers of the Abyss, the Cultists, and a strange, darkened figure that the old driver had seen. Their ount of what happened was rudimentary at best, but it proved helpful. Since Otto was hindered by his own responsibilities in the Cult, which rendered him unable to explore on his own despite knowing what had happened, their input filled in gaps that eluded the spy. "Hmm, I see¡­ Otto, do the multiple tunnels confirm your earlier suspicions? I''m not sure how well-known these two girls are to the Cult, but perhaps it''s better for them to hear about your discoveries as well. You know full well how the Cult holds grudges." Neal turned to Otto. He knew that Otto probably wouldn''t want to share too much unless he told him so. Raising an eyebrow, Otto remained unsure. Even if the Cult held grudges, he doubted that they would care about two girls who could barely be called Hunters in his eyes. But if Neal said so, he must have his own thoughts and ns for this. "Yes, it does. It seems like they''re nning on having what they called the White Death be enved first beforemanding an army of beasts to start a war from the loweryers. They''ve already opened quite a few tunnels in several locations near the area, not just this city. If they domand the beasts to run up from below, we''ll need help fromrger cities." Otto scratched his head. Hearing this, both Alice and Ria widened their eyes as they didn''t think it was something of this scale. "The White Death¡­ I don''t believe I''ve read up on such a beast." Neal frowned. "That''s because its not a beast from the Abyss. Its something they¡­ created I suppose. The sealed body of the old Abyss Lord was used for its creation. I don''t know how but they managed to unseal and even use it as an offering." Hearing this, Neal fell silent as he took a deep breath and sighed. "Is that so? Alice, Ria, you two may leave now. If I may trouble you, can I ask that you ry this information to Gin or Allura?" He smiled as this was the reason why he wanted them to hear this. He knows that he wouldn''t be able to get an audience with those two so it was better to have these two girls act as his messengers. If the White Death was created from the body of an old Abyss Lord, this was something out of their control. Chapter 73: Neals Plan "Wait, you know Allura and Gin?" Ria blinked. "Just a little. We''ve had some contact before, but these days? Rarely." Neal chuckled as Ria narrowed her eyes before curling her lips into a smile. "You mentioned you would help us pay off the fees incurred in this hunt, right?" Ria asked with a harmless smile. "I did say that, yes. Why?" Hearing this confirmation, Ria gestured for Alice to pull out her contract. "You see, on top of using a bunch of Abyss Blood vials, weapons, and even having my clothes ruined, we needed to take a small loan from the Church of the Moon in order to pay for my treatment. Now, I believe it alles under the fees incurred by crossing paths with the Cultists that you said you''ll reimburse." Ria exined while cing the contract on the table. Seeing the price of 3 tina, Neal understood what they were wanting to say. "Alright, I''ll pay off this contract with the Church of the Moon. You do not need to worry about it. As for everything else, you can consider it a reward for the information along with passing the same over to Allura or Gin." Neal reached into his desk''s drawer and pulled out a small pouch before cing it on the table. Taking the pouch, Ria opened it slightly. The shimmering reflection of tina coins reflected in her eyes. "All of that is for the two of you to split amongst yourselves and replenish what you had to spend during this trip as well as the damages incurred." Neal smiled as Ria grinned and put the pouch in her pocket. "We will let Allura know when shees back." Not wanting to stick around, Ria grabbed Alice and left the room while Otto was confused by why Neal spent so much money. "I don''t believe I''ve heard of either Allura or Gin. Are they really worth giving those two 10 tina to use?" Otto frowned. Such a reward was usually reserved for far more experienced Hunters. "Oh, trust me. 10 tina is a very, VERY, cheap price to pay if I can get the help of Allura or Gin to help defend the city. A beast created from the body of an Abyss Lord is not something any of us can hope to contest against," Neal exined, "Even in the holy cities, the Churches have their Popes deal with such a threat." Upon hearing that a Pope was required to deal with such a beast only caused Otto''s confusion to grow. Two people he had never heard nor known about were on the same level as the second highest reigning authority of the big three churches? "Regardless, I can only hope the two would be willing to help. For the time being, however, prepare the shelters and escape tunnels. Have some Hunters scout for any nearby pathways to the loweryers and update the map ordingly. I want to see every point of invasion and have our defenses ready." Neal ordered seriously. Otto nodded and left the room. Leaning back on his chair, Neal massaged his forehead. He could still remember the few times Allura and Gin had demonstrated their prowess. While he could say that Gin was indeed around Pope level, Allura felt stronger despite what she revealed. It was as though she was never pushed to show everything she had saved up. ''Is she stronger than the Popes?'' Neal thought to himself, but dared not imagine the potential truth. ### Leaving the guild with a grin on her face, Ria took a deep breath and sighed out in relief. "Well, I suppose our issues with funds have resolved themselves, aye?" Riaughed as Alice nodded her head. "Yes, it has. Do you want to buy some more Abyss Blood first or get some clothes?" Alice asked, pointing at Ria''s outfit. Missing sleeves, a shoe, and several burns on the fabric while bandages could be seen beneath the clothing made Ria look like she nearly died and came back from the edge, which may not be wrong. "Probably some clothes, if I''m being honest. I''m not saying I care about the stares I''m getting, but at the same time, walking around like this isn''t very good." She shrugged. "There''s a Hunter''s Tailor near the Guild. We can go there for now. But I must say, what the hell is your outfit even made of? There''s like hardly any damage to it." She remarked while seeing Alice''s outfit. Except for her cloak that she lost, the outfit was practically undamaged, with the exception of some dirty spots. "I''m not sure, actually. Sera had itying around for another customer that died. So, she gave it to me. I know that Allura said Sera was good at making outfits." "I mean, if Allura vouched for her, then you can probably imagine that what she does is far above the standard of high quality, as it has proven itself to her. I''m pretty tempted to buy something like that myself, but themission fee is going to be crazy, I bet." Riamented. Good Hunting gear cost quite a fortune. "You can use my half of the reward to buy something thatsts a bit longer, if you need. The expenses will stack up if we have to keep buying outfits every time we run into some trouble." Alice offered. "Well¡­ It''s not every day we run into Cultists, right?" Making their way to the Hunter''s Tailor, Ria eventually settled for a simr design to the one she had before, an eastern-style outfit with semi transparent sleeves that looked as though they were made from silk. It wasposed of a turquoise sleeveless dress with floral patterns, long turquoise sleeves that reached up to her bicep, a pair of stockings, and shoes. Alice expected Ria to have chosen something more practical despite the fact that the outfit was resistant to her lightning due to the materials it was made from. Seeing Alice''s gaze, Ria coughed lightly. "What? It looks cute. Just because I punch people or kick them doesn''t mean I want to do it with dirty leather armour and stuff." Ria pouted. She wasn''t a fan of the usual Hunter attire. Plus, as a physical fighter, her body was her shield. "Hmm¡­ Maybe I should get something that looks nice too." Alice muttered as she remembered her conversation with Lilia back at the ughter Docks. A conversation about going to clothing stores and finding dresses for her. "When I''ve paid off this outfit, I''ll ask Sera to make me something nice and practical." Alice pointed at her own outfit while Ria paid for her selection. Overall, her new outfit only cost her 1 tina. A little more expensive than her previous outfit, but more durable as well. Happy with her new purchase, there was a new bounce to each of Ria''s steps. She was clearly in a good mood, which only made Alice curious as to when she was going to ask about her being able to borrow power from other Sigils. "Let''s go buy some blood now. We''ve got a bit more money, so we probably shouldn''t buy something that can stack up fiercely like the ck ze Blood." Ria scratched her cheeks awkwardly. That choice almost took her life. "Let''s go for something rtively safe with low side effects, so that it can be drunk in quick session. I''ve got a few ideas in mind, but they were too expensive for our funds at the time. It''s a type of blood called Blood Wyrm Tonic." Hearing that name, Alice took a moment to see if she was familiar with the name or not. It didn''t ring a bell to her. "What kind of blood is it?" "Blood Wyrm Tonic basically regenerates your body at a high-speed using your blood or foreign blood. The side effects are pretty negligible if you get the high quality version, since the tonic only makes it so that you desire blood and be short-tempered." Ria shrugged. With such side effects, Blood Wyrm Tonic was considered very high quality healing blood, even more so if one gets their hands on the high-purity variants. "Oh? When was it discovered?" Alice asked curiously. "When was it discovered? Hmm¡­ I don''t know, actually. It just kind of appeared out of nowhere and took the market by storm. No one knows who found it, no one knows who the creator was nor do they know theposition of the blood. When they tried to reverse engineer it, the product always failed. No one has encountered a Blood Wyrm to verify things, either. However, there''s a steady supply and it''s been proven to work, so people are using it more often now." Ria shrugged. "Of course, not everyone just drank the blood without care. It took a few years before it was actually allowed into the market, since the Apothecary Guild was making sure of side-effects and so on." "Hmm¡­ Strange." Alice muttered. The circumstances seemed too weird. "They are. But you can''t deny the blood''s effectiveness." Once they finished buying the blood, the girls were left with 7 tina. The blood had cost them 2 whole tina pieces. It was way more expensive considering their previous purchases, but their life was more valuable. With the time getting ratherte, the duo got back to the Minstrel''s Dance and had some dinner. Alice expected to have a conversation about their previous Hunt once again, but Ria seemed to be oblivious to it and ended the night early, leaving Alice to her own devices. Having some time to herself, Alice eventually decided to go on ate night walk. She wanted to visit the book store and see if she could get some information on the White Death that was birthed from the Abyss Lord''s body. The fact that it noticed her staring at it thanks to the effects of her Eye caused some concerns on Alice''s end. With Allura not being back yet, the book store was her only source of information. Chapter 74: Old Abyss Lords Walking through the dark streets of Zadash, Alice was once again surprised by how few people were out. There were no day and night cycles due to the sky always being covered by darkness and the glow of the moon. Yet, people have established a cycle of their own, for themselves. Those that venture outte seem to be up to strange business as a few gave Alice a weird look before ignoring her. Making her way to the bookstore, Alice was surprised, but relieved, to see that it was still open. Pushing through the doors, she saw Nalem sitting in his chair while reading a book, like always. "Quite a surprise visit in the dead of night, don''t you think? Was your hunt for the Charger fruitful?" Nalem asked as he nced up from his book momentarily. "Unfortunately, no. Cultists interfered. We didn''t see the Charger at all." Alice shook her head. However, the mention of Cultists seemed to have piqued Nalem''s interest. "Oh? Cultists? I believe the only group deserving of that title right now is the Cult of the Eclipse. If they interfered, then something must''ve happened." Nalem frowned slightly as he closed his book. "Are you staying for long? If so, I may as well prepare a cup of tea for you." He offered, gesturing for Alice to take a seat. "Yes, please. I''m also looking for some information on Old Abyss Lords, the giant beasts locked beneath certain ces." Alice nodded. She wanted to know why they were locked away, what locked them away, and what it meant to have something be born from the corpse of one. Alice wanted to know the danger that the White Death brought with its birth. "Very well. I shall get a book from my collection regarding the history of these lords while I prepare some tea. Please give me a moment." Watching Nalem open the passage once more before disappearing into the darkness, Alice was left on her own. To pass the time, she gazed at the window. Despite knowing many stories and being taught a little before she was locked away, the Abyss still held many secrets that even Hunters did not know about. Closing her eyes, Alice entered the realm of the Eye once more. ncing behind her, she noticed the Eye was closed. She could feel it slumbering in silence. Alice had memorized the feeling of when it forced her out before and figured she could replicate it. As expected, her mind was brought back to reality with a simple thought. Now that her entry and exit were both secured, Alice was able to use the functions that had been opened to her. Namely, the filter function where she could see the size of whatever beast she desired to hunt. Entering the realm, she wanted to see if the White Death was registered. However, upon filtering through the masses, there was not a single projection that matched what she saw that day. ''Why is the White Death not registered? Considering the Eye seems to house the records on everything in the Abyss¡­'' Alice frowned as she was unable to get any information regarding the White Death from the Eye. Testing to see if it actually worked and was not failing just because the Eye was asleep, Alice searched and found the Spectral Hunter and Kata Charger. Yet, there was still nothing regarding the White Death. Furrowing her brows, Alice sighed and decided to do one more search. One for the Blood Wyrm that no one seemed to know the origins of. She figured that the Eye should know of this beast. However, the moment she filtered the selection, she did not expect to see what was presented to her. Alice''s mind short-circuited. It was a beast that reached as far as the eye could see, its head barely visible as it loomed over the realm. A storm seemed to follow it around with lightning striking down wherever it stepped. A mixture of mes and blood erupted from the gaps of its elongated body while tworge crimson wings unfurled themselves, covering the entire realm in its shadow. It had no arms or legs, butrge crystal spikes decorated the length of its body. The Blood Wyrm, a beast farrger than even the Old Abyss Lord she had seen beneath the surface of the ughter Docks; just being in its presence caused Alice to feel short of breath. ''I''m going to drink the blood of this¡­ beast?'' She thought to herself in awe. Swallowing her saliva, it seemed as though something was triggered inside her. A thirst and hunger for that beast, a desire to consume and obtain its power. Shaking the feeling off, she left the realm and took a few deep breaths to calm herself. She had noticed that ever since she started to drink more Abyss Blood and indulge herself during the fights, there was this urge that kept creeping up on her. Moments where she would lose herself in the fight and act out of desire. "Sorry for the wait. Here is your tea." Nalem smiled as he ced a cup down in front of Alice while setting down arge book with a solid cover. "Now, I believe you wanted to ask about the Old Abyss Lords, right? What do you wish to know about them?" Nalem asked while taking a seat himself. "Their history, why they are imprisoned beneath, what imprisoned them, and what it meant for something to be born from their supposed corpse." Alice asked as Nalem furrowed his brows for a moment before returning back to normal. "Alright, let''s go through your questions one by one." Opening the book, he flipped to one of the early pages. "As you know, every Abyss Beast that appears from the Abyss is unruly and has an innate thirst for violence, blood, and death. They cannot be controlled. In the ages long past, there are historical carvings that depict an era of war where no peace could be found. Meaning before the Abyss was discovered by the surface, it was in a war of its own. We don''t know who or what made these carvings, but they are studied by the schrs who desire to learn about the history of the Abyss. "In these old carvings, it is said that individual beasts started to make themselves known to the world of darkness. Beings of strength and power that could not be rivalled by the standard beast. Each one could reshape the mountains, sunder thends, and control the fathomless Abyss Waters. They are the Old Abyss Lords, Rulers of the Beasts." Nalem exined, disying a carving ofrge beasts standing above a mass of smaller ones. "They say that the Old Abyss Lords were blessed by the Abyss. They were granted a special power that allowed them to rule at ease. Unbeatable, unrivalled, and uncontested in power. The only ones that can defeat an Old Abyss Lord was another Abyss Lord. It is also the source of the esteemed title we grant to those we see at the pinnacle of human power. While they may be granted the title of Abyss Lord, we do not know if they are in the same realm of power as those of old. "With the appearance of Abyss Lords, an era of peace descended to the chaotic world of darkness. Armies were created, but not for the sake of fighting. Perhaps the Lords grew discontent with the peace, or there may be another reason we do not know about. We have yet to find carvings that depict what happened in the end, but another war broke one. One that would forever shatter the Abyss and render the Lords confined below the earth, sealed in history. "That was, unfortunately, an era of mystery. Knowledge and inheritance permanently lost to the flow of time. No carvings depict the disastrous events of the war, only the results. The war ended, the Lords fell, and a new era dawned. One where the Abyss revealed itself to the surface of our world, an era where Humans descended into the Abyss." Nalem closed the book and sighed, feeling sentimental about the loss of data belonging to an old era. "You see¡­ the book does not state this, but it is impossible to kill the Old Abyss Lords, at least by conventional means. There have been Abyss Lords of our era that have tried to kill the Old Lords, but their bindings are far too strong and their life force has continued to persist. Perhaps, it was a punishment for them to slowly wilt in their chains. But the punishment does not end early for these lords. However, you said that something was born from the corpse of an Abyss Lord. Please, tell me more about that." Nalem asked as he wished to find out what Alice knew of an impossible situation. "I don''t know much. But apparently, a beast was born from the head of an Old Abyss Lord deep beneath the surface with a ritual or something. I just know that it''s not as big as an Abyss Lord. It is still bigger than an average beast, though. As for its description¡­" Exining the visage of the White Death that she saw herself, Alice watched as Nalem went silent and the frown on his face slowly increased. "Strange. Very strange. Can you tell me where you saw this happen? I may need to take a small journey myself and close this store for a little while." "Inferno Tower Ruins, that''s where I saw it. Though its not there anymore. Ria said there were many paths leading deeper into the Abyss, so I think the ritual site might be in one of these paths. I don''t know where it was exactly, sorry." Alice apologised as the Eye had shown her the vision and she saw the site in person. "That is fine. Just knowing the area is enough and the information you have provided me was very valuable. I cannot simply take this for free to allow me to offer you a small gift in return. Please give me a moment to collect my belongings." Nalem smiled as he stood up and made his way down once more. Drinking the tea, Alice thought about the history of the Old Abyss Lords and their ending. What kind of war did they fight for this to be the result? For beings of such power, this result was unthinkable to her. Chapter 75: Nalems Gift Waiting by the table, Alice slowly drank her tea while Nalem returned with a strange box in his hands. Opening the box, he revealed a strange cross guard that seemed to flicker with each passing moment. Its shape would distort slightly before returning to normal. "This is a weapon an acquaintance of mine used to own before they found something better. He called it the Obsidian Retort. It''s a weapon crafted from an ore he discovered in the Howling Depths. You mentioned that you wished to weaponize your blood with poison without taking the path of Leoric, right?" Nalem asked. Alice nodded. "Then, this weapon will be good for you." Grabbing the cross guard, he pulled out a small knife and cut a small wound on his arm. Then, he allowed the blood to fall onto the weapon. Resonating for a moment, the weapon seemed to scream to life as blood swirled around the edges of the guard before being absorbed into the center. Exploding out with a crimson glow, the obsidian guard reshaped itself into the shape of a long sword before blood flooded out from the edges, creating the de. Looking at the blood that had hardened into a longsword, Alice could see a swirl of energy flowing within the blood originating from the obsidian guard. "It''s a versatile weapon for those that wish to use blood as their main source of power. Though the power is only equal to how many Sigils you have obtained, as each Sigil reshapes your body. It can take a few forms based on what you desire, but remember, the bigger the de the more blood it''ll require from you." He pointed at the string of blood still being siphoned from his arm. Turning off the weapon, the guard returned to normal, the stream of blood cut off. "Unfortunately, you can''t take back the blood offered to the weapon, so be careful with how you use it." cing the guard back into the box, he offered it to Alice after sitting down. "I can''t take something like this." Alice furrowed her brows. It was far too valuable for being given away to her like that. "Of course you can. You have provided me with information befitting such a reward. Now, I do hope you''ll take good care of the weapon. That''ll be all for tonight. I''m going to be closing the store for a while, and if Ria asks, just say I''m on a little journey out of this city for now." Nalem smiled, refusing to take no for an answer. Scratching her neck in slight frustration and helplessness, Alice sighed and nodded. "Thank you, Mister Nalem." "It''s been a pleasure." Nalem watched Alice leave his store with a small smile on his face. However, the smile soon faded as he flicked his fingers and the door to his store closed. Next to the windows, the shadows slowly stretched out before a raven manifested within the shade. "Must you really ask me to deliver this weapon? I was nning on giving her something else as a reward. Can''t you do it yourself?" Nalem sighed. "Well, if I make myself too obvious, Allura''s going to ask a bunch of annoying questions. It''s something I looted from some noble''s ce, anyway. They were saying sh*t like it was their heirloom or something." A voice rang out from the raven with a haughtyugh. "If you''re going to asionally spy on her growth with a shadow raven, you might as well just be here. Why must you drag a librarian into this of all things?" Nalem massaged his eyes in frustration. "me your time and ce. You were just the easiest option for me. Plus, you know I hardly step into the Abyss anymore." "So is there anything else you want me to do, or am I free to be on my journey now?" Nalem asked while tapping his finger. "Can''t an old friend say hi? You make it seem like I only want to contact you for extracting uses." Nalem felt as though a vein on his head was about to pop. He could almost see the annoying smirk on the man''s face. "In thest few times you contacted me, it has always been for a favour. I didn''t even know she was connected to you or Allura. Had I known, I would''ve closed this damn shop early." Nalem clicked his tongue. "Alright, alright. I''m a changing man and sometimes old habits are hard to stop. Baby steps, you know? Either way, thanks for passing along the weapon." "You do realise that Allura will be able to sense your traces on it, right?" Nalem raised an eyebrow upon seeing how carefree Kaden was regarding the matter. "So be it. She was always cuter when annoyed. Take care of yourself now. I do hope I can contact you again in the future." Kaden chuckled as the raven disappeared into the shadows. Sighing out loudly, Nalem shook his head and prepared to leave the city for a while. While Nalem didn''t know the full story, he had had interactions with both Kaden and Allura, and the librarian wanted to deal with neither of them. ### Opening one of his eyes, Kaden smirked upon seeing that his gift had been delivered. Like Allura, he could sense when the Eye was on the verge of awakening, and the near death encounter for Alice forced him to send a raven to see what was going on. "I didn''t expect Allura to leave them alone so early. Though I suppose she''s concerned about what''s going on in the Abyss with the strange rituals." Kaden muttered while standing up. Kicking a corpse to the side, he flicked his fingers. The shadows consume the corpse, leaving nothing behind. Narrowing his eyes at the glowing building in the distance, he curled his lips into a sadistic grin. "Well, I think I''ve done my duty as someone who gave that brat the Eye. Kind of feels like I''m sending child support but considering she''s almost killed herself twice, it''s about time I gave her some help." Kaden shrugged. He knew she was going to be in danger, but two near death encounters in the same span of time? He was nearly impressed. She was almost as suicidal as him when it came to dangerous missions. ''As expected of someone I picked.'' He snickered. "Regardless, it''s time to indulge a little and collect some goodies for myself. Let''s just hope this family doesn''t have another brat locked up instead of treasure. I don''t have enough Eyesying around for this sh*t to happen more than once." Kadenughed as he blended with the shadows and disappeared in a swirl of darkness. ### As she made it back to her room, Alice couldn''t help but look at the obsidian cross-guard once more. The way it changed forms and how the blood transformed into a de made her wonder about the possibilities she could unlock from mastering such a weapon. ''With both the gloves and the guard, I can almost react to any situation. The only issuees down to how well I can manipte both items¡­'' Alice thought to herself with a sigh. Taking the guard, she cut a small wound on her arm and formed a connection with the weapon. Just as her blood made the connection, images seemed to appear in her mind regarding the weapon of choice. There were a myriad of weapons she could choose, ranging from bows to greatswords. But, for now, a dagger would do for her. Just as she made her selection, Alice flinched lightly, feeling her blood being siphoned away to create the weapon. Reshaping itself to form the main body of a dagger, blood flooded out and condensed into the de. Twirling the dagger in her hands, Alice could sense a faint connection with her Sigil to the weapon, meaning it contained the poison prevalent in her blood. Narrowing her eyes, an idea emerged in her mind. Sending amand to the de, she watched as the hardened blood melted in an instant before sshing on the ground. ''I can probably use this as a one-hit weapon and flood enemies with my blood. Though I''ll have to get used to the timing of sending out themand.'' With a new option now avable to her, Alice looked down to her glove. During her fight against the Cultists, she realised the strength and weakness of her gloves. As it stood, she couldn''t hook herself to any of her targets, or else she risked being hit in return. She simply did have the strength to protect herself. However, there was potentially one thing she could do in order to offset this different. Sending amand to the dagger, she watched as the pommel of the weapon reshaped itself, allowing her to embed the hooks of her threads into the de. ''The threads that belong to the cial Silk Worm don''t break easily. Since I don''t have the strength to fully utilise these gloves as trapping weapons, I may as well focus on making these daggers ranged weapons. These threads will also allow me to keep my blood connected to the de.'' With the connection that these threads provide, Alice will be able to flood her opponents with her blood so long as she keeps the dagger inside their body. Taking hold of the thread, she gave the weapon a few swings to get a feel for the weapon. Feeling satisfied with the weapon, she disabled the guard and transformed it into an bracelet of sorts that was connected to her glove. That way, she doesn''t have to keep attaching it to the threads every time a fight begins. With a new weapon, ideas and more Abyss Blood, Alice wanted to see if she could get a job closer to the city tomorrow and test out her weapon. Chapter 76: Rias Past Waking up in the morning, Alice was going to go down and get some breakfast when she noticed Ria waiting just outside of her room. "G''morning. Is it okay if we talk a bit?" Ria asked with a slight smile. Understanding that this was going to be a talk about what she had demonstrated, Alice took a deep breath to try and calm herself down before nodding her head and gesturing for Ria toe inside the room so others don''t overhear. "Well¡­ How do I even start ahaha." Ria scratched her cheek awkwardly. "First things first, I''m sorry for charging in when we saw the Cultists. If I didn''t charge in, you wouldn''t have had to fight something so dangerous. My choice could''ve killed us both and you don''t know the reason yet you still helped me and even exposed something about you that you didn''t want others to know. For that, I''m thankful but also sorry for dragging you into it." She apologised as Alice nodded her head, not sure on how she should respond. "The second thing I wanted to say was I don''t n on telling anyone, not my grandfather or Allura about what I saw. It''s your secret and something you''re clearly notfortable with so when you want to reveal that is your choice. It is not mine to interfere. "I will however, exin a bit more about my history with the Cult. After all, even though I told you I wanted to hunt them down, you knowing a little more might better help you prepare since my reaction took you off guard." Ria sighed. She was happy that Alice jumped into the fight without asking much but the fact that both of them nearly died was weighing on her conscience. If it was just her, she wouldn''t have minded so much as she died doing what she believed was right. But Alice? She hardly knew her history and if they were going to run into more Cultists in the future, she wanted Alice to at least know why she hated them. The reason why she was risking her life. "It''s going to be quite long, would you like to take a seat while we talk?" Ria asked as she pat the bed beside her. Nodding her head, Alice sat down and listened silently. To her, this was Ria''s own way offorting Alice as she''s exposing her own secrets as Alice did with her powers. "Well¡­ I don''t believe you know much about the Cult''s practices do you? I mean the ones that don''t involve fighting wars or starving people for famine." Ria asked as Alice shook her head. "You see, there are a multitude of rituals in the Cult that have different purposes but all tying back to the concepts of War and Famine. And well¡­ I was part of one I suppose. A ritual of starvation." Turning around, Ria took a deep breath and lifted up the back of her hair. While most of it has been regrown, Alice could see deep scars across her scalp. A visage that was usually hidden by Ria''s long hair. Patterns that were seen on the clothing belonging to the Cultists as well as iconography seemingly depicting a higher being that the cult worshipped was carved into her flesh. "The ritual had all participants carve markings upon the scalp and the rest of the body. I was being prepared to join the ritual for a long time so the markings on the back of my head was carved first. Too much time passed before my grandfather found me so we were unable to get rid of these marks. "The ritual would have those participating starved for weeks, locked up alone to the point they be desperate where they would do anything for food and water. And when the conditions are met, we would be released into a blood pool to drink the blood of those that have starved prior and feast upon one another. "The one who survives to the end will be taken out of the pool and have the rest of their markings carved andpleted on their body, allowing them a connection with the Apostles and be granted power that is amplified by the desires of famine." Ria sighed as she let go of her hair, allowing it to cover up the markings that could not be erased. "When my grandfather broke into the chamber where the ritual was being held, there were only 5 people left within the pool and I was one of them. He managed to get 3 of us out before being forced to run away. The other two died on the way back and I was on the verge of death when grandfather did everything he could to save my life. Afterwards he adopted me as part of his family." Ria smiled softly as she owed Gin far too much. "I don''t know who my original family was but I assume they''re dead. Grandfather is my only family now and I want to erase the Cult from this world so no more will have to go through what I had to. Even now, I can still remember the stench of the blood, the taste of their body in my mouth, the hunger that invaded my mind while I wed my way through the blood pool. No one else should have to go through what I did." Even now, Ria would have asional nightmares of the horrors she saw that day. The frenzied cries of those having their flesh torn from their body. Their gurgles as she forced their head into the water, drowning them so they couldn''t fight back. Looking at Ria''s expression, Alice could see that she was hiding the pain inside. The thought of having to eat others to survive, to drink their blood to quench your thirst. Alice knew it was not easy for Ria to reveal all of this. "Anyways that''s what I wanted you to know. Why I want to fight the Cult and so on. I don''t know what kind of life you lived but if you ever need help, I''ll try support you as best as I can." Ria stood up and took a deep breath. She was prepared to see the judgemental gaze of Alice, the disgust in her eyes hearing that she had to cannibalise on others within that ritual. However, when she looked back at Alice, she saw pity and understanding in her eyes. Seeing Alice open her mouth, Ria could see her intention in her eyes as usual. Leaning forward, Ria covered Alice''s mouth and shook her head. "You don''t have to exin your side of things because I exposed my side, okay? We got lucky that day, he was not prepared and we managed to kill him with my power. Nothing strange happened." Ria reassured. Hearing this, Alice took a moment before nodding her head. After doing so, Ria removed her hand. "Thank you." "You''re wee. Bah now the awkward talk is over, shall we go get some food? Acting like this doesn''t really suit me ahahaha." Ria grinned as she gave her body a stretch. Following Ria downstairs, the two got some breakfast and started to n the rest of their day out. "I was thinking of doing some jobs since we failed our hunt, but after the instructorpensated us for our information we''re not really pressed to get a job. Though we should do a few hunts just to gain some experience. Do you want to try for another two star hunt?" Ria asked while drinking some water. "Hmm¡­ Probably just a hunt near the city since Allura should being back soon right? Speaking of which, isn''t your grandfather supposed to be here by now?" Tapping her chin, Ria thought for a moment before shrugging her shoulders. "Maybe there are more things to sort out in the ughter Docks than we initially thought. Grandfather is rather punctual with time unless something unexpected happens. Though he never really gave me a time frame on when he''ll arrive so he''ll look for us when he''s here. As for a job near the city, we can probably look for something in the outskirts of the ins around the city. Of course, there''s also the option of just doing some training within the city walls but I''d prefer getting some experience outside." Ria replied, listing off the options they had. "Let''s go to the Guild then. I want to find some hunt targets so I can practise using my new weapon." Alice made up her mind as she quickly finished her meal. "Eh you have a new weapon?" Nodding her head, Alice pointed at the new attachment she added to her gloves. Giving the bracelet amand, it transformed into a dagger without any sharp edges as that''s where the blood will be. "What the sh*t? I don''t think I''ve ever seen something like this before." Ria blinked her eyes in surprise as she needed a moment to double check what she was seeing was indeed real. "Mister Nalem gave it to mest night. I was taking a stroll and his store was open so I was learning a little more regarding what the spy and Neal was talking about. He thanked me for some information and said he''ll be closing shop for a while." Alice exined, causing Ria to pout slightly. "I told him a bunch of stuff on my adventures and he never gave me something this cool. What else can it turn into?" Ria asked curiously. "Erm¡­ A few different des but it requires blood to create the ded bits. I''m choosing dagger for now since the others might be too heavy for me." "Well now that you''ve told me this, obviously we have to go for a hunt to see what this bad boy can do." Ria grinned as she dragged Alice away to the guild, hoping to get a two star hunt near the city. Chapter 77: Bladed Harvesters After finishing breakfast, the two made their way to the Guild and managed to find a Hunt that was posted up as pest extermination. A two star hunt quest focused on killing beasts called ded Harvesters. They were small rodent-like creatures that moved inrge packs. If one sees a lone Harvester, they should know that its pack would be nearby. The Harvesters possess a rat-like body with tworge legs, no arms and bone-like ting running from their skull down to their tail. Instead of a standard rat tail, they had an appendage that could harden at any moment to be a de. Every single Harvester in the pack moved in sync, as though they were part of a hive mind. The quest was simple; the Harvesters had upied one of the farnds near the city, taking it hostage with the aim to consume everything. They were killing everything that approached the area. The mission required those with abilities that could take out numerous beasts at once. Meaning, a fighter like Ria was perfect for the job with her lightning abilities. However, it was not Ria who chose that job. In fact, Alice was the one who suggested epting it so that she could both test her skill with her new weapons as well as the potency of her blood. Before they could leave the city, Alice bought a new blood extraction kit and prepared two vials of blood for herself. The farm was roughly 30 minutes out from the city with a carriage. The price of the carriage was rather cheap, too. Unlike their initial trip to the Inferno Tower Ruins, there was no ban on going to the farnds. As the two stood in front of the farnds, they felt speechless at the sight in front of them. "Erm¡­ Are you sure this is the farnds? I''m not familiar with how the farms look down in the Abyss." Alice raised an eyebrow. Cracked ground with moisture stolen from the soil, broken houses with holes and shes across the walls, withered trees and dark mist flowing through thends; it did not match the description of the farnds they had expected. Checking the mission sheet once more, Ria had to blink twice to make sure what she was reading was correct, as it had only been 3 days since the ded Harvesters invaded thend. "It''s been¡­ three days. Alright, let''s get this over with today so that it doesn''t get any worse. We might even get a tip if we finish early." Ria sighed, putting the mission sheet back into her sash. "I''ll flush them out and you can deal with them, okay? Or do you need my helpter?" "I should be fine. Interfere when you feel the need to." Alice shook her head. Transforming her bracelet into a dagger, Alicr extended the wires before giving the de a few swings. Practicing with increasing her range and pulling the de back, she looked towards Ria and nodded. Taking out a vial, she coated the obsidian metal with her blood. A crimson hue appeared on the edges. Meanwhile, Ria massaged her shoulder as her Sigils lit up with a neon blue glow. During the fight with the Cultists, she got some inspiration regarding how they utilized their powers. She was now going to apply them to her own style. Kneeling, Ria closed her eyes and took a deep breath while pressing her palms against the ground. Lightning flickered from her body and started to expand around her in a, sparks jumping across the cracks in the ground. ''If I keep pumping lightning through the ground like this, I can get a general idea of where the Harvesters are. Once I do, I can remotely detonate some of the lightning and force them out.'' Ria thought to herself while Alice watched on in silence. Above Ria''s head, her second Sigil lit up. Alice understood that she could see when Sigils were being activated. Even if people tried to hide it, as long as she focused, she would be able to understand what they were trying to aplish. All that remained now was to learn what every Sigil looked like; a nigh impossible task, but if she was able toplete it, then Alice would be able to understand almost everything about her opponents with a single nce. Ria called out to Alice, cutting off her daydreaming. "Get ready, I''ve found the horde. There are about 30, maybe 40, of these Harvesters lurking around. Let me know when you want me to flush them out." "I''m ready now." Alice closed her eyes. She remembered the feeling when fighting the Cultist. That bloodlust, the insanity, the flow of battle and the moment she felt as though her mind was opened up. The smile on her face, the taste of the blood. That, was a Hunt. She was unable to bring out that side of her normally. She simply didn''t know how. How should she talk to people with a smile? But in battle, the rush of adrenaline allowed her to free her mind. ''This is a one against many situation. It''s a Hunt where I need to take as many of their lives as I can. No need to hold myself back, no need to be scared. Enjoy the Hunt, and live in the moment.'' Alice ordered herself as her aura seemed to change. Ria felt as though a de had just been unsheathed behind her. A beast was out of its cage, hungry for blood. Understanding that that was Alice''s way of preparing, Ria activated her third Sigil and all of the lightning she charged up exploded. *BANG!!!!* Several strikes of lightning struck down around the farnd, ripping open the ground to reveal underground tunnels where the beasts had been scuttling around. Rushing out all at once, their eyes glowed red with frenzy. A hunger for flesh dominated their minds. Before she could say anything, Ria felt the wind rush beside her as Alice charged forth with a grin on her face. Her Sigil roaring with power as strength flowed through her body, Alice twisted and swung the strung dagger around her, knocking up a wave of mud and attracting all the ded Harvesters'' attention to her. Meanwhile, Ria jumped back and allowed Alice to do her thing. Seeing the first beast that lunged towards her, Alice snapped her head towards its direction andunched her dagger at its head, piercing it in one swift motion. In the same instance, she flicked her wrist and the gloves started to reel the dagger back with the corpse of the Harvester still attached to the tip. Feeling two approach from behind, she crouched down and twisted, using the inertia to fling the body of the first Harvester into the two while lunging forward with the obsidian dagger in hand. *KRRRR!!!* Watching as her de sliced bones in two, a frenzied satisfaction rushed through Alice''s mind as she allowed the feeling to take over. Hot blood sshed against her face. That was the feeling. The feeling of the Hunt. "Hahahaha! Come on!" Alice roared as she let go of the de and swung it around her, shredding any Harvester unfortunate enough to approach at that moment. The battlefield became a blender of blood and flesh with Alice dancing in the vile remains of her enemies with a maniacal grin on her face, intoxicated by the rush of ughter. Her instincts were tuned to the max as she navigated the stringed dagger with ease. Despite being only one dagger, the speed at which she swung it around made it seem as though she was surrounded by a wheel of des that followed her wherever she walked. With a pool of blood and guts around her, Alice narrowed her eyes and retrieved the dagger before stabbing it into the ground. Lighting up with a crimson glow, the obsidian core started to drink up the blood around them as she slowly pulled the handle up, turning the dagger into a greatsword. Blocking several strikes of their ded tail using the face of the sword, Alice kicked the de as hard as she could, flinging the beasts back while the greatsword swung above her. Using a downward motion, she twisted her body and threw the sword, cutting the Harvesters in half. Tugging her wires, shemanded it to abandon most of the blood and return as a longsword with more reach than a dagger. Watching in the distance, Ria was silent. While Alice''s techniques with the sword and greatsword were rudimentary and clunky, her adaptiveness and instinct for the fight cancelled out her inexperience with the weapons. She was a ball of talent that Ria couldn''t even begin to fathom, a diamond in the rough. At the moment, Alice was a straight up killing machine that sent chills down her spine the moment she saw the crazed glint in her eyes. Forcing a brave smile on her face, Ria felt excited by what Alice could do in the future, while feeling pity for her opponents. Unfortunately for Alice, she was hindered by her own physical body and stamina. While she could get some stamina back by drinking the Harvesters'' blood, there was still a limit to how much she could push herself. "You can take a break now! I''ll handle the rest." Ria called out as Alice was panting heavily despite the grin on her face. The Harvesters were sending out ranged attacks using debris and the corpses of their fallen allies to tire Alice out. However, Alice didn''t seem to hear her. Ria shrugged and jumped into the fray. "Don''t stop a girl while she''s having a good time, I suppose. I''ll keep you covered, just keep enjoying yourself." Ria chuckled. Giving her a nod, Alice transformed her longsword back into a dagger and rushed at the remaining beasts. Chapter 78: Gins Arrival Cleaning up the beasts wasn''t difficult as Alice had already taken care of a majority of them during her rampage. Once the scene was cleared and they were sure that no more Harvesters could be found, Ria started to collect their corpses in arge bag. The only really useful body part from a Harvester was their sharp tail. The material could be bought for some coin and repurposed into daggers. Meanwhile, Alice calmed her mind as the adrenaline slowly faded from her body. She took several deep breaths while ncing at the blood dagger in hand, watching it absorb all the blood around her the moment it made contact. During the fight, she wasn''t sure if she could make bigger des with foreign blood, since Nalem said it required her own. However, that didn''t seem to be the case since it could use the Harvesters'' blood, the only difference being it required far more to get the same results. ''If it takes, let''s say, 1 unit of my blood to make a dagger and 4 units to make a greatsword, it requires 4 units of foreign blood to make a dagger and 16 units to make a greatsword. It''ll be handy if I can''t afford to lose blood, as long as there is a bigger supply nearby.'' Alice mused to herself as she enjoyed the versatility of her new weapon. Twirling the wire with the dagger attached for a little while, Alice recalled the de and transformed it back into a bracelet while helping Ria out with collecting the corpses. "What''s next?" "Next would be to report this back to the Guild. The owners should be able to try and revitalise thisnd with some help from the Guild. Our job is essentially done here." Ria exined while making sure the bag was sealed up tightly. Taking their bounty back to the carriage, they took the ride back to the city and prepared to celebrate their firstpleted hunt. Thankfully, there were no abnormalities with the mission, unlike the Kata Charger hunt. However, as they approached Zadash, Ria noticed a figure waiting by the gates. Squinting slightly to see who it was, her eyes soon lit up with joy. She jumped out of the carriage to rush at the figure. "Grandfather!" Ria called out with a smile as she charged forward with lightning flickering from her body. Widening his eyes, Gin braced himself and caught Ria without any issue. "Missed me?" Gin grinned as Ria nodded. "When did you arrive? Did you have to wait long?" "I''ve only been waiting for about half an hour. I visited the Guild to find out where you are. They said you were out on a job. I don''t see Allura with you. Did she go off on her own again?" Gin asked, ncing towards the carriage and seeing Alice sitting silently while watching the two of them. ''Seems like the girl is still reticent. Though she does look more rxed.'' "Allura said she needed to deal with something on her own while we went on a hunt. We just finished our second hunt, so we were about to go celebrate. You must be hungry too, right? Come on, let''s go eat!" Ria grinned. Gin smiled helplessly. Seeing Ria swing Gin''s arms around like a little girl, Alice couldn''t help but chuckle. ''I suppose she can only fully rx around Gin since he was the one who saved her from the Cult. Her childhood was taken from her, so this might be her way of getting back what she lost. I wonder if I have a side like that within me¡­'' Alice thought. But she couldn''t see it happening. The only thing she could think of was when she vented her emotions in the midst of battle. It was only in battle that she managed to let out her rage towards the Zenia family. There was no childish side to her; it died long ago on an operation table. As she continued to watch Ria and Gin talk to each other with warm smiles on their faces, bitterness appeared in her heart. ''What is this feeling?'' "Why the long face?" A voice rang out beside her as Alice looked up in shock. There, she saw Allura sitting beside her. She had her arms spread out on the seat while wearing her jacket. Naturally, she was smoking like usual. "I don''t know. A weird feeling just appeared in my chest." Alice sighed and shook her head. "Hm. Well, I''m sure you''ll figure it out eventually. But hey, your speech is getting better. Good job. How was your first hunt?" Allura smiled and patted Alice''s head. Alice began exining what had happened, starting from everything they found around the ruins, followed by their fight with the cultists, how they almost died, and what Instructor Neal asked them to pass onto Allura. "Hmm¡­" Furrowing her brows, Allura fell silent. Thinking to herself for a few moments, she shrugged and patted Alice''s head once more. "Alright, I''ll see what I can doter when we go talk to that brat. But setting that aside, did you happen to run into Kaden? I doubt it since that b*stard doesn''te down here anymore, but you never know." Allura asked while giving Alice''s bracelet a brief nce. "No. Why? Was I supposed to see him?" "If you didn''t see him, then it''s fine. Let''s go celebrate your first sessful hunt, shall we? I got a bit of time now, so I can watch over your training a little." Allura smiled as she stood up and hopped off the carriage. "Gin! Let''s bring the young ones somewhere nice today. We can''t be eating standard Guild food for this asion!" Hearing Allura''s voice, Gin looked up in surprise before scratching his head. "When the hell did you show up? Can''t you stop popping up out of nowhere and actually appear like a normal person? Goodness. But sure, I was going to take Ria somewhere nice anyway. Got any ces in mind?" Gin asked. "Dunno, I usually just rock up wherever and eat stuff. I''ve never really been anywhere fancy." Allura shrugged. "Sigh, I''ll sort it out as usual, then¡­ Go submit your hunt results and stick close to Allura. I''lle find all of you once I find a nice restaurant." Gin smiled towards Ria and patted her head. "Alright." Ria nodded happily. After they said goodbye to Gin, they made their way to the Guild to submit their report. While the two did that, Allura excused herself so that she could talk to Neal alone. Pulling out another cigarette, Allura opened Neal''s door without even knocking. She sat down on the chair and stared at the instructor in front of her. "I presume that Alice and Ria have told you about the situation." Neal smiled, understanding that Allura was in an irritable mood right now. "They have. Do you just need me to kill this thing? Or do you want me to clean up the rodents?" "As much as I would like to ask you to take care of the rodents, the most concerning thing is the White Death. We don''t know its power at all, but considering it was born from the body of an Old Abyss Lord, you''re the only one we can count on at this moment. If we had more time, I would''ve called for more reinforcements." Neal shrugged helplessly. He knew that Allura liked to take the neutral stance usually, however, Neal had no choice but to rely on her to save the people from such a predicament. ". . . I''ll see how it goes. If it requires me to move, I''ll move. If not, Gin can probably sort it out himself." Allura replied after a period of silence. Breathing out a cloud of smoke, she stood up. "Send me all the details you have about this. I''ll let Gin know when the timees." Without waiting for his reply, Allura left the room, causing Neal to sigh out in relief. Cold sweat had long covered his back. Someone who was rumoured to be on par with the Abyss Lords, Allura was famous within the highest level of the Huntermunity. Yet no one knew where she came from. She suddenly appeared one day and took themunity by storm. If it wasn''t for the fact that he worked with her before, he wouldn''t have even known about her. Not only that, Allura didn''t feel dangerous, unlike the high level Hunters he''d seen before.. No, she felt harmless. But the power behind that re of hers was enough to make Neal''s legs go soft. "I should ask the branch leader for extra pay when hees back." He forced a smile. ### Meanwhile, Gin took a trip down to the Underground. After hearing about what Ria had to go through, he had to try his best to suppress the killing intent surging out from the depths of his heart. Taking the same path that Allura took to go down, he approached the strange altar with a tree in the shape of a person. "Joseph." Gin called out as the man kneeling in front of the statue nced back. "Gin, wee. I presume you are here to ask about the rodents that have made themselves known to the city?" Joseph asked with a smile. "If you know then stop beating around the bush." Gin sighed. "Of course. Unfortunately for you, they have pulled out all of their agents from the city. All you can do now is wait for them to reappear," Joseph apologised, "But we do have information about their Archbishops, the ones that were involved." "Send it to my room once you havepiled it into a file. I''ll have my men bring you the payment as usual." Gin nodded and turned around to leave. "For this to have brought an esteemed Hunter out of retirement, you have be quite the family man." Joseph smiled as Gin paused mid step. "Speaking of which, do you have a good restaurant fit for a celebration?" Gin asked as he had spent quite a bit of time reaching the ce. ". . ." Blinking in surprise, Joseph chuckled. "I will have the finest room in the best restaurant of Zadash reserved for your group." Chapter 79: Sigil Resonance After finishing their business with the Guild, Alice, Ria, and Allura waited for Gin to return. Meanwhile, Allura asked the two regarding their choices going into the future. "So, have you thought about your next Sigils and how you want to fight with them? I know I told you to be patient, but considering you two were somehow able to take down a four Sigil user, perhaps it''s about time to consider your next moves." Allura asked with a smile. It was a tad suspicious how the two of them could take down a four Sigil user. Ria was not experienced enough with her Sigils to aplish such a task and Alice would barely be able to help with her first Sigil. Unless something were to have happened in the middle of their fight, such a result should have been impossible. Nheless, Allura decided to give them the benefit of the doubt. If they passed her testter in the day, it would prove that they were ready for their next Sigils. If not, she would need to prepare some training ns. "I''m thinking of going after the Storm Spirit. The Sigil will help me increase the charge rate of my other Sigils which''ll help me a lot. It''s not the best offensively, but it improves my main issue right now, and that''s time." Ria exined, having her target in mind already. The Storm Spirit was a thunderous beast in the form of a thunder cloud with lightning pulsing through its body. Its true form was actually much smaller. It was known for hiding itself within the cloud and manipting it to protect itself. A difficult beast to hunt, but if Ria seeded, its Sigil would augment everything she had worked toward thus far. "Oh? To think you''ll go for a supporting Sigil instead of an offensive one. Most would choose an offensive fourth Sigil since it grants arge boost in power. Not bad, kid," Allura remarked. She was surprised by Ria''s choice. "If you get the Storm Spirit Sigil, you''ll embark on your path of being an Anti Monster Hunter. There will be a resonance between your Sigils that''ll give you extra bonuses towards killing a beast. Of course, if you pick an Anti Hunter Sigil, you''ll be 2 for 2 so your fifth Sigil will determine your resonance." "Resonance?" Alice raised an eyebrow towards the unfamiliar terminology. "Remember the information I gave you before regarding Hunter ssifications? There are three, with me having not exined you about the third one just yet. That''s because the third ssification is directly tied with resonance. "You see, when a Hunter gets three Sigils belonging to the same path, either Anti Hunter or Anti Monster, the Sigils form a resonance between them and the power is amplified. This change is reflected on the Sigils across your body." Taking off her jacket, Allura activated her first three Sigils. One by one, they appeared across her body and lit up with a crimson glow. "My first three Sigils all belong to the Anti Monster ssification. If all three are active, a resonance urs." Just as she said this, the Sigils started to shift as new lines began to expand from each Sigil, connecting them to one another and forming arger pattern across her body. Deactivating her Sigils, Allura pulled out a cigarette. "The resonance changes based on what Sigils you have as well. It''s not just the ssification they belong to that matters. Mine are offensive, so my resonance boosts my attack and gives my Sigils an extra ability. It''s not a full Sigil power but rather half of one if you get what I mean. Had I chosen defensive Anti Monster Sigils, my resonance would''ve boosted my survivability." Allura exined as Alice nodded slowly. With this knowledge in mind, she would have to be careful about what she chose. "If you get a resonance at three Sigils belonging to the same ssification, what will you get at six, or more?" Alice remembered Allura talking about the peak of humans being those that had obtained more than seven Sigils. If a resonance is gained at three, could there be more at six Sigils¡­ or even nine? "If you get to six Sigils belonging to the same path, then yes, a new resonance is created. The same happens with nine. But most don''t get past six, so very few actually look towards the 3rd resonance effect. But if you do continue a path to the 9th, the rewards are worth it." Allura chuckled. She herself never got to the third resonance but she knew a few who did and the power they demonstrated was indeed worthy of the final resonance you gained. "What about the third ssification tied to resonance? You haven''t told me, and grandfather said it''s too soon for me to know." Ria asked as Gin''s exnation was that knowing would hinder her growth. "That''s because some people make the mistake of aiming for the third ssification without proper preparation. The third ssification is what we call Anti Army. Some prefer to call it Anti City but you just need to know that the third ssification is specialised for taking outrge crowds of people. They struggle with fighting against things one on one but against a crowd of cannon fodder, they are superior. "The only issue with Anti Army users is that it takes them a long time to prepare due to the different Sigils needed to form the resonance for Anti Army. Some people get disillusioned by the grandeur of taking on an army by themselves and dive in head-first, collecting weak Sigils that make it hard for you to obtain the next one. Anti Army Hunters are raised by noble families that have too much money to throw away and plenty of manpower," Allura exined as the two understood why neither Allura nor Gin exined what it was to them. "Setting aside the matter of ssifications, what do you n to do, Alice? I''m sure you''ve had quite a bit of time to think about it, considering you were quite eager to get your second Sigil." "Something blood-rted. Maybe like blood control? It fits both my weapon and Sigil." Alice shrugged. She left out the fact that if she knew blood control, she''d be able to borrow her opponents'' Sigils easier. If that was to happen, she''d be able to gain the upper hand in battle. With the newfound knowledge of Resonances, she may even get a bonus after consuming their blood. "Blood control, huh? A pretty interesting choice since most people don''t choose this path considering the drawbacks. But it''s not a bad choice considering the fact that you dislike the path of poison. The only thing I''ll say regarding this path is to be careful of what Sigils you choose to take since some can turn you into a blood hungry beast and make you lose sight of yourself." Allura warned. "What''s all this about being blood hungry and losing control? What the hell have you been talking about when I was gone?" Gin''s voice rang out. His tone was a mix of concern and confusion as he overheard the end of that conversation. "Oh, nothing major, don''t worry. I was just curious as to what Alice nned for her Sigils." Allura shrugged with a grin. "Now, I assume you''ve found a good ce for us to celebrate at?" She asked. "I have. We''ve got a bit of time before our reservation if you want to do anything else in the meantime." Gin replied while standing next to Ria. "Hou~ Well, I do have an activity in mind. It''s the perfect time, too, since Neal decided to ask us for a favour. I''ll fill you in on the detailster, but let''s borrow one of his arenas. I want to see the progress of Alice and Ria in the time I was not here." Allura grinned as Alice felt a slight shiver down her spine. Confused by her sudden shiver, she nced over at Ria and saw her pale at the mention of this. "Wait, right now?" Ria asked hesitantly. "Yep! Let''s go right now. It''s perfect, too. There''s nothing better than eating on an empty stomach. It saves you the trouble of cleaning up your vomit, too, if you get hit a tad too hard." Allura narrowed her eyes as Ria snapped her gaze towards Alice. "You can go first." Ria suggested. Before Alice could reply, Gin patted her shoulder. "Since you have more Sigils, you can show Alice how it''s done. Don''t worry, she won''t hit you too hard. Not with me around." Ginforted, but Ria still had her doubts. "It''s not like I n to hit you hard, Ria. Believe me, when I was training Gin long ago, he had to be hospitalised for a while." Allura snickered, causing Gin to sigh. ""Instinct is the best teacher. If you can instinctively react to hits, then it''ll serve you well inbat," Is what she told me before sending me to the hospital bed for about a week. Of course, the benefit is that she hits so hard you won''t be scared of anything else." Gin shrugged. While he had to admit that Allura''s methods were¡­ unorthodox, it certainly made him a better Hunter. It''s better to get hit by someone who kind of knew restraint and was trustedpared to a beast in the wild that would definitely try to go for the kill. Seeing that there was no convincing her grandfather, Ria sighed and resolved herself to her fate. "Alright, let''s get this over and done with, then. The food better be worth it." Nodding, Allura led the group upstairs as she burst into Neal''s room without warning. "I''m taking your best training room for about an hour. Bye." Without giving Neal a chance to reply, Allura took them to the top of the tower while Alice and Ria were speechless at her conduct. "What? If he''s going to ask me to deal with the White Death, giving me the training grounds is the very least he could do." Allura shrugged. However, when they approached the top floor, they realised that it was already upied. Chapter 80: Academy Students As they approached the training room, the upants inside turned their attention towards the group of five. "Huh? I thought we still had another hour in here, is the time up already?" A girl asked as she twirled her spear and rested it beside her. "It shouldn''t be. Excuse me may I ask who you are? Perhaps you have gotten the wrong room." A young man asked with a furrowed brow. There were five people within the training room with three resting on the side. They all seemed like students as they wore the same uniform with some variations based on their fighting styles, one of them included a girl who seemed to focus on her legs as weapons. Their uniform consisted of a ck jacket with silver embroidery and red lining, a ck shirt and a pair of pants. Looking at the mark on their jacket, Allura understood that they were what the Academy called the talented students. Narrowing her eyes, an idea started to form in her head. Before she could say anything, Neal burst into the room from behind. "I was going to say it''s upied before you ran off." Neal sighed heavily. "I can get another-" "Yo~ I see that y''all been training hard. Do you mind a quick spar with two students of mine? I would love to see what the famous Grade A students of the Academy are capable of. Of course, it''s not very fair for you to spar with people you''ve just met but what if I put something on the line?" Allura called out as Gin only shook his head and leaned against the walls. While Allura usually took a neutral stance when it came to the different factions that existed in the Abyss, no one can stop her when ites to ideas she wants to do. In fact, Allura was quite unreasonable when it came to this. Hearing this, the students seemed a little troubled and turned towards the one who seemed to be their leader. It was a young man who was sitting on the spectator seats. He had short silver blue hair and a pair of white eyes that almost made it seem as though he was blind. Whenpared to Alice''s white hair, his hair seemed darker with the addition of the blue hue. Staying silent, he closed his eyes for a moment before looking at Allura. "If Sir Neal is showing you respect, and with the way you address him, you are clearly not just any random Hunter who has intruded on our training session. However, I still don''t see much need for us to spar or fight considering we have just met." He shook his head, causing Allura to raise an eyebrow. ''He''s not wrong¡­ But having Alice and Ria fight someone who seemed to be around their age will be good for their development. If they fight people who are somewhat inexperienced then fight me, they''ll be able topare the differenceter.'' With her mind made up, Allura smiled. "Then what if I offer something that warrants this exchange?" "Oh?" The young man sat up slightly in curiosity. Reaching into her jacket, Allura rummaged around for a slight moment before pulling out a special vial. It was covered with a silver metal that was protecting the ss vial from shattering should it be hit. "Void Shadow Heart Blood. Would this be good enough?" Hearing this, the youth stood up in shock as he turned to Neal to verify if this was true or not. Void Shadow was a beast prized for its ability to get stronger within darkness and shade. Considering the environment of the Abyss, this was a valuable Abyss Blood. Not to mention the fact that it was the Heart Blood so there were little to no side effects at all! "Allura would not lie about such a thing. If she says it''s Void Shadow Heart Blood then that is exactly what she''s holding right now." Neal reassured as the youth nodded his head. "For something this valuable¡­ All you want is for us to spar?" The youth asked as this seemed too good to be real. "Yep. I want you to have a spar with my students so they can get some experience. Ah, just so you know, one has three Sigils and the other only has one Sigil. There''s no gimmicks to this. Just spar and the blood is yours. You don''t even have to win if you''re worried about that." Allura shrugged as this vial was cheappared to the experience and foundation Ria and Alice can gain from this fight. Furrowing his brows, the youth called his ssmates around him and started to whisper amongst themselves. "Are there any restrictions?" One of them asked since they wanted to make sure of the rules before theymit to this. "A few basic ones. No Abyss Blood, no healing blood, don''t go for the kill, injuries are fine but if it gets too dangerous one of us will interfere." Discussing with one another for a little longer, the youth nodded his head and approached Allura. "Alright. My name is Wess, Wess Froid. I have to warn you though¡­ the weakest of us here still has three Sigils. I''m not sure if you want us to spar with your student with one Sigil." "If they can do with two Sigils I''ll appreciate it. Naturally, they can go up to three in the fight if they feel the need to." Allura waved her hand as he nodded his head. While Allura and Wess were discussing the arrangement, Alice couldn''t help but peak above their heads. As he had stated, 3 of them had three Sigils while him and one other owned four. ''They''re also four Sigil users like the Cultist me and Ria faced off at the ruins¡­ Considering they''re supposedly Academy students, does that mean they''re stronger than the Cultist? If they are, I don''t think I can win without using some dirty tricks.'' Alice thought to herself. Her tactics will depend on how much she wanted to win. Seeing the uncertainty in Alice''s eyes, Ria mistook that for anxiousness and whispered over to her. "Don''t worry, I think Allura just wants you to try your best." "Oh no, I was thinking if I want to throw dirt in their eyes or not." Alice shook her head and rified. Hearing this, Ria was bewildered for a moment beforeughing. "Focus up Ria. While me and Allura may disapprove of the Academy''s methods of raising Hunters, they are still pretty decent I suppose. So you''ll need to put your mind to it if you want to get as much as you can from this spar. After all, Allura is spending a pretty expensive vial of blood for this." Gin patted Ria on the shoulders as she nodded her head. Once the arrangements were finished, both Alice and Ria received their opponents. Ria was up first and her opponent was the girl with the spear. She had long red hair tied up into a pony tail and a pair of orange eyes. Taking off her jacket, she revealed her lean yet sturdy physique. "Freida, pleasure to meet you. You can take the first move." Frieda smiled confidently as Ria cracked her neck and stepped up to the arena. The arena was a simple tform with sturdy material acting as the arena floor that didn''t break easily. Alice, Allura, Gin and Neal sat on one side while Wess and his group sat on the other. "Ria. Pleasure to meet you too." Taking a deep breath, Ria activated two of her Sigils as lightning red around her body. Feeling the energy coursing through her body, Ria narrowed her eyes and exploded out with frightening speed that surprised Freida momentarily but remainedposed. Twirling her spear, she guarded against Ria''s first attack and countered with the pommel, forcing Ria to step back. With some distance now created between them, Freida activated her first Sigil and markings appeared around her body. Her aura turned aggressive as she charged towards Ria with superior speed. "!!!" Widening her eyes, Ria didn''t expect to get out paced so soon and bent her body back, dodging the first pierce before going into a handstand and kicking the spear away before Frieda could sh down with the weapon. ''First Sigil seems to be a physical boost. Since she''s using a spear as her main source of attack, she could be someone who focuses on her weapon and has her Sigils augment her talent.'' Ria thought to herself as she crouched down and started to dash around the arena while making sure her centre of gravity was as low as possible. "Ohya? Seems like Ria is up to something interesting. I didn''t think she would go for this approach considering her usual fighting style." Allura raised an eyebrow in amusement while pulling out a cigarette. "An encounter with someone stronger like the Cultist will give her ideas on how she should approach fights she''s unfamiliar with." Gin nodded his head as he approved of Ria''s methods. Circling around Freida, Ria speed remained constant while trying her best to dodge as many of Freida''s attacks as possible. As soon as her charge reached a satisfactory level, she stomped down as hard as she could and shot towards Freida like a sh of light. Shocked by Ria''s sudden burst of speed that was far superior to what she demonstrated earlier, Freida was forced to activate all three of her Sigils simultaneously and stabbed her spear into the ground,unching her body up to avoid Ria''s attack. Unfortunately for Freida, Ria was prepared and kicked the spear as hard as she could in an attempt to disarm Freida. To her surprise, the spear copsed on itself and transformed into a three section staff. Without giving Ria a chance to adapt, Freida twisted her body and whipped the staff towards Ria''s back, causing her to grunt in pain while Freida flipped through the air andnded on the ground. *BANG!!!! Lightning exploded out of the ground as Ria curled her mouth up into a grin. "I see how it is." Freida''s voice rang out as she was able to protect herself from the bomb with her Sigil ability. Golden energy curled around her body as it slowly dissolved and disappeared. With all three Sigils activated, a wave of vtile energy coated Freida''s body before condensing around her spear. "Round 2!" Freida called out with a grin as she didn''t expect Ria to give her this much entertainment. Charging forward once more with the three section staff transformed back into a spear, she was ready to fight with all her might. Chapter 81: Ria Vs Freida Releasing a myriad of shes, Freida watched as Ria dodged everything by the skin of her teeth. Little by little, her speed started to increase as the lightning charge flowed through her body. Jumping back by a single step, Ria narrowed her eyes and stomped down. A pir of lightning interrupted Freida''s assault as she raised her spear and blocked a kick from the side. But Ria wasn''t done. Grabbing the lightning pir, she transformed it into a lightning bolt and threw it towards Freida''s chest while closing the gap between them. ''I need to enter close rangedbat with her so its harder for her to use her spear.'' Ria thought to herself as the biggest weakness for a spear user is when the opponent closes the gap. Breaking through her guard, Ria narrowed her eyes and mmed her elbow against Freida''s chest before following up with an upper cut. Grabbing her cor, Ria didn''t stop her assault. Right hook, duck down followed by a counter on the ribs. Step on the shoes then a palm attack on the chest. Taking this chance to grab hold of Freida''s spear, Ria mmed a punch into Freida''s wrist, forcing her to let go and struck Freida with the pommel of her own spear. Unable to counter at all during that flurry of blows, Freida took a deep breath and focused her eyes. "I''m not so helpless without my weapon!" She shouted out as golden energy connected Freida to her weapon. Before Ria could react, Freida appeared in front of her as there was an invisible force pulling Freida and her weapon towards one another. Letting go of the weapon, Ria wanted to follow up with a counter but her instincts told her otherwise. *RUMBLE!!!! The ground shook as the golden energy formed an avatar like visage around Freida, covering her in golden radiance with arge golden spear in its hands. mming down with the spear, the impact threatened the arena to crack but it held on strong while Ria was able to jumped back just in time. "Alice, you should focus on Freida for now. With this, I know she is an Anti Monster type hunter since that is her Anti Monster resonance." Allura called out as Alice nodded her head. In addition to the Sigils expanding and connecting to one another across her body, Alice could see chains connecting the Sigils above Freida''s head while each Sigil changed colours and resonated with one another. "Is there a way to tell Anti Hunter and Anti Monster Hunters from one another?" "Yes there is. You see the patterns connecting the Sigils to one another on her body? If the resonance is Anti Monster, they are usually extensions of the original Sigil. However, if the resonance is for Anti Hunter, the patterns will be simr to briar thorns. Gin can show youter since his first three Sigils are Anti Hunter based." Allura smiled and nced towards Gin who only nodded his head. "Either way, Ria might struggle a little since she doesn''t have a resonance of her own." Allura shrugged. "I don''t think so. Ria doesn''t look panicked. In fact she looks like she''s expecting something like this." Gin pointed out as Ria had a confident smile on her face. It was not a brave front nor an act, she was truly confident at this moment. Activating her third Sigil, Ria''s aura red out as she charged towards Freida, breaking past her previous top speed. "Futile!" Freida shouted out as she shed with her avatar, releasing a wave of light that Ria was able to dodge with ease. Seeing that she was not going to hit Ria while she was in this state, Freida gave up the attack and bolstered her defence. Breaking apart her golden spear, shields appeared around her avatar, protecting her from Ria''s onught. Jumping up, Ria gathered all of her lightning into a bolt before twisting her body and throwing it as hard as she could. *BANG!!!!! The impact of the bolt forced Freida to slide back as one of her shields was cracked from the impact. Just as Allura thought it was over since Ria had used up her trump card, she widened her eyes seeing Ria immediately re-enter her maximum charged state. Her hair red back once more as she gathered another bolt. *BANG!!!!!! The force from the second bolt was much stronger than the first yet Ria still wasn''t done. Circling around the avatar, Ria continued to throw maximum charged bolts one after another as lightning storm seemed to have erupted out from within the area. Even Allura was surprised by this oue as Freida no choice but to sit there and try to hold out as long as possible. "Well I''ll be damned. You have to give it to your granddaughter Gin, I didn''t think she could manage something like this." Alluraughed as she realised what Ria had aplished. Even thought Gin didn''t say anything, there was a sense of pride and happiness in his eyes as Ria chipped away at Freida''s shield. *BANG!!!! CRACK!!!!! Shattering Freida''s avatar, Ria was about to throw another bolt when Freida raised her hands in defeat. "It''s my loss. I should''ve taken care of you before giving you a chance to charge. Well yed." Freida smiled. By taking it easy early on, she set up the foundation of her defeat. Thanking one another to the spar, Ria sat next to Alice before deting from exhaustion. "Urg¡­ This method is way too draining f*ck¡­" Riained. "What did you do? I thought you could only use your charge once before having to recharge." Alice asked in confusion. "Did you see when I ced those traps? Well they have two usages. First, they can act as bombs I detonate whenever I want. Its useful but not for me. And during the fight, I figured something out. As long as I stay connected to these bombs, I can continue to charge them simr to how I would charge my body. But this would stop the moment I jumped and loss contact. "So whenever I was jumping or loss contact with the Arena that I was using as the connection, I would have them loop to one another and keep each other from dispersing. Then when I fully charged myself andunched my first attack, they were able to absorb the dispersed lightning charge that I thrown out, allowing me to essentially ''consume'' one of my bombs to get full charge again. Though this charge stresses my body out and hurts like sh*t!" Ria exined with an excited glint in her eyes. The ideas she gained during this fight helped solve one of her issues that she was nning to solve using her next Sigil. However, with this option now open to her, the Storm Spirit Sigil was even more desirable since this meant she could have an unlimited amount of fully charged lightning bolts at her disposal so long as her body can withstand the stress. "Congrattions on taking your first proper step into bing a good Hunter. As I said, mentality is key. Thinking outside the box opens a myriad of possibilities you never thought of before." Allura nodded her head in approval before patting Ria on the shoulder. "Good job. We''ll train moreter to see how we can improve this new technique of yours. Who knows, you might even be able to ask Luke to make you something with Abyss Engineering to help out with this." Allura suggested as Ria nodded her head. Next up to fight was Alice but she was still hesitant. After all, she could only go all out when she aims to take the opponents life. But this was a spar, such an option was not avable. Seeing Alice''s hesitation, Allura was about to say something when Alice took a deep breath and turned to her. "You said you''ll interfere if things get out of hand right?" Alice asked as Allura nodded her head. "Okay, as long as that''s the case." She trusted Allura''s strength, strength that will let her interfere if things go south. Approaching the arena, Alice pulled out a vial of blood. "Can I use this? Not for myself but for my weapon." She asked. Her opponent was a dark skinned girl with light blue hair and a pair of azure eyes. She had a small stature simr to Alice but was slightly taller. "That is fine. You may use any weapon at your disposal." She nodded her head with a smile. "Then can I use these as well? They''re my own blood." Alice asked, pointing to three other vials she had in her pouch. "Naturally, though I assume you''re not consuming them if they''re your own blood." "Don''t worry, I''m not drinking anything this fight. They''re just my tools." Alice reassured. "Then all is well. Chloe, pleased to meet you." Chloe bowed slightly as Alice awkwardly did the same. "Alice. Pleased to meet you too." "You can take the first move." Chloe gestured as Alice nced back at Allura before looking at Ria who was cheering her on. Taking a deep breath, she opened one of her vials and poured it onto her bracelet, transforming it into a dagger. Closing her eyes, she envisioned the feeling of the hunt. The woman in front of her was no longer a person for the duration of this ''hunt''. She was merely her prey, someone she needed to kill to advance. A beast. No more no less. Sensing a change in Alice''s aura, Allura was taken aback for a moment before turning to Ria, seeking an exnation. "Alice¡­ found out that she goes a little¡­ How do I put it... Blood thirsty when she fights?" Ria scratched her cheek. Suddenly, a wave of killing intent enveloped the arena as Gin furrowed his brows. Feeling a chill down her spine, Chloe shivered and blinked her eyes. This proved to be a mistake as the moment she opened her eyes, a dagger was right in front of her face. "!!!" A ring of ice immediately activated around her, blocking the dagger as she came face to face with Alice who seemedpletely different from her previous self. The re in her eyes, that cruel grin, it felt as though she was fighting someonepletely different. Chapter 82: Alice Vs Chloe Grinning madly like a wild beast, Alice kicked off the ring of ice and sent the dagger flying towards Chloe''s face without hesitation. The thick killing intent that permeated through the arena caused her movements to be sluggish. Nevertheless, she was able to protect herself with the ring of ice. Feeling her hands shake, Chloe furrowed her brows and took a deep breath. Activating her second Sigil, the ring of ice released a wave of mist that covered the arena. Before Alice could attack, countless spikes shot out of the ground, threatening to pierce her. Trusting her instincts, Alice dodged the spikes before extending the thread connected with her dagger. Twisting her body, she swung the thread, causing the dagger to fly out before hooking around one of the spikes and shing towards Chloe''s head. "Tsk!" Raising up an ice wall to protect herself, Chloe was forced to take her eyes away from Alice for a single moment. But that was enough. Crouching down, Alice used the spikes as cover and dashed towards Chloe while her first Sigil activated, boosting her physical attributes further. With Alice out of sight, Chloe was unable to respond to her sudden attack from below. While close quartersbat was not Alice''s forte, she was still adept in using her body to dodge attacks and counter. Not only that, she had seen how Ria fought in close quarters. Using that as a basis for her attacks, sheunched a flurry of blows towards Chloe. She led a jab to the stomach followed by a knee against Chloe''s face. Then, twisting her body, Alice kicked Chloe on the head using the back of her heel before following up with a right hook. Tugging her string, the dagger swung around the ice spikes before returning to Alice''s hand. Adjusting her grip, Alice prepared to sh down, but Chloe recovered from the surprise attack. Allura twitched a little, before rxing. Gritting her teeth, Chloe released a torrent of cold air, forcing Alice away from her. Ice manifested around her body, transforming into a set of crystalline robes. Chloe''s skin had turned a cold blue while anger and panic filled her gaze. Narrowing her gaze, Alice could see the three Sigils lighting up above her. ''Three Sigils¡­ Most of her markings are covered, but she seems to have an Anti Monster resonance.'' Alice thought to herself as she transformed her dagger into a long sword. Reaching into her pouch, she grabbed a vial of blood and poured it onto the de before rushing forward once more. Unlike before, Chloe did not give Alice a single chance to approach as a wall appeared in front of her, blocking the frenzied girl''s advances before a wave of spikes shot out, threatening to pierce her. Having sensed the danger, Alice had already thrown her de to the side, hooking it around a spike and using it to pull her away from danger. With her Sigil now boosting her strength to its limit, Alice jumped off the ice spikes andnded against the top of the ice wall. An idea appeared in her mind as she jumped up before Chloe could use the wall as a weapon against her. Twisting in mid-air, Alice lifted the sword above her before transforming it into a greatsword. Using gravity to her advantage, she swung the greatsword down towards Chloe using the threads, increasing its velocity. Unable to move out of the way, Chloe took a deep breath and opened her mouth. "Don''t underestimate me so much," She growled. Two pirs of ice shot out from around her, catching the greatsword from the sides and stopping it from gathering more force. Following up with a single ice spear, Chloeunched it towards Alice, who responded by tugging her thread to pull herself away from danger. Just as she passed the spear, Chloe snapped her finger and the spear shattered into countless tiny shards that collided with Alice''s body. Ayer of ice instantly formed across the surface of her body as Alice felt the cold assault her through the clothes. Furrowing her brows, Alice let go of the thread and let herself swing down towards Chloe, who had surrounded herself in a wall of imprable ice. Landing a kick against the wall, Alice could only smile helplessly as all her methods were exhausted. Her weapon was caught inside ice, her movements were slowing down and shecked the ability to shatter Chloe''s defenses. As it stood, she had no way of defeating Chloe. Raising her hands, Alice sighed and opened her mouth. "It''s my loss." Bitterness welled up inside her chest as she wasn''t able to defeat her opponent like Ria. With Alice surrendering, Chloe sighed in relief as she felt the killing intent disappear. As the ice slowly melted, Chloe gave Alice a slight bow before walking back, not wanting to stay longer if she could help it. Despite having won that fight, she could still feel the chill of Alice''s gaze. If Alice had another Sigil or two, Chloe wasn''t sure if she could''ve brute-forced the fight in the same manner. Walking back to the group, Alice sat down without saying anything. She kept her thoughts to herself and remained quiet. Giving Alice a pat on the head, Allura stood up and walked over to Wess, passing the vial to him. "Thanks for the sparring session, kid. Here''s the vial as promised," Allura smiled as Wess received the vial and bowed in respect. Anyone who could get their hands on that kind of blood and even give it away was not someone he should trifle with. "Right then, shall we go get some food to eat and reflect on what we''ve learned?" Allura called out to Alice and Ria. She was rather satisfied with the results of the fight. She had to admit, Ria was a surprise as she managed to innovate and grasp victory despite not having a resonance to match against Freida. However, Alice''s loss was within her expectations. After learning that the two defeated the four Sigil Cultist, there were two things Allura needed to do to ensure their future growth. First was to see what they learned and used during that fight, including how resourceful they were and how they nned a fight out. The second was the most important; it was to let them understand that not every Sigil user could be treated the same. Just because they defeated someone above their level didn''t mean it was a feat that could be repeated. It was the kind of thought that killed Hunters who provoked one another thinking they could win with ease. Her original n was to defeat both Alice and Ria while only using the power of two Sigils at most, showing them the gap in strength. However, having students who were of simr age and power was a betterparison. After all, her body had been honed by having more Sigils. Moreover, her experience was far superior to the two of them. ''I don''t need to worry too much, thankfully. Ria doesn''t seem to underestimate her opponents and neither does Alice. Though she does have what I assume to be a bad habit of running in head first before finding out about their strengths. Unlike before, she didn''t test out her opponents'' capabilities,'' Allura thought to herself. There were two ways Alice could''ve won that fight and she missed both. The celebration went by quickly, as it was simply a meal. Ria talked to Gin about whatever popped into her mind at the moment while Alice seemed distracted. She snapped out of it when the food arrived, but once she finished, she was back to being distracted. Asking Gin to take Ria back first, Allura gestured for Alice to follow her for a little walk. It was better to resolve her worries first. ''I understand Ria, but my understanding of Alice is still shallow. I don''t know her deeply yet. It also didn''t help that I had to disappear for a little while. I''ll be looking after her for quite some time, so it''s better to understand how she thinks as early as possible to avoid future problems.'' "Are you afraid of heights?" Allura asked. Alice shook her head. "Then let me take you somewhere fun." She grinned. Grabbing Alice by the waist, Allura held the young girl under her arm like a sack of potatoes and started to jump towards the tallest building within the city. With the speed she was travelling at, none of the Hunters were on guard duty noticed Alluranding at the top of a tower. "The air is freshest when you''re at this height. Take a seat. Want to talk about what''s on your mind?" Allura asked, patting the seat beside her. They were currently on the nted roof of the tower with a spire in the middle. The moon hung above them, unobscured by the clouds while the cityid below. The people walking around at that time seemed like ants, barely visible to the naked eye. "I''m just thinking about the fight. I was too hasty and forgot about the lessons on how to be a Hunter." Alice sighed while sitting down. She hugged her knees while looking at her boots. "Do you know the moment you lost?" Allura asked cryptically as Alice tilted her head for a moment before nodding. "Half way through when she used her third Sigil and resonance?" "Almost correct. You''re not wrong in that you could''ve ended it there had you gone for the kill after setting up the opportunity with your blood. But you didn''t and she was able to fight in a space where she was mostfortable and had plenty of protection around her. "The reality is that you lost the moment you let yourself go and released your killing intent. You put her on guard. In a fight between Hunters, especially for an Anti Hunter fighter like you, the fight is lost the moment you reveal your full hand. Your best chances to win a fight are at the start and the moment you set up your traps. How your weapon worked, what your Sigil is and the limits of your physical are all weapons at your disposal. "Information and theck there of are powerful tools in a fight. But overall, you didn''t do too bad. I''m proud of you Alice." Allura smiled earnestly while giving Alice a pat on the head. Feeling a warm feeling in her heart, Alice nodded her head and smiled for the first time outside of a fight. Chapter 83: Preparations "Now that we''ve got this sorted, have there been any changes with the Eye? I felt it almost awaken not long ago, which I assume to be during your fight with the Cultist," Allura asked as she wanted to know the changes Alice felt. Depending on how close the Eye was to awakening, they might have to prepare Alice for her second and third Sigil a little earlier than she had hoped. "Hmm¡­ Not sure. It said the time of awakening is nigh but then fell asleep right after. It did give me some new powers though." "Oh? Care to exin?" Allura raised an eyebrow. "If I look at someone, I can see their Sigils based on what''s above their head, as well as what the Sigils look like. Like Ria has three and the person called Wess had four." Alice exined while pointing above her own head. "Is that so¡­ How many Sigils can you see above my head?" Hearing this, Alice paused slightly before ncing above Allura once more. She was curious earlier and had already peeked at Allura, but the result confused her. It showed both Allura and Gin had 6 Sigils, but Alice knew they were more powerful than that, at least from the conversations she''d heard about them so far. "Six Sigils." "Only six? We still have quite a bit of time then. We''ll need to hurry once you can see more than six. Though I don''t believe this kind of power will help you defeat a four Sigil bearer, especially one from the Cult of the Eclipse. You don''t have to tell me if you don''t want to. I''m not forcing you. I''m just asking because I''m curious about what happened so that I can n some stuff around it." Allura shrugged while taking out a cigarette and lighting it up with her finger. ". . ." Alice was hesitant. ''Allura''s helped me out a lot and Ria already saw what happened that day. Even though she''s promised not to tell anyone, it might be better if I found out what this power was. I knew my body rejected Abyss Blood, but I don''t think it extends to Sigil power¡­ Could it be part of the abilities granted by the Eye?'' Alice contemted to herself before opening her mouth. It was something that never urred when she was in the Zenia family, so she doubted it had something to do with her own body. Moreover, she wanted to trust Allura. She wanted to trust the person who''s done so much for her, so she mixed the truth with some lies to protect herself. "I don''t know what happened. Randomly through the fight, I was able to¡­ borrow their Sigil powers after I drank their blood. We used that to surprise the Cultist and managed to kill him in the end." Alice exined as Allura fell silent. Furrowing her brows, she contemted for a moment before opening her mouth. "Do you still have ess to that power?" Shaking her head, Alice watched as Allura fell silent once more. "Hmm¡­ I didn''t think that would be avable to you so soon, but so be it. You already know that the Eye is something tied deeply to the Abyss. It''s a little strange, but perhaps that''s simply a byproduct of having the Eye imnted into you. Either way, if it''s a temporary boost, then its good news for you. Drinking too much blood before your body is able to handle it is very detrimental for you." Allura patted Alice''s head before standing up. "Since I''m pretty happy with your progress thus far, along with your performance at the spar, I think it''s about time we think about what you want to hunt for your second Sigil. If we''re lucky, we''ll be able to get this done before a fight breaks out between Zadash and the Cultists, who seem to be preparing an attack through the passageways into the nextyer of the Abyss." Hearing this, a glimmer of excitement appeared in Alice''s eyes as she couldn''t wait to see what ability she would gain next. "Let''s discuss this while we walk back. Give me some options that you''re interested in and I''ll make a list for you of what beasts you can try to designate as your Sigil target." Allura suggested as she offered her hand for Alice to grab onto. Grabbing Allura''s hand, Alice was about to talk when she pulled her down. The two of them suddenly plummeted towards the ground. Widening her eyes, Alice was unable to hold back a cry of panic. She didn''t expect Allura to jump off so quickly. Landing softly on the ground, Allura couldn''t help butugh after seeing Alice grab onto her as hard as she could, even to the point of wrapping her legs around her. "Please! Warn me next time!" Alice panted as cold sweat poured down her back. "Oh, but what''s the fun in that? Ahahaha! But setting that aside, what kind of abilities are you looking for? Or shall I just get a list of blood-rted abilities for you to choose from?" Allura asked as Alice thought to herself for a moment before pointing at her bracelet. "Something that can help me manipte blood. Or maybe let me heal from drinking blood. That way I can use the weapon better." While it may seem like it was focusing heavily on her weapon, the ability to control blood would be very helpful for her, considering her physical attributes and the abilities of the Eye. If she was able to control blood, she would be able to drink her opponent''s blood easier and gain their abilities while also being able to gather the blood from her surroundings. If such options were open to her, it''d augment her versatility during a fight. Not only that, but the ability to control blood meant Alice would be able to prepare traps easily and even have her own blood invade her enemy''s body. "Alright, I''ll figure something out. Make sure you get plenty of sleep tonight since tomorrow might be a rather tough day. I got a few interesting ns to help you train your physical body without Abyss Blood, as per your request." Allura smiled as Alice felt a chill down her spine. If Allura described it as tough then Alice knew she had to prepare herself for hell. Once they were back at the tavern, Allura made sure Alice got back to her room safely before leaving the building to go out on a midnight stroll. Hearing that Alice was able to borrow the powers of others, Allura was reminded of an era of old. ''Every day I am reminded of your passing¡­'' Allura sighed to herself as she walked out of the city. She was going to explore some of the passageways Neal''s men had discovered near the city and take care of any stray beasts that might''ve appeared to extend the time they had before the attack began. Allura had no idea where the Cultists were gathering, and searching every single pathway was simply too much effort for so little gain. After all, she could just wait for them to bunch up and arrive as arge group. ''The White Death is a little concerning, but I doubt I''ll need to get involved. Gin should have it covered. It''ll be good for the girls, too, since they''ll be able to see what a stronger resonance looks like. The real question is how they managed to kill an Abyss Lord that''s been sealed away. Their vitality is not something some random grunts of the Cult can extinguish and transform into a new beast that I''ve never seen or heard of.'' Allura thought to herself as she transformed into a sh of light that zed through the sky before arriving at the Inferno Tower Ruins. It had been left unattended due to the potential risks. Even if they had someone stand guard, how would they survive against a horde of beasts and Cultists on top of that? Jumping down the passage, Allura could feel the temperature drop, but it didn''t bother her. ording to Alice and Ria, they had met a Shasura within that passage. ''I doubt it''ll show up to fight me, though,'' Allura thought to herself. However, just as she thought that, she could see the shadow of the Shasura appear as it prepared tounch its tail at her. Sighing in annoyance, Allura simply narrowed her eyes at the beast as the tail came to a halt in mid air. It dared not move a single muscle, as doing so spelt death. "Good. Now go bother someone else." Allura extinguished her cigarette and walked away as the beast did not hesitate to hide itself in the mist, avoiding her as best as it could. Walking through the passage, Allura continued to descend further into the depths of the Abyss, not caring about the dangers. Nothing there could harm her. ### "Archibishop Mahri, I believe we have gathered all the beasts that are willing to listen in this area of the Howling Depths," A cloaked figure reported as Mahri nodded her head. "Don''t rush, give it some time. There will be more beasts that''ll arrive soon. It will bolster the army and give the White Death more sacrifices to indulge itself upon." Mahri smiled deviously as she watched the beast in question standing still, listening to her everymand. Around it, several cultists were carvingrge ritualistic symbols using specialised tools granted by the Cult. Once their preparations are done, the beast would''ve participated in two rituals. The ritual of famine and now, the ritual of war. With both ritualspleted, he will be able to gain the Eclipse God''s blessing, bing a beast that few could trifle with. Smiling at the thought, Mahri watched silently as they continued to carve markings upon the flesh of the beast. Chapter 84: Alluras Training "Allura¡­ My body... It''s different from others. If I drink Abyss Blood, the effects disappear after a short while. I was locked away because they wanted to test out the different blood types and their effects on me without wasting their manpower." Alice confessed as Allura was silent. Allura reached her hand out to Alice. The frail girl bit her lip and anticipated a head pat like her mentor had done many times before. A signal offort, one where she needn''t worry. However, that never arrived. All she felt was aggression as Allura lifted her up by the neck and held Alice above her. Scrutinizing the girl, Allura opened her mouth. "Monster¡­ Beast in human skin!" She cursed as Alice felt her heart sink. Those were the same words her father cursed her with as she was thrown in the Zenia Prison. "Wait! No, let me expl-!!" Alice called out, wanting to exin herself, but Allura ignored her. Lifting her up higher, Allura mmed her against the ground before pulling out a set of metal cors that sent chills down Alice''s spine. "No!!!" Alice screamed. Those were simr to the cor that stopped her from dying, one that kept her captive with no chance of escape. Despite struggling as hard as she could, Alice felt the cold metal sp against her neck as fear and panic anchored itself into her mind. ### "AHHH!!!!" Jumping out of her bed, Alice cried out in terror. She scrambled onto her feet and reached for her neck, dreading the touch of cold metal. Thankfully, that feeling was absent. She didn''t have the choker against her neck. mming against the wall, Alice slowly sat down. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears and feel the world spin in her gaze. That panic, that fear, it gripped at her core. Gritting her teeth, she felt tears welling up in her eyes at the mere thought of being locked away once more. ''I can''t tell them. I can''t tell any of them. If I tell them, it''s over for me¡­ What was I thinking¡­'' Alice bit her lip while trying to calm her heart down. ''They''ve done a lot for me, but I''ve only known them for less than a month. I can''t give away my biggest secret to them. Why are you trusting them, Alice?! Do you not remember what happened with your father?'' Alice cursed herself. Suddenly, she could hear a hurried set of footsteps rushing to her door. Bursting the door open, Ria could be seen in her pajamas looking around in confusion as she had heard a scream and a loud bang. Worried that something had happened to Alice, she rushed over to check. Seeing Alice sitting against the wall while clutching her neck with tears threatening to spill, Ria was left with a series of questions, but those could wait. Running to Alice''s side, Ria gave her a hug. Alice tried to pull away, but wasn''t fast enough. "You''re okay. Nothing happened. Did you have a nightmare?" Ria asked. Alice''s reaction was definitely strange. However, remembering Alice mentioned she was held captive for 10 years and then became a ve at the ughter docks, Ria guessed it to be the result of trauma from that period of her life. Unable to answer, Alice sat silently while Ria hugged her. Soon, her heart finally calmed down as she realised everything that happened was just a nightmare. Her mind was ying tricks on her. Though, perhaps it was a warning. A warning of what might happen if she exposes more about herself. "Thank you¡­" Alice whispered as she managed to get enough strength to stand up. Letting go of Alice, Ria wanted to ask her questions, but restrained herself. All that mattered was that Alice had begun to feel better. Sometimes, just having someone tofort you without any questions was the best medicine, and it was perhaps one of those times. "Do you need help? Or is everything okay now?" Ria asked. Alice shook her head. "I''m feeling better now, thank you. It was just a nightmare." Alice reassured, but Ria could see a glint of anxiety in her eyes. But, if she wasn''t willing to share, then Ria wouldn''t pry. "Alright, I''ll head back to my room now. Let''s get changed and get some breakfast, shall we? Allura said she had quite a training session nned out for us yesterday. Let''s just hope we can still feel our limbs by the end of today." Ria changed the subject as Alice nodded. Letting Alice be alone for the time being, Ria closed her room''s door and returned to hers. Now that she was alone, Alice took a deep breath and sighed. Laying on her bed, she couldn''t help but reach towards her neck once more, caressing the skin. This simple action was but a luxury thought for her when she was imprisoned. ''Use them to get stronger. Once I''m strong enough, I don''t need to worry. I don''t have to worry that Father will lock me up again, nor do I have to fear others.'' Alice bit her lip and resolved herself. Changing into her clothes, she tied her hair back into a low ponytail before heading down to get some breakfast with Ria. They didn''t know where Allura was staying the night, so the best they could do was to follow Gin as he took them to a training room. Unlike yesterday, they went through the proper steps to rent a training room from the Hunter''s Guild without barging into someone else''s session, thus saving Neal a headache. Before they could start their training session with Gin, Allura burst through the doors, causing Gin to sigh with a facepalm. "Tada~ I''m here. Sorry for beingte, I was dealing with a slight annoyance." Alluraughed while scratching her hair. She was holding onto arge sack that seemed to contain a myriad of items. "But I have brought a few items that''ll be useful for your training." She smiled. Opening the sack, Allura pulled out a handful of mirror-like items and started to hang them around the training area with some string. "Ria, I want you to throw your lightning bolt at this mirror and try to dodge. If you improve your reaction speed, you''ll be able to raise your top speed even further. Also, make sure to keep charging your body as much as possible. You want your body to get used to the maximum charge if you''re going to be using the trick you used from yesterday. Once your body gets used to it, you won''t be as exhausted as you were when you stopped," Allura exined. Ria nodded, however, she was still confused as to how those mirrors would help. Still, not questioning Allura''s methods, she did as told and gathered a bolt of lightning in her hand and threw it towards the mirror. Just as she did that, the other mirrors around the room started to resonate as tens of lightning bolts shot towards Ria, forcing her to jump back and dodge the stray attacks. But, it wasn''t over; one of the stray bolts collided with a mirror and they all started to resonate once more with the speed of the bolts increasing further. Unable to prepare herself, Ria was struck several times in the back, causing her to hiss in pain. "This will be your training for today. Every time a lightning bolt is reflected, the speed increases, but the power reduces. Your goal is to be able to dodge all of them while also making sure the stray bolts don''t hit the mirrors again. If you can stop the mirrors from getting hit after a few waves, your training will be done for the day." Allura smiled while firing small flickers of fire towards the lightning bolts, cancelling them out before more could shoot out from the mirrors. Taking a deep breath, Ria nodded, "Alright." With Ria now sorted, Allura had Gin look over her training while she pulled Alice aside, since she didn''t want her to get hit by a stray bolt. "Honestly, I wasn''t sure about your training. Some methods I have in mind are a little too extreme for you right now and we can''t really use Abyss Blood since you asked me not to. Your mostcking aspects right now are your physical power and your experience. The first one can be somewhat resolved by using your first Sigil." Allura exined as she started to pull out several contraptions that seemed simr to restraints. "Simr to Ria, I want you to get used to having your Sigil charged at full. Boost your physical power as much as possible while doing these tasks and slowly raise the cap. I want you to train with these restraints so that movement bes hard for you and forces your body to adapt. Once you''re exhausted, you have to keep your Sigil active until it bes second nature to you. "While all of this is happening, you''ll also be sparring with me. I''ll be taking it easy on you, so you don''t need to worry." Seeing the contraption, Alice was hesitant, but agreed to it in the end. It was a strange exoskeleton that had stic ropes around the limbs, making it hard to even bend them, never mind moving them like usual. Activating her Sigil, Alice boosted her physical stats while Allura started to adjust the contraption so that moving was hard even in that state. Once she was satisfied with the preparations, Allura pulled out a cigarette and lit it up with her finger. "All that''s left is to fight. Once we''re done with the spar, we can have a look at a few second Sigil options for you. I got a small list of some beasts that might be helpful for youst night. You can use it to get some ideas." Before Alice could thank Allura, she watched as thetter dashed towards her with her leg about to kick her in the chest. ''Oh f*ck.'' "GAH!!!!" Her training had just begun. Chapter 85: Four Targets Dusting her hands, Allura was rather happy with herself. Aliceid on the floor, unable to move. The restraints had gotten to the point where she couldn''t even bend a knee. As for Ria, she was in a simr state as she had been struck too many times by the mirror reflections. "How are you feeling now?" Allura asked with a slight smirk on her face. Forcing herself to look up, Alice groaned in pain. "Terrible." "Then the training did just fine. You should feel quite a bit of muscle pain tomorrow. Meanwhile, let''s have a look at this list for you. It''s a list of all the potential beasts I think would be suitable for your second Sigil." Reaching into her pocket, Allura pulled out a sheet of paper and ced it in front of Alice. "After going through all the beasts I know of and what''s avable nearby, I could only think of 4 targets. 3 rather simple hunts and 1 difficult hunt. Naturally, the rewards are worth the risks since they''re some of the best second level Sigils you can get." Allura exined, causing Alice to raise an eyebrow. "Does that mean I can try for a third level Sigil?" "You can, but I wouldn''t rmend it if you''re not prepared enough. Here''s the thing; if you go for a third level Sigil and you can''t contribute enough, you''ll forever be stuck at first level with each subsequent hunt bing harder and harder. Which is not a very optimal scenario. I''m not saying it''s impossible but very difficult, even by my standards." Hearing this, Alice nodded in agreement as that would cut her journey short. Looking down at the list, Alice contemted her options. [Grim Watcher] Difficulty ¨C 2 An unholy beast that wearsyers uponyers of ragged cloth, its limbs bound to its body through chains. Toxic blood flows through its body and it can manifest a shade of itself through blood. Potential Sigil Abilities: [Blood Shade Manifestation] [Corrosive Blood] [Grim Armaments] Beneath each Sigil ability was a small note on what they could do. ''Blood Shade Manifestation is like the name suggests. I can manifest a clone of myself using mine or someone else''s blood. The clone doesn''t deal much damage but I can use it to carry out dangerous tasks for me. Corrosive blood makes my poisonous blood even more dangerous with it corroding my target''s insides. As for Grim Armaments, it simply allows me to make weapons on my arms which isn''t too helpful.'' Alice thought to herself as she immediately rejected this beast. The most useful thing she could see out of the three potential Sigils was the Corrosive Blood in terms ofbat ability. She didn''t need to worry about weapons just yet, since she had the weapon gifted by Nalem, not to mention threads that won''t break easily. [Crimson Archer] Difficulty ¨C 2 A faceless archer with a white, expressionless mask. It wears a simple Hunter''s attire and wields a bow that''s fused to its right hand. Potential Sigil Abilities: [Blood Arrows] A simple Sigil that can allow you to make arrows from blood. However, once these arrows have struck their target or a targeted area, you are able to remotely control what the blood does. At this stage, there are two options, Cage and Thorns. Cage creates a restraint around the area while Thorns creates numerous blood spikes within the target''s body. [Hunter''s Gaze] Focus on a target, making it so that all attacksunched towards them automatically home in on their location. [Shade Step] Jump through shadows and relocate your position. ''Blood Arrows is versatile, but I don''t use bows much¡­ Assuming it can be done without firing an arrow, I could nt traps manually, which will be helpful. Or I could have my weapon act as the arrow and make the blood on the weapon transform.'' Hunter''s Gaze and Shade Step were useful, but didn''t suit Alice''s needs. For now, she kept the Blood Arrows as a potential option. [Dark Crusader] A dark justicar wearing ck armour and ck robes with red markings. A sword crafted from red energy and chains that can bind the target are some of its unique features. Difficulty ¨C 2.5 Potential Sigils Abilities: [Left Hand of Binding] Fire nodes from your left hand. These nodes can explode into a chain that you can control to bind your target. Difficult to break. [Right Hand of Judgement] Crimson energy erupts from your right hand, transforming itself into a tool for the Crusader. Whether that be a weapon or something else, all heretics shall be struck down by the hand of judgement. High damage. [Dark Vigor] So long as the Crusader does not die through injuries, blood loss will empower them further. They will never die from blood loss. While the crusader is losing blood, they slowly enter a frenzied state. Out of these three options, the most desirable was the Dark Vigor Sigil. With this, Alice would be able to keep fighting while ignoring her blood loss. However, it did not solve her issue of not having a way to break through most defenses, which is where the Right Hand of Judgement began to look good for her second Sigil. ''I shouldn''t be hasty to pick. Allura chose four for a reason. The next one is much harder, but the benefits it should give must be worthy if she has added it to the list.'' Alice thought to herself. [Blood Widow] Difficulty ¨C 3 A beast in the form of a woman wearing a ck wedding dress. A garden of blood spider lilies follows her wherever she walks, mourning her deceased husband on the day of their wedding. Potential Sigil Abilities: [Crimson Wedding] Designate a ce to be the location of your ''wedding''. In this location, red spider lilies will ''bloom''. They can be transformed into tendrils of blood that can be sharp as needles, if needed. [Widow''s True Face] Blood wings sprout from your back while a ck dress wraps around your body. In this state, all of your blood-rted abilities gain a boost. Poison blood bes more potent and Abyss Blood consumption increases its effectiveness without an increase of side effects. You can control all the blood that is removed from your body in order to form the wings. [Subus Song] A hypnotic ability that poisons a target''s mind. Once broken through, they fall into a state of hallucination, allowing you tomand them to a certain extent. Reading those options, Alice couldn''t help but swallow her saliva. All of the options avable were desirable. Crimson Wedding allowed her to create an area of blood without impacting herself. Furthermore, it allowed her the versatility of controlling blood. Window''s True Face was a double-edged de. It was powerful, but created a wound on her back and siphoned her blood away in order to power the ability. As for Subus Song, it depended on how potent the ability was. But considering the fact that it was on the list, Alice assumed it was more potent than the Spectral Hunter blood. Noticing that Alice was focusing on the Blood Widow for the time being, Allura opened her mouth. "A difficulty of 3 means she''s strong enough to be what a Hunter chooses to be their third Sigil. But there are ways you can get around this. It is risky but possible." Allura warned as Alice nodded slowly, taking the difficulty into ount. Out of all the Sigil abilities she''d seen, [Blood Arrows], [Right Hand of Judgement], [Dark Vigor], and [Crimson Wedding] were the ones that grabbed her attention. All of them solved the issues she had. [Blood Arrows] gave her more trapping options for ambush. [Right Hand of Judgement] gifted her a strong attack option that shecked. [Dark Vigor] gave her survivability while [Crimson Wedding] was a coin flip worth the risk. It depended on how the ability worked. "Allura." "Hm?" "[Crimson Wedding]¡­ The Blood Spider Lilies are made from blood, right?" Alice asked. Allura nodded. "And I can control them however I want, yes?" "Yes, you can. The Blood Widow''s main strength lies in the fact that it can manipte its blood at will." Allura confirmed. "Then, can I use it to heal myself, if needed? This blood is made by me, right? Will it inherit my poisoned blood abilities?" Alice asked as her choice hinged on the answer. If the [Crimson Wedding] synergized with what she already had, the possibilities were endless. If she could control the blood and if it could even harden into weapons, she could potentially ''heal'' herself with the blood and seal the wound. If it could synergize with her poison, the entire area would be covered by the fumes of her blood poison. Staying silent for a moment, Allura contemted before slowly nodding. "Yes. Yes, it would. The [Crimson Wedding] Sigil will naturally inherit the properties of your first Sigil, making it so that the Blood Spider Lilies will all be created from Spectral Hunter poison. As for healing yourself with the blood, it''ll be a bit difficult, but not entirely impossible." Allura confirmed as Alice could feel her heart rate increasing. Seeing the excitement and nervousness in Alice''s eyes, Allura chuckled and patted her head. "Alright, seems like you''ve made your choice. Honestly, the Blood Widow is one of the more difficult level 3 fights even for people with three Sigils. But do you want to know why I chose this to be one of your targets?" Allura grinned. "Why?" "Because it''spletely possible with your skillset. If you are prepared for the battle toe, your second Sigil can be one that borders on the power of a fourth Sigil. Naturally, as your guardian, I will make sure you are fully prepared for this hunt." Allura patted Alice''s head. She was d that Alice picked the fourth option despite the warnings. It was also a test that she had prepared for Alice, one where she''d be able to judge Alice''s mentality from that point onwards. Her desire for improvement and her will to fight¡­ She had it all. ''She''s shaping up to be a fine sessor of the Eye.'' Allura thought with a small smile after seeing the excitement in Alice''s eyes. Chapter 86: Training For The Blood Widow Allura called out to Gin while helping Alice loosen the restraints. "Gin! Can you help me with something?" "What is it?" Gin raised an eyebrow in confusion. It was unlike Allura to ask a favour like that. Usually, she would just demand his help. "Can you help me grab a few things? I need to prepare Alice for her second Sigil. There''s a lot to do and I''ll be having my hands full," Allura shrugged. Hearing this, he raised an eyebrow in curiosity. ''If Allura needs me to gather some materials while she trains the kid, then this hunt isn''t going to be an easy one. What kind of target did she choose for her?'' "Sure. What do you need?" "I need a cape made from Crimson Silk, Lunar Siren Abyss Blood and a pretty hefty supply of Scarlet powder. Though if you can make them into bombs, it''ll be easier for me," Allura listed out as Gin furrowed his brows. "What the hell are you hunting? These items aren''t usually prepared for a 2 star hunt." Gin asked while scratching his beard. "Nothing crazy. Just a Blood Wid-" "A BLOOD WIDOW?!?! Are you nuts?!" Gin''s eyes widened in shock. That was not something a 1 Sigil bearer should be hunting. "Tsk, no need to shout. We got a n~" Allura waved her hand dismissively. "You of all people should know how risky this is! Even if you got a n, there''s no guarantee that it won''t go south, and you''ll have to intervene! When that happens, the hunt could fail and her next hunt bes much harder!" "That is why we need these items. Trust me on this. If we prepare properly, Alice will be able to do this," Allura smiled confidently. She trusted Alice''s potential. All she needed was the right amount of preparation and training to kill a Blood Widow. Gritting his teeth, Gin knew that Allura wasn''t going to be dissuaded. He sighed in annoyance. "Fine. It''s not my ce to lecture you on how you should train her. But you should be well aware of the risks thate with this." "Don''t worry about it~" Alluraughed as Gin sighed once more and prepared to leave. If he wanted to get those items quickly, he''d have to set off right then or else he wouldn''t be back any time soon. Saying goodbye to Ria, he left the training room. Meanwhile, Ria was slightly confused as she didn''t hear the full conversation. "What''s going on?" "Oh, your grandfather is just going out to gather some stuff for Alice''s next hunt. She''s nning to hunt a 3 star beast for her second Sigil so we need to prepare it properly. We''ll also need you to help us, Ria," Allura chuckled. Blinking, Ria pointed at herself. Allura smiled. "We''ll bebining our attacks together to mimic the attack pattern of the Blood Widow Alice ns to hunt. She needs to get a general idea of the power level of this beast or else she will die. I''ll be using my mes to emte how the Blood Widow will fight while Ria, I want you tounch as many bolts of lightning as you can towards Alice when I signal you to." Making some preparations, Allura cleared out the training room so that none of the equipment wasying around. "I want you to take it seriously from the start. When you reach me, go for the kill. Because trust me, you won''t be able to. The training will finish when I''m satisfied," Allura warned. Alice nodded. Taking a deep breath, she breathed out slowly, entering her mental state for the hunt. Pouring a vial of blood on her weapon, she narrowed her eyes and prepared to charge forward. Seeing that, Allura snapped her fingers and conjured numerous motes of fire that covered the entire training room floor. Waving her finger, they blossomed into spider lilies, mimicking the effects of [Crimson Wedding]. Killing intent flooded through the arena as Alice could feel her world darken around her. The threat of death emanating from Allura made her body sluggish as cold sweat dripped down her back. "What''s wrong, Alice? Didn''t you say you wanted to hunt the Blood Widow? This is the killing intent of all three star hunts. If you cannot get used to this, then you can forget about killing her." Allura called out as the fire spider lilies started to transform. Snapping her fingers again, hundreds of ming needles shot towards Alice. Gritting her teeth, Alice stomped down and activated the Eye''s ability, increasing her kic vision. She could now see the countless needles threatening to pierce her body. ''Find the closest ones! Prepare for the second wave and don''t stand in one ce. Don''t let excitement overwhelm your thoughts. Stayposed and figure out her power,'' She thought to herself. Those were the tips Allura gave her after seeing her performance. Activating her first Sigil, Alice rushed forward and dodged the first wave of ming needles before twisting and sending out her dagger. Flicking her finger, Allura casually knocked the dagger aside with her mes before gesturing to Ria. Four lightning bolts dropped down from the sky as Alice panicked and threw her dagger to the side before dragging herself away. Unable to adjust herself in time, Alice tried to fight back some more, but several ming needles pinned her down against the ground. "You died. You didn''t even get within arm''s reach, how do you expect yourself to kill a 3 star beast if this is the best that you can do? Try again," Allura said coldly. Alice gritted her teeth and walked back to her original spot. Focusing up, she rushed towards Allura once more. "You died. Try again." "You died. Worse than before." "You died. You really thought the beast would care about such a distraction? Try again." "You died." "You died." "You died." On the 50th death, Allura decided to take a break so that they could get some food. Allowing Alice to rest for now, she left the training area to get some food for the girls. Meanwhile, Ria walked over to Alice, wanting to see how she was feeling. She hoped that Alice wasn''t feeling too down by the results. After all, she was trying to kill a three star difficulty beast as her second Sigil. "Are yo-" "ARGGGGGG!!! THIS IS SO ANNOYING!" Alice cried out in frustration, shocking Ria. She never expected Alice could be that loud. Forcing herself to sit up straight, Alice took several deep breaths to calm herself down. She began to scratch her neck while considering the possible options of attack. ''I can neither rush forward nor run to the sides. She''ll overwhelm me with the number of spider lilies followed by the lightning attacks. I''m not sure what the lightning attacks rece but this first wave is too annoying to deal with. I need a way to survive the onught or else I''ll never reach her. I don''t even know how tough it''ll be to kill this b*tch either since I haven''t been able to touch her.'' Alice thought to herself while sitting with her legs crossed. Seeing that Alice was lost in her own thoughts, Ria couldn''t help but chuckle as she gained a new understanding of her after today. She wasn''t someone that would give up easily, even while under the pressure of a near-impossible situation. ''It''ll be bad manners to ask her to give up when she''s put this much thought into it. The best thing I can do is help her in the training,'' Ria mused. As much as she would like to give Alice some tips, Ria was not sure how she would survive such an onught. "Ria, if you had to kill this beast, how would you fight it? I know our fighting styles don''t match, but I need some ideas. As it stands, I don''t know how to approach her without getting shredded to smithereens." Alice sighed and turned her attention to Ria as it seemed like she had some ideas on her mind. "Oh, me? Hmm¡­ Honestly, even with my speed, I don''t see how I''m going to get through that barrage. Assuming she has a limit to her range and it''s shorter than mine, I''ll stay afar and use my lightning bolts. Because, let me be honest, even with my speed, dodging through all of that is insane," Ria replied honestly. Nodding at Ria''s response, Alice started to think about some ns of her own. ''The closer I get to Allura, the faster the spikes be. Not to mention the fact that they''ll also start appearing from behind me since I''m getting closer to the center of her area. I need a way to make her go on the defensive¡­'' Alice thought to herself as she formted a new n of attack, one that doesn''t require her to dodge everything that Allura threw at her, since her physical strength was simply not enough. She could see the attacks and their trajectory, but having the necessary power to run through and dodge everything was out of her reach at the moment. However, just as she was thinking about that, an idea appeared in her mind, causing her to sit up straight. "No way¡­ if this works¡­" She muttered. Jumping to her feet, she started to experiment with the idea before an excited smile appeared on her face. As Allura returned to the arena, she was surprised to see a spark of excitement in Alice''s gaze. "Seems like you had an idea while I was gone. Would you like food first or have another go at it?" Allura asked. "I''ll take another go. This time, I won''t die so easily." Hearing this, Allura chuckled. cing the food down by the side, she approached her starting position. "Then, show me what this new n of yours is." Chapter 87: Alices Plan Against Allura Taking a deep breath, Alice closed her left eye and focused her mind. The entire world seemed to slow down around her as she transformed her bracelet into a dagger before extending the threads on her gloves. Swinging it around her, she took a deep breath before nodding at Allura. "Well let''s hope this isn''t the limit of your n since you''ve already tried it before." Flicking her finger, numerous ming spider lilies appeared in the arena once more as they shot towards Alice, each aiming to ''kill''. ''Pick out the path with the least resistance. I don''t have to dodge all of them. n the dodge, cut down any that I can''t!'' Alice thought to herself as she immediately started at full speed. Running to the right, she side stepped two needles before twisting her body and swinging her dagger, cleaving another in half before continuing on. Seeing this, Allura smiled and fortified her defences andunched another wave of needles while simultaneously gesturing towards Ria to prepare her attacks. ''Two from the right that I can''t dodge, one from above and three in front. Tsk.'' Stabbing her dagger into the ground, Alice dashed to the left while slowly closing the gap between the two of them. *BANG!!! Before she could get any closer, a bolt of lightning shot down from above as Alice pulled on her thread to forcefully drag herself away from the strike area. Just as she pulled herself back, another wave of needles appeared above her and shot down. Remaining calm, Alice once again picked the best path possible and retrieved her dagger, cutting down anything that she could not dodge. Right now, she had three tools in her arsenal. Four if she counted her poison ability but that was not going to work right now. First was her kic vision, second was her glove andstly was her physical boost. As much as she wanted to bait using her physical boost, she was not at the stage of having the luxury of keeping the Sigil turned off so that was impossible. Same goes with her kic vision meaning the only flexible option she had was her weapon. ''I need to hold off on the n until I get closer. If I expose it too soon, I won''t be able to use it again without Allura being prepared.'' Alice thought to herself with a frown. She needed to push herself to be as close to Allura as possible. Dodging a second wave of lightning, Alice transformed her dagger into a staff and started to knock aside the needles using both sides of the stick but times was running out. As more and more needles are thrown towards her, Alice could sense her options running out as the moment she is wounded by a needle, she''ll be forced to turn off her Sigil les she risks herself dying from blood loss. ''Just a little bit closer!'' Alice cried out in her mind but Allura simply waved her hand as a barrage of needles rained down upon her while being apanied by several lighting bolts. Gritting her teeth, Alice kneeled down on one knee. ''F*ck it! Now or never!'' Just as Allura thought that Alice had reached her limit, Alice grabbed her staff and mmed it into the ground, causing it to transform into a dome around her and warding off the attacks. With the nature of the strange material the guard was created from, it was not limited to weapons. Once the barrage paused momentarily, Alice jumped through the dome as the material wrapped around her body, forming a makeshift suit of armour around her upper body. Mainly a pair of gauntlets and some chest armour. Raising an eyebrow, Allura was surprised by the durability of the weapon as it warded off her mes with rtive ease despite the fact that Alice was still feeling the heat. ''What in the f*ck did Kaden give her?!'' Running forward as fast as she could, she warded off the needles using her gauntlets before twisting her body and transforming her armour into a sword. Putting as much force as she could without any hesitation, Alice swung towards Allura who only smiled as a wave of mes erupted from around her, pushing Alice back. "ARG!!" Letting out a cry from the force of that attack, Alice rolled against the ground and quickly stabilised herself before dodging a wave of needles. Looking up at Allura, she widened her eyes at the pair of ming wings behind her. "[Widow''s True Face]. All of the blood increases in potency. How will you deal with this?" Allura asked as Alice was unable to answer. Looking at the needles that have transformed into spears, Alice wanted to rush forward once more but was immediately stopped when one of the spears stabbed the ground in front of her. Had she been faster, she would''ve definitely been pinned to the ground! "Alice dear, don''t keep me waiting now." Allura grinned as all of the spears shot towards Alice. "F*ck." ### Naturally the result of the fight was utter domination by Allura. Alice was unable to deal with the second ability as she waspletely outssed in raw power. Simr to her fight with Chloe, she was too slow to react or dodge the attacks. Bitterly shoving food into her mouth, Alice had to admit that she was annoyed. She was annoyed that her n didn''t work and now she''s lost the element of surprise against Allura. She''ll be ready for when she transforms her bracelet into armour that''ll protect her momentarily. "Oh don''t be like that. It was a valiant attempt and certainly better than your other attempts. Why don''t you use that armour more if it can block the attacks?" Allura asked curiously as she understood that Alice wanted to save it until thest few moments. "Material is spread too thin. It can block a few attacks but not a lot. Takes too long to reformpared to just changing it to a weapon. So, I can only use it when I''m close to block some attacks then counter with a weapon attack." Alice answered after swallowing her food. "Is that so? What''s the limit of the transformations?" "Everything has to stay connected. I can''t separate the material apart unfortunately." Alice shrugged. She wasn''t sure of what will happen if a piece of the weapon breaks off midbat, but she wasn''t eager to test it out. After all, she understood that this was a priceless item that she was holding in her hands. A weapon of such versatility was not seen often and even when she did see a transforming weapon like Freida''s spear, it was limited by shape unlike her bracelet. Thinking to herself, Allura nodded her head and smiled. "Well with this new information, seems like your chances of clearing this hunt has increased from 5% to 10% based on how you use it." Hearing this, Alice paused mid bite and slowly turned to Allura. "Wait¡­ I only had a 5% chance of clearing the hunt?" "Yep! That''s including the gifts I wanted to give you by the way. Without it, I''d say you have a 1% chance." Allura calcted as Alice furrowed her brows. "A 1% to clear the hunt¡­" "Oh sorry, I meant a 1% chance to survive approaching her. If you wanted to kill her then that''s even lower. But hey, on the bright side it''s not impossible anymore. We just need to be smart with how we use your weapon." Allura corrected herself as Alice no longer felt like eating. She had actually embarked on a Hunt that only has a less than 1% chance of seeding if she did not include the gifts that Allura was nning on giving her. Meanwhile, Ria could only pray for Alice''s safety as she understood what Allura was like. After all, when she embarked on iming her third Sigil, Allura took the same approach when training her and forcing her to get strong enough toplete the hunt. This was simply Allura''s way of doing things and Alice had two choices. Yes and Yes. "Though then again, it''s not really fair since you''re unable to use your best weapon in all of this. Your poison blood. It''s the main reason as to why I even put this beast on the list of targets. Otherwise I would be training you to kill the Dark Crusader instead since his [Dark Vigor] Sigil is VERY useful for you." Allura shrugged. Tilting her head in confusion, Alice didn''t know how her poison blood would work. "Fine let me exin. The Blood Widow is a beast that has very very strong offensive power but weak defensive power. Despite being a three star hunt, her actual body is as weak as a one star beast. If you can wound her, she will gather blood towards her main body in order to heal. This means if you can mix your poison blood into her system, she''ll naturally fall into a state of hallucinations making it hard for her to use her abilities to defend herself. That is when you''llnd the final blow. The hard part is getting to this stage as you''ll need to traverse her onught of attacks and actually seed in harming her enough to the point where she starts to recover her injuries." Allura exined. "Wait¡­ Then can''t I just shoot her with my blood or something from afar? Ya know load it into a vial connected to an arrow and just, fire in her general direction." "I mean you can if you want to lose the advantage of her not knowing about your poison blood. There''s a chance she recovers from the effects of your blood before you can get to her. It''s more potent when directly applied into her body." Allura chuckled while leaning back and pulling out a cigarette. Falling silent, Alice understood that there were no shortcuts to this. She had to get strong enough to the point she could dodge the onught. Everything else bes easier after this step. Chapter 88: A Change In Training The trainingsted three days, with Alice seeding in approaching Allura butcking the damage needed to finish the job. Every time she approached, she would be a step too short or have sacrificed power for speed. No matter how Alice went about it, she was unable to take thest step needed. Understanding that there was no use in trying the same thing over and over while expecting different results, Allura opted for a different type of training, one that tested Alice''s reaction speed and kic vision. She had to practice keeping her Eye activated as long as possible to aid her in battle. The issue ofnding the final blow could bepensated with tools or external help. After all, the Abyss allowed assistance so long as the contribution did not exceed half of the Hunt. Allura exined that having her or Gin help would instantly tip the scales and Alice would fail the hunt simply because they wee too strong and even the smallest assistance during the fight would change things. However, the same couldn''t be said for Ria. She was allowed a maximum of three assists during the fight. Depending on the actions she takes, however, the opportunities could be much lower. Thus, they wanted to limit her assistance to once only, unless Alice couldn''t handle it anymore. It was the best way to ensure Alice sessfully imed her second Sigil. And while it may be unbelievable, Allura understood that having Alice do it entirely solo was going to be difficult. If she was in the same situation, not even Allura could guaranteepleting the hunt, especially with Alice''s limited experience. "Learn to use your peripheral vision! You can''t just focus on what''s in front of you. Make sure to turn your head and eyes to capture as much of the world around you as possible to make the most of your abilities. As it stands, your tools are limited, so you must make the most out of each one!" Allura spoke aloud as Alice was made to keep a certain distance while she fired ming needles and spears at her. Alice''s goal was to either dodge, block or counter them and stay ''alive'' for as long as possible. While that was happening, Ria''s goal was to find the perfect opportunity to assist Alice, whether it be helping her destroy some of the attacks orunching one toward Allura. It was up to Ria to choose whichever suited the moment. Flicking her hand, two spears shot out to the right of Allura. She red at Ria. "Too soon! You''ve just wasted a big opportunity and warned the beast of your presence. Now, you must also dodge her attacks. Just because she has an optimal range doesn''t mean she can''t extend it by sacrificing her power. If enough attacks hit you, how are you supposed to assist Alice in killing her?!" Allura shouted ruthlessly as she snapped her fingers and sent 10 needles flying towards Ria, who panicked and tried to dodge, but failed. Three hit Ria''s right arm, which she used to throw the spears, two to the chest and stomach, one on the right leg, and the rest fortunately missed. "You died. Now, Alice is preupied and unable to help you. What was your n?" Allura frowned as Ria had no response for her. Just as Allura was about to open her mouth once more, she sensed a thick wave of killing intent. It was enough to suffocate a grown man. Allura snapped her head towards Alice''s direction just in time to ward off her spear while using the ming wings behind her. "Good try, but you make yourself too obvious!" Overwhelming Alice with a barrage of ming attacks, Allura pulled out a cigarette and lit it with one of her flowers. Blowing out a cloud of smoke, she looked at the duo. "The two of you have gotten a little better. Ria, you need to observe your target more and pick out a good opportunity to actually help Alice. If you take a wrong step, you''ll actually make the fight harder for her as she''ll then be forced to worry about your safety. "Alice, you did well, but as I said, you made yourself too obvious. Even without turning my head, I felt my warning bells screaming out at me, and that''s not just because I''m experienced. Humans, and especially beasts, have a keen sense of danger. Some are better than others, but when there''s killing intent, you can feel the surface of your skin prick up before your mind warns you of danger. "With such killing intent, even a child would be able to feel something is wrong. Intent is good, however, misuse of it will only lead to things bing harder for you. Control yourself and focus your mind. You need to understand the source of your killing intent and control it," Allura exined. Alice took a deep breath and sighed. The source of her killing intent was simply her hatred towards the Zenia family, her father, and the injustice she was subjected to. Everything she did was to simply avoid such a fate once more. ''How should I hide this intent¡­'' Alice thought to herself as she healed her injuries with some healing blood while Ria did the same. "Take a break for now and gather your thoughts before we go at it again. There has been big improvement over these three days, but it''s far from enough. If I send the two of you out to fight this beast, even if you kill it, one of you will most likely die," Allura ordered as both Alice and Ria copsed onto the ground to catch their breath. While the two were resting, Allura simted the possible options they could go with. ''I don''t like leaving things up to chance¡­ but as it stands, I don''t see how Alice can kill it without Ria stealing the contribution and making the Hunt fail. Abyss Blood can help, but augmenting her strength this way will make the future more difficult as the side effects pile up.'' Allura thought with a frown. Then, there was one unknown factor. Alice could borrow power. She neither knew how the power worked nor the restrictions in using it, including how long it normallysts and what it could aplish. However, if what Alice said was true, and that she could borrow their power momentarily, it would make her resistant towards the Blood Widow''s powers and maybe¡­ even use it against her. That would be the boost of power they needed, the final step Alice needed to take. But it was a gamble. ''I want to prepare her as much as possible before she chooses to take this gamble. Plus, she''s keeping a lot of things from me. I don''t me her, though¡­ Everyone has their secrets. It just makes my job a damn lot harder.'' Allura scratched her hair in frustration. She didn''t know why Alice was so against the idea of drinking Abyss Blood despite her actions, but she assumed it was partially due to her old family, one that she shed some light on but hid a lot of truths about. ''She didn''t say much about her family, only what they did. But there are only a handful of noble families that can aplish what she''s mentioned, so they must be rather important. If I wanted to, I could probably find out the truth by asking the main branch of the Underground. But, having that information out is pretty bad¡­ Argh, who the hell did Kaden drop me with.'' She thought. Shaking her head, Allura gathered her thoughts and prepared for the next training session. With things as they were, she wanted to try out a few more ideas before sending Alice to hunt the beast down. External tools were helpful, but relying too much on them would hinder her growth. She had asked Gin to get them the bare minimum, yet very effective, tools for the hunt. Using those tools, with some luck, and a gamble, Alice should have a 50/50 chance of clearing the battle with minor injuries. ''The first few Sigils are always the most difficult when setting down a foundation. But once they''re done, things will only get easier.'' Finishing her cigarette, Allura walked up to Alice. "I''ll be honest with you, Alice, so I want you to be honest with me. Right now, including uncertain elements like you borrowing an opponent''s power, how confident are you at killing this beast?" Allura asked as Alice paused. "I want you to envision your optimal preparation. Everything you think you need, you have. If you were to enter battle with the Blood Widow, how likely are you toe out victorious?" Hearing this, Alice fell silent. In an optimal scenario, she would need ess to a few vials of healing blood, her own blood, some foreign blood where she could borrow powers from, and a kit where she could gather the blood of the Blood Widow and turn its powers against itself. With all that avable to her, it woulde down to how long she could keep the Eye activated and how long she could keep herself alive against the onught of blood needles. "I can probably inflict some wounds once every 4 or 5 attempts. I''m not sure if the damage will be enough to hurt her deeply. It also depends on how the beast reacts," Alice admitted as Ria was surprised. If it was anyone else, she would''ve said that they were bluffing. A one Sigil user beating a three star Abyss Beast? Impossible. But she had seen it personally, how Alice was improving with each day, how she dodged the onught of attacks and counter the spears. "Hou~ So you think you have a 20 to 25% chance to inflict some wounds on her. That''s certainly a start." Allura chuckled. ''You can never be fully prepared for anything. There will always be a change in ns. I just need to teach her how to adapt and this hunt should be her''s for the taking. A make-or-break moment to see if she matures her mindset of a Hunter.'' Allura mused to herself as her n is to have Alice face this beast by the end of the week. Chapter 89: Final Preparations For The Blood Widow After two more days, Gin finally returned from his shopping trip as he seemed annoyed by the difficulties of procuring such tools for this fight. As he arrived at the training arena, he couldn''t help but stare nkly at what he was seeing. Both Alice and Ria were paralysed on the floor unmoving while Allura was squatting over them. ". . ." "Oh wee back Gin. Did you get what I need?" Allura asked with a smile after noticing Gin''s presence. "Yes, I have them with me. Care to tell me what kind of training requires you to squat over the two of them?" Gin sighed, feeling a headache already from their shenanigans before she even started to exin. "Well¡­ For you see¡­ I''ll be honest I got nothing. We''re pretty much just rxing right now and I couldn''t be bothered to stand up. I''ve been beatin- training them for 6 days now. They''re more or less ready for the Blood Widow." Allura shrugged as she had a cigarette in her mouth. Standing up, she burned the cigarette away with her mes before looking through the bag that Gin had brought. Checking through the items, Allura nodded in satisfaction. "I''m guessing you had to pull a few strings to get these. They''re rather high quality." Allura remarked, giving Gin a small thumbs up. "You don''t say. When are you nning on starting this hunt? I''d like to remind you that things are looking like they can erupt at any moment now. On the way back it seems like the Neal evacuated most of the civilians to the underground shelters and ready to leave whenever in caravans." Gin asked as the timing was rather unfortunate. "It''s fine, we got enough time. Plus, I''ve already tracked down the location of the Blood Widow. It''s actually pretty close to one of the entrances of the Howling Depths. We might even catch a glimpse of theming to attack the city." Allura joked while closing the bag. Shaking his head at her nonchnt behaviour, Gin could only sigh and follow behind. After all, her attitude came from the fact that she had enough power to single handedly stop everything. "Alice! Your tools for this hunt has arrived. I''ll give you 10 hours to familiarise yourself with them while we make our way to the hunting spot. In these 10 hours you are to get rested up as well and prepare yourself for the fight ahead." Allura called out while cing the bag next to Alice. "Urg¡­ What''s in this bag?" Alice asked with a groan, forcing herself to sit up while wincing at the muscle pain all over her body. "It''s what I asked Gin to buy almost a week ago. Even I know asking you to kill the Blood Widow is a tall task, especially with just one Sigil. These should make the job easier but you needed the skills and reaction to use them first, hence the training that we did. The first item is a cape made from Crimson Silk." Allura exined while pulling out the first item. It was a ck and red cape with a hood and wasrge enough to cover Alice''s entire body. "Crimson Silk has a rather funny reaction whening in contact with blood. Especially hardened blood. If a hardened spear of blood collides with this cape, it''ll get turned back to liquid form and dispersed around you. However, the only downside is that this cape gets worn out quickly. So if you just sit there and take everything that''s thrown at you, you won''t even be able to approach her before the cape is destroyed." Hearing this, Alice nodded her head and understood that this Cape was for the attacks that she absolutely could not dodge as well as to protect her from a sudden attack she was not prepared for. A life line in other words. "Second Item is Lunar Siren Abyss Blood. You remember the note I gave you yes? How she had three potential Sigils you could choose from. Well her third ability, [Subus Song] is pretty much always activated. It''s an ability that can be activated in a handful of different ways and it''s going to be annoying to memorise all of them. Hence the easiest option is for you to drink Lunar Siren Blood before you start the fight. It''s a rtively high quality Abyss Blood with the effects of making you immune to hypnotic abilities that will result in you being charmed." "And the downside?" Alice asked, understanding that every type of Abyss Blood has its side effects. "Side effects are¡­ rather negligible if you give it some time. It essentially makes you very outgoing, flirty with a side of killing whoever you flirt with. That''s the mental side effects. Physical side effects are a constant thirst for water and feeling as though your insides are being dried up. A single vial shouldst you the whole fight but there''s two in here so keep thest one as backup. Side effects should go away in a few hours." Allura exined before turning to thest item. "Final item is the most important. Scarlet Powder. Answer me this, what is the Blood Widow''s most powerful asset?" Allura asked with a smile. "Her blood?" "Bingo. Scalet powder makes it so that blood is forced to coagte into this weird slim that bes very hard to control. If things get too overwhelming, throw one of these bombs near where most of the blood flowers are gathered and you''ll notice a needles and spears losing their velocity and range. The main use of these bombs are for the walls and shields she puts around herself when she''s in danger. Use this to give yourself an opening during the fight." Looking at these three tools that Allura had prepared for her, Alice couldn''t help but admire her preparation for this Hunt. All of these tools are prepared in order to shut off the Blood Widow''s most powerful weapons and make her more manageable even for a one Sigil bearer like herself. "How much did all of this cost?" Alice couldn''t help but ask as Allura turned to Gin. "A lot. That''s all you need to know. Scarlet powder is a rather importantmodity for Hunters who specialise in bounty hunting. Since spreading it through the air will make the blood vials exposed to the dust lose their effectiveness. If Hunters can inject this powder into their prey''s body, their blood will forcefully clog up their system and if not dealt with immediately, they''ll die." Gin shrugged while taking a drink from his sk. "Wha¡­" Blinking her eyes, Alice couldn''t help but look down at everything she''s received thus far. The outfit, the gloves, weapon and now these three tools. "Don''t think too much about it. It''s to set up a good foundation for you. As long as you remember not to rely on tools in the future then all is good. The start of a Hunter''s career is the hardest. Once you have your Sigils set up, life will be easier for you." Allura patted Alice''s head before standing up. "Don''t drop your guard because you have these items. They''re here so that you actually have a fighting chance against the Blood Widow. Even with these items, you can still be killed in a blink of an eye." Gin warned as Alice nodded her head nervously. Meanwhile, Ria refrained from correcting Gin despite knowing that her grandfather was exaggerating. It was just so that Alice would be more careful in this fight due to the dangers. With all of these items, Alice''s chance of survival had been boosted by arge margin. "I already have a driver arranged for our trip. It''s going to take us half a day to get there so use this time wisely." Allura smiled as she helped both Alice and Ria back on their feet. Taking this time to stock up on some healing blood that Alice would need along with her own blood vials, they found the driver that Allura had hired and left the city. Their destination was a ce called the Marble Forest. As its name suggest, the forest looks as though it was created from marble due to the fact that every single tree was pure white. Their leaves were a deep red, contracting the colourless nature of thend. "Most of the beasts there are flying types with a few exceptions. The Blood Widow being one of them. Folk tales suggest that the Blood Widows go there to relive their wedding day before they lost their husband." Allura exined as Ria remembered something. "Wasn''t there a story about what you should do?" Ria asked as she remembered hearing some tales during her walks through the different cities. "Yes. The story goes roughly like this. If you happen to meet a widow dressed in ck amidst a world of red, sing your praises and celebrate life. For when the wedding bells toll, death will arrive." Allura chuckled. "Why are all these stories so grim? Wasn''t the story about the Spectral Maiden the same?" Alice asked with a slight frown. "Don''t ask me, I wasn''t the one who made them." Allura shrugged. "Though then again, where there''s smoke there''s fire. These stories aren''t just the ramblings of old folk you know, some contain truth of the matter." Allura chuckled cryptically, not wanting to go into detail regarding what she said while Gin simply drank from his sk while keeping an eye out. He had long gotten used to Allura''s shenanigans and learned to not worry himself over everything she says. Unsure of what to make of this, Ria and Alice looked at one another and shrugged before getting as much rest as they could. When they wake up, they would''ve arrived at their location and the hunt will begin. Chapter 90: Strange Blood Widow "Rise and shine, it''s time!" Allura shouted, waking both Ria and Alice up. Lifting the two over her shoulders, she left the carriage before cing them down and gesturing for the driver to get to a safe location. "We''re here. Me and Gin will be watching from afar. We won''t interfere unless you are close to death. After all, the moment we interfere marks your hunt a failure. I want to ask you again in case you have any second thoughts. Are you sure you want to hunt the Blood Widow?" Allura asked. Alice nodded. There was focus andmitment in her eyes. Allura smiled with satisfaction. "Alright, When youe face to face with the beast, remember to designate it as a target of your hunt and prepare for a fight to the death. Ria, once again, the key is to find out the perfect moment to give Alice your support. Ideally, you want to keep your distance so that Alice doesn''t have to worry about you if you are discovered. Okay?" "Yes, ma''am!" Ria jokingly saluted, causing Allura to gently knock her on the head. "Now, focus. May the Abyss bless your hunt." Watching Allura disappear with Gin, Alice turned around and stared at the entrance of the forest. Tall white trees as far as the eye could see, lifting the skies above with its crimson leaves, apanied by white grass and dirt that was seemingly untainted by the world. Taking a deep breath, Alice mentally prepared herself while Ria gave her body a stretch. "I''ll take the high ground through the branches. Don''t worry, I''ll keep an eye on you even if you don''t see me. Just take things at your own pace. I''ll follow up, okay?" Ria reassured her. Alice nodded in response. With that signal as the start sign, Alice cracked her neck before running into the forest while turning the bracelet into a hook. Throwing it against the trees, she used the branches to help her navigate the forest at high speed. Even though she said she was going to be right behind her, Ria was surprised by Alice''s proficiency with the weapon despite only recently acquiring it. If she didn''t know better, Ria would''ve thought that Alice had been using the bracelet for a long time. Activating her first Sigil, she jumped up onto the treetops and followed behind Alice. ### Dashing through the forest, Alice recited the information Allura had given to her in her mind. ''When I see it, I need to designate it as the target using the Eye. Allura did warn me to keep interactions with the Eye at a minimum so that it doesn''t wake up too early.'' Alice thought to herself as she noticed a pair of eyes staring at her from above. Killing intent flooded out as Alice narrowed her gaze and transformed her hook into a de before twisting her body and throwing it above. Stabbing deeply into the neck of a bird beast trying to ambush her from above, a spear of lightning erupted from deep within the forest and pierced it, finishing it off after Alice stopped its movements. Raising an eyebrow, Alice nced back and gave a thumbs up, knowing that Ria could see it even if she couldn''t see her. Continuing her run through the forest, she noticed a small change in the surroundings. Landing on the ground, Alice kneeled down and looked at a red flower standing out amidst the white surroundings. Looking up, she could see the flower slowly increase in number before thend was fully covered in red. ''When you see the Blood Widow, don''t attack immediately. Doing so will enrage her and cause her to go all out at the start, making the battle hard to approach. y along, get within range, and try to end it before it even starts. Should youck the power, follow the original n.'' Alice thought to herself as she slowly walked through the field of crimson flowers. Her weapon transformed back into a bracelet. She was currently wearing the cape made from Crimson Silk, blending in with her surroundings. Pulling down her hood, she double-checked her equipment. Her blood pouch was housing 10 vials. 2 Lunar Siren vials, 3 of her own blood vials, 4 healing vials, and one berserk vial to give her an extra push if needed. Not only that, six scarlet powder bombs were hooked to her belt and hidden under the cloak. Grabbing one of the Lunar Siren Vials, Alice opened it and drank all of the contents in one gulp. She could already feel the side effects kicking in, but kept her focus strong. With everything checked and ready, Alice narrowed her eyes at the hazy figure in the distance, obscured by the field of red spider lilies. Taking a deep breath, shemuned with her Eye. [Do you wish to hunt this beast?] ''Yes.'' Flinching from the sudden headache, Alice could feel a connection being formed between them as a ck and red energy swirled around the Blood Widow before reaching out towards Alice and forming a tether. Understanding that her bounty had been set, Alice approached the figure. Cold sweat dripped down her back. She felt as though thousands of eyes were staring at her, examining her every move. It was akin to needles stabbing against her skin, thick killing intent permeating the entire area. Yet she never made a move. Trying her best to keep her breathing under control despite the killing intent suffocating the air from her lungs, Alice was d to see that Allura was right. The Widow wasn''t killing her despite getting this close. As she closed in on the figure, her appearance became clear to Alice. She was a tall woman with a slender body and sickly whiteplexion. She was facing away from her, making it difficult to discern some features. Pale blonde hair draped over her shoulders as a white veil covered her face. The veil itself was stained with blood as it dripped onto the flower bouquet she was holding in her hands. The flowers within the bouquet had long been stained red. She wore an elegant wedding dress adorned with frills and fake flowers. Blood soaked her gloves along with her dress. She slowly turned towards Alice. If Alice couldn''t sense all the killing intent along with not having the knowledge that she was a beast, she would''ve mistaken her for a strange woman in a strange forest, not a creature that could end her life in a heartbeat. "Ah¡­ A guest¡­ Are you here for my wedding?" Thedy asked softly as she tilted her head at Alice. "Yes, I am." Alice nodded as thedy smiled happily. "Then please, take a seat. I''m sure my fianc¨¦ will arrive soon." She chuckled. Waving her hand, tables and chairs were created from blood as an altar appeared in front of her. Following along, Alice took a seat while making sure she was keenly aware of her surroundings. As time passed, the woman continued to stand by the altar, waiting silently while holding her bouquet. Sobbing sounds could be heard as blood slowly dripped from the woman''s eyes from behind the veil. "Young one¡­ May I ask that you leave? It seems like my fianc¨¦ will not be arriving today." Thedy asked, forcing herself to smile and surprising Alice as she froze up on the spot. ''Did¡­ Did the Blood Widow just ask me to leave? Without trying to kill me?'' Alice questioned herself as she could feel the killing intent fading away, but notpletely. However, it was not targeted towards her. ''Isn''t the Blood Widow supposed to end the ceremony in blood? It''s here where she''s most vulnerable. Wasn''t this an opportunity for me to strike?'' Confused by the sudden turn of events, Alice slowly stood up while keeping her eyes on the Widow. "Young one¡­ It''s rude to watch a bride cry on her happiest day¡­ My fianc¨¦ will not turn up¡­ The wedding is over¡­ Please leave me to grieve." The Widow asked once more as she kneeled down on the altar. Her shoulders shook from her sobs as blood continued to pour around her. Furrowing her brows, Alice bit her lip and took a deep breath. She could ask Allura questionster. The Abyss was a ce that held many secrets and she had barely begun to scratch the surface of its knowledge. She had already set her bounty, all that remained was to finish the task at hand. Closing her eyes, Alice gritted her teeth and transformed her bracelet into a de before cleaving downwards vertically, aiming to cut the Widow in half. However, a cage of blood was formed before Alice could even react. "So you will not leave¡­ I''m sorry¡­ But dare I imagine? Young Hunter¡­ You''vee to take my head? Rid me of this ursed ritual¡­ Or leave thy life behind like many others¡­" The Widow sighed as she slowly stood up. Lifting the back of her hair, she revealed her back that had been carved with countless ritualistic markings that bled through her dress. In an instant, Alice felt as though she was drowned by the killing intent. The world turned ck before her vision returned. Jumping back in shock, she watched as all of the trees that surrounded them started to rustle. One by one, spider lilies started to fall from above like snowkes. The veil covering the Widow''s face disappeared, revealing her ghastly visage of having her eyes plucked out, leaving behind sunken eyelids with blood pouring out from beneath the skin. Scars simr to what she had seen on the back of Ria''s scalp could to seen across the upper half of the Widow''s face. "Goodbye Young Hunter." With a wave of her hand, the forest sprung to life as countless spikes shot towards her from above and below. Widening her eyes, Alice finally understood. This was not an ordinary Blood Widow that Allura had told her about. Ignoring the abnormalities in its behaviour and appearance, the range of her attack was far toorge! Gritting her teeth, Alice focused her Eye and slowed down the world around her. This was no longer training; it is a battle to the death! Chapter 91: Facing The Blood Widow Rushing to her right, Alice carefully navigated the field of blood spikes while cleaving away any that was undodgeable using her de. ncing behind her briefly, she could see an array of spikes closing in on her. ''Dammit! How many spikes can she even throw?! This is way more than what Allura showed!'' Alice thought to herself as she bent her body back, dodging the spikes at thest second and watching them past above her. Quickly adjusting herself, she kicked off the ground and flipped through the air, dodging more before throwing her de towards an iing blood spear that was threatening to pierce her chest. *CLANG! Parrying the spear, Alicended on the ground and took a deep breath. Now that she had calmed herself down, she could observe her surroundings calmly. ''There are quite a few blood spider lilies that are dropping down from above butpared to the blood on the ground, they''re quite slow. Spears are few and far between so they''re not a priority, I need to focus on dodging the fast spikes.'' Alice thought to herself while dodging a barrage of spikes. ''She doesn''t seem to regard me as a real threat yet. Treating it as simply swatting away a fly.'' Narrowing her eyes, Alice crouched down and dashed forward in a straight line towards the Blood Widow who was surprised by her approach. All those that hade to hunt her always took a roundabout route instead of going head on. Aiming her palm at Alice, she clenched it into a fist as the flowers around Alice''s location transformed into a giant maw, threatening to eat her in one gulp. Seeing this, Alice trusted her instincts, transforming her de into arge staff and vaulting herself into the air, dodging the bite before twisting her body and swinging the staff towards the Blood Widow who blocked using a wall of blood. Feeling the feedback from the wall, Alice almost dropped her weapon but kept her grip firm. Just as she was about to reach for one of the bombs, she felt her skin prick up and her mind screaming at her. ''Danger!'' Widening her eyes, Alice tried her best and twisted her body to the side. "GAH!" Letting out a cry, she watched as a spear of blood had pierced her from behind. Due to her fast reaction, the damage was limited to the side of her abdominal area. She was still able to fight! Jumping away from the Blood Widow, Alice grabbed one of her healing vials and tore off the lid before drinking the contents. Feeling her wound sealing up, she took a deep breath. ''I need to inflict a wound or else I''ll run out of tools before the fight even ends.'' Alice frowned while parrying a barrage of spikes once more. ncing around her, she noticed that she was now much further away than she had hoped and the attacks kepting. At this rate, she''ll be pushed out of the Blood Widow''s range. ''Let instincts take over. But don''t let that be an excuse to block off my rational thinking. Lay out traps, use dirty tricks, don''t let myself be limited by the intent to kill.'' Closing her left eye so that she could focus with her right Eye, Alice decided it was time to use one bomb to close the distance. Jumping back slightly, she kicked against one of the tree''s and jumped up into the branches before using them as cover from the attacks. Transforming her bracelet into a hook, Alice used that to navigate the tree tops while circling around the Blood Widow. Her cold stare ring at her unceasingly, waiting for the moment an opportunity arises. Meanwhile, Allura had a smile on her face while watching this from a distance. ''That''s it Alice, keep it up. You are the Hunter here, not her. Keep your killing intent under control. Temper that desire for blood and wait for the perfect chance.'' She could see the changes in Alice''s mentality, how she approached the fight. Now that it was a true battle and not a training spar, Alice''s growth started to shoot through the roof. "Seems like that Alice girl is one that grows inbat rather than training." Gin muttered while keeping an eye on Ria. "Seems so. Her improvement in training was good but honestly, it was quite futile. Seems like I''ll have to force Alice to fight more beasts in the future if she wants to learn how to be a Hunter." Allura chuckled. "Her instincts are not dissimr to the beasts I''ve faced deeper in the Abyss. Granted that she''s low on experience. Having her fight beasts will teach her how to fight like one. It suits her instincts more. Having her fight as like a Hunter seems rather restricting." Gin narrowed his eyes. To him, her fighting was awkward. But once she lets her instincts take over along with her thirst for blood, she seemed more like herself and in the state of pure concentration where she could demonstrate 120% of her power. Though for Alice, rather than concentration it''s more the state of blood lust. "That''s true. We''ll see how she wants to develop herself. If she wishes to fight like a beast I''ll teach her the ways. If she wants to fight as a Hunter then I''ll teach her the mindset required." Alluraughed. However, herughter was cut short as she noticed something strange with the Blood Widow. While Alice was focused on dodging her attacks, the Blood Widow sat down on her location and blood continuously poured out from her location. ''What the hell did the Cult do to this beast¡­ I see that she has been through a ritual, but what kind?'' "Gin we might have to intervene depending on what happens." "Eh? I thought things were under control." Gin blinked his eyes in surprise. "Yeah well not anymore. Just look at that Widow and tell me if it looks normal or not." Allura shook her head and pointed towards the Widow''s direction. Squinting his eyes, Gin couldn''t tell the issue. But if Allura was saying he had to be ready then so be it. "Alright. But if Alice fails this hunt then what are we supposed to do?" Gin asked while giving his neck a massage. "We''ll have the Underground bring a Blood Widow from elsewhere for her to kill. It''ll be more difficult but we''ll bridge the gap using tools just this once. It''s not how I hoped to do it but if Alice gets stuck mid hunt because the one I picked out decided to be abnormal then it''s on me, not her." Allura sighed. When she had discovered this Blood Widow a few days ago it seemed normal. There were no marking nor were there any visible wounds on her body. However, at this moment, there were three abnormalities she had discovered in this location. The first was the Widow. Her actions were far too strange for a three star beast. Second, her wounds. And third, the amount of beasts in this forest. There was quite a few beastsst time she had checked this location and she expected the same this time. But now the number of beasts in this forest could be counted on one hand. Regardless, Allura stopped goofing around and in a rare case of seriousness, watched the fight carefully, seeing if she needs to interfere or not. ### Doing several backflips to dodge the spikes, Alice was continuously forced to retreat without getting a change to approach the Widow. "Tch! Do I have to use the bombs to soon?" She muttered, unable to keep her frustrations in her mind. Parrying more spears, she noticed the density of the attacks increasing as more blood spider lilies started to fall from the sky. [Pathetic.] A hollow voice rang out in her mind as Alice understood it was the Eye waking up momentarily. ''What the hell do you want now? Just shut the f*ck up and go back to sleep.'' Alice cursed towards it while dodging the spears before running towards the Widow. [How can rest¡­ When you are using my powers so much? Have you not noticed? You''ve been keeping the power active since the start. You don''t even feel the pain do you?] Hearing this, Alice could feel her adrenaline wearing off as a shot of pain flooded from her right eye, forcing her to close it as the world returned back to normal speed. "!!!" Gritting her teeth, Alice tried her best to parry the spears but several grazed past her arms and legs while one managed to stab her in the thigh. [To think you are losing to something like this¡­ Mine owner, what makes you think you are deserving of my power with such demonstration?] ''I don''t. It wasn''t me who lodged you into my damn skull. But you''re here now and I can''t do a damn thing about it.'' Alice retorted while letting out a frustrated shout of anger. Relying on her instincts, she knocked aside the spears before grabbing a bomb and throwing it in front of her. She had no choice now. Her Eye has been forcefully shut due to the strain and she had to push forward before she is overwhelmed! *BANG!!! Exploding into a red mist, all of the blood nearby exploded and fell to the ground. Seeing this, the Widow couldn''t help but tilt her head in confusion as Alice twisted her body andunched a spear towards the Widows head. Blocking it with a wall of blood, the Widow paused in shock as there was another bomb hooked against the shaft of the spear. *BANG!!! Seeing her blood wall get blown apart, she was unable to react to Alice charging towards her with blinding speed. Arriving in front of the Widow, Alice grabbed her spear and transformed it into a de before cleaving down with all her strength. She could feel the de edge carving through the Widow''s flesh before breaking the bones and going all the way through. A fountain of blood sshed against Alice''s face but she wasn''t done yet. Using her spear hand, she grabbed two of her blood vials before crushing them with her hand as she had no time to open the lid normally. Sshing the blood all over the Widow, Alice jumped back slightly and prepared herself for the second phase. [Foolish¡­ Mine owner, do you even know what you are fighting?] ''A Blood Widow why?'' Alice furrowed her brows. Without replying, a string of words appeared above the Widow''s head. [Maiden of the Blood Moon - ???? (Pseudo)] ''SH*T!'' Chapter 92: Blood Widows Awakening Before Alice could react, a pulse of energy pushed everything away from the Blood Widow as she wed at her face while letting out a gut-wrenching scream. The trees twisted in response, and the skies were suddenly dyed a deep red. It was as if they had been transported to a different realm. Above her, a crimson moon glowed ominously while countless tendrils of blood exploded out of the Widow''s body, shredding her dress to pieces while revealing the ghastly body hidden beneath the fabrics. ck and red blood hovered around her like a strange mix between a serpent and a cloak while the world graced her appearance. Crimson orbs slowly opened up on her body as they seemed to act like eyes, focusing their gaze on Alice. "!!!" Widening her eyes in shock, Alice felt something pierce through her body. The next thing she knew, she was flung back and had smashed through countless trees. The air was forced out of her lungs while the world spun in her vision. She could vaguely hear the distant roars of thunder striking down against the Widow, who conjured countless spears to fight against the lightning. Looking down, Alice could see the blood spear embedded into the right side of her chest. She had been struck before she could react. [Well, what do you n to do now, o'' master of mine?] [How will you finish a pseudo-four star hunt?] ''Why does it matter to you?'' Alice asked softly as she could feel her consciousness fading in and out. [Because you are now my new master, whether I like it or not. We have already formed a connection. Finding a new host will be difficult¡­ After all, Kaden took 120 years before he nted me into your eye socket.] ''120 years¡­ Damn, he must be pretty old¡­'' Alice forced augh in her mind as she slowly sat up. ''Say, were you responsible for me being able to borrow the powers of those Cultistsst time?'' Alice asked while trying her best to focus her mind. She could see Ria jumping out from her cover with several nodes hovering around her, helping her reach maximum charge whenever she released an attack to ward off the Widow. [Had I been awakened, I would be inclined to say yes. But, that is not the case. All the blood that runs through the Abyss is ursed ambrosia. Man or beast, they are all the same. Man simply gained the favour of the Abyss, allowing them to augment their blood. In other words, they be beasts with the skin of men, but do not lose to the hunger of the cursed blood. As for you¡­ you are a strange one. I have no answers.] ''I see¡­ Can I assume you''re my ally?'' [If you prove yourself worthy.] ''Then, watch carefully. The real hunt is about to begin.'' Alice smiled as she grabbed the spear with her hand. ### "Allura, if you''re not going to step in, then let me go instead. What the hell are you doing right now?!" Gin furrowed his brow. Allura had stopped him from jumping in the moment the Maiden struck Alice using an attack clearly far above her level. "Have patience-" "Patience?! You want me to be patient when your new student is on the verge of death and my granddaughter is covering for her?!" Before Gin could continue, Allura red at him with a side eye, forcing Gin to shut up. He gritted his teeth and drank a mouthful of alcohol from his sk. "That beast has long surpassed what a three star hunt is supposed to be. She''s not there yet, but it''s bordering on the edge of four stars. I don''t see how they can finish this hunt without us interfering." Gin sighed. "Let the two figure that out for themselves. They grow fastest when they''re staring death in the eyes. You never know, Alice might even surprise you." Allura narrowed her eyes. She could see something changing within Alice''s aura. A familiar feeling, a pang of nostalgia. Scenes of an age lost to the rivers of time, an era that no one remembered. She could remember that confident smile, that fearless nature. It felt as though she was seeing it being reborn within Alice. ''The Eye wouldn''t bring about such a change¡­ This is Alice''s nature from the start. It was merely suppressed under her current personality, after what she experienced early on in life. "It''s not toote to interfereter," Allura reassured Gin, who had no choice but to ept her decision. ### ''What the hell is this beast?! I thought it was supposed to be a three star hunt?!'' Ria screamed in her mind. She barely managed to parry the onught of blood tendrils with her own lightning bolts. asionally, the Blood Widow wouldunch a vertical sh using hardened blood, but Ria was able to dodge in time, thanks to her always having a maximum charge of lightning. ''Its power is already rivalling that of the peak of three star hunts I''ve seen before, and Alice wants this her second Sigil? Impossible.'' As much as she wanted to end the fight there and then, doing so would make Alice''s life much harder, as she''d forever be stuck trying to kill something harder. The best thing Ria could do at the moment was stall for time. As long as she didn''t directly impact the sess of the hunt too much and just stalled for time, she could interfere for quite a while. ''She told me to limit it to one assist, but here I am now fighting head-to-head.'' Ria berated herself while dodging more shes. Jumping back, she spotted something take form above the Maiden''s head; a strange crown of obsidian appeared out of thin air. Waving her hand down, a cage of spikes crashed down around Ria as she gathered all of her strength and activated her third Sigil, unleashing all charges of lightning and breaking the cage in one go. If it wasn''t for the fact that Ria knew she could reach full charge once more rather easily using her new technique, she would not have used such a method to escape. Taking a deep breath, Ria gathered one of her nodes and reached maximum charge once more before mming her hand down, causing the ground to rumble while lightning struck in the area around her, destroying several blood spikes that the Maiden nned to use. But that didn''t slow the Blood Widow down as she simply waved her hand and the destroyed spears reformed themselves. "!!!" Activating her charge once more, Ria created a dome of electricity around her, blocking the attack while taking the chance to reposition herself. It was at that moment Ria felt a pair of hands grab her ankles. She looked down and saw the Maiden slowly rise from a pool of blood that had gathered beneath her. "Damn it!" Gathering as much lightning as possible, she struck down on her own location. *RUMBLE!!! BANG!!!* Countless lightning bolts struck down at her location, forcing the Maiden to let go before retreating slightly. Panting heavily from repeated uses of her maximum charged state, Ria could feel her body screaming at her to stop. The pain through her muscles and joints made it hard to even move, but she held on. She had to stall long enough for Alice to recover. Then, they could think of a n of retreat. ''This hunt is undoubtedly a failure¡­'' She sighed. Jumping back, Ria started to search for Alice when she noticed a shadow behind the Maiden. Just looking at the clothes told her it was Alice, but her appearance seemedpletely different. She could no longer see Alice''s facial features; there was a veil of darkness covering her face while red liquid swirled in it. It reminded Ria of watching oil flow down a river. A strange, mesmerizing pattern could be observed while the same could be seen on Alice''s hands. She had taken off her left glove that didn''t have her weapons attached. Like her face, her hand was covered in darkness while red swirls flowed through its surface. The strangest part of all was herck of presence. If Ria had not been looking at the Blood Widow intently, she wouldn''t have even noticed Alice. It seemed to be the same with the Maiden. It was unable to react to Alice opening her mouth and¡­ taking arge bite out of her shoulder! "!!!" Snapping her head back in surprise, the Maiden attempted to attack Alice, but she was already gone from her location. "Thank you. Now, let me finish up this hunt," Alice''s voice whispered into Ria''s ears as she felt a tingle down her back. Right now, Alice was like a ghost, unable to be detected yet present at the scene. Understanding that Alice must''ve consumed the beast''s blood, Ria jumped back and returned to her hiding spot, allowing the girl to finish what she started. It was only once Ria returned to her spot did she spot where Alice was. Standing on one of the branches, she was looking down at the confused Maiden who was trying to find out where she was. The darkness surrounding her face had been removed and reformed itself into an extension of Alice''s outfit with her jacket now extending to ankle length and the rest of her outfit looking as though it was alive with the edges squirming with the same ck material and red swirls. While her right eye remained the same, her human eye had been changed. It was nowpletely red with a silver iris. Looking up at the blood moon that manifested itself due to the Maiden''s powers, Alice curled the corners of her lips up into a smile and jumped down towards the Maiden. Perhaps it was a high from consuming the beast''s blood but right now, Alice knew she could kill her target. Chapter 93: Maiden Of The Blood Moon ''Eye, can you tell me about the powers that her blood gave me?'' Alice asked as she focused her gaze on the Maiden down below. [This Maiden of the Blood Moon is a unique case. Her abilities are adaptive, especially when you drink her blood. Usually, when someone drinks her blood, they will be able to gather surrounding blood to heal themself. However, you already demonstrated something different.] [Right now, her blood is mixed with something strange, and when paired with your own strange body, it has formed a reaction outside of the knowledge I have gathered.] ''I see¡­ It feels simr to when I borrowed the Cultist''s power. Abyss Blood should only give me one ability, but this is different.'' Alice thought with a slight frown. However, Alice didn''t know how long she had left before that state wore off, so she had to finish it early! ''I must keep my mind sharp! Indulge in the frenzy, but don''t lose to it! I need to test, refine, andpile my understanding of this power and use it to kill her!'' Jumping down, Alice dove into the blood and appeared beneath the Maiden. Hooking her fingers against the blood, she transformed her bracelet into a w that started to merge with the blood around her and cleaved upward. *CRACK!!!* The Maiden was able to react just in time as a blood wall blocked the w from tearing off her head, but Alice wasn''t done. Diving back down into the blood, she reappeared behind the Maiden''s wall, surprising the beast before grabbing her by the hair. Without saying anything, Alice mmed her head down, headbutting the beast and forcing her to step back. Kicking off the blood wall, Aliceunched herself towards the Maiden and took a bite out of her neck. Swallowing the blood, Alice had to supress augh froming out. The blood around her started to spike up in excitement. Flicking her fingers, she created a wave of needles that shot towards the Maiden. ''All the blood is connected. I can move myself through this blood, but only if it''s a big enough pool. But will it work with weapons?'' Alice thought to herself as she created a dagger and threw it through a pool of blood. In that instant, Alice could feel a flood of information appear in her mind, telling her about all the possible gateways she could have the dagger exit from. Arge grin appeared on her face as she conjured more blood needles and threw them towards the Maiden. Remembering the training Ria had to undergo, she flicked her finger and made the dagger shoot out from one of the needles, shing the Maiden before hitting another needle and repositioning. Not only that, the thread remained connected! A n immediately formed in her mind as she retrieved her dagger and dived back into the blood, dodging a counter-attack from the Maiden. ''I can control the needles to some extent, meaning, I can have the threads tighten around her. But I''m also fighting the Maiden for control of the blood. She''s surprised by my abilities right now, making it easier, but she should be wrestling back for control soon.'' Throwing a blood spear into the air, Alice appeared in its position and created a greatsword using her bracelet. Twisting her body, she threw the de down towards the Maiden who stepped to the side and dodged. The de sailed past her, into the blood. However, that was part of Alice''s n from the beginning. Behind the Maiden, a spear erupted from the ground, acting as the exit portal for her greatsword! "ARG!!!" Letting out a cry of pain, the greatsword pierced through the Maiden''s chest as Alice tugged against her thread and pulled herself through the portals, appearing behind her prey. ''I don''t think my blood would work on her.'' She thought to herself. She needed to find a way to kill the Maiden. Even though she''d gained the Maiden''s abilities, her issue of not having a finishing move still persisted. Grabbing the Maiden''s neck, Alice swung herself around her before stomping down on the greatsword handle, causing the de to swing up and cut the beast in half. Transforming it back into a bracelet, she kicked against the Maiden and jumped back. Flicking her finger, four pirs appeared around the Maiden as chains of blood shot out of them and wrapped around her body. "RIA!" Alice shouted out as loud as she could while pressing her palm against the blood on the floor. *RUMBLE!!!!* Above their location, dark clouds gathered. Ria had been waiting for that moment! She was currently aiming two fingers at the Maiden from her hiding spot. During the time she was hiding, Ria had been gathering numerous lightning nodes on the tip of her fingers, ready for the moment Alice required her help. With Alice shouting her name, a grin appeared on her face as she fired the nodes worth 7 full charges! *BANG!!!!* Seven lightning bolts pierced the Maiden''s body before exploding upwards, forming a pir of light that breached the thunder clouds above the area. Resonating with the st, arger bolt of lightning crashed down from above! The impact caused the blood to explode, forming a wave that swept Alice away. Adjusting herself in the pool of blood, Alice looked towards the Maiden. She was still alive, but barely. Blood was surging towards her and repairing her wounds. ''I need to finish her off now!'' There was only one way Alice could see herself killing the Maiden, and that was depriving her of the blood she was using to heal! Flicking her finger, she forcefully wrestled the blood away from the Maiden and formed a dome around her, preventing any blood from reaching her. Jumping through, she appeared above the Maiden and dropped a scarlet bomb at her, causing the former Blood Widow to lose her ability to gather blood momentarily. Jumping down and stabbing a dagger into her back, Alicemanded her weapon to start drinking as much blood as it could! However, with the dagger embedded into the Maiden''s back, Alice had to keep her upied. Swinging around, Alice punched the Maiden on the side of the head before following up with a kick to the back of the knee, forcing her to kneel down. Grabbing the dagger, she reached forward and stabbed it into the Maiden''s chest before dragging it back, causing her to fall onto the ground. Before the Maiden could control the blood to protect her, Alice gritted her teeth and stabbed the dagger into her shoulder before stomping on it as hard as she could, separating the limb from the body. She could not use any of her blood powers near the Maiden right now, or else everything would be for naught! Stabbing the de into the neck, she extended the guard before kicking it. *CRACK!!* Breaking the Maiden''s neck, Alice continued to inflict as many wounds as she could to force her into trying to heal. Meanwhile, her dagger continued to feast off the Maiden''s blood. Little by little, she could feel the resistance of the blood under her control fade. The Maiden was unable to fight back whatsoever. While the Maiden of the Blood Moon had strong control over blood, her body was as weak as the average Hunter who hadn''t refined their body. [A Bounty has been imed.] Hearing this, Alice paused and panted heavily. Catching her breath, she could feel her heart pounding against her ear. She looked down at her victim. Compared to the youthful visage she presented herself with, the Maiden was now a skinny husk of her former self. Her skin was practically sticking to her bones. Countless carvings could be seen across her body. She looked practically mummified. "Sss!" Taking a sharp breath of air, Alice could feel a knife carving against her skin as the Sigil was being etched onto her body. [This¡­ is strange¡­ You didn''t kill a beast? No¡­ she was a beast. Then, why¡­] Confusion could be heard in her mind as Alice''s vision was bing hazy. Forcing herself to stand up, she could feel something eating away at her body as the skies had turned back to normal while the blood slowly dried up. Her sense of hearing seemed to dull as she was forced to kneel against the ground. A hand pressed against her chest and forced her toy down. She could see Allura with a frown on her face. Gin seemed annoyed, while Ria was in disbelief. Unable to understand what was happening, Alice could only grit her teeth while the pain continued to grow. ### "What the hell is this, Allura? That''s not a normal Sigil." Gin frowned while observing Alice''s body. There were several swirls of blood travelling across Alice''s body while leaving deep scars. The patterns across the Maiden''s body were being redrawn on Alice''s skin. The strange manifestation of blood that had acted as Alice''s extension was now turning against her, forming teeth and eating away at her body. That was not the normal phenomenon of a Bounty being imed. "I¡­ don''t know." Allura frowned, unable to give Gin an answer. She had expected many situations, but not one like that. Behind them, a corpse rotted on the ground. The corpse of a Hunter, a woman who looked to be in herte 20s. She had been changed into a Blood Widow, who then advanced into a Maiden of the Blood Moon. Pouring healing blood into Alice''s mouth, Allura''s worries only continued to grow. The blood seemed to have no effect while Ria recognised parts of the markings being formed on Alice''s body. It was a ritual that belonged to the Cult, and one that wasn''t finished. Alice was being dragged into it, despite being a third party. Memories of her past flooded into Ria''s mind as she couldn''t help but shiver at the thought of the ritua. But, a hug calmed her down. Looking up, she could see the worry in Gin''s eyes. "Everything will be fine. Don''t worry." He reassured her. Ria nodded before turning to Allura, who was trying her best to stop the strange transformation urring across Alice''s body. Rummaging through her pockets, Allura pulled out an expensive-looking vial with silver blood contained in it. Hesitating for a moment, she bit her lip and prepared to feed Alice the blood when the markings suddenly halted. "Hm?" Little by little, the markings retreated and faded away while the blood trying to eat Alice dried up and disappeared. Confusion and questions filled Allura''s mind, but right now, she wanted to take the young hunter back. She needed to contact Kaden. Chapter 94: Second Sigil Waking up, Alice furrowed her brow. She clutched her head in confusion. She wasn''t sure about what happened before falling asleep, but the young hunter recognised the space she found herself in. It was the same space where she got to choose the ability for her first Sigil. Standing up, she looked around but didn''t see any of the options. She was alone in the ce. ''What''s going on?'' Alice frowned while walking around the ce, hoping to get her bearings. She wondered if she was taken hostage by the Eye and tried to leave the odd ce, to no avail. [O'' master of mine, you truly bring surprises in each moment that I''m awake.] A feminine voice rang out. It was different from what Alice usually heard in her head. Turning around, she saw a woman with long white hair. A pair of ck eyes with purple pupils stared back at her. It was a visage she had seen once before, but only briefly. "Is that who used to own you?" Alice asked. The woman nodded. [Yes. This was my previous master. But let''s not focus on that. I''m more interested in what I have seen about your past.] The woman smiled as her body was covered with a ck liquid before transforming into a form Alice was personally familiar with. Just the sight of it caused her to take a step back out of instinct. Her throat became clogged with fear. "Would you mind not taking the form of my father?" Alice forced a brave smile while suppressing the fear inside. [Your father''s actions were quite strange. Even if you are strangely resistant to the Abyss, there was no need to go through such lengths to exploit your body. After all, even while you are on the verge of death from having borrowed a power you didn''t understand, your body managed to fight off the effects and return you to normal.] He shook his head before transforming back into the form of the woman. "What do you mean?" [The Maiden of the Blood Moon had three powers within her body. First, the power of Sigils. She was not a beast, but a Hunter. Her Sigil power was simply suppressed in her beast form. Second, her beast powers as the Maiden. Andstly, the powers belonging to the God of the Eclipse Cult. They had involved the woman in a ritual that empowered her with his blessings.] [With these three powers in your body the moment you drank her blood, I am quite surprised your body was even able to recover. After all, you are resistant to the nature of the Abyss, not Divinity.] The woman narrowed her eyes while looking at Alice. [However, you drinking her blood has helped me regain a little of my strength. It''s not much, but enough for me to talk like I am now. I still need to consolidate my strength if I want to wake up properly, so I will leave you onest gift for that performance of yours. Just so that you avoid a situation like this, I''ll grant you the ability to see what you''re fighting.] She smiled while appearing in front of Alice. Pressing her hand against Alice''s right eye, she stepped back and nodded with a smile. [After all, you set your bounty to a Maiden of the Blood Moon without realising. If you had failed this hunt, you would''ve been forced to find a stronger Maiden of the Blood Moon.] She shrugged while yawning. [Now, go pick your reward. You have three choices of Sigils. Since her body constitution was weird, the options aren''t your average abilities. They''re on the border between having the powers of a three star Sigil and a four star Sigil.] The woman exined as she stepped to the side. Behind her, three paths opened up for Alice. "Wait! Can you at least tell me who your previous master was and why you were ced in my eye?" Alice called out as the woman nced at her before thinking for a moment. [I don''t know. Kaden must''ve seen you fit to receive me. As for my previous master¡­ You will learn of her when Allura and Kaden deem it necessary. Those two were her closest retainers, after all.] The woman chuckled before disappearing from the space. Standing alone in the space, Alice sighed. "At least tell me what to call you before you leave." She couldn''t keep calling it the Eye after all. She could tell that it had its own conscience. So, it must have a name. [Just call me Ca. And before I forget, the third Sigil is strange. It''s something that only happened due to your strange body.] Hearing that, Alice nodded before turning her attention to the three paths. Now that Ca was closer to waking up, there were more details in what each of the Abilities provided instead of just animated visages of their effects. Alice didn''t need to guess what she was going to get. [Blood Maiden''s Garment] Siphon the blood around your surroundings and empower your physical state. As long as you continue to siphon blood, your physical strength will grow. Higher quality blood belonging to stronger beasts or humans will grant the biggest boost. In this state, you can also heal yourself using the blood. The image of Blood Maiden Manifestation showed a scene of Alice during the fight. How the blood formed as an extension of her own clothes and allowed her to keep up with the Maiden despite the difference in strength. ''If I was a physical fighter and wanted to focus on the strength augmentation aspect of my first Sigil, then this might be helpful¡­ Though the fact that I can heal myself using this is good.'' Alice thought to herself. Despite her weakness being physical prowess and healing, Alice''s eventual goal was to be someone who focused on manipting blood rather than fighting head on, if possible. ''Then again¡­ it''ll be impossible to avoid close-quartersbat, so I''ll have to think of alternative ways to solve this issue. If the other two options are bad, then Blood Maiden Manifestation will serve me well as a second Sigil.'' Turning her attention away from the first option, she looked at the second path. Even without seeing the description, Alice could tell what it was. In front of her, a world of crimson with a red moon could be seen. Blood Spider Lilies bloomed beneath the moonlight and transformed into a pool of blood. [Blood Moon Sanctuary] Conjure the Blood Moon Sanctuary around you. While the Sanctuary is present, Blood Spider Lilies will continue to bloom while you gain control of all the blood conjured this way. Damaging your enemies will add to the pool of blood you can control. You can travel through the blood, using it as an entrance and exit. The entrance and exit must berge enough to amodate your body or else you cannot travel through it. The pool of blood created will increase as you gain more Sigils. It was the skill that helped Alice get an edge over the Maiden. Without that skill and the versatility it granted, she wouldn''t have won. ''This improves my survivability and versatility in a fight, but doesn''t change the fact that my body is weak. With this Sigil, I''ll be able to stop bleeding by hardening the blood like ayer of skin around the wound, but it doesn''t change the fact that I can''t heal¡­'' Alice thought to herself. Naturally, she couldn''t rule out the possibility that she could heal using the Sigil. As Allura said, it was all about thinking outside the box. If she increased her knowledge and control over Sigils, healing with them may not be an impossibility. Turning to the third option, Alice noticed that there was no demonstration for the ability. The description was rather vague as well. ''Ca said that this was a result of my body¡­ Is it rted to my resistance towards the powers of the Abyss?'' [Foul Blood Manifestation] A strange ability to draw out the potential of your blood. The abilities are unknown. They have not been recorded in the annals of history. In this state, two sources of energy flood your body. The powers of your foul blood and the powers belonging to the Maiden of the Blood Moon. While the powers belonging to your blood are unknown, the powers granted by the Maiden of the Blood Moon will allow you to control your own blood at will. This can include other sources of blood so long as it has been tainted by your blood. The degree of control varies based on the opponent and source of foreign blood. Reading the description, Alice was hesitant. ''The potential of my blood? The abilities are unknown and unrecorded¡­'' She frowned. It was her strange body that caused all of that, yet there was now an option to explore the potential of her blood. Not even Ca understood the powers, despite her vast knowledge. ''If I choose this, I do get some of the powers belonging to the Maiden. However, the powers I gain are far weakerpared to Blood Moon Sanctuary and Blood Maiden''s Garment. I lose out on potentially enhancing my own body and being able to travel through blood to boost my survivability.'' Furrowing her brows, Alice sat down for a moment and considered her options. Unknowingly, she started to scratch her neck once more as the memories of her past appeared in her mind. How her father and the scientist tore her apart because of her blood. Ca taking his appearance made it even worse. Biting her lip, Alice stood up and made a choice. ''If my blood and flesh is able to reject the powers of the Abyss, it just means I can use the blessings without fear of turning into a beast. This power¡­ I''ll end them with the same thing they condemned me for.'' Alice thought to herself with determination. While the powers of the Sanctuary and Garment were good, her biggest weapon thus far had been her own constitution. It was the sole thing that allowed her to face off with someone who had four sigils, survive against them, and even triumph inbat. She wasn''t alone in the battle, but that didn''t change the fact. Walking down the third path, Alice could feel an invisible knife carving a pattern across her body, changing her as the blood within her veins boiled from the effects of choosing the path. Just as Alice thought it was over, a needle like pain stabbed into her eye as the Sigil was now being carved into her body. The location was on the left side of her face, stretching down from her eyelid to her neck. As the final line was carved, she was forced out of the strange space. Chapter 95: Alluras Inquiry Feeling a strange kind of numbness spread through her body, Alice groaned softly and sat up. She was now in her own room at the inn and realised that Allura along with the others must''ve carried her back. ''How long was I out for¡­ They must have questions. Apparently, I was about to die because there were three sources of power in my body. Allura must''ve seen it, too. And yet, here I am.'' She sighed. Raising her hand, she caressed her left eye, where the second Sigil had been engraved upon her body. "First the right, now the left. Urg¡­" Sheined before jumping out of her bed. As she moved her body around, the numbness eventually faded away. Despite her small movements, Alice could already feel a new surge of strength within her. After all, the Maiden she had killed was a pseudo-four star beast. Hearing a set of footstepsing up the door, Alice recognised it to be Allura''s as she opened the door and greeted her with a small wave. "You''re up. How are you feeling? You weren''t looking too hot when the beast died." Allura asked as she gave Alice a brief nce while closing the door behind her. Pulling a chair from the table, she sat down and gestured for Alice to do the same. "I''m feeling fine. Better than fine, actually, since the Hunt isplete." "That''s good, then. We got a few things to talk about, mainly questions on my end. First and foremost, though, can you show me the Sigil you got?" Allura asked. Pausing for a moment, Alice was surprised by the sudden turn of seriousness. But with everything that happened, it was bound to ur. Nodding, she activated her second Sigil just enough so that it appeared on her body. "Hmm¡­ That''s not a Sigil I recognise. It has some aspects of what would be obtained from killing a Maiden of the Blood Moon, but the design is too strange. It seems almost corrupted¡­" Allura muttered with a slight frown. "Erm¡­ The Maiden¡­ was a little strange. Before the fight urred, she was¡­ talking to me a lot, and even asked me to leave at one point. Are beasts supposed to be like that?" Alice asked as the sight of the woman crying and asking her to leave was still fresh in her mind. "No. At least not this early, and not in this fashion. She wasn''t a beast, but half of one. It seems like she was converted into a beast against her will. *Sigh*¡­ It''s not a process I''m familiar with. It was something entirely new¡­ and unholy. I already had some people find out who the woman was while you were unconscious." Allura shook her head. Hearing that, Alice was surprised, but still listened intently. "Verona Gresk, a woman who used to be a rather famous young hunter in the maind, but went missing on her wedding day. 30 people went missing that day, and it seems like they had been captured to partake in a ritual. One which forced Verona to be a Blood Widow and eventually into a Maiden of the Blood Moon. "Going off on what you told me, you would have borrowed the powers of her Sigil. But since she was turned to a beast, you gained a portion of her power from drinking Abyss Blood. And the main issue of you being dragged into the ritual. Somehow, it stopped. I know you have your secrets, as I have mine. I don''t want to dig into your past if you don''t want me to. However, I don''t know what the consequences are of having so many different sources of power conflicting within your body. It is also why I''m considering the option of trying to find Kaden and ask him where he found you." Allura sighed. She hated doing this. To her, freedom of choice and the belief of each to their own formed few of her core values. She respected and allowed others to act on them. But in order to understand what was going on with Alice and how to best prepare her for the future as the holder of the Eye, Allura had to get a good grasp of what was going on. Biting her lip, Alice looked down at her feet. Images of her nightmare returned. The image of Allura holding her by the neck was potent, and so was the shadow of her father looming over her. Even now, his influence chained her down from being able to be her own person. Opening her mouth, Alice hesitated before closing it once more. She wanted to ask. Ask if Allura was trustworthy. But what''s to keep her from trusting Allura''s words? Then, she remembered Lilia. A girl who''d lost so much, yet decided to take that step to befriend Alice and refused to betray her even when her life was threatened. And in the end, Lilia died so that she could live. Clenching her fists, Alice gritted her teeth and took a deep breath. "Zenia." She muttered. "Hm?" "Alice Zenia. That''s my name. Youngest daughter of the Zenia family, locked away for 10 years to undergo experiments so they can produce Abyss Blood for everyone else." Alice confessed as she spoke as fast as possible, relying on the surge of courage that she found within herself. This was her leap of faith, an act of trust towards Allura who was looking after her. "Abyss Blood will never have a permanent effect on me. When I drink the blood, the effects fade after a while. Due to this body of mine, the Zenia family locked me away and produced all the blood for the Church of the Moon and the people on the surface. They made a cor that can inject healing blood or any damn Abyss Blood whenever they wanted!" Alice stood up as she could feel blood rushing to her head. All the emotions Alice had buried deep within burst out as she remembered all the pain she had to go through. The insanity she developed as she sat in that white room while looking up at the moon, only being able to imagine the freedom that others tasted every day. "They locked me up when I was a child! Cut me to pieces, put me back together, mutted my body, injected me with needles, filled me with tubes, pulled out my innards, carved out my bones and stripped away my flesh to see why my blood was unaffected by the Abyss''s powers! Just so they can make more blood for others¡­ My own father, my own brothers, my own family, they watched me die a thousand times over just to bring me back time and time again! "Schrs said that my pain was necessary for the masses, how I should sing and cheer as they cut me to pieces! They made me watch while people poked and prodded my organs, seeing every reaction I would have and how it affected me. I had to feel the side effects of countless banned Abyss Blood vials because the side effects were not suitable for normal use! The safety of the masses was built on 10 years of my suffering! Why should I do that for them? I don''t even know them!?" Alice shouted as she could feel her anger and sadness reach a new peak. All that talk for the good of the masses. The sacrifice of one for the many. Screw all that! She didn''t care. All she wanted was a normal life. Why should she burn so others canugh and enjoy freedom without even knowing who she was? Screw all that! They can be the ones to enjoy what it feels like to have stone shards shred your organs to pieces, your body mutating into a monstrous beast as your bones break with each movement! All these side effects, they can discover for themselves! Why should she suffer for them?! Before she could continue, she could feel Allura''s arms wrap around her tightly. "You don''t have to do anything for anyone. It''s not fair. Especially to you. You don''t owe anything to me, to Kaden, or the world. It''s the world that owes you for all that you''ve done," She replied softly. It made sense now. She had heard of the Zenia family, how they rose to prominence as they continuously produced safe Abyss Blood for everyone to use. Even she was confused as to how they were able to produce so much. But now, it made sense. Everything was because of the girl in her embrace. A frail girl that was on the verge of breaking. Someone who feared to trust the world. Even for someone as old as her, she couldn''t imagine what 10 years of that environment would be like, especially for Alice who was locked away since she was young. Looking at Alice, Allura could feel her heart ache for the girl. Her anger grew after hearing everything the Zenias did. Hearing Allura''s reply, Alice could feel her tears burst forth. She hugged Allura back and cried into her jacket. 10 years of sadness came crashing down. She could finally feel safe in someone''s embrace. ### Alice didn''t know how long she was crying for, but by the time it was over, she could feel the edge of her eyes hurt. Seeing the mess she made on Allura''s jacket, Alice couldn''t help but feel bad. However, Allura simply patted her on the head with a smile on her face. "Are you feeling better now?" She asked as Alice nodded in embarrassment. "That''s good. From now on, I want you to remember what I''m about to say and burn those words into your mind." Allura kneeled down and looked at Alice face to face. "You are free. You don''t have to inherit the role of being the Eye''s holder that Kaden forced you into. I will ensure that you live the life that you want. You are Alice. The Zenias have no hold over you. No matter what happens, no matter who threatens you, even if the Gods the churches worship were to descend, I will protect you to the end." Allura promised in seriousness. Alice could feel a warmth wash over her. "You got one thing wrong¡­" Alice smiled, causing Allura to tilt her head slightly. "My name is Alice Agnelia." Alice grinned in a manner simr to Allura. "You cheeky brat. But yes, you are Alice Agnelia. My student and my family." Alluraughed as she gave Alice another hug. Chapter 96: Lua Once Alice calmed down, Allura did another checkup of her body. Alice felt a strange power coursing through her body as that happened. After a while, Allura retracted her hand and sighed deeply. "So far, I don''t see anything wrong with you. Same as usual, with only the powers of the Abyss. No sign of Abyss Blood side effects or the powers from a ritual. Ca wasn''t kidding when she said your body is strange." Allura scratched her head. "Let me give you another lesson. Rituals are done in a manner where you are directly blessed by one of the three Gods. The Moon Goddess, the Eclipse God or the Sun God. Their power is a tier above what you get from Sigils. So if there is ever a conflict, the power of the ritual will always win. Which is why I assume that girl Verona was converted into a beast and had her Sigils suppressed. "What should''ve happened usually would be for another Ritual or an act simr to ur. Meaning, if one intervened, you should have been turned into a beast as well. That''s what should''ve happened normally." She exined as Alice understood the pain she felt before passing out. It was her body fighting against the ritual and a God''s blessing to stop her from bing a beast. Knowing this, Alice couldn''t help but feel d she chose the third path that empowered her potential with her blood. ''If another situation like this happens in the future, my body should be able to withstand it easier now, I think.'' "Either way, now that I know what''s going on, I don''t need to worry too much. I actually nned on taking you to a friend of mine in the maind, even though you''re not ready for that ce. This gives us a bit more time." Allura shrugged as she leaned back. Pulling out a cigarette, she smoked and sighed with a smile. "So, what did you get for your second Sigil? There must''ve been some strange options in the batch." Allura asked as Alice shrugged. "I don''t know. Ca didn''t know either. We just know that some of the powers of the Maiden still got transferred, but most of it empowered the potential of my own body." "Does that make your resistance stronger? I didn''t think there was a limit if nothing happened despite all the blood you drank." Allura raised an eyebrow. "I don''t know. A lot of my body is still a secret to me. Maybe the schrs who operated would know more if we go back to the surface¡­" Alice replied. Just thinking about going back to her old home gave her chills. Allura shook her head. "We can find out slowly. Plus, they only found out how it worked through brute force. What we want is for you to understand how your body works without such methods. So, just keep training and experimenting how you want. But let''s head down now. Ria and Gin were pretty worried, so I''m sure they''ll be relieved to hear that you are fine. Oh, and in case you''re worried about how thin the walls were when you ranted, this is a little trick I learned from Kaden." Allura smiled as she flicked her fingers. Shadows started to seep out between the gaps of the wood and gathered into an orb which Allura dropped into her own shadow. "Basically, it silences a room and stops all sounds from going out. Now, shall we go downstairs?" Allura asked as Alice nodded in response. "And you don''t need to tell Ria, if you don''t want to. It seems like she already got a basic gist of how your body works from the way she exinedst time, but I''ll keep Gin in the dark and make up something for you. I don''t think you want too many people to know about your body." Patting Alice''s head, Allura opened the door and stepped downstairs. Hearing that Allura had already made preparations to keep her secret safe, Alice couldn''t help but smile. She could feel a new sense of happiness in her chest. Jumping off the bed energetically, she hopped downstairs and caught up with Allura. Noticing that Ria was waiting by a table, Alice gave her a wave. Ria sighed in relief and rushed over while Allura gestured to Gin so that they could talk for a bit. "How are you feeling? Is there anything still hurting?" Ria asked while scanning Alice up and down. "I''m feeling fine. Allura made sure nothing was wrong, too." Alice reassured with a smile, surprising Ria who hadn''t seen her smile unless it was in the middle of a fight. However, she felt happy for her friend''s change in expression. It simply meant she was more rxed now. Even though it was slight, Ria could tell that Alice was always on guard, to some degree. It was especially so after their fight with the cultists after she exposed a secret about herself. ncing back slightly, Ria leaned next to Alice and whispered into her ear. "Does Allura know? She seemed pretty serious when she was bringing you back. I assume it has to do with what happenedst time." Ria asked as Alice nodded. "I see¡­ That probably exins why she seems rxed now. But how was it? Did you get your second Sigil?" She asked. "Yes, I did. Though it''s on my eye." Aliceughed awkwardly. She now had two strange eyes. One was called Ca and the other was changed because of her Sigil. "Your right eye?" "No, my left." She shook her head. Activating her second Sigil, Alice revealed the marking on the left side of her face to Ria, who examined the Sigil with interest. "Do you think we can borrow a training arena to see what it does at this time? Ah. Actually, you don''t know what''s going on right now, do you?" Ria paused. With Alice being unconscious for a few days, there had been a few changes around the city. "Huh? What''s going on?" ### While Ria was exining the situation to Alice, Allura had grabbed Gin outside of the Inn and lit up another cigarette. "So? What''s the diagnosis?" Gin asked with a slight frown on his face. "Nothing serious. Her body is fine, no damage was done, and she wasn''t dragged into a ritual. No effects from drinking the weird blood either. Just know we should exclude Abyss Blood from training ns but keep them as tools for battles." Allura exined, causing more questions to appear in Gin''s mind. However, he knew how she operated. ''With how she''s exining it, it''s probably better for me to just take her word for it.'' He thought to himself while shrugging his shoulders. Ignorance was bliss. If Allura deemed it necessary to hide the truth, then so be it. He wasn''t curious enough to stick his nose where it didn''t belong. "Alright. Then, what about the Sigil? I assume the bounty was done correctly through you, even without a Shaman." "Yep, it''s done. Though the effects are unknown. The source was a weird mix of three powers, so naturally, the power that Alice gained from it is going to be unknown. I''m nning on learning more about it tonight before the fight breaks out." Allura chuckled in amusement while looking up at the skies that covered Zadash. Compared to the calm skies overlooking the city not long ago, dark clouds had gathered. Furthermore, a strange energy created arge dome-like barrier that covered thend. It epassed Zadash and thend surrounding the city. "You have to admit that it''s a pretty sturdy thing. I''m just surprised that they used something like this in such a low-ranking city. Not only that, they''re even testing out the beast they created from a fallen Lord in this ce, too," Gin remarked. "I suppose it''s just some insurance on their side of things. Though I don''t think they expected two Lord level Hunters to be in the area while they test their new pet." Allura chuckled while ncing back inside the Inn, at Alice and Ria. "You can probably show off a little when the battle starts. Maybe give them a sneak peak of what an Abyss Lord is like. Of course, if your old bones can''t handle it, then we can just take them out quickly and save you the hassle." She smiled. "Tch, are you trying to taunt me here? I''ll do what I have to since I''m not getting younger. I''m not like you, who has stayed young for so many years." Gin shook his head while taking a drink from his sk. "What do you mean? I don''t have an age. I''m simply a veteran Hunter who''s a neutral party," Allura replied, acting innocently. Gin rolled his eyes. He had long gotten used to Allura''s antics. Even for someone like him, who''d known her for most of his life, Allura was still a woman of many secrets. Watching Gin enter the Inn and speak with Ria, Allura stepped to the side for a moment. She plunged her fist into the shadows before pulling out a raven by the neck. "Are you going to keep watching or actually say something, you raven b*stard." Allura red as the raven opened its mouth. "What a warm wee! Can''t I simply watch? I thought being neutral was your whole thing, Lua," Kaden''s voice rang out quietly. Hearing his way of calling her, Allura couldn''t help but frown. She sighed deeply. "Whatever. I doubt you''re here to fight. I''m assuming you got some idea of what Alice''s body is like, which is why you gave her the Eye. Right?" "Naturally. I met the brat in one of the most well-secured prisons I had ever seen. You should''ve seen the guards they put around the ce. Practically imprable! And when I saw the brat, she actually resisted one of my Sigils after it took effect." Kadenughed. "Anyways, it seems like you have it covered. So, I won''t interfere too much. Have fun looking after the brat, Lua. I''lle down to see you if I get a bit lonely at night." Without waiting for Allura''s response, the raven exploded into shadows. Gritting her teeth, Allura forced a smile. She could feel her veins about to pop from the anger. However, finding out that he hadn''t changed even after all that time, she couldn''t help but shake her head. "For f*ck''s sake, Kaden¡­" If they ever met again, the first thing for her to do would be to punch some sense into him. Chapter 97: Demonstration Of The Second Sigil After listening to Ria''s exnation of what had transpired over the course of thest few days, Alice realised that most of the residents had been evacuated. It exined theck of people in the Inn, with the exception of one of two Hunters. Not only that, Abyss Beasts were sighted in the area surrounding the city. They seemed to be waiting for something. The few Hunters they sent to check the situation were most likely killed, as none of them made it back. "Do you think they''re waiting for that White Death thing to get stronger? If I remember correctly, it was only recently born from an Old Lord. Right? So, going by the assumption that it''s just a super powerful beast baby, I''m guessing they want to wait for it to consolidate its strength a bit," Ria estimated. "If your definition of a super powerful beast baby is something that can probably destroy this city with ease, then by all means call it a baby," Allura interrupted before Alice could reply. "When the fight urs, I want you and Alice to help out with defeating some of the beasts. Since they gathered beasts from the surrounding area, even if they are from the nextyer, handling them should be pretty easy for you two. Anything that''s too difficult, you can leave to the other Hunters. Just take this time to study your own power. Find new ways to control your Sigil." She instructed as both Ria and Alice nodded. "And while we''re on the topic of Sigils¡­ Alice, how do you feel about giving that second Sigil a test drive right now? We can ask Neal for a training room since I doubt any of the students or Hunters are using them," Allura suggested. Thinking about it for a moment, Alice agreed. She too wanted to see what her second Sigil could achieve. The young hunter wanted to see the degree of control she could aplish with the power gained from the Maiden of the Blood Moon, and the kind of potential it unlocked within her body. Arriving at the location, the group didn''t waste any time. Alice made herselffortable in the middle of the arena before taking a deep breath. Right now, she could feel two pathways of power stemming from her second Sigil. The first was the ability of the Maiden, which allowed her to control her own blood. Rolling up her sleeve, Alice bit her flesh until it bled, conjuring two blood needles around her before looking at Allura, who had a rxed stance. The Sigil had formed on Alice''s face, but seemed smallerpared to what was demonstrated before. "The powers of the Maiden are weak¡­pared to what I could''ve chosen. But this allows me to control my blood at will." Alice exined, firing the needles towards Allura, who flicked them aside with ease. However, that was not what Alice wanted to show. The shattered pieces of the needles stopped midair and pooled into an orb of blood that flew back to Alice and hovered just above her wound. Focusing her mind, Alice had a small frown on her face as the blood slowly fused with her wound before creating a solidified surface, acting as the new skin for the time being. "It''s not a perfect patch but it''ll stop any blood loss I incur from receiving wounds. I can also have my blood invade someone''s body and control them. The sess rate apparently depends on how strong they are," She exined. "So, simr to the Sigil skill puppeteering, but with more restrictions. Alright. You can probably give this skill a try while fighting the weaker beasts when the fight breaks out. Now, let''s have a look at the main attraction." Allura grinned, knowing that most of the power of the Sigil was focusing on enhancing Alice''s strange ability of rejecting the Abyss''s influence. ''Now, let me see what potential it has.'' Allura thought to herself, curious to see what that anomaly would bring. After all, it was the first time since the inception of the Abyss that anyone was resistant to its effects. Taking a deep breath, Alice nodded and closed her eyes. The second ability required her to dig deeper. Her mind seemed to be transported into a pool of mire and darkness. As her body continued to sink, she could feel her connection to the power growing stronger, until finally, she sensed a burst of mes erupting from her chest. In that instance, the darkness was illuminated by a purple light. Bright violet mes enveloped the space. Opening her eyes, the same violet mes erupted from Alice''s body, forming what seemed to be a ring behind her back that hovered around her. If she willed it, the mes could wrap around her body without burning her. The edges of her hair were slowly being transformed into the same mes that hovered around her. Right now, she seemed to be the incarnation of fire. Witnessing the purple mes, Allura couldn''t help but furrow her brow in confusion. She wasn''t unfamiliar with purple mes, but those seemed¡­ different. Unnatural, even. The very same powers of the Abyss that dwelled within her body seemed to reject that me¡­ and either seek to extinguish or hide from it. ''Strange¡­'' "Alice, can you control these mes?" Allura asked. Alice seemed to struggle with reigning in those mes without them exploding everywhere. "I¡­ think I can." She squeezed out, through gritted teeth. It felt as thought she was constantly in a tug of war with the mes. They wanted to break out and burn freely. Even now, she could feel the mes coursing through the insides of her body. If it wasn''t for the fact that she had some measure of control over them, Alice would''ve been consumed by the mes long ago. "Hmm¡­ See if you can direct all of it towards me." Allura asked, wanting to confirm her suspicions. "Huh?" "You didn''t hear me wrong. Send all of it towards me. Don''t worry, I''ll be fine." Allura smiled confidently, despite the unease in her heart. Hearing that, Alice trusted Allura and gritted her teeth. Wrangling the mes as much as she could, Alice channelled all of her power towards Allura. In that instance, she could feel all strength leaving her body. As the mes rushed towards Allura, it transformed into the shape of a strange beast, with what seems to be four wings exploding from its back. A pair of eyes red at Allura before letting out a roar, charging towards her with no mercy. Stomping the floor with her leg, three Sigils immediately red to life around Allura as a towering inferno erupted around her. Flicking her wrists, Allura gathered her mes into a wall in order to block Alice''s attack. However, the unease in her heart manifested itself as the violet mes immediately engulfed her fire and extinguished it in an instant. ''It negated my Sigil?! No¡­ rather than negate it, the beast ate it and cut off my power.'' Allura thought to herself inplete surprise. She didn''t expect something like that to happen. Furrowing her brow, she took a step back for the first time and snapped her fingers. mes erupted from around her once more, but this time, she condensed it into a single spot of white light before narrowing her eyes. "I didn''t think you''d actually force me to use it at this stage. Congrats." Allura remarked as she flicked her finger, sending the spark forward. Silence dawned in that instance as the arena was enveloped in a blinding light. Shielding her eyes from the light, Alice looked back at the arena in shock. There was now arge crater in the center where the violet mes and the white spark had collided. It didn''t seem like the crater was created from an explosion, but almost as though that piece of the world was erased from existence. The edge of the crater waspletely smoothed out. Allura took a deep breath and sighed. "Alright, well. I think we should definitely work on your control. That me¡­ If you let it run rampant, I doubt anyone under four Sigils can survive, if I''m being honest. How to describe it, hmm¡­ Let''s just say the powers granted by Sigils are essentially food for the violet me. Which is pretty ironic considering it manifested due to a Sigil." She shrugged. However, deep down, she was shocked. Despite using the white spark, she didn''t think she had to expend so much energy in order to deal with the me. Just using the initial spark wasn''t enough, she had to give it extra power topletely eradicate the me. ''How strong would this me be if Alice reached my level¡­'' Allura couldn''t help but wonder. All she could imagine was the world of the Abyss engulfed in a violet me that consumed everything in its path. "However, despite its strong power, theck of control is very worrying. We''ll work on extracting small amounts of the me for use without losing control. I don''t know if my methods would work properly, but since we''re both me users, some of my training methods may prove to be useful for you," She exined. Giving Allura a nod, Alice felt light on her feetcopsed on one knee. She felt extremely lightheaded and couldn''t even muster a single word. Her skin was pale and her temperature was dropping rapidly. Rushing over, Allura examined her body and realised that Alice had lost a lot of blood internally. ''Did the fire use her blood as fuel?'' Allura frowned while feeding Alice a vial of healing blood. Making sure she was feeling better, Allura started to piece together a training n for Alice with the information they have gathered. As it stands, the violet mes could potentially rival the powers of the Old Abyss Lords if used properly at a higher level. At just a measly two Sigils, Alice had the potential to consume Abyss Lords. Chapter 98: Gins Power At the end of the training session, Allura had a n for Alice. "I''m not sure how this will work just yet, but I''ll leave that to the cksmith I''m going tomission it from. But once the fighting stops, I want you to not use your second Sigil. The device I''m thinking of getting made would be one that allows you to control your mes little by little. That way, you can get used to controlling these mes without having them explode and hurt your allies." Allura exined. Having the device ready wasn''t something she could get done within a day. ''If I want to get something urately made, I''ll need to take Alice to meet him so that he can judge her power for himself. The fact that I need to use a skill I''ve refined over the years to deal with it already speaks volumes of its power. But, it''s not an urate estimate.'' Allura thought to herself. It was about time they moved cities. For now, they had gained what they needed from Zadash. Alice understood what it meant to be a Hunter; she''d seen the demonstrations and all that remained was for the young hunter to discover her own path. ''I''ll also be getting busy. Ca has started to wake up much faster than anticipated due to Alice''s growth, and that Eye doesn''t understand the consequences. If I want Alice to have a somewhat easy time to get stronger, I need to start eliminating some threats without her around and revoke my neutrality with some people.'' Allura narrowed her eyes. Seeing the worry in Allura''s expression, Alice wanted to help her, but she didn''t know how. Furrowing her brows, she hesitantly reached out and grabbed Allura''s sleeve. "Erm¡­ Is there anything I can help with? If you have something you need to do, you can go. I''ll try to keep myself safe," She asked, but Allura shook her head. "Don''t worry too much about it. I''ll just disappear asionally, but it''s nothing you should worry too much about. Though we might be moving cities a little more often since I''ll be needing to do some work in the maind-" "The maind?! Are we allowed to go as well?" Ria shouted in excitement, cutting Allura off mid-sentence the moment she heard the word ''maind''. Peeking behind Allura, Alice could see the absolute excitement in Ria''s eyes while Gin simply watched with a small smile. "Perhaps. But! That''s only if you can start holding your own while we''re on the way there." Allura chuckled, knowing how excited Ria was about visiting the maind. "Is the maind very different from Zadash?" Alice blinked in confusion as she had almost zero knowledge regarding the Abyss and itsndmass. All she knew was that there wereyers to the Abyss, with each one being more dangerous than thest. "Fufufu! Let me educate you, ignorant one. The maind is the ce where all the different cultures, Hunters, professions, and technologies of our quadrant gather! It is a blend of everything that breathes life into the Abyss, and serves as a gateway to the surface!" Ria jumped on the table and started to wave her hand around while Gin and Allura sat back, humouring the excited girl. "Gateway to the surface?" Alice paused, as such a thought made her wonder if she would encounter the members of the Zenia family. "Yep! To ess the Abyss, one has to go through certain channels, and thus, they built the main city around it. In the heart of the city, there is a tall, elevator-like structure that stretches as far as the eye can see. It pierces through the veil that separates the surface from the Abyss. Once you breach the veil, you will arrive in the upper city." Ria exined while using her fingers to draw an imaginary elevator reaching through the sky. "And since it''s one of the few channels connecting the realms together, trading is prevalent within the city of Saragar. But they don''t trade with normal wear. No, no, no! They trade with knowledge and materials that can only be obtained in the Abyss. And that''s why I''m excited! Because there will be people who find new ways of using Sigils!" Ria smiled widely while leaning towards Alice. "To rify, she means the people hailing from Lordriel. They are a group of people that specifically focus on refining their physical body using Sigils and finding ways to manifest physical power strong enough to destroy everything in their way. They are experts in the art of strengthening the body, and thest time I fought a Lordriel expert a while ago, we fought to a standstill. Without using extreme methods that would make the fight unfair, I could not harm his body at all." Allura remarked in a rare case of humility from someone with her level of confidence. Meanwhile, Alice was shocked as she couldn''t imagine anyone being able to defend against Allura who stated that she specifically chose skills that would help her kill opponents fast. "What?" Allura furrowed her brow, seeing the multiple shocked gazes directed towards her. "Alright, I said that his defenses are strong, but I never said I couldn''t kill him." She retorted. "I think they''re just surprised that you''re actually being humble for once." Gin tranted with a smirk. However, before they could continue, both Allura and Gin stood up with a frown. "Seems like you felt it." Allura narrowed her eyes. Gin nodded. "The aura of a Lord. But, it''s strange¡­ It''s triggering my warning senses, but it''s almost as if I''m detecting something¡­ unnatural. How to describe it¡­ It''s like I''m seeing somethingpletely ck on a white canvas." Gin frowned as Alice and Ria looked at one another and decided to stop talking. With how they were reacting, the White Death must have arrived nearby. "That''s the aura belonging to a Fallen Abyss Lord. It wouldn''t be this potent if a standard Abyss Lord died, but these were specifically sealed so they could repent. I don''t think the White Death has reached the potential of a Lord, but keep your guard up just in case. If anything, kill it as fast as possible." Allura suggested as Gin nodded. Their original n was to show off the power they held so Alice and Ria could gauge the upper limits, but the scenario was too unnatural for Gin to mess around. "How strong do you think it is?" Allura asked, as they were unable to correctly gauge its power with the strange phenomenon surrounding the beast. "Hmm¡­ 6 or 7 Sigils, give or take. I''ll finish it up quickly so a clean-up can happen." "Need a light?" Allura chuckled, offering a cigarette. "Fuck it, sure. It should be the young Hunters dealing with this crap, but here I am, a retired Huntering to save their asses." Gin shrugged while epting the cigarette. Once the cigarette was lit, he disappeared with a swirl of ck mist. "Let''s go get a good seat to watch this ordeal. You don''t see an Abyss Lord fight often, especially one of Gin''s calibre." Allura grinned while Ria was worried. "Will grandfather be okay? I know he''s strong, but he''s been retired for a while because of his body." "Don''t worry, he''ll be fine. I made sure of it. Now, follow me. Once he''s finished up, I''ll throw the two of you into the battle so you can enjoy yourselves." Allura smiled deviously before snapping her fingers. mes erupted from beneath their feet as they were transported elsewhere. Their destination was the top of the clocktower, the same location Allura had shown Alice before. The group needed to be that high if they wanted to see Gin''s full power. ### Swallowing his saliva nervously, Neal couldn''t help but feel worried by the situation. As he expected, reinforcement from the other branches hadn''t arrived, and all they had left to defend themselves were a few Hunters brave enough to fight. Neal could only count on Gin and Allura, but he hadn''t seen them in a while. Meanwhile, dark clouds gathered in the distance as a figure slowly entered their view. In the darkness that prevailed in the Abyss, the ring white skin of the White Death was easy to spot. The moment it came into view, their vision shifted as arge, looming shadow covered the skies. Fear seeped into the Hunters'' bones, but the illusion was soon dispelled with a single p from Gin. "Make sure no one is near the battle, unless you want unnecessary casualties. I can''t guarantee I''ll cover for anyone." Gin warned as Neal caught his breath and nodded. His face was pale from the pressure exerted by the White Death, but the reassurance he felt from Gin appearing on the battlefield was more than enough to dispel the fear. Walking out of the city, Gin finished the cigarette and stuck out his tongue in disgust. "Eugh. How the hell can Allura even smoke this sh*t." He frowned and clenched his fist around the cigarette, turning it to ash. Looking at the figure staring at him in wariness, Gin understood that it had some form of consciousness. "Not making the first move?" Gin asked as he continued to walk. "Then I''ll take the honours." Stomping with his foot, an aura of death erupted from Gin as a cold blue glow appeared in his eyes. Reacting out of instinct, the White Deathshed out with its w. *BANG!!!* Pausing in shock, the White Death watched as Gin stopped its attack with a single finger. "And you dare to ept the moniker of ''Death''?" Gin asked. He smiled. "Cute." Countless ck markings appeared all over Gin''s body as bones erupted from the air surrounding him, forming arge skeleton before being wrapped in a ck cloth. Beneath the cloth, a white mask with horns emerged as its eye holes lit up with a blue me. "Alice, you may not know this, but every Abyss Lord is granted a title by the Abyss once they reach the rank of lord." Allura chuckled before taking a deep breath of her cigarette. "Gin''s title is the Abyss Lord of Death." Chapter 99: Abyss Lord of Death "The Abyss Lord of Death?" Alice asked in surprise. She didn''t think that Gin would be at the level of Abyss Lord. She knew he was strong, but not THAT strong. It only made her question Allura''s power if all Gin could do was ept her decisions without being able to change her mind. Focusing her gaze towards Gin, Alice wanted to see what an Abyss Lord could do. She had seen therge bodies belonging to the Lords twice now, but it was the first time she was going to see one in action. ''Back in the ughter Docks, I wanted to drink the blood of the Abyss Lord¡­ Now that I think about it, will my body even be able to contain that power?'' Alice thought to herself. All she could imagine was herself copsing or exploding due to the power. ### Manifesting the Avatar of Death, Gin narrowed his eyes at the White Death before flicking his finger. In that instant, 8 tall pirs of ck and purple energy erupted from around them and formed a cage, stopping the White Death from running away. Realising that it had to fight no matter what, the White Death red at Gin, and despite knowing the difference in strength, rushed forward. A Sigil-like pattern appeared on its body, surprising Gin momentarily. ''I didn''t think such a beast would have Sigils¡­'' He thought. A dark aura erupted from the beast as the symbols above the city started to glow. Understanding what it was trying to do, Gin couldn''t help but scoff at its attempt. Flicking his finger, a giant scythe shot up from the ground, skewering the White Death by the stomach and lifting it high above the ground for all to see. However, the beast was not afraid. The edge of its mouth cracked down its neck as arge toothy grin could be seen, sending chills down the spines of all who saw it. Opening its mouth, the beast took a bite out of the spear, breaking it in half, while the Sigil patterns around its body started to glow and morph. Jumping back, the armour around the beast''s body started to crack as a mound of flesh burst out of its back, forming the upper half of a woman created from bones. Thin flesh stretched across her head and arms while the rest of her body waspletely made of bones. Her eyes were closed while markings resembling stitches tied her mouth shut. Raising both her hands, she aimed it towards Gin, who was floating in the air, and created a cage with her fingers. The moment she enclosed her fingers around Gin from her perspective, space fractured and tenrge scythes stabbed towards him, seeking to trap him. Furrowing his brows, Gin couldn''t help but nce towards Allura''s general direction before turning back to the scythes that surrounded him. Swiping right with his hand, several clones of the reaper that hung above him appeared and blocked the scythes with rtive ease. With Gin taking his attention away from it momentarily, the beast took the chance to charge towards him at full speed. Using its limbs to its advantage, it raced across the battlefield at blinding speed before cleaving at Gin with its two elongated ws, hoping to break the avatar behind him. "Tch, I''m too old for this sh*t." Gin sighed as he covered his face with his hand before conjuring a strange mask. The world turned dark as light itself was absorbed by Gin. Once the mask was removed, they could see that his appearance had changed. He had lost his wrinkles and beard, regaining a lost youth. Long grey hair fluttered behind him, while ck ink flowed from his eyes. Countless ck tendrils ripped open the space around him and grabbed hold of the beast. Everyone noticed something in the sky. Arge, shadowed figure peered through the cracks of space with a single eye that was the same as Gin''s. The shadowy figure seemed to have countless tentacles and bones piercing out of its body. One of its hands was controlling the avatar behind Gin while the other grabbed hold of the beast. Cracking its mouth open, the figure spewed out a wave of ck mist that started to drain the vitality of everything it touched. Little by little, all life would turn to ash, and the White Death was no exception. Its body started to crumble, and it tried to flee, but found itself unable to escape the grasp of the strange figure Gin conjured. Opening its mouth, the beast tried to consume one of the tentacles, but Gin refused to let that happen. He continued to adjust his grip while the beast was being covered by the mist. Understanding that it would die if it didn''t act, the beast red at Gin before cracks formed across its body. In that instant, a mass of darkness exploded from the body of the White Death and created some distance between the two of them. A feminine figure slowly emerged from the mass, her body entirely made of it. Two orbs of white on the face seemed to be her eyes, which soon narrowed at Gin. Covering her face with her hand, the woman seemed to beughing as a jagged opening formed to represent her mouth. Raising her hand above her head, the woman mmed them down as hard as she could. As a result, a wave of darkness enveloped the ground around the battlefield. Within this sea of darkness, skeletal hands and scythes cleaved up, trying to kill Gin. Meanwhile, he fended the attacks off with a frown on his face. As the owner of the Sigils, Gin could tell the woman had already ''copied'' the death mist that he used a moment ago. ''Why does it feel like I''m fighting a stronger version of Alice? The way she borrows power by eating it and how she adapts¡­ What has the Cult of Eclipse been doing¡­'' Gin frowned in confusion. He didn''t know the full story. He could only take guesses, and the old hunter couldn''t help but see the simrities. *CRACK!!* Noticing a fracture in space, Gin nced to the side and saw an inky fist punching towards him. "That''s enough. I''ve humoured you for far too long now." Gin took a deep breath and swatted aside the hand. sping his hands together, all of the attacks around him paused as the figure dwelling in the tear in space was absorbed into his body. Without letting the manifestation finalise properly, Gin snapped his fingers and drew a vertical line in front of him using one finger. In the blink of an eye, arge scythe appeared for a split second before disappearing. Within that moment, the world seemed as though it had been cut in half. *BANG!!!!!* The ground was ripped in half, creating a ravine that stretched to the mountains, while the woman that emerged from the beast had been petrified after being cut in two. Both halves of her body were slowly disintegrating to ash while Gin reverted to his usual form while panting heavily. There was ayer of sweat on his head as he pulled out his sk and took a drink. "I''m getting old. The rest of the youngsters can take care of the aftermath." He muttered while walking back to the city. ### "Interesting¡­ I didn''t expect there to be an Abyss Lord in this city. This operation has proven to be rather fruitful." Archbishop Mahri smiled while watching everything that was happening. While she could not contest against an Abyss Lord, that was never her goal. Destruction of the city merely came as a bonus, with the real goal of the operation being the task of collecting tribute for War, one of the Apostles of Eclipse. The fight between a faulty creation and the Abyss Lord of Death was more than enough of a tribute. All that remained was to take the tribute back once the fighting ended, and they would''ve gained a profit. "Send all the beasts. Do not spare a single one. Once that is done, we return to the holy city." Mahri grinned as she sent down themand. They may have won the battle, but she won the war. ### "It seems like Gin has finished his job. Be careful about any ck mist that still lingers. Keep away from those areas. Have fun and enjoy the fight. But make sure to learn as much as you can from fighting, since that''s when you grow fastest as a Hunter." Allura smiled, snapped her fingers, and transported them with a burst of mes. Looking up, she could see Gining back after advising Neal and his Hunters to avoid the mist. "Feeling alright?" Allura asked as Gin nodded. "I will manage. Any clue on what the Eclipse are doing? The fact that ''thing'' was born from an Old Lord and even copy my abilities is concerning. If I didn''t know any better, I''d say it felt like what Alice could be if she was at the same level." Gin frowned while sitting down and epting one of Allura''s cigarettes that was offered to him. Smoking cigarette, he sighed out in rxation. "No clue. Like I told youst time, there was a ritual going on that involved dead gods and now the eclipse is messing with Old Lords. I''ve stayed neutral for too long and I don''t even know half of what''s going on. Once we finish up here we need to start moving towards the maind so I can get more information. Which also means we''ll have to help Alice and Ria get stronger. Alice needs to learn control but Ria can prepare herself for her fourth Sigil soon." Allura shook her head. "That early? Well that''s fine. They can protect themselves better that way since it''s not like I can keep going out like this and stopping Abyss Lord level threats every time. I''m not young anymore and there''s a limit to what I can do." Gin chuckled while watching the battle with Allura. After his final attack, the map of Zadash will need to be redrawn with a new ravine stretching to the mountains. Chapter 100: Jesters Regret Shielding her eyes from the mes, Alice furrowed her brows while raising her guard. She could already feel the influx of killing intent around her, sending her hairs on edge. ''Where the hell did Allura send me?'' Alice frowned as she instantly bent her body back, dodging a de like tail that whipped towards her location. Activating her second Sigil, Alice made a small slice on her forearm and created a set of needles that shot towards source of the tail strike. After her little session with Allura, Alice realised there was something else she could do with her needles if she could have them invade someone''s body. She can have it pierce the heart! Right now, she could sense a connection with her needles and knew that they had found their target. Flicking her finger up, the needles exploded towards the heart and shredded it to pieces in an instant. The pained cry of a beast rang out through the mes, signifying its death while Alice recalled the needle and mended up her wound. Creating a dagger, Alice narrowed her eyes as cold sweat rolled down her face. She could tell the truly strong beasts were watching. They were on guard by the mes, only those that impatient decided to attack and paid the price. ''Allura told me to avoid using the purple mes. I don''t have control over them so right now all I can do is use what little control I have over my blood and my first Sigil.'' Taking a deep breath, Alice entered the mindset of the Hunt as she had done many times before. However, it was different this time. There was a desire to unleash the purple mes and engulf the Abyss in its violet radiance. Shaking her head, Alice pushed aside the desire while rushing out of the smoke. ''First things first, I need to get out of this space. They have me surrounded and once they realise I''m weak, they''ll all pounce towards me. Ria is not next to me right now so I can only rely on myself!'' Pulling out some threads from her gloves, Alice transformed her bracelet into a dagger and threw it towards the closest target before pulling herself closer using the threads. Jumping on the shoulders of what seemed to be a quadrupedal beast, Alice flipped in midair andnded heavily against the ground before looking up at the crowd of beasts that stared back. Most of them were two to three star difficulties while there was one who was four star difficulty. A chill ran down her spine as she was reminded of the Maiden of the Blood Moon but the beast didn''t feel as oppressive as her. It had arge checkered hat, a checkered dress with white and red eye patterns scattered around the surface. Striped ck and white stockings while a red ribbon wasced all over its body. Around the neck, wrist anding from its dress. A mask split in half was adorned on its face with one side being white with ck eyes and the other ck with white eyes. [Jester''s Regret - ????] ''Jester''s Regret¡­ Don''t think I''ve tasted its blood before back at the Zenia''s¡­ I''ll have to be careful since I don''t know what kind of power it holds.'' Alice frowned. Despite knowing the names of her targets, she stillcked the knowledge of what they could aplish. Weakness created by herck of understanding of beasts. However, it seemed as though the Jester was merely observing the situation as it seemed to be on guard due to the power of Allura''s mes. ''That works to my advantage.'' Taking a deep breath, Alice narrowed her eyes. This was the perfect time to experiment with no one else near her. She needed to draw out a slither of the mes powers, enough to fight with it but not enough for it to go out of her control. In the scenario where her mes go out of control, Alice can simply exhaust herself by killing as many beasts as possible. She didn''t need to hold back. Undoing the temporary seal she ced on her wound, Alice drew a line of blood in front of her as they slowly formed into needles. A pattern emerged around her eye as it seemed as though ayer of skin had been burnt off to reveal the markings. ''These purple mes were manifested from my blood, my body and the hidden potential I hold within to fight off the Abyss.'' Alice reminded herself, exerting control over the ember of fire she could sense within her body. In that moment, the ember roared out. It wasn''t defiance but excitement, excitement in consuming all that belongs to the Abyss. *BANG!!! All of the needles she had conjured exploded forth with stunning violet mes, basking her in a purple glow while the beasts took a step back out of instinctual fear. Feeling that the mes were now much easier to control, Alice forced a brave smile on her face before crouching down and charging towards the group! The advantage was on her side! She could feel the mes resonating with her. There was no defiance, no rejection. Only synchronisation between the two. If she worked with this flow, she would be able to wield these mes! Jumping up above the crowd, Alice narrowed her eyes and threw the needles around the beasts, surrounding them as tall fire pirs shot up into the sky. At this moment, Alice''s mind turned. She remembered the cage she saw that Gin and the White Death demonstrated, she remembered the ritual carved into the back of the Maiden, she remembers the scars on the back of Ria''s head. The symbols unravelled within her mind and the steps became clear. A path to manifest an offering. With her excitement, the Sigil upon her eye started to grow as she curled her lips up into a grin and aimed her fingers towards the group of beasts. Instinctively, she understood what she must do next. Activating her second Sigil, mes erupted from her back as she made a cut across both of her forearms. Narrowing her eyes, Alicended in the middle of the crowd and mmed her hands down, sending blood out to the needles that she had thrown down and a Ritual circle was created. The beasts tried to interfere but their fear of the mes forced them to take a step back. They could only watch but the Jester made a move. Using the beasts as aunching pad, the Jester jumped up and shot a wave of threads towards Alice who onlyughed and flicked her arm towards the Jesters direction. As the beads of blood brushed past the threads, violet mes erupted, setting the threads ame before bridging the gap and setting the next thread on fire. In mere moments, every single thread the Jester had sent out had been burned to ashes as the expression on the mask contorted in a mixture of anger and fear. Tearing its outfit apart, wooden arms with a myriad of weapons attached to the ends shot out towards Alice but a wall of mes barred the path. *BANG!!! The ground around Alice broke apart as countless threads shot into her body, seizing control and lifting her up for all to see. In the moment that the Jester had sent weapons towards Alice, it had shot threads through its legs underground while she was distracted. Feeling as though victory was in hand, the Jester''s mask contorted to a grin as its body slowly split apart, revealing a fleshy interior with threads lining the corners of its mouth. In a snap, three rows of teeth erupted from the flesh as it prepared tounch itself towards Alice so that it could consume her. "Pft¡­ ahahahahah!" Aliceughed out before looking down at the Jester in disdain. "If I can set the blood I sent towards you ame, what do you think about the blood within my body?" She asked with a sadistic grin. She could feel the mes'' disdain towards the Abyss, the haughty confidence it wielded and the power to burn away its influence. Alice''s entire body erupted with violet mes as the threads connected to her body burned away in an instant, freeing her from the Jester''s control. With the mes being a product of her own power manifested thanks to the Sigils, Alice''s entire body was essentially a conduit for her fire! Controlling her blood, Alice fired a needle towards the Jester''s mouth and watched as her blood invaded the Jester''s body. She could sense the ''virus'' of her blood flowing through his blood stream. Narrowing her eyes, Alice snapped her fingers and the Jester burst into a ball of violent purple mes. Watching him squirm around and howl, Alice couldn''t help but feel a twisted sense of joy in her heart. The chorus of its screams was a symphony of music to her ears and the mes revelled in excitement, wanting to consume the next victim. It was now that Alice understood the true benefits of her Second Sigil. Even the secondary effect of being able to control blood was now extremely dangerous. Why would she need to control her opponents when all she needed to do was have her mes go on a rampage within their body? ''If I can set my blood me then¡­ What if I turned it into a powder? What about the fumes that blood produces as a byproduct of my first Sigil?'' Alice wondered to herself. If the blood can be set on fire and eat away at the abyssal power that flows through everything within the Abyss, there was a possibility that the fumes and powdered form of her blood had simr properties. But her excitement was cut short as she could feel her mes wanting to rampage freely. It wanted to fight more, consume more, absorb more, destroy more. It was not satisfied. Lashing out at the beast surrounding the Jester, it began to feast upon others to serve as fuel for itself so that Alice could no longer control its hunger. Chapter 101: Nova Core Watching the mes dance from one corpse to another, Alice knew she had to stop this and soon. She could not let the mes grow any bigger or else she would not be able to control it anymore until it has destroyed everything around it. Gritting her teeth, she exerted her control over the mes as an imaginary shackle locked around its neck, forcing it to halt in ce. Alice could feel a hateful re directed towards her but she already knew her me had its own temper. Ignoring its re, Alice started to gather the mes back towards herself. Lashing out wildly, the mes cried out in rebellion, seeking to fuel itself so that it could break out of Alice''s control. It felt as though she was wrangling arge untamed dragon with a simple rope and her tiny body was dragged away by its strength. Gritting her teeth, Alice red back at the mes before remembering what Allura had done during their training. She recalled the way she controlled the mes and how she felt when her objective synced up with what the me desired. "Fine, if you want to show your power then so be it." Alice scoffed as released her control. Seeing this, the me was confused momentarily before happiness overtook it. Wanting to destroy the closest thing to it, it charged towards the fleeing figure of a beast. However, its happiness was short as it could feel the direction of the charge being changed. ''!!!'' Behind it, Alice was channelling all of the mes towards the space between her hands. She wasn''t dragging the fire against its will. Instead, she allowed it to burn freely. All she did was turn the direction of its charge ever so slightly and worked with the flow. ''Envision the control that Allura demonstrated. How she gathered all the power into a single focused point.'' Alice recited to herself as violet mes seemed to be sucked away by an invisible hole in the space between her palms. In the distance, Allura stood up in a panic while Gin was shocked by her sudden movements. "What the hell!? Did a rock get in your boots? What''s going on?" Gin asked as she had almost pushed him off the roof. "Alice is trying something stupid." Allura frowned. "So just like you most of the time? Didn''t you see what she was like during the fight with the Maiden? Like Master like student." Gin shrugged. Smacking Gin on the head out of annoyance, Allura could see the movement of the mes. The method was different but she understood what Alice was doing. She was trying to replicate the skill she had developed after obtaining mastery over her own Sigils. "So what''s going on?" Gin asked, understanding that Allura was worried. "She''s trying to replicate my skill, Nova Core-" "PFFF!!! WHAT ARE YOU STILL STANDING AROUND HERE FOR YOU MAD WOMAN!? GO STOP HER!!" Gin shouted in a panic after spitting out his drink. The skill Nova Core was one that gathered all of the power from the user''s surroundings, whether that be mes or something else, and condensed it into a single point. Without precise control, the process will copse in on itself and despite looking correct, it will explode at thest moment, harming the user. Usually, the user would not be harmed by their Sigil power but this was different. This was one that gathered power from all around them, including foreign powers. When he was young and had reached the threshold of Abyss Lord, Gin had felt overconfident about his control and tried to replicate the Nova Core using his Death Mist. The result of which left him on the verge of death and changing the map of the Abyss. In the aftermath, a giant crater was created where almost no beast could survive. Those that did mutated into something much stronger than their usual counterpart thus named the Hell''s Basin. "¡­" Staying silent, Allura didn''t reply to Gin and only observed the situation. "Talk to me dammit! We have to stop her unless you want her to blow herself up!" Gin shouted in frustration. Even though he was used to Allura''s antics, it had only gotten worse after they met Alice. The amount of danger he had seen them get into while Allura only watched was far too many! "I¡­ I think she''s actually doing it." Allura muttered, blinking her eyes in disbelief. "Huh?????" Questioning what he had just heard, Gin blinked his eyes before looking towards Alice''s direction. He could see the flow of power gathering between her hands and despite the potency of the mes that surrounded her along with numerous powers belonging to the beasts, she was not struggling. ''Is it because the mes cancel out the powers of the Abyss? The two sources of power are neutralising each other right now in a delicate bnce.'' Allura thought with a frown. While the end result will be the same, Alice had essentially created a new process to invoke the skill Nova Core. ''Sh*t! She can''t handle anymore!'' Widening her eyes, Allura could see the struggle appearing on Alice''s face. Even if the powers are bncing each other out, it didn''t mean her body could withstand such pressure! Rushing out, Allura transformed into a burst of mes and appeared by Alice''s side. "That''s enough. Focus your aim, fire the Nova Core and funnel the rest of the power into propelling the st." Allura instructed, wanting Alice to use this chance to improve her control. Surprised by Allura''s sudden appearance, Alice focused her mind and nodded her head. Her target was going to be the sky above them! Gritting her teeth, she leaned back slightly and aimed the unstable orb of fluctuating light above her and relinquished her control, firing the spark that was propelled by a trail of violet mes. The spark dyed the entire battlefield in a white radiance as every Hunter and beast halted their movements momentarily, distracted by the appearance of the spark. Within that silence, the spark detonated 300 meters above the ground. *BANG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A ster re containing a myriad of colours burst forth as sparks of light scattered around the battlefield as though it was tiny stars in the sky. A swirl of vibrant purple and bright crimson webbed out before copsing in on itself once more, sending out waves upon waves of violet shockwaves that knocked man and beast alike off their feet. Staring at this phenomenon, Allura could already tell that it was no longer the same skill as her Nova Core. Turning her attention away from the explosion, Allura looked at Alice and sighed in relief seeing that she didn''t harm herself with that attack. "You''re gonna feel a little sore tomorrow since your body can''t handle this much power. It seems like you somewhat understand how you should control these mes but remember to be careful." Allura warned as Alice nodded her head. "But overall, it wasn''t bad kid. I''m surprised you actually managed to recreate my skill." Allura chuckled while patting Alice on the head. "It was the only way I could''ve stopped the fire from spreading. But I found out that if I use small amounts and target it at beasts, it''s more likely to listen to mymands." Alice smiled, feeling happy about the praise she got from Allura. "Try to limit it and see what it can do with your first Sigil. And remember, think outside the box. If nothing happens don''t worry since you''re still making plenty of progress." Allura smiled as she gave Alice onest pat on the head before disappearing. Taking a deep breath, Alice looked up at the lingering effects of the skill before retrieving the remnants of the violet me. Tiny sparks of purple danced into her palms as she could tell the me had been weakened. Unless she activates her skill, it will fizzle out and disappear. ''Without beasts or humans with Sigils to fuel itself, the fire disappears. But if it cantch onto a source of power, it''ll produce a power far greater than what I can aplish.'' Alice thought to herself, remembering the power brought forth by the Nova Core. She nced at the army of beasts still advancing towards the city. Despite therge number, arge portion of the beasts had been dispatched already as Neal had his Hunters fire off a barrage of long-range skills. In such arge battle, individual prowess no longer mattered unless you had the power to change the flow of battle in one fell swoop. Everyone was fodder that could be killed by a stray st. Shaking her head, Alice activated her first Sigil. There was onest skill she wanted to test out. If this seeds, it''ll confirm her thoughts regarding the nature of her second Sigil. Reopening her wounds, she scattered her blood into the air before using the power of the Maiden to spread the blood as far as she could. Ignoring the headache, Alice knew that she couldn''t keep burning her blood with her violet mes. If she did, she''d run low and suffer the consequences of blood loss. Watching the fumes spread out, she could sense a faint connection that allowed her to spread the fumes out. Snapping her finger, small sparks could be seen in the air but after doing so, the effects of her blood disappeared. ''I can set the fumes on fire but if I do, the effects disappear. I don''t know how much damage I can actually do with them but I doubt this is how I want to use my power¡­'' Alice frowned. However, just as she was about to dismiss the synergy between her first and second Sigil, a thought appeared in her mind. ''If I can set my blood on fire whenever I want to cancel Abyss powers, does that mean my blood can passively reduce the influence of the Abyss?'' Simr to her first Sigil, she imagined it as a passive and active effect. The active would be to burn away power while the passive may be reducing the effectiveness. With this thought in mind, she narrowed her eyes towards one of the beasts that was approaching her. "A perfect target." Alice smiled as her first Sigil manifested on her arm. Chapter 102: Knight of Thorns Her target was a figure who was covered from head to toe in silver armour and wielded arge greatsword but that wasn''t the main defining trait. Through the gaps of the armour and around them, a myriad of ck and red spikes continuously stabbed out without care for its surroundings. [Knight of Thorns - ???] ''Seems like it''s able to mark anything it touches and have the thorns home in onto the target. Not only that, it''s able to manipte the thorns to act as a shield. Only two of its abilities are known to me while a third is still unknown.'' Alice thought to herself but that didn''t matter since the nature of this experiment, if sessful, will allow her to render the beast powerless. Reaching into her pouch, Alice pulled out a vial of healing blood while keeping her eye on the Knight. The Knight was doing the same as it had been looking for the source of the purple mes. Allowing Alice to drink the contents of her vial, it entered abat stance and waited for her to do the same. "For a beast aren''t you honourable." Alice couldn''t help but remark as her wounds closed up one after another. With her blood now replenished, she made several cuts on her left arm before sealing the wounds so that she didn''t die of blood loss. Taking a deep breath, Alice calmed her mind and raised her dagger to guard against the Knight. Silence dawned between the two as the roars of war screamed out around them. They were waiting for the perfect chance to begin this fight as the explosion of a cannonball nearby served as their starting sign. *BANG!!! Both fighters charged toward one another as Alice activated the abilities of her first Sigil, boosting her physical power to its max. *CLANG!!! Parrying the first cleave down using her dagger, Alice could feel the weight behind the sh as it had almost caused her to fall to her knees, but she wouldn''t be defeated so easily. Not only was this a battle for her to experiment with her idea, but it was also a battle to test her close quartersbat! Stepping to the side, Alice adjusted her grip on her dagger into a reverse grip and stabbed it into the gaps of the Knight''s armour but a bundle of thorns shot out, forcing her to pull her arm back before sshing some blood towards the Knight. Her second Sigil manifested on her eye as the thorns seemed to shrink momentarily. shing up with its sword, the Knight released a trail of thorns from the ground, threatening to pierce Alice as she transformed her dagger into a shield, protecting her as shended on the ground. ''The fumes didn''t seem to do much other than reduce the size of the thorns momentarily. Hmm¡­ Perhaps I''m doing it wrong.'' Alice frowned as she had another idea in mind. Transforming the shield back into a dagger, she threw it towards the Knight while it was attached with her threads. Purposely missing the Knight, Alice pulled back on the threads while charging towards the beast. Three needles of blood hovered above her arm while the Knight parried the dagger behind it. Twisting its body, it followed up the parry with a horizontal swing but Alice had long seen iting thanks to the powers of Ca. Sliding across the ground to dodge the de, Aliceunched a kick towards the Knight''s head but a wall of thorns blocked her path. Flicking her finger, one of the blood needles shot out, bursting into mes and burning the wall of thorns away before extinguishing. There was not enough fuel for it to sustain itself but just enough to burn away at the defence! With the amount of blood needed for this needle memorised in her mind for future fights, Alice managed to kick the Knight''s helmet, forcing it to stumble back while Alice swung the dagger behind its knees and pulled the threads, causing it to fall onto its back. Taking the two needles, Alice stabbed it into the eyehole and controlled the blood to invade its body. At that moment, Alice gained a brief view of the Knight''s body and jumped back, allowing the knight to stand back up. ''That wasn''t enough blood to burn it from the inside out since the most I can do is activate a small spark. However, if my theories are correct, I should be seeing the effects soon.'' Alice narrowed her eyes as she prepared to defend. Growling in anger, the Knight mmed its hand down, expecting a field of thorns to burst forth yet nothing happened, causing it to look down in confusion as a wide grin formed on Alice''s face. With her blood circting within the Knight''s body, so long as she retains control and it doesn''t get consumed by the target''s blood, she can stop their abilities from activating! While her mes may have reduced the potency of her poison, it has traded it with something much better. The ability to cancel out beast and Sigil powers! However, this was not permanent as the Knight was able to conjure more thorns after his first attempt failed. ''Seems like it''ll only work for a short period. If I turn my blood into a dry powder of a different form, I''ll be able to create a poison type ability that shuts out Sigil power. I can also try the same with my dagger and have it inject my blood every time Ind a hit.'' Alice chuckled as ideas continuously flooded her mind. Unable to contain herself, Alice felt euphoric. She wanted to find more, experience more, know more. All of these are tools for her vengeance. The day where she kills her father after he is unable to fight back with his powers sent shivers of joy down her back. "Ah~ Ahahahaha! I have to thank you Mr Knight. Allow me to finish you off without pain." Alice smiled as her cheeks were flushed with excitement. Flicking her hand, her dagger was changed into a sword as she ran the de along her arm. Blood was siphoned from her body as a crimson edge appeared on the de. Adjusting her grip, she dashed towards the Knight as her Sigil manifested on her eye. The edge of her de lit up with a violet me as she twisted her body and dodged a wave of thorns. Cleaving her de horizontally, the thorns burst forth with the same violet me and was reduced to nothingness. *BANG!!! Stomping down, she charged forward once more like a speeding train. Panicking from the sudden burst of power, the Knight jumped back and sent a wave of thorns towards Alice to halt her advance. However, Alice was prepared. Snapping her finger, she siphoned more blood from her body beforeunching forward in an arc. The arc of blood burst into mes just before hitting the thorns and erased them with ease. But the mes didn''t stop there. After piercing through the wall of thorns, it rushed towards the Knight, wanting to reduce it to ashes. Letting out a roar of defiance, the Knight twisted its body and cleaved down with his de, wanting to split the mes in half but it disappeared before the sword coulde into contact. Alice had cancelled her second Sigil in order to stun the Knight momentarily. This gap in reaction was all she needed as she was already in front of the beast, her sword pulled back for arge swing. Gathering as much power as she could from her small body, Alice cleaved her with the ming sword. Wanting to parry the de, the Knight watched as the fire ate away at his sword without any resistance and carved deep into its body. *BANG!!!! A wall of purple fire erupted from the sh, burning the Knight to oblivion as Alice had an idea on how to control these mes. After all, they were created from her blood and used her blood as a source of fuel. Thus, all she needed to do was to have her de consume the blood, erasing the fuel needed for the mes. Adjusting her grip on the de, she watched as the blood was absorbed and the fire slowly disappeared. ''I can kill three star beasts with rtive ease now. But I need to be careful since some beasts are stronger than the others. This Knight was a good matchup for me since it seemed like it can only use thorns.'' Alice thought to herself, understanding that anomalies can always happen. Just because she can kill one three star beast doesn''t mean she could kill others. Shaking her head, Alice could already feel dizziness from having used so much blood. Even with her resistance to Abyss Blood, she didn''t want to keep drinking healing vials if she could help it. Looking towards the other side of the battlefield, she could see countless bolts of lightning striking down from above and understood that Ria was also experimenting with her powers. In a battle like this where anything can happen, it was the best ce to train. The threat of death that invokes their will to live, the situations that forces their mind to find a way out. It was a perfect training environment. ''Seems like I''ll have to ask Allura to give us more training like this one. I also need to improve on my close quartersbat since I didn''t choose the ranged option with my second Sigil.'' Alice thought to herself before making her way back to the city. ### "And so the long forgotten Abyss Lord of Death has revealed himself once more. I had expected the old goat to have died by now but he still lives even after the wounds we gave him." A shadowed figure narrowed his gaze at the pool of water that reflected the battle between the White Death and Gin. "So be it, we will finish him off in due time. The loss of the White Death is unfortunate but it''s nothing we can''t recreate. But the essence of war we have collected this time is delectable indeed." He smiled as he conjured a bird made from ice. "Sent a message to Mahri, have her make ns for two of the Lords that reside nearby. First, the Lord sealed under the domain of the Crimson Princess. The second, the Lord under the ughter Docks." The man ordered as the ice bird melted into a pool of water and disappeared. Chapter 103: Alluras New Assignment With the battle nearing its end, Alice made her way back to Allura while Ria continued to go wild as she had more stamina and control over her powers. Compared to Alice, she was better at a battle of attrition. The only thing holding her back was how much stress her body could withstand by constantly charging herself with lightning. Sitting up on the clock tower again, Alice could see Gin keeping his eye on Ria while Allura scanned the battlefield for anything that interested her. "Now, let''s talk about your fights and what you learned. First of all, I''ll need to scold you a little because of two points." Allura sighed as she flicked Alice on the head, almost causing her to fall off but managed to stabilise herself. "I do believe my words were for you to experiment with the first Sigil because we don''t know the synergy and the second Sigil was dangerous. The reason why I didn''t step in earlier is because I can''t always be there to cover for you. So you need to sort your own stuff out without me interfering. I''m d you managed to find a way to control the mes but either way, it was still very dangerous for you." Allura said as she held up one finger. "The second point is for copying my skill. You don''t know what kind of power it was capable of and yet you still tried it. Reckless as hell and you could''ve blown yourself up due to the bacsh of not controlling the skill properly. Thankfully, you seeded so I didn''t need to find a healer for you but be careful when you try to copy techniques you have no idea about." Allura shook her head as Alice nodded, knowing that she was a little too reckless this time. It was good that things turned out well but she had ignored the warnings and she could tell that Allura was both upset and relieved that nothing dangerous happened. "A bit ironicing from you but I suppose even you understand the dangers." Gin shrugged as Allura replied by kicking him off the clocktower. "M*therf*cker!!!" Gin shouted as he didn''t expect her to kick him like this. "As I was saying, I''m d things turned out well but be careful about copying techniques without understanding them properly, okay?" Allura sighed as she scratched her hair. She couldn''t say much since she was just as if not more reckless than Alice. ''I suppose this is what my old teacher and her highness thought when I was growing up.'' Allura thought to herself fondly before shaking her head. "So, would you like to share what you''ve learned thus far?" Allura asked, knowing that Alice was probably feeling excited about her discoveries. And just as expected, she could see Alice''s eyes light up at that moment and started to exin everything she knew about her power. How the fire worked and how it changed the effects of her first Sigil. As she was listening, Allura couldn''t help but think about the deadly potential her mes held. The fact that she could momentarily cut off the Sigil''s power means that those who are able to survive due to this power will lose that benefit. ''Seems like Alice might be developing towards having Anti Hunter type Sigils. If she unlocks a resonance, I wonder what kind of abilities it''ll give her by then. Even with just these two Sigils, she could probably fight the ice girl she fought against at the training hall and win pretty easily¡­'' Allura thought to herself as she might have to adjust their schedule a little. Her original idea was for them to leave this city once the battle cleared up. But now that Alice had exined what she had learned, it might be a good chance for her to see her own improvements. ''I wonder¡­ Perhaps I can bribe the academy and have them fight a spar with Alice. I''ll let Alice figure out how she wants to do it since I can''t keep holding her hand.'' Thinking up to this point, Allura nodded her head as the next destination was clear. It was the academy tower of Zadash. She hasn''t made it a secret that she''s not fond of their methods but as it stands, they are some of the best people to teach Alice what she needs to know. And that is experience in fighting other Hunters. "Alice!" Allura called out as Alice turned her head. "Hm? What is it?" "I have a new assignment for you." Allura grinned, knowing that Alice would struggle. Not with the fighting but rathermunication between people. "Once Riaes back and the fighting finishes up, I want you to schedule a duel with some of the best students within the Academy. Have Neal vouch for you. I want you to be able to defeat students with three Sigils and a resonance like the ones we saw the other day. However, this time me and Gin won''t be around so it''s all up to you and Ria. We can''t keep holding your hand after all, you must learn the ways of the people yourself." Allura chuckled as Gin paused. "Huh? Why wouldn''t I be around?" Gin pointed at himself in confusion. "Because you and I will be busy dealing with the aftermath of this fight. Surely you felt it too, right? Or are you getting old?" Allura raised an eyebrow. "You mean the guy peeping on the fight? Yeah, I felt it." Gin nodded. Not only that, it was a familiar gaze, one that sent a chill down his back. There are only a handful of people who could cause him to sweat and they were all Abyss Lord level Hunters. One manes to mind but if it was indeed him, then Allura was correct. They''ll need to leave this city for a while and distance themselves from Ria and Alice so the stronger Hunters won''t target the two girls. ''Ria isn''t known to many people, especially not those that are higher up. There have been many to impersonate as my family to gain fame and fortune so I doubt the Eclipse b*stards will give a sh*t. But it''s better to be safe than sorry.'' "Well then there you go. The two of us will be sorting some loose ends up and having some fake trails set up around the Abyss. With you showing yourself in Zadash, there will be some level of interest generated but if you show up elsewhere, it''ll hopefully bnce out the interest in this area." Allura exined as Gin nodded. "Alright. I''m assuming we''re going to be hiring the services of the main branch of the Underground?" "Bingo." Allura smiled, snapping her finger and pointing at Gin. "They''re a little expensive but nothing we can''t deal with." "Urg¡­ Fine. I''ll set off once I say goodbye to Ria. It''s going to be a while before we can show up again then if we have to set up fake trails." Gin scratched his hair in annoyance as he didn''t want to be away from his granddaughter if possible. "Oh it''ll be fine. It''s not like we''ll bepletely blind on what they''re going through. Plus, can''t you always send letters?" Allura waved her hand dismissively, but Gin only rolled his eyes. Talking between themselves for a little while, they spotted Ria making her way back from the battlefield. Compared to how she was when she left, she seemed considerably gloomier and more annoyed by her current state of attire. After the battle, her clothes were barely intact as countless rips and tears could be seen across the skirt. "***** More durable they said, made from great materials they imed, what bullsh*t. Couldn''t even handle me fighting 3 of the damn beasts at once. After it got scratched my own damn lightning started to fry the f*cking thing." Ria''s curses could be heard as Gin snapped his finger, tearing the space apart and bringing out another set of clothes for Ria. Looking at one another, Alice and Allura couldn''t help butugh with the mighty Abyss Lord of Death being a portable wardrobe for his granddaughter. Once Ria got changed, they noticed that the final clean up for the battle was beginning as most of the dangers had been cleared up. Despite the main danger, the White Death, being taken care of by Gin, fighting the army of beasts still caused deaths on the Hutner''s side. Mixed with the corpses of beasts were the cold lifeless bodies of brave Hunters who did not flee and fought for their city. Looking at all of the deaths across the battlefield, Alice couldn''t help but be confused by their sentiment. She wasn''t sure why they would risk themselves for the city. To her, there was no need to die this kind of death. To put it bluntly, it seemed a little wasteful. "You seem confused. Care to share a nugget of your thoughts?" Allura asked, noticing Alice''s eyes linger on the corpses. "Why do they sacrifice themselves like this? A city can always be rebuilt. Most of the people have left already. Now their family wille back to the city and be greeted by their corpses." Alice asked with a slight frown on her face. "Hmm¡­ You could say it''s because they want to protect the ce they lived in and belonged to. They want to make sure it doesn''t reach their friends and family. To you, this city is just the first stop of your journey. For some of them, this city may mean more. It might mean everything they lived for. We can''t say. But what we can do is respect their choice in risking their life for what they believe in. One day, when you have a ce or people you wish to protect, you''ll understand their feelings." Allura smiled, patting Alice''s head. With so much of her childhood being isted in a prison by the Zenia''s, Allura wants to make sure Alice understands the nuances of human emotion and why people do what they do. Hearing her response, Alice could only nod despite still not understanding why they would throw their lives away like this. Perhaps in the future she would, but right now she didn''t see the goal behind such actions. Chapter 104: Beyond The 9th Sigil After Ria had changed, both Gin and Allura decided to let the two of them figure out how to deal with Allura''stest assignment. One that''ll have them request duels with the Academy''s best students and see how they fare. Their mindset was one where if the two girls performed well, they could rest easy and have them continue their journey. If not, they''ll continue to watch over them and dy some ns. "So we''re meant to ask Neal to give us a rmendation right?" Ria asked while juggling some gold coins in her hand. Since Allura and Gin didn''t want the two to bribe their way in, they had confiscated most of their money except a handful of gold. "Mnm. Allura said we should have Neal vouch for us so we can actually challenge them. I suppose if we didn''t, they wouldn''t give us the time of day." Alice nodded her head as Ria sighed. "Alright. I think it should be fine since we just have to find the people we foughtst time since they can attest to our strength. It might give us an upper hand." Ria shrugged. Right now, she was wearing a white and red oriental shirt with rope bows on the shoulders and sleeves. A pair of ck shorts and ck tights with a pair of boots. Compared to her previous outfit, there were fewer fancy attachments but proved to be easier to move in. "I think Neal might be a little busy right now though since the fight had just finished and he needs to tally up how many people died and what they can retrieve from the corpses of the beasts right?" "Meh it''ll be fine. It was him who asked us to send a message to Allura and grandfather. Grandfather dealt with the biggest threat so we''ll be fine asking him for a favour." Ria shrugged, understanding that if it wasn''t for her grandfather or Allura, this city would be wiped off the map by now. It was also the first time she had seen her grandfather use that much power. Seeing the space shatter and the strange figure from beyond the void staring down at the world, it sent chills down her spine. She couldn''t help but wonder if she''ll achieve the same kind of power when she reached the level of an Abyss Lord. ''I wonder if that thing is a resonance or is it some being I need tomune with.'' Ria thought to herself but turned her mind to other matters. Right now, she only had three Sigils. Far too early to be thinking on the level of Abyss Lords, a status that many have spent their entire life trying to achieve only to fall short. The gulf between six Sigils and seven was a gap that only a handful of beings had crossed. And even then, few have achieved 8 or even the fabled 9th Sigil. "Alice." Ria called out. "Hm? What is it?" "What do you think it takes for a person to be a god?" Ria asked, causing Alice to raise an eyebrow. "Do you mean like¡­ God-like power or ''God'' God?" "Both. Godlike power and a being like the Moon Goddess, Sun God and Eclipse God." Ria exined as Alice fell silent. With her having spent most of her life in the Zenia prison, she wasn''t too sure regarding the status of ''God''. She had heard the term, understood their revered ''omnipotence'' to some degree, and knew that they kept each other in check or else one of the Gods would force everyone under their rule. But to achieve godlike power and status, Alice had no clue. "Don''t know. Never studied up on religion." "I think the secret lies in what goes beyond the 9th Sigil. You see, we have all of these stories on the 9th Sigil, how it can shatter thend and change the world. But we never hear of the 10th Sigil? Is there nothing beyond the 9th? I doubt it. Because beyond the power of the 9th we hear about Apostles and the Gods themselves." Ria smiled, clearly excited by the prospect of maybe bing a God. "So¡­ You think Gods are just very powerful Hunters?" "No no, they have something that Hunters don''t. A divinity that allows them to bless and appoint apostles. But imagine if we could be Gods." Riaughed as Alice tapped her chin but shook her head. "I have no use of bing a God. I think¡­ I''ll be satisfied once I deal with my old family." "That''s fair. Honestly, I only have a gripe with the Eclipse cult. If I can weed them out and wipe them from existence, I''ll be happy. And if being a God means I can do just that then I''ll try and achieve that level of power. Plus, I think it''ll be rather cool if I can say to my grandfather that I became a God." Ria grinned, imagining the shock on her grandfather''s face. Hearing this, Alice couldn''t help but wonder what Allura would look like if she did the same. ''She said I''m part of her family now¡­ As Alice Agnelia. If I became a God, would she be happy? Then again, I need to sort out the task with Ca. Kaden nted the eye into me and even though Allura said I didn''t need to do it, I want to repay her kindness.'' Allura didn''t seem to want Ca to wake up so soon as it may put into motion events beyond her control, leaving Alice unsure as the stronger she gets, the more active Ca bes. It wouldn''t be long until she is always awake. "We''re here. Let''s hope instructor Neal isn''t busy right now." Ria stretched as she pushed open the doors and made her way up to Neal''s office after letting the receptionist know. Knocking on Neal''s door, Ria waited for him to call the two of them inside before opening the door. Sitting behind his desk, Neal looked exhausted as he had just finished fighting but now had to deal with all of the reports and documents he needed to do after the battle. A brief nce of the document told Alice everything she needed to know as it was profiles on the deceased and extended family. "How may I help the two of you today?" Neal asked with a small smile. Despite his fatigue, he was patient with the two as it was thanks to them that Gin and Allura actually made a move. He could remember the power demonstrated by the White Death. Had it not been for Gin, this city would''ve be history. "We''re here on a small assignment by Allura. She said she wanted us to fight some talented students at the Academy and to have you vouch for us and our capabilities." Alice exined as Neal tapped his fingers for a moment before nodding. "I see. It''s not difficult to do usually. However, thanks to the battle that had just taken ce, it''s a little hard to schedule anything with the Academy. I know you had some interactions with the special studentsst time but it''s still a gamble on whether or not their professors would allow this. If you want, I can take you to a meeting with them and see if we can do anything. If not, you''ll have to wait until everything is sorted out." Neal smiled bitterly, feeling bad that he couldn''t guarantee anything. Looking at one another, Ria gestured for Alice to do the talking while she stood back since it was Allura''s request. Ria guessed that Allura wanted Alice to be more proactive rather than passive hence it wouldn''t be good for her to do all the talking. Seeing that Ria wasn''t nning on giving her input, Alice could only sigh and look at Neal. Thinking to herself momentarily, she opened her mouth. "If you can get us a meeting with them it''ll be appreciated. I''m sure we''ll find a way to request a proper duel with them. I doubt they''ll do it for free so I have some rewards if they need. Some Scarlet Powder bombs and one vial of Luna Siren Blood." Alice offered as they were left over from her hunt. She doubted that she''d need them any time soon so if it can helpplete Allura''s task then so be it. "Scarlet Powder Bomb? I''m not sure if the Luna Siren Blood will be helpful as it''s a very situational Abyss Blood but I''m surprised you got enough Scarlet Powder for a Scarlet Powder Bomb. Keep that a secret for now and see if you can get a duel without cost. If things start to look bad we can use that for negotiations if you desire." Neal suggested as Alice nodded her head. "Alright. Then give me a little bit of time since I need to deal with this paperwork. It shouldn''t be too long though so you can either use the training rooms or stay at the lobby and wait for me to finish." Leaving Neal to his paperwork, Alice and Ria made their way down to the lobby. "Seems like step one is done for now. If the negotiations seed, who do you want to fight?" Ria asked, curious as to who Alice will choose. "I think I want a rematch with Chloe. I was arrogantst time and lost because of it. I want to see how much I''ve improved since then. Though if Chloe refuses then I think I''ll be interested in fighting Wess Froid. He seemed to be the leader so I want to know what he''s capable of. Last time Allura mentioned that they were Grade A students from the academy so I want to see how well I hold up against him." Alice replied honestly as Ria couldn''t help but whistle at her choice. "Going straight for the leader I see. I like it. If you didn''t say Wess then I was going to say I wanted to try my hand at fighting him ahaha. Fighting beasts is nice and all but nothing beats winning battle against another Hunter. The moment of understanding and the mind games thate with Hunter battles are something else." Ria chuckled, clearly excited about this rematch. Seeing this, Alice chuckled softly at her enthusiasm. In a sense, she too was excited about this rematch. Chapter 105: Nixia As they were waiting in the lobby, it didn''t take long for an exhausted Neal to approach the two. "Well, are you two ready? We''ll be taking a trip to the Academy tower that''s nearby since most of them have returned to the Academy once the fighting had stopped." Neal scratched his hair as he had finally done enough work to warrant a small break. Nodding her head, Alice and Ria started to follow Neal as he took them up the tower and made his way to the bridge connecting to the other tower. "I believe the S grade and A grade students are at the Academy right now with their professors. I''ve already notified them that I''m wanting a quick meeting with them so it''s all up to chance now. I can help to some extent but as I said, I can''t guarantee that they''ll listen to your request." "That''s fine." Alice nodded, understanding that it was difficult for Neal as well despite his status. As they reached the Academy tower, Alice nced at the outer appearance and shrugged. It was no different to the other towers but the inside was probably differentpared to the Hunters Guild. With Neal taking the lead for now, they simply stayed silent while he talked to the receptionists and arranged a meeting with the professors, stating that he wished to arrange a quick sparring session for two people he vouched for. Thanks to Neal''s status and his recent efforts in helping with the city''s defence, they epted his request for a meeting to discuss the details regarding the spar. "Phew¡­ Seems like things are going smoothly. However getting to actually spar with the A grade or S grade students will not be easy since you have to prove you are worth their attention. Ria should be fine since she beat Freidast time but you might have to go out of your way to prove your power Alice." Neal reminded. "I''m sure Alice will be fine. She was limited by one Sigilst time after all. But now that she''s gotten her second Sigil her adaptability and power has improved dramatically." Ria reassured as Neal raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You got a second Sigil? Congrattions. Can you tell me which beast you got it from? I can update it from my end so you don''t have to worry about updating it yourself." Neal asked as Ria immediately understood her mistake and cursed inwardly. Meanwhile, Alice was unsure of how to exin her Sigil. After all, the violet mes weren''t something that should be disclosed lightly. ''I can probably try to hide by violet mes by having it activate through my first Sigil inbat.'' Alice thought to herself as she opened her mouth. "I got the Sigil from a Blood Widow. Wasn''t exactly what I wanted since it only lets me control a tiny bit of blood from my body." Alice smiled and shrugged while Ria couldn''t help but give a small thumbs up. A reply of half-truths and lies. "A Blood Widow? I can see why you would need the Scarlet Powder and Lunar Siren Blood. Alright, I''ll mark it down when I get back then. But I''m surprised you actually hunted a Blood Widow. That''s a beast that even Hunters with three Sigils would struggle at." Neal praised as he guessed that it was Allura''s arrangement to have Alice fight a Blood Widow. ''I didn''t think she would have Alice fight a Blood Widow at this stage¡­ I suppose that''s what makes her powerfulpared to the other Hunters. Even when Alice was just at one Sigil, that killing intent and lust for battle was not something even average Hunters couldpare to.'' Neal thought to himself. ''Like master like student.'' As they were being led to the waiting rooms, Alice could see the difference between the Hunter''s Guild and the Academy tower. Even while they were simply walking through the corridors, Alice could see small statues of what seemed to be important figures to the history of the Academy. Graduates who have achieved great feats throughout the world, people who have changed the Academy for the better and so on. "Is this Academy unique to Zadash? Or is it part of arger organization like the Guild?" Alice asked curiously. "This Academy is merely a branch of arger system. Each city has its own Academy branch, some bigger than others. The Academy tower in Zadash is considered a medium branch while the main branches have entirepounds that can fit several of these towers within the location." Neal exined. "Are you interested in enrolling by any chance?" Hearing this, Alice paused for a moment before shaking her head. She was indeed curious about academy life because she was deprived of the opportunities. However, with what she needs to do right now, going to the academy may dy Allura''s ns further. ''We''re already dying things because she wants me to properly understand what I have discovered about my power.'' Alice thought to herself. But if she was to answer truthfully, then yes, she was curious about school. She had a small desire to find out the things she has missed out in life while imprisoned away from sight. The Academy life being one of them. Noticing the slight interest that Alice was showing towards the Academy, Ria couldn''t help but smile understanding that Alice must''ve been depraved of such opportunities. But to her, the Academy life was nothing interesting. Most would go to make friends and get to know people but she could never get along with those in her ss. Her own history and interactions of the Cult made it difficult as every time she saw one of the students, she couldn''t help but picture what they would look like if they were bathed in a pool of blood and left for her to kill. Alice was no exception, and she knew this was a side effect of her participation in the ritual. However, she was able to control these thoughts to some degree, so it didn''t bother her. After making their way to the waiting room, it didn''t take long for one of the professors to arrive as Alice was surprised by their appearance. She was a tall woman, not as tall as Allura but still far taller than even Neal. Long ck hair with a bright blue under colour, heterochronic eyes with the left being blue and the right being yellow. Her outfit was a rather simple professor suit consisting of a white shirt, tie, ck vest and a pair of pants. On top of the suit, she wore a jacket. "May I assume that these two are the ones that want to spar with our students?" The woman asked as Neal nodded his head. "Professor Nixia, it''s a pleasure to meet you again. And yes, these two are the ones who want to spar with your students. I can personally vouch for their capabilities as they have sparred with some of your students before with one being able to achieve victory." Neal smiled as Nixia squinted her eyes at Alice before turning her gaze to Ria. "I heard of them. I must say I''m surprised that you had offered such a high price for a simple spar. The amount of trouble that could''vee our way if word got out was especially interesting to put it lightly. Regardless, I''m not one to judge what you wish to spend." Nixia shrugged as she massaged her neck. "It''ll be up to the students if they want to spar again. I won''t stop you from trying to convince them if you wish." Hearing this, Neal sighed in relief as Nixia wasn''t against them sparring. Meanwhile, Alice couldn''t help but nce above Nixia''s head and noticed that she had 6 Sigils avable for use. ''I can only see up to 6 Sigils. Considering how Allura has been describing Abyss Lords, I doubt she''s reached that level. She''s probably someone that''s been stuck at this level for a while.'' Alice thought to herself as she doubted that they''ll see so many Abyss Lord level Hunters in a city like Zadash. "Follow me." Nixia stated calmly as she didn''t wait to see their response and turned around to leave the room. Looking at one another, Ria and Alice quickly followed behind her as she took them to one of the elevators up into a training facility. Compared to the Hunter''s Guild, there were more training equipment ready for use. Theyout of the tower was simr and they soon, they arrived at the training room with Nixia pping her hands once. The moment she did, every student within the room stopped what they were doing and gathered up. "We have two guests today. They''vee with hopes of having a sparring session. Whether you ept or deny is up to you, I will have no input in this. They have been personally vouched by Instructor Neal and one of them managed to achieve a victory against one of our studentsst time. This should serve as a good opportunity for you to gain some experience. As there are many of you and only two of them, they will issue the challenge. Do not take it as then thinking you are weak as they are also here to gain experience. It merely means you are worthy to challenge. Do you understand?!" Nixia shouted as all of the students responded in sync. Seeing this, both Ria and Alice were surprised by their discipline as Nixia turned towards them. "Please, feel free to challenge at your leisure." Nixia invited as she stepped aside, allowing the two to see all of the choices. Without hesitation, Alice stepped forward. Her eyes were locked on Chloe and Chloe understood what was going to happen. "I wish for a rematch with Chloe." Alice challenged. "I ept." Chloe bowed slightly. She could still remember the fear she felt during theirst battle but this time, she will go all out immediately to ensure a swift victory. Chapter 106: Rematch Against Chloe With Alice challenging Chloe, Ria wanted to wait until their match has finished before she choses her opponent. ''I have already beaten Freida so I can choose someone else. If Alice doesn''t go for Wess, I might go for him. If not, I''ll choose one of the S grade students.'' Ria thought to herself as she took a seat and watched as Alice prepared herself in the centre of the training room. "Do you still need a vial of your blood?" Chloe asked, understanding that Alice''s weapon required blood to be effective. "No, it''s fine." Alice shook her head with a small smile on her face. Taking a deep breath, she locked her eyes on Chloe. She understood the state she needed to be in when she fights. Her lust for battle, killing intent and eagerness were good weapons but had drawbacks of their own. She needed to go for the kill without showing intent, be eager with caution and observe carefully for a gap in Chloe''s defence before striking. She needed to force Chloe to show all of her cards! That''s the essence of a fight between Hunters. Making a cut on her forearm, Alice attached some of her blood to the ends of her threads before sealing up her wound. "I''m ready whenever." "Same here." Chloe nodded her head as she took a breath and cold mist started to form around her. Seeing that the two were ready, Nixia raised her hand. "Begin!" She shouted, dropping her hand as three Sigils immediately red across Chloe''s body. Ice manifested around her body, covering her in a set of crystalline robes while her skin changed into a pale blue. Without hesitating, she mmed her hand down, covering the entire arena with frost. Letting out a breath of cold mist, Chloe furrowed her brows noticing that Alice was gone. "Huh?!" Widening her eyes, she scanned the battlefield but couldn''t find Alice. ''Above!'' Snapping her gaze upwards, she could see Alice charging down with a de in hand. Gritting her teeth, Chloe created a shield from ice, parrying Alice''s attack before trying to counter with spears. However, without waiting for the counter, Alice activated her first Sigil and dashed at full speed. With the sudden increase in speed, Chloe lost track of Alice momentarily as she became flustered, trying to track her opponent. Since the floor was covered with ice, Alice created spikes with her blood and attached it to the soles of her boots, giving her traction and allowing her to sprint at full speed while circling Chloe, looking for a chance to attack. ''She has already activated her resonance. I know that she is able to release a burst of cold energy that can freeze me, and her control bes stronger the closer the ice is to her. Keeping distance is honestly the best shout right now since I can''t fully react to some of the ice just yet.'' Alice thought to herself as she created a dagger with her bracelet and sent it flying towards Chloe who blocked with ease as she expected. Butpared tost time, Alice has a trump card up her sleeve. Activating her second Sigil, markings appeared on her eye, surprising Chloe and the others who had seen Alice fight before. Flicking her wrist, several strands of her thread broke out of the ice as Alice had allowed them to be frozen. Commanding the blood using the Maiden''s power was simple and didn''t require her to manifest her Sigil as it was simr to her passive poison ability. However, using the abilities of the mes and having it burn through the ice required the activation. She had lined her threads with a minimal amount of blood so that the mes only appeared momentarily and very difficult to see unless you were looking closely at the threads. To the ordinary Hunter, it would look as though her threads were shing through the ice with ease but in reality, they were cancelling out the Abyss''s power making the ice disappear. At the start of this fight, she had already started to set down her traps! She was merely waiting to see if Chloe had any more cards to y before activating this trap. Watching the threads sh through her ice with ease, Chloe''s eyes widened in shock as it was almost as though the ice wasn''t even there. Unable to defend herself even with the ice, she could only watch as the threads wrapped around her, restricting her movements as Alice pulled her off her feet, falling to the ground. Biting her lip, Chloe refused to admit her loss and activated her Sigil. However, there was no reaction on the threads as her ice was unable to form on the surface. Confusion filled her mind but she was unable to react as Alice threw her dagger next to Chloe''s head, piercing the ice and missing Chloe entirely. ". . . *sigh* It''s my loss this time." Chloe shook her head, understanding that she had been surpassed. Even without a resonance, Alice had nullified her abilities, restricting her and even dealing the ''killing blow''. With her victory dered, Alice flicked her wrist, retrieving the dagger and threads before adjusting her glove. Taking a deep breath, she calmed her mind and deactivated her Sigils before drinking a small vial of healing blood. With the activation of her mes, she had burned away some of her blood and it couldn''t be retrieved. She wanted to challenge another student, but it was Ria''s time to shine. Bowing slightly to Chloe, Alice thanked her for the spar and made her way to Ria who raised her hand, waiting for a response. However, Alice merely stared at her in confusion. "Ever heard of a high five?" Ria asked but Alice shook her head. "I don''t believe I have." "It''s very simple. Here, just raise your hand like me." Ria chuckled while Alice followed her instructions. Jogging forward, Riapleted the high five beforeughing. "Now sit back and rx. It''s mine turn to shine. You don''t mind if I challenge Wess right?" Ria asked. "I don''t mind. Go ahead." Receiving Alice''s confirmation, Ria could feel her excitement bursting through her chest as she jumped to the centre of the room. The ice had already been melted by Chloe and the room was returned to normal. Wess had already heard Ria''s challenge and made his way to the centre while massaging his neck. "I have four Sigils, would you rather me use three just like you or all four?" Wess asked as Ria held up four fingers without hesitation. "Very well. I shall respect your choice." Wess nodded as he activated all four of his Sigils immediately. All of them synergised well with one another as his outfit was changed. Instead of the standard school uniform, a set of silver armour adorned his body with a set of white robes with a broken crown floating above his head. In his right hand, a long silver spear manifested itself while in his left, a golden sword could be seen. Behind him, three swords appeared and hovered in the air. The moment all four Sigils activated, their air changed as Ria understood that Wess was much strongerpared Freida. "Would you like any prep time?" Wess asked but Ria shook her head. "I doubt beasts would give me time to prepare myself so this is fine." Ria smiled, activated her Sigils as lightning started to course through her body. Nodding at Nixia, Ria took a deep breath and stared at Wess while Nixia signalled the start of this spar. The moment Nixia''s hand dropped, Wess shot forth like a bullet as his spearunched towards Ria, surprising her with the speed momentarily before ducking down to avoid the stab. ''This guy''s speed is no joke!'' Ria thought to herself in shock. Going into a handstand, she kicked towards Wess'' head as one of the des protected him while he cleaved down with his sword. Two of the des behind him followed suit, cutting off Ria''s escape. Curling her lips into a smile, Ria narrowed her eyes as lightning struck all around her, forcing Wess to jumped back to avoid getting hit. Getting back on her feet, Ria stretched her body before opening her mouth. "You know, when the fighting broke out and my teacher threw me into a pit of tens of Abyss Beasts, I had to figure something out with my Sigils. So far, I''ve only been a close quarters fighter while firing off a few bolts as ranged support. I''ve learnt how to gather my power and fire it off in one st but that''s not how I want to fight." She chuckled as Wess was confused by this sudden deration. Just as he was about to approach, lightning struck near his feet, stopping his advance. "Allow me to finish first, thank you. You see, there is only so much lightning my own body can handle before I overwork it and copse. Same goes for the orbs that I can create which houses my lightning charges that you''ve seen before. But I discovered something during my fight, a more efficient way of using my lightning." Ria smiled as 3 orbs appeared around her. Absorbing them into her body, a violent storm of lightning erupted around her as she shot towards Wess, throwing a punch towards his chest as he hastily parried with his spear. *BANG!!!! mming into the walls of the arena, Wess kneeled down in pain as he could feel the force behind Ria''s vibrating through his body while also leaving traces of lightning that paralysed him to a certain degree. "Let''s just say I can fight at 100% without wasting anything." Ria grinned as this state allowed her to overcharge her body without any drawbacks. She used one orb to propel herself forward at maximum possible speed, one tounch the strongest punch she could and one to st Wess at the point of impact. It was not the same as overburdening her body but rather keeping her body perfectly at 100% strength during the whole motion. Too much power at one point and she''ll feel the bacsh while too little would result in a decrease in power. Her old control was akin to a tap that kept turning on and off while in this state, the tap was always on at full st. "Well then, I hope you''ll at least show your resonance unless you want to receive a loss without gaining anything." Hearing this, Wess couldn''t help but chuckle as he stood up and adjusted his stance. "Very well. . . Then I will fight as though my life is on the line." Chapter 107: Jinya Activating his resonance, a new set of armour covered him from head to toe while his spear and swordbined into a greatsword that shed with a mixture of blue and purple. "Unlike my friends, my resonance is Anti Hunter. Despite the appearance, this is not for fighting beasts." Wess warned as he entered a greatsword stance. Stomping down, he dashed towards Ria as chains burst out of the ground, locking Ria''s leg in ce as she widened her eyes. Gritting her teeth, she snapped her fingers and absorbed three orbs before coating her fist in lightning energy. Twisting her body, she mmed her fist into the face of the greatsword before it could reach her body. However, that was a feint as Wess used the force of the punch to propel himself into a swing, cutting towards Ria from the right. "Damn!!" Bending her body back with the help of the chains, Ria was able to dodge the de. Funneling her lightning charge through her legs, she broke the chains apart before jumping back and taking several deep breaths to calm herself. Narrowing her eyes at Wess, she noticed that he didn''t charge at her. ''What is he up to?'' She thought to herself as he broke his greatsword into a pair of longswords and unleashed a flurry of shes that sent what seemed to be ming arcs towards her. Widening her eyes, Ria charged both her fists with lightning and parried every single sh that was sent towards her. Even when Wess appeared in front of her with a cleave, she managed to catch the des with a grin on her face. "Anti Hunter? I think it''scking a bit of power to be ssified as Anti Hunter no?" Ria asked but Wess shook his head. "I never said this was all of my abilities." At that moment, it seemed as though time was stored in a single moment as every single sh that he had unleashed appeared around the two of them. Kicking off Ria''s arm, Wess jumped back before stabbing his swords into the ground. With his left hand, spectral chains appeared around Ria''s body, locking her in ce while he targeted her using his right hand. Clenching his right hand into a fist, all of the shes charged towards Ria. Taking a deep breath, Ria gritted her teeth and absorbed five orbs of lightning as power coursed through her body, breaking the chains in half. With five times her usual max charge flooding her body, Ria created two lightning dragons around her, protecting her body while also parrying every single sh that was ''recorded'' by Wess and fired off in an instant. Watching Ria dismantle his of shes, Wess couldn''t help but apud her power. His Anti Hunter resonance allowed him to ''record'' all of the shes he had unleashed since the start of the activation. Once he has selected a target, the shes will never miss and will all be unleashed at once. But despite that, he was witnessing Ria punching all of his shes away like they were nothing. mming the final sh into the ground, Ria had a grin on her face but her mind was racing. ''Damn¡­ I didn''t think Allura asking me to train with Alice would be this helpful.'' Ria thought to herself in disbelief as Allura''s attacks while mimicking the Blood Maiden was much faster than what Wess demonstrated. All she had to do was to create a safe spot for herself while dodging most of the shes and hit them on the way back. It was simply a process of creating gaps if there were none. A brute force method yet proved to be very effective. With the shes now dealt with, Ria cracked her knuckles and charged towards Wess. ### While Ria and Alice were upied at the Academy, both Allura and Gin had made their way down to the Underground. Approaching Joseph''s chamber, they could see the man kneeling in front of the altar once more. "To think I would have the pleasure of meeting two VIP''s entering together, how can I help you two esteemed guests today?" Joseph asked with a smile. "Information like usual. Though it''s not you I want to ask these questions. I''m sure you know what I mean." Allura smiled as she threw an object towards Joseph. Catching the flying object, Joseph saw what it was and frowned. A crimson key crafted from what seemed to be red briar and metal. A symbol for the Underground and one that''s only given out by the owner. The people that hold this item in the Abyss could be counted on one hand and Allura happened to be one of them. ". . . Very well. But please understand miss Allura, that we don''t like to do this often." Joseph smiled bitterly as a marking appeared on his palm. Hovering it over the key, one of the briars started to disintegrate as he threw the key back to Allura. "There are two more uses left. Please allow me a moment while I conduct the ritual." Nodding her head, Allura waited by the side while storing her key away. "I should get one myself. But I rarely see the boss I don''t believe I''ll get the chance." Gin shrugged as he was envious of how useful the key was. It was an item that allowed them to break Underground rules. The most basic key that hand handed out rarely was only allowed to be used once. Yet the one that Allura has in her possession gave her the same authority as the leader for a total of 5 times, this being the third time she''s using it. "Meh. It was given to me as a trade for a favour in the first ce. If you really need it I can give one of the uses left to you if you want." Allura shrugged as such an item didn''t hold much value to her. If she really wanted to or desperately needed the information, she could simply raid the vaults herself for their records. Watching Joseph draw out the ritual circle while covering parts of his body with the same paint, Allura thought about the questions she wanted answers to and the best way she could get them answered is by asking the leader of the Underground himself. Activating the ritual, a burst of energy enveloped Joseph''s body as his aura started to change. A spectral figure ovepped his own as he opened his eyes and stared at Allura. "Ah¡­ If it isn''t Allura. To what do I owe this pleasure of seeing you again mydy?" ''Joseph'' bowed elegantly. "Jinya, you should know what I want to ask. First of all, howe the Eclipse Cult has found a way to harvest the bodies of the sealed Abyss Lords? Second of all, why do some of the people belonging to the new faction popping up around the ce have the aura of a dead god?" Allura asked as Jinya paused and nodded his head. "I believe the reason as to why the Eclipse Cult has found a way to harvest the bodies of the Abyss Lords is due to their newest Cardinal that has made his existence known to the world. Cardinal Andmos is his name and he wields some interesting powers. At this moment, we do not know his full capabilities nor do we know about his whereabouts. Hees and goes as he pleases." Jinya shrugged. "As for your second inquiry, my information is limited but their knowledge of blood rituals and pacts far exceed what is known by any of the three religions. Some of the people with information on them have began to call them the Blood Cult. As for their legitimacy and whom they worship, that is still up for debate but they are making moves across the world. For the matter of the aura of dead gods¡­ I''m afraid I have no answers." Hearing this, Allura sighed as she had expected as much. "Is there anything else you require of me? If not, I would have to say it''s quite a terrible use of the Key I have given you. If you wanted answers like these you could''ve just visited." Jinya chuckled. "Then help me revoke a few memberships of the Eclipse Cult who are involved in the matter of the White Death. Secondly, I want you to revoke every single membership belonging to the Zenia family and refuse to give them any support of any kind." Hearing this, Jinya paused as the Zenia family was the leading family in terms of Abyss Blood research and supply. Cutting them off immediately would cause drastic damages. "The first I can do easily as desecrating the bodies of the old Abyss Lords are looked down upon by both the Sun and Moon. However¡­ The Zenia''s are deeply ingrained into our society along with the three Churches. Not to mention their influence on the surface. Cutting them off so suddenly on a whim is¡­ Difficult. Even if it''s you who''s requesting this." Jinya smiled bitterly. "If it was anyone else I would''ve said it''s either the Zenia''s or me. You know that right? But since its you, I''ll spare you the trouble. Just hinder everything they do from now on. Hinder their businesses, hinder their attempts to collect blood and make sure to expose whatever secrets you can dig up from their house. Just as a hint, they may struggle to produce more usable Abyss Blood for the world unless they start kidnapping arge number of people for experiments. Use that against them. I want their reputation and trust from the world ruined. You don''t have to cut them off if you can''t, just make sure they suffer." Allura demanded as Jinya couldn''t help but sweat. Allura had always kept herself a bystander and a neutral party to most things yet for them to receive such a reaction from Allura, he couldn''t help but wonder what crimes theymitted to deserve this. "Very well. I would say this request would''ve been worth two uses but seeing as though I have declined your first request and made you change it due to difficulties on our end, this one will only cost the one use that you have already paid. I believe that is everything you require of me, yes?" Jinya asked as Allura nodded. "Then I shall bid you farewell and hope to see you soon." Jinya bowed, watching Allura and Gin leave the room. "Oh boy¡­ The Zenia''s are going to suffer for annoying Allura." He shook his head with a sigh. Chapter 108: Rias Next Target Panting heavily, Ria was no longer smiling as she and Wess have been at a standstill. No matter how she approached him, he would always have attacks ready to ward her off. On the other hand, Wess couldn''t end the fight either as Ria was able to parry everything he threw at her. They were in a stalemate with no cards left to y. ''I''ve already used up every trick I have up my sleeve. I don''t know if he has any more tricks but I have to end it now.'' Ria thought to herself as she was already running out of stamina. The fatigue of having lightning constantly surging through her body was now pilling up and even if her new technique allowed her to fight without issue, her own stamina was a limiting factor. Taking a deep breath, Ria charged forth once more but this time she reduced the orbs she absorbed. Instead, nting them across the arena while parrying Wess''s de attacks. "I can see what you''re nning!" Wess shouted out while sending shes to where she had nted the orbs, exploding them in the process. "Tsk!" Clicking her tongue, Ria jumped back and gathered 3 orbs and aimed her finger towards Wess. This was the same skill she had used against the Maiden of the Blood Moon when she was helping Alice. Only this time, the power she was infusing into this shot was far weaker as she didn''t have enough time to charge it as much as she wanted. Narrowing her eyes, she fired a bolt of lightning towards Wess who managed to guard against it using his sword and parry it off to the side. But Ria had nned for this. With the shot having less power than intended, it made it easier for her to control the trajectory! Flicking her finger, the lightning arched up and crashed down on Wess who let out a cry of pain. Feeling the lightning strip away his armour little by little, he understood that the durability of his resonance was running out and if he didn''t do anything it was going to be his loss! Twisting his body, he gritted his teeth and threw his sword towards Ria as thest of his resonance broke apart. *BANG!!! "Oh sh*!!!" Unable to dodge the de due to exhaustion and with her attention focused on the lightning, the de mmed into her chest as blood was drawn. Her body rolled across the ground as Alice jumped up in shock and ran into the arena with healing blood in hand. Nivia was doing the same with Wess as both of them were out ofmission from thatst attack. "I dere this spar is a tie!" Nivia shouted out while Alice was focused on feeding Ria the healing blood. *COUGH!! Choking on the blood momentarily, Ria''s wounds started to heal up as she looked up and saw Alice''s worried expression. "Ah thank you. I''m guessing I lost then." Ria sighed but Alice shook her head. "It was a draw. Wess is out ofmission as well. If he didn''t throw the sword at thest moment, you would''ve won this spar." "The moment I let my guard down at the end means it''s my loss. A win should be something I can walk away from." Ria smiled bitterly as she sat up. "I don''t think I can challenge anyone else ahaha. My own skills arecking. Are you thinking of challenging some others?" Ria asked curiously since she knows that Alice didn''t go all out. However, to her surprise, Alice shook her head. "I''ve learned plenty this time round. And even if I was to fight some others, I''m not sure if I can win without relying on the violet mes." Hearing this, Ria understood that Alice wanted to keep her mes a secret if she could and doing more spars would only bring her trouble down the line. "Alright. I''m pretty sure we finished Allura''s assignment anyways. Well¡­ You did. I got a loss." Riaughed. "I mean¡­ It makes it one for one. Last time you won and I lost." Alice smiled, helping Ria to her feet while Ria agreed with her thoughts. "Yeah, it makes us one for one now." Exining the situation to Neal, the three of them excused themselves from the training room as their goal for this visit had been achieved. "I suppose you''re satisfied now." Neal asked as Alice nodded her head. "I''m sure you''re disappointed with your tie but I would like to inform you that Wess was actually supposed to be an S grade student rather than an A grade. The only reason why he remains an A grade yetmands respect from the S grades is the fact that he remained behind to stay with his friends. In terms of power, he is within the top 5 of the ss." Neal exined, wanting tofort Ria as he could tell that she was disappointed. "I believe you are registered as a three Sigil user right?" Neal asked as Ria nodded her head. "The power you showed already surpasses most three star Hunters. I''m not sure how Allura and Gin judges when you should get your fourth Sigil but personally, I think you should be ready for that step forward. That''s just my thoughts though." Neal shrugged. Compared to Allura and Gin, he was nothing but an ant in terms of power. But even he knows that Ria was touching the boundary between three and four Sigils. If she had gotten a fourth and activated a resonance, that fight would''ve been over. "Thank you. I''m waiting for Allura to give me the green light since she''s been saying I''m not ready yet." Ria chuckled. "Well from what I''m hearing seems like you did pretty well. I remember that Wess kid, he''s pretty talented for his age." Allura''s voice cut in as she appeared behind Neal with Gin in tow. "GAH!!! What the f*ck!?" Ria shouted out as she jumped up in shock, not expecting Allura to appear the moment they mention her name. "Seems like Alice won her fight and you drew with yours. If your opponent was Wess then Neal''s right. You can start looking for your fourth Sigil now." Allura smiled while lighting up her cigarette. "Alice, I''m assuming you went for a rematch with Chloe. How was it?" Allura asked, turning her gaze to Alice. "It was¡­ Well. I wouldn''t say it was easy but I see what you mean now. I was too hasty before. If I stayed back and observed I would''ve seen the gaps in her defences." "Good. Then you''ve learned from this fight. Let''s go celebrate a little while I tell you about our next ns." Allura smiled, patting Alice''s head while Gin did a second check up on Ria to make sure there weren''t any injuries left over. With Allura taking over and escorting the two away with Gin, Neal was left alone and feeling awkward as he shed an invisible tear. ''I''m still here.'' Shaking his head, he made his way back to his office to deal with the rest of his work. ### While they were having food, Allura discussed the possibility of Ria''s next Sigil. "Have you reconsidered your choices for the fourth Sigil? Or are you going with your old choice?" Allura asked, curious as to what Ria wanted to choose. Thinking to herself, Ria tapped her finger before opening her mouth. "How possible. . . Would it be for me to challenge a 5 star hunt for my fourth Sigil?" Ria asked, surprising Gin as he dropped his fork out of shock. "You realise what you are asking right?" Allura raised an eyebrow as Ria nodded her head. "I do. I saw how Alice challenged the Maiden of the Blood Moon. I know it may be rted to her. . . unusual abilities but I want to know if its possible for me to bridge the gap of two Sigils." Ria asked with determination in her eyes. Staying silent for a moment, Allura tapped her finger against the table as the seconds flew by. After what seemed like a century of silence, Allura opened her mouth. "It''s possible. But I don''t think you understand. Difficulty does not mean better rewards. Some four star hunts will give you better Sigils than five star hunts. Your rewards for the struggles will not outweigh the risks, I promise you this. I know that you can clear a five star hunt if the conditions line up which is why I''m rmending you carefully consider your options for four star hunts and go from there." Allura replied as Ria sighed softly before nodding her head. "But if you really want to prove yourself, I have a hunt that I think will be suitable for you. It''s ssified as a four star beast but when a lightning user fights it, the difficulty spikes up to 5 stars and possibly more. As for the rewards¡­ It''s one of the best lightning based Sigils you can get within the second set of Sigils." Hearing this, Ria''s eyes lit up with an excited glint as she eagerly waited for the name of this beast. "The beast I want you to Hunt down is one called the Storm Leviathan. A four star beast that can jump through lightning simr to what Alice demonstrated when she jumped through blood like it is a portal. Once you kill the Storm Leviathan, I want you to get the Sigil ability known as Lightning Ascent. With this, you''ll be able to manifest yourself through your lightning and swap ces. You can turn parts of your body into lightning to dodge." Allura smiled as Alice couldn''t hold back her curiosity and entered the realm of her mind. Borrowing Ca''s power, she filtered through the beasts until the Storm Leviathan appeared before her. A gargantuan beast towered over her with four metallic ws protruding from its body. Countless spikes that flickered with lighting decorated its back while several tentacles covered its lower half. Each with spikes and scales that pulsed with electricity. Looking towards its head, six beady eyes red down at Alice as she could feel a chill down her spine. This behemoth of lightning, scales and pure wrath was Ria''s target for her fourth Sigil. A beast of terror. Chapter 109: Gins Concerns "Storm Leviathan?! Allura surely you know how resistant that beast is to lightning?! Even if it is a fantastic beast to act as Ria''s fourth Sigil, it has a reputation for being incredibly hard to kill for pure lightning users!" Gin furrowed his brows as choosing this was essentially asking Ria to cut her journey short. "I know your concerns. However, we''re not going to try kill an ordinary Storm Leviathan. Rumour has it that one is close to bing a Storm Sovereign and in the period where it''s about to transform, it is weakest because it has to reshape its body with its own lightning. Meaning that during this time, it''s going to be extremely weak to the element." Allura exined as Gin sat down and sighed heavily. "And what if we aren''t able to kill it before it bes a Storm Sovereign? That''s a six star beast we''re talking about. And if we were to kill it, how is Ria supposed to kill another Storm Leviathan?" "Which is why I want to see what Ria thinks. It''s not like the Storm Leviathan is the only option. There are a few others but if you want a challenge this has good rewards to match the risks. Plus, if you fail this hunt then it''s not like we don''t have ways for you to kill the beast even with its resistance to lightning powers." Allura shrugged. If it was truly impossible to kill this beast while you only had a handful of Sigils then it wouldn''t be known as one of the best lightning Sigils avable. "It''s up to you Ria, you make the call." Allura smiled while looking over to Ria. This was her own choice, her own path that she decided to take. If she truly wanted a challenge, then there was no better challenge than the Storm Leviathan. With the options now presented to her, Ria was silent before taking a deep breath. "I''ll fight it." "Ria!" Gin frowned. "Grandfather, it''s okay. I know the risks involved and how difficult things will be if I fail. However, I want to take on this challenge. I want to set down a strong foundation so I can continue to rise through the ranks of power until I can call myself an Abyss Lord." Ria replied as Gin could see the fires of determination in her eyes. Her fighting spirit and her will to stand up to the challenge. Massaging his eyes, Gin sighed and nodded. "Alright." Baby birds must leave the nest and if this is Ria''s choice then so be it. Gin epted that there was a limit to how much he could protect Ria. If she is able to seed in this hunt then there''s no worry about her not being able to escape a dangerous situation. Plus, he knows deep down that if Allura suggested this as an option then it''s definitely possible. She wouldn''t suggest something impossible to the two of them. "There will be some preparation for you to do but the first thing is letting the Abyss know your intent. If we go to a Shaman, there''s a chance that they won''t be able to assign you the right bounty. So instead, we''ll be going to a different area where you canmune with the Abyss directly and receive the right bounty." Allura chuckled as she pulled out a map. "This is where we are, Zadash. Our destination for thismunal spot will be in the nextyer of the Abyss, the Howling Depths. And it is there where you''llmune with the Abyss and get your bounty. Ordinarily, I would say we''ll be going back to ughter Docks to get a ship so we can travel to the location of the Hunt. However, due to a fewplications, we''ll refrain from going back for now until Alice is ready. Instead, we''ll be going to a small fishing hamlet called Anivari. I know a friend there who owns a pretty big boat we can borrow while we find this Storm Leviathan." Allura exined while pointing out where the key locations are on the map. Meanwhile, Alice was silent after being reminded about what happened back in the ughter Docks. The next time she goes back, it''s when she''ll be ready to get revenge for what Be did to Lilia. The way Lilia was tortured, her pained look after her body was torn apart and toyed with. She''ll make sure Be suffers. "Alice~ Ya hoo~ Your killing intent is leaking out a bit. Too many eyes our way." Allura called out as Alice snapped out of her stupor and apologised, controlling herself while Allura continued to exin. "Since the fight will be taking ce in the Abyss Waters, we''ll need some equipment to protect you and help you reach the beast with ease. Your Sigil can protect you to a certain extent but protecting you while also helping you fight the beast will be extremely exhausting. Which is why we''ll be waiting roughly a week once more for Gin to collect more stuff." Allura grinned as Gin already knew what wasing. "I know what you need. Thankfully, none of it is annoying to get so it wouldn''t actually take a week. I''d say about 4 days are most." Gin shook his head as he stood up and prepared to leave. "I trust that you''ll be taking them to themunal point before Ie back." "Yep, leave it to me. We''ll be leaving for the location tomorrow and should be back on the same day. We''ll rest a day while waiting for you toe back then we''ll leave this city. Because once the hunt is finished, we''ll be clearing up the issues on our end while Ria and Alice will make their way to the maind." Allura nodded as Gin gave Ria a hug before leaving the restaurant. "Is there any specific path we need to take to the maind?" Alice asked while observing the map that Allura had ced on the table. "Nope. The journey will bepletely up to you. I don''t know when we''ll be finished with our task so it''s very difficult to n a route for you. Just know that we''ll be able to find you when the timees. Think of it as an assignment. One where you get used to life and see where it takes you." Allura shook her head. "If you think you are ready for another Sigil while me and Gin are away, you can reply using letters I send to you. Of course, I''ll trust your judgement if a good opportunity arises for a good Sigil." Allura winked, knowing that Alice can choose a bounty whenever she wanted thanks to Ca''s powers. "And remember to keep my words regarding her in mind." She pointed at her eye as Alice understood that Allura was referring to how she shouldn''t wake up Ca too much. "Well, that''s enough serious talk. You two can spend the rest of the day however you want since I''m assuming you''ll be exhausted after your fights." Finishing the rest of the meal, Allura looked through the window as Ria took Alice out to do some shopping. Pulling out a cigarette, Allura lit it up with a small fire before looking at the guest who had just sat down at the same table. She had noticed him giving her looks while she was talking with Alice and the others. "So, what do you want? It better be worth my time since you clearly know who I am." Allura narrowed her eyes while leaning back against her chairzily. "I''vee to bring word from the Underground." A young man wearing a simple suit replied as he ced a letter on the table. Giving Allura a bow, he left her to read alone. Raising an eyebrow, Allura opened the letter and scanned through the contents. ''Seems like Jinya has revoked the memberships of Mahri and a few others. The higher ups in the Eclipse cult doesn''t seem to care that much while the Sun and Moon are rather unhappy and confused as to how they even managed to kill a sealed Abyss Lord. They''re pressuring the Eclipse on both sides to get a response from them. . . Not bad. He works fast as expected. It hasn''t even been a day yet and he''s already bringing back results.'' Allura smiled, understanding that Jinya must''ve put her request as a priority. But the letter didn''t end there. As she read the next part, a frown slowly formed on her face. It wasn''t that Jinya was incapable of hindering the Zenia''s, in fact hepleted that task with ease due to the fact that there are several noble houses that are jealous of their sess. He is even urging them on from the sidelines. What was concerning for her was the fact that they had already sent a representative who was on their way to Zadash as they heard news of the White Death and are exceedingly curious regarding the effects of its blood. Provided that it has any blood to be retrieved. ''Judging by their speed of travel and when I receive the news, I believe the representative of the Zenia family should be arriving today to talk with the Hunters Guild regarding the blood belonging to the White Death¡­ Sh*t¡­'' Allura frowned as she understood what this meant. There was a high chance of Alice seeing them and being reminded of her captivity. Knowing what she had gone through, Allura didn''t want Alice to be exposed to the Zenia''s again so soon. ### While Allura was reading through the letter, Ria had taken Alice down to the shopping district that was located not far from the Hunter''s Guild as most of the wares avable here was discounted for Hunters. With Allura confiscating most of their money aside from a handful of gold, they had to be prudent with what they bought. "Alice, what do you think of this bag? Seems like it''ll hold more vials than your current one though I''m not too sure about the durability." Ria asked, showing Alice a bag that could hold up to 14 vials of bloodpared to her current one. But before Alice could respond, she noticed a group of finely dressed Hunters on their way to Hunters Guild. It wasn''t their fine outfit that caught her eye but rather what was on it. A sight that sent a chill down her spine as her body froze up in fear. The crest of the Zenia family. Chapter 110: Pain And Nostalgia All the sounds in the world seemed to be drowned out as Alice could hear her own heartbeat. The heat rushed to her head as her mind turned into a mix of confusion, panic and anger. Her vision shook as she stared at the crest. Memories flooded into her mind. Her once proud and happy outlook on her family turned into terror. Taking rapid breaths, Alice couldn''t help but take a step back as her limbs were shaking. "Alice? Something wrong?" Ria called out in confusion, but Alice didn''t react. ''Why are the Zenia''s here? Have they found me? Is father here as well?'' Alice thought to herself as she took another step back but a numbness spread through her limbs, forcing her to stand still. A wave of dizziness washed over her mind as she started to hyperventte, the tips of her fingers shaking and her limbs losing their strength. Gritting her teeth, anger overcame her fear as she red at the group. All of her pent up anger, hatred and malice that had been stored over 10 years burst forth as her second Sigil red up around her eye. Purple mes threatening to manifest as Alice was about to rush towards the group. Before she could, Allura appeared in front of her, hugging her while covering her eyes. "Shh¡­ It''s fine. They''re not here for you, they''re here for the White Death. They don''t know that you''re here." Allura whispered into her ear as she jumped away, taking both Ria and Alice with her. With no outlet for her anger, all Alice could do was scream into Allura''s jacket as Ria never heard such a bloodthirsty cry before. It was an uncontrolled cry, one that broke Alice''s voice as she unleashed everything she was feeling inside. Meanwhile, the crowd and the group of people sent by the Zenia''s looked around in confusion with the sudden scream that came out of nowhere. Taking Alice and Ria to the city walls, Allura ced Alice with her back against the wall and kneeled down in front of her. "Take a deep breath. Easy now." Alluraforted as Alice nodded her head. Following Allura''s instructions, she slowly calmed her mind but the shaking didn''t stop. A phantom pain surfaced in her mind as she cold feel cold iron against her neck, the stabbing of needles. Unable to hold herself back, she started to scratch away at her neck while trying to calm her mind. Furrowing her brows, Allura grabbed Alice''s wrist as her nails were digging into her flesh, tearing away at her skin. Looking into Alice''s eyes, she could see the deeply rooted fear that had been cultivated over the years. Hugging Alice tightly, Allura continued to whisper words offort as she could feel Alice hugging back, afraid of what might have happened if Kaden and Allura didn''t save her. It took a while before Alice was calm enough for Allura to let go of her. "Feeling better now?" She asked with a soft smile as Alice nodded her head. "Don''t worry. As I said, they''re not here for you. I just got the news that they''re here because of the interest the Zenia''s are showing towards the White Death." Allura reassured. Alice knew that this was the truth but there was always the creeping shadow of doubt and fear lingering in her mind. What if they were here for her? What if they recognised her at a nce? Her hair and eyes may have changed, but her face was still the same. If her Father was here, he would''ve recognised her immediately. And that''s what scared her. What if one of her brothers were here? What if the schr that carved open her body was here? What if those that will recognise her at a nce were here today? The chances are low but they are never zero. Cold fangs of paranoia chewed away at her mind but with Allura here, she felt safe. "What was that?" Ria asked as all she saw was Alice about to attack a random group of people before Allura cut in. ncing over at Ria, Allura was silent as it was not her ce to say, it was Alice''s choice if she wanted to be open about what had happened. Hesitating for a moment, Alice opened her mouth. "They''re¡­ part of my old family." She replied, her voice hoarse from all of the screaming she had done. "Wait¡­ The ones that tortured you?! Damn! Why didn''t you say so!" Ria widened her eyes in anger as she jumped up and prepared to attack the group. The time she had been with Alice was short but she knew what kind of person Alice was. She couldn''t forgive such people who are content with torturing their own family like this. Before she could run, Allura grabbed Ria''s ankle, causing her to fall over and smack her face against the wall. "Don''t be hasty. There''s a reason why I took Alice away from the area. Alice doesn''t want to be found by them, at least not yet. Not while she''s still weak. Randomly attacking them now will only cause them to investigate the situation which is not what we want." Allura exined while Ria rubbed her nose in pain. "Do you want to leave for the Howling Depths today or wait for tomorrow? I assume they won''t be around for long since Gin reduced the White Death to ashes. Not even its blood is left for them to collect unless they''re fine with ashes." Allura asked as Alice was silent. "Can¡­ Can we leave now? I don''t want to be near them." Alice replied quietly as a pang of sadness struck Allura''s heart. Compared to the usual Alice they see and the one whoughs and craves violence in hunts, she was now like a small child, scared of the world and wanting to hide herself in a dark corner, hoping to not be noticed. "Of course. We can leave right now. By the time we''re back, the Zenia''s won be here." Allura nodded as she nced over to Ria. Giving her the task of getting them a carriage to the closest entrance leading down to the Howling Depths, Allura sat down next to Alice and gave her a shoulder to lean on which Alice epted. As she leaned on Allura, Alice could feel her fear disappearing as things started to go back to normal. "Just take as long as you need. Ria is getting the carriage ready and she''ll let us know when it''s time to go." Hearing this, Alice nodded her head as she enjoyed this moment of safety. "Have¡­ have you ever been afraid of something?" Alice asked quietly. "Of course. I''ve been scared plenty of times. I wasn''t always like this you know? When I was growing up I was quite the scaredy cat." Allura chuckled, reminiscing on old times. "Back then, it was Kaden who stood up for me and stopped others from making fun of me. Though he''s quite the b*stard now he wasn''t always like that." "Oh? What was he like?" Alice asked, curious as to what Kaden was like back then. The Kaden she knew briefly was one that stormed into the pits of the Zenia prison and broke her out. Someone that seemed to do whatever interested them at the moment with no goal in mind. "Hmm¡­ He was a very responsible man. What you would call a perfect knight. He was¡­ very uptight and stuck to the rules. Terrible at socialising and rather stoic in all aspects." Allura smiled fondly at her memories. "He believed in fairness a lot. Once I started to work with him, he became thewful stoic one while I was the chaotic emotional type. He covered my back while I covered his and we helped keep the peace." Allura sighed while taking out a cigarette. As she closed her eyes, she could almost see the peaceful days of old. Kaden sitting behind his desk while looking over the documents. How she would bust through his door with a wide smile,ughing and joking with him while he listened. When she was hasty, he would be there to pull her back. When he''s unable to express himself, she would be there to be angry for him. "What changed?" Alice couldn''t help but ask. "What changed? Well¡­ A lot changed. We lost our home, our master, our friends and everything we had treasured. We lost it all. And then he changed¡­ After that, we went our separate ways. You had asked if I was ever scared earlier right? That day was the day I felt true fear. All my nightmarese true and no one even remembers that era anymore." Allura shook her head. "I''m sorry." "Don''t be. Time numbs all kinds of pain. What used to hurt doesn''t anymore. The only thing on my mind now is to make sure you have a good life okay? I''m an old woman. I''ve seen eras fly by and witnessed the lives of people that many would call legends. My hobbies are essentially just being nosy and watching other people''s lives like they''re drama and asionally interfere with one or two." Allura shrugged while patting Alice''s head. "Now enough about me. Ria''s on her way back now with the carriage prepared." Allura smiled while standing up. Helping Alice up, she nced back and as expected, Ria was running back to them. "That was quite quick. I''m surprised you didn''t get lost or get scammed." Allura called out with a smile. "What do you take me for?! Of course, I wasn''t scammed and it''s only a short walk! My sense of direction isn''t THAT bad. Anyways, with the restrictions on travel finally being lifted after the battle was over, there are plenty of drivers looking for work. When I made my request known quite a few flocked to me ya know? Finding a carriage for us was easy." Ria crossed her arms in annoyance. "Alright alright. Let''s not keep them waiting then." Allura chuckled. Making sure that Alice was following them, the trio made their way to the carriages while Alice couldn''t help but imagine aposed Kaden who struggled with expressing his emotions. It seemed like aplete flip in personality as he sounded nothing like the Kaden she had seen. ''I wonder if this forgotten time has something to do with the Ca. Kaden and Allura ced quite a lot of importance to it.'' Alice mused to herself as they arrived at the carriages and started to make their way out of the city. Their next stop, the Howling Depths. Chapter 111: Sea of Stars As they were on their way to the entrance leading down to the Howling Depths, Alice couldn''t help but ask about themunal point. "You see, themunal points are just a general term that people have given to the location since each location looks slightly different. Mostmunal points known throughout the world are upied by noble families or powerful Hunters while the ones that aren''t upied disappear after a while. "The one we''re going to is rather deep in the Howling Depths so most families haven''t found it yet. Despite how big the location is, I think it only has one or two uses of it left." Allura shrugged as Alice thought about the Howling Depths. Last time she had gone down, they stopped at the boundary as a beast they couldn''t deal with showed up, forcing them to retreat. With Allura as their guard this time, she''ll be able to see more of this location that she kept hearing about. Ayer where countless screams of dead Hunters echo out and gets drowned by the howls of beasts. "We''ll be moving faster than normal when we get down since it''s rather far from the entrance. If me go too slow, we won''t be back by the time Gin is back. As for our destination, we''ll be going to a ce most would call the Crystal Grove. Themunal point is located in the centre." Allura exined. "You might not know it but just the information that there''s amunal point avable is pretty expensive. Six star Hunters are especially eager over this information since it means they have an easier time choosing their next target, increasing their odds of bing an Abyss Lord." Ria added while ncing out of the window with her chin resting on her palm. "Well, the realm of Abyss Lord only really applies to those with nine Sigils but I suppose seven and eight are still rather close. But yes, this information fetches quite a nice price with six star Hunters. If you want to make good money then there''s nothing more lucrative than having details regardingmunal points. Naturally, there is an inherent risk thates with having this kind of knowledge." Allura said while opening one of the windows so that she could smoke her cigarette without Alice and Ria being forced to breath in the second hand smoke. "Can¡­ You exin more about the different power gaps?" Alice asked, voice still hoarse from her earlier outburst but her curiosity demanded that she ask this question. Knowing that Allura was going off on a journey of her own with Gin once they finished with Ria''s hunt, Alice wanted to find out as much as she could. "Hm? Oh sure. Let''s see¡­ Sigils one to three are what we consider beginner. They make you stronger than normal civilians and essentially cannon fodder in a nation''s army. Those that can bridge the gap into three to four Sigils are what we call Talented. At four Sigils, you SHOULD be able to take out any three Sigil user. At five, you can be considered a powerful figure within amunity. At six, you can be considered to be the top 1 percentile. "It is only when trying to get their seventh Sigil do people finally understand the gulf between the two despite being the difference of one ability. A six Sigil user trying to kill a seven Sigil user is essentially the same as you with two Sigils trying to kill a five Sigil user. Very difficult and near impossible. "However, thepetition within thest three Sigils is especially harsh. Everyone that gets to this point at all talented in their own right. And as you know, once you reach this level, depending on your power, the Abyss will grant you the status of Lord. Most will get this on their ninth Sigil but Gin got it on his eighth Sigil." Allura exined as she tried her best to describe what the power of each Sigil was like. However, they were all antspared to her so it was hard to say which ant is stronger between the two when they''re both fragile. "What about after the ninth Sigil?" Ria asked as this was the same question she had posed to Alice. But when she had asked Alice, it was more rhetorical. With Allura however, she expected an answer. "After the ninth you have the Apostles. As you know, each church is led by their popes but above the Popes are the Apostles. Extensions of their God''s will. Each god has two Apostles and they have something that Abyss Lords can neverpete against. A symbol of absolute power beneath the level of Gods. It''s what I like to call a Divine Aspect. A fragment of a God''s power that they bestow upon the Apostles and it''s what gives them their name. Apostle of War, Famine, Preservation and so on. The Apostle of War will have the Divine Aspect of War granted by the God of the Eclipse." Allura chuckled. "Each God is limited to two Apostles as sharing more would only weaken their grasp over this world. The trio of gods y their own game while we can only watch. And the Apostles are merely chess pieces on this board despite their impressive power." Hearing this, Ria couldn''t help but swallow her saliva while trying to imagine what kind of power they couldmand. "But it''s far too early for you to think about Apostles. You can''t even harm a hair on their body even if they let you." Allura grinned, flicking Ria on the forehead. "Anyways, is there anything else you would like to hear about?" Allura asked, knowing that Alice wanted to get as many questions as she could answered while she was still around. "Layers of the Abyss. How many are there in total?" "Well¡­ If I told you too much it''ll be no fun. We are in the Twilight Layer. Above us and serving as the boundary between the surface and the Abyss is the Reflection Layer. Below us is the Howling Depths Layer. As for what lies beneath the Howling Depths¡­ It''s ayer dubbed the Sea of Stars." Allura narrowed her eyes. "Sea of Stars¡­ What''s it like?" Alice muttered in wonder. Just the name alone seemed strange yet beautiful. If it has such a name, what would the view be like? "That''s something you''ll have to find out for yourself. Everything below the Howling Depths is widely unknown to 99% of the populus. Even the schrs are in the dark about the information beneath the Sea of Stars." "Anything else you want to know for now?" Allura asked but Alice shook her head. Knowing what Allura was like, Alice understood that most of her questions would result in Allura asking her to explore for herself and she agreed with that thought. After all, she was free. She wanted to explore this world at her own leisure and experience life for herself. Hearing about it from Allura was a shortcut she didn''t want to take. The rest of the journey was filled with Ria and Alice asking Allura questions about fighting rather than exploring. Ways they can use their power, how to better get into the mentality that allowed them to improve the fastest and what kind of training methods they could use. For Ria, Allura''s advice was mostly for her to work on her own stamina and durability since her Sigils rely on her constitution while for Alice, it was physical training along with flexibility training. Knowing that the powers of the Abyss Blood weren''t permanent for Alice, she had to take the hard route of training everything manually but it had the added bonus of letting Alice understand the range of motion for her own body. With understandinges control and with control, she''ll be able to demonstrate movements that most could only dream of. Allura understood that Alice didn''t suit a head on collision. Her physique was one that supported flexibility and speed. ''Alice is suited to speed and flexibility. She should fit the role of the controller in a team battle. Ria will be the frontline brawler as she''s simr to me in many aspects. We''re both hot headed fighters who rely on our bodies.'' Allura thought to herself as the two of them will be working with each other quite frequently. ''I want them to work together more often but so far, the only times they worked together they had to restrain themselves to a certain extent like Alice''s Sigil hunt. This trip down to the Howling Depths might prove to be a good chance for them to develop some teamwork. I''ll have Alice focus on using her threads and weapon along with blood control to manage the battlefield while Ria fights the beasts head on.'' Allura nned in her mind while the two were non the wiser. Suddenly, Alice could feel a chill down her spine as she looked around in confusion, wondering what had triggered her instincts. Unable to find a source for her sudden sense of unease, she rxed herself once more as she closed her eyes and rested her mind for the rest of the journey. Just seeing the Zenia family emblem earlier today had left her mentally exhausted with foul memories flooding her mind of her past. Thinking about this, she couldn''t help but wonder what her father and brothers'' reactions were towards her disappearance. Were they happy that this ''inhuman'' thing has finally disappeared from their lives? Whatever the answer was, she knew that they''ll meet in the future. It is not a matter of if, only when. When she decides to revisit her old home, when she''s powerful enough to stand her ground. When she''s powerful enough to im vengeance against them. That was when she was going to return home and bring it to ruins. Chapter 112: Falling Through The Abyss Arriving at their destination, Allura had the driver make his way back to the city since there was no point in having him wait around. With just the three of them left at the scene, Allura pulled out a new cigarette before taking a deep breath. "Right then. Are you ready to jump?" Allura asked while Alice was silent. After all, the scene in front of them could only be described as absurd. They stood at the edge of the sh that Gin had unleashed during his fight against the White Death. Even now, an oppressive aura could be felt as a constant phantom pain of a scythe aiming at their throat was present. "We''re¡­ jumping down?" Alice asked as she had expected Allura to take them to the mountains or a cave leading down like the path she had discoveredst time. "Of course. It''ll save us some time navigating all of the winding paths to reach the depth we need to go to. All we have to do here is to just jump down and survive." Allura shrugged. Despite Ria having prior knowledge of where Allura wanted them to go, she was still concerned by the notion of jumping down into the depths of the nextyer. Making a bolt of lightning, Ria threw it down and watched as it fizzled out before even reaching the bottom of the ravine. "How deep did grandfather even sh?" Ria couldn''t help but asked as Allura thought about it for a moment before opening her mouth. "Ehh¡­ I''d say roughly half way through the nextyer. Which is perfect for us. Anyways, are you two ready?" Allura asked once more as Ria and Alice looked at one another before nodding their head. But before they could jump, they felt a hand push them from behind as they were thrown into the middle of the ravine. Widening their eyes, they looked back and saw Allura jumping after them with a grin on her face. "AHHHHH!!!!" Ria cried out in a panic as she tried to adjust her posture. "There might be a few beasts on the way down. Deal with them as you see fit." Allura chuckled, diving past the two before leaning back into a rxed posture as though she was lying on a beach chair. Gritting her teeth, Alice adjusted her posture so that she was standing upright before looking warily at the darkness around them. She could feel hundreds of eyes locking onto them. "Gah! Dammit!" Ria shouted out as she charged her body full of lightning, lighting up the surroundings and revealing a myriad of creatures that were either crawling on the walls or residing in the cavities in the walls that used to be caves. "I don''t rmend making yourself a target like that." Allura reminded as a centipede like beast shot out of the darkness, aiming to consume Ria while revealing its underside that was full of skulls. Before the centipede beast could reach Ria, Alice had flicked her wrist and wrapped her thread around Ria, pulling her to safety. With the help of Ca, she could see countless names floating in the darkness along with their stars. Despite now seeing their form, she could see their movements with some being faster than the others and the average stars that she could see being 4 to 5. Cold sweat filled her back as Alice barely caught the sight of an arachnid shooting its webs toward them at blinding speeds. Unable to defend themselves, Alice bit her arm and threw some blood towards the webs before setting it ame. Watching the fire burn away at the web, Alice looked down at the darkness before turning to Allura. "How much longer till we get to the bottom?!" Alice shouted out, wanting to escape this situation as soon as possible. They were practically sitting ducks right now with countless beasts jumping down from above to chase after them. "You''ll know once we get there." Seeing that Allura was going to be no help at this moment, Alice narrowed her eyes and created a dome of threads around them. All of the threads wereced with her blood and will burn away at anything that touched them. However, this is just a temporary measure. "I''ll focus on warding them off! Burn anything that gets past me!" Ria called out as she created two lightning spears and threw them toward the closest beast that was approaching them. *BANG!!! Watching the beasts fly back while crying out in pain, Ria sighed in relief before creating more spears. But soon, the beasts started to throw ranged attacks. At first, it was merely fire, ice and other elemental abilities but little by little, they realised that Alice''s me was limited in effectiveness. With that understanding,rge chunks of bone and debris started to fly towards them with Alice being unable to fully melt them before they reached her. Had it not been for Ria kicking them away to the side, they might''ve gotten hit. "We can''t go on like this!" Ria shouted while ncing back at Alice. Furrowing her brows, Alice adjusted her posture as an idea flooded her mind. "I''m sorry!" Alice shouted out, confusing Ria. Flicking her wrist, Alice sent a wave of threads towards Allura and dragged both Ria and herself towards Allura. "Huh?" Raising her eyebrow, Allura understood that Alice didn''t apologise to Ria but rather to her. Watching Alice and Ria hide themselves behind her, Allura couldn''t help but chuckle. "You know, if you want to use me as a meat shield you''re gonna have to try a lot harder. Tell you what, let''s have a bet. Ria, if you can figure out a way to create a 10 second window of safety I''ll help you two out." Alluraughed as she disappeared with a burst of mes before reappearing a short distance away from them. Unable to do much else, all Alice could do now was hope Ria was able to create the 10 second window of safety that Allura had suggested. "10 seconds?! Are you crazy!" Ria shouted out as she didn''t know how she was even going to fend off the beasts for 2 seconds much less 10! Gathering 3 orbs around her, she fired it toward the closest beast and watched as it mmed against the walls of the ravine. With them not knowing how much further they must fall, all Ria could do now was gamble. Allura wouldn''t propose something impossible which means there''s something that she missed. Something crucial that she could do to buy them 5 seconds of time. "At least give me a hint!!!" Ria shouted in desperation. "Hmm¡­ fine. I want you to remember back to the lessons I taught you and Alice while we were training for the Blood Widow. Take things slowly, observe and locate the weaknesses in the formation and capitalise on them. You don''t need to break it in one go, do it little by little." Allura smiled while pulling out a cigarette. Gritting her teeth, Ria closed her eyes as memories of the training session flooded her mind. ''Pick out the weaknesses¡­ Break it down one by one. Find the gaps and make a path¡­ How the hell am I supposed to do this with falling beasts?!'' Ria asked herself as she looked up. "Alice, got any ideas? I''ll be honest nothing''s ringing a bell." Ria forced a smile as she wanted Alice''s input to see if she had any ideas. Furrowing her brows, Alice closed her left eye and focused with her right. The world slowed down as she started to identify the gaps between the beasts. ''Allura wanted Ria to do this task which means Ria has the means to do so¡­ What has Ria demonstrated thus far¡­ What can she do to create a gap in attack? Hmm¡­'' As the gears in her mind started to turn, Alice reflected on everything that happened and had an idea. Widening her eyes, she nced back at Allura before looking to Ria. "Use your lightning! Make their body contract so they fly to the edges! Earlier your lightning made them change their falling posture and the wind moved them towards the wall!" Alice shouted out as Ria understood the assignment. Hearing Alice''s suggestion, Allura chuckled as that was one of the possible answers. ''Cleaver girl. Now¡­ How will Ria achieve this effect I wonder.'' sping her palms together, Ria gritted her teeth and created a handful of charged orbs while narrowing her eyes at the beasts. ''The orbs don''t need to be strong, I just need to make sure the st changes their posture and cuts off their flight path!'' Sending the orbs out, Ria marked down the closest beasts and had the orbs hover near them. Creating a bolt of lightning in her hand, she had Alice ward off some ranged attacks with her mes before throwing her spear, hitting the closest orb and causing a chain reaction! Sparks of lightning jumped from the orb, shocking the beasts as their body curled up from and mmed into the walls. Their muscles tensed up to the point they were unable to adjust their posture and thus could only watch as their prey fell further down into the Abyss. "Alright! I got more where that came from!" Ria cheered as hope ignited in her heart. Creating more orbs, she continued sent them out before detonating them with her spears. Meanwhile, Alice warded off the range attack using her fire. She had Ria target those who are preparing attacks that are too big for her to ward off. And soon, the 10 second window was up. "Fantastic work girls. As you go on your journey to the maind, you will be relying on one another. Remember that by working together, you will be able to find a way out no matter how dire things may look." Allura smiled as she had requested 10 seconds so that she could enjoy her cigarette. With thempleting the assignment, Allura flicked the cigarette butt before snapping her fingers. *BOOM!!! An explosion of mes covered the ravine as the fire consumed all of the beasts chasing after them, reducing them to charred corpses. Grabbing Alice and Ria, Allura wrapped the three of them in a ball of fire before shooting down the ravine like a meteor, blitzing her way down to the bottom. Chapter 113: Bottom Of The Ravine "Ah¡­ My child¡­ My poor baby¡­" A trembling voice echoed out in the darkness. A voice full of mourning and sadness. Alice didn''t know who the voice belonged to but it brought a wave of sadness through her heart. A rush of pain through her chest but the voices did not stop. "Why¡­ Why must it be like this¡­ Luthor¡­ Please¡­" The woman''s voice called out. "Please¡­ Why does it have to be her¡­ Kill me if you have to¡­ But why must it be her?" In this darkness, Alice floated aimlessly as tears started to flood her eyes. ''Am I¡­ Crying? Why¡­'' Alice questioned herself as her mind slowly gained rity. Thest thing she remembered was Allura wrapping them in her mes before diving down into the bowls of the ravine. Remembering this, Alice snapped her eyes open and sat up while looking around her. "Woah there, take it easy. Ria is still napping." Allura''s voice brought her back as she looked to her left and saw Allura leaning against a boulder while there was a small campfire in the middle. To her right, Ria was currently sleeping. "You were crying in your sleep. Was the journey down that bad?" Allura asked as Alice noticed her tears hadn''t stopped yet. "Ah¡­ No. It was¡­ A weird dream." Alice shook her head while wiping her tears away with her sleeves. Furrowing her brows, Alice held her head while remembering the words of the woman in her dream. She called out for a man called Luthor. A name familiar to her as it belonged to her father. ''Was¡­ That woman my mother?'' She doesn''t remember her mother''s voice nor what she looks like. After years in the Zenia prison, all she could remember are her tortures and the faces of her captors. Especially her brothers and her father. Her biggest sources of betrayal. ''What happened that night¡­'' Shaking her head, Alice sighed out as a heavy feeling gued her chest. "Where are we right now?" Alice asked, wanting to put her focus elsewhere so she could forget this difort. Looking around her, she could see that they were hidden within a rock formation right now. Despite the fire and smoke giving away their location, nothing was attacking them. "We''re at the bottom of the Ravine. I didn''t take us too far, I''d say about¡­ a 5 minute walk from where wended?" Allura tapped her chin as Alice stood up and climbed over the rock walls. From where she was sitting, she couldn''t see much as all she could see was the darkness that hung over her head. As she climbed over the rocks to see what was around them, the smell of charred flesh assaulted her nose as she widened her eyes in shock. Large corpses belonging to a variety of beasts were scattered around them. The weaker ones seemed to have been reduced to ashes while therger ones had parts of their body still intact. Regardless of the state of their body, a graveyard of beasts surrounded them. "Don''t mind them. Just a few pests that tried to attack without knowing what''s good for them. Honestly, even when I release my aura, some of the beasts still attack out of fear. Some just don''t know what''s good for them I guess" Allura shrugged her shoulders helplessly. Hearing that Allura had called them ''pests'' Alice couldn''t help but nce back in bewilderment. Though considering Allura''s power, she was not wrong. Even so, all of these beasts seemed to be at the level of five to six stars. Just one was enough to kill both her and Ria never mind a whole batch of them like this. Looking past the corpses, Alice finally caught a glimpse of their surroundings. Compared to the mystical nature of the areas she''s been to so far, this was far darker and ominous. ck roots ruptured from the rocks and walls, while vines hung from the darkness above. A constant mistyered the ground while the remains of corpses could be spotted, breaching the ground with their ws. Silhouettes that seemed to look like trees without leaves with flickering shadows between the gaps. It felt as though a beast could jump out the moment she stepped away from the safety of Allura. "You might want to be careful. The average level around thisyer is six Sigils, especially when we are this deep. The closer we get to our destination, the higher the chances are to run into a seven star beast so make sure you don''t get too far from me when we leave." Allura reminded as Alice swallowed her saliva in nervousness. Making sure that Alice took this time to rest up as she had used quite a bit of blood on the way down, Allura kept an eye out for beasts who were unafraid of death. While waiting for Ria to wake up, Alice''s mind finally calmed down from her strange dream as she sat down and drank some healing blood. "Just out of curiosity, how long does it take for the side effects to disappear? You don''t have to answer if you don''t want to. I''m just wondering if you know your limits." Allura asked. While she didn''t want Alice to recount her traumatic past, her physique was her strongest weapon right now. The more she understands her own situation, the better her odds of survival are. "It depends on the strength of the side effect¡­ Sometimes they take minutes to disappear, sometimes they take hours. The longest one took about 3 days I think." Alice replied, trying her best to remember the results of the experiments. "The ones that take the longest are those that build up and manifest like Vampire Lilies. That one took 2 days to disappear once it manifested the flower on my back. If I''m not being injured with other wounds, the side effects disappear faster." Hearing this, Allura raised an eyebrow as this was stranger than what she had expected. ''Seems like Alice has some kind of recovery ability. I don''t think that''s exactly normal even if she is able to recover from side effects. If the time to recover changes based on her wounds, then it might mean her body needs to focus on her wounds before attending to the side effects¡­ Then again¡­ Alice''s recovery has been rather fastpared to normal standards.'' Allura remembered the time she was first exposed to Alice''s secret. How quickly her body patched her wounds up as she approached death''s doorstep. The way her wounds closed up was fresh in her mind. ''This isn''t the first anomaly I''ve seen thus far considering the Blood Cult is messing with dead gods and the Eclipse Cult is messing with sealed Abyss Lords.'' Allura scratched her head while pulling out a cigarette. Just as she lit up the cigarette, she noticed Alice giving it a nce asionally. "Curious?" Allura asked with a smile. "A little. Is it¡­ tasty? You do it a lot." "Tasty? Hmm¡­ Not quite. It''s just routine for me now I suppose. Plus, it''s not like it does me any harm." Allura shrugged. "I don''t think you should try it though haha." Scratching her cheek, Alice nodded her head as she wasn''t a fan of the smell. It didn''t take too long for Ria to wake up as the sound of their talking and the beasts that tried to attack only to be burnt to a crisp by Allura was quite loud. Sitting up, Ria seemed to be half away as her eyes were barely open while she sluggishly looked around her. "Whaz goin on?" She asked softly while blinking her eyes. "Wakey wakey. We''ve stayed still for long enough now. If we keep dying, we might not make it back in time." Allura pped her hand as Ria nodded her head slowly before standing up and yawning. Rubbing her eyes, she stood next to Allura without much input and just followed as though she was sleep walking. "Seems like she exhausted herself more than I expected. Might take her a bit of time to get back to normal." Allura smiled. "Anyways, let me do this as a precaution. You can never be too careful out here." Snapping her fingers, she created two small motes of fire before capturing them in small ss containers. "Keep them on you and crush it if you get into any danger. If things go south and I can''t immediately be there to help you, this''ll deal with the threat. Even if it doesn''t kill, which I doubt, it''ll buy you some time." Allura reassured as she handed one container to Alice while giving the other to Ria who stored it away without another word. "I think that''s everything now. Let''s go." Digging her fingers into the boulder behind her, Allura tossed it aside as though it was garbage and started to make her way through the Abyss. Hearing the loud thud followed by the screeches of Abyss beasts, Alice didn''t hesitate and followed closely behind Allura. "How did youe across this ce? Didn''t Gin make this ravine recently?" "I found it quite a few years ago. Personally, I had never used it, so I left a marker at the location. With the beasts that surround this ce, I doubt any of the noble families managed to locate it and even if they did, I would''ve known. I was keeping this ce as a bargaining chip if I needed one. Just like the blood I used to trade for the sparring session, theye in handy once in a while so it doesn''t hurt to collect or mark down a few things here and there." Allura exined with a shrug. Over the years, she had marked down hundreds to thousands of locations that could be useful for her future endeavours. She just never found a situation for them yet. "Are they all ces like themunal point?" "Nope. Some are ruins, some have treasures. One ce I marked down used to belong to a weird b*stard who kept collecting cursed crap. Things that have malicious abilities embedded into them thanks to certain beasts. Weird pieces of armour that cover strange ces and even a spear made of ice that never melted. It was a pretty good storage vault though so I marked it down. "I''ll make note of some ces on a map for you in the future since they''re not suited for your strength right now. Going there means death for you." Allura smiled. As Alice is her family now, this could be considered her inheritance to some capacity. Chapter 114: Pressure Of The Abyss Making their way through the Howling Depths, Alice had to step over countless skeletal hands that decorated the ground. Whether it was due to history or the effects of Gin''s sh, Alice wasn''t sure. All she knew was that this ce was giving her the creeps and a sense of unease continued to build up in her heart. "Urg¡­ when will we change zones? This ce is depressing as hell." Ria groaned as she had woken up a bit more after some walking. "Almost at the next zone." Allura chuckled while jumping over some rocks. "Can''t you just fly us over there? Wouldn''t that save us some time?" Ria asked as Allura was escorting them there anyways. Having her cut the journey short would be beneficial. "Of course I can. But then you won''t get to experience the atmosphere of the Howling Depths. In the Howling Depths, it''s easier for you to tire out, easier for you to use more power than expected because of stress and the silent fear the Abyss instills upon you. The unknown variable of whether or not a six star beast will show up. Those who have experienced this fear and know how to deal with it are those that''ll survive thisyer." Allura exined. "If you two can get used to this stress then it''ll help with building your foundation as a Hunter." With this exnation, Ria had nothing else to say as she sucked it up and journeyed onwards withoutints. If this was all to make them better Hunters then she''ll do it no matter how difficult it was. Continuing their exploration forward, an invisible pressure slowly made itself known as both Alice and Ria noticed how their movements were slowing down. At first it was miniscule, but over time, they were only moving at around 70% of their original pace. It was like sleeping while having more weight being ced on you. At first, you''ll feel nothing but soon, your body is fatigued and the weight bes unbearable. "Seems like you''re feeling it now." Allura grinned. "Why is this happening?" Alice asked as this was not just normal stress. Normal stress wouldn''t do this to them." "As you descend further into the Abyss, your body must be ready to face the pressure exerted by the Abyss itself. When you are close to the surface, this effect is negligible as it is being bnced out. The deeper you go, the stronger this pressure bes. I suppose you could say it''s the Abyss'' way of testing to see if you are worthy to descend to this depth. Regardless, let''s keep going. If you can make it to the next zone while surviving this pressure then I''ll give you a little break like what happened back at the rock formation." While they were resting, Allura made sure the two weren''t affected so they could have a proper rest. But that was no longer the case. Now, they were fully exposed to the effects of thisyer and the fatigue was catching up. "Can we start running?" Ria asked but Allura shook her head. "A tip for you is that this is not a matter of speed but rather endurance. It''s to test how well your body can cope with the environment. If you decide to exhaust yourself and blitz through, I can guarantee that you''ll be passed out before 2 minutes even passes and die to the beasts. Pace yourself and endure as long as you can. We''ll be doing this repeatedly until we reach the location." Allura grinned as Alice finally understood where her bad feelings stemmed from. It was from what Allura had nned once they got down here. "But don''t we have to get back on time?" Alice asked, knowing that Allura wanted them back by the time Gin returned. "Oh of course. But the journey back will be done through me unless you want to climb all the way back up?" Allura raised an eyebrow, pointing at the veil of darkness that hung above them where the moonlight could not breach. Hearing this, Alice understood that Allura never nned for them to have a round trip. This was a one way journey to reach the Crystal Grove while enduring this kind of pressure. ". . .Crap." Ria cursed as she understood their predicament. She could only be d that no beasts were involved while they journeyed through thisyer as Allura was keeping them at bay. "Keep up now, don''t fall too far behind. Remember, keep your pace and focus on the next step. Don''t think of the journey as a whole, just put your mind to taking the next step." Taking a deep breath, Alice calmed her breathing as she did as she was told. Focus on her next step. ''In one way, it might be simr to living. Don''t think of a journey as a whole while I''m taking it but instead, focus on my next destination. The next step and one of many on this long path.'' Alice thought to herself, distracting her mind with long winded thoughts and exnations to take her focus away from the exhaustion. Time passed as the two no longer cared about the corpses and obstacles in their path. Each step was heavy and taken with great difficulty. Should there be a bone in the way they would rather crush the bone under their foot than step to the side. They had established a rhythm in their mind, one that allowed them to distract themselves from the fatigue and the arduous journey. They had even stopped asking her questions as their mind was solely focused on taking the next step. ''They''re doing pretty good. I expected them to take a few pauses here and there, but they''ve held on. Ria is focusing her mind on body movement. How to best use her body to conserve stamina. How she should reduce her movements to the bare minimum while Alice has gone for a different approach.'' Allura examined as their methods to cope with this pressure reflected their personality and thinking process. Ria resolved the issue through physical control while Alice pushed forth with pure willpower. Each movement was sluggish and wasted more stamina than Ria''s, but her determination was not to be scoffed at. Ria was martial discipline while Alice was mental discipline. With her willpower, Alice was able to keep up despite her poor physical strength. ''They''re not fully ustomed to the pressure of the Abyss just yet but it doesn''t get much harder. Unless I n on having them fight, which they''re not ready for, it''s probably best to focus on this pressure for now.'' Allura thought to herself. Curling her lips into a small smile, the pressure around Alice and Ria started to increase once more as Allura was manually increasing the difficulty. The change made itself evident as sweat sshed against the rocks with each step they took. Just as Ria was able to take another step, she heard the sound of Alice copsing on her knee beside her. Just as she was about to call out to Alice, she watched as Alice stood back up and use her threads to help her take the next step. How she sent the thread forward before dragging herself up. Her body was tired but her will burned bright. Seeing this, Ria couldn''t help but grin. She couldn''t get beaten like this. Massaging her neck briefly, she continued onwards. From using her threads to activating her first Sigil to boost her physical strength, Alice was slowly exhausting all the tools she had avable to keep up while Ria was doing the same. She was slowly charging herself with orbs little by little to keep going, making sure she didn''t overburden her body. With the two finding more ways to keep up, Allura felt proud yet inclined to dial up the difficulty some more. It had reached a point that surpassed the pressure exerted by the currentyer yet the two didn''t falter. They could not falter, they would not allow themselves to falter. This may be a simple test but if they stopped now, how did they expect to face the future challenges? For Alice, it meant oveing the wall that was her family. For Ria, it meant erasing the Eclipse Cult from this world. It took them minutes to take a single step. They stood still, and gathered their strength before unleashing it for the next step. Little by little, step by step, they moved forward through the bottom of the Ravine. ''Just a little further¡­ One more step¡­'' Alice urged herself. *CLAP! The sound of Allura pping her hand snapped them out of their self-imposed hypnosis-like state as the pressure disappeared in an instant, causing the two to identally trip over as they were expecting to take the step at great difficulties. "Congrattions. We''ll take our break here since we''ve reached the next zone. I''ll allow some extra time to rest as you two have done very well." Allura smiled, knowing that Alice had unknowingly pushed Ria past her limit. If Alice didn''t stop, then Ria would push on no matter the difficulty. With no more strength left in her body, Alice crawled up the ground and peaked over the rocks to see the entrance to the next zone. A myriad of colours reflected in her eyes. The next zone was akin to a desert yet mixed with a snow-covered mountain. Despite all of the sand, the temperature was cool. Tall mountain like structures looked over the distance with white sand covering the peaks. A strange river flowed freely through the zone and an array of lights from golden yellow to luminescent blues decorated the edges. It looked as though a star lit path had been prepared for them, showing their path through thisnd. Despite theck of a sun and moon, white crystals could be seen hanging from above, coating this realm in a soft white hue. "The pressure in this ce will be a little easier to deal with now that you''ve limated to the pressure to a certain extent. Take this time to rest up since the next part will be just as difficult." Hearing this, Ria immediately took the initiative and fell asleep without wasting a single moment. ". . . I haven''t even prepared the resting area yet." Allura muttered, shocked at how quickly Ria was able to fall asleep. Shaking her head, Allura chuckled and carried both Alice and Ria off to the side before setting up camp. Chapter 115: Ashen Bone Stalker "Come on~ The pressure here should be far weaker than in the ravine. Enjoy the scenery, run with those legs of yours. Why are you moving so slow?" Allura''s voice rang out across the white desert as she nced back with a grin. She was currently ''walking'' and despite her motions, her speed was must faster than both Ria and Alice. As much as the two would like to retort to her taunts, they didn''t have any energy to spare! Alice was furiously running with the help of her first Sigil while Ria was doing the same and asionally giving Alice the extra push should the need arise. After all, the two were running away from a beast beneath the sands! [Ashen Bone Stalker - ? ? ? ? ?] The Ashen Bone Stalker was a beast that looked like a mix between arge worm and a shark withrge fins across its body to help it swim through the sands. Its body was split into several sections with a multiyered head with rows upon rows of teeth. Large pincers and reverse bone armour wrapped around its head as it would asionally let out a loud screech mixed with a myriad of clicking sounds. Had it not been for Allura slowing down the beast with her own pressure, Alice and Ria would''ve been dragged into the depths of the sands by now. However, just because Allura was slowing it down, it didn''t mean there wasn''t a chance for it to catch up. Alice and Ria had to run as fast as they could before diving out of the way so the beast didn''t rip them to shreds. "The river!" Ria shouted out, wanting to use the river to buy them a bit of time. She wasn''t sure if it''ll work but she had to try something. Allura was serving as their guide right now and so long as they keep running in the general direction, they''ll reach the next zone. Jumping over a small sand hill, the two ducked down as the Bone Stalker erupted from the sand and flew over their head. "The river?! Okay!" Alice replied as she felt as though her lungs were about to explode from her chest. She could hear the sound of her heart pounding in her ear while her muscles screamed out in pain. Running towards the river, Alice wrapped her thread around Ria while she jumped, dragging the two of them over the river before continuing their run. "What now?!" "I don''t know!? I don''t got a n!" Ria cried out as the Bone Stalker was not slowed down at all. All it did was jump over the river without being slowed down at all. "Ha?!" Widening her eyes, Alice gritted her teeth and turned around for a moment. Gritting her teeth, she activated her second Sigil as violet mes erupted out of her body. Raising an eyebrow, Allura decided to not say anything for now and see how the mes would match up against a five star beast. If it could get stronger by consuming the powers of the Abyss and be independent from Alice based on what she had seen, Allura wanted to see if it will allow Alice to transcend the gap of three stars and removed the pressure slowing down the beast. "Go wild!" Alice shouted out, knowing that the mes seemed to have a mind of its own. Focusing all of her power on unleashing the mes, Alice watched as a cloak manifested around her. The material of the cloak was ck while the underside looked as though it was created from ayer of moving mes. Violet mes erupted from her hands as she jumped up and used the mes to catapult herself higher in a way simr to how Allura used her own mes. Punching her hand down, a wave of fire rushed towards the beast from above. The dragon she had seen manifest from her mes during her fight appeared once more as it reared its head back and let out a roar before diving down. mming into the beast, the mes charred its shell but the damage was minimal. Feeling the strength being sapped from her body, Alice immediately turned off her Sigil as keeping it on would exhaust her even faster. Landing on the sand, the cloak around her body disappeared into countless flickers of fire that extinguished themselves. "Don''t look back! Keep running!" Alice shouted up, running as fast as she could while her mes wrestled with the beast. Nodding her head, Ria didn''t dawdle and ran with Alice while Allura kept her eyes on the fight. She wanted to see how the fire would hold up against the beast as it reminded her of seeing two beasts fight each other in a territorial dispute rather than one being the result of a Sigil power. Raising its head out of the sands, the Bone Stalker opened its jaw as another mouth, erupted out from the inside. While itcked the bone like armour of its outer shell,rge teeth decorated its flesh. From the second mouth, a third mouth erupted out followed by a fourth as it bit down on the mes, only to get burnt. Before the fire could travel up the mouth and into the body, the third mouth snapped shut, cutting the flesh off before retreating back into the body. Diving down into the sands, the ground started to shake as the beast tried to extinguish the fire but it was tenacious. ''Seems like the fire is struggling. Unless it cantch onto something that it can burn for fuel, the attack power seems to be rather weak. It''s having a hard time breaking through the Bones Stalker''s shell.'' Allura thought to herself as she could see the violet mes trying to find its way through the shell but the Bone Stalker was determined. Once it realised the me couldn''t hurt it through its shell, it made sure to stop the mes advances. After a short period of time, the Bone Stalker slowly raised itself out of the sand as countless burn marks could be seen on its shell but it was not harmed. Rearing its head back, it let out a loud screech of triumph before diving back now, seeking revenge on Alice who had unleashed said mes upon it. "That''s enough. Go back to the desert." Alluramanded as she narrowed her eyes at the beast. A wall of fire erupted from the sand, trapping it in a cage that prevented it from going after Alice. Turning towards Allura for a moment, the beast let out a disgruntled cry before diving down and away from Alice and Ria''s direction. Just a single nce upon Allura told it everything it needed to know. Trying to fight that woman meant death! It was not a possibility but rather a guarantee! Seeing the beast had given up on its pursuit, Allura flicked her finger and the cage disappeared, allowing it to run away while she made her way back to Alice and Ria. ''Unless Alice can help breach the defences, the violet mes will have a hard time killing its opponent¡­ Since the mes are manifested from Alice''s strange physique rather than a Sigil power from a beast, getting more me Sigils won''t necessarily help with her growth. Since the source of the fire is different¡­ Seems like she''ll have to keep getting Sigils that''ll bolster her control over blood.'' Allura thought to herself as Alice''s second Sigil had prepared a strong foundation for future blood powers. Arriving back at Ria and Alice''s side, Allura could see the two of them sitting on the sand in exhaustion as they were d to see the beast had given up on its pursuit. "P-please¡­ Just¡­ give us¡­ A moment. *gasp* To catch our breath." Ria begged as Allura tapped her chin. "I mean~ I already saved you a bunch of trouble by scaring off the beast you know. If I didn''t do that you''ll still be running." Allura smiled. "Just look at Alice¡­ She can¡­ She can barely go on." Ria pointed to the side, turning Allura''s attention to Alice who was lying face down unmoving. The exhaustion had caught up to her and the moment she had taken a break, her body refused to get back up. "Help¡­" Alice called out weakly as she didn''t have any strength to move. "*Sigh* What will I do with the two of you? Fine, let''s have a break. I''ll take you to our next location since it doesn''t require any running." Allura shrugged. With Alice using her second Sigil and unleashing that much fire, she had essentially exhausted the rest of her stamina. What she was moving on was what remained of her adrenaline that pumped through her body. Throwing the two over her shoulder, Allura made her way through the white desert. "Blerg¡­ I feel like my insides are about toe out my mouth." Alice groaned. "Oh stop being a baby, I''m sure you''re fine. Need some water?" Allura asked as the two had been running for quite a while. "Yes please¡­ But preferably when you''re not carrying us like two sacks of potatoes." Ria nodded as drinking in this posture was practically asking the water to go back up the way it came. "Well hold on tight then. I''ll be going a little faster than normal to make up for some lost time." Hearing this, both girls instinctivelytched onto Allura as tight as they could, locking their legs while grabbing their wrists to make sure they didn''t fall off. If Allura was saying she''s going ''a little faster than normal'' then it meant full speed ahead for the usual hunter. As expected, the moment they secured their grip, Allura shot forward like a speedinget, crossing the desert at blinding speeds. Feeling her grip slowly slipping, Alice gritted her teeth and tensed up her body to the point veins could be seen on her neck. Naturally, Ria was doing the same. With Allura''s speed, the journey was short as they reached their next destination. Dropping the two of them on the sand, Allura looked up at the cliff before her and nodded her head with a smile. "Your next goal is to scale this mountain." Allura chuckled. Looking up at the mountain that towered over them, Alice could feel her heart drop. "What if we fall?" Ria asked. "If you fall and don''t recover in time, I''ll catch you and make you start from the bottom again since you ''died''." Allura smiled. This was going to be the hardest part of their journey. Chapter 116: Climbing The Mountain Panting heavily, Alice could feel the heavy gusts of wind pushing against her body, trying to make her fall as she reached up and grabbed hold of a piece of rock that was sticking out. Making sure she has a good foothold, she grabbed her dagger and jammed it into the gaps before changing its shape. It was to prevent her from falling too far as well as a safety precaution. "Fu¡­." Letting out a deep breath, Alice nced down and saw how high up she was and turned her attention back to the peak. The mountain was 80% sheer cliffs while the rest was steep slopes. Compared to her, Ria was having an easier time since her body strength was far better. "Wrap the thread around me. Take a break. I can carry you up while I climb." Ria suggested, knowing that Alice was tired. After the initial walk under pressure followed by the sprint away from the Bone Stalker, she was positive that Alice''s body was crying out in pain even after their rest. "No it''s fine." Alice shook her head. She wanted to climb as far as she could as per Allura''s instructions. ''Still¡­ I don''t see how this is harder than the previous tests¡­'' Alice thought to herself. She didn''t dare to verbalise her thoughts as doing so was simply inviting trouble! At that moment when her mind focused elsewhere, her grip had almost slipped as she hastily adjusted herself on the cliff and sighed out in relief before continuing the climb. They could no longer see where Allura was but the two of them knew that she was watching. Soon, they approached what seemed to be a resting stop as there was enough t ground for them to lie down on. Helping Alice up, the two of them leaned against the wall and took a moment to catch their breath. "Hey¡­ This isn''t too bad huh? I thought it was going to be super difficult with how Allura was describing it but maybe I was just thinking too much." Ria smiled as Alice paused and slowly looked at Ria. "Hm? What?" Ria blinked her eyes in confusion as Alice sighed. "You know¡­ Whenever Allura hears that it''s easy for us she turns up the difficulty, right?" Alice sighed as she immediately stood up and resumed the climb. Hearing this, Ria covered her mouth with her hand and smacked her own head as she too resumed the climb. Thankfully, it didn''t seem like anything bad was happening but neither Alice nor Ria dared to utter a single word in fear of changing the situation. They didn''t know how much time had passed but as they climbed up, their mind was solely focused on reaching the tallest peak of the mountain. Meanwhile, Allura was watching the situation from the top with a smile on her face. Naturally, she had heard what Ria said but didn''t n to change anything. After all, the climb was simply the calm before the storm. A moment of respite before they''re thrown into the hurricane. ncing behind her, she had a smile on her face as a beast kneeled in front of her as a sign of submission and respect. "You''re not allowed to kill the two that will appear up here. All you have to do is to stop them from reaching the peak. You can knock them off if needed." Allura smiled as the beast nodded his head. He was a humanoid Abyss Beast with a tall muscr stature. Its skin was dark like obsidian with glowing embers through the cracks. A rhythmic pulse of golden orange energy could be seen through his body. Fourrge horns protruded from his head while two ming orbs and a split revealing the mes within his body represented his facial features. "They''re only weak Hunters so make sure you don''t go overboard." Allura reminded as the beast nodded his head. "Let''s see¡­ They might not know where to go so let me make a gate for them." Allura muttered. Walking past the beast, Allura stomped her foot down and two pirs of fire manifested along with a ming path leading up to the peak. "This should be obvious enough. If they miss this then we''ll need something else other than strength training. "Remember, you''re not allowed to kill them. Just make sure they don''t get past you okay? Do that and I''ll reward you as promised. That and allow them to first step on this ground before you make a move." Allura reminded since this was a strong beast after all. idents could always happen, so she had to make sure he understood his assignment. Nodding his head, the beast walked over to the center of the tform and sat down before crossing his arms. Against a fledglings with only two Sigils and three Sigils, there was no need for him to use his arms. In fact, he didn''t even need to move. This was his pride. "Seems like you got it sorted. In that case, then I''ll watch from the side. I need to catch the two if they fall after all." ### Reaching another ''checkpoint'' of sorts, Ria and Alice sat down as Alice pulled out two bottles of water from her pouch. It was originally meant to hold blood vials but Allura had deemed it necessary to give them two bottles of water instead for this climb as the temperature was increasing the closer they got to the top. Of course, Alice had some blood vials to spare but only the bare minimum. Berserk blood and three vials of healing blood. There wasn''t much need for her to carry her own blood right now as she was able to control it and make sure none of it was wasted. "How far from the top are we now?" Alice asked while wiping her mouth. "Hmm¡­ I''d say about¡­ halfway up? Maybe a bit more. The cliff seems to end soon." "Then maybe thest bit is a sprint to the top. Knowing Allura, we''ll probably have to run from a beast or something." Alice sighed. "Maybe¡­ But if it''s the hardest part of this journey then I doubt it''s just running away from a beast." Forcing a smile, Ria had a thought in mind but didn''t want to say it out loud in case she jinxed it and Alice knew that was the case. "Let''s keep climbing. We''re near the top now." Shaking her head, Alice stored the water bottles away before resuming the climb. As they slowly approached the peak, they could feel a chill down their spine. Despite the surrounding temperatures, the two didn''t dare to move a single muscle. Holding onto the cliff edge, cold sweat coated their back. Right now, they could feel a hostile aura from above, one that put the Bone Stalker to shame. A beast of fury, malice and raw destruction awaited their presence. Even without using Ca to peak at her opponent''s strength, Alice knew this beast was not something they were equipped to fight! Swallowing her saliva, Ria took a deep breath and pulled herself up and reached for another rock, resuming the climb. "Allura isn''t oblivious to the dangers. If that thing is around, it means she''s let it be." Ria frowned. Nodding her head, Alice followed behind Ria and pulled herself up. The closer they got to the top the more dangerous the aura felt. Each movement felt like it was done with a knife against their throat as a single move meant death! Gritting their teeth, the two of them pulled themselves over the edge and came face to face with the beast releasing this aura! ''!!!'' Widening her eyes, Alice could see clearly their opponent and the tag above its head. [Champion of mes - ? ? ? ? ? ?] A six star beast! An aura of domination and wrath exploded out, enveloping the two of them in the aura as they were unable to move. Without giving the two a chance to react, the Champion took a deep breath before breathing out. A heavy gust of wind exploded forth as the two were blown back and over the edge. Knowing that if she didn''t react, they would ''die'', Alice grabbed Ria and threw her bracelet at the wall, turning it into a hook. Grabbing tight on the threads, she was unable to stop herself in time and mmed against the cliff face, forcing the air out of her lungs, almost dropping Ria as a result. "What the f*ck was that?!" Ria whispered in shock as she quickly grabbed the cliff face to reduce the weight ced upon Alice. Just the act of breathing felt like a punch in the face! How was they supposed to get past such a beast?! "Champion of mes. A six star beast, do you know anything about it?" Alice asked as she tried her best to calm her beating heart. Thankfully, it didn''t seem like the beast was aiming for their lives as a simple gesture would be enough for it to kill them. Even now, she knew that they were within its range of attack as the threatening aura never disappeared. In fact, it only concentrated harder around them, making it hard for them to make a move. "No clue. I never read up on six star beasts since I didn''t think I''d run into them." Ria shook her head as nced up with a frown. Noticing something falling over the edge, Ria furrowed her brows and caught the falling object. Turns out it was a sheet of paper as words were written on it. [Your next task is to get past this beast and reach the gate that I have prepared. Naturally, with this being too easy for you, I made sure the beast is feeling motivated with a little reward. Good luck~ Allura.] Reading this letter, Ria couldn''t help but want to cry. ''Me and my damn mouth. I should''ve stayed quiet.'' She mourned on the inside as she showed the letter to Alice. "Any ideas on how to get past the beast? Or brute force it for now until we get a hint?" Ria asked as Alice was silent before sighing. "Brute force it for now. I''ll catch us before we can fall so we don''t have to start from the bottom again." ncing over the edge, Alice didn''t want to climb all the way back up for another attempt. Chapter 117: Contending Against A Six Star Beast The two continued to climb up only for the Champion to knock them back with a single breath. But with their goal being behind the beast, they had no choice but to keep going. "Gah! Dammit! How the hell does Allura expect us to get past this b*stard! All he needs to do is breathe and we''ll get knocked back! So damn humiliating." Ria mmed her hand against the ground in frustration as this was the first time she felt the gap in strength was simply insurmountable. The difference between this Champion and Allura was that Allura held back so much she actually gave them a chance. The wall was so high that she knew it was impossible from the start. But the fact that Allura has allowed this beast to stay here means there was a chance they could get past yet they haven''t even forced it to uncross its arms. Alice has the same thought as she too was confused about what they''re supposed to do in this situation. ''Does Allura want me to use my second Sigil? I thought she wanted me to avoid using it for now until I''ve fully grasped how it worked. But I don''t see any other way to get past that beast¡­'' Alice thought to herself as she had relied on the violet mes far too much despite not knowing a single thing about it. All she knows is that it''s a manifestation of her own potential. A reflection of her blood and body. Yet she has no clues on how to control it other than the fact that it has a negative opinion towards creatures of powers belonging to the Abyss. And if she was not careful, the me could easily go wild with her being unable to wrangle it back under her control. ''All Allura said was that the task is to get past the beast and reach the gate¡­ Not how we''re supposed to go about the task¡­ Though it seems like the beast has its senses locked onto us.'' Crossing her arms, Alice closed her eyes and contemted her options. "Ria." Alice called out. "Hm? What''s up?" "What do you think Allura wants us to do? She never asked for a specific method which means we can probably think of something outside the box." Alice asked as Ria tapped her chin. "Well¡­ I can say for sure that I can''t just run past the beast. Even at my fastest, he can track me easily. Then there''s your mes but Allura has told you not to use them too much so unless she wants you to ignore her, I don''t know what else we can do." Ria shrugged. Staying silent for a bit, Alice opened her mouth. "Do you think she wants us to dig a tunnel under the beast?" ". . . The f*ck?" Ria raised an eyebrow, surprised at how strange the idea was. "I guess it wouldn''t work. Not with the beast keeping an eye on us." Alice sighed. With no ideas left, she was suggesting the first thing that came to mind. Leaning against the wall, Ria sighed as she also tried to think of some ideas that they could use. There was no point in continuously running up only to get blown off expecting something different. "What if we tried to go in two separate directions? I''ll start off slow then the moment he turns to you, I''ll go at full speed and see if I can get to the gate." Ria asked but Alice shook her head. "If you get pushed off the edge I won''t be able to catch you and you''ll have to start from the bottom. Remember what Allura said?" "Right¡­" Ria nodded, understanding that they couldn''t really afford to climb up from the bottom. "But we if we try a one vs one? I can see if I can get his full attention even for a single moment. And that moment will be your queue to climb up and run." Hearing this, Ria furrowed her brows but knowing Alice, she wouldn''t suggest this if she didn''t think she could pull it off. "No harm in trying." With them settling on a n of attack, Alice took a deep breath and climbed up. Since Allura never said what method was allowed, Alice assumed that everything was allowed. No matter what she did, so long as she could buy Ria some time, they could pass this part of the test. ''When I travel alone with Ria, I won''t have Allura looking out for me. Which means it''s up to the two of us to survive any hard encounters wee across. Allura probably wants to see how I n to deal with a beast with my mes. Even though they''re hard to control, it''s a strong asset and something that''ll allow me to contend with a six star beast. Even if it''s just momentarily.'' Alice thought to herself. As she reached the edge of the cliff, she narrowed her eyes and swung herself up before throwing her hook against the ground and holding on as tight as she could. *BANG!!! As a gust of wind mmed into her body, she was almost flung over the edge but managed to hold on. She could hear the mechanisms on her glove creaking as it was pushed to its limit but she continued to hold on. Trying as hard as she could to pull herself closer to the ground, she was unable to as it seemed as though the Champion had an endless supply of air in his lungs. Biting her arm, she tried to control a sliver of blood to fly towards the beast but it was blown back without being able to get any closer. ''Think¡­ Think! What can I do? I doubt the mes can reach him right now¡­'' Unable to keep holding on, Alice reached down and grabbed the edge before sheltering herself from the wind. Taking deep breaths to calm herself down, she could sense Ria''s doubtful gaze. "Keep to the n. Let me think of something." Narrowing her eyes, Alice peaked her head over the edge. ''He seems rxed¡­ I suppose Allura might''ve imposed a time limit that''s why he''s not in a rush. He doesn''t seem to care that I''m holding onto the edge so long as I''m not trying to get to the gate.'' An idea surfaced in her mind but she wasn''t sure if she should go through with it. After all, Allura had reminded her not to harm herself if she could help it. ''F*ck it, it''s not like I have any other ideas.'' Alice frowned. Grabbing her dagger with her left hand, she transformed it into a stake before adjusting her grip on the edge with her right and stabbed down. "ALICE!" Ria shouted out in shock as she didn''t expect Alice to stab the stake through her own hand! Ignoring Ria for now, Alice turned the stake into a hook and pinned her right hand to the ground. Blood flowed out of her body as even the Champion was confused by her own gesture. However, it was all a part of her n. Lifting herself up, she could feel a gust of wind mming into her body once more but she was able to hold on without being blown back immediately. The wound in her hand started to tear as blood poured out of her hand. Gritting her teeth, Alice tried to hold on as long as possible before taking shelter once more. "Alice stop! We can try something else. You''re only hurting yourself at this point!" Ria frowned but Alice shook her head. "Do you trust me?" Alice asked with a smile. Seeing this, Ria could only scratch her hair before sighing. "Fine. What do you want me to do then?" "Stick to the n. The moment I have his full focus I want you to run." Alice grinned before pulling herself up once more. Repeating this process, even Allura was confused by what Alice was nning as she was simply making the wounds on her hand worse with each attempt. ''What is that girl nning¡­'' Allura tapped her chin while watching the scene unfold. She was watching from one of the mountain peaks with her legs crossed. She could tell that Alice was buying time, but she didn''t know what the end goal was. It wasn''t like the Champion would exhaust himself by breathing repeatedly. ''Ria is waiting by the side. She doesn''t seem to know what''s going on either.'' Shaking her head, Allura continued to watch silently to see how Alice was going to resolve this issue. Pulling herself up onest time, there was a grin on Alice''s face as she narrowed her eyes at the Champion andughed. "You know¡­ With enough monotony and futile attempts, even a six Star beast will overlook certain actions." Alice smiled as her second Sigil manifested around her eye. With each attempt of trying to climb over the edge, she had the pool of blood under her right hand slowly make its way to the Champion! This was the only way she could imagine herself taking the Champion by surprise. In that moment, an array of purple mes erupted forth from the ground, surrounding the Champion in an instant before caving down in an attempt to consume the beast. *BANG!!!! mming his four arms down, the Champion created a wall of mes but was surprised by how tenacious the violet fire was. The moment in came in contact with his mes, it would assimte a portion of the fire into its own body, fuelling itself. *URAHHHH!!!!! The violet mes fought back in anger as itshed out at the beast. Taking this chance to pull herself up, Alice grabbed her dagger and drank a vial of healing blood to heal her hand. Focusing with Ca, she made sure to dodge the moment a gust of wind was shot her way to avoid getting knocked off. ''I have to fight him here and now!'' Throwing her dagger towards the Champion, she watched as the beast regained hisposure and dark crimson energy erupted from his body. A shockwave exploded forth, extinguishing Alice''s mes in an instant as it was destroyed through pure brute force! Not letting up this chance that she managed to get, Alice charged towards the beast while making a cut along her arm. Swiping horizontally, another wave of mes rushed out. However, this was just a diversion as Alice charged in behind the mes. At the same instance, Ria rushed out, noticing the pressure around her had decreased with the beast focusing on Alice. Chapter 118: Mountain Peak With Alice charging at him with a wave of mes and Ria dashing out of cover, the Champion was left in a slight dilemma. It wasn''t afraid of being unable to stop the two. In fact, he was worried about how much strength he must use. To him, they were nothing but younglings who couldn''t even be considered proper Hunters. Had he met them in the wild he would''ve scoffed at them before turning away, not wanting to waste his strength on killing something so weak. If he wanted to, he could extinguish their life with a snap of his finger. But that wasn''t what he wanted. His pride as a beast on the verge of attaining greatness stood in the way. It was a challenge in his own mind. If these two forced him to uncross his arms and use more power than needed, then it was an insult to his status. Yet if he takes his focus off Alice right now, the strange mes would attack him. He didn''t know what they were, but the moment heid his eyes on them, something deep within his mind told him to not let the mes touch his body. It was a primal instinct that warned him of the dangers. Furrowing his brows, the Champion frowned as he sighed and stomped down with his foot. *BANG!!!! "GAH!!!" Letting out a cry, Alice was blown back as arge wall of force mmed into her, extinguishing her mes at the same time. Meanwhile, Ria was grabbed by the back of her neck and tossed back towards the cliff. Flipping in midair, she barely managed tond on the ground without falling over the edge. Just as she was about to attack again, she saw the beast sit down with a frown and didn''t attempt to push them off. ''Huh? What''s going on.'' Ria thought to herself in confusion as Alice prepared to attack. However, before she could, Allura appeared with a burst of fire. "Alright. That''s about enough. I must say, I''m surprised you decided to give up." Allura chuckled while looking at the Champion, but she could more or less guess why he chose this result. After all, a two Sigil user and a three Sigil user managed to make him use more power than what he deemed necessary. For someone with a lot of pride like him, Allura knew he wouldn''t be happy if he didn''t count it as a loss. "Shameful disy." The Champion grunted in annoyance, surprising Alice and Ria who didn''t expect him to talk. "Well, they''re my students so~ It''s to be expected. Here, can''t have you work for nothing." Allura smiled, throwing a vial of blood toward him. Catching it with ease, the Champion furrowed his brows at Allura. "I''m not insulting your choice. I''m just happy you pushed my students to the limit and forced them to think out of the box." Allura exined. Sighing out, the beast nodded his head before turning around. "When I be Lord, I will challenge." The beast promised as Allura shrugged. "I mean¡­ Sure why not. If we meet again I''ll spare some time for you." Hearing this, the beast walked a small distance away before squatting down and jumping as hard as he could. *BANG!!!! Shooting off into the distance like a speeding train, he disappeared from the area. "Well then. I must say I was thinking you would''ve taken longer or fought until the time ran out." Allura smiled as she turned to Alice and Ria. "But good job. You actually made a six star beast move more than needed." Walking over to the two girls, Allura patted their heads and patched them up with some healing blood. "I thought you wanted us to reach the gate?" Alice frowned. "I did. But it was an impossible task. You were never going to out-speed him nor were you going to beat him in a contest of strength. I just wanted to see what kind of ideas you woulde up with. After all, if I said it''s possible, you would think of ways to match my expectations." Allura grinned, using their prior understanding of her to spur them on. So far, she had given them tasks that she believed were possible for them with a bit of luck on their side. This one, however, was impossible. No matter how hard Alice or Ria may try, a six star beast was simply out of their league right now. If anything, the most surprising thing for her was how much self-restraint the beast had. Far stronger than some of the other six star beasts she had ran into in the past. ''Seems like my initial worries were unfounded.'' Allura thought to herself as she had warned him not to kill the two multiple times. "Urg¡­ So it was impossible from the start. Could you have done it then?" Ria asked with a sigh. "Hah? Of course not. I''m strong but I''m not invincible you know? At the start, I was just as weak as you two." Allura rolled her eyes. With a strong foundation, one can bridge the gap between Sigils easily. But neither Alice nor Ria was ready yet. Their powers are still on the weak side, and it isn''t until they ascend to the second stage of power will that foundation bepleted. The moment they attain a resonance. For Ria, she needed to learn proper techniques to best understand how to utilize her strength along with overall physical improvement while for Alice, it''s diversifying how she could use her blood. Ria was the front line while Alice was the backline. But just them two wasn''t enough, they needed a third to act as support for both. Someone who canpensate for both of their weaknesses. Allura had a person in mind and it was someone that Ria was familiar with. ''They''re probably going to meet upter anyways so I''ll refrain from saying anything for now. These two are still figuring out ways they can work together.'' "Setting that matter aside, we''ve spent quite a bit of time on this stage considering the fact that you two spent hours climbing before you started to fight. Let''s go to the next area." Allura smiled. "Wait, there''s more?" Ria groaned. "Only one more stop. It''s thest stop. I''m being honest when I said this part would''ve been the hardest for you since it was meant to take the longest. Unfortunately, I didn''t ount for the beast giving up since he felt insulted by his own conduct but so be it." Allura shrugged. ns always change and it was one of those moments. "I mean¡­ It doesn''t really feel like a victory." Alice sighed. "Making a six star beast go against his initial expectation of you counts as a loss? Damn, your expectations are higher than mine." Allura joked while giving Alice another pat on the head. "You should be proud of what you did. Your little trick with the blood fooled even me you know? I was distracted by you stabbing your own hand and using it to hold on. I didn''t think you would slowly have your blood flow towards him. It looked like normal blood flow for a period of time." Allura smiled as Alice reluctantly nodded her head. "Of course, if you''re not happy with the results I can always act as the gatekeeper if you want." Hearing this, both Alice and Ria shook their heads as they couldn''t stand more for today. In this short journey down to the Howling Depthsyer, the amount of torment they had to go through far exceeded their limit. Adding Allura on top of all that would break them. "Well if you don''t want that then follow me. The Crystal Grove is just under this ce." Allura smiled, leading them up the ming path that she had created. As they continued to the peak of the mountain, they could feel the heat rising as the two started to sweat profusely from the heat. Unfortunately, Allura couldn''t do much about the heat, but she could protect them from the fire andva. Upon reaching the top, they could see arge crater with thickyer ofva. The air above the pit warped from the heat as the two couldn''t stand the heat. It was far hotter than it should be to the point they felt like they were directly ced into a furnace. "Hold on tight. We''re jumping in." Allura smiled as she grabbed the two by the hips before jumping down. ""HUH?!"" Hearing that they were jumping in, Alice and Ria both widened their eyes in panic and grabbed onto Allura as tightly as they could. *BANG!!! Crashing through theyer ofva, Allura wrapped them in a barrier of mes and started to dive down at breakneck speeds. With no way of telling how far they were going, Alice could only maintain her grip on Allura and hope the journey would be over soon. But after a short period of time, a familiar feeling washed over her. A feeling that had appeared then they were at the ruins. Something deep within thiske ofva was calling out to her, urging her to approach. Alice didn''t know how to describe it, but it was akin to returning to her own room after a long day of hunting. A ce of familiarity and safety. ''No¡­ These aren''t my feelings¡­ Do they belong to Ca?'' Alice thought to herself but Ca was silent. Even after entering the strange realm within her mind, Alice noticed that the Eye was closed, signifying Ca''s slumber. Time passed and the feeling continued to grow stronger when she noticed Allura smile and open her mouth. "We''re here." Adjusting her posture, Allura dismissed the ming barrier around them and a hidden world of luminescence greeted their eyes. Tall trees created from crystal could be seen withrge pirs of multi-coloured crystals supporting the ceiling. Ake of strange liquid that reflected the myriad of lights from its surroundings. But most importantly of all, a singlerge tree dwarfed the rest of the forest as its leaves melded with the ceiling. The underside of the leaves glowed with a neon blue while the tree itself seemed to be hollowed out. A pool of darkness with multicoloured stars could be seen oozing from the centre of the tree. "That pool is the Communal Point. And that is where Ria will choose her bounty target." Chapter 119: Alice Landing on the ground, Allura noticed that Alice was spacing out more than normal but chalked it up to Alice being enamored by the view. "All you have to do is take a little soak in the water and the rest will sort itself out. Remember, you have to keep a clear mental image of the beast you want to hunt. In this case, you just have to keep reciting its name in your head and it''ll be fine." Allura exined as Ria nodded her head. Guiding the two to the base of the tree, Allura found a rock to sit on and pulled out a cigarette. Meanwhile, Ria looked at the dark liquid with a frown on her face. "Am I supposed to just¡­ walk into the center?" "Yep. It''ll feel weird at first but you''ll get used to it." Allura nodded her head. "Urg¡­ If you say so." Ria sighed. Furrowing her brows, she took off her shoes and socks before cing them on the side. "You know you don''t have to take your shoes off you know. It looks like water but it''s not exactly wet." "It''s just weird okay?!" Ria huffed before stepping into the water. Upon stepping into the water, she could feel a jolt go through her body akin to being doused with cold water. However, this was different. It left a warm sensation in her chest and filled her with power. Walking towards the core of the tree, the strange liquid eventually submerged her body except for her head. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and stepped into the core. "And there she goes. Now then¡­" Allura muttered as she turned to Alice who was spacing out while looking up at the tree. "Alice!" Allura called out but Alice didn''t respond. "Are you feeling okay?" Allura asked once more but Alice didn''t reply. Just as Allura was about to walk over, she noticed that Alice was crying from her right eye. Little by little, dark energy seemed to emanate from her body as Allura froze up in shock, dropping her cigarette. Standing up in disbelief, she watched as a dark halo manifested itself around Alice''s head as her hair tie came undone. Watching Alice''s hair unfurl behind her while dark energy surrounded her body, Allura was overwhelmed by the rush of emotions as she was unable to speak. There were so many words stuck in her throat, but she didn''t know what to say. Meanwhile, ''Alice'' didn''t seem to take notice of Allura''s reaction as she walked up to the tree and ced her hand against the trunk. In an instant, the tree withered up as ''Alice'' pulled out a small crystal the size of her palm. "W-Wait!" Allura shouted out as she bit her lip. Clutching her chest, this was the first time in hundreds of years that she felt flustered. This emotion, this longing, this pain. "Master! Please¡­ Tell me if it''s still you?" Allura asked as Alice turned her head back slightly. The white in her hair had be more prevalent as it dominated more than half of her hair while both eyes had turned ck and purple. There was a different kind of aura to her, an aura that belonged to someone who was above the masses. "Sorry Lua." ''Alice'' apologised as Allura kneeled down in sadness. She knew this wasn''t her master. This was just the residual spirit left behind, taking over momentarily. "Why the long face¡­ If Kaden saw you like this, he would think I bullied you." ''Alice'' chuckled softly. ### Meanwhile, Alice found herself walking in a strange void that shimmered with the light of countless stars. A realm that was simr to the ck liquid she had seen flowing out of the tree. ''What''s going on¡­'' Alice thought to herself with a frown. She didn''t know what had happened but the moment sheid her eyes on that tree, she felt something taking over. Once her hand had touched the tree, her consciousness was dragged elsewhere. "Greetings." A voice rang out as Alice instantly turned out. There was a mirror reflection behind her. A woman who looked identical except for full white hair and a pair of ck and purple eyes. ". . . You''re the old master of Ca aren''t you?" Alice asked after a short pause. She had seen this person before in her dreams. Though they were mostly one sided interactions. "Indeed I am. Though I''m nothing but a fragment of my residual spirit." ''Alice'' smiled as she stepped out of the reflection. "I didn''t think I would ''wake'' up like this. Well¡­ Wake up is the wrong term as I won''t be staying for long. Even if you meet another me, it would be different to the me here and now." ''Alice'' shook her head. Waving her hand, violet mes appeared in her palm. "You have quite a strange body I must admit. I didn''t think there existed a being that could resist the power of the Abyss. Even more so when this power takes several forms¡­ I have taken the liberty to control your body momentarily. I''ve harvested a portion of my power that I''ve left behind. Unfortunately, it won''t help you much right now. It''s something that''lle in handy muchter." ''Alice'' exined as the mes disappeared. "But it was nice to see my sessor. Look after Lua and Kaden for me okay? They''re very dear to me and my unfortunate departure must''ve been quite the shock to them." "I mean¡­ It''s more like they''re looking after me¡­" Alice furrowed her brows in confusion. "I see. . . Time changes people I suppose. Seems like the infusion process has beenpleted. Our meeting will end here." ''Alice'' muttered as she nced up at the darkness. "Before you go¡­ Can you tell me what I''m supposed to do? What does having Ca mean? What does Kaden want me to do in the Abyss?" Alice asked as these were the questions that lingered in her mind. "I''m unsure. My knowledge as a fragment is limited. However, being the new host for Ca means partial dominion over the Abyss''s influence. Use it well. If Kaden has entrusted you with Ca then I will trust his judgement." ''Alice'' shrugged as she started to fade away with this realm cracking apart. "Onest thing! Your name? Can you tell me your name?" Alice shouted out. She wanted to learn about Allura''s master and her predecessor. The best starting point would be learning her name. "Hmm¡­ I don''t believe there is a trantion of my name in the new tongue. Perhaps the ounders have given me a new name. Perhaps they have forgotten about me. But if you are curious, I believe Lua should be more than happy to tell you if she wants to. Farewell young one." ''Alice'' waved her hand as darkness enveloped Alice''s vision. ### Sitting up in shock, Alice looked around her in confusion and noticed that she was sitting under what would''ve been the crystal tree. However, looking up, all she saw was withered wood and crystals falling down in the distance. Looking to her left, she could see Allura sitting on a boulder with a cigarette in her mouth. There was no smile, no boisterous attitude. Only sadness and longing. Her slumped shoulders and silhouette had never looked so defeated. Alice could see a hint of red around Allura''s eyes and understood that she must''ve cried. ''Did Allura meet her master? Considering she took over my body for a moment¡­ It seems likely.'' Alice thought to herself as Allura noticed that Alice was awake. The vulnerability disappeared as she recovered her energetic self and smiled. "Seems like you''re awake. Does your body hurt? Anything feel off?" Allura asked, walking over to Alice before sitting down. "No, I feel just fine." Alice shook her head. She wanted to ask about Allura''s master but wasn''t sure if she should. "You know, I can practically tell what you''re thinking from the way you look at me. Your thoughts are written on your face. We''re family now, if you want to ask feel free to ask anything." Allura sighed and patted Alice''s head. "Mnm. When I was¡­ passed out. I met someone who looked just like me but with only white hair. I''m guessing she was your master. Can you¡­ Tell me more about her?" Alice asked as Allura thought to herself for a moment before nodding. "I suppose it''s only natural that you met a fragment of her. Now that Ca is in the process of being linked to you properly, you''ll be more sensitive to the Abyss and be drawn towards spots like this where my master''s influence is the strongest." Allura nodded before tapping her chin. "Now then¡­ Where should I start? I''ll only tell you a little about her since the more you know the more troublesome it might be. The knowledge you could learn is far too dangerous for you so I need to be careful. If you''re unlucky you might run into people who have interrogation focused Sigils that can rip secrets right out of your mind." Allura warned as Alice swallowed her saliva in worry. "M-maybe I shouldn''t know then." Alice shook her head but Alluraughed. "What I''m going to tell you is fine. I''m omitting the more important information for now. These are what you can find if you dig a little deeper into history. Anyways¡­ Where should I start¡­ My master was the founder of a kingdom. "A magnificent utopia that didn''t care about your background. A home for people seeing a second chance in life. And she was its ruler¡­" Allura smiled softly as she recounted the tales of this kingdom. It was a bastion of safety for those who fell into the Abyss, thest wall of protection in an era filled with war and destruction. An era where monsters roamed thends in swarms, killing anything and everything. To the citizens of the city, her master was the fire in winter. The sip of water in the desert. A source of hope and protection. "Unfortunately, a war none could imagine broke out. It fractured thends and the era was erased from history. My master¡­ She died in this war and the kingdom fell." Allura shook her head and finished her cigarette. "Anyways. That''s about enough. Seems like Ria is about finished as well." Allura said as she stood up and walked over to the ck water that was slowly drying up. "What was the name of the kingdom?" Alice asked after a short pause. "Ayr. That was its name. The name of my home." Chapter 120: Ayr "Ayr¡­ Do you miss your home?" Alice asked, curious as to how Allura felt. To her, she never really had a home so she didn''t understand this kind of longing. "Of course. There isn''t a day that goes by without me hoping everything was just a bad dream. How I could go back to the peaceful times with everyone I know. Unfortunately, reality is rather disappointing, and the past is in the past." Allura shrugged, putting on a brave front. She was Alice''s guardian, someone who will be her pir of support. She needed to stand tall, unfaltering and be a role model for Alice. Walking over to the river of ck water, Allura kneeled down and plunging her hands in before pulling out Ria. "GAH!!! Gods! I can breathe again!" Ria shouted out as she couldn''t breathe near the end of that. "How was it? Did you get the bounty you wanted?" Allura asked as Ria nodded her head. "Yep! The tree gave me three choices. One of them was the Storm Leviathan but the others were rather dull so the choice was obvious." "Fufu, well we''re on the path of no retreat now. No pressure but if you mess this up it''ll be quite hard to find another chance like this. Remember, you have to kill it before it evolves if you can. Once it reaches the next stage, it''ll be VERY hard for you to kill it and me and Gin will be forced to step up." Allura reminded as Ria nodded her head. "Don''t worry I know. Plus, I don''t n on failing this hunt. Now can I get out or are you just going to let me soak in this weird sh*t?" Ria asked, raising her sleeve that was soaked by the liquid. "Fair." Standing up, Allura pulled Ria out before making a campfire so she could dry herself off. "We got a bit of time before this ce copses. Let me know when you''re ready to go and I''ll take us out of this ce." Allura smiled as she sat down on a boulder and closed her eyes. Sitting down next to Alice, Riaid back and took a deep breath before sighing. "Ready for another hard fight? This time you''ll be ying the support rather than me." Ria chuckled. "Well, it should be fine. I just have to parry its abilities with my fire, right? If I don''t hurt it, it should keep my contributions rtively low." Alice nodded as her fire was the best support that she could give Ria. Her first Sigil was still mainly a Anti Hunter Sigil. Even whenbined with her second Sigil, she was unsure of how strong the effects of the fumes would be. Not to mention the fact that she didn''t know if she had enough blood to affect a beast of that magnitude. Just remembering the size of the Storm Leviathan sent a shiver down her spine. "That''s true. We''ll also be fighting above the Abyss Waters. We''ll need to be careful, or things will be bad." Ria sighed. Nodding her head, Alice understood the risks of this Hunt. To her, the Abyss Waters may be close to harmless as the effects will disappear in due time. But to others, justing into contact with the liquid risked them mutating under its influence. Remembering how she was dropping into the Abyss Waters when she first came into the Abyss, Alice couldn''t help but feel grateful towards her physique. Had it not been for her body, she would''ve mutated and died right there. "Also leaving your hair like this is quite a good look no?" Ria pointed out as she noticed that Alice''s hair was untied. "Can''t they grab it though?" Alice shrugged. She will admit that she did enjoy leaving her hair tied up. Naturally, she had the choice of cutting it short but she didn''t want to go down that route. After all, she liked having her hair being simr length to Allura''s. "That''s fair. Though most wouldn''t use dirty fighting tactics once you get past three Sigils. Or at least I haven''t seen any." Ria shrugged. "That''s because they don''t want to stoop to that level. People who have reached past normal standards want to take pride in their aplishments, so they usually ignore such weaknesses unless their life is threatened." Allura interjected. She had seen her fair share of fighting styles. Some strange, some efficient and some are borderline mental torture with the strange ces that they target. Examples being woman withrge chests or the natural weak points in a male''s anatomy. But those are usually done by mercenaries that don''t care about honor. "True¡­ Though honestly I don''t get why they wait for thest moment. If it''s a fight to the death just fight dirty from the start." Ria shrugged as that''s exactly what she had done when fighting against the four Sigil cultist. If he was shameless, things would''ve gone much worse for the two of them. Talking amongst themselves, they waited for Ria''s clothes to dry before preparing to depart from the Crystal Grove. With the cracks forming across the ceiling and walls, this ce would''ve copsed much sooner had it not been for Allura holding everything back. Making sure the two grabbed onto her properly, Allura wrapped them in a wall of mes before shooting up and out of the mountain, leaving the grove to copse in on itself. *BANG!!! Piercing the ceiling of the mountain, Alice looked down and could see the mountain copsing in on itself with ayer ofva pooling out from the crevices. Without stopping for a moment, Allura continued to fly through the abyss as every beast coward in her presence. They dare not raise their head too high, they dare not show themselves. They dare not offend the being that was charging through the Abyss right now. ''Is this what it means to be an Abyss Lord¡­ All of these beasts who can kill me and Ria easily are submitting to Allura.'' Alice thought to herself as she nced up at Allura who was focused on taking them out of the Howling Depths. This was the kind of Hunter she aspired to be, an unstoppable force. In Allura''s presence, Alice felt safe. ''Allura misses her home. Having Ca means I''m her master''s sessor. Perhaps that''s what Kaden wanted me to do, rebuilt Ayr.'' Thinking up to this point, Alice had a goal to work towards more than just pure revenge against the Zenia family. In the past, when she thought about her future, she didn''t know what else to do other than taking revenge against her torturers. But now, she desired to rebuild Ayr to repay the kindness that Allura and Kaden had shown her. The new life that was bestowed upon her by Kaden and the family that Allura weed her into. Making their way back to the surface, all of the mental fatigue umted on this journey exhausted the two as they couldn''t wait to sleep in their bed again instead of out in the wilds. Not only that, their body felt much lighter without the pressure of the Abyss weighing them down. Noticing this, Allura made sure the journey back was fast. What took them more than a day to arrive only took a minute or so to return from as Alluranded in front of the gates of Zadash. Naturally, the guards were shocked but Neal rushed to the scene and cleared up the situation, allowing Alice and Ria to return to their inn rooms without any issue. Once Alice and Ria fell asleep, Allura stood guard by the inn. She was currently sitting on the roof of the building and reflecting on the meeting with her master. The final words that she left her with¡­ ### "I must say though¡­ Lua, what do you make of my sessor''s powers?" ''Alice'' asked as she walked past Allura and looked over the Crystal Grove. "Alice''s powers?" Allura tilted her head in confusion. "Indeed. They''re strange, very unlike what the Abyss offers yet the ties it has to this realm is undeniable." ''Alice'' smiled as she raised her right hand and conjured arge ball of violet mes that transformed into the dragon. Sensing the smell of Abyssal power, the dragon narrowed its eyes as ''Alice'' snapped her finger and ck chains ripped through space and chained the dragon against the ground. It wanted to fight back but its instincts were warning it otherwise. There was something wrong with this ''Alice''. The dragon felt like it was staring into the Abyss itself and the Abyss smiled back. That empty coldness which threatened to swallow all, even itself who could deny the Abyss''s powers. "mes are not its true form. It is merely the form it has taken due to my sessor''s impression of you, Lua." ''Alice'' nced back with a smile. "Unlike the rewards that the Abyss usually gives out, this second Sigil does not stem from any beast. However, if that was the case, it would never have offered such a Sigil in the first ce, one that brings out her ''potential''. No matter how strange her body may have been, this is simply an impossible scenario yet here we are. I can only assume that humanity is going down an ugly path. Even for you Allura, I''ll take caution when dealing with this power. It will not harm my sessor but the same does not apply to others." ''Alice'' warned as she flicked her finger and the chains disappear, setting the mes free. "If she cannot understand her own strength, perhaps her future will be a world of mes with her in the center, unable to quell the destruction she has brought forth." ### ''If master is correct¡­ Alice needs to master the mes. It will not harm her but brings danger to those around her. The sooner we get it under control the better. When she gets more Sigils, it is inevitable that these mes will evolve and change along with her.'' Allura thought to herself. Right now, Alice''s violet mes are a ticking time bomb and the only way for it to be defused is for Alice to take the reigns herself. Steal the control over the mes from the dragon that manifests itself and be the controller. Taking a deep breath of her cigarette, Allura sighed out and looked up at the sky. ''I wonder how Kaden would''ve reacted if he saw master today¡­ Would he go back to the way he was before?'' Allura asked but no one answered. In the Abyss where there is only the grace of moonlight, Allura sat by herself on the rooftops. Chapter 121: Blight Caller Shard Waking up in the morning, Alice and Ria had some breakfast while waiting for Gin to return. With their trip down to the Howling Depths nowplete, Allura granted them a bit of rest until Gin came back with the equipment that Ria would need for this hunt. After all, everything was prepared, they''ll be leaving for the small fishing hamlet called Anivari and renting a boat there. "I don''t think the news regarding the Storm Leviathan is known by a lot of people so I doubt there will bepetition for it but knowing the underground, a few VIP''s may have gotten wind of the news already. "When we arrive in Anivari, we''ll be taking a direct route to reach the main channel near the ughter Docks. If you find several boats heading the same way then you''ll know who yourpetition is. Depending on the situation, they might offer for you to join them since this is no easy hunt." Allura warned while leaning back on her chair. "Are they going after the Sigil as well?" Ria asked curiously but Allura shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. A few Hunters might be there to harvest the corpse instead. It is known for Harvesters and Hunters to work together to collect as much as they can from the beast." "Harvesters?" Alice raised her head upon hearing an unfamiliar term. "Yep. They''re Hunters who specialise in dealing with the aftermath of a hunt. You wouldn''t see them in low star hunts as even the basic Hunter can harvest the corpse. But for valuable beasts, especially one such as the Storm Leviathan, there will be Harvesters that try to make an agreement with the Hunters trying to kill the beast for its Sigil. "In lending their strength, they will be promised a sizable portion of the corpse while the Hunter will get an easy Hunt. Harvesters are usually deployed by noble families as it is not a very popr jobpared to being a Hunter. But the Hunter''s Guild recognises their existence and all of the Hunters generally have high respects for powerful Harvesters since they can guarantee the sess rate of a hunt with the only trade off being losing out on parts of the corpse." Allura exined as Alice made a mental note in her mind. "I see¡­ Then I suppose there is a Harvester''s Guild as well then." "Bingo." Allura nodded her head with a smile. "For now, I''d suggest you two avoid dealing with Harvesters as not only are they strong, they''re also rather stingy. Unless you can settle things with a Law of Agreement, verbal promises can only take you so far." Allura shook her head. "Did you get scammed by a Harvester before?" Ria asked curiously as it sounded like Allura had some interactions with them before. "Only once. Though they''re not really a Harvester. After that, anyone who tried to scam me died by my hand if they don''t heed my warning. As for the person who scammed me, not only did he sabotage my hunt, making it so that I had to find a new beast, but he also destroyed the entire beast so I couldn''t get anything out of it at all." Allura rolled her eyes with a sigh. "Who was it?" Alice asked as her interest had been piqued. Considering how Allura was, it was surprising that anyone could scam her. "You know him pretty well. It was Kaden. When I was hunting for my fourth Sigil at the time, we met each other and he sabotaged my hunt. Hepensated for itter but that was the first time I realised a hunt could be sabotaged in such a way." Allura waved her hand dismissively. Hearing about these stories regarding Kaden, Alice really wanted to see what he was like before andpare it to the him now. The outspoken and ''free spirited'' Kaden who would break into one of the most heavily guarded ces on the surface seemed rather reserved in the past. "Anyways enough about mentioning the raven b*stard. Just thinking about him annoys me since he''s not taking responsibility at all. He just runs around the surface everyday doing whatever he wants." Allura sighed. "Huh? Who''s the raven b*stard?" Ria tilted her head in confusion. "He''s the one who gave Alice the Eye and threw her into the Abyss for me to deal with. If I wasn''t around at the ughter Docks, Alice''s would''ve been a ve and forced into some dangerous events." Hearing this, Ria had to do a doubletake before looking over to Alice, wondering if this was true. Seeing Alice nod her head, Ria was speechless. "What the crap have you been talking about now? I just came back and Ria is looking at you two like you just did something stupid." Gin''s voice interrupted as he walked through the front door with a ratherrge sack behind him. cing it down on the table with an audible thud, Gin ordered some alcohol for himself while having the inn keeper refill his canteen. "Nothing much. Just about how I met Alice in the ughter Docks. Seems like you got everything prepared." Allura smiled, giving the bag a quick nce. "Somewhat. There''s a few things I couldn''t get my hands on in a short time since it seems like there will be somepetition for this beast. A bunch of people have already bought up most of the supply avable in the market. If it wasn''t for the Underground helping out, I don''t think I could''ve got my hands on these." Gin sighed as he opened the bag. cing all of the contents on the table, Alice was rather surprised by the tools that he had prepared. There was a pair of silver armoured gauntlets, a pair of boots, a scarf, bow with some arrows andstly, a strange white and purple metal shard. "Still, you managed to get quite a lot. If they really are gathering the equipment needed for this hunt, I''m surprised you managed to get your hand on this shard since it''s the most important." Allura remarked as she held up the shard and examined it closely. "Rather high quality at that too." "It wasn''t easy but I managed to snag thest one." Gin nodded as he leaned back and rxed. "So¡­ how do I use these things?" Ria asked, picking up the gauntlets and seeing if there were anything strange with them or not. "Lightning Viper Scale gloves and boots. A prettymon equipment for fighting lightning-based beasts. It can absorb some of the lightning and use it to enhance your own abilities. It''s especially handy if you are a lightning ability user like you are since it''ll enhance the power of your Sigils. The boots let you run faster while the gloves let you punch harder. Simple yet handy for you who fights in close quarters a lot." Allura smiled, pointing to the gloves and boots. "Scarf made from Dream Wraith skin and flesh. It increases your speed and lets you evade detection easier since it hides your presence. Against the Storm Leviathan, it''ll help you dodge its attacks and travel across its body with ease. "Bow made from Nether Howler bones and tendons. Arrows made from Thunder Caller Spikes. The bow is durable enough to withstand the force needed for the Thunder Caller Spikes while the Thunder Caller Spikes will let you deal substantial damage to the beast. It requires lightning to fire and when it hits the target, nearly lightning attacks will be redirected towards the arrow, causing it to explode andunching a lightning spear through the wound." As she reached the final equipment, the purple and white shard, Allura looked at Alice. "This is what''ll allow you to assist Ria in this hunt. Blight Caller Shard. The Blight Caller is a 5 star beast that could be considered the enemy of the Storm Leviathan. Using this shard will allow you to manifest the powers of the Blight Caller to cancel out the abilities used by the Storm Leviathan. When Ria cannot dodge certain attacks, it''ll be up to you to protect her. Not only that, after using this shard, you will be able to weaken the Leviathan for a brief period of time. "It''s made from concentrated Blight Caller Blood so if needs be, you can snack on it and treat it as Abyss Blood but that''s only as ast resort. Remember, this is Ria''s hunt. Interfere too much and it''ll be troublesome. With other''s wanting to hunt the same beast, I''m not afraid that Ria wouldn''t be able to contribute the most. What I''m worried about is you idently doing too much!Allura reminded as Alice nodded her head. She could still remember how Ria had helped her during her hunt against the Blood Maiden. So long as she makes sure she didn''t wound the beast too much and focused on covering for Ria, things will go smoothly. Meanwhile, Gin had choked on his drink the moment Allura told Alice to snack on the shard if needs be. "Allura, you''re¡­ not serious when you told Alice to use that shard as a snack right?" Gin frowned. "Nope, I''m being deadly serious. Trust me, I''m not saying this without reason." Allura reassured. Knowing Alice''s resistance towards the Abyss, eating the shard was more beneficial than just activating it as none of the side effects would linger. If things truly go south, this was their best method to salvage the hunt so that Ria can get her Sigil. Staring at Allura, Gin sighed and leaned back. He had gone through this set of emotions far too many times now and was beginning to just ept the choices. It wasn''t like he could affect what she decides on and if she had told Alice to use it as a backup n then she must have her reasons. ''What a headache¡­'' Gin thought to himself. If it wasn''t for the fact that he was an Abyss Lord and had long grown ustomed to Allura''s insanity and choices, he would''ve lost his own mind by now. Exining how to activate the equipment, they started to n for the fight. As the battle will be happening above Abyss Waters, they had to be careful with how they fight and they will begin the battle using the bow to maximise how much damage Ria could do towards the beast. This is the best way for her to rack up the contributions and once the beast bes enraged, Ria will fight it in close quarters. With the n prepared, the group hired a carriage towards Anivari Chapter 122: Nolan Riding in the carriage to Anivari, Alice couldn''t help but nce back at the city of Zadash. With their next destination in mind, they weren''t going to being back to this ce for a long time considering after the hunt, she and Ria will be making their way to the maind. "So what kind of ce is Anivari?" Alice asked as she sat back in her seat and looked towards Allura. "It''s a pretty small ce. Nothing really remarkable about it. The only reason why I know the ce exists is because an old acquaintance of mine retired there. If he''s still around we should be able to get a pretty good boat to use for this hunt. If not then we''ll have to figure something else out without stepping into the ughter Docks." Allura recalled as the acquaintance she had in mind was an old man called Nn. Nn wasn''t someone famous or powerful, merely a normal civilian who was good with his hands and decided to retire early to a remote city. "You don''t have to concern yourselves with the city since we won''t be staying for long. With what Gin found out, we shouldn''t waste too much time since there are others trying to hunt down the same beast we''re going after." Allura waved her hand dismissively. "But if we''re going against others, shouldn''t we hurry up then?" Ria furrowed her brows but Gin shook his head. "I doubt they''ll be able to finish the hunt quickly unless they want to fail the hunt with not enough contributions. By my estimations, it should take them 4 days to kill the beast?" Gin shrugged. "And we''re supposed to just rock up and steal the kill?" Ria raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Exactly." Allura nodded. With a hunt like this, it was best to let the others tire themselves out first. Otherwise they would not only have to deal with the beast but also other Hunters. "The hardest part will be how to run from the ce. Even if you don''t get the kill, I''m pretty sure the rich m*therf*cker trying to get the Sigil and the Harvesters won''t let you two leave for free." Allura chuckled as both Alice and Ria sighed at the same time, knowing that they''ll have to run for their lives after getting the kill. "Either way, it won''t be the challenge you originally anticipated but it''s still good. You''ll have to get used to fighting others for the reward in the future anyways." Allura shrugged. "Would we need to kill them?" Alice asked curiously. She wasn''t against killing since it didn''t bother her but she wasn''t sure about the consequences of doing so. The only times she''s killed so far were when she was a ve and the Cultist. Both of which basically had no consequences. "Hmm¡­ Honestly I would suggest you to avoid doing so if you can. Unless you want to deal with all of the witnesses." Hearing Allura''s reply, Alice nodded her head. "You won''t need to kill your way out. Just focus on running away once the Hunt is finished." Gin exined as they would step in if things got ugly. After all, if they arrivete and still earn the contributions needed then it was their fault for not being able to do enough with the time given to them. The journey to Anivari took roughly a day with no beasts daring to approach the carriage. With two Abyss Lord level beings guarding the carriage, even thinking about attacking meant death. Naturally, this meant the journey was smooth as they soon approached the hamlet of Anivari. Looking towards the hamlet, Alice could see a handful of houses and some boats docked by a wooden pier. It couldn''tpare to Zadash nor the ughter Docks and Alice wasn''t sure how they were supposed to get a boat that was suitable for embarking on a hunt against the Storm Leviathan. Giving her thanks to the driver, Allura led the group into the hamlet and they received a few confused and wary looks. "Pardon me sir, do you happen to know Nn Ziroy? He should be an old shipwright that lives in this hamlet." Allura asked with a smile. Upon hearing that they were looking for Nn, the man immediately frowned. "No I don''t. I don''t know anyone who''s called that." He shook his head before turning around and running away as fast as he could. Blinking her eyes in confusion, Allura scratched her hair before looking to see if there were anyone else whom she could ask but none of the residents seemed to be willing to help now that they made their goal known. "Well¡­ this is unexpected." Allura crossed her arms as she thought this would be a simple task. "Want me to look for him?" Gin offered. Thinking about it for a moment, Allura nodded her head. They were only here for a day so it didn''t matter too much on how they go about finding her acquaintance. With Allura giving him in the green light, Gin kneeled down for a moment before cing his hand against the ground. "Care to exin what he looks like?" "Hmm¡­ He should be old, grey hair, a pair of sses and a clean face with no beard. It''s been quite a few years since Ist saw him so I''m not sure about what he looks like now." Allura shrugged. "Well I have a few that matches your description. One of which isn''t exactly in good condition. Might exin the sudden displeasure that man felt." Gin frowned. Hearing this, Allura had a bad feeling in her heart and had Gin lead them to the location of the injured man. Walking over to a remote corner of the vige, they could see an old wooden house with an old woman, preparing to go fishing. Upon seeing the group approach, she immediately ran back to the house and picked up a spear. "W-What do you want now?!" She shouted, pointing the spear at the group. "Woah there, we''re just here to find someone called Nn Ziroy. Do you know him? I''m an old acquaintance of his." Allura raised her hand in surrender as she slowly approached but the old woman didn''t drop her guard. "N-no I don''t! Please leave!" She shouted out, not wanting Allura to get any closer. "Look, we''re not here to hurt any of you. I just want to see if the injured man in the house is the person I know. If he''s not, we''ll leave. If he is, we''ll help him okay?" Allura sighed as she wasn''t sure how she should deal with the woman in front of her. Biting her lip, the woman looked at Allura up and down in hesitation. The man inside the house needed help but she wasn''t sure if she should let the group approach. The fact that they''re respecting her space instead of just barging in was swaying her impression of them. After a brief period of silence, she sighed and nodded her head. "My¡­ Huband is inside. He needs help immediately." She bit her lip and gripped the edges of her shirt. She prayed that they knew her husband so that they could give him the help he needed. Stepping through the door, the group was immediately assaulted by a deep pungent smell that even caused Allura to take a step back. Closing her eyes for a moment, she opened them and stepped into the main room where they could see a ''man'' sitting on the sofa. ". . . Nn." Allura muttered after a moment of silence. Stepping behind Allura, Alice was horrified by what she saw. Sickly green flesh and scales could be seen rupturing fromrge pustules while gills pped on his neck. Sharp teeth dug through his skin and the edges of his human flesh looked as though it was rotting away. Half of his face had been melted with some of his bones being exposed. Large fish eyes could be seen around the infected flesh as Nn turned his head slightly and caught sight of Allura. "Ah¡­ How¡­ Many years... Has it been?" He muttered. "Far too many old friend. I¡­ Don''t know how I can help you." Allura sighed as she kneeled down in front of him. Even without hearing what had happened, Allura could guess as this was a sign of consuming arge amount of Abyss Blood within a short period of time. All of the side effects had fought to manifest themselves, resulting in this mass of flesh that was growing out of Nn''s body. "I¡­ Know my condition well. A pitiful end." Nn sighed, mustering as much strength as he could. "I have¡­ Some blood that can ease the pain. But it will not change your condition." Allura hesitated since she didn''t expect to see him in this state. "Yes please¡­ Even talking¡­ Is difficult right now." Nn nodded. Reaching into her jacket, Allura rummaged around for a bit before pulling out a small vial of blue blood. Opening the vial, she poured the liquid into his mouth. "Fu¡­ Thank you." Nn smiled. There was no discernible change in his disposition but he seemed to have regained some strength. Sitting up slightly, he looked at Allura. "So¡­ I don''t suppose you''vee to this remote ce just to say hi." "No. I had nned toe here to ask you for a boat but¡­ I suppose that is impossible now. Can you tell me what happened?" Allura asked with a sigh. "Just annoying the wrong people at the wrong time. Some rogue Hunters wanted my boats and well, I was in the way so they left me in this state." Nn smiled bitterly. "Would you like me to hunt them down?" Allura asked. There wasn''t much else she could do for him other than to ease his suffering for a bit. "If it is no problem for you. Though they might be pretty far away now." "Don''t worry. I''ll make sure they suffer worse than what they did to you." Allura promised. "Thank you¡­" Standing up, she sighed softly before leading everyone else out of the room. "Can my husband be healed?" The old woman asked as Allura shook her head. "I''m sorry. But if it gets too painful for him use this. It''ll ease him into a deep slumber where he can pass on peacefully with no pain." Allura pulled out a small vial of blood for the woman who broke down crying. Stepping away from the house, Allura took a deep breath. "We''re going to hunt some b*stards first before we leave." Chapter 123: Alluras Anger Looking at Allura from behind, Alice could tell that there was a deep anger simmering beneath the surface. ''The rogue Hunters didn''t even finish him off but instead left him in this state¡­'' Alice thought to herself while ncing back at the house. To her, this was her worst nightmare. She didn''t know if her resistance to the Abyss would disappear one day and this would be her fate. She had long lost count of her fear when being injected with Abyss Blood, the fear when watching her own body mutate and change before her very eyes. Shaking her head, she nced at Ria who had a bitter expression on her face. She didn''t know what to say either as she didn''t expect to see such a sight. As for Gin, he was calm since he had no ties to the man but expressed his annoyance towards the rogue Hunters. "Nn said they came for his boat. They should still be down this channel. From the looks of things, they attacked pretty recently too so we should be able to catch up without too much issue." Allura said as she pulled out a cigarette. Taking a deep breath, she sighed out before ncing back. "I''ll leave a few of the weak ones to you two. I''ll deal with the rest of them myself." Hearing this, Alice and Ria nodded as they weren''t going to stop Allura from venting her anger. Tapping the ground with his fingers, several skeletal birds appeared from the ground as they took flight. "I''ll see if I can track them down." Gin muttered as Allura nodded her head before leaning against a wooden pir. She had her eyes closed and didn''t say another word. ''I suppose this kind of cruelty is not unique to the Zenia family¡­ It was like that back at the ughter Docks and the same here.'' Alice thought to herself. With no one being able to ignore the side effects of the Abyss except for her, there is always a guillotine above the heads of every one who drinks the cursed blood. Someone could sneak arge dosage into your drink or food without you knowing, stab you with a needles like what happened to her during her birthday celebration¡­ The threat of the Abyss is something that no one can deny. ''Can I evolve my fire to the point it can heal people? Since I''m the only known person that is unaffected¡­ Can I extend my protection using Sigils?'' If this was possible, she could stop incidents like this from happening in the future. She was not oblivious to the cruelty that the Zenia family shows to others, not just to herself. Their legacy of blood was built upon a mountain of corpses of people who died a horrid death. She was just the one lucky enough to survive due to her body. ''Allura." Alice called out suddenly as Allura nced up. "Mnm?" "Do you think I can¡­ stop side effects from happening using my fire? You know how it can burn away Sigil powers and stop them from using their abilities? If I can find more Sigils that''ll manifest the potential of my blood, would it be possible to ''burn'' away the side effects?" Alice asked as Allura was silent. She hadn''t thought of this before but now that Alice had mentioned it, there was indeed the possibility. But it was uncertain as Alice''s condition was something not even her master could exin. "It''s possible. But how would we even find beasts that''ll give you the Sigils you need? Considering the nature of yourst hunt, the Blood Maiden was a special beast created by the Cult''s experiments. I doubt you can run into a beast like that anytime soon." Allura shrugged. "True¡­" Alice sighed, it was not going to be as easy as she thought. Not only that, but if she was to take a healing ability for others as one of her Sigils then her own fighting power would be decreased as a result. "Well don''t be discouraged. I''m sure something will pop up for you." Allura reassured since she has Ca helping her. If it was anyone else, Allura would say it''s impossible. But with Ca curating Alice''s bounties and helping her find the right target, it was simply a matter of time for her to find the target she needs. "Found them. They''re just on the outskirts of the ughter Docks and seemingly sailing out to sea. It''s a rather sizable group so they might''ve recruited a few people from the ughter Docks. I don''t see anyone too strong but there are probably a few that''ll be too much for these two to handle." Gin said as she nced towards Alice and Ria. "That''s fine. I''ll take care of the majority. Just make sure Alice and Ria don''t get hurt." Allura nodded as she stood up and made her way over to Alice and Ria. "I don''t suppose you want me to carry you there as well now do you?" Allura asked with a smirk, lightening the mood. "I''ll pass. You already have your hands full and I''d rather not be seen being carried by someone else." Gin coughed as it would be an embarrassment for him if he let that happen. "Lead the way then." Nodding his head, Gin wrapped himself with dark energy before soaring into the sky with Allura following closely behind. Flying across the sky, Alice could barely keep her eyes open with how fast they were going. And in the blink of an eye, they were now hovering above a boat that was sailing in the middle of the Abyss Waters. "Careful not to drop into the water. Keep away from the edges and feel free to knock them in if you have to." Allura warned as she dived down headfirst. Landing on the boat, she took a deep breath and scanned the deck with several Hunters looking at her in confusion followed by wariness. "What the hell do you think you''re doing!? Who the hell are you?!" One of the Hunters shouted with a frown. "This is a nice boat you got there. Care to tell me how you got your hands on it?" Allura asked with a smile as she could already tell that these were the people who stole Nn''s ship. After all, his signature emblem hadn''t been removed yet and it was clear to see. "This is Harvester''s business. If you have an issue, you can take it up with my boss, we''re simply Harvesters doing what we''re told." One of the Harvesters replied as he had a bad feeling about this woman. There was something about her that warned him not to annoy her. After all his years as a Harvester, there were people who seemed reasonable but wouldn''t mind killing you in a heartbeat. "Harvester business you say? Very well. You seem like a reasonable man, can you answer me one simple question?" Allura smiled. There were a few Hunters who were aiming their abilities towards Allura but hadn''t made a move yet. "Who was there when you acquired this ship from a man called Nn?" She asked simply while trying her best to control herself. She knew that some of these people were recruited from the ughter Docks so there were no need to kill them all. Furrowing his brows for a moment, the man felt conflicted. On one hand, it was his employer who was paying an exorbitant amount of money for this trip and to protect the ship. Yet on the other was a group of four, three were hovering in the air and this woman was giving him the chills. Taking a deep breath, he sighed and raised his hand. "I wasn''t there when it happened. I was recruited from the ughter Docks for a high price. If you have an issue with my boss then it''s no business of mine. You can talk with him." He shook his head and stood to the side. "Ggar?! It''s just one woman! Are you crazy?" One of his friends shouted as Ggar nced over. "Most of the people here were hired from the ughter Docks except for the Hunters and the boss. They already had the boat when they hired us." Ggar exined as he leaned against the railings. "I see¡­ Thank you. You''re a smart one." Allura praised with a smile as she gestured for Gin toe down with Alice and Ria. "Well if there are any issues with this boat, the employer failed to mention it so it''s none of my business. Please, do as you wish." Ggar gestured for Allura to do whatever she wanted. As Alicended on the deck, she noticed that most of the Hunters here had 4 Sigils with a few having only three. "Seems like we''ll be rather diplomatic with this one. No need to fight unless they make the first move." Allura chuckled as she made her way to the captain''s quarters. Just when some of the Hunters were about to stop Allura, a single nce was enough to send chills down their spine. The fear that rooted them to the stop reminded them of their first Hunt when faced against a beast that could kill them with a single swipe. It was at this moment they realised that this woman was dangerous! Opening the door, Allura ducked down slightly as she was too tall for the door frame and stepped inside. She could see three people standing around the desk who simultaneously turned to her in confusion. "Who the hell are you?" The captain asked with a frown as he was wondering why it was rowdy outside. "Just a passerby. Say, you wouldn''t happen to know what happened to an old man called Nn would you?" Allura asked as she grabbed one of their chairs and sat down. "You see, I couldn''t help but notice you have one of his boats. In fact, I might even go as far as to say this is probably hisst boat. Now, how do you think I felt seeing dear old Nn about to die because someone fed him a bunch of Abyss Blood and left him to die?" Allura asked as the Captain understood that she was hostile. Without hesitation, he activated his Sigil and a metallic stinger erupted from his body, piercing towards her. *BANG! CRACK!! Flicking the stinger with her finger, Allura shattered it with ease as she narrowed her eyes. At that moment, all three felt a heavy weight crushing against their body as their legs gave out, causing them to copse on the floor. "Now, how do you think I should take revenge?" Chapter 124: Alluras Anger Part 2 "Now, how do you think I should take revenge?"Allura asked as she kneeled down in front of her captain. Grabbing him by his hair, she lifted him up and stared at him. "Well? How should I deal with the b*stard that turned my old friend into a half beast half human mess? Well?" Allura asked once more. She was no longer smiling and her tone was cold. Unable to utter a word, the Captain felt as though a terrifying beast was baring its fangs at him, leaving him unable to react in fear of making the beast bite down, killing him in an instant. Sighing out softly, she stood up while keeping her grip on his hair. "Are you two involved as well?" Allura asked, narrowing her eyes towards the other two that was in the room. Turning pale, they both shook their heads in a panic knowing that if they were, they would be the target of this woman''s anger. "Well no matter. There are ways to verify the truth." Grabbing the other two by their cors, Allura threw the three of them outside before looking over to Gr. "Were all three involved in taking this boat or just the Captain?" Allura asked as Ggar furrowed his brows as two sets of panicked gazes focused on him. "All three were there already. I''m not sure if they were involved or not. I just know me and my group of Harvesters were hired when they docked in ughter Docks." Ggar shrugged. He couldn''t help but feel relieved knowing he chose to let this woman do whatever she wanted to do. The fact that she had the power to drag all three out with ease was more than enough proof to tell him that the most dangerous person on this boat right now was her! "I see¡­ And you''re saying the three of them are already on the boat by the time they''ve docked at the ughter Docks yes?" Allura smiled as Ggar nodded his head. "Perfect. Seems like all three of you are responsible. Gin, can I trouble you to get me a barrel of the Abyss Water?" Allura asked as Gin nodded his head. Despite how Allura was normally, she could either be the kindest person you ever met or the cruelest. Subjecting Nn to a fate worse than death was thest thing they should''ve done. Grabbing a barrel from the ship, Gin filled it almost all the way with Abyss Water and ced it next to Allura. "Thank you. Now then, onto the main show. Since you''re the main culprit, let''s see how you like the feeling of having your body turned inside out and mutated before your very eyes." Allura narrowed her eyes as she grabbed him by the head and plunged it into the barrel, forcing him to drink the Abyss Water. Most of the crew turned their head away as his muffled screams mixed with gurgles rang out. Allura continued to plunge his head into the barrel before pulling it up so he could breathe. With each push, teeth would fall out as his skin started to bubble. Blood boiled in his throat as spikes, stingers and tentacles started to push through the gaps of his skin. The Sigils around his body started to manifest themselves before fading away as he was losing to the influence of the Abyss. Just like Nn, his skin started to melt away, revealing the bones beneath his flesh as even Alice flinched at the way the Captain was squirming while Allura continued to torture him. It wasn''t until Gin grabbed hold of Allura''s wrist did she stop. Panting heavily, she red at Gin who shook his head. "He''s already dead. Calm yourself." Gin reminded as Allura paused before nodding her head. Taking a deep breath, she sighed out before ncing at the rest of the crew who were responsible for Nn''s condition. "Just throw them overboard. If they''re lucky they''ll live. Give them one lifeboat to fight over." Allura ordered, before tossing the Captain''s mangled corpse over the edge and making her way to the quarterdeck. With Gin taking control and having Ggar identify the Harvesters, the Hunters tried to fight back but Gin was able to take care of them easily. Meanwhile, Alice ran after Allura. Arriving at the quarterdeck, Alice could see Allura sitting on the edge while ncing out to sea. "A-are you okay?" Alice asked hesitantly. "Yeah. Sorry you had to see that. Care to take a seat?" Allura smiled as she patted the space next to her. Nodding her head, Alice jogged over before sitting down. "You see¡­ There are very few things I hate in this world. By hate, I don''t mean dislike. I mean something that brings out the anger from within me. First, are the orchestrators of the war that tore down Ayr. Second, are people who force others to mutate through side effects, making them live a life worse than death." Allura sighed as Alice nodded her head. She too hated to see people suffering from the side effects as it always reminded her of her own nightmares. The thought of how much Abyss Blood had been injected into her body over and over again. If all of the side effects were to break out, what kind of monstrosity would she be? "I suppose it''s rather hypocritical considering I used the very method I despised to take revenge against the Captain." Allura chuckled as she sighed out. "I think he deserved it if he made someone else go through that pain. Even though it''s been a long time¡­ I can still remember the pain I felt when I wasn''t used to the side effects." Alice muttered. From feeling the pain of her skin peeling off to her insides tearing through her body, she had felt it all and the sensations were as clear as day in her mind. "You know¡­ When you told me you wanted to see if your fire could remove the side effects, I was quite happy. I had thought that with what you had to go through and your experiences up till now, you would hold a deep grudge against people. And yet you still have the heart to care for those that are suffering. Remember that feeling and never forget it okay? It''s what separates you from beasts in human skin." Allura smiled as she reached out and had Alice lean against her to rx. "Beasts in human skin?" "It''s just a figure of speech. It basically describes people who act like beasts and don''t care for others." Allura exined herself with a soft chuckle. "I see¡­ So not literally." Alice muttered. Hearing this, Allura couldn''t help but smile as she patted Alice''s head. Despite her being the guardian, she found herself being helped by Alice in more ways than one. "Well then, now I''m feeling a little calmer we can probably ask Ggar about his contract with the Captain. Since he was hired, he was most likely informed on what they were doing. We might be able to get some information this way." Allura smiled, feeling refreshed after talking with Alice. Nodding her head, Alice turned around and hopped off the railings as she noticed Gin and Ria waiting by the stairs. "Did you finish your family talk?" Gin smiled as Allura chuckled. "Yes, yes we did. Do you think we''ll be able to enlist the Harvesters help?" Allura asked but Gin shook his head. "I doubt it. The risks in this is simply too high to justify their services. We may be able to get away but they would struggle, bringing them along would only lead them to their deaths and they know this too. Ggar has agreed to share as much as he knows but other than that, they n on heading back with some of the lifeboats." "I see¡­ Well that''s fine. The n was to have Alice and Ria fight it as a duo anyways." Allura nodded as she made her way down. Seeing that most of the Hunters had been tossed overboard with only the Harvesters left, Allura approached Ggar. "So then, what do you have for me?" She asked with a smile. "We know the target for this hunt is the Storm Leviathan. The priority ced on this hunt is the highest I can be, they''re offering the whole corpse so long as we can get the employee his Sigil." Ggar exined as he pulled out a sheet of paper from his pocket. Giving it a quick read, Allura nodded her head. "I can see what you mean. High risk high reward, if you failed then that would be quite the debt for you to pay off." "Considering the beast is as weak as can be right now, there''s no better chance. But oh well, we''re giving up this job since we''d rather not get caught in the fight when you sh with them." Ggarughed as he scratched the tip of his nose. "Indeed. Won''t be able to guarantee that you''ll make it out alive if you decide to join us for the next part. So do you know about the ones who employed you?" "Yes. They''re the Mariya Family, their second son is going after his fifth Sigil and chose the Storm Leviathan as his target. They''ve already dragged the beast away from itsst known location, it should be in the far north now. If you hurry, you should be able to make it there on time." Ggar exined. "Do you know what kind of guards they have with them?" Allura asked as this was the most important question. Depending on who was at the scene, it may prove difficult for Alice and Ria to fight the beast without their interference. "Unfortunately no. We''re just the reinforcement as the hunt isn''t going as they nned. Which is why the Law of Agreement we signed was rtively loose when it came to restrictions. Otherwise, I wouldn''t have been able to take a step back when you wanted to see the boss. But I can assume there are a few high level Sigil bearers standing guard. They probably can''t do much to help with the hunt in fear of messing things up." Hearing this, Allura was silent before nodding her head. "Alright, thank you. Take as many lifeboats as you need to get back to the docks. There should be enough for your crew if you squeeze a little." Bidding farewell to Ggar and his group, Allura had Gin take the helm and steer the boat towards their goal. Chapter 125: Malicus With Gin steering the boat, Allura helped clean up the surface of the boat before gesturing for Ria and Alice to gather around her. "Now that we''re approaching the hunting zone, I want to take this time to give you a brief lesson." Allura smiled while sitting against the railings. "What kind of lesson?" Ria asked, curious as to what else she needed to know. "Lesson on picking Sigils. You see, even though Lightning Ascent is one of the best Sigils you can get, if there is another that synergises with your skills sets more you can go for that one instead, you don''t have to pick Lightning Ascent." Allura exined as she pulled out a poster from her jacket. The poster depicted a young man wearing a suit of armour, wild short hair and a grin on his face. The key detail regarding him was the ck and white lightning that coursed around him while manifesting as a spear in his hands. "Malicus, genius of the Neliphem family. He''s what you would call a pioneer as he went against the standard methods for choosing your Sigils that synergised well with one another. The result of which allowed him to control a new kind of ability yet he is technically limited to just ''one'' Sigil now." Allura exined as she pulled out an old newspaper extract showing his wounded body. cing it on the table, she revealed his back that was covered by onerge Sigil that stretched across his body. "As you know, the Abyss''s powers manifest in the form of Sigils across your body. Depending on what kind of ability it grants, the cement of the Sigil may change though that is merely spection. There are hundreds of theories on why the Sigils appear on certain parts of the body and unfortunately, I don''t have the answers to that. All I know is that what he has is not just your average Sigil thatbined thanks to resonance." Allura shook her head. "The most likely scenario is that he chose Sigils that ovepped one another in terms of power and gained what he has today. Without meeting him and fighting him directly, I have no way of knowing." She shrugged as Malicus deserved the title of Genius since he discovered a secret of the Sigils that no one else in history had discovered. "So if you find something else that fits you better, trust in your guts." Allura smiled as she was also directed to Alice. The fact that her choice had allowed her to discover a new kind of power that could go against the Abyss was proof that they should trust in their instincts. After all, this was their life, their choices and Allura wanted them to live without regrets. "I see¡­ I mean what else can it give me?" Ria asked as from the way Allura worded it before, Lightning Ascent is the best it could offer. "Well other than Lightning Ascent, the Leviathan can give you Sigils that boost lightning effectiveness as well as making your target extra weak to lightning. All things considered, you should look over allthe choices and pick the one that resonates with you the most." She was mainly warning them regarding the possibility of strange Sigils such as the one that Alice got. With how the Abyss was changing after Kaden imnted the Eye in Alice, she couldn''t reject the notion that the Sigil would start the change as well. The established structure of the Abyss was beginning to change as though weing the dawn of a new era. "While we''re waiting to arrive at the battle, Ria you should take this time to practise some archery while Alice can do the same since you''ll be using the bow to kickstart your contribution to the hunt. The faster you can rack up your contribution the better since we''ll be at a disadvantage the longer we stay." Allura chuckled as she had found some bows left behind by the Hunters. Creating some fire with her Sigil, Allura had them float around the boat at high speeds while Ria tried tond her shots. Alice was joining in as she felt rather rxed with the bow. Maybe it was instinct, but whenever she held a weapon, it felt natural for her. Almost as though she knew exactly how she should use it to take the life of another. Aiming it up at the fire, she pulled back on the string and released the arrow. Piercing through two of the fireballs, Alice picked up another arrow and repeated the process. Even when Allura adjusted the speed, she was able to hit them with rtively high uracy. Meanwhile, Ria was struggling once the speed increased. All of her arrows missed as she scratched her hair in frustration. She didn''t want to lose against Alice but she didn''t know how Alice was so urate with her weapons despite only using her dagger most of the time. "How are you so good? It''s the same when you used the threads, it''s like you''ve been using them for years." Ria sighed as she picked up an arrow and tried again, barely missing the fireballs. "Erm¡­ It just kind of happens. Once I get into the flow of things, my body just kind of moves by itself." Alice exined as she wasn''t sure either. Creating a dagger, she swung it around her body for a short while before flicking it towards the fireballs, piercing two of them while piercing a third on the way back. "It''s like¡­ If you see a road and you''re driving the carriage. You see a turn to the right so you turn right, you see a turn to the left and you turn left. I just have to go through with the motions in my mind." Alice exined as best as she could. Everything she did with a weapon was focused on taking the life of her opponent. She didn''t know how she became like this but after arriving in the Abyss, this mindset had shown itself more than once. The bloodthirst she feels when she fights, the sadistic pleasure and the maniacal grin on her face as she feels the life of her opponents disappear within her hands, it was strange. Scary even. Almost as though she was taking a backseat while something else entirely took over and fought the battles she fought. "Some people are just suited with weapons while others are better with their bodies. Isn''t that why you chose to be a physical fighter Ria?" Allura chimed in as Ria nodded her head. Just like Alice, she felt at ease when fighting in hand to handbat. ''Perhaps Alice sees the world like I do when I fight with my arms and legs¡­'' Ria thought to herself. However, for her, it was a mixture of instinct and muscle memory. She had lost count of how many times she had sparred with her grandfather and Allura, each battle served to hone her instincts and improve her chances of survival. "You also have to take into ount how you approach battle. Ria, you react fast to changes while Alice observes. Try to observe the fireballs, learn their movement pattern and predict their movement." Allura exined. However, there was another reason that Alice was able to reach this level of precision and that was due to Ca. Even if she was to fight in close quartersbat, the fact that Ca can boost her perception to the point the worlds seems to move slowly is a huge boon to her that''ll only grow as she continues to get stronger. "Hmm¡­ alright!" Nodding her head, Ria took a deep breath and focused up. Narrowing her eyes at the fireball, she pulled back her arrow and held it there. Observing the movement, she didn''t move a single muscle and spent the next moments watching without a word. "Remember how they moved before. Look for a pattern. See how they try shake off your aim and the reasoning behind their dodges." Alice''s voice rang out as Ria let go of her arrow. Watching it fly through the air, it pierced two of the fireballs dead centre. "Yes! Gotcha b*tch!" Ria shouted out in joy as she turned to Alice and raised her hands expecting a high five back. Remembering this motion, Alice smiled and high fived Ria. "Congrats." Allura smiled, feeling happy that they were helping each other out. ''This is how it should be.'' "Once you get a hang of this level, we''ll be moving to harder levels where the fire moves faster and bes more erratic okay?" She called out while enjoying the breeze. Despite the fact that they were sailing above the Abyss Waters, Allura felt at peace. "We''ll be sailing for about a day before we catch up. They''ll be moving slower to drag the Leviathan away into what I can assume to be a trap that''ll make it easier for them to kill the beast. I''ve sent a bird ahead of us and its already found some shipwrecks, they''re running out of boats." Gin called out as Allura nodded her head. "That''s probably why they were in a rush to get their hands on as many boats as they could. It''ll be good news for us if they''re almost gone by the time we''re there. I''d appreciate it as well if the Leviathan wiped them out so these two won''t have to worry about the others fighting them for the kill." ### Standing on arge warship with a frown, a man with long ck hair and a pair of purple eyes watched in silence. He wore fancy suit and tie and tapped his fingers away at the railing. "How much longer will this take? We''ve been out at sea for 3 days now and this beast still isn''t close to death. How many Hunters have we lost already?" He asked while ncing back at his attendant. "I''m sorry young master, but if we go any faster there is an inherent risk that you will not be guaranteed a Sigil. Even if this Storm Leviathan has lost most of its powers trying to reforge its body so it can reach the next stage, it is still not an easy beast to weaken." The attendant reported as the man sighed and nodded his head. "The reinforcements should arrive soon, once they arrive we''ll be able to bring this hunt to a close young master." "Alright. I can''t stand it any longer out here so they better make it quick." He was Haerun Mariya, second son of the Mariya family and the one who was contending against Ria for the Sigil of the Storm Leviathan. Chapter 126: Infiltrating The Fleet As Gin was steering the boat, he narrowed his eyes before gesturing towards Allura. In the distance, they could see dark storm clouds with asional shes of lightning. They had already steered past several wreckages on their way here with monsters floating around the debris, those of which they assumed to be the survivors that unfortunately fell into the waters. "Alright! Ria, Alice! Get ready. We''ll be approaching them soon and I doubt they''ll be happy to see us there." Allura called out as Alice and Ria made their way out of the sleeping quarters. Since the journey was going to take a while, after their training they took the time to rest up so they could be at peak condition. Ria had already equipped the gauntlets and boots while holding the bow and a quiver on her back. As for Alice, she was holding onto the shard in her pouch, waiting for the time she needed to use it. Her role for the main part would be to steer the ship and make sure Ria has ground that she could step on. "Remember, if the ship takes damage and is going to sink don''t hesitate to try to take another ship. We won''t interfere at all until I deem you dead, okay?" Allura reminded since this was going to be a good lesson for them. If they find it easier than expected then they can continue to ''steal'' kills in the future. "Alright. I suppose I have to shoot them at max range?" Ria asked but Allura shook her head. "If you think you can hit then go for it. If not then don''t waste your arrows. We only have a limited stock and they''re what can help you rack up contribution points quickly. When you start the fight, expect heavy resistance. I doubt they''ll speed up their rate of killing the beast since they need to make sure the second son gets the Sigil. Use that to your advantage." Allura smiled as she nodded to Gin and the two of them disappeared, leaving them to deal it with on their own now. Taking a deep breath, Alice sighed out before running over to the helm. "So, what do you think our n should be? We''re not sure how close the beast is to dying so making ourselves known too early might be bad." Ria sighed as Alice was silent before opening her mouth. "Allura said that they won''t speed up their rate of killing and that we should use that to our advantage. What do you think she has in mind?" "No clue. But going by how she usually does things, she probably wants us to find a way to contribute overtime and stall right? The only way I can think of doing this is infiltrate but we''ll need to convince them we''re reinforcement." Ria sighed. "What if you use the Law of Agreement? Make them think we got into an ident but because of the Law of Agreement, we have no choice but to keep going even though it''s just the two of us. I''m not sure how far reaching the Law is so not sure if it''ll wear off after death." Alice shrugged. Thinking about it for a moment, Ria understood that it was probably their best choice. "Alright, I''ll think of something on my end. Plus, I doubt they expect a three star and two star Hunter to try steal the kill from under their nose." Ria smirked as Alice nodded her head. "But if it goes wrong we''ll have to fight straight away." Alice reminded since this n had its own risks. If they decide to interfereter, it''ll be difficult to rack up enough contributions and leave it up for a gamble. But if they go with this method and they don''t buy the lies, they''ll be wiped out immediately. "True¡­ Even though grandfather and Allura have us covered, they won''t be around when we go on our own after this. We need to start properly ounting for the risks we take." Ria sighed as she leaned against the railings. After contemting for a moment, she decided to stay with this n as it was their best hope of avoiding conflict while racking up contributions safely. They''ll only need to act out once the beast is almost dead and push the contributions in their favour. "Let me get some normal arrows as well. Thankfully the Thunder Caller Arrows don''t look too different and if they''re in a pickle, I doubt they''ll look too closely." Ria shrugged as Alice nodded her head and started to steer the boat closer to the storm that was brewing in the distance. ### "Young Master, we have a slight problem¡­" "Hm? What is it?" Haerun asked with a frown. "We have a ship steering towards us. We assume it''s more reinforcements but¡­" The attendant hesitated since he wasn''t sure on the origins of this ship. "But what? Spit it out. If it''s reinforcements then good, we''ve lost enough men as it is with one of the ships even breaking apart the moment it arrived." Haerun scoffed as his patience was running thin. The fact that this hunt had taken this long was a disgrace, especially with a beast that was at its weakest. Even now, he was still firing off his abilities whenever he had the chance to keep his contributions high. If he didn''t then he wouldn''t be able to get this Sigil. "That''s the issue Young Master¡­ There are only two people on that ship and they look rtively young." The attendant scratched his cheek in confusion as this was rather absurd. Even if they were running low on Hunters, this kind of reinforcement was almostughable. "Ha??? Two? Have one of our Captains ask them what happened. If they''re curious people send them away. If they''re reinforcements have them help out. The faster we finish this hunt the better. I cannot stand it out here any longer." Haerun ordered as the attendant nodded his head and ryed the order to one of their Captains who is overlooking the situation. ### With Alice and Ria approaching the storm, they could see the beast from a distance and Ria had a forced smile on her face. Even though she knew the risks, she didn''t expect this beast to be muchrger than normal and not only that, but an army of boats was also circling the beast while constantly firing long ranged abilities at it. "Allura wanted us to fight that thing with just us two and some tools¡­" Ria muttered, feeling grateful that someone else had decided to invest in this hunt. Noticing someone approaching them from the fleet on a lifeboat, Ria gestured to Alice and nodded her head. Whether or not they could infiltrate this hunt now depended on Ria. If she fails to convince them then it''ll be a difficult battle. Taking a deep breath, Ria prepared herself. ''I need to mix lies with the truth if I want the best chance at convincing them. I know that the Captain sought reinforcements from the ughter Docks and had them sign Law of Agreements but it was shoddy. He probably set the conditions for fulfilment wrong otherwise Ggar and the others would be forced to fulfil their end of the bargin.'' Ria thought to herself as Law of Agreements, when done properly, can extend past death of the original contractor. If the Captain set the rules properly and fulfilled his end of the bargin, Ggar would''ve been forced to help out. ''Since the Law of Agreement was broken and Ggar could leave, I''ll use it to my advantage. The boat could be attacked by a swarm of Sirens, an umon beast but not impossible. There are some damages to the boat but not much¡­'' Ria thought to herself as she watched a man jump over the railings andnd on the deck. He was a muscr man that was almost as tall as Allura,rge tattoos were sprawled across his body in the shape of a dragon. A pair of crimson eyes with white and blue hair. He didn''t wear anything on his upper half except for a pair of gauntlets. "Name and business." He grumbled as his eyes scanned over Ria''s equipment before looking at Alice who gave a small wave. "Ria, we''re here as reinforcement for the hunt. Unfortunately, we ran into some trouble on the way here and only me and Alice remain. But... because of the Law of Agreement, we can''t turn back so we''re here to help." Ria reported seriously as she stood straight like a soldier. Narrowing his eyes, he grumbled but nodded his head. "What were you attacked by? There''s not much damage on this ship so it''s probably a beast that does mental damage." "A swarm of Sirens sir, a kind we haven''t seen before. Me and Alice are lucky since we were off shift at the time. We only have some of the basic equipment left over in the storage to try and help." Ria replied, not wanting to give too much information or else it''ll expose the lies. She had to y into his own thoughts and conclusions that he ended up at to increase the chances of their sess. "Alright, thatss doesn''t seem too familiar with handling the helm so I''ll take over this ship. I''ll have some recruits join us to man the ship while you help with the hunt. How many Sigils do you two have?" He asked as Ria manifested her Sigils, revealing that she had three while gesturing for Alice to do the same. "Three and two huh? No wonder you got lucky when you''re off shift. If Carlos got taken by the Sirens then you two would''ve been taken too if you were above deck. Count you blessings, this hunt is almost over so it''s rtively safe if you have someone capable at the helm." He smirked before walking over to Alice. Taking a step back, Alice allowed him to take control of the ship before jogging down to Ria. Smiling at each other, they knew that they had seeded and all that was left now was to join this hunt and rack up her contribution points. Chapter 127: Joining The Hunt With the ship now sailing towards the fleet, Alice and Ria began to feel nervous as they were now deep into enemy territory. Expose themselves too soon and ''death'' was guaranteed. They could see that out of the original fleet, only 8 of the ships survived not including their own.Countless wounded Hunters could be seen leaning against the walls while they took turns to fire their abilities at the beast. ''Most of them are four star Hunters. Even if they''re injured, they have ess to Resonance that me and Ria don''t have. Though the main issue was still the five star Hunters that surround us¡­'' Alice though to herself as she observed their surroundings. Shaking her head, Alice sighed as it was still too early to be thinking about fighting these Hunters and Harvesters. The key they needed to do here was to rack up contribution points against the beast that is the Storm Leviathan. Compared to its proud deposition that she saw in her mind, this beast was bruised and battered to the verge of death. Large cavities could be seen across its body with blood and Abyss Water mixing with one another. Its organs pulsed with every breath while lightning flickered faintly across its innards. Countless spikes were broken across its body and it was left with just one arm out of the original four that it had. As for its eyes, it had been almost blinded with only 1 eye left and swung wildly around it. Despite all of the damage it took, the power itmanded was still a force to be reckoned as even a single swing was enough to kill a Hunter with three Sigils. Had it not been for the fact that it lost ess to most of its lightning in an attempt to evolve, it wouldn''t be ced in this precarious state. As they approached the fleet, the Hunter had Alice steer the helm once more as he exined the situation and gathered some resting Hunters to help man the ship so that they could attack. Most of the other ships were armoured to the core while heavy ballistas and cannons were mounted within the ship. Despite the fact that standard weaponry was less effective against a beast of this magnitude, a little was still better than none. ncing at one another, Alice and Ria nodded their head as Alice borrowed some weaponry from another ship, mainly a bow and some arrows so that she could help out without using the shard. The bow was of a lesser quality whenpared to Ria''s bow and the same went with the arrows. However, they were sufficient to keep up the act. "All hands on deck! Prepare to join the fight! Man the balistas or the cannons below deck! If you have weapons of your own use them! This fight is almost over!!! Rest is just around the corner! Keep pushing!" The man who greeted Alice and Ria shouted out. His name was Fulton and he was one of the few five star Hunters responsible for overlooking this whole operation. With him taking charge, a few of the Hunters seemed relieved but the fact that so many ships had already been sunk proved that even a shipmanded by a five star hunter could disappear at a moment''s notice. "Remember, learn its pattern and movement before firing at its weak spots. Seems like you might be able to sneak an arrow into its body through the cavity if you''re precise enough." Alice reminded as Ria still missed shots but her uracy had been improved drastically. "Don''t worry, I know. I have to be careful with these arrows right? I just have to overcharge them with lightning when I fire and it''ll sort itself out." Ria reassured with a smile. She liked to y around but even she knew this was a time to be serious. Walking over to the edge, Ria narrowed her eyes and pulled out a normal arrow. It was best to mislead their expectations first, once they ''think'' that she was limited by what she could aplish with her Sigils, that''s when she''ll unleash her true power with them being taken off guard. Activating her Sigils, lightning flickered from her body as she fired the arrow without hesitation. *BANG!!! Rushing through the air with a trail of lightning flickering behind it, the arrow stabbed deep into the flesh of the beast before erupting with a pulse of electricity that burned the Leviathan''s flesh. ''I''ll fool them with these attacks for now while cing the Thunder Caller Arrows within the beast''s body. I can have remote nodes ced on the arrow tip and detonate them when I need.'' Ria thought to herself as she fired off a few more normal arrows before cing a Thunder Caller Arrow on her bow. Since they required arge stimuli of lightning to activate, it was potentially possible to have themy as traps since she had control over her nodes. All that was left was to make sure she could sneak it past their detection. Charging the arrow with lightning as she had done several times, Ria let go of the string and watched as the arrow shoot through the sky. Taking a step back and taking a deep breath, Ria ''took a break'' as she couldn''t keep firing off high powered shots overwise they would wonder if she was truly an average Hunter or Harvester. With her initial disy, she had already attracted a bit of attention towards their ship. "Grab tight! The beast''s focus is on us!" Fulton shouted out as he took a hard right with the helm and barely dodged a tentacle that rose up and tried to m down on the ship. Surprised by how easy it was for the ship to turn, Fulton couldn''t help but wonder where they found such a ship as well as a Hunter like Ria. ''I didn''t think the ughter Docks had a Hunter and a ship of this quality¡­ It''s a shame most of the crew got dragged off but seems like we''re blessed to get her help. This Hunt should be going slightly faster than before.'' Fulton thought with a grin as he conjured a wall of crimson energy that protected them from the Leviathan''s attack. Since he and the other five star Hunters couldn''t assist much, defending and helping out with the ship was still doable as it didn''t raise the contribution points by much. ncing up at this wall of force, Alice narrowed her eyes as she took over Ria''s job for now, firing several arrows but didn''t infuse them with her purple mes. After all, if she were to do that, there was a high chance that the fire would just spread across the inside of the beast and kill it from the inside out. That was something she wasn''t willing to risk as she didn''t have total control over her mes. Instead, she focused on shooting her arrows where it hurt. Between the dips, deep in the intestines or lodging it above the stomach. She made sure her arrows struck the already exposed weaknesses. ''Even if I don''t use my Sigils, I shouldn''t get many questions my way since I''m doing quite a bit of damage.'' Alice thought to herself as she noticed a wave of lightning crashing towards them. "Everyone duck!" Fulton shouted as loud as he could, steering the ship away from the impact yet it still struck the ship. After the wave of lightning, spikes shot out from the beast''s body as Alice threw her dagger towards the mast and used it to pull herself from safety. Attaching herself to the sail, she narrowed her eyes at the beast and fired several arrows in retaliation. A few of the unfortunate Hunters were struck by the spikes and were instantly shredded in half as the force of the spikes was not something they should underestimate. Rejoining the fight, Ria gathered her lightning into a normal arrow and detonated it on the side of the beast, forcing it to crash down towards the right side, giving them some room to breathe as some of the Hunters tended to those who were still alive. "Damn¡­ Just one attack and a bunch of them died just like that." Ria muttered with a frown as she climbed up next to Alice. "Yeah, it''s starting to retaliate harder. The fact that it''s turned its attention to us means your attacks have clearly annoyed it. Not sure how that trantes into contribution b- wait¡­" Alice shrugged as she noticed something dark swimming below the surface of the Abyss Waters. It was hard to notice had it not been for Ca but she knew she saw several shadows moving in the water. Widening her eyes, Alice understood what the Leviathan was nning as she watched as it reared its entire body back, dwarfing the fleet with itsrge size and let out an ear rupturing howl. Tens of giant tentacles broke through the surface of the water and loomed over the ships like a guillotine, ready to strike down as Alice opened her mouth. "IT''S GOING TO BREAK THE SHIPS I HALF!" Alice shouted out as Ria didn''t hesitate to point her next arrow to the tentacle that was about to m down upon them. Gathering more lightning than before, she fired the arrow only to watch it get pped aside by the tentacle with barely a mark! "Alice!" Ria shouted out as she reached out to grabbed Alice''s arm before jumping out of the way of the m. *BANG!!! Before the tentacle could break the ship in half, Fulton had managed to create a barrier that pushed the tentacle off to the side but was unable to stop the Abyss Water from washing the deck. With the cursed liquiding into contact with several Hunters, their bodies immediately started to react as they began to mutate into beasts of the Abyss. Only 3 of the other ships managed to divert the tentacle in time as one of them belonged to the Young Master who had a face of anger towards the beast. With it taking out 5 ships at once, the finish line seemed to drift further and further away from his grasp. Landing on the unsteady deck, Alice and Ria could see Fulton calling for them to deal with the Hunters that had turned into Abyss beasts first. Only after they were dealt with should they focus on the Leviathan. However, with it abandoning its path to the next stage, the storm raged overhead as it intended to sink everyone with it before it died! Thest desperate act of a beast on the verge of death. Chapter 128: Abyss Hydra "It''s given up on surviving! Everyone! Deal with the mutated Hunters then deal with the beast!" Fulton shouted as he made his way towards the main ship where the young master was located. Hearing this, Alice and Ria looked at one another before nodding their head. Once they deal with these beasts, it''ll be time for them to shine and steal the show. On their ship, there were 3 mutated Hunters while 2 normal Hunters were barely able to fight. Meanwhile, above them, lightning started to rumble with the beast now going all out and giving up its chance of evolving. "I''ll take two, you take one. Careful you don''t get sshed by the water that''s still on the deck." Ria suggested as she jumped back and fired an arrow at one of the beasts. Nodding her head, Alice dashed towards the man on the right. Turning her bracelet into a sword, she narrowed her eyes and infused a small spark of fire in her blood. It was small enough so that even if it did try to go out of control, she could extinguish it without issue. The man had turned into a beast with countless arms erupting from his back while his skin turned pure white. Several different faces emerged from his head as it tore his skin apart while his de merged with his hand. "H-HELP ME! ARGGG!" The man screamed as the blue energy pulsed through his body. What remains of his Sigil could be seen spreading across his body as spikes erupted from the ground. Jumping to the side, Alice was able to see his movements clearly as he seemed to be more upied with making the pain stop than trying to hurt her. The attacks were merely a side effect of him being unable to control his power and his instinct for self-preservation. There was pity in Alice''s eyes as she knew the pain well. ''I''ll end it fast¡­'' She thought to herself as she activated her first Sigil, boosting her speed twofold and closing the gap between them. Four arms crashed down towards her as she twisted her body, cleaving up with her de and shing the arms. Continuing her attack, Alice ducked down before mming her elbow into his chest, causing him to stumble back. "S-STAND BACK!!! DON''T KILL ME!" He screamed out in hysteria. Four Sigils carved deep into his skin as the blue energy shifted to a deep purple with his flesh bubbling beneath the surface of his skin. ''Sh*t! Resonance!'' Alice widened her eyes. She could see the Sigils that floated above his head beginning to link to one another with a briar thorns as she understood that this was an Anti Hunter type resonance. Not only that, but there were also cracks in the designs of his Sigils. ''Is it because he''s turning into something not human? Or am I missing something here?'' Alice thought to herself. With the man activating his resonance, a wave of force pushed Alice back as the hands around his body started to get covered by dark purple scales. "W-ait! No!!! T¡­ This isn''t my resonance!" The man panicked. Erupting from his chest, a dark purple crystal emerged as he wed away at his face. Widening her eyes in horror, Alice watched as his skin tore apart, revealing a set of scales while his fingers merged together and slowly formed serpentine like heads. The flesh around his body started to bubble and grow as his size started to grow. Purple chains started to appear around his flesh as he grabbed them using his ws and tore them apart. *BANG!!! Releasing a baleful aura that shocked the Hunters around them, Alice watched as the Sigils above his head fractured and disappeared before being reced by something else entirely. [Abyss Hydra (Juvenile) - ? ? ? ?] He now had several serpentine heads coiled around his torso and dark purple scales protecting his body. Tworge ws helped him stand upright while his legs had fused together into a tail. ''He turned into an Abyss Beast?!'' Widening her eyes, Alice felt goosebumps on her skin as the threat of danger rang out in her mind. In a panic, she jumped to the side as the Hydra released a stream of dark liquid. Rolling back onto her feet, Alice nced back and saw the liquid ssh onto the body of another Hunter, causing him to scream out in pain and slowly begin to mutate. ''It spat Abyss Water!'' Gritting her teeth, Alice knew that she had to take care of this beast quickly before they were surrounded by more beasts. The faster they deal with this, the faster Ria could resume her fight against the Storm Leviathan. She could already tell that the fight was beginning for real as the sound of thunder strikes rang out across the seas with the beast focusing his attention on the stronger Hunters and leaving them be. Taking a deep breath, Alice dodged another stream of water before turning her de into a dagger. Twisting her body, she threw the dagger at the beast while running to the right. Controlling the dagger remotely using her blood, she swung herself around the beast before pulling the thread, causing the beast to roar out in pain. But Alice wasn''t done. There was a thin stream of her own blood travelling up the thread as she ignited it around the beast''s neck, burning through the flesh and causing it to writhe around in pain. The force of his pull dragged Alice off her foot as she could see the thread beginning to burn away from the repeated uses of her fire. Even though the thread was powerful in deflecting elemental properties, it was still a material that was harvested from an Abyss beast. It was no wonder that the durability would run out quicker when using her mes. Recalling the dagger, Alice pulled back with her arm and had her mes burn off the second of the thread that was around the beast''s neck before reconnecting it to her dagger. Jumping towards the beast, she bent her body back, avoiding a stream of water and stabbing the de into the beast''s tail. Even though her thread had burnt the beast''s neck, it was not enough to decapitate the monster. Before she could get any closer, several heads snapped towards her, calming her mind, she turned her dagger into a de and recalled it to her hand. The moment she grabbed the de, she cleaved up without hesitation, splitting the first head in half before ducking under the second. shing down diagonally, she decapitates the third before stabbing it down the throat of the fourth. Compared to the attacks of the Maiden of the Blood Moon, this was slow and easy to deal with. She could see the gaps in its flurry of attacks, how despite being a beast, there was still fear and panic in his eyes. Somewhere deep down, the Hunter was still conscious within this beast. shing her own forearm with the de, Alice coated it in ayer of violet mes before rushing in. In the blink of an eye, she had breached his defences and stabbed the de into his chest. Adjusting her grip, she tore arge hole in his chest as the mes started to burn away at his insides. Hearing his screams, Alice could only apologise in her mind as she wasn''t able to give him the painless death that she had promised. But she didn''t have the time to worry as another Hunter had been mutated with his water attack. Just as she turned around to face the other Hunter, she saw Ria jump down from above with a lightning infused arrow in hand and split the man in half, killing him in an instant. "Gross. I knew the waters transformed you but I didn''t think it would do so in this manner." Ria frowned as she dealt with her targets quickly. They weren''t able to withstand her attacks as their guard was down due to the pain of transforming. "We can ask Allurater. We need to hurry up and deal with the Leviathan then run while we have the chance." Alice nodded as she had her own questions regarding this matter. "Alright. See if there are any lifeboats left for the Hunters. We''ll escape using this boat once we''re done." Ria nodded as she nced into her quiver. Making a mental note of how many Thunder Caller arrows she had left, she activated her Sigils and wrapped herself in lightning then jumped towards the Leviathan''s back. Even if she was discovered, the strong Hunters wouldn''t be able to target her without risking the chance of hurting the Beast. If they were to do that, it would put the entire Hunt in jeopardy and she gambled on whether or not they dare take that risk. To them, she was just a simple three star Hunter, they wouldn''t expect that she''ll try to get a five star Sigil for her forth. ### "Gods dammit! We need to kill this thing now or else it''s going to sink all of us!" Haerun shouted as he sent out a wave of lightning to counter the Leviathan. Even if they were to seed in this hunt, it''ll be useless to them if they had no boats to get away from this ce. "We cannot make this any faster! If we do, we risk making you lose this Sigil." One of the five star Hunters replied as he was focusing on defending the ships and making sure they don''t take extra damage. But the Storm Leviathan was akin to a natural disaster right now. Each swing of its arm conjured a storm that crashed down upon the barriers surrounding the ships. Each breath released a torrent of lighting and each movement it made cause the Abyss Waters to rise up like a tsunami. Gritting his teeth, Haerun was desperate as this was his best chance to get the Sigil of the Storm Leviathan. If he missed this opportunity, he would have to fight a much stronger beast that gained the blessings of the Abyss. Noticing something on the back of the Leviathan, Haerun squinted his eyes and realised that it was a person! Ria was currently nting Thunder Caller Arrows all over the Leviathan''s body with nodes ced against the arrowhead, ready to detonate at a moment''s notice. Her goal was to detonate everything at once with the hope of killing the beast in one shot! Chapter 129: Rias Plan Against The Leviathan ''I have only four arrows left that I need to nt into its body. The beast hasn''t noticed me yet, which is good since it''s preupied by the Hunters. As long as I can nt these four, I''ll be able to release the strongest attack that I can.'' Ria thought to herself as she weaved through the countless spikes on the beast''s back. Ducking under some lightning, she swung herself into an opening on the beast''s body before shooting the arrow into its flesh. Just as she was about to make her way to the next area, she noticed a few of the Hunters turning their gaze toward her. ''Seems like I can''t hide it huh¡­ Though to be honest, I am running on the Leviathan''s back. Even with its size, it''s pretty hard to miss me.'' She mused to herself as she continued to jump across the spikes, making her way to the cavity on the chest. Meanwhile, Haerun furrowed his brows as he didn''t think anyone would be gutsy enough to climb onto the Leviathan''s back. The moment it decides to sink into the waters, she''ll be in trouble. However, he wasn''t concerned about what she was doing as she should be bound by the Law of Agreement to keep her contribution to a minimum. All he could see her do was shoot arrows into its body. "Look at her! Here you are hiding on the ship while she''s actually taking the fight to the beast! That''s what I call dedication!" He grinned as he shouted at the other Hunters, ming them for theirziness. Even though the Hunters felt wronged, they couldn''t say anything as he was their employer. "What was her name again? I''ll grant her a bountiful reward at the end of this hunt." Haerun smiled as he asked Fulton, who was in charge of that ship. "I believe her name was Ria sir. The crew on that boat were besieged by Sirens and they were lucky enough to escape. But as they were bound by the Law, they had to continue their journey here. She has three Sigils and her friend has two." Fulton reported. "Three Sigils huh? Quite brave she is. Alright, support her and make sure you don''t hit her by ident! We''ll be taking this beast down tonight!" Haerunmanded as he conjured a ring of golden energy that fired a pir of lightning toward the beast, attracting its attention. He didn''t need to hold back at all as he was the one going for the Sigil! Curling his lips up into an excited grin, he could feel the hunting to an end. Four Sigils lit up on his body as lightning shed around him. *BANG!!!! A bolt of lightning crashed down on him as he emerged with a full suit of silver and gold armour. A helmet appeared on his head and it a set of wings could be seen on the side. Cracking his knuckles, Haerun gathered all of his power as the skies seemed to darken as his yellow lightning turned to a violet shade with tworge arms of lightning manifesting next to him. Without hesitation, he jumped into the air and he pulled his arm back beforeunching a punch towards the beast, causing it to stumble back. Grabbing it by its mouth, Haerun gathered his lightning into arge arrow before shooting it into the opening. *BANG!!!!! "Woah!" Almost falling off the back of the Leviathan, Ria saw this and furrowed her brows. She had to hurry it up or else it''ll be impossible to keep up with his contribution! She wasn''t doing much right now but that was because her attack was being charged up! On top of all the Thunder Caller Arrows that she had nted, she had also spread out as many nodes as she could within the beast''s body. Even though the Storm Leviathan was a beast of lightning, it wasn''tpletely immune. Especially after it had tried to evolve! Channelling her lightning across her body, Ria gritted her teeth and dashed up the back with her new boots giving her an extra speed boost. Jumping off one of the spikes, Ria pulled out two Thunder Caller Arrows and notched them into her bow. Pulling back as far as she could, she narrowed her gaze and fired it into the mouth of the beast. ''Just one more arrow then I''ll be done.'' Ria thought to herself as she was about tond when she noticed one of the Leviathan''s eyes snap towards her direction. Seeing the bloodshot eyeball stare at her with fury in its pupil, Ria felt a chill down her spine as countless coils of lightning appeared around her. Landing on the beast''s back, she tried to jump out of the way but the coils followed her. With each passing second, she could sense the lightning gathering into the coils ready to explode at a moment''s notice! "Sh*t!" Ria cursed out loud as there was no way for her to dodge this attack. A flickering figure appeared in her peripherals as Ria turned to her right and saw Aliceunched herself up the side of the beast. She had transformed her dagger into a pair of gauntlets that dug deep into the Leviathan''s scales, allowing Alice to climb up its back without any issue. After their training session in the Howling Depths, scaling up a wall was as a simple task for Alice. "Ria! Come to me!" Alice shouted out. She had noticed how the coils stayed around Ria, tracking her movements and there was only one solution that she could think of! Nodding her head, Ria dived down head first as the lightning energy reached its peak and the clouds rumbled above her. Reaching out her hand, Alice grabbed onto Ria as she pulled out a shard from her bag. Allura had mentioned that the Blight Caller was essentially the enemy of the Storm Leviathan. Using it would allow her to manifest the powers of the Blight Caller and use it to cancel out the lightning used by the beast! ''This is probably what Allura meant by attacks that Ria can''t dodge.'' Alice thought to herself as she activated the shard without hesitation. *BANG!!!!! Lightning crashed down on them as a pir of energy connected the water to the sky. But it wasn''t over. From the sky, countless shes of lightning struck down on the same spot as the realm was illuminated by the attack. Each Hunter that saw this took a step back out of shock as they didn''t expect the beast to still have this kind of power but what was more shocking was that there was a spot of darkness within the storm of lightning that only continued to grow. Gritting her teeth, Alice was currently blocking the lightning with everything she could muster. After activating the Blight Caller Shard, a ck and purple malevolent energy erupted from the shard and wrapped around her body, conjuring a robed spectral figure that ovepped her own body. Countless orbs of ck and red fire with eyes and a mouth grinned at the lightning. Opening their maws, they started to eat away at the attack while Alice had covered Ria with a dome of shadows, protecting her from the attack. With each bite, the orbs continued to grow as ribs started to form before manifesting limbs and a tail. With each second she stayed in this state, she could feel her stamina and power draining rapidly while the malevolent energy invaded her own body. Myriad of hollowed whispers echoed out in her ear but Alice tried her best to ignore it. The robed figure that loomed over her seemed to sneer at her struggle as it was growingrger with each subsequent lightning strike. *BANG!!!! With a final bolt of lightning, the Leviathan''s attack had finished and Ria was unharmed! Panting heavily, Alice red at the beast before taking a deep breath. Ignoring her pain, she had a brief window to weaken the beast so Ria could finish it off! Wrapping herself in the dark energy, Alice shot up as she understood the properties of the Blight Caller from the first activation! The Blight Caller Shard allowed her to conjure familiars that would consume all of the lightning nearby and empower itself, making the source of the lightning weakened to the point even its own power would harm it! For a beast like the Storm Leviathan, such a state was practically a death sentence! With how much lightning it has coursing through its own body, this weakness would cause it to almost kill itself by just existing! ring at the beast from above, Alice dived down head first as dark orbs appeared around the Leviathan. Absorbing the power that the familiars had gathered, Alice snapped her fingers andrge spikes erupted from the orbs, piercing deep into the Leviathan''s skin! *ROARRRRR!!!!! Letting out a cry of pain, the Leviathan tried to escape its bindings but was unable to. Each spike dug deep into its skin as ck markings spread across its skin like countless tentacles, wing away at its scales. Seeing this, Alice could feel the power fading from her body as she understood that her task had beenpleted! The Storm Leviathan was now extra weak to lightning! Just as she was about to shout towards Ria, she noticed that Ria was already on the move. ''Seems like she knows what''s going on.'' Alice thought with a smirk as it was now toote for the other Hunters. Everything was now set up for Ria to im her victory! Speeding up the Leviathan''s back, Ria was holding thest Arrow she needed to nt. There were over 30 nodes within the Leviathan''s body as of this moment. She didn''t think she had a limit but any more and she would not be able to control them, causing them to detonate and losing most of their power! She had to act fast before the Blight Caller Shard lost its effect as this was her best chance to kill the beast. Jumping over the beast, Ria was akin to a firework, shooting up into the sky as the Haerun and his Hunters understood what she was nning. This power that she was gathering, the preparations that Alice had done for her, it did not belong to a Harvester that wanted him to get the kill. No, this was someone who wanted to steal his glory! "Stop them! Stop them now!!!!" Haerun shouted out in a panic but it was already toote. Gathering lightning into the arrow, Ria curled her lips up in excitement and fired the final arrow infused with everything she''s got! Chapter 130: Killing The Leviathan "Dammit! Stop her now! Block her attack! KILL HER!" Haerun roared out in a panic as he jumped up, trying his best to interrupt the arrow but he was too far away to stop what was inevitable. His eyes were bloodshot as he could feel his heart leaping out of his throat. He could see his goal slipping further and further away as Ria had clearly nned this from the beginning! How she continued to attack the beast and contributed as much as she could before this final blow! Even though the final blow was not decisive to who gets the Sigil, there was now a very high risk that she could overtake him in contribution and doing so meant everything he had nned had gone to waste! This opportunity, the tools and the manpower! Everything! Gone to waste! "Stop!!!" He shouted, practically begging as failing this hunt meant his next hunt would be much harder. When would he find another chance like this? Where a weakened Storm Leviathan would try to evolve to the next stage? He could already imagine it, his peers and those weaker than him overtaking him as he would be stuck on his fourth Sigil, unable to get a fifth unless he killed another Storm Leviathan. A deste future awaited him as the arrow burrowed deep into the Leviathan''s head. With its resistance to lightning now practically nullified, the arrow tore apart its scales without an issue as the node detonated within its head. *BANG!!!!! An eruption of lightning exploded from its skull, breaking apart its bones and ripping the flesh, causing the beast to roar out in pain but it was not over! From the initial explosion of lightning, a chain reaction erupted across its body with every single node detonating at once before synergising with the Thunder Caller Arrows. Their property was to redirect nearby lightning, transforming it into a spear with greater power! *CRRR!!!! Countless spears of lightning shredded through the Leviathan''s body as blood poured from its wounds. Bones snapped in half as they were unable to withstand the damage and the Leviathan''s body copsed in on itself with his structure now in shambles. A storm of lightning brewed within the beast''s body as it roared out in desperation, trying to seek any sort of protection but it was futile. *BANG!!!! With a final spike piercing through its neck and tearing the head from its shoulders, the corpse of the Leviathan mmed into the waters as nearby ships tried their beast to steer away. Despair haunted Haerun''s mind as hended on his ship with a loud thud, cracking the nts. Looking towards the corpse of the Leviathan, he couldn''t feel the Abyssal power filling his body. He couldn''t see the Sigil manifesting itself on his skin, he couldn''t feel the rewards of his bounty. His breathing slowly increased as anger filled his mind. Panting heavily, he snapped his gaze towards Ria who was falling towards the Leviathan after losing most of her strength. "GRAB HER! BRING HER TO ME! I WILL SHOW HER A WORLD OF PAIN!" He roared, pointing at Ria as the five star Hunters around him rushed towards her, all of them activating their Sigils so that they could capture her as fast as they could to appease their master. Meanwhile, Ria was unable to move as a wave of lethargy washed over her mind. She could feel a string of power rushing towards her from the corpse of the Leviathan as a smile appeared on her face. With this, she knew that she had gathered enough contribution points to enjoy the reward of her bounty. Ignoring the pain that was manifesting on her body, she could see Alice sailing the boat towards her as she prepared to intercept the Hunters aiming to capture her. Closing her eyes, she entrusted the rest to Alice. Even if she wanted to, she could not fight back anymore. Narrowing her gaze, Alice jumped from the boat and rushed towards where Ria was going tond. Looking over to the Hunters, she could see 4 five star Hunters aiming for Ria as there was no way for her to fend them off, even with her second Sigil. Their speed and power were more than enough. However, if Allura hadn''t appeared yet then there is a slim chance that she could make it out alive. ''Fu¡­ I can do this. Allura gave me the option of eating this shard if I need. I have to fight my way out so that she can go on her own journey without worrying! I don''t want her to keep worrying about our safety!'' Alice thought to herself as she opened her mouth and threw the whole crystal in. ### "IDIOT! What the hell is that girl doing!" Gin shouted, preparing to rush down but Allura held him back. "Calm down Gin, Alice has this covered. Surely you can piece it together by now, that Alice is no ordinary person." Allura smiled as she watched everything calmly. "I know she''s not ordinary dammit! She has a fire that cancels the powers of the Abyss! But this isn''t ordinary either! The essence of a Blight Caller dammit! She just ate enough blood to kill a man!" Gin shouted back, he knew they kept their secrets but he couldn''t help but worry every time he saw Alice do something borderline suicidal. "Allura! I know you have things calcted and nned within your mind. But as an old man whose granddaughter has been thrown into the thick of things yet not know anything, do you know how hard it is for me to watch this happen?! How can I go with you to clean up loose ends if my mind is filled with worries of their safety?!" Gin shouted, unable to hold himself back. He had tried to ignore everything that had happened, convincing himself that Allura had it nned and that everything would be okay but he couldn''t do it. He simply can''t watch them continue doing reckless things that through his experience, would be considered suicidal. ". . . Alright. But you can ask Alice yourself if you are worried. It''s her secret that I have no business in sharing. You just need to know that I keep in mind all of the factors before encouraging them to do things." Allura nodded, understanding Gin''s anger. Gritting his teeth, Gin took a deep breath and sighed. "Fine. We''re going to have a talk and Ria deserves to know as well. Call me paranoid, call me old fashioned. But I don''t want Ria to journey with someone who she doesn''t know anything about." Gin huffed as Allura chuckled. "Honestly, at this point, Ria probably knows more than you but less than me. Their fight against the Cultist might''ve made Alice reveal more than she wanted and had Ria keep a secret." Hearing this, Gin was speechless as he had been kept in the dark on all of this. "Dammit¡­ She''s beginning to act like you with each day you two spend together." Gin sighed as he massaged his eyes. "Just keep watching for now. We''ll interfere if we have to." ### Just as the Hunters were about to reach Ria, a dark shadow intercepted them as Alice caught Ria before she crashed onto the Leviathan headfirst. She was currently wearing a ck and purple dress with the same hood that the figure was wearing when she first activated the shard. Her hair was slowly turning into a deep shade of blue on the edges as she red at the Hunters who were sizing her up. The fact that she was fast enough to intercept them meant that her speed was on par if not slightly faster. Fulton had a frown on his face as he recognised her to be Alice. "Hand her over to us. Do it now and we''ll spare you. Surely you don''t think you can handle the four of us while protecting her." Fulton warned. "The Hunt is over. The prey is dead. Trust me when I say that you''ll regret it if you continue. Is this really worth throwing your life away for?" Alice warned as she snapped her finger. ming orbs appeared around her as they transformed into the familiars that she had conjured before but this time they had been mixed with her second Sigil. Instead of a ck me, a violent purple fire now made up their body and they were far more aggressive than before. The Four Hunters could feel their instincts warning them of the strange purple fire, a feeling of rejection and disgust. "Stop talking and fight! We have orders to retrieve the other girl but this one can die!" One of the Hunters frowned as she activated her Sigils. Her body became wrapped in a strange spectral blue energy, her limbs bing semi-transparent and revealing the bones within her body. Rushing towards Alice, countless floating skulls erupted from behind her as des shot out of their mouths, ready to kill Alice in one fell swoop. Seeing the female Hunter act first, the others followed up with their own powers. Narrowing her eyes, Alice jumped back and ced Ria on the back of the Leviathan before sping her hands together. Separating her hands, a ck orb could be seen between her palms. Aiming it towards the first Hunter, Alice disappeared and swapped ces with one of her familiars that was closer to the Hunter. "Too easy!" The woman grinned as she swiped towards Alice, releasing a wave of skulls that shed towards her, ready to tear her to pieces. But Alice was prepared. She had seen everything using Ca and ducked under the first swing before snapping her finger. The orb in her hand expanded into a spike that erased the ghosts in an instant as it had been mixed with her second Sigil! The powers that ate away at the abilities originating from the Abyss manifested itself in the orb as Alice rushed into the woman''s guard, using her as a meat shield against the orbs before mming her hand into her throat. "Wai-!" Before the woman could cry out, a familiar manifested itself and tore her throat out with the mes burrowing deep into her body like a parasite. Jabbing her elbow into the woman''s chest, she sent her stumbling back before activating her mes and having it manifest as a familiar that wed its way out of the woman. "Who else wants to throw their life away?" Chapter 131: Killing Five Star Hunters "Who else wants to throw their life away?" Alice asked as she narrowed her eyes at the Hunters. But it was a bluff. Just killing the woman had taken most of her power in order to breach her defences. She could feel the power of the Blight Caller chewing through her body as she was holding back a cry of pain. Just a single movement felt like thousands of worms chewing through her body never mind fighting at full force. As long as they back off, she''ll be able to take Ria away to safety. ''How long will this power stay within my body?'' Alice thought to herself as she took a deep breath and breathed out slowly. She could see the three contemting their options and they slowly backed away. Seeing this, Alice felt relieved as she was going to do the same. However, the moment she took a step back, she felt a chill down her spine as chains appeared in mid air and wrapped around her body. Widening her eyes, Alice wanted to swap location with her familiar when a coffin appeared around her, locking her in ce. Her familiars had been destroyed by two of the Hunters as theyunched the strongest attacks they could, wiping the beasts from existence. *BANG!!!! Cracking through the coffin, Alice could feel a fist punching against her chest as her ribs fractured from the force. "Arg!" Crashing back, Alice gritted her teeth and mmed her hand against the Leviathan. From its corpse, three familiars manifested themselves as they rushed towards the Hunters but it was futile. All of them activated their resonance and appeared beside her at breakneck speeds. Grabbing Alice by her arm, one of the Hunters swung her towards the other andunched a kick to the back of her knee, allowing the other to punch her against the head, giving her a concussion. Letting out a cry of annoyance, Alice allowed her mes to run rampant as a dragon erupted from behind her, grabbing one of the Hunters by the head before throwing him aside. "Fine! If you wanted to die then you should''ve just said so!" Alice shouted out in anger as this was a do or die moment. They had made their stance clear, and it was just a matter of surviving to the end! ''One of the Hunters can make a chain and coffin, seems like he''s focused on preventing me from moving. Another is like Ria, power focused Hunter that uses their fists. And Fulton hasn''t revealed his abilities just yet.'' Alice thought to herself as she needed to focus on the chain and coffin Hunter first. As long as he was dead, she''d be able to fight freely. Swapping ces with her familiar, she quickly grabbed a vial of healing blood before drinking it in one gulp, healing her wounds. ''The Blight Caller is a ranged fighter. All of the abilities I gained from it are focused on using my familiars to attack my enemies.'' Alice thought to herself as it proved much harder to control than she initially expected. Had it not been for the fact that she took them by surprise, she doubted she could kill the woman with the ghosts again. Making two cuts along her arms, she conjured two familiars that erupted into fire and had them keep Fulton and the second Hunter upied while she rushed towards the Hunter with the chains. Twisting her body, she threw her sword at him before attaching a small familiar onto the handle, swapping positions at thest moment and swinging towards the Hunter. Seeing this, the Hunter was able to step to the side and attempt to restrain Alice with the chains once more. But this time Alice was prepared as she cleaved her sword vertically, shing the chains apart. To her surprise, the Hunter anticipated this oue as he had jumped back, activating his third and fourth Sigil, conjuring a giant rosaria behind him with several coffins. Realising that something was wrong, Alice did not hesitate and dashed towards him but it was toote. From behind him, an angel like figure appeared with ck tears streaming down her face. Opening her mouth, she released a loud cry as though she was singing an opera, causing Alice to take a step back while covering her ears. Biting her lip, Alice created several dark orbs around the angel and attempted to pierce her with the attack but the coffins blocked it. "Is it really worth losing your damn life over this?!" Alice shouted out, spitting some blood towards him and turning it into a small familiar to swap ces with. Appearing in front of the man, Alice was about to reach out when a ck metal spear erupted from the ground around him, piercing her stomach and causing her to cough up a mouthful of blood from the wound. "It''s merely a matter of the consequences should I allow you to leave." The man shook his head. Gritting her teeth, Alice pulled herself from the spear as she was about to attack him once more yet another spearunched out from the ground behind her. Trusting her instincts, she ducked to the side before grabbing her dagger and shing him on the side of the body. She was unable to cut deeper as he had chains and spears protecting him yet she had attained her goal. Jumping back, she conjured several familiars to circle the man as she was turning pale from the blood loss. ''Onest vial of healing blood. After this, I''m out.'' She thought to herself, as she took a deep breath and plunged her hand into the wound on her stomach. Seeing this, the Hunter was shocked as Alice scattered her blood around them before curling her lips into a grin. Activating her second Sigil, a marking appeared on her eye as a giant wall of fire erupted around them as she had her familiars scatter her blood into a wall. The reason she needed this was simple. She needed some cover so that what she did next wasn''t seen by the others. Bringing her dagger to her lips, she licked the blood and swallowed it. Going through the same motion that the Hunter had done, Alice curled her lips up into a cruel smile as an identical rosaria appeared behind her. Butpared to the Hunter''s it seemed ''corrupted'' as it was under the influence of the Blight Caller and Alice''s mes. Seeing this, the Hunter couldn''t believe his eyes as he froze up in shock but that proved to be his downfall as Alice manifested the Angel behind her. Unlike the original Angel, Alice''s angel had a dark crown floating around her head, a ck blindfold with scars on her arms and neck. Curling her lips into a cruel smile, the Angel started to cry tears of blood as she released a cry infused with the power of Alice''s second Sigil. A wave of lethargy and powerlessness washed over the Hunter as his Angel and rosaria were shattered into pieces as his abilities were cancelled out. Appearing in front of the Hunter, Alice grabbed her dagger and plunged it into the Hunter''s throat before jamming her fingers into his eyes, rupturing his eyeballs. Jumping over the Hunter, she kicked him in the back and forcing him to fall forward while still holding onto his skull through his eyes. A window of opportunity appeared as she leaned in for the kill. All it took was turning her dagger into a stake before shattering the back of his neck and prying his head from his shoulders using her weapon. With him now decapitated and taken out of the fight, Alice quickly collected some of his blood and stored it into her bag before the wall of fire disappeared. She was grateful for her mes as that had allowed her familiars to fight against the other Hunters, buying her enough time to kill her opponent. Quickly drinking her final vial of healing blood, she prepared herself for her next opponents. As the mes died down, Alice narrowed her gaze towards Fulton who had killed her familiar and was now holding Ria by the back of her neck. Upon seeing Alice sitting over his friend''s decapitated body, Fulton gritted his teeth in anger. He wanted to inflict the same loss for Alice, to kill Ria right here and now but he had his orders and he couldn''t go against it. He had to bring Ria to the Young Master alive. Just as Alice was about to dash towards Fulton, she felt her muscles tear apart within her body as blood poured out from her orifices. She could feel the power of the Blight Caller eating her from the inside out as her control over the ability had waned after herst fight. Copsing on her knee, Alice felt her vision blurring as countless whispers filled her ears. She couldn''t even hear herself think as the voices resounded within her mind. At first, it was unfamiliar voices but soon, she started to recognise the voices that belonged to her old family. The voices of her brothers, the servants and her father. All of them started to be clear as it was as though the Blight Caller realised what brought a reaction out of Alice. Seeing this, Fulton gestured to his ally who had just finished killing the familiar to kill Alice as her guard was down. This was clearly a bacsh of Alice''s power as Fulton understood that she wasn''t this strong originally when he saw her on the boat. If she was this strong, he would''ve noticed it. Nodding his head, the Hunter dashed towards Alice as he pulled his punch back before punching towards Alice''s face with the intent of smashing apart her skull in one punch. *BANG!!!! Widening his eyes, the Hunter stared at the old man who had just appeared in front of him in horror as he felt like he had just punched an immovable object. The old man did not react at all to his punch and only scoffed in disdain. Grabbing the man by his head, Gin sighed and threw him like a bullet, mming against the corpse of the Leviathan and creating a new cavity. "If you know what''s good for you, you should let go of the girl." Allura''s voice rang out as she tapped Fulton on his shoulder. There was a harmless smile on her face but Fulton felt like the weight of the world had just descended on his shoulders. Cold sweat dripped down his back as the aura of death surrounded him. One wrong move and it was over. Chapter 132: Aftermath Of The Hunt Watching Allura take Ria from Fulton, Gin sighed out before ncing back at Alice. Even though she had deployed a firewall to block what happened from being seen by others, he still saw her actions. ''She actually copied his powers like what she exined during the fight against the Cultist¡­ I didn''t think it was possible and an exaggeration but it''s clearly not the case. Allura knows what''s going on but she won''t tell me unless Alice does. With Ria being there at the fight before, she must''ve seen this as well.'' Gin thought with a frown as he picked up Alice and poured a vial of healing blood into her mouth before turning to Allura. "We should leave this ce." "Alright. Let me just deal with this guy first." Allura chuckled as she twisted her body and kicked Fulton into the Leviathan, knocking him out from the force of her kick. Nodding her head in satisfaction, Allura felt proud of what Alice and Ria managed to aplish. Ria managed to help them infiltrate the hunting party without drawing suspicion and stole the kill from under their noses. Not only that, but she also achieved the highest contribution allowing her to obtain the Sigil she wanted. As for Alice, she managed to protect Ria from a sure hit attack that couldn''t be dodged and even killed two five star Hunters. A vast improvement from the time she fought against the Maiden. ''Seems like the lessons have paid off. She used what she learned from the training against the Maiden to dodge the attacks.'' Allura smiled as she wrapped them in fire beforeunching into the sky. Meanwhile, Haerun kneeled in despair seeing everything that had just transpired. Two unfamiliar people had arrived just before they could kill Alice and rescued them from danger. His guards were either killed or knocked out and he gained nothing in this trip. The only saving grace was the fact that the entire corpse of the Storm Leviathan belonged to him. In the Law of Agreement, it was stated that should the hunt fail, he was to gain full ownership of the corpse and receivepensation. But his mind wasn''t on hispensation. No, he wanted to know just who had ruined his chance at a new Sigil and stole everything from him. "Find out who they are! I want a bounty on their head the moment we get back!" He shouted in anger while punching the floor in anger. Gritting his teeth, he ordered his men to collect the two five star Hunters who were still alive. They still needed to harvest the corpse before going back and it was going to take quite a while. ### "Hello, young Hunter." Alice could hear a haunting voice ringing against her ear as the darkness constricted her, stopping her movements. Trying her best to break out of her bindings, Alice found herself unable to activate her Sigils to defend herself. "It''s no use. I must say, I''m surprised anyone would even dare to eat the essence of a Blight Caller. Activating it granted you power and taking a bite would extend the duration. Yet you decide to eat it whole. You truly aren''t afraid of death are you?" The voice chuckled as Alice could see a moving shadow approach her. It was the familiar figure of the Blight Caller that had ovepped her the first time she had activated this power. "Oh, so many questions yet no answer. Your body is a trove of answers and knowledge I have no privy to. Had it not been for the cursed mes protecting you, I could''ve opened you up and taken a good look for myself." The Blight Caller cackled as she wrapped her fingers around Alice''s chin. Furrowing her brows, Alice tried to fight back by biting her fingers, but she pulled back in time. "What? Are you scared?" Alice smiled but the Blight Caller shook her head. "No. But you my dear, seem to misunderstand the dark realm. Such waste indeed. The Abyss always wins in the end. You can run, you can hide, but the Abyss always catches up to you. You may think you are safe from the consequences, but you don''t know you are already drowning in the deep. "One of these days, the dark mother will forever wee you into her sweet embrace and you will be a beast that the Hunters fear. So, enjoy it. Enjoy it while you still can, the pleasure of drinking the blood of the dark realm without care. The folly thates with bing drunk with power beyond your control. "Continue to savour the blood of your enemies, take their powers as your own and when all that is said and done, you will be dragged to the deepest pits of the dark realm and drown." The Blight Caller smiled ominously as the darkness slowly unravelled itself, releasing Alice from her bindings. Finding herself back in her mind where she would interact with Ca, Aliceid on her back and sighed heavily. Clutching her chest, she could feel her heart rate increasing as she thought back to what the Blight Caller had just said. The words were like a guillotine hovering above her head, ready to descend when she least expected it. She knew the beast was right. That she was taking her powers for granted. Had it not been for her body, she wouldn''t have survived against the Cultists, wouldn''t have survived against the Maiden and would''ve died against the five star Hunters. But it couldn''t continue like this. Her 10 years of reckless consumption couldn''t be controlled but her life was her own now. She needed to use her talents with careful consideration. ''Nothing is free in this world. There is always a dagger in the dark, ready to stab you. How long do I have until the side effects catch up to me?'' Alice sighed as she covered her eyes with her forearm. ''I''ll choose something less risky for my third Sigil. See if I can kill it with just my abilities without drinking too much Abyss Blood.'' Taking a deep breath, Alice calmed her mind as she opened her eyes to reality. Looking around her, she could see that she was sleeping in a carriage. Just as she was about to sit up, Alice could feel pain shoot through her entire body as she flinched andid back down. "What the hell¡­" She groaned, understanding that this must''ve been a direct result of her consuming the Blight Caller shard. "Seems like you''re awake. Allura and Ria are still sleeping so let''s keep it quiet." Gin''s voice rang out as he climbed onto the carriage and sat opposite Alice. ncing at Gin, Alice could see that he was deadly serious as confusion filled her mind. "I want to ask you some questions. As Ria''s grandfather, I want to know more about who I''m leaving her with. Mainly regarding your body condition and how you can even think about eating a Blight Caller Shard without care. But most importantly, how you recover so fast without any mutations or side effects." Gin narrowed his eyes as Alice felt a chill down her back. While she wasfortable with telling Allura, she didn''t interact with Gin as much. To her, Gin seemed to be akin to a supplier who happens to be Ria''s grandfather and an Abyss Lord level Hunter as well. She didn''t know what he was like and while she understood that he was worried about Ria''s safety, Alice couldn''t bring herself to tell him about her condition. Seeing that Alice didn''t seem to want to say anything, Gin frowned slightly and sighed before taking a drink from his sk. "Then answer me two questions that don''t involve you revealing your secrets. First, if word were to get out that you can copy abilities by drinking someone''s blood, would anyonee hunting you down? People from your past before you met Allura?" Gin asked but Alice shook her head. "Copying abilities happened recently¡­ It never appeared before." Alice replied truthfully. "I see¡­ Then what about your strange recovery? What if word was to get out that your body can recover quickly? Especially if you drink Abyss Blood or eat objects that are concentrated Abyss Blood?" Hearing this, Alice was silent. She thought for a moment before opening her mouth. "I think¡­ People will hunt me down. My old family." Scrutinizing Alice for a moment, Gin nodded his head before standing up. "Keep your secret safe then. Ria is a good kid, she won''t tell anyone. So I want you to make sure your secret doesn''t bring her harm." Without hearing Alice''s reply, Gin stepped away from the carriage. "You frightened her. Not very delicate are you?" Allura smiled as she was leaning against a tree. "Can''t help it. Even after all my years as an Abyss Lord, this is the first time I have seen something so strange. It vites everything I know about the Abyss." Gin sighed as Allura understood his worries. "She said her old family would hunt her down if her secret got out. Seems like it''s something the Zenia''s kept hidden from the world." "You did your research." Allura raised an eyebrow. "Of course, I did. But just out of caution, I had my friends get some information for me instead of the Underground. Alice Zenia, date of death was her 10th birthday. The Zenia mansion was invaded by intruders of a rival noble family and several guests as well as family were dered dead. Alice being one of them." Gin recounted as he remembers Ria telling him about how Alice had a panic attack after seeing the Zenia''s appear in Zadash. "The details on that day had been wiped clean. There are only a few rumours on what had actually happened during the attack. The people who died were reported but those who witnessed had their mouths sealed. Even after using interrogation Sigils, they wouldn''t reveal anything. "Afterwards, the daughter of the rival family was married into the Zenia''s and the two entered a truce. "And now... A person who is supposed to be dead shows up alive and talking to my granddaughter. Not only that, she gets a strange me that burns away Abyss''s powers and a body that recovers far too quickly." Gin sighed as he nced back at the carriage. "I don''t know what happened that day but ''Alice'' shouldn''t be alive. Yet she''s here." "The Zenia''s hid her existence. Simply as that." Allura replied, hiding the truth and Gin knew that. Staring at Allura silent, Gin shrugged and leaned back. "Then let''s just hope the Zenia''s won''t cause trouble." Chapter 133: Rias New Power "So what about your side of the investigation?" Gin asked as they both had a myriad of questions after witnessing thest battle. For him, it was who Alice was. For Allura, it was regarding the Abyss Waters. "Haven''t heard much back but it''s definitely changed. The reaction of the water is far too quick and almost instantaneous while before, it would kill the person first then transform them over the course of the next few days." Allura sighed as she remembered her own shock after seeing the transformation. It was unnatural. ''Is the Abyss reacting to Alice''s presence? Her existence and return of the Eye¡­ If this is true then the Abyss might be preparing for revenge.'' Allura thought to herself as too many things were happening outside of her control and despite all the power she wielded, all she could do was watch. If this was the will of the Abyss, as a denizen, she could onlyply. "We should probably send work to the coastal cities and have them be careful about the waters. If they don''t keep their guard near it, an outbreak of beasts could happen at any time." Allura suggested as Gin nodded his head. With Gin now sending word out to the other cities, Allura made her way over to the carriage and saw that Alice was contemting what Gin had said. Sitting down next to Alice, she gave her a pat on the head, surprising Alice as she didn''t notice Allura''s approach. "Don''t think too much about it. Gin is just like that, prone to worrying. How''s your body? I know I told you that you could snack on the shard if needed, I didn''t think you would eat it whole though." Allura chuckled as that had also surprised her. "Body still hurts a bunch. Probably because I ate the shard. But I heard strange stuff when I was sleeping." Alice shook her head as Allura raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" "Seems like the Blight Caller manifested itself in my mind. It was only briefly though. She said the Abyss always wins in the end, how I can run and hide but it''ll always catch up. Will all of the side effects that should happen to me reappear in the future? She said the dark mother will forever wee me into her embrace and I''ll be a beast." Alice sighed as she held her arms to stop herself from shaking. If all of the side effects that came from 10 years of consumption happened all at once, what kind of monstrosity would she be? Hearing all of this, Allura pulled Alice into her embrace as she patted her on the back. "Don''t worry. The Blight Callers are beasts of spite. They love to make their targets fear the unknown as that fuels their power. But there is truth in her words of caution. Your body is something we know very little about and having a mind of caution is a must have when dealing with something like this. "The Abyss will always catch up. She is not wrong, but even I will find a way to help you, no matter how far you are. If you are in danger, I will sense it ande to your rescue." Alluraforted as Alice started to calm down and nodded her head. "So what she said was true then? The Abyss always catches up?" Alice asked, curious as to what Allura meant. "To a certain extent yes. The moment a person partakes in drinking the Abyss Blood, they have essentially entered a contract with the Abyss. In exchange for power, their corpses will be given to the Abyss to be use however it wants. The more you drink, the faster this contract is fulfilled. There has¡­ only been one exception to this rule but now it''s be two if we include you." Allura exined with a smile. "There was someone else? Who?" "My master." Allura chuckled. "She had a different kind of immunitypared to yours. But it was very simr. She could drink as much Abyss Blood as she wanted and never get the side effects. Instead, she would receive the benefits of the blood. Though unlike for you, her powers never really fade." Allura exined as she recounted the time her master was still alive. "Did she use it often? "Nope. She found it unfair to her citizens. Unless she was forced to, she rarely used this power." Allura shook her head. To her master, using such power was akin toughing at her citizens who would suffer from the side effects. But the reason she has this power is very different to Alice. If she had to put it cruelly, Alice was like an unholy imitation of her master. ''How did Alice even get this power¡­'' Shaking her head, she had Alice get a bit more rest since she was still injured from eating the shard. Ria hadn''t woken up just yet and Allura assumed that she was still picking her Sigil since it hadn''t appeared on her body just yet. ### Back at the Zenia family, Luthor continued to stand over the repaired prison in silence. He looked at the pristine bed without saying a word. The family had been trying their best to track down Alice yet they haven''t heard anything back yet. "Father, you''re here again." A voice rang out as Luthor sighed. He was a handsome young man with short brown hair tried into a rat tail and golden brown eyes. He wore a ck vest, white long sleeved shirt a blue tie and ck pants. He was the first born son of the Zenia family, Albert Zenia. "Have you gotten any news about her?" He asked. "Nothing still. There''s no sign of her anywhere. We don''t know how they broke into thepound nor do we know how they got out. Their tracks just disappeared. No one has seen the beast. Do you think they went down to the Abyss?" Albert asked as Luthor contemted the possibility. While there should be no entrances to the Abyss near the Zenia prison, he couldn''t rule out the possibility of it happening. "Alright. Have your brother lead some men down to the Abyss. Unlike the surface, survival in the Abyss is harder so give him some strong guards." Luthor ordered as Albert nodded his head. "How is your traininging along? Do you think you can graduate by the end of the year?" Luthor asked curiously as his oldest son was getting close to achieving his sixth Sigil. It was just a matter of time. "It''sing along just fine. However, there are someplications on my end. Master had told me to clear my heart first." "Keep me updated and give my thanks to your master." Luthor nodded as he watched Albert leave the room. Looking back at the bed, Luthor sighed softly before looking at the memento of his deceased wife. ### After talking with Allura, Alice went back to sleep and rested her body. Once she woke, she could see Ria stretched her body by the side with a wide smile on her face. "Oh you''re up. Was I too loud?" Ria asked but Alice shook her head. "Did you get the Sigil Allura said you should get? Or was there something better?" Alice asked curiously. "Nope I went for the one that Allura mentioned. The others were nice in giving me more power over raw speed but the teleport is still too good to give up. On one hand, I can get absolute speed. The power to jump around the battlefield avoiding any attack I can and being able to fight longer will make my future hunts easier. On the other hand, it gives me absolute power. Yet absolute power is worthless if I can''tnd a hit. Perhaps I''ll look for something that''ll boost my power as my fifth Sigil but for now, I chose speed. Ria chuckled as she continued her stretches. "I see¡­ Well you like to fight with your body so it suits you to have more speed." "Yep, that''s why we''re going to test it now. Allura wanted me to show her everything I obtained with this fourth Sigil. Including my Anti Beast resonance." Ria smiled as the fourth Sigil was an Anti Beast synergy, making it so that she now owns 3 Anti Beast and one Anti Hunter Sigil. Going by this pattern, Ria figured that her next two Sigils should be Anti Hunter synergy so that she has two resonances. Anti Beast and Anti Hunter. Nodding her head, Alice was about to jump out of the carriage when a sh of pain shot through her body, causing her to fall face first against the dirt. "Ouch¡­" Alice groaned as the side effects of consuming the shardsted longer than she thought. It wasn''t a mutation but rather her body healing her so that she didn''t die. "Yikes, you okay? Don''t push yourself too much if you''re still injured. Grandfather told me that your body is kind of in shambles after eating the shard." Ria furrowed her brows as she rushed over and helped Alice up. "I''ll be fine. It''ll probably take a few days to heal but I want to see you spar with Allura first." Alice reassured as Ria helped her walk to where they nned to fight. The location that they had chosen was in the middle of a clearing as it allowed them to fight freely without too much worry. Sitting down on a rock, Alice felt awkward with Gin standing next to her as she could still remember their talk. "Don''t think too much about it. I''m not holding anything against you." Gin sighed as he focused on Ria and Allura who were standing in the middle of a clearing. cing a cigarette in her mouth, Allura scanned Ria up and down before curling her lips up into a smile. "Let''s see if you can force me to use more than three Sigils. And just so you know, very few have managed to achieve this." Allura chuckled as Ria nodded her head. Without hesitation, she took a deep breath and activated all four of her Sigils as lightning erupted from her body. She was going to start at full power by activating her newly obtained resonance! Chapter 134: Rias Resonance And Fourth Sigil Activating her resonance, a pir of lightning covered Ria''s body as Allura whistled in surprise since the phenomenon created the activation was far greater than usual. Stepping out of the lightning, Ria revealed her form in its full glory. A set of white and blue armour wrapped around her chest, arms, waist and boots while a flowing white dress could be seen beneath the metal along with a pair of white stockings. Iridescent blue crystals with gold lining decorated her armour. Behind her, a golden halo made from lightning could be seen as Ria''s eyes flickered with a violent blue. Her hair was now the same colour as her lightning and fluttered behind her. Adjusting her gauntlets, Ria snapped her finger and created a golden spear with blue and purple lightning. Holding her spear with her right arm, Ria narrowed her eyes and aimed the spear with her left. "Getting right into it I see. Alright, you can start whenever you feel like it." Allura chuckled and pulled her hands from her pockets. Hearing this, Ria nodded her head and stabbed forward with her spear. In that instance, her figure disappeared with a roar of thunder. *BANG!!!!! Stepping to the side, Allura was able to dodge with ease and kicked out with her leg but failed to hit Ria. "I see¡­ So that''s how it feels. I was wondering how this ability works but now I get it." Ria muttered as she dismissed her spear. The spear was not her ability, merely what she chose to manifest as a result. Now that she understands how it feels and functions, she could truly begin to experiment and demonstrate her power. When choosing a Sigil, one must consider what it can grant you. The Hunter must understand the benefits of their current Sigils, what they can and can''t do. Understand their strengths and weaknesses. Once they understand this, their next Sigil should seek to improve upon their power or cover for their weaknesses. For Ria, she chose thetter! Her speed was already impressive but it was slow for beings of higher power. Her fight against the Champion showed her this. By choosing Lightning Ascent, not only has it increased her speed, but it has also indirectly increased her power as a result! Taking a deep breath, Ria let out a shout as the skies changed and lightning descended upon her once more. *BANG!!!! Striking down on her location, Ria''s armour was chipped away until azure ting revealed themselves through the cracks. Stomping down, Ria shot forward like a bullet as Allura widened her eyes in surprise before raising her arm to defend herself. Feeling the force behind Ria''s punch, Allura could feel the lightning trying to tear a hole through her body but it wasn''t enough to breach her defences just yet. Sliding back from the punch, Allura nced up and noticed that Ria wasn''t done. There was now a mark on Allura''s arm as Ria breathed out slowly. Her Resonance was one that made up for her weakness of not having a decisive attack! Dark clouds swirled above as blue and purple energy gathered towards the eye of the storm. Around them, rocks started to float up as Allura could feel her hair started to stand on its end from the static flowing through the space. "My resonance allows me to grow my power exponentially and unleash it into an attack. It merely takes a moment to gather." Ria called out as Allura raised an eyebrow. "Meaning, the more marks I apply, the stronger it bes!" Ria shouted, appearing in front of Allura andunching an uppercut that was blocked easily. Even though it was blocked easily, Allura could still feel the force behind the punch and it was not something an average four star Hunter could withstand! ''It''s just the initial steps yet her power has already grown to this level?'' Allura mused to herself, impressed by Ria''s demonstration so far but it wasn''t over. Seeing a second mark appear on her hand, Allure decided to dodge the next attack by bending her body back. Yet despite her dodging, a third mark appeared on her body. "I don''t believe I mentioned I had to hit you to apply a mark!" Twisting her body, Riaunched a kick towards Allura''s side before creating a spear in her spare hand andunching at her head. Watching Allura dodge them both despite the speed, two more marks appeared on her body, bringing the total up to five. With five marks now on Allura''s body, Ria grew in power as her armour continued to break while cracks appeared on her body. A violent surging current of electricity flowed within her flesh as she appeared behind Allura and did a roundhouse kick that was blocked by Allura''s leg. A sixth mark appeared. Quickly jumping back, Ria narrowed her eyes and mmed her hand into the ground. Lightning chains jumped from the ground andtched onto Allura''s limbs, preventing her from moving as Allura activated her Sigils in an attempt to break the chains. However, despite activating three of her Sigils, the chains held firm, surprising Allura. Looking up at the sky, she could see six coils of lightning forming above her followed by a sh of light. *BANG!!!!! A swirl of pure electricity crashed down, shaking the grounds beneath before copsing in on itself, forming an orb of destruction that erased everything within its area. Looking up in shock, Alice couldn''t believe that Ria wielded this much power. If it wasn''t for Gin protecting her, she would''ve been caught within the radius of the attack! From within the orb, it detonated for the third and final time, gathering all of the lightning from around them and exploding up into the skies, mimicking the effects of the Thunder Caller arrows that Ria had used to kill the Leviathan! Jumping back, Ria panted heavily as she deactivated her resonance. As this was her first use, she wasn''t able to adapt to the stamina drain just yet and all of her power had been exhausted. Looking at the pir of lightning, Ria noticed something from within and a swirl of fire erupted out, dispelling the lightning instantly. ck and red mes pushed out, shattering the lightning and revealing Allura standing calmly in the centre. "While it wasn''t a full activation, you still made me manifest a partial activation of my resonance. Not bad." Allura praised as the mes flickered around her body. As it was just a partial activation, they did not solidify into armour and instead stayed as mes that protected her. Dispelling her fire, Allura pulled out a cigarette before appearing in front of Ria. "Urg¡­ I thought I would''ve been able to force your resonance out but you didn''t even activate the full thing." Ria sighed as Allura chuckled. "Do you know how hard it is to make me use my resonance? The fact that you partially activated it means you reached the level where killing five star Hunters should be within your reach." "Fair¡­" Ria pouted. "So what did your resonance give you other than that final attack?" Allura asked curiously. "My resonance''s effects are interchangeable. If I decide to have it buff my body, it raises the cap of how many charges I can activate within me by decreasing the stress I apply to my body. If I decide to use it as an attack, I can create a field where lightning attacks are more potent with each mark I apply. When I decide to buff my body I kind of go into debt I guess? Once the period is over I''ll be exhausted to the point I can barely move." Ria exined while using her hands to convey what she was trying to say. "I see¡­ Seems like you''ll be using the attack function of your resonance more often as it carries significantly less risk." Allura nodded as she turned to Gin. "Well? What''s your verdict on Ria''s performance? I''d say she''s pretty much ready to journey without us having to watch over her. Thankfully, Alice will be there to deal with her directional issues." Ria chuckled as Gin was silent before sighing out. "Yes, she is indeed strong enough to protect herself." Gin scratched his hair and walked over to Ria. Looking at her, he couldn''t help but feel a swirl of emotions in his chest as she had grown up so quickly. It was already time for her to journey on without his protection. "Don''t worry grandfather, I''ll be fine. It''s not like we go around picking fights all the time and it''ll just be a simple journey to the maind. We''ll probably go say hi to Luke on the way there." Ria grinned as Luke was the friend that she had mentioned to Alice before. He was someone who valued his studies and was currently studying Abyss Engineering at one of the academies closer to the maind. "Hmm¡­ He should be close to graduating from his studies no? Maybe ask him if he wants to join you two to the maind." Allura suggested as he was the one that she had in mind. Ria was a front-line fighter while Alice was a backline fighter and controller with her mes. As for Luke, his Sigils are a little differentpared to the usual ones chosen by Hunters but he''ll work perfectly in a supportive role for these two. "Oh! In that case, then let''s go there first then. We can also see what kind of gadgets he''s been making since he''s quite smart." Ria smiled excitedly as she couldn''t wait to see an old friend. "Alright, but before you go anywhere I want you to take this." Gin interrupted as he snapped his finger. A small bone snake appeared in his palms before transforming into a bracelet. "It contains a bit of my power so if anything dangerous was to happen, it''ll be able to protect you." Gin exined as Allura walked over to Alice so that she could do the same. Creating a small me above her fingers, she condensed it into an amulet and handed it to Alice. "Same usage as what Gin made for Ria. Though it''s a one time use so keep that in mind. Also don''t even think about eating it since I don''t think your body can handle my power." Allura warned seriously. Seeing that Allura was giving her the hard no, Alice understood the dangers this could bring and made a mental note in her mind not to drink the blood of people who are far above her level. Chapter 135: Allura And Gins Departure With Gin and Allura both giving them an item to save their lives should they face a danger they couldn''t handle, Gin was still reluctant to leave. It wasn''t until Ria urged them to go did Gin finally sigh and left while Allura did the same but not before leaving some words of caution along with two maps for them to use on their journey. Now that they were journeying on their own, Ria stretched her body before letting out a sigh. "Right then, is there anywhere you want to go? We''re free to go anywhere now." Ria asked as sheid out the map. "I don''t really have a ce in mind. Weren''t we going to go straight to your friend, Luke?" Alice tilted her head since she wasn''t familiar with the Abyss nor did she have a destination in mind. Her only goal right now was to get stronger and erase her old family. To her, the destination did not matter so long as she could train and get more Sigils. "Hmm¡­ Okay! Luke is attending an Academy pretty far away from us so we''ll need to take a few rests on the way there. The first stop will be Valentia, it''s a pretty religious city for the Church of the Moon. However, they have good Hunter requests there where we can earn some travel funds. It''s mostly to do with bringing beasts to the Church and they give you some good rewards for them." Ria suggested as Alice was slightly on the fence about this. With Church of the Moon and the Zenia being close to one another, there was a chance that the Zenia''s could be there and they run into each other. "Is there a ce¡­ less religious and possibly not tied to my old family?" Alice asked meekly as she felt a bit awkward saying no to Ria''s suggestion. "Ah right, sorry Ipletely forgot about that." Ria apologised as she pped her own head, realising the issue with the first destination. "Alright let me see hmm¡­ If we travel north bound towards the maind, we can go to the free city of Isilvaria instead. Like Zadash, it''s a Hunter orientated city but all three Churches appear there. However, it has one of the biggest free markets without going to the maind so we can get some equipment and supplies there without issue." Ria suggested, pointing at Isilvaria which was located on the map. "Free market?" "Basically, it means the city lord doesn''t intervene with the market. All of the prices, wares and so on are dictated by the merchants. If you''re not careful you can be scammed but there are hidden gems there." Ria nodded her head with a smile. Hearing this, Alice thought for a moment before agreeing. "Do you think they''ll be able to fix these gauntlets? It took a bit of damage and the mechanism is making noises that it shouldn''t." Alice asked, pointing at her arm. Her gauntlet had taken some damage during the fight against the Champion when she held onto to thread and hadn''t been fixed since then. While it''s been holding on well, Alice didn''t want to push it if she could help it. "Probably. There are a bunch of cksmiths there that can have a look at the thing. You might want to hide the thread and your bracelet though, if the wrong kind of people see it, they might try to steal them from you." Ria warned. "I know, don''t worry." Alice reassured. "Anyways, that doesn''t change the fact that we still have to travel by foot for quite a while. We can probably get some food by killing some beasts and draining their blood carefully. Thankfully, grandfather has already taught me how to do it so we''ll be fine." Ria reassured as Alice felt a little uneasy but nodded her head. Even though Ria''s directional sense was bad, she was here to cover for that weakness. On the other hand, Alice was clueless on surviving in the wild but Ria had the knowledge. With the two of them working together, making their way to Isilvaria shouldn''t be too difficult. ''Ca hasn''t responded to anything yet¡­ Maybe she''ll wake up when I get my third Sigil. Then again, Allura mentioned that she didn''t want Ca waking up too soon.'' Alice sighed as she grabbed her version of the map and tried to pinpoint their location as well as what direction they were facing using thendmark. With only the knowledge that they were on a cliff with the Abyss Waters behind her, it took them quite a while to find their location. And once this was known, the two set off through the forest in front of them to get back to the main roads. ### "Still sad that she''s going on her own now?" Allura smiled as Gin had wanted to watch over her onest time before leaving. "Hush it. As someone who''s been looking after her ever since I rescued her from the clutches of the Cult, it''s hard not to worry about her safety no matter how strong she is. Even if she was to be an Abyss Lord in the future, I would still worry." Gin sighed deeply as his gaze lingered on Ria. "Just how parental figures are I suppose." Allura shrugged with a smirk but Gin only rolled his eyes. "You''re no better. In fact, you''re more sentimental than me despite having lived longer!" He retorted since he could clearly see her reluctance. She was just better at hiding it. The fact that she had given Alice a life saving amulet infused with so much of her power proves that point. Acting as though she didn''t hear anything, Allura started to fly away from the area. She knew that Gin was right. Even though it was brief, the time she had spent with Alice was enjoyable for her. A lost child in the Abyss abandoned by her own family. A girl whose heart was fragile like ss and desperately fought to keep her feelings bottled up inside. Her wariness against the world that harmed her so. And yet despite this, Alice decided to trust her, sharing her deepest secrets and exposing herself entirely. It would be easy to recluse herself from the world, hiding in some unknown corner and not letting anyone approach her. Yet she took that step. Allura saw this girl as family and not just one of the many that she would meet over the course of these long years. To her, Alice was irreceable, and she wished all the happiness in the world for her. ''*sigh¡­* I''m not even a mother and I feel like I''m watching a daughter leave the house.'' Allura thought to herself. Alice was like a daughter to her rather than a disciple. Shaking her head, she focused on the task at hand and that was to eliminate the hidden dangers that might be gunning after Alice due to her possession of the Eye. However, she had to be careful with her actions since one wrong move and it''ll inform her enemies regarding the situation in the Abyss. "So where are we going first?" Gin asked curiously. "We''ll be going to the frontlines. You know how battles are being waged between the three big religions with some powerful kingdoms trying to intervene. We''ll be allying ourselves with the kingdoms as having the Churches get more powerful only spells disaster for everyone." Allura narrowed her eyes. "The Church of the Sun''s ultimate goal is to preserve the current world order but with them being in the centre. The Moon aims to have everyone worship the Goddess of the Moon in an eternal slumber where their physical bodies perish yet the mind and spirit lived on. The Cult wishes to plunge this world into constant bloodshed as a tribute to their lord. If any of these threee out on top it''ll be very difficult to stop them from doing whatever they want. "The only reason why they haven''t done so is because the God''s Apostles are keeping each other in check. Having one being injured or fall in battle spells doom for the Church and if things get really bad, even the God themselves." Hearing this, Gin furrowed his brows since this was the first time he had heard of such a thing. "What do you mean?" "When a God designates Apostles, they share a portion of their power to the follower. Should they fall, that power is forever lost. Apostles gain power for their Gods through belief and if your Church was to appear weak then the God loses power. If a God grows too weak, others can take advantage." Allura exined since she had personally seen Gods die in battle. In the forgotten era, it was a constant war between the religions along with the outer Gods peering in, trying to invade the two realms that had merged as a result of the war. Each religion wanted to be the dominant force yet the Sun, Moon and Eclipse were tied in power. The other religions fell short and so did their Gods. Had it not been for the threat the outer Gods possessed, the three Religions would''ve fought until only one remained. ''I can''t let that happen. Not again, I can''t let such a battle break out while Alice and Ria are still weak.'' Allura bit her lip as she knew such a battle was inevitable. The Churches were growing their power precisely for this reason. Once they are strong enough to contend against the outer Gods while keeping the others at bay, all hell would break loose. "Well, I''ll be damned. Guess there''s no room for Abyss Lords like us to interfere when Gods are on the ying field." Gin sighed since he knew his strengths and weaknesses. He had already seen a glimpse of the chaotic era toe after the White Death. Soon, he too would be a relic of the past, old and broken. "Which is why we need to even it out first before things escte beyond our control." Allura chuckled. She had to slow down the growth of the Churches so that Alice and Ria get the time they need to develop their own powers to survive an all out battle between religions. Chapter 136: Carter Panting heavily, a young man with short blonde hair could be seen running through the forest while using the trees to help him run. He would weave through trees while jumping from branch to branch, not daring to slow down for even one second as doing so meant the beast behind him would be one step closer. ''I need to fight but my arrows aren''t doing anything!'' He cried out in his mind as this was not what he had nned at all. Without looking back, he could tell the beast was getting closer with each passing second. The loud thuds of trees being shoved aside and falling to the ground were clear. Biting his lip, the young man dove over a pile of logs and rolled across the ground before pulling out his bow and preparing an arrow. Swallowing his saliva, the world was quiet as time seemed to stop. From within the forest, arge beast with dark grey fur and a silver mane appeared. It towered over the young man as he could see the three crimson jewels ring at him full of fury and bloodlust. Two demonic horns spiralled from its skull as the beast opened its jaws and let out an ear-rupturing roar, revealing tworge canines that were far bigger than its other teeth. The young man could see his reflection within the beast''s saliva as despair gripped his heart yet in the next second, he watched as a girl suddenly appeared beside the beast. She had flowing hair that danced with lightning and punched the beast across the face, shattering the teeth on impact. *BANG!!!! Following her arrival was the sound of thunder crashing around him as the force sent him flying back. "Careful. There''s a bystander here." Another voice called out as someone had caught him before he could crash into a tree. "Sorry! Didn''t notice him!" Ria apologised, causing Alice to sigh out heavily. They had been travelling for over two weeks now and they had gotten lost. With Alice misinterpreting some of the key locations on the map, they''ve been wandering from forest to forest all this time, killing beasts and drinking river water to clear their hunger and thirst. Yet without a proper ce to stay, their outfits have be worn out and their hair was dishevelled. "Sorry about that. If you don''t mind, can you tell us where we are? We''ve been lost for quite a while now." Alice asked as she nced down at the young man in her arms. After spending all this time with Ria, she had be more fluent in her speaking and was able to speak more often while conveying the thoughts in her mind. Which also meant she had be quite blunt in her speaking habits. "Ah yes erm. You''re near the ckrock Castle. Wait! No before that you need to go help your friend!" The young man replied before panicking, remembering how dangerous the beast was. After all, that beast was a Nether w, a fearsome beast that shouldn''t be in this part of thend. He had only just discovered the location of this beast not long ago otherwise he would''ve be a corpse on the ground by now. "She''s got it handled don''t worry. It''s just an overgrown cat, not even at five star difficulty too." Alice reassured as she gestured towards Ria who was now ducking and weaving through the Nether w''s swipes andunching counter punches with a leisurely smile on her face. She had been training on how to best use her power while in her resonance form so that she could extend the time she had with this power. "What the¡­" Blinking his eyes in disbelief, the young man couldn''tprehend what he was seeing as this was a beast that was on the verge of tearing him in half two seconds ago. Now it was being thrown around like an amateur in a fighting ring. "So where exactly is the ckrock Castle on this map? It''s a little dirty since we''ve been walking around for a while but it shouldn''t be too bad." Alice asked, snapping her fingers in front of his face to get his attention. Sprawling out the map, she wanted him to show her where they were so that she could finally get them back on the road to their destination. "But¡­" Furrowing his brows, the man nced back and forth between Alice and Ria. Seeing his hesitation, Alice scratched her cheek before standing up. "Finish the fight quickly. This guy''s not saying anything because he''s worried that you''ll get killed by that cat." Alice shouted out as Ria turned around and rolled her eyes. "Really? This thing?" She asked, pointing at the beast behind her that tried to m its ws down yet it was blocked by Ria''s hand. "I''m offended. Really? Do you think this thing is going to kill me? How so?" Ria questioned the young man as she threw the beast over her shoulder and summoned a bolt of lightning to crash down upon it. Letting out a cry of pain, the beast stumbled back before ring at Ria. The third eye positioned between his two eyes started to glow red as ck scales stabbed through its flesh, forming a protective armour around its body while a pair of wings erupted from its back. "It''s the first time we''ve met a person in a while, let''s make it quick." Aliceined, causing Ria to sigh and nod her head. "Fine, it''s partially my fault we got lost here anyway. Alright, give me two seconds then." Stomping down, Ria dashed towards the beast as lightning surged around her arms. Arriving mere inches away from the beast, she ced her finger against its chest before forming a fist and punching out in one swift motion. *BANG!!!!! A spear of lightning erupted forth as it tore through the armour and flesh without any issues, creating a hole through the beast''s body. Smoke and the smell of cooked flesh spread across the area as the beast copsed on its side, dead before it could make a move. "Alright, I''ve killed it. Happy now?" Ria shrugged, sitting on the beast and using it as a chair. "Yep. So as I was asking, where are we on this map right now?" Alice nodded before turning back to the young man who was bewildered at everything that had just transpired. "No wait, give me a moment to calm down." He took a step back, overwhelmed by the fleeting moments of life and death. He may have survived but death was about to wee him into its cold embrace yet denied because of the two strange girls that appeared before him. "And¡­. A moment has passed. Are you calm now? Where are we on this map?" Alice asked. ". . . .Okay, let me have a look." ncing over the map, he noticed several red circles that had been crossed out in what seemed to be frustration before a giant question mark was scribbled onto the map. "Erm¡­ So here''s ckrock Castle. Even though I said we''re near, that''s only because it''s the closest ce to us. We''re currently in the Great Forest of Kulia that stretches on for this entire section. If you want to get to ckrock Castle, you''ll have to travel for probably two days?" The young man exined as he pointed to their rough location on the map. "Oh¡­ two days? We''ll probably miss the castle by ident then." Alice sighed as she rolled up the map and ced it in her bag. Even though it could be ssified as her ''bag'', it was her cloak and other pieces of her outfit repurposed into a bag due to the damages caused to them. No matter how durable the outfit was, with the fights she had gotten herself into along with the hunt against the Leviathan, it was surprising it had managed tost this long. "Ria! We got a two days journey north. It''s a ce called ckrock Castle and it should be pretty hard to miss." Alice called out. Upon hearing that it was a two day journey, Ria groaned in fatigue as sheid on her back before letting out a deep sigh. "Alright, let''s get going then. Hopefully, we don''t have to keep wandering around like this." Seeing that they were about to leave without taking the corpse of the beast, the young man hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth. "Are you not taking the carcass of the Nether w with you?" "No need. Too much of a hassle and we just ate not long ago." Alice shook her head. "Then if you don''t mind waiting, I''ll take this carcass back and I''ll show you the way to ckrock Castle." He offered. Hearing this, Ria didn''t hesitate to nod as she was more than happy to trade the body of a stray beast they killed for some direction. "Lead the way, we''ll carry the body for you since it might be too heavy." Ria reassured as Alice brought out a cleaver and started to chop the beast intorge chunks for them to carry with ease rather than onerge carcass. Unsure as to where Alice had even pulled out such arge cleaver, the young man gathered some of the items he had dropped while he was running before leading the way back to his home. His name is Carter and he''s a Hunter as well as a woodcutter who lives in this forest with his family. Usually, the forest would be home to low danger beasts that he has no issues with killing as he had received some training from his father. "My father passed away when I was young so it''s just my old mother and my younger brother living in this forest. My brother keeps my motherpany while I go out and hunt." Carter exined while Alice and Ria listened intently as it was a good change of pace after weeks of travelling and hunting. However, he couldn''t be considered a real ''Hunter'' in the traditional sense as he didn''t go out of his way to kill beasts nor does he own many Sigils. It''s merely what''s required for his way of life. He only possessed two Sigils belonging to weak beasts as his family couldn''t afford a good Shaman nor was he dedicated enough to hunt the stronger beasts. As they were listening to stories about Carter and his family, his house soon came into view as it was a humble abode hidden within the forest. Chapter 137: Trip To Blackrock Castle Carter''s house was a medium sized house by the river and arge shed housing a domesticated beast with a carriage attached to it. The beast was simr to the horses that she had seen in both Zadash and the ughter Docks and it seemed to be the go to beast for this kind of work. "I''m home!" Carter called out with a smile as the door opened up to show a young boy who was barely half his size. Like Carter, the boy had blonde hair and stared at Alice and Ria curiously. "They''re my benefactors. They saved me when arge beast appeared." Carter exined. "How was mother today?" "She''s okay. Mother worried about your safety." The boy replied, running back into the house. "You can set the parts of the beast to the side by the shed. I''ll clean it up and prepare itter. Please take a seat inside the house. I won''t take too long." Carter offered as Alice nodded her head. Entering through the door, Alice was about to continue when Ria grabbed her arm. "You should probably take off your boots first." Ria suggested since she didn''t want them to drag dirt into the houses. "Eh? Why?" "Because it''s going to be dirty if you don''t. Unlike the inn, this house seems well maintained so let''s not be the ones to change that." Ria exined while taking off her own shoes. Still confused by this, Alice only shrugged and took off her shoes. Entering the house, they could see picture frames of what seems to be Carter''s family when he was young. It showed his father and mother standing next to each other while Carter held his baby brother when he was just a child. To their right was the kitchen and dining room while the left had the living room that was connected to the sunroom and a porch. Alice could see Carter''s younger brother sitting on the sofa and ying with some wooden figures that had been hand carved. Sitting next to him was an old woman with greying hair wearing a dark green attire with a nket over her shoulders. "Pardon the intrusion." Ria bowed slightly as the woman smiled. "I heard that you''re Carter''s benefactors, can I get you something to drink or eat while you wait?" She offered but Ria shook her head. "No, it''s fine thank you. We''re just taking a small break." Ria scratched her cheek as she felt rather awkward intruding in someone else''s home without warning. Meanwhile, Alice simply found a spare seat and sat down before leaning back. Her eyes darted around the home curiously while seeing the pictures and small items ced on the walls of this home. "Sorry for my friend." Ria apologised. "Wait sorry for what?" Alice tilted her head in confusion as she was simply doing what she was told. "It''s a bit rude to just walk in and sit down without saying anything." Ria sighed, causing Alice to furrow her brows before standing up. "Erm¡­ Your son said we can sit down so we''ll be resting for a little bit. We won''t be long since he''s just sorting out the beast meat outside." Watching Alice sit back down again after her statement, Ria felt the urge to facepalm but decided to hold it in for now as the olddy chuckled at her antics. "Oh it''s fine. Please, make yourself feel at home. If you need anything to eat, you can find it in the kitchen." She smiled. "See?" Alice shrugged while ncing at Ria. She wasn''t sure why Ria was so concerned as they had already allowed them to rx. Speechless, Ria could only sigh as she sat down and waited patiently. Now that they were in a house and not living in the wild, they didn''t need to worry about the dangers and were able to rx their nerves. Alice was doing the same as she leaned back and closed her eyes. During their travel, they had always ensured that one of them was always awake in case of an attack. Even though they were strong enough to kill four star beasts, even weaker beasts could pose a danger in the right circumstances as Alice had learnt after her encounter in the forest where she first met Ria. It reminded Alice that even though she could see the names above the beast''s head, she still needed to learn about their habits and powers from the library or else just seeing their names wasn''t going to be enough. Knowledge is power and it eliminates the danger of the unknown. While thinking about how knowledge was useful, Alice couldn''t help but wonder about Nalem who had gifted her the weapon when she was back in Zadash. He had mentioned that he was going to close the store for a while after hearing about the White Death but the circumstances are unknown to her still. ''Does he have a deeper connection to the Abyss like Allura and Kaden? I know Allura mentioned that the White Death was unnatural.'' Alice mused to herself since she too was an anomaly to the Abyss. Her understanding of the Abyss is rudimentary at best due to what little education she received before she was locked away. Hearing the door open, Alice opened her eyes and nced towards the sound. Seeing that Carter seemed to be done with his preparations, Alice stood up. "Are we leaving now?" Alice asked as Carter nodded his head. "It''s a little earlier than usual for me but it''s a good time to sell the meat of the beast along with the other parts of its body." Stepping into the house, he exined the situation to his mother and brother as it''ll take around 4 to 5 days before he gets home due to the distance needed. In the meantime, his mother and brother will be staying at the house waiting for his return. For him, it was always nerve wracking to leave for this long and it was the same for his family but it was necessary. With Carter saying goodbye to his family, Alice and Ria took this time to sit down in the carriage and noticed that he had ce several logs of wood along with other items to sell. "Is this how normal people live?" Alice asked curiously since she had only known two lifestyles. The first as a prisoner of her family. The second as a Hunter who hunts beasts, either eating them or selling them to the Guild. "Pretty much. Though most would be living in the city and wouldn''t need to travel that far." Ria shrugged. She couldn''tment much on the topic as she was in a simr situation, only having known two kinds of lifestyles, one of which is being a Hunter. "Sorry for the wait, saying goodbye is always hard when I have to travel this far. We''ll be camping out at night but I don''t think that''ll be an issue for you two ahaha." Carter smiled as he climbed into the driver seat and grabbed the reins. "Don''t worry about it. Once night falls, you can sleep since me and Alice will be keeping watch." Ria waved her hand as Carter nodded and gently whipped the beast. As the beast pulled the carriage, they made their way through the forest and Alice took this time to rest byying down on the carriage seats. "So where were you two originally from?" Carter asked curiously since they had a two day journey ahead of them. "ughter Docks. Was a ve there." Alice replied bluntly. Strictly speaking, the ughter Docks was the closest ce of origin as she didn''t know where the Zenia family was located on the surface. She just knew that she was held within the prison. "I came from Varesa then I went travelling across the Abyss with my grandfather and mentor." Ria followed up. "Woah, isn''t Varesa on the other side of the continent? You must''ve been travelling for a long time then." Carter remarked as they were currently located in the southern part of the continent while Varesa was located in the northwest. "Been travelling for quite a few years now. Never really had a ce to settle down. Plus, we''re Hunters, we don''t usually settle down in one ce." Ria chuckled. She was a fan of the travelling life as it doesn''t feel stagnant. To her, life should be like a rushing current, full of energy and excitement as she travelled from ce to ce. "I see¡­ Sounds like an interesting life. Doesn''t fighting every day scare you though? I hate to admit it but I''m quite fearful of pain. I can''t imagine myself brawling or fighting with powerful beasts on a daily basis. The ones I hunt for food are animals if you ignore a few strange properties they carry." "I mean you get used to it. Right Alice?" Ria shrugged as she turned to Alice. Out of the two of them, Alice was the most fearless one due to her past of being mistreated by her family. She didn''t know the full details but the fact that she could stare death in the face andugh was a clear sign that she was used to extreme scenarios. "Mnm. If you get stabbed in the gut a few times you won''t be scared since its nothing you haven''t felt before. It''s kinda like walking into a dark room with a bunch of beast traps on the floor. If you can''t see them, you''re scared and you take your time moving through the room. But if the room is lit up and you can see where they all are, you just walk through." Alice exined as her past experience in the Zenia family, when paired with her training with Allura, made it so that she wasn''t afraid of fights in general nor was she afraid of pain. It was simply something she had to do to survive so she may as well take pleasure in the action of doing so. "Euff, a rough example but it pretty much sums it up. But you have to remember that Alice isn''t exactly normal so her view is a little skewed. Most Hunters get used to the fighting but it''s a barrier not everyone can surpass." Ria chuckled. Time passed by quickly as the beasts were taken out easily with Ria guarding the carriage. Alice spent most of her time resting while Ria talked with Carter and soon, they arrived at the city surrounding ckrock Castle. Chapter 138: Arriving At Blackrock City ckrock Castle is arge fortress located in the centre of the city. Even from the outside, Ria and Alice could seerge cannons mounted to the walls of the castle and towers filled with roaming guards. The Castle was surrounded by arge protective wall that led out to a za with a statue mounted in the middle. There was a single main road leading from the za to the entrance of the city and countless houses decorated the sides. Shopkeepers and a myriad of stalls lined up along the street as this city seemed to be home to civilians rather than Hunters. There was anotherrge open space in front of the main entrance, showing arge fountain with civilians walking by and giving a prayer. "The city is called ckrock City but most know it by the Castle as the lord there has been protecting thisnd for generations now." Carter exined as they were queuing up to enter the city. There were guards stationed at the entrance who would examine your identity before letting you enter. "I see¡­ What are they even fighting out here? Or it is just stray beasts and whatnot?" Ria asked curiously while inspecting the towering city walls. "In the past, there used to be skirmishes between ckrock Castle and Cult members who were situated near this ce as most of the people in ckrock Castle believe in the Church of the Sun. However, in recent years, it''s been rather peaceful with no battles to date." Carter exined while handing the guards his identification. Once all three of them had been checked, they were allowed into the city. Sitting up, Alice nced towards the statue ced above the fountain. It depicted a tall muscr man d in heavy armour, markings around the corners of his eyes and the crest of a zing sun in the middle of his forehead and long hair that reached to his waist. In his hand, he wielded arge spear that contained the same crest that could be seen on his forehead. Despite this being the first time seeing this statue, Alice felt a sense of anger and hatred well up within her as she wished for nothing but to smash that Statue to pieces. Furrowing her brows, Alice closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening her eyes once more and the feeling faded. ''Was that Ca? Or was it Allura''s master?'' Alice thought to herself. She noticed that there were moments where emotions that belonged to Allura''s master would leak into her mind. Whether that was a side effect of having Ca or not, Alice didn''t know. ''Though it seems like there''s some bad blood between this person and Allura''s old master.'' "Carter, do you know who the statue is depicting?" Alice asked as her eyes remained on the statue. "He''s a rather famous figure of the Church of the Sun. It''s the god that they worship, the Sun God Sris." Carter answered as Alice memorised that name. In the future, when she is able to learn more about the kingdom of Ayr, Allura''s master and the forgotten era, she wanted to see what kind of connection the Sun God had with Allura''s master. After all, to have invoked such anger and hatred from residual spirit, he must''ve been a menace towards her. "Are you curious about the Sun Worshippers?" Ria raised an eyebrow since she was surprised that Alice was showing such interest. "Not really. Just curious as to who the statue was of. Say, do you think they saw the God himself if they carved a statue like this?" "Er¡­ That''s a good question. I know the Gods exist but I''m not sure how they got the depictions of their god. Maybe they showed up in the past?" Ria shrugged, looking towards Carter for answers but he too was clueless on the matter. Steering the carriage through the city, Carter arrived at the stables that weren''t too far from the entrance and paid the stablemaster some silver. "I''ll be selling the parts of the beast to the Hunters Guild, I can also give you the gold I owe you since you saved my life." Carter smiled as he prepared to carry the bags but Alice and Ria were a step faster. "We can carry it don''t worry." Ria reassured. She didn''t reject the money since they needed some extra travel funds with her being unsure of how far they needed to go to reach Luke. Leading them through the city, Carter exined some of the popr stalls that had been set up along with the locations of some Hunter focused facilities such as Abyss Blood stores and cksmiths. As they approached the Hunter''s Guild, it was not the magnificent spectacle they are used to in Zadash but rather a humble building inparison. It had two floors with the first being a mix between the hall and reception. As for the second floor, it was for the Branch Manager along with private rooms for discussing important information with certain clients. Upon bringing the carcass of the beast, Ria took this time to update her ID with her having achieved a fourth Sigil. She needed to take a test to be properly registered as a four star Hunter by the Guild standards. "Do you want to watch or explore the city a little?" Ria asked curiously since it was going to take a while before an examiner was ready to see if she was prepared. "Hmm¡­ I think I''ll look around for a bit. I want to see some of the cksmiths and if they can repair my gloves or not." Alice shook her head. It''s not like they were going to leave this city in the meantime so splitting up shouldn''t be an issue even with Ria''s directional sense. "Alright. Where do you want to meet back up?" "At the statue ce. It''s hard to miss even if you get lost." Alice smirked. Before she could hear Ria''s reply, Alice had jogged off already as they split ways with Carter as well. After all, he was there to bring them to this city and show them to the Hunter''s Guild. As Alice jogged away from the Hunter''s Guild, she nced into her money pouch and counted her share of gold. ''With this, I have around 14 gold pieces now. That beast was surprisingly rewarding.'' Alice mused to herself as she stretched her body and walked around the city at her own pace. In the weeks she had spent with Ria out in the wilds, she was given time to think about herself. While she knew her final goal was to erase her old family and help Allura rebuild Ayr, she needed something to live for aside from these. Fighting was enjoyable to an extent but only because she had to fight no matter what. It was not what she or rather, Ria, would call a hobby. In Ria''s words, she ssed her own enjoyment for fighting as a hobby because she treated it as an art. She enjoyed studying the fighting forms and history behind these forms while for Alice, it was merely for survival. "A hobby huh? What do I even want to do." Alice sighed while walking to some of the stalls. However, feeling the nces that were being sent her way, Alice understood that she wasn''t exactly dressed to impress hence some of the sellers may be less inclined to trade with her. Looking at her tattered sleeve, Alice scratched her hair before sighing. She didn''t have enough money to purchase a proper Hunter''s attire but purchasing some civilian clothing should be fine. She remembered how Ria would buy clothes that she would consider to be cute despite their disadvantages in battle. Just as she thought of this, a bitter smile appeared on Alice''s face. "Right¡­ Lilia wanted to visit some clothing shops when we left the arena. She wanted to buy some cute clothes while I wanted to read some stories on Hunters." Alice muttered. She didn''t have anything to remember Lilia by except for her memories. With no memento other than her own memories, Alice decided to honour Lilia through her actions instead. "Let''s buy some cute clothes then I suppose." Alice smiled softly, walking through the streets in hopes of finding a tailor who sold cheap yet cute clothing that she could afford with her current funds. ''I can spare roughly 4 gold for clothing which I think should be fine. Allura mentioned that the standard family gets by with 10 gold per week, surely clothes shouldn''t cost that much right?'' However, thinking back to how expensive her current attire was, Alice couldn''t help but shiver at the thought. "Maybe I need to take some bounties from the Guild to fund this purchase." She muttered, once again realising the importance of money. Shemented the fact that Allura had confiscated their original funds due to the fact that it was payment from Neal tomission Allura and Gin''s help. Walking through the street, she noticed something strange off to the side. There was a huddle of what seemed to be Hunters surrounding the alley grinning while kicking something. Her curiosity got the better of her as she wandered over, ncing over their shoulders and noticed that they were kicking a scarred man with horns and scales across their body. He was shielding his head whileying down in a foetal position while suffering from the abuse. Scratching her cheek, Alice noticed that he had 4 stars above his head yet the abusers only had three. ''Why is he letting them hit him like this? Well it''s none of my problem but¡­'' Alice thought to herself and noticed that there were two shadows belonging to people hiding around a corner. Judging from the shadow, she could tell they were young. Sighing softly, Alice opened her mouth. "Can I ask why you''re kicking him? I don''t think he serves as a good challengepared to beasts no?" "Hm? It''s none of your concern. Though I suppose we are attracting a bit too much attention even if he is a half beast. Come on guys let''s go." The man in the lead gestured as they walked off, making sure to bump into Alice on the way out. "Weirdos." Alice shrugged as she walked over to the man. Just as she was about to help him up, she understood why they had called him a half beast. In addition to the horns and scales, his body was suffering from thete stage effects of Abyss Blood usages to the point he was now half man half beast. Chapter 139: Half Beast Shirking away from her hand momentarily, the man leaned against the wall. "Thank you." He groaned out as he hastily limped towards the alleys. Just as he was about to fall over, Alice grabbed his arms and helped him up. "I''m just someone who came from outside this city. Let me help you back." Alice offered as she felt bad seeing him suffering from both his injuries and the side effects of his Abyss Blood. "Ah¡­ Thank you. But really, you shouldn''t deal with exiles like me. The people of this city wouldn''t look kindly upon you." The man smiled bitterly as two young children ran out from their hiding spot and hugged the old man. They looked to be younger than ten years old yet their body were also disfigured with horns and scales. "Why?" Alice furrowed her brows. While it was indeed pitiful to see someone suffering from Abyss Blood, she didn''t see it as a reason to abuse them in the way the Hunters had done earlier. "Because we''re now impure. These horns, these scales, they don''t belong to man. To them, I''m no better than a beast. Please, for your own safety, allow me to go back with my children." The man pleaded as Alice sighed and let go of him, allowing him to walk away with his family. Watching him disappear into the alley, Alice noticed that several others were peaking at her through half closed windows and they seemed to be suffering from other side effects simr to the old man. ''Is this where they throw all the people who have visible side effects?'' Alice thought to herself with a slight frown. However, this was none of her business. Considering the state of this alley, it seems like this is a long held belief the city holds and one that keeps them away from the public eye. ''Is it a belief of those that follow the Church of the Sun or just how people are in general?'' Alice sighed as she turned away from the alley. Stepping out, she noticed that a few people shot her disgusted nces and whispered to one another while pointing at her. Ignoring these nces, Alice made her way through the streets in search of a clothing store. Thankfully, it didn''t take long for her to find a store with what seemed to be affordable clothing from what she could see on disy. Granted, these outfits were still rather expensive at 6 gold pieces for the full attire, a little over the budget she had set herself. However, she couldn''t keep walking around in half torn up clothing or else she''d attract too many eyes to her. After perusing the store, she chose a simple yet cute outfit by her own standards. It consisted of a ck shirt and shorts, a pair of tights and white knee high boots. The main attraction of the outfit was therge jacket that could be either worn like usual or off shoulder as there was a clip to keep it attached to her shirt without it falling off. Walking around for a bit, Alice was satisfied with her outfit and also bought a bag to keep her old attire. After all, she wanted to get it fixed by Sera since it''s a durable outfit and it felt good to move in. The outfit she had just bought was mostly for walking through the city without fighting in mind. Adjusting the bag on her back, Alice doubled checked to make sure she didn''t leave anything and left the store. Her second agenda now was to buy a storybook on Hunters since she remembered that she had enjoyed them when she was younger. Perhaps seeing one would rekindle those feelings in her chest and act as a hobby. With plenty of time on her hands, Alice wandered wherever interested her and enjoyed her time browsing the stalls. Before she knew it, hours had passed and she was now holding a bag of books, detailing the adventures of famous Hunters. Naturally, they have been adjusted to exclude the gory details and only wrote about the pride and honor strong Hunters received from each kill. Sitting down on a bench by the za, Alice leaned back and crossed her legs before cing the books beside her. With Ria taking her time with the exam and not arriving at the za yet, Alice figured that she had a bit of time to enjoy her books. She felt like she had forgotten something but if she didn''t remember it then it probably wasn''t important enough. What was important for her right now was to enjoy her books. However, before she could start, she wanted some snacks and a drink to enjoy while reading. Thankfully, there was a vendor nearby that was selling some kind of skewer with mushrooms, vegetables and some meat along with an assortment of drinks disyed on the table. Purchasing a drink and a te of skewers, Alice sat down and enjoyed her books. As she was reading through the contents, she wasn''t sure about some of the stories it had told. After going through some hunts herself, she knew that some of these were exaggerated and boasted about the luxurious life a Hunter led. Yet she couldn''t stop herself from reading as there was nothing else to do. One of the books was even strange as it detailed a gruesome battle of fear and panic for the beast rather than the Hunter. How it would try to dodge yet spikes would always appear between its legs. A few would even detail the Hunter dragging ''souls'' from the body and trapping it in antern to be resummonedter. ''Can Sigils even aplish a feat like this? What''s stopping them from just taking the soul of a powerful Hunter?'' Alice wondered to herself while flipping through the pages. While absorbed in reading, she didn''t notice Ria approaching and hitting her on the head gently. "!!!" Jumping up in shock, Alice nced up and saw Ria who seemed a little messier than usual. "Finished?" Alice asked, closing her book and cing them into her bag. "Yep. I got my four star license now. The battle was a bit annoying but it was pretty easy. The hard part was waiting for the damn instructor to arrive." Ria sighed. "But enough about me, you went clothes shopping and didn''t even tell me urg. If you had told me I would''ve gone with you and helped you pick an outfit but this one is cute too. What books were you reading?" Ria asked curiously as she sat down next to Alice. "Nothing too interesting. Just story books about Hunters. I remember I used to enjoy them when I was younger so I figured I''ll give it a go again." Alice shrugged. "I see¡­ We''ll I might have a read myself if you say you enjoyed them. But considering how you got the outfit and books I''m assuming the cksmiths couldn''t fix your gloves. Though I suppose that''s to be expected because Allura had asked a friend of her''s tomission such a thing." Hearing this, Alice was silent as she finally remembered what she was supposed to do. She had gotten distracted with wanting to find a hobby along with reading that fixing her glovepletely slipped her mind. ". . . I still haven''t gone to the cksmiths yet. I forgot." Alice replied awkwardly as she didn''t expect herself to get distracted so much. "Wait¡­ how much gold do you have left?" Holding up 3 fingers, Alice smiled meekly. "3 gold?!" Ria was speechless as she didn''t expect everything to cost 11 gold in total. "Ahem. The books were a little more expensive than I thought and I had bought a few." Alice exined while Ria didn''t know what to say. Not only did they need travel funds but they also needed money to fix their gear. With Alice only having 3 gold left, they would need to stay in this city for longer than they expected to earn some money. "We''ll need some funds for an Inn tonight unless you want to sleep in the streets. Sigh¡­ I''ll do some clothes shopping tomorrow I guess or get an easy job at the Guild. Thankfully, more opportunities have opened up since I got my four star license including some work in the city." Ria sighed. "Sorry¡­" "Don''t worry though. I have a better idea on how we can earn some money." Ria grinned as Alice had a bad feeling in her heart but her curiosity got the better of her. "What do you have in mind?" "I''ll tell youter. Let''s find an Inn first. Once we get our rooms, we''ll go earn some quick coin." Ria chuckled as she dragged Alice with her to find an Inn as quickly as possible. In the end, they settled with an Inn called the Crowned Hero that cost 20 Silver per night with breakfast and dinner included. Not only was the price affordable for them, but it was also close to the za where it leads to a majority of the main buildings within this city. Now that their ce of residency has been secured, Ria had Alice leave her books in her room before dragging her away. "Can you at least tell me where we''re going first?" Alice sighed as she wanted a rough idea so she could prepare herself. Considering how Ria called it quick coin, it was most likely something dangerous. "Don''t worry, just follow me since I''ve done this a few times." Ria reassured with a grin. Hearing that this was something Ria had some several times, the bad feeling in Alice''s chest manifested itself again as she recalled one situation that Allura had warned her about. And as expected, her fears came true after seeing their destination. It was the fighting ring where you could gamble on who won. "I''ll join a few fights myself and our coin purses will be full in no time." Ria chuckled as she couldn''t wait to enter. "Didn''t Allura mention that she had to bust you outst time because they wouldn''t let you leave?" Alice frowned but Ria shook her finger. "But that was BEFORE I got my resonance. Don''t worry, I''ll keep it low key." Seeing that there was no changing Ria''s mind, Alice sighed and nodded her head. Chapter 140: Gambling Arena Theyout of the arena was simple and located underground. It was arge empty space surrounded by seats for the audience along with arge board showing the fighters as well as the betting odds. Not only that, but there were also pirs that would drop down into the arena filled with weapons to spice up certain battles. "The rules of battle within this arena are pretty simple. Basically, the first person to knock out their opponent wins or until the opponent cannot fight further. Obviously, there would be issues if the fight bes lethal which is why they have guards around the ce." Ria exined as she rubbed her hands together excitedly. The price for entering as a contestant is pretty cheap so long as you have a Hunters Guild ID so they can check how strong you are. It only costs 50 silver to enter with the chance to earn back 10 times the amount. Naturally, you can raise your own price to earn more back but there is a limit. "Which is why I want you to bet on my victory with some of the Gold I give you. That way I only need to fight once and we''ll be pretty much set." Ria winked as she handed Alice some Gold before making her way to the reception. While Ria was registering herself as a contestant, Alice nced down at the arena curiously as two people were fighting already. One had 3 Sigils while the other had 4 yet the three Sigil user was winning. ''Is the four star Hunter holding back? He''s not even using his third Sigil.'' Alice thought to herself as it seemed unnatural. It didn''t take long for the three star Hunter to win as he was able tond a good blow against the other, sending him crashing into the walls. Hearing thementing cries of the audience across the stands, Alice understood that they must''ve betted on the four star Hunter and lost their gold. "Hmm¡­ Is it rigged?" Alice muttered while leaning against the railings. She was currently resting her chin on her palms while watching the next match. Over the course of 5 fights, she noticed that a few of them involved one of the contestants holding back without using their full power. "I''m back. I got myself a fight though the odds aren''t very high so even if I win I won''t get much. They don''t have many four star Hunters fighting tonight so I''m not going to earn a lot." Ria sighed as she stood next to Alice. "Whatcha doin''?" Ria asked, ncing down at the arena. "Just watching. Seems like some of the fights are rigged. I''ve noticed several that aren''t using their full power." "Well of course. Though they usually don''t make it obvious. After all, the house needs to earn some money too." Ria shrugged since this was standard practice. For regrs, they would notice the general strength of some of the contestants and understand when they might lose while neers would get scammed by the information they learn. In their eyes, a four star Hunter should win against a three star. But the reality is the two contestants are both hired by the house to ''perform'' for the night which is why contestants like Ria were usually unweed or forced to fight someone much stronger to guarantee a loss. "So who''s your opponent?" "Another four star Hunter. They have wind type abilities and can set up bombs. He''s going to be fast, but I doubt he''s faster than me." Ria reassured while patting her chest. "Should I keep betting on you or just let things y out?" "Don''t bet for now. The odds are too low. If we bet too much and win a lot we''ll have to fight our way out." Ria shrugged since that was the casest time. She had continuously betted on herself throughout the night and the audience during that day did the same, forcing the house to lose a lot of coin hence why they wanted to force her to lose the next match. But this time, she was going to be careful by ''barely'' winning her fights. That is why the audience wouldn''t know that she was a guaranteed victory and the house wouldn''t lose too much money while she earned their travel funds. "Alright. I''ll find a ce to sit down for now then, it''s not like I have anything else to do." Alice nodded as there were plenty of seats avable as tonight seemed to be a rather quiet night. If she knew that this was the case, she would''ve brought along her books while she waited. "Why don''t you fight a round or two? I doubt anyone without a resonance can beat you in a fight." "mes are too weird. Might attract too much attention." Alice waved her hand dismissively since fighting in the middle of thisrge crowd while disying the strange attributes of her power would raise many questions. What kind of beast did Alice kill for these mes? Why can she stop Sigil powers? If they begin to ask these questions, rumours will begin to spread and that was not something that Alice wanted. "That''s true." Ria nodded since Alice wasn''t wrong. With Alice finding a spot to sit down, Ria made her way to the contestant''s area and waited for her turn patiently. Now it was simply a matter of passing time and Alice decided to use this moment to eavesdrop on the conversations around her. Most of the conversations around her were about the fights happening in the arena and how some of the fighters were clearly ''under the weather'' and fighting worse than usual. However, there was one conversation that caught her attention and it was a discussion regarding the slums of this city. "Oi did you hear? There are more guards around the slums now. Do you think the half beasts did something to piss off the city lord?" "Of course they did. Have you not seen them? It''s no wonder they''ll try something shady to get revenge on us even though it''s their fault for abusing the blood. They can only me themselves." "Some of the guards were wearing masks and stuff, I wonder what''s that about." "Don''t think about it too much. I''m sure the city lord has it covered." Raising her eyebrow, Alice frowned slightly as this was news to her. ''Guards are wearing masks? I don''t think I saw many guards today, were they busy with the slums?'' Alice thought to herself as she couldn''t help but wonder what happened to the old man and his two children that she had run into earlier today. ''There will probably be some news tomorrow.'' Shaking her head, Alice nced down at the arena and saw that it was now Ria''s turn. Her opponent, like her, is a four star Hunter. With him being a wind type user that focuses on speed, he made sure to wear very little armour so that it won''t hinder him. As for Ria, she seemed rather rxed. "Would you like the first move or shall I?" Ria taunted with a confident smile. Hearing this, the man frowned as he took a deep breath to maintain hisposure. In the time it took for this round to begin, they had done as much research as possible. She was simply a new four star Hunter that used lightning to make ranged attacks. She had barely defeated the instructor to get her licence earlier today. ''Seems like she''s still on a high after getting promoted to four stars. The fact that she came here right after getting her license means she''s clearly overconfident in her abilities.'' The man thought to himself crouched down and activated his Sigils. Three markings appeared on his body as he waited for the bell to toll, signaling the start of their battle. *DING! Hearing the bell, light turquoise energy erupted from his body as he rushed forward. The energy manifested into swords that hovered around him as he sent them towards Ria, hoping to grab her attention. Seeing this, Ria simply chuckled as she leaned back lightly and aimed her finger before flicking. *BANG!!!! A bolt of lightning shot out, jumping from one sword to another before aiming towards the man''s back but he managed to dodge at thest second. "Ohya? You dodged that. Congrats." Riaughed. She knew it was customary for the betting house to do some research hence why her battle at the Guild took longer than usual. She was hiding her strength as it had always been her goal to do a little gambling at a city. Without Allura watching over her, she''ll be allowed to gamble to her hearts content. While she was primarily a physical fighter, using lightning was still part of her skill set! Curling her lips into a grin, Ria raised her right hand before snapping her fingers, conjuring a wave of lightning bolts to descend upon the area. The noise of rumbling thunder crashed through the arena as the bystanders who weren''t interested in this fight started to pay attention. "ARG!!! Dammit!" The man''s voice rang out as a gust of wind pushed aside the dust, revealing that he had been forced into using his resonance. ck and green ted armour appeared around his arms, legs and chest while a tattered cape fluttered behind him. In his hands were two daggers that radiated green energy as he red at Ria. He didn''t expect her firepower to be so strong that he was forced into using his resonance so soon. If he didn''t, he wouldn''t been struck by one of the bolts and taken heavy damage. "Resonance so soon? If you use your resonance against my warm up how do you expect to dodge this?" Ria asked as she pointed to the spark of lightning hovering above her finger. Widening his eyes, he was about to move when Ria flicked her finger and the spark transformed into a spear. *BANG!!! Shielding his face, the man could feel cold sweat dripping down his back as the spear stopped just before colliding against his arm. Even though he wasn''t hit, he knew that he wasn''t fast enough to dodge such an attack and the power it radiated¡­ One hit would be enough to knock him out! With the referee quickly dering Ria''s victory, Ria turned to Alice and gave her a victory sign with her fingers and a wide grin. Seeing this, Alice couldn''t help but chuckle since it was clear that Ria was going to scam as much gold as she could, considering the fact that she didn''t even move from her initial spot. Chapter 141: Alices Discovery As expected, with Ria having hidden her power at the Guild trials, she was able to continue winning matches without any issues. None of the four star Hunters she faced had forced her to take a step away from her current location as her overwhelming firepower made it impossible to approach. While watching the fights happen, Alice couldn''t help but feel as though something was off. To her, a four star Hunter should be more than capable of making Ria use more of her power. And yet here she was taking them out one by one with ease. ''All of the people we fought against, even the three star''s were better than these people. Are they really that weak or are they acting weak to boost Ria''s confidence?'' Alice thought to herself with a frown. Even without Ca, the movement of the four star Hunters seemed rather¡­ dull inparison to the fights she''s had. All things considered, Alice spected that she could probably beat them in a fight if she uses only her first Sigil and dagger. However, that was pushing it slightly since she had no way to deal with the difference in physical strength. ''The only ranged attack option I have is my fire and the blood I collected from the Hunterst time. Though it''s ast use resort since having the angel scream can cancel out Abyss Powers when merged with my own Sigil.'' Alice thought to herself as she nced into her pouch. There were only two vials of blood left that didn''t include her own, whether it''s in powdered form or liquid form. Shaking her head, Alice nced at thest fighter and wondered how she would''ve fought him if she was in Ria''s position. ''His resonance was one that allowed him to manipte this weird ck energy. I guess in a way it was simr to Kaden since he was using shadows to attack. Against him¡­ I would probably start by using my dagger then rush him to see how his reactions are.'' Alice mused to herself. Defeating him would be annoying without her second Sigil, but if it was a fight to the death, his death was guaranteed. "I suppose Allura mentioned that not all four stars are equal. Just like the difference between Ria and her opponents." Alice mumbled while making her way over to the bar to get something to drink. In the end, she decided to try one of their best sellers which seemed to be a mead made from apple and honey. Smelling the mead from the cup, Alice was surprised by how sweet the smell was as she had expected something bitter. "Seems like you''re not familiar with alcohol girly." The bartender chuckled as Alice shook her head. "I don''t really drink. It seemed like people are buying this a lot so I figured I''ll try it." Alice replied honestly as the bartender chuckled. "Mead''s are usually rather sweet since they''re made from honey. The alcohol contents are rtively low." He exined as Alice nodded her head and thanked the bartender. Making her way back to her seat, she could see that Ria had been paired against one of their more ''powerful'' fighters. Just judging from the way he was carrying himself, Alice could tell that he was someone with experience. It wasn''tparable to Allura or Gin but Alice knew that he was roughly Neal''s level or maybe just a bit lower. ''Seems like Ria might have to use more strength in this fight.'' Alice thought to herself as she took a sip of the mead. "!!!" Raising her eyebrows, Alice was surprised by how the drink tasted. It felt like a warm fire flooding her body yet it didn''t hurt at all. The sweetness that came before the warmth made her feel cozy as she took another sip. "Holy crap¡­ This is good¡­" Alice muttered as she realised what she wanted as her hobby. Or rather, something that she wanted to ssify as what she enjoyed and that was tasting more alcohol like this mead. "Urg¡­ Ria''s grandfather had a sk that he kept drinking from. I wonder if I can get something like that too for this drink." Alice sighed while taking another sip. From sips to gulps, Alice finished her drink quickly and ran back to the counter to get more. "Seems like I''ve hooked you on this drink girly hahaha." The bartender chuckled seeing the eagerness in Alice''s eyes as she ced the mug on the counter while asking for more. In a sense, it was almost as if a kid was asking for sweets from a stall. "It''s sweet then hot. Kind of spicy then cosy. Very tasty." Alice nodded her head as she wasn''t sure how to exin how she felt from drinking the mead yet she knew she enjoyed the drink. "Are there any others like this one? Or is this one the best one?" "We got a few others. Though whether or not it''s the best one depends on your tastes. Some meads are made from different kinds of honey. Some would be considered poisonous to Hunters with weak constitutions yet those with 5 or more Sigils tend to enjoy such drinks as they help them get drunk." The bartender exined with a chuckle. Alice was like an eager student right now as she memorised everything he mentioned about the drink and bought some more to sample. Seeing how she was gulping down the drink like the barbarians from the northern continent, the bartender was surprised to see how resilient she was towards the drinks. Even though the alcohol contents were low, considering her stature, it was a wonder how she was not even red in the face yet. "Hmm¡­ I think I like the mead made from Cinder Honey the most." Alice muttered after trying out all of the different meads that the bar offered. Despite not being red in the face, the alcohol was slowly taking effect as the tips of her ears were red. "Do you have a sk that can hold a bunch of the mead in one go? Like er¡­ that whole barrel." Alice asked, pointing at the barrel behind him. "We don''t since they''re usually equipment for famous Hunters. But I can have some people deliver the mead to where you''re staying if you wish." The bartender offered as Alice nodded her head. "Then I''ll take 10 bottles to g-" Before she could finish her sentence, Ria had walked up behind Alice and chopped down on her head. "OW! Hey! What was that for?" Alice frowned as she nced back and saw Ria behind her. "Oh! Ria you should try this hehe~" Alice grinned, showing Ria a mug of the Cinder Honey mead. "You''re drunk. And how much of our gold did you spend on alcohol? You do realise that you only have 1 gold piece left right? The rest is my gold?" Ria asked with a twitching smile. Tilting her head for a moment, Alice ced the mug down before holding up 6 fingers. "The girly here spent 6 gold on our finest mead and wanted 10 bottles to go which would total to roughly 5 extra gold pieces. So 11 gold in total." The bartender chuckled, causing Ria to blink her eyes in bewilderment. She was in shock at how much Alice had drank in the course of a few short matches and was now even nning on buying 10 bottles to take home with her! Massaging her eyes, Ria nced down at Alice and sighed. She could see the longing in Alice''s eyes as sheughed to herself thinking about the drinks that she''ll have. "I suppose you''re a happy drunk. Though it''s more urate to say you''re tipsy. However... your self control has already waned this much." Shaking her head, Ria ced 5 gold pieces on the counter. "Can you send the bottles to this address?" "Of course. Here''s one free on the house as it seems like the girly has fallen in love with the vour." The bartender chuckled, handing a bottle to Alice who didn''t hesitate to hug the bottle while Ria dragged her out of the establishment. Even she knew when to quit and after winning two more matches, she took her earnings to look for Alice. Counting the coins in her pouch, Ria sighed as burning through 11 coins just for drinks was not part of her calctions. It was likely that they''ll have to revisit the ce meaning¡­ Alice will get more drinks. "I''ll be honest, out of everything, I didn''t expect you to like drinking so much." Ria sighed while ncing back at Alice who was drinking her bottle happily while letting out strange giggles. "You should try it Ria. It''s tasty!" Alice offered as Ria sighed and nodded. "50 silver per bottle better be worth it." Taking the bottle, Ria took a sip and raised her eyebrow. "Huh¡­ Well I can see why you would like it I suppose. Though I wouldn''t go out of my way to spend this much on it." Ria shrugged, giving back the bottle to Alice. "You''re losing out then. More for me." Alice smiled. However, her smile soon faded as her eyebrows began to furrow. Pausing her steps, she closed her eyes and sniffed the air. "Alice?" "Wait¡­ Something smells weird." Alice frowned. Despite being tipsy, her awareness was now sharpened as she continued to smell the air. Following the smell, Alice arrived at the entrance towards the slums as there was a deep frown on her face. At this point, even Ria could smell the stench as she had to cover her nose. "What the hell is this smell?" "Abyss Blood boiling in rotting flesh. The smell is usually very potent and if you''re not careful can cause slight side effects just like if you were to drink impure blood." Alice warned, gesturing for Ria to take a step back. "Though from the smell, it doesn''t seem to be a high concentration. You''ll definitely get sick if you smell it for too long but it can be treated." She knew this smell well. After all, she smelled it plenty of times when her body was suffering from side effects in the Zenia prison. However, the biggest worry was how this smell was caused. ''Someone did this on purpose. Maybe it has something inmon with the rumours I heard earlier¡­'' Alice contemted for a moment before stepping away. "Well, I''m sure the guards will deal with it tomorrow. Not like we can do anything here anyways." Alice shrugged. "If you say so." Ria nced back at the slums before following Alice back to their Inn. Chapter 142: City Lord Waking up in the morning, Alice felt groggy and had a slight headache while looking at her bed. She noticed that she had fallen asleep hugging her mead bottle and furrowed her brows before cing it on the table. Getting dressed, she nced out the window and saw that the street seemed to be crowded with guards. ''Could it be due to what happenedst night?'' Alice thought to herself as the issues in the slums were clearly unnatural. Making her way downstairs, she noticed that Ria hadn''t woken up yet and guessed that she must exhausted. Plus, she was always bad in the mornings. "Can I get a simple breakfast please?" Alice ordered as she sat down by the counter. "Of course. Also, I believe I have a shipment for you today for 10 bottles of mead. Would you like me to take it to your roomter?" "Take it to my room please." Alice yawned. Hearing this, the woman nodded her head and called out to the kitchen to prepare the breakfast for Alice. "So what''s going on outside? Aren''t there a bit too many guards for this time of day? Or was there a fight?" Alice asked, wondering if the Innkeeper had any news regarding the matter. "I''m not sure. There are a few rumours and spections but the guards aren''t saying anything. Some of the patrons said that the guards were making sure no one could approach the slums. I''m thinking it must be the halves that caused the issue urg¡­" The woman groaned while walking away to attend to another customer. Raising an eyebrow, Alice realised how disgusted everyone in this city seemed to act towards those that were suffering from Abyss Blood side effects. ''My own hair and eyes look affected too yet everyone seems fine with me.'' Alice wondered to herself. However, considering the fact that aside from a colour change, her appearance doesn''t vary much from the normal human''s. It seemed like she couldn''t be considered a ''half'' yet. ''Since this city seems to be Church of the Sun orientated, maybe it''s a matter of religion as well.'' Shrugging her shoulders, she finished her breakfast before making her way upstairs to wake up Ria. Helping Ria get dressed and get some breakfast, the two made their way out of the Inn and roamed the city. "So what''s the n for today then?" Alice asked curiously. "Get a job at the Guild, get some money then gamble some more tonight. I want to get around 60 gold pieces before we hire a carriage to the next ce." Ria sighed while stretching her body. But once they arrived at the Guild, they noticed a crowd of angry Hunters gathered around the reception. "What do you mean we can''t leave the city?!" One of the Hunters shouted in anger. "I''m sorry sire but the city lord has ordered that everyone stay put within the city for the next 3 days. We''re currently investigating issues that have crept up yesterday and no one is allowed to enter or leave the city." The receptionist replied helplessly as this was an order sent down by the city lord. It was not something they could overrule no matter how influential the Hunter''s Guild may be. In times of trouble, even the Hunter''s Guild needed to obey the city lord, especially when the danger could escte to something beyond their control, hence the sudden lock down. "Then you can at least tell us what''s going on!" "We can''t do that I''m afraid as we''re unsure as to the reason ourselves. Please, there are still plenty of jobs within the city that you can do. We''re not asking you to stay for long, just three days. The city lord has already deployed guards to watch over the city walls and the city is now under martialw. Any action against the city lord will be seen as obstruction of duty and you''ll be imprisoned." The receptionist sighed. Unfortunately, she was just a worker and wasn''t privy to the information avable to the higher ups. She was merely their meat shield against the angry Hunters that could kill her with a single attack if they get annoyed. The best she could do is try to deescte the situation. Seeing that the receptionist wasn''t able to tell them anything, some of the Hunters decided to see if the branch master had some information yet powerful five star Hunters were barring their way up to the second floor. "Do you think it has something to do with the stench we smelled yesterday?" Ria asked curiously. "Very likely." Alice nodded while making her way over to the job board. With the lockdown suddenly announced, everyone was grabbing the jobs within the city and there were practically no jobs left for them to choose. It was a firste first serve situation after all. "So we have no jobs and nothing to do until we gambleter tonight then." Ria sighed as the two of them sat down by a table. "Then I suppose it''s a free day for us." Alice smiled but her smile didn''tst long as two guards approached their table. "May I have a word with you? I believe yesterday you came into contact with a half, am I right? We had received a report and wanted to make sure if it was you or not." The guard asked coldly as Alice nced up and furrowed her brows while Ria was confused. "Yes, is that an issue? I''m just a traveller and I saw people hitting the guy." Alice replied as the guard looked at one another before nodding. "I''m sorry but can I ask you to follow us? We need to do some checks due to the situation in the slums. If there are no issues with you, naturally nothing will happen." The guard asked politely however Alice knew that this wasn''t a request but rather an order. "Welp I guess I know what I''m doing today." Alice chuckled as Ria furrowed her brows. "Can I follow along?" Ria asked since she didn''t want Alice to be by herself when there is something strange happening in the city. "You may." Following behind the guards out of the Hunter''s Guild, Ria leaned over to Alice. "What happened?" "While you were doing your four star exam I was shopping and saw a few Hunters beating up a man. Turns out he was suffering from Abyss Blood side effects and what these people call a half." Alice replied honestly since she didn''t think she did anything wrong. "I see¡­ Well I''m sure it''s nothing serious." Ria reassured while Alice nodded. Following the guards, Alice noticed several others being escorted towards the castle as well. Within the group was even the Hunters that were abusing the man from yesterday as it seemed like anyone and everyone who came into contact with the people from the slums have been taken in. Within these groups, Alice could see that some of the people being brought in were extremely pale. ''Is it an illness? There''s too many to be just a coincidence.'' Alice thought to herself with a slight frown. As they were being guided through the castle, they were sent to arge open hall with countless guards protecting what seemed to be doctors, priests and priestesses. "Line up and wait your turn." The guards ordered before filtering them through the different queues. The ones that were showing signs of illness were ces on the side while those without visible symptoms were separated from them. Not only that, it seemed like the city lord was also present in the hall. He was a tall muscr figure that seemed to be just as tall as Allura. Short ck hair and a pair of cold ck eyes overlooked the hall. He wore a simple ck suit yet the power he radiated passively caused Alice to shiver. Above him, six daunting Sigils hovered. "I believe that is everyone that has encountered the half''s from yesterday my lord." A retainer reported as the Lord nodded his head. "Seal the room. Do not let anyone in or out. Maintain silence in the city and ensure that no one can sneak out." He ordered while reading a report passed onto him by a priest. Narrowing his eyes, he nced towards the side housing the patients that looked pale. "Eric Helgo, merchant importing wares. Discovered to be smuggling illegal Abyss Blood through the slums. Verdict, guilty. Take that man away and interrogate him. All methods are allowed." He dered as Eric widened his eyes and prepared to reach into his jacket for a vial of blood. However, the guards simply stood by as the Lord tapped down with his finger. *BANG!!!!!! Arge de struck down from above, severing Eric''s arm while also taking a portion of his legs. Hearing his cries echo through the hall, all of the people present felt a chill down their spine as the Lord was akin to a guillotine hanging above their heads. One wrong move and he could end their lives with a single action. Even Ria had a deep frown on her face as she barely reacted to the speed of the de. Should she be dered ''Guilty'' it would take everything just to dodge the attack never mind fighting back. "That was just his second Sigil." Alice whispered over as Ria widened her eyes and nced down at Alice who was staring at the Lord. She could see only two Sigils light up briefly in that moment he chose to attack. ''I can only see up to six Sigils right now. There''s a chance that he might be above the threshold¡­'' Alice thought to herself. The chances were low but not impossible. With the city lord watching over the process, no one dared to make any unnecessary moves to invoke his wrath. As they waited for their turn, the city lord would asionally voice a verdict and have the guards escort them away. If theyply, nothing will happen. Yet if they dared to fight back, the lord would personally make a move. The ones given a ''Guilty'' verdict weren''t limited to just the side with those suffering from visible symptoms. Even those in the other queue were chosen and soon, it was Alice''s turn to be questioned by the priest. Chapter 143: Speaking To The City Lord "Name?" The priest asked as he nced at the document that was handed to him. "Alice Agnelia." "upation?" "Hunter." "Where are you from and why did youe to ckrock City?" The priest asked while flipping through the pages. "I came from Zadash. We got lost for two weeks or so and was told that ckrock Castle was nearby. Me and my friend came here hoping to get some directions and earn some funds." Alice shrugged. "Zadash? That''s quite far away. Even if you travel for 2 weeks you must be moving rather quickly to get here. Now I must ask, why did youe into contact with the half yesterday? We received reports that you helped them and even came into physical contact." The priest asked while narrowing his eyes at her, his gaze focusing on her right eye and split hair. "Didn''t realise that was the practice in this city. Just felt like I should''ve helped before I realised he was a half." Alice admitted. "I see. Then is there any reason why you stopped by the entrance to the slumsst night? You approached near the scene of the crime before leaving." ''Seems like this is the final question.'' Alice thought to herself as she noticed that the priest was on thest page of the document. "I smelled something weird. Followed the scent and found myself at the entrance. Didn''t want to find out more so I left." "I see. Though it says here that you recognised that smell and know about the effects. Care to exin?" The priest frowned as the guards slowly surrounded her. "I came into contact with it in the past so I know the distinctive smell." Alice replied while ncing at the guards that surrounded her before focusing on the lord who was watching over everything. Depending on what happens, she might have to force her way out using the blood she gained from the five star Hunter. "Is that so¡­ Please follow the guards for further questioning. If you cooperate, nothing bad will happen." The priest gestured, causing Alice to frown at his threat. But with the Lord watching, she couldn''t do anything even if she disliked his threat. Sighing out softly, Alice raised her hands in surrender without trying anything strange. Before Ria could protest that she wanted toe along, the guards blocked her way. "Shouldn''t be anything too bad. I''ll be right back." Alice reassured with a smile. She had the amulet that Allura had given her. If things turn dire, there was still the option of using it though Alice wanted to avoid that if possible since its basically an extra life for her. Following the guards, she noticed that the Lord was informed and nced down at her before leaving the area. She was taken to what seemed to be an office with two sofas, bookshelves, a window overlooking the city and a desk and chair. Sitting down on the sofa, she was given a cup of tea with some snacks to enjoy while she waited. ''Seems like the City Lord wants a word with me.'' Alice mused to herself as she drank the cup of tea and furrowed her brows. Finishing it in one gulp, she grinned and pulled out her bottle that she had kept in her inner pocket. It hadn''t been long so the mead was still rather cold for her to enjoy. Pouring the mead into the tea cup, Alice enjoyed the smell before taking sips. Naturally, she left the bottle by her feet so it didn''t get too warm inside her jacket. Hearing the door open, Alice nced over and saw the City Lord enter while keeping the guards outside. Noticing that Alice had reced the tea with her mead and even had the bottle next to her, the City Lord raised an eyebrow before sitting down opposite her. "Now, my subordinates have told me that you know something about the incident that urred. We''re still in the process of figuring out exactly what happened but if you can give us some insight on the matter, you will be rewarded." The City Lord stated while resting his elbows on his knees. "I mean¡­ I know a little bit but I''m in the dark on what happened." Alice shrugged. "Yesterday, we received reports that half beasts were acting up in the slums. Not in a violent way but rather many of them became sick and started to mutate faster. We assumed it was Abyss Blood abused yet the scenarios didn''t match up. "Thenter at night, some of them started to rot from the inside out and those near the corpses started to do the same. Until we can figure out what happened, whether this be sabotage or just an unfortunate incident, the city is being kept in martialw. The faster we get to the bottom of this the better." The City Lord exined as Alice furrowed her brows. This was a little different from what she initially expected, almost as though it was an evolved version of what she had suffered. "Hmm¡­ I''m guessing you already restrained those who entered the slums?" Alice asked since this wasn''t something that can ur naturally. It required a specific set of actions to cause this reaction within the body and it''s a horrible way to die while also taking out those around you. "We are still in the process of doing so. Now, what can you tell me about this strange mutation?" The City Lord asked, not wanting to waste too much time here. "My original understanding is that it requires a specific environment to ur. However, if it''s happening like you said, it''s probably an improved variant of it. It''s not¡­ a mutation per say. More of a half alive beast that requires a host." Alice exined while taking a sip of her mead. "Oh? A beast that requires a host?" The City Lord raised in eyebrows in surprise. "Mnm. Well¡­ That was the version I know at least. I don''t know what this new one is like." "I see¡­ Alright. As you are a Hunter by trade, I believe your services can be bought with coin, yes? I wish to employ you to assist in dealing with this strange outbreak." The City Lord leaned back. "Seriously? You do realise that I''m just a two star Hunter right? I don''t think I can help much. Plus, my knowledge is outdated." Alice furrowed her brows. "Even outdated, it''s better than charging in blind. Right now you''re our only lead on what this thing is and what it can do." The City Lord nodded before pulling out a contract of sorts. "What kind of reward would you like for your services?" He asked as Alice leaned back and crossed her legs. ''Seems like this thing is more serious than I thought¡­'' Alice mused to herself as she was surprised that he was asking her what she wanted in exchange for her help. ''When I was stuck in the prison, this beast was only in the initial stages of development since they were wanting to see if it was possible to feed it my blood and have it inherit my properties of being resistant to the Abyss. That way they could mass produce an antidote of sorts for the mutation. In the end, all they aplished was creating a zombified version of the parasite.'' She tapped her chin while trying to recall as much information as she could. Once zombified, these parasites would feed on the host while also increasing the potency of Abyss Blood. But there was a big trade off. In exchange for potency, the manifestation of the side effects was also sped up. A trade of life for power. The result of this would be rotting from the inside out and dying due to the influx of side effects. ''However¡­ this was limited to just the initial person who took the parasite within their body. The fact that this one can infect the people around it and kill them as well¡­ Hmm.'' "I can only promise that I''ll try my best. But if it bes too harmful for me, I''ll have step away. You know that right? I would rather ce my life above those I don''t know about, even if I sympathise with their plight." Alice warned as she didn''t want the City Lord to think she was someone who would just sacrifice herself for people she didn''t know about. She had enough of this ''self-sacrifice'' while she was stuck in the prison. She didn''t owe the world anything anymore. "I know. If you are unsure, you can read the Law of Agreement for yourself." The City Lord nodded as he handed Alice the sheet of paper. Nodding her head, Alice read through the page and understood that the terms of this agreement was rather loose as all it required from her was to assist in this investigation. It didn''t require anything else from her while in return, the City Lord will grant a reward to her that''s befitting her assistance. Failure toply would incur a penalty, that being returning the reward bestowed by the Lord as well as a small penalty in gold. "Would it be okay if I consult my friend first?" Alice asked as she felt safer if Ria was here. "Alright. I believe she''s thedy with the eastern clothing yes?" Nodding her head, Alice watched as the City Lord left the room and notified the guards beforeing back in. Now that there was nothing else to talk about, Alice decided to refill her teacup of mead while thinking about what she wanted. "Say, have you ever heard of a sk that can store a lot of liquid?" Alice asked with a small smile. "Hm? Yes I have. Are you¡­ Wanting that as your reward?" The City Lord asked hesitantly seeing Alice pour some mead into her tea cup. "I''m just asking if you have heard it ya know? I''m not saying I''m ''wanting'' it as my reward." Alice shrugged. ". . . Yes I have heard of it. Though it''s merely an expensive Huntingmodity for long Hunts in rough conditions. Are you sure you want to trade that as your reward?" "Oh? So its prettymon then, just expensive. In that case then do you think you have a cksmith that can fix this glove?" Alice changed her mind as she took off her glove and ced it on the table. However, she made sure to store the threads away before doing so. Examining the gloves, the City Lord furrowed his brows for a moment before opening his mouth. "Is this perhaps the work of Lord Lothian?" Chapter 144: Samples Of The Outbreak "Lord Lothian?" Alice furrowed her brows as she didn''t know anyone by that name nor had Allura mentioned them. "You don''t know about Lord Lothian? I''m surprised you even got your hands on this kind of equipment then." The City Lord shook his head before cing it down. "Unfortunately, as this is his work, our cksmiths¡­ck the talents needed to repair this. It''s not that the material is hard to get. But rather, their understanding of the inner workings of a device, like this one, isckingpared to Lord Lothian. If they were to try, there''s a greater risk that they break the device than repair it." He admitted as Alice nodded her head. "So I''m guessing I can''t have this fixed them." "Sadly no." Taking the gloves back, Alice examined the mechanism and sighed out. She was regretting that she had held on so stubbornly and now risked breaking this weapon that Allura had gifted her. "Is there perhaps anything else I can help you with instead?" The City Lord offered but Alice shook her head. "I don''t have anything on my mind right now." Picking up her teacup, she continued to sip the mead while waiting for Ria to arrive. Not even 2 minutester, there was a knock on the door as the City Lord gestured for them to bring Ria into the room. As she entered, Ria was worried that Alice was in some trouble and yet saw her drinking mead from a tea cup while the City Lord sat opposite her. "So¡­ the guards didn''t tell me what''s going on. Did something happen?" Ria asked with a slight frown while sitting next to Alice. "I want to employ your friend, Alice, to help with the clean up of the slums. There''s been an outbreak of something unknown that Alice has some prior knowledge of. I''m hoping that with this knowledge and her assistance, we can resolve this issue as soon as possible so I can relieve the city of Martial Law." The City Lord summarised as Ria understood that he must''ve wanted her to sign a Law of Agreement. "He gave me a Law of Agreement and I wanted you to make sure everything is okay with it first. I''m not too educated on this kind of stuff anyways." Alice shrugged while pouring herself another cup. At this point, she had gone through most of her bottle. "I see¡­ Alright, let me have a read." Skimming through the contents of the Agreement, Ria was surprised howx the conditions were and all it required from Alice was for her to provide information and assistance where she can. A small price depending on what Alice asked for a reward. "And have you figured out what kind of reward you want?" "Nope. I wanted to ask for a sk simr to what your grandfather has but it seems prettymon so I changed my mind. Then apparently my glove was made by someone called Lord Lothian and his cksmiths don''t have the talent to fix it. And now I dunno what I want." Alice exined bluntly. Widening her eyes, Ria didn''t expect Alice to be this blunt regarding the cksmiths. Turning to the City Lord, she could see that he was still stone faced. Despite his slightly talkative nature at this moment, his expressions didn''t fluctuate whatsoever. "Well¡­ the conditions seem fine. If you want to do it, you can. It''s not like we can get out of this city before the Martial Law is lifted anyways." Ria shrugged as they had two choices right now. They can help out the City Lord and get a reward out of it. Or, they could reject this and spend the next few days going to the gambling arena and earning some gold. Tapping her chin, Alice decided to ept themission and made a small cut on her finger. Pressing her finger print down on the page, a familiar feeling washed over her as a connection was formed. "Now that the agreement has been epted, please let my secretary lead you around for now while I deal with the rest of the people in the hall. I will join you shortly." The City Lord nodded as he stored the Law of Agreement away for safe keeping. "Ah before you go, what do I call you? Do I call you City Lord, your lordship? Or something else?" Alice asked curiously since she didn''t know the City Lord''s name. "You can just call me Kallus." He replied as he stood up and adjusted his suit before stepping out the door. Entering after him, was a woman with short dark greyish blue hair and a pair of cold eyes. Like Kallus, she wore a suit. "Pleasure to meet you, I''m Elyn. Please follow me as our first stop will be the autopsy room. Our doctors are still examining some of the samples that we have recovered from the Slums. Please take care when you touch the sample, even if you are wearing the protective clothing that you''re given once you arrive." She bowed slightly as Alice nodded her head and finished her cup of mead. Jumping off the sofa, she grabbed her bottle and started to drink the rest of it. Raising an eyebrow in slight concern, Elyn decided to not say a word. If the City Lord has not said anything regarding her drinking then it was not her ce to do so. Guiding Alice and Ria through the castle, she made her way down a flight of stairs surrounded by guards. Every guard here had a minimum of three Sigils while a few had four. "So how did you know about what happened?" Ria asked curiously as she didn''t expect the City Lord to employ Alice''s help. "Just something I ran into in the past. I already told the City Lord that my knowledge is a bit outdated but he said any lead is fine." Alice shrugged. Before Ria could reply, Elyn pushed open the door and a pungent smell immediately assaulted their senses. Even Alice, who was prepared for this smell, visibly recoiled back as she covered her nose with her sleeves. "There will be protective clothing in the changing rooms, please get changed. I will wait outside of the changing room once I have gotten changed myself." Elyn gestured to a set of doors as Alice nodded her head. Stepping through, she could see several outfits of varying sizes hung up on the walls. Taking the set that seems to be roughly her size, Alice scrutinised the design and sighed softly as it was simr to what the schrs would always wear when operating on her body. The outfit was a in white and covered the entire body while paired with a set of gloves, some safety sses and a mask. Putting everything on, only Alice''s eyes could be seen while everything else was hidden under the outfit. "When we get in, just stand to the side if you can since I don''t know how the new parasites would react. They might blow up, they might not." Alice warned. "I''m guessing I just punch anything dangerous that pops out?" "I mean¡­ You could do that but I wouldn''t rmend it. If I''m being honest I just don''t want to be alone in there." Alice sighed. Hearing this, Ria had a wide smile on her face as she jogged over and hugged Alice. "Fufufu~ Of course I''ll keep youpany in there. Just let me know if there''s anything you want me to help out with, okay?" "Mnm." Making her way out, she could see Elyn waiting by the side, already suited up with her own protective clothing. Without saying anything else, she made her way down the hall while Ria and Alice followed behind. Even though the mask helped with the smell, it was still present and got worse the further they walked. "Try not to scream once we get in." Elyn reminded as she pushed open thest set of doors, revealing an operating room with several tables ced in the centre of the room. On the table were corpses of several half beasts with their chests opened up. Several doctors could be seen surrounding a few of the corpses while trying to examine the aftermath of the strange mutation. Making her way to a table without any doctors, Elyn grabbed a tray of tools and ced it next to the operating table. "If you have any questions please let me know and I will answer to the best of my knowledge. If you would like someone else to operate on the sample and you just observe, that can be arranged as well." "It''s fine, I''ll handle it." Alice reassured as she didn''t need to be delicate on the subject. After all, they''re already dead. The subject she was working on was an old man that was mutated beyond recognition. A strange white rubbery material acted as his skin while his facial features have beenpletely smoothed out with the exception of the eyeholes. On his back, several cavities can be seen where he started to rot from the inside out. Turning him around, Alice narrowed her eyes at the wound and plunged her hand in without hesitation. Feeling the flesh, it was akin to a chunky mess as the flesh couldn''t hold itself together. ''The effects seem to be far worse than what happened to me. He''s literally been turned to sludge inside his body.'' Alice thought to herself as she grabbed a knife and started to cut away at the body. Seeing Alice carve away at the corpse so casually without any reaction, Ria couldn''t help but apud in her mind as just the sight of it was enough to make her want to throw up her breakfast. Prying the body open so that she could get a closer look at the damage done on the inside, Alice noticed strange strands within the body. Pulling them out, observed in silence as a theory started to form in her mind. The original goal for these parasites were to ''copy'' her ability to resist the Abyss and make a medicine that could be sold to Hunters. From what she was seeing here, it seems like they were now a step closer as the body had be a cocoon that was concocting ''medicine'' within the body. But rather than medicine, it was better to call it a poison as it doubled down on the corrosive reaction. ''What are they nning¡­'' Alice frowned as she noticed something else within the body. Digging through the flesh, she discovered a strange material that was being cultivated around the heart. Chapter 145: Secrets Of The Outbreak Digging out the heart, Alice narrowed her eyes and held it against the light. It was barely noticeable but there was a thin transparent veil surrounding the heart. The purpose was unknown butpared to the rest of the body, the heart seemed to be in pristine condition thanks to this material. "Can I get another sample? I want topare them." Alice asked as Elyn nodded her head and made her way out before wheeling in another table with a sample ced on top. This time the corpse belonged to a woman with feathers and wings protruding from her body. Opening up the chest, Alice dug through the flesh before finding the heart. Just like the first sample, there was a thin veil covering it. "What do you know about this thin veil?" Alice asked but Elyn only tilted her head in confusion. "Thin veil?" "You don''t see this?" cing the heart on the table, Alice separated the bloodied veil from the heart. However, it seemed like Elyn could only see the heart and not the veil. ''Is this something only I can see?'' Alice frowned as she didn''t remember the parasites having this kind of reaction with the body. Perhaps it was due to her resistance against the blood but this kind of veil was never created around her heart. Picking up the strange material, Alice was about to take a better look but then it started to break apart and disappeared. Yet she noticed something strange with the residual energy the material left behind. It felt simr to the Blight Caller Shard that she had consumed yet very different and far more ''corrupt'' in nature. ''No way¡­'' Alice widened her eyes as an oundish theory appeared in her mind. "Miss Elyn?" Alice called out. "Yes?" "Can I ask that everyone leave this room for a moment? No one is allowed to peak while I verify something with the sample. I will let everyone know when they can enter once more. Also, I need a new sample along with their details such as name, age and Sigil Abilities." Alice asked as Elyn furrowed her brows before nodding her head. The City Lord had instructed her to help Alice however she could while he was away. Should he be here right now, he would allow her request. Letting all of the doctors know, they left the premises one by one until it was only Ria and Alice left. With a new sample in front of her, Alice took a deep breath and sighed, preparing herself for what she must do next. "What''s on your mind?" Ria asked, clearly understanding that this had something to do with Alice''s secret with her asking everyone to leave. "Just testing out a theory of mine. If it''s proved correct then we''ll need to find a way to send a message to Allura." Alice frowned as she gestured for Ria to step back. Reading through the document, Alice memorised the information of sample 3 before opening the chest and prying out the heart. Once again, the strange material was present on the heart. Biting her lips, Alice took off her mask and grabbed the veil with her hand. Without hesitation, she threw it in her mouth before swallowing and an infernal pain shot through her body. ck veins appeared around her neck as Alice could feel a foreign power flowing through her body as ck ink flowed out of her orifices. From the ink, spikes manifested, proving her theory correct. Both of these powers belonged to the person in front of her when they were alive butpared to the Blight Caller Shard, this power was rough and unrefined. The potency was low and the duration was short. A waste of a person''s life. Yet the results of this wide-scale experimentation was that they have sessfully, albeit in the initial stages, transformed human Sigil Abilities into shards that people can activate. Gritting her teeth, Alice did not hesitate to activate her Second Sigil as her body red with a violet me, burning away the ink around her and cleansing her body of the foul power. After a short moment, Alice dismissed the mes and sighed. Putting on her mask, Alice ced the heart on the table. "They''re trying to turn people into Shards that can borrow Sigil powers. It''s simr to what I can do but crudely as it requires the life of a person. Side effects are rather potent and the moment it is removed from the body, it will disappear quickly." Alice summarised with a frown. "What the hell?! Is it your old family?" Ria furrowed her brows while ncing back at the tables. This method, this level of cruelty, reminded her of the Cult of the Eclipse. People who would do anything to attain their goal and worship their god, even if it means killing your own family or lover. "I don''t know. Maybe the schrs started the initial research but this has been modified heavily. If we can find out the person who released these parasites into the city then I might be able to learn more." Alice shook her head. Pushing open the door, Alice could see the doctors discussing amongst themselves while Elyn waited patiently. "I''ve verified what I wanted to know. Can you take me to Lord Kallus? I need to inform him of my discoveries." Alice asked as Elyn nodded her head. Following behind Elyn, Alice could hear the doctors whispering to one another and doubting her capabilities as she had only arrived for not even an hour and had already discovered something that they hadn''t. However, they didn''t voice their doubts directly which saved Alice the trouble of trying to convince them. She ced the protective clothing into a basket that Elyn had prepared and made her way to the main hall where Kallus could be seen overlooking the entire operation. There were more bloodstains on the ground along with signs of him using his Sigil. "Seems like you''ve already made some discoveries." Kallus nodded as he gestured for Elyn to step away for now. "I have an idea of their end goal. Or at least it''s what I''m thinking is their end goal." Alice shrugged as Kallus raised his eyebrows in surprise. Even after giving the doctors hours to see what''s wrong, the most they had discovered was that it was akin to a potent poison that rots the body from the inside out. It was unknown as to whether this was simply a hate crime or a test withrger goals in mind. But with how Alice was wording it, it seemed to be thetter. "And their end goal being?" "It seems like they''re trying to make humans into items for consumption. In the past, I havee into contact with something called a Blight Caller Shard. I''ve noticed that there is a thinyer of energy surrounding the heart that acts in a simr manner to the crystals." Alice exined, excluding the fact that you could gain their powers by ''eating'' this energy. After all, saying so would simply raise questions on how she knows this. "Is that so? Hmm¡­ That is truly concerning. So if I''m understanding it correctly, should I consume the same parasite, I will have my power turned into a shard for others to use?" Kallus asked with a frown but Alice shook her head. "It''s still in the preliminary stages it seems as this energy dissipates quickly after being removed from the body. Unfit for use." Thinking in silence, Kallus sighed before opening his mouth. "Do you have a way to perhaps identify who hase into contact with the parasite or possibly who is in possession of it?" Kallus asked as it was better to go for the source of this outbreak. The half beasts who have been infected are a lost cause and they''re practically dead men walking. He needed to prioritise the living. "Hard to say. When I first found out about this parasite, its form was simply strands of flesh writhing in liquid. Maybe it''s changed in the current iteration." Alice shook her head as this was the limit of her assistance. Of course, there were some investigations she wanted to make of her own, but she doubted her movements would be overlooked by the City Lord. "I see¡­ Aright. I will take it from here. When you make up your mind about your reward, bring this to the castle gates and they will allow you to see me." Kallus nodded, handing Alice a silver token with the crest of the sun engraved on the surface. Nodding her head, Alice made her way out of the castle as she and Ria had been cleared of suspicion. "Seems like the city will still be in Martial Law until the City Lord gets to the bottom of this." Ria sighed as she wanted to kill whoever released this parasite into the Slums. But it was not as simple as just appearing and then killing the culprit. Taking out her bottle of mead, Alice drank the rest of it in one go as there wasn''t much left. ''Is it the Zenia''s? Are they getting desperate after I disappeared?'' Alice thought to herself as that was a possibility. With her no longer taking the brunt of the experiments, there was a chance that all of this was due to her disappearance. The Zenia''s would need to experiment with more casualties if they wish to continue producing Abyss Blood for the masses and retain their current status. ''Or is it the work of the Schrs? They''ve always been over-obsessed with Abyss Blood. I was practically a treasure trove for them.'' Taking a deep breath, Alice sighed before scratching her hair. "Ria, what do you think about doing some investigations around the slums at night?" Alice asked as Ria cracked her knuckles. "I was getting bored anyway. Plus, I also want to know who caused all of this and send them to the afterlife." All that was left was to wait till ''nightfall'' when most of the Civilians and Hunters stop their daily activities and go back home. Chapter 146: Implications Of The Shard Prototype Waiting in her room, Alice sat by the window and nced out at the streets while Ria waited in her room. "Say Alice, why do you think they''re trying to turn people into shards?" Ria asked as she hugged her knee while sitting on the bed. "Don''t know. If it''s the people from my old family, maybe they''re doing it to find a way to make more medicine. In this case, the medicine is an item that can give you the power belonging to other people." Alice shook her head. Even if they were able to seed in creating this shard that copies the power belonging to another, it doesn''t eliminate the fact that there are side effects in doing so. Even now, she could still remember the sensation of a dark power trying to pry its way into the deepest parts of her body and take her over. The Blight Caller Shard attempted to do so and so did the prototype shards. The only difference is that the prototype dissipated before it could get far. "Let''s think of it from their perspective then I guess. What would a finalised result of these¡­ Human shards be capable of?" "The finalised results should be capable of granting you the powers of the Sigils they acquired in life along with any passive benefit within your body. If one was made from an Abyss Lord, eating said crystal should grant you the power of the Abyss Lord. Or do you think they''re trying to stack the powers with one another?" Alice furrowed her brows. "That''s what I''m thinking. Remember how Allura mentioned that Apostles are one level above the Abyss Lords? Do you think they''re trying to bridge that gap? If this is the word of the Cult, maybe they''re trying to give their Apostles the upper hand against the Sun and Moon." Ria spected. It was a possibility that had been appearing in her mind ever since Alice mentioned that the Shards could grant the power of Sigils. Hearing this, Alice paused as she nced back at Ria. "If they seed, would it be possible to duplicate an Apostle''s power?" The notion of such a feat seemed impossible but if it was true, perhaps the religions would no longer be limited to just having two Apostles each and a battle beyond their capabilities and imagination could break out. "We need to tell Allura and your grandfather." "I can send grandfather a letter through the Underground but I''m not sure how long it''ll take." Ria frowned. "But the issue is that this information bes avable to the Underground. They are primarily an organisation for information, anything can be bought with the right conditions." "Do we have no other way to contact them?" Alice sighed but Ria shook her head. "In that case how about we ask the Underground to inform Allura to contact us as soon as possible? We shouldn''t share the details so that only Allura knows." Ria suggested as Alice thought about it for a moment before nodding her head. After all, Allura mentioned that she had methods to contact them if she needed. "Alright let''s do that. I''m not sure where the Underground is though. Is it like¡­ Literally underground? Or is that the name of their organisation?" Alice asked curiously. "It''s a bit of both. Usually I see them underground and their name is also the Underground. It might be different in this city but we can probably ask the City Lord for some help. Maybe ask if we can get permission to enter the slums too without snooping around. "Of course, there''s a risk that he can just have someone tail us so we might need to be careful with how you disy your power." Ria reminded as Alice nodded her head. She needed to be cautious when dealing with her mes. "It''s also a good time to ask for the reward. What do we need right now?" Alice asked as the only thing she wanted right now was a high quality sk to hold her mead while keeping it cold. "Well we can ask for a carriage leading to Isilvaria as well as a bit of travelling money. We can also ask for some weapons just in case since some people might covet your weird bracelet." Ria suggested as she still couldn''t wrap her head around what Alice''s bracelet was made from. The fact that it could drink so much blood to enhance itself while changing shape was far too strange and eye catching. If she showed it to others, there was no doubt that some greedy Hunter would have ns to steal the weapon. "Alright, let''s do that." Leaving the Inn, the two made their way back and set up a meeting with the City Lord. ### "I did not expect you toe back so soon. Are you here for the reward or have you gained more leads to the investigation?" Kallus asked curiously while inviting them to sit down in his office. "A bit of both. For the reward, would it be possible to get a carriage leading to Isilvaria? It''s a bit far from here. Aside from the carriage, can we also get some weapons and a high quality sk for my drinks?" Alice asked. Upon mentioning her drinks, she pulled out a fresh bottle of mead that she had taken from her room and had a wide smile on her face. Seeing how enthusiastic Alice was towards mead, Ria was speechless. She couldn''t help but feel as though it was a mistake to bring her to the gambling arena as now not only was there a gambling addict, which is incorrect as she could stop whenever she wanted, but now there was also an alcoholic. Kallus was speechless at Alice''s request but nodded his head as all three were reasonable requests. After Alice had mentioned that there was a strange energy surrounding the heart, he had the Doctorspare it to Shards that was collected from other beasts. And as expected, there were indeed faint traces that bore simrities between the two. Had it not been for Alice mentioning it, they wouldn''t have discovered the traces of energy. Even for him, if he wasn''t looking for it specifically, he wouldn''t have discovered it so soon. "Very well. But I must say, I can only get you the carriage once Martial Law has been lifted. It''s not that I''m suspecting you but rather I must be fair with all parties involved. As for the weapon, I will arrange a meeting with the finest cksmiths we have and you can make your request to them. As for the sk¡­ I will see what I can do. Getting a standard sk is simple but a high quality hunter''s sk is a little harder." Kallus nodded as Alice didn''t mind a little wait for the sk. After all, it wasn''t as though they could leave any time soon with the Martial Law still in ce. "Ah before I forget, can we investigate the Slums? I know you have your guards there but we want to look around on our own for a bit." Alice asked as Kallus raised an eyebrow. "Are there theories you wish to verify still?" "Kind of but not really. It''s also just getting a better look at the situation so I can inform my¡­ Teacher?" Alice furrowed her brows as she wasn''t sure what kind of connection she would call Allura. She was both her teacher and family member. The part that confused her was the part where they are family. "Ria, would you say Allura would be my great great great many times grandma? Since she said she was older than your grandfather right?" Alice turned to Ria who was about to answer but paused as she wasn''t sure herself. Allura''s age had always been a confusing factor as she looked as though she was in herte 20''s to early 30''s yet she''s been around for entire generations. "I mean¡­ She''s more like your mother right now. But if we''re strictly talking about age, she''ll be your great great great many times grandmother." Ria shrugged. Meanwhile, Kallus waspletely lost in their conversation. "So you''re investigating things to inform your Teacher?" Kallus asked, deciding to not confuse himself and just associate this ''Allura'' person as Alice''s teacher. "Pretty much." Alice nodded. "Alright, I''ll have Elyn inform the guards to leave you be if you wish to enter the slums. If there are any discoveries, please let me know so we can lift the Martial Law. The sooner we find the culprit, the faster life returns to normal for the civilians." Kallus nodded. "For now though, would you like to talk to our cksmith so he can start making your weapon immediately? Of course, you can also choose from his existing wares as well." He offered. Thinking about it for a moment, Alice decided it was best to see the cksmith first. If a fight does break out, having a spare weapon woulde in handy. With Alice''s mind made up, Kallus had Elyn notify the Guards while writing a note for Alice. "Take this to the smithy and they will understand. From there, you can either choose a weapon they already have on disy or have them make something for you. If you are not in a rush, I suggest having them make something for you as they will base it on your existing Sigils." Kallus said while handing Alice the note. With Elyn being busy informing the guards, Kallus had a Guard guide them to the smithy so they didn''t get lost within the castle. As they approached the smithy, the distant sounds of hammers crashing down on the anvil started to ring out as the surrounding temperature increased the closer they got. The stone walls of the castle was dyed in a faint crimson due to the mes of the smithy while the shadows of hammers and those who wielded the tool reflected on the walls. Entering the smithy, the guard gestured towards the room in the back. "That''s where the head of the smithy is." The guard exined before giving the two a slight bow and making his way back to his station. Looking at one another, the two shrugged before walking through the smithy to reach the room. The one way there, they could see several smiths using their Sigils to help them forge weapons. ''I suppose Sigils aren''t only used for hunting. There are uses like this.'' Alice mused to herself. Knocking on the door, a tired voice called them in as the two pushed open the door and entered the room. Chapter 147: New Weapons "What''s going on? I''m pretty sure I finished all of mymissions." A tired voice sounded out as Alice and Ria saw the owner of the voice. They had expected the head of the cksmiths to be arge muscr old man or woman but instead, it was a young man with a rather slim physique. Even Ria seemed more muscr inparison. He had short crimson hair and wore the standard cksmith''s attire consisting of a ck shirt, pants and an apron with tools hanging on his belt. Handing him the letter, the young man skimmed over the contents before furrowing his brows. "Alright. Let''s make it quick then. What kind of weapon do you want?" He asked while tossing the letter on his table. "Well what weapon do you rmend for lightning users?" Ria asked curiously, wanting to gauge the skills of the young cksmith. "Depends on how you fight." "Close range and with speed. Preferably something that can deal a lot of damage in one go without decreasing my speed." Ria answered while trying to think of other requirements that would be good for her. "Is it for killing Hunters or fighting beasts?" The cksmith asked while walking over to his desk and pulling out a catalogue of sorts. He wanted to see if any of his preexisting weapons matched her requirements and if it did, it would save him time on forging a brand new weapon. "Bit of both but mostly for beasts." "Alright. And what about you?" He turned to Alice who was still thinking of how she wanted to fight. "Do you have any rmendations for a close to medium ranged fighter? My Sigil powers revolve around using blood and setting it on fire." Alice asked curiously. She wanted to see how else she could utilise her Sigils. "Blood and fire? That''s a strangebination. But I do have something avable." He nodded as he stood up and made his way to the storage with Ria and Alice following behind. "However, it might require a bit of adjustment to suit your Sigils. When we get there, can you give me a quick demonstration of your blood control and mes?" "Ah, sure." Alice nodded while Ria nced towards her. She was worried that Alice might reveal too much but seeing that Alice wasn''t saying anything, Ria decided to trust the process. "Same goes for your lightning. Just a quick demonstration will do." Upon arriving at the storage, Alice could immediately feel the threatening aura some of the weapons were radiating. Despite being held in their sheathes, it felt as though she was standing in a room full of beasts. "All of these weapons are made from some of the finest beast materials we can get our hands on. So even though it''s not a custom piece, if should be more than enough for what you require." The cksmith exined as he reached a box in the back and pulled out a weapon wrapped in bandages. "Show me your blood control and fire. If the sword reacts to it, then that means you two arepatible." Hearing this, Alice nodded her head as she stepped to a clearing before biting her forearm. She didn''t want to expose what her bracelet could do so she resorted to this method. Controlling the blood that was flowing out of her body, she created a set of needles that floated around her before snapping her finger. In that moment, the needles erupted with bright violet mes as the faint cry of a dragon could be heard upon ignition. "!!!" Widening his eyes, the cksmith immediately felt the de in his hands begin to vibrate as blood seeped through the gaps of the bandages. Shredding the bandage apart, the malevolent de presented itself as its body was crafted from a strange ck material that looked simr to the spikes and horns she had seen on the body of beasts. A red gem was iid upon the guard of the de as there was no metal present. It was entirely made from this strange material. Countlessyers could be seen as it ovepped one another to form the single edge de while red energy pulsed beneath the gaps. As it reacted to the presence of Alice''s blood and mes, the de started to bleed as ayer of red liquid ovepped the surface of the de before igniting with deep red mes. It looked as though the me was trying to contend with the violet fire that Alice had conjured as the temperature of the room started to rise yet the violet mes showed no sign of being surpassed. "Oh my¡­ To think the mes of this sword are actually losing out¡­ Seems like I''ll need to make some adjustments to the base material. Otherwise, it won''t be able to handle your fire." The cksmith remarked as he gestured for Alice to cease her demonstration. With the mes now disappearing, the de returned to normal as he nced at the bandages and sighed. "What creature did you even have to kill to get such mes? It''s rare for the fire belonging to the Bloodme Gargoyle to lose out." He asked curiously as the de in his hands was a piece he liked to call the Bloodme de. It was crafted from the spine of the Bloodme Gargoyle while being merged with the wings belonging to the Infernal Wyvern. Both beasts synergised well with one another to forge a weapon that harnesses the benefits in a single weapon. It has unholy sharpness that can cut through the skin belonging to three star beasts with ease, while contending against even some of the most lethal four star beasts. "Secret. How long will your adjustments take?" Alice asked, not wanting to exin the truth behind her fire. "Hmm¡­ it should take roughly a day or so. I have the materials on hand, it''s just a matter of doing the adjustments." He replied after a short pause. Turning his attention to Ria, he gestured for her to demonstrate her power as she partially activated her resonance. In the end, they decided on a set of long gloves that reached past the elbow. It was made from the skin of a Lightning Morph and while it was in its dormant state, it looked like a normal set of gloves. Upon activation, however, the gloves transform into a thin protective gauntlet that will exhaust her lightning to parry attacks. Not only that, it also boosts the potency and her control over the lightning element. Unlike Alice''s new sword, it required no adjustment as the Lightning Morph is a beast famed for its adaption towards Lightning. It could harness the lightning belonging to those beneath the sixth Sigil. "Do you want toe back in 2 days to collect your de? Or should I ask someone to send it to where you are currently residing?" He asked while pulling out a notepad and pen. "Ah then can you send it to this address? We''re staying there until the Martial Law is lifted." Alice replied while giving him a note that Ria had prepared beforehand in case Alice was to buy more mead and needed them to be delivered. Nodding his head, the cksmith stored the piece of paper away and made his way to the forge. "You can see yourselves out. I''ll make a start on the adjustments immediately." Hearing this, both Alice and Ria started to make their way out but nced back upon hearing the roar of the fire within the forge. To their surprise, they watched as the cksmith activate his resonance and his entire body started to bulk up while red armour covered his arms. Scales manifested around his face as a set of horns appeared on his head. Taking a deep breath, he spewed out a stream of fire on the de while grabbing his hammer. Seeing the slender man transform into a hulking half-dragon-like beast with armour, both Alice and Ria nced at each other in shock while continuing their way out. "Did you know resonances could be used like that?" Alice asked while Ria shook her head. "Not really. I only focused on the hunting and fighting side of things. Grandfather never told me much about other stuff." "The more you know I suppose. Do you think your resonance could be used¡­ in a simr manner?" Alice shrugged while thinking back to Ria''s resonance. With how much lightning she was able to generate and how she could change the weather around her, there was a chance that it could be used to for something other than fighting. "Maybe. But we''ll have to ask Luke when we see him since he''s more knowledgeable on this kind of thing." As they made their way out, they noticed that the streets were rather empty as they had spent quite a bit of time inside the castle. If they wanted to visit the slums, now was the time. ncing to Ria, Alice noticed that she was thinking the same as Alice made a quick detour back to her room to store away her mead. Not before taking a quick sip to keep her motivated through the investigation. "So where do you want to start? The slums can be split into three sections. The rooftops, the ground and then the sewers." Ria asked as they walked towards the entrance of the slums. "Hmm¡­ We should probably check out the ground first. Go to the centre of the incident and see if there are any clues. Personally, I think we should leave the sewersst. I don''t want to ruin this outfit that I only just bought yesterday." Alice sighed. "Fair point. We''ll investigate the ground, the rooftops then the¡­ Sewers." Ria groaned as she too wasn''t excited about the idea of investigating the sewers. However, as many would say, leave no stone unturned. If they want to get as much information as they can, they can''t avoid investigating the sewer region. Approaching the slums, the guards gave them a nod and allowed them to pass as they had been informed by Elyn regarding their entry. Seeing that they weren''t held back or questioned, the two shrugged at one another before making their way into the heart of the slums. As they entered, countless eyes nced at them through the gaps of their windows and walls, curious as to who they were and why they''vee. Soon, they reached the heart of the slums where a mountain of corpses and flesh greeted them. A spire of mes crackled as ck smoke billowed to the top. Chapter 148: Investigating The Slums Looking at the mountain of corpses, Alice could feel a dark power simr to the feeling the heart gave her. Only this time it was far more condensed. ''What is this feeling¡­'' Alice furrowed her brows. Seeing how the cluster was gathered, she could feel her emotions started to shift. At first, it was simply annoyance towards this sight but then transformed into anger. And finally, blood lust towards those that caused this. ncing over to Ria, Alice noticed that Ria seemed to feel the same as a myriad of emotions washed over her face before settling on anger and bloodlust. ''Not good, we need to step away now!'' Grabbing Ria by the arm, Alice jumped back before making a cut on her arm. She wasn''t sure if this was going to work but if it was part of the Abyss, her power shoulde in handy. Activating her second Sigil, a violet me manifested on her arm as her blood started to evaporate, turning into fumes as it calmed their mind. "What the hell¡­" Ria groaned while clutching her head. "I don''t know. But this is no longer the parasites I know of. There''s¡­ something else mixed in." Alice frowned as she wanted to steer clear of the corpse pile. Just a brief exposure was able to invoke such feelings. There was no telling what prolonged exposure could cause. ''Could that be why they''re burning the corpses? To get rid of them so it doesn''t affect the residents.'' Alice thought to herself as she parkoured up the metal steps to reach the rooftops. Now that she was further away from the corpse pile, her mind regained its calm as she nced down at the slums. Now that she was watching from above, she could see how gruesome some of the deaths were as their bodies had been turned inside out. Countless scratches and tears made by their bare hands scarred their skin while bones erupted from the inside out. Within this pile, small yet noticeable strands of energy simr to the shard could be observed thanks to Ca''s power. ''The parasites are now trying to turn people into shards. They can infect other hosts if they start to transform near another. Being near the corpses invokes bloodlust and anger from within¡­'' Alice noted down in her mind as she tried to find the connection and purpose of such a parasite. Right now, the only purpose she could think of for these parasites was to give people an extra boost in power once it is perfected. But that was shallow. There could be a deeper reason, one big enough for them to experiment so openly in a city. Just as she was about to jump down one more, she noticed Ria staring off into the alleys of the slums with a frown. "Something wrong?" Alice called down as Ria nced up then shook her head. "No nothing. Probably just someone being curious about what''s happening." Ria shrugged. She had felt as though someone was staring at her and nothing else. A gaze that scanned her from head to toe and gave her goosebumps. ''Maybe I''m just too pretty.'' Ria dismissed in her mind as a joke yet she couldn''t get rid of the goosebumps on her arms. Not wanting to stand alone, she jumped up to meet up with Alice as their next destination was the sewers. ### "Her senses are quite sharp." A shadowy figure chuckled softly as he nced at the two from the darkness surrounding the slums. He recognised Ria or rather, the power she was exuding. It wasn''t the power of the Sigil but rather the Ritual of Starvation. There were only a handful of these rituals done and few had survivors. Those that survived were usually integrated into the cult and yet, there was a survivor standing near him who wasn''t taken by the cult. Thinking to himself, the man had a scheming smile on his face as he yed around with a small white worm the size of a thin needle. With a survivor of the Ritual of Starvation and a strange woman with split hair now joining the fry, he had to adjust his ns to amodate for all variables. As he was thinking about this, an idea manifested in his mind as he curled his lips into a cruel smile. "I may as well use my old ties to the Cult of the Eclipse. That''ll make everything else much easier for me." Sinking back into the darkness, the man disappeared from the location. ### Standing by the window overlooking the city, Kallus watched with a serious expression. With his power, he could sense several movements within the city yet a few still elude him. He could sense the movement of Alice and Ria as they approached the centre of the slums. ''Seems like they''re rather shocked by the sight. That''s to be expected.'' Kallus thought to himself as his demeanour hadpletely changed. While meeting with Alice and Ria, he put on an amodating ''mask'' to put them at least. He needed Alice''s cooperation to realise what was truly going on within this realm. But now, he had returned to his usual stone faced demeanour where it seemed as though he was an unsheathed de, waiting to descend. "Have the guards surround the slums. There are movements beneath the surface. I want you to send people to all of our exits so you can block their escape path." Kallus ordered as Elyn obeyed. Taking a deep breath, he sighed softly while ncing at the report in his hands. He hadpiled everything he knew thus far into a document as Alice''s conjectures made up 20% of the document. Flipping through everything once more, he shut the book with a resounding thud and ced it back on the shelf before making his way out. Adjusting the gloves on his hands, it was time for him to let those who dared mess with his city find out who exactly rules this domain. ''They must be looking down on me if they think I can''t find them.'' He thought with a small smirk. When fishing, one must be patient. Alice and Ria were the bait and now it was time to wait for the fish to swim up thinking everything was under their control. It was also the reason why he was not against granting Alice a good reward as she deserved this as the bare minimum once everything was over. ### Jumping down the sewers, both Alice and Ria retched at the smell as they tried their best not to throw up. "Urg¡­ Do we have to go this far down?" Ria asked but Alice nodded her head. She wanted to find out the truth about the parasites, if her family was truly involved and how deep they were in trying to manufacture such an item. She wanted to know what the Schrs nned to do now that she was not around for them to experiment on. For all of that to happen, she needed to investigate every clue she has. "So what do you think is down here?" Ria asked, curious as to why Alice had chosen to investigate the sewers. "I want to see if it''s connected to some people I know or not. If they are connected, they probably have a room set up somewhere and use it to dispense the parasites. If not then at least we''ve crossed out the possibility." Alice shrugged as Ria scratched her hair before sighing and nodding her head. "Alright then let''s make this quick. I don''t want to stay here longer than I have to." Navigating the sewers, they came across a few small beasts that Ria was able to take out with ease while Alice focused on memorising the way back along with trying to see if there was any residual energy that she was familiar with. It was going to be difficult as the moment the prototype shards left the body, they began to disintegrate. However, as they were navigating the tunnels, they heard a distant thumping sound as it sounded as though something extremely heavy was stomping around the sewage. Both Alice and Ria stopped talking as they made sure to make as little noise as possible while turning the corners and soon, theyid eyes on the source of the sound. Simr to the corpse she had opened up in the castle, the beast had pale white skin and arge cut in its chest, exposing its beating organs to the world while the ribs had been turned inside out. Its skin was practically glued together to his skin as he had a set of sunken eyes and cheeks while a bone like crown sat upon its head. Strange tendrils with bubbles hung off the crown while. Despite the sunken facial features, its body was highly muscr asyers uponyers of muscle fibres wrapped around his arms and legs. Just a single nce caused one to shiver at the thought of being hit by its physical attacks as the beast took another step, seemingly patrolling the area. Above his head, there was another anomaly that Alice couldn''t quite describe. Usually, when she nced upon beasts, she''d be able to see their name and difficulty level. Yet, upon seeing this beast, the difficulty had constantly been adjusting between two star and four star difficulty. Not only that, the name changed with each passing nce as though she was looking at another beast but the body stayed the same. ''is it an experiment?'' Alice asked herself as it could be another prototype simr to the shard. ''With her knowledge of the schrs and an estimate on what the shards could do, Alice had guessed that this was the lead prototype of some kind of mass produced beast. ''If this thing is patrolling nearby them perhaps there''s indeed a room near here.'' Alice thought to herself as she gestured for Ria to follow closely behind her. But Ria didn''t respond. ncing back, Alice could see that Ria was in shock as she took rapid deep breaths in futile attempts to calm herself down. Her eyes were unable to be removed from the beast''s back as countless faint scars could be seen. One that had been etched upon her own body and a nightmare she could never forget. This beast is also a participant in the Ritual of Starvation. Chapter 149: Tasia "Ria?" Alice called out hesitantly as Ria closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Clenching her fist, she stood in silence before opening her eyes with a new calm. "I''m feeling better. Seems like this ce has connections to the Cult of the Eclipse. But I thought your family only dealt with the Church of the Moon? Are they currying a favour with the Cult as well?" Ria asked curiously but Alice shook her head. "The Zenia''s dealt with the Church due to the medicine they produced and the resources they could gain as a result. I doubt they would make themselves an enemy of the public by siding with the Cult. Unless it''s the Schrs that are involved with the Cult rather than the family itself." Alice replied with a frown. Despite all the dirt beneath the surface, the Zenia family seemed benevolent to the public eye and they intend to keep it that way. Doing something like this would only harm everything they''ve worked for thus far, an entire generation''s worth of effort wasted by siding with the Cult. "The Schrs?" Ria raised an eyebrow as this was the first time that she had heard Alice mention them. "Mnm. They''re the ones responsible for the¡­ Testing and production of medicine and Abyss Blood that they sell to the public. While the Zenia''s are powerful and influential, the Schrs hold all of the key information to their research. There are restrictions to what the Schrs can do but if they found a way around that, then there might be a chance that they''re working with the Cult to further their ambitions on discovering the secrets of the Abyss." Alice exined while recalling the people who experimented on her body. Their fervour for knowledge far exceeded the average person and they were willing to do anything and everything to attain the knowledge they desired. Perhaps that was the key to how they were able to produce so much usable Abyss Blood for the public. While Alice yed arge role in that, an average person could never achieve what the Schrs have done and repurpose it for the public. ''There''s no one thates to mind that would side with the Cult. They''re too loyal to the Zenia family. Perhaps there''s someone else that learned of the Zenia''s research.'' Alice mused to herself as she slowly approached the beast that was patrolling these tunnels. If they wished to venture further, they had to deal with this beast quickly and quietly. "Want me to deal with it?" Ria asked but Alice shook her head. With Ria''s power over lightning, an attack that would kill the beast was far too loud and might alert anyone that''s waiting further in. The best person for this job was Alice. ''It remains most of its humanoid body so I can assume it has a brain and a heart. The best way to kill it would be to use my fire from the inside out but it might scream and alert the others. I need to be fast with my fire.'' Alice thought to herself as she narrowed her eyes at the beast. But there was another way she could do this. And that was to simply remove its ability to harness the Abyss momentarily and assassinate it! Activating both of her Sigils, Alice could feel the power surging through her body, building up before reaching a limit. With her physical strength now enhanced to the limit, she made a small cut on her arm and allowed the blood to climb up the walls and make its way above the beast. Small sparks of fire appeared above it as Alice had made sure the blood was thin enough to not create arge me but instead, evaporate instantly. With fumes now covering the beast, Alice jumped out and turned her bracelet into a dagger. Turning its head towards her, the beast was shocked at Alice''s appearance before regainingposure and aimed its palm at her. Yet nothing happened. Before it could figure out what was happening, Alice stabbed the knife into the beast''s mouth, transforming it into a spear that pierced the back of their head. Kicking the body of the spear, she transformed the shaft into a de that sliced the beast''s head off while rotating and separated the head from the shoulders. Taking this chance, Alice poured some of her blood into the body and set it ame. Using her weapon to ''catch'' the body, she allowed it to fall slowly, making sure it didn''t make too much noise. "Damn¡­ I''m jealous. The fact that your fire makes Abyss powers obsolete, even just for a moment is scary." Ria whispered with a slight shiver. She could already imagine how dangerous Alice could be in the future if she decided to walk the path of an assassin. The simple fact that she could merge her blood with any liquid and set it me to cancel out Sigils means even those in power were vulnerable to her. "Don''t be." Alice replied while making her way to the next section of the sewers, confusing Ria as many would die for this kind of ability. But what she didn''t know was the price of this ability meant losing everything Alice held dear. Had it not been for Kaden, her torture would''ve continued indefinitely. ''With or without this power, I would''ve still been jabbed by a needle at my birthday and turned into a monster.'' Alice thought to herself as having this power simply meant she would survive that day only to be greeted by torture. She had thought about the possibility of not having her resistance to the Abyss many times while rotting away in the Zenia prison. Many times she had wondered if it would''ve been better had she just died. Many times has she tried to make that a reality yet it never seeded. Now that she has her freedom, she wasn''t going to give up like she did in prison. The only path she now desired was the destruction of the Zenia family and it had to be done by her own hands. Only then, will her anger be quelled. Making their way through the sewers, there were a few more beasts simr to the first one they saw patrolling these tunnels. Taking them out in the same matter, they progressed without much issue and soon, they came across arge opening that led down to a giant open space full of broken pirs. "What the¡­" Ria muttered, seeing that the path down led to arge cavity in the ground with countless bridges crossing the gap. It reminded Alice of the tunnels down that hosted a sealed Abyss Lord in the ughter Docks yet different. ''Is it a simr containment? Though I doubt they would build a sewer above it.'' Alice thought with a frown. "Do we keep going or back off?" Ria asked curiously as this was far bigger than what they had originally predicted. "Keep going." ### In the furthest reaches of the sewer, a woman could be seen sitting on a chair while a group of people were discussing with one another regarding the situation in the slums. She had long side braided grey hair and a pair of cold blue eyes. She wore a ck dress adorned with blue jewellery, white ted boots and arge white jacket with arge fur cor. "It seems like the material has manifested itself to a small degree. Though the side effects are far too strong for us to make use of it." One of the men frowned as a female researcher chimed in. "But it''s a proof of concept is it not? The fact that we can indeed turn people into shards should be a cause for celebration. Perhaps it''s because the subjects are half beasts that it was a failure. Next time we should aim for real humans." "Their body may have interfered with the transformation process. We should release a second wave but into the market space to test the effectiveness." Another brought up. "It''s too risky though. The City Lord is already investigating the situation. If we''re not careful everything we''ve worked for could be destroyed before we even report back to the Cult." Upon mentioning the City Lord, they started to murmur to one another as the City Lord was their main concern. He was not someone they wanted to face directly as that would mean death. "Settle down." The woman sitting in the chair called out as everyone in the room turned silent. "I have already sent the results of the research back to the Cult. Your work will not be forgotten. But I suggest you prepare an escape route that does not involve going back into the city." She called out as a shadowy figure emerged next to her. "There are two rats that have entered the sewers. One is a survivor of the Ritual of Starvation. Surprisingly, she has kept her human appearance despite the ritual taking an effect on her body. Maybe it was interrupted half way. The second rat seems to hold a strange power but much is unknown. She seems to be under the effects of Abyss Blood side effects since one of her eyes is affected. It seems like the City Lord has employed them to figure out what happened." The figure smiled. "Honestly, if you get the girl that survived the Ritual you might find out what you need to cultivate these worms further without distorting the base body." He shrugged. "And news about the City Lord?" The woman asked without looking at him. "He has his guards surrounding the entrances. But he can''t cover everything properly. I''m sure you know what that means, Bishop Tasia." He grinned. Tasia was silent. Tapping her finger against the armrest, she sighed and stood up. "I''ll deal with the City Lord and his two rats. I know your allegiance does not lie with the Cult hence you can scurry off and do whatever you want. You wouldn''t want to break your side of the Agreement." Tasia narrowed her eyes as the figure chuckled and nodded his head. "Of course. I will take your schrs out of the city once you engage inbat. I promise on my honour." He bowed yet Tasia only scoffed in disdain. "Don''t promise me what you don''t have. I only trust in the Law of Agreement when dealing with men like you. Adhere to your side of the Agreement and I shall do my part." Stepping out of the room, Tasia adjusted her gloves and prepared to face the City Lord. He who is judge, jury and executioner of ckrock Castle. Chapter 150: Strange Blood In The Sewers Making their way through the sewers, Alice tried her best to keep quiet. There was no telling what could be waiting in the shadows, but so far, she couldn''t see any beasts. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Alice nced back at Ria and gestured for her to follow along quickly as they were now reaching the end of the room. ''There are lots of paths, but most of them are blocked.'' Alice thought to herself as they had explored some of the paths on the way down but yielded no result. "How much further do we need to go? I''m not sure if we''ll even find anything down here," Ria asked while scratching her hair. They had already spent more than two hours down here, and they have nothing to show for it except for the strange beasts they encountered on the way here. Products of the Ritual of Starvation. "Just a bit more." Jumping down, Alicended on the stone paving and prepared to venture forward when she noticed something strange in the air. Sniffing the air, she furrowed her brows, as this was not the standard sewage smell that they were used to smelling while being down here. It was something else entirely. It was faint, but warning bells were ringing in Alice''s mind. "Ria, stay up there." Alice called out, warning Ria not to jump down as doing so might be dangerous for her. Walking up to the walls, Alice noticed faint marks between the rocks and glided her finger across the surface. ''Half-dried blood. Not quite powdered form¡­ The consistency is quite thin too¡­ But this is definitely Abyss Blood.'' Alice thought with a frown as she held the blood to her nose and smelled the scent. It was faint, and the sewage smell covered the scent, but she was familiar with the feeling she felt from this blood. "Is something wrong?" Ria called out while Alice was trying to figure out theposition of the blood. She had definitely smelled this scent andbination of blood before, back in the Zenia prison. "There''s Abyss Blood down here. Vapor Spider Blood mixed with Nightmare Jackle and Phantom Pod. Effects are most prominent while being inhaled, causes hallucinations and agitation. It also dulls your reaction speed and makes it so that you be hard-focused on what you''re trying to aplish that you ignore everything around you." Alice recited, as this was a byproduct of the schrs making her ingest thebination of blood. With them inhaling the fumes, they had lost track of themselves and began to experiment without care for her survival and had almost killed her on the operating table. The madness in their eyes was especially clear that day. "What the¡­ How do you know?" Ria asked, blinking her eyes in surprise as all she saw was Alice walk up to a wall and smell the dust between the gaps. Yet that was enough for her to recognize thebination and Abyss Blood types. "Just experience." Alice shrugged, as 10 years of having everything burned to memory through pain allowed her to recognize the blood that had been used on her. Climbing up using her dagger and threads, Alice sat down on the tform and frowned. "It seemed to be recently applied so it''s a sign that we''re getting close. But going further might be dangerous for you." Alice nced at Ria, as there was no telling what other blood might be down there. "Shall we report back to the City Lord then? They can check out the rest of it since we''ve already found a clue about where they are." Ria suggested. Thinking about it for a moment, Alice nodded her head as this was far too dangerous for Ria. ''I don''t have any issues with this, but the same can''t be said for Ria. If we enter the more dangerous parts and inhale blood that takes effect immediately, Ria will die before I can make a move. Even with my mes.'' Turning around, they prepared to make their way back when Ria stopped for a moment and activated all of her Sigils at once. Entering her resonance, she gathered a spear of lightning and stabbed behind Alice. *BANG!!!! Widening her eyes in surprise, Alice jumped out of the way and nced back. She saw a woman who was about to stab her with a de of ice. "Hou~ I didn''t think your senses would be so sharp." Tasia raised an eyebrow as her original n was for them to approach the tunnels yet Alice backed off after noticing something was wrong. She had decided to eliminate the split-haired girl first as her knowledge of Abyss Blood seemed concerning yet the other girl had actually managed to block her attack. ''Her lightning is stronger than average. She seems to be using four Sigils¡­ I can finish this quickly.'' Tasia thought to herself while kicking Ria''s wrist and threw an ice dagger at Alice who parried with her own weapon. The force of the collision sent Alice rolling back as she could feel her wrists bing numb just from blocking! "Ria! She has six Sigils!" Alice shouted out as she never expected to be ambushed by someone with six Sigils. The fact that Ria was actually able to block just even one strike was enough to prove how powerful she was despite only having four Sigils! Squinting her eyes, Tasia was surprised that Alice had figured out that she has six Sigils. She had made sure to only use 3 during that assassination attempt. ''How did that girl know? Regardless, I should make this quick. The City would''ve definitely noticed the fluctuation of power right now.'' Adjusting her posture, she was about to attack Ria, expecting her to be on the defensive. However, to her disbelief, Ria did not hesitate to strike out towards her despite the gap in power! Ria understood that she needed the physical powers to match against this woman if she wanted a chance at survival! Charging into close range, Ria mmed her elbow towards the woman''s chest as she blocked with her palm. Following up with a kick towards the knee, Ria activated her resonance ability and enhanced her physical capabilities to its limit! Several motes of lightning manifested around her and coated her body with a protectiveyer. Letting out a shout, Ria punched down on the tform with countless bolts of lightning crashing down around her, forcing Tasia to jump back as she didn''t expect this kind of firepower from her. Just as shended on her feet, Alice''s dagger swung around a pir and pierced towards her with a violet me dancing on the de. Seeing this, Tasia flicked her fingers, preparing to ward off the de with her ice as the fire was invoking a sense of unease in her heart. "!!!" Widening her eyes, Tasia noticed that her ice wasn''t forming and had to bend her body back to avoid the mes. ''Gotcha!'' Alice shouted in her mind as she pulled her thread, causing the dagger to be pulled back and swung towards her head! *BANG!!!!! A de of ice pierced up from the ground and knocked the dagger aside as Tasia regained control of her Sigils. ''What the hell was that?!'' She thought to herself with caution as she didn''t expect her abilities to malfunction. Even if it was just for a split moment. Re-evaluating how dangerous Alice was, Tasia crouched down before disappearing from her spot. Even with the capabilities of Ca, Alice couldn''t react in time as Tasia was about to stab her in her throat using her daggers. Ria had reacted instantly but she was still a step too slow! Before the dagger could reach Alice, a ck de mmed down from above. "Attempted murder of a Hunter Imissioned personally, crimes of being a member of the Cult of the Eclipse while inside the city blessed by the Sun, ties with the outbreak in the slums. Your crimes are heavy, and nothing short of a death sentence shall cleanse your sins." Kallus'' voice rang out as Alice nced up and saw that Kallus was now wearing armour. "My my, what an honour. To be visited by the City Lord himself despite your busy schedule." Tasia smiled. Flicking her wrist, a de of ice appeared behind Alice and Ria and stabbed towards their hearts. Yet before they could find their target, a shield appeared and blocked the attack. Seeing this, Alice and Ria understood that this was their cue to leave as staying behind would only risk death! Without hesitation, the two dashed towards the exit while Kallus was grateful that they were quick on the uptake. ''Bishop Tasia. Sighted near ckrock City. She is a step away from attaining the role of Archbishop within the Cult.'' Kallus thought to himself as ck mist started to wrap around his body. Activating his resonance, he decided to spare no effort in eliminating a future Archbishop! Running to the original tunnels, Alice and Ria could sense the eruption of power behind them as they dashed towards the exit. "She seems to be covering for the true culprits for the outbreak." Alice frowned. "How do you know?" "There''s no smell of Abyss Blood on her body. The blood on the walls was recently applied and it''s not a smell that can easily be erased. She''s not the one who put them there meaning she''s more like a guard." Alice exined. "What do we do then?" "Let''s find the other exits and let Elyn and the guards know about what''s happening. We need to catch the ones responsible for the parasites." Alice narrowed her eyes. But that wasn''t the only reason. The secondary reason was so that she could figure out the connection between the Zenia''s and the Cult! Making their way out of the sewer tunnels, they could hear the cries of distant screams and the shing of weapons. The voices of those inmand shouting out instructions to the guard while helping with the evacuations. Widening her eye, Alice used her dagger to climb onto the rooftops and saw the chaos that was urring within the city square. Countless half-beasts mutated beyond recognition ran across the streets, mming into houses and grabbing whoever was closest to them and infecting them with the same parasite. The effects were less pronounced than the samples she saw in the castle and the slums but this was no doubt the same parasite albeit a different variant! They had to contain this outbreak or else the damage would go beyond repair! Chapter 151: Following The Scent "What the hell is going on?" Ria frowned while seeing the chaos within the city. Even as they spoke, people were dying around them as Alice frowned before opening her mouth. "Ria, can you help the guards? I know you''re stronger than them so you can deal with the threats more easily." "Sure. But what will you do in the meantime?" Ria asked, noticing that Alice hadn''t mentioned her own role within this. "I want to keep looking for the people responsible. The City Lord is dealing with the woman underground so he doesn''t have time to check the true culprits behind the outbreak. When we exchanged attacks, I noticed that she didn''t have the smell of the Abyss Blood attached to her body. "Usually, when you handle this blood, the smell is hard to get rid of. Even if it can be blended, there is still a distinct ''sting'' to it. She didn''t have any of that so I think there are more. I''m going to check to see if there are any other exits around this ce." Alice exined as she was about to jump away when Ria grabbed her arm. "What if there are people with more Sigils than you can handle?" Ria frowned. She knew that Alice had her secrets and that she didn''t know the full extent of her ability to ''borrow'' Sigil power. But she couldn''t just watch her friend jump into unknown danger. "I have some backup ns don''t worry." Alice reassured with a smile as she pointed the pouch on her hip. "Trust me Ria, I don''t n on throwing my life away without taking down the Zenia family. I held out for 10 years, I''m not going to stop now." Hearing this, Ria was silent. Alice was simr to Allura. Having spent two weeks with Alice, she understood that Alice was just as stubborn and if she wanted to change her mind, it was going to be difficult. "Fine. But give me a spare vial. If you need speed to get out of danger, my blood would be best, no?" Ria smiled. Making a cut on her arm, Ria drained her blood into a vial before drinking some healing blood to stop the bleeding. "Stay safe." "You too." Alice smiled, receiving the vial of blood and storing it in her pouch. Turning around, she activated her first Sigil and jumped to the next roof while using her threads to help her slow down her fall. She was currently dashing through the Slums while trying to pick up the scent of the blood. Aftering in contact with the main source in the sewers, she was now homed in on the smell and noticed that it was prevalent above as well. ''Whoever left the blood behind had already visited slums. If I want to catch the source, I need to track down a fresh scent!'' Alice thought to herself. *BANG!!!! Bursting through some wooden fences, a half beast appeared as its eyes full of madness locked onto Alice. It had a wide grin on its face with countless thorns acting as teeth. mming its hand against the walls, vines erupted out in an attempt to kill Alice but she was prepared. With her main target being those who seemingly have ties with the Schrs in the Zenia family, she wasn''t about to slow down because of a beast! In one swift motion, she activated her bracelet and turned it into a de while slicing her arm, allowing it to feed off her blood. With the edges of the de coated in her blood, a Sigil appeared on her face as the de exploded into a violet me that tore through the vines without any issue. "I''m sorry for what I must do but you''re not slowing me down." Alice apologised coldly as she cleaved up with the de, tearing the beast in half while the mes consumed its body. The power of the mes seemed to grow in strength as their goals had aligned! All the me wanted was to eradicate the filth that spawned from the Abyss while Alice was willing to cut down anything that blocked her path! With this mutual goal in mind, controlling the mes had be far easier as she was able to extinguish the ze so that she didn''t leave behind any evidence of the purple fire. Continuing through the Slums, she noticed the smell getting stronger as the trail seemed to have been made not long ago. Alice could feel her mind bing sharper as she locked onto this scent. Her senses were enhanced to their limit as it seemed as though the world had be clear to her. Despite not seeing the beast, she could feel a gaze locking onto her back. Flicking her finger, she twisted her body and shed her thread behind her while having it be coated with her blood. Slicing the beast in half, Alice continued to chase down this scent. ''It''s leading out of the city.'' Alice thought while narrowing her eyes. ncing at the city wall, she turned her de into a hook before throwing it towards the top and using it to climb up. Landing on the battlement, Alice closed her eyes and focused on her sense of smell. Within this darkness, a crimson trail slowly manifested as Alice understood that this was the scent she had been following! Opening her eyes, she jumped down and dashed into the forest and noticed a group of unconscious guards near a sewer exit. ''The tracks are fresh. They''re not far away.'' Hiding herself behind the tree trunks, Alice made her way through the forest and noticed a shadowy figure holding up a guard by the throat. "Oh? One of the rats actually survived going against Tasia?" The figure smiled as he snapped his head towards Alice. Realising her cover was blown, Alice slowly walked out of her cover with a frown. Using Ca, she noticed that he possessed 5 Sigils. ''Depending on what happens, I might be able to win this fight.'' Alice thought to herself as she could smell the distinctive scent of the Abyss Blood on his body. "Were you the one who smeared the blood on the wall? Where did you get that form?" Alice asked while adjusting her grip on the dagger. With her spare hand, she held the vial of blood belonging to the five star Hunter she killed. "Is that how you tracked me down? I''m pretty sure I didn''t leave any tracks behind." The figure wondered as he threw the corpse to the side. "Now, I believe you can be reasoned with. Shall we do a little trade?" Heughed while sinking into his own shadow and manifesting above Alice on a tree branch. "What kind of trade?" Alice asked while jumping back. There was something about this man that sent shivers down her spine. She found his present abhorrent and every part of her body rejected the existence of this man. Just looking at him made her want to throw up in disgust. "A simple one. Information for information. My contract with my client doesn''t prevent me from obtaining information through trading with their enemies." He exined while hanging upside down using his legs to hook himself to the branch. "What kind of information do you want? And what makes you think I can provide you with the information you need?" Alice questioned while slowly circling the man. She noticed a group of unconscious schrs next to the guards. But unlike the guards who are death, they were still breathing. "They''re just unconscious. I wanted to talk to the rat that survived Tasia privately after all." He reassured while jumping down. "What I want to know¡­ Is about your friend who survived the Ritual of Starvation." Before he could continue, Alice pointed her dagger at him. "Never." "Now now, don''t be so quick to reject my offer. I have other ways of gathering information after all." He shrugged while snapping his finger. Shadow chains erupted from her shadow as Alice reacted immediately and bent her body to the side, dodging the chains. Right now, she was in a state of heightened senses and Abyss power was no exception. Adjusting her grip, she swiped up with her dagger and cut the chains apart. Pausing in surprise, the man didn''t think a two star Hunter could actually break his chains. ''Her power shouldn''t allow this¡­ Is it her weapon? It''s not a material I''m familiar with¡­'' He narrowed his gaze as his curiosity was piqued. ''Should I test her out a little?'' He mused to himself as he could find out information regarding the survivorter down the line. Right now, he wanted to know more about this woman who could break his chains without any difficulty. Crossing his arms, he tapped his finger down as countless spears shot up from the ground. Realising the time for talk was over, Alice jumped back and adjusted her dagger into a de and dashed towards the figure. *SHATTER!!! Breaking the spears apart, she noticed that they transformed into droplets of ink. ''Ink?'' Alice frowned as her initial expectation was that he was using shadows. But this was clearly different to what Kaden could do. Sensing danger to her left, Alice bent her body back and avoided a thin de of ink that cut off a small portion of her hair. Having missed its initial target, the de sunk itself deep into the tree trunk and shed the tree in half. ''I can still deal with this for now!'' The speed of these attacks, while fast, were still slower than what she had to experience from the Maiden! Stomping down, Alice was about to dash forward when she could feel herself begin to sink as eight long legs made from ink erupted around her. Without hesitation, she used her thread and coated it with her own blood. Twisting her body, she swiped towards one of the legs, cutting it in half and using the gap to escape. "!!!" Even though his intention was to simply trap her, the trap should''ve had more than enough power to hold her back. Even if he was overestimating her. "Seems like I''ve underestimated you despite trying my best not to. Shall we make this more interesting?" He chuckled while pping his hands. From the shadows around the forest, creatures made from the same ink appeared as Alice nced around her and frowned. ''If I use the Hunter blood, I NEED to make sure I can kill him. For now¡­ This should suffice.'' Taking a deep breath, Alice sliced her arm with her de and coated it in a violet me. Chapter 152: Tracking Down The True Culprit Igniting her de, Alice watched as the creatures immediately backed off in fright before baring their fangs at her. She could sense the me''s will, it''s desire to burst forth and run rampant! ''I will be your catalyst of destruction. So burn, burn to your hearts content!'' *ROAR!!!!! Erupting with joy, the me on her de seemed to have been injected with a dosa of vigour as Alice charged towards the closest beast and shed down. *BANG!!! Crashing down with new found might, the me evaporated the beast in an instant as Alice twisted her body and shed towards the next target. However, this was all just a warm up. Her true target was the hooded man who was watching everything unfold. Even now, he was only using two Sigils to match her power. While he was still looking down on her, she was going to capitalise on this chance! ''I bet I can do it properly. I have full control over my mes at this moment. It''s power, mine tomand.'' Alice thought to herself as she closed her eyes for a moment. She knew her current state was strange. Her senses have been heightened to a state they''ve never been before. The way she could track the man down using the scent of Abyss Blood. Her control over her powers and the way the fire was reacting. The conditions are perfect! Snapping her eyes open, Alice stabbed her sword into the ground as she allowed it to siphon as much blood as it wanted from her body! Activating her second Sigil, a tsunami of violet mes erupted out with Alice in the centre. The Abyss was dyed in a brilliant violet with the creatures being caught unaware. "What the¡­" Backing off in surprise, the man could feel his control over his ink beasts wavering as something was interfering with his connection. ncing up at the pir of mes, an unsettling feeling emerged in his heart. He didn''t think a two star Hunter could invoke such a feeling from him yet here he is, worrying about his safety. Snapping his fingers, all of the researchers were submerged into the ink before the mes could take them while he himself prepared to find some cover. "Where the hell do you think you''re going?" Alice''s voice rang out from within the mes as the man nced back and was surprised by Alice''s appearance. Her hair fluttered wildly behind her as a mix of lightning and mes twisted around her body. Within these mes, dark shards could be seen, slowly condensing above Alice''s head to form a broken crown with countless splinters floating around the main body. Several motes of lightning appeared around Alice as it gathered into her body, this was the effect of Ria''s Sigil! *BANG!!!! The sound of lightning roared out as the mes were split in two from the sheer speed Alice was demonstrating. Appearing behind the man, Alice gritted her teeth while condensing an orb of fire in front of her palm! She had to be careful with where she aimed the attack as it could erupt into the city if hse wasn''t careful. ''Guide the mes to form a sphere. Allow it to manifest the full extent of its power andpress it to the limit.'' Alice thought to herself as the violet mes understood its task. It had already experienced the skill Nova Core! With it now cooperating with Alice, the effects began to show as the violet mes started to burn a bright white as she mmed her palm into the man''s back, activating the skill! *BANG!!!!!!! A torrent of blinding white mes roared out as the forest immediately dried up and began to burn withouting into contact with the fire. Thend trembled as the stream of fire soon disappeared, revealing the sheer destruction it had caused with arge portion of the forest bing charred and devoid of life. Meanwhile, Alice had been sent stumbling back from the recoil of the skill but her body was in better conditionpared to the first time she had used it. After all, she wasn''t fighting against her mes to activated the skill, it was a product of their cooperation. Taking a deep breath, Alice could see that there were no remains left of the man and sighed out in relief. While she was unable to gather much information from him, the fact that he knew Ria was a survivor of the Ritual was enough for her to be wary of him. Copsing on the floor, Alice could feel Ria''s power leaving her body as that attack had taken everything from her. She wanted to make sure he was dead after all. "I suppose I should go back now¡­" Alice muttered. "Go back where?" "!!!" Widening her eyes, Alice froze up in shock as she was sure she hadnded that attack without fail. "Heh heh¡­ When I made this clone, I didn''t expect it to suffer such a defeat. I must say, that attack of yours, reminded me of a powerful Hunter from the past." Heughed. His voice sounding exhausted as Alice noticing he was missing most of his torso with it barely holding on due to the ink. Kneeling in front of Alice, he grinned while inky blood poured out of his mouth. "Such power, such raw talent. Only at two Sigils too¡­ For your efforts, I will grant upon you a seed of knowledge. A hint, behind the parasite. Think about why the heart blood is the purest blood you can get from an Abyss Beast. That is your hint. "Now¡­ A question of my own. Do you know the name¡­ Ayr?" He asked, narrowing his eyes with a sly smile. Upon hearing the name spoken from his mouth, Alice widened her eyes, unable to utter a word back. But despite not answering, the man got what he wanted and let out augh. "The woman is not dead! Hahahahaha! I wonder how much she must have suffered to live to this day. To think the old witch would still dream of her home¡­ Amusing. A trade has beenpleted. Information for information." The man chuckled, gazing deep into Alice''s right eye before turning into a puddle of ink that seeped into the ground. Sitting motionlessly, Alice stared silently at the puddle before sighing outying on her back. "Shit¡­" She muttered. ''He has a connection with the Zenia family and Allura¡­ But who is he? He knows about Ayr. Is he as old as Allura? And his hint on the parasites¡­ It has something to do with the heart blood. Is there a connection between heart blood from a beast and the strange veil I saw on the heart?'' Alice thought to herself, her mind busy from the information she has received. However, now was not the time to sit down and rest. Beforending her final attack, the man had taken the Schrs away so she was unable to interrogate them regarding their experiment in this city. Standing up, Alice made her way back to the city as the adrenaline left her body, allowing fatigue to overwhelm her. As she climbed up the city walls, she noticed the City Lord hovering in the air as he was still in his resonance form. Raising one of his arms, he made a cut in the air as a rift appeared above ckrock City. Countless des could be seen as killing intent descended upon the city. Without saying anything, he swiped down with his hand as des rained down upon the city. Each de could crash down on a beast, shing it in half, creating a small crater from the force of the de. Seeing countless des rain down on the city, Alice understood that everything was now under control. Sitting down, she noticed Ria was running around looking for her and decided to throw a ball of violet mes into the air to notify Ria. As expected, Ria noticed the mes and rushed towards Alice''s location. "Alice! Are you okay? What happened? Are you hurt? Did you use Allura''s skill again?! Who did you fight?" Ria asked as it was hard not to notice the massive attack that Alice had released while she was fighting. "Yeah I''m fine. I''m not hurt, just tired. And yes, I used Allura''s skill since I was against someone with five Sigils. I don''t know their name but I know that they have a connection with my old family as well as Allura." Alice sighed. "They have a connection with Allura?" "Mnm. They mentioned her old home and sounded like they''re just as old as Allura." Alice nodded as Ria fell silent. "Well thankfully we can ask the City lord to have the Underground ask Allura to contact us as soon as possible. There''s a lot to tell them." Ria sighed as she sat down next to Alice. "Speaking of the City Lord, he might want to know what I found out. The man said that the parasite has something to do with the heart blood. Or at least the heart blood is a hint to figuring it out." "Heart blood? Does it have something to do with the strange energy you found on the heart?" Ria asked. Seeing Alice nod, Ria scratched her hair and sighed heavily. "Arg! This is too much for me. What the hell is even going on with the Abyss? It''s been fine for years then all this weird crap is just happening all at once." Ria groaned while Alice had a slight idea on what might be the cause. Ca''s awakening. "Well we can deal with thatter. For now, I could kill for a drink. I hope the inn wasn''t damaged or else my precious mead is going to go to waste." Alicemented as Ria rolled her eyes. "You should really cut down on drinking so much you know? I know you''re not getting drunk but still." "But it''s tasty¡­" Alice pouted. As the two were talking and taking this time to rest up, clean up of the city had already began as guards that were uninjured could be seen helping out with rescuing those buried under debris as well as carrying away the injured. Civilians were advised to either stay in their houses or go to the shelters as they had to clean up the streets to ensure the Abyss Blood didn''t affect the civilians. Despite the battle ending, Martial Law continued for two days while they cleaned up the streets but was lifted on the third day. On this day, Alice had also received the weapon she had asked for from the cksmith. Chapter 153: Bloodflame Blade The de was delivered to her room along with a note that was attached to the sheath. It was a simple note that merely stated the name of the de, the materials it was made from along with the name of the cksmith, Oscar. ''The name of the de stayed the same, Bloodme de. But he''s adjusted it so that it can better amodate the fire from my Sigil.'' Alice thought to herself as Oscar made sure to warn her regarding the power of her mes. As he doesn''t know the full capabilities or how strong it could get, she needed to be careful with how much power she channelled through the weapon or else the violet mes could overpower the materials and cause it to break apart. With this in mind, Alice couldn''t help but wonder what her main weapon, the Obsidian Retort was made from. It was able to take any shape she willed, drained her blood to empower the edge and was able to withstand the heat and power of her fire without issue. Not even the threads in her gauntlet were safe despite their impressive elemental resistance. Putting down the letter, Alice nced at the weapon that was leaned against her bed. Despite being hidden in its sheath, Alice could sense the dangerous aura the weapon was radiating as she ced her hand on the handle of the de. She could immediately feel a connection as ck and red mist started to seep through the gaps of the sheath. ''It''s excited¡­'' Alice thought to herself. She didn''t know if the de truly had a conscience or if it was just her own mind ying tricks with her but it felt as though it was ''alive'' in her hand. Pulling the de out from the sheath, she held it against the light and marvelled at its appearance. Bandages wrapped around the grip of the de and there were no longer a guard separating the de from the hilt. A single edged obsidian de emitted a dark aura as ck and red mes danced upon the edge. Looking at this sword, it looked as though it was a fang of a malevolent beast dug out from the deepest pits of the Abyss. "Bloodme de huh?" Alice muttered with a smile as she made a small cut on her arm and fed the de some of her blood before activating her second Sigil. A connection was formed between the two mes as the Bloodme de surrendered itself to be used as a catalyst for the violet me, allowing it to manifest more power without burdening Alice. Waving the sword around to get a better feel for the de, Alice smiled in satisfaction as this was a good alternative to her main weapon. Having a bracelet that could shift forms at will was far too eye catching and it would only serve to draw too much unwanted attention. At least with this weapon, she could redirect people to the cksmith who made it. Fixing the sheath to her belt, Alice sheathed the de away as she stepped out of her room. During the time they were resting, they waited for an audience with the City Lord as he had been busy dealing with the cleanup of the city. With the Schrs and main culprit missing, the best they could do was make sure the parasite didn''t spread while repairing the damage done to the city. They had received news that Kallus was ready to see them whenever they are ready. "Seems like you''re happy with the weapon." Ria grinned as she noticed Alice testing it out in her room. "Yep. Feels nice in the hands and lets me use my second Sigil with less hassle." Alice nodded. There was another benefit to the battle she had with the unknown man a few days ago. There was now a mutual understanding between her and the violet fire. While she was stillcking inplete control, it was now easier to wield the me. Almost as though it had epted her after she proved her capabilities. "Honestly, I don''t want to imagine what else you can do if you master those mes. The damage you did to the forest is¡­ Well, let''s just say a lot of the guards were baffled by how it appeared." Riaughed as people were too preupied with the outbreak of beasts within the city that very few checked up on the after math of Alice''s fight. "It should remain that way. Oh before I forget." Alice grinned and jogged back into her room. Grabbing her bottle of mead, she gave the ss a light kiss and ced it in her jacket. "Jeez¡­ At least you''re not getting drunk. But that mead is practically your treasure now." Ria shook her head while Alice shrugged. "I don''t tell Allura about your recent gambling and you don''t tell her about my drinking." Alice bargained. ". . . deal." Giving Alice a high five, the two made their way out of the inn and towards the castle. There were two things they needed to find the City Lord for. The first was the second half of Alice''s reward. The drinking sk for her mead. The second was to get some help in finding the Underground. They had looked around the city but failed in finding anything regarding the organisation. Upon arriving at the castle, they noticed Elyn waiting for them as they understood that they must''ve found out at the two of them were on their way. "The City Lord is waiting for you in his office. Please follow me." Elyn smiled as she guided the two to the office. Upon opening the doors, she gestured for them to enter and closed the door behind them. This was a meeting between the three of them so there was no need for her to be here. "Pardon me for the long wait. There were more troubles than I had originally anticipated for the cleanup. I had not expected them to make so many false rooms in the ruins underground." Kallus smiled while turning to face the two. "Now I must thank you two for your services. Without you, this might''ve taken longer than expected and the damage done would be far more than what had urred. So how can I help you today?" Kallus smiled while sitting down on his chair. "I''m just wondering if my sk is ready." Alice shrugged, causing Ria to choke on her words as she was nning on exchanging more pleasantries before getting onto the main topic. "Of course. In fact, I had it prepared for this meeting. This sk is more than enough for you to carry roughly 5 bottles worth of fluid. Naturally, there are better sks but this is the best I can get my hands on for the time being." Kallus sighed while opening one of the drawers to his desk. Removing a box from the drawer, he ced the sk on the table. It was a simple metal sk with a chain hanging around the neck. As for its size, it was the size of Alice''s hand. "Thank you for the sk, sir." Alice grinned and pulled out her bottle of mead. Without waiting another moment, she started to fill the sk with her alcohol while Ria could only sigh. "If you don''t mind me asking sir, what happened to the woman you were fighting? She seems to be connected to both the Cult of the Eclipse as well as the parasites that were found in the bodies of those affected." Ria asked curiously. Considering the fact that he reappeared in the city soon after, she could only assume the woman had been dealt with. If so, he must''ve gotten some information from her. "I''m afraid she managed to escape. Her only goal was to stall me so that her partners could escape out of my notice as I had to bring my full power against her. With me focusing on the fight, I was unable to keep an eye on the city, a failure on my part. But yes, she is connected to the Cult as she is currently a Bishop in their hierarchy." Kallus exined as he leaned back. "Meaning this outbreak was not a simple sacrifice but rather a small part of a wider n. One that has enough importance for them to have a Bishop overlook the operations. Had I been sessful in capturing her, I would''ve gotten more information out of her." Hearing this, Alice paused for a moment before remembering the words the figure had told her. "I managed to get some information out of someone before they disappeared. They said this outbreak was not just to try turn people into shards. A hint they gave was heart blood. There should be a connection between this experiment and why heart blood is so pure in the Abyss." Alice recounted. Furrowing his brows, Kallus was silent before sighing. "I will ry this to some researchers. Hopefully they can decipher what this means. If I get any news, I will have the Hunter''s Guild send you a letter." "Ah! Speaking of letters, can you help us out with the Underground? We tried looking for them in this city but they''re nowhere to be found. We wanted them to have my grandfather and Alice''s teacher, Allura, contact us as soon as possible." Ria cut in as Kallus nodded his head. "Alright. The Underground is a little difficult to find in this city as the ''underground'' is used for the sewers as well as old ruins. But I will get into contact with them. Do you have other matters to attend to in this city or are you leaving? The Martial Law has been lifted with the cleanup being sorted." He asked curiously. "We''re going to find a carriage to Isilvaria for now. We have made quite the detour on our journey so going to Isilvaria will help us get our bearings again." Riaughed. "There are many merchants journeying out of this city now that the Martial Law has been lifted. I''m sure you can find a spot as their guard." With their talks now over, Alice and Ria bid the City Lord farewell as they left the castle. All they need to do now was to collect the rest of their belongings and find a carriage in the stables. Chapter 154: Scarlet Winged Monarch With all of their belongings now packed up, Alice and Ria decided to do onest round of shopping before leaving. As they were going to be travelling for quite a while, especially with how much of a detour they took, they needed some clothes to change into in case their current outfit got damaged. For Ria, she decided to buy some eastern clothing consisting of a sleeveless kimono, her lightning gloves, a long skirt that was split on the side for leg movement, and a pair of boots. Not only that, Ria had also bought some hair ties to tie up her hair into a ponytail, while Alice decided to let her hair loose and flow freely. Her outfit choice mainly consists of dresses andrge off-shoulder jackets. With the two of them spending their coin earned through gambling on clothing, they now had 35 gold worth of travel money left, almost what a normal family would earn over the course of four weeks. "If we can get hired as a guard, then we can save more of our funds. If not, we''ll have to set aside emergency funds for the rest of the journey," Ria muttered. "Can we set aside some funds for drinks?" Alice asked while enjoying her bottle of mead. Since the sk was now full and she still had 2 bottles on the side, she decided to drink them now so that she didn''t have to carry them. "Depends on how much we can earn. But we''ll definitely have to cut down on how much you spend on mead if you still want to buy equipment for hunts," Ria shrugged since hunting equipment was expensive. If they wanted the right Abyss Blood along with fighting equipment, they needed to start saving money or else they won''t be able to buy what they needed. Some of the harder hunts require specific tools. With her grandfather procuring what they needed for their previous hunts, they never had to earn the money to purchase these tools. Had it not been for her grandfather, the fights would''ve been borderline impossible. For Alice, the Maiden''s hypnotic abilities would''ve taken her over. For her, she wouldn''t have been able to deal enough damage to the Leviathan to grant enough contribution for the Sigil. ''I''ll be aiming for my fifth Sigilter while Alice will be going for her third. Knowing Alice, she''ll probably go for something crazy strong, so we''ll need to get the right equipment once we have a target,'' Ria mused to herself while keeping the gold in her pouch. "We also need funds to ess libraries and buying bestiaries to learn about weak points," Ria sighed as there was too much to buy. "I should probably think about getting my third Sigil then. We can''t be paired up for certain hunts, right? The guild wouldn''t let us." With Ria getting her license as a four-star Hunter and Alice being two stars, the Guild wouldn''t let Ria take certain hunts out of concern for Alice''s safety. Hence why, if they wanted to earn money fast, Alice would need to start thinking about her third Sigil. "We don''t need to rush for Sigil. Two-star hunts are still profitable, and we can just take themissions avable to us. It''s also better to ask Allura if there are any beasts that''ll suit you for your third Sigil," Ria shrugged as they made their way to the stables. "True. But I actually have a few beasts in mind for my third Sigil." Hearing this, Ria paused in surprise. "Oh?" "For my third Sigil, I want something that can further enhance my control over blood and use it offensively without needing to invoke my mes. It benefits me in two ways. The first is that it gives me more options to spread the mes. The second is that depending on the beast I choose, I will be able to heal myself without continuously drinking healing blood," Alice exined as healing was her main issue right now. She is able to solve it to a certain degree as her second Sigil will stop blood loss and seal up the wound, but it does not replenish what is lost. "I see¡­ To be fair, your mes are already crazy strong. Especially when you use the skill you learned from Allura. What youck right now is survivability. I''m not reallycking in survivability since I''m a frontline fighter anyway," Ria shrugged. ''There are certain beasts that are hard toe across. But if I can get my hands on them, my strength as a three-star Hunter would be hard to beat.'' Alice mused to herself as she recalled some of the beast blood she had to ingest back in the Zenia prison. With her new me in mind along with her current ns going forward, it''s safe to say that certainbinations would be undeniably strong if gained in Sigil form. Thebination that Alice was ideally aiming for was to gain the Sigil belonging to the Scarlet Winged Monarch, a fearsome beast whose blood allowed the user to regenerate as long as they continued to fight and wound their opponent. It was a passive effect that urred when the user came into contact with blood, and in her case, when she was stuck in the prison, it allowed her to gain unbelievable tenacity. Had this blood been safer to use, the Zenia family would''ve no doubt changed the form within the cor. It wasn''t an issue of side effects but rather the difficulties that followed in trying to subdue Alice. ''If I can get my hands on that Sigil, I should be able to fight for much longer without worrying too much about my injuries.'' She had already seen the form of the beast within her mind. A nightmarish spawn from the deepest pits of the Abyss, a creature who walked on two legs covered with twisted strands of flesh. Two tattered wings protruded from its back asyers uponyers of muscle pulsed beneath its leathery skin. Embedded upon its skin were countless yellow eyes decorating the surface of its infernal visage while obsidian horns and crimson barbs coated its spine down to the tail. She didn''t know the difficulty of this beast but just staring at its shadow caused shivers down her spine. Alice knew that if she wished to hunt such a beast, she NEEDED to know everything there is to know. Going into this fight blind would be akin to suicide. "What about you? Have you thought about your fifth Sigil?" Alice asked, but Ria shook her head. "I was thinking about it, but I want to gain more control over what I have right now. There are still many avenues of power I haven''t explored yet, and mybination of Sigils should allow for far more than what I''ve demonstrated. Didn''t Allura say? The key to a Hunter''s sesses from the mindset. I need to think outside of the box more." Ria grinned. She was more than a match for the current four-star Hunters, but she hasn''t met the true geniuses in the world just yet. Only once she has fought talented Hunters beyond herprehension could she truly say she''s done everything she could as a four-star Hunter. "Anyways, let''s not dally any longer. We still need to see if there are any merchants going to Isilvaria." She sighed as she couldn''t help but think about how much it was going to cost. There was only so much gambling the arena allowed before realizing they weren''t going to defeat Ria and subsequently banned her frompeting as she won too much money from them. With limited funds and prayers, the two entered the stables and started to ask around for people journeying to Isilvaria. The difficulty with this request lies in the sheer distance between ckrock and Isilvaria. Not only that, but some are also ufortable with the current situation in the free city where no religion dominates. Even Cult members belonging to the Eclipse could be walking out in broad daylight, and for those that believe in the Sun as well as their recent experience to the outbreak, they are less than enthusiastic regarding the city. The only reason why the city continues to exist despite the three religions disliking one another is due to the agreement upheld where certain cities are designated as ''free''. There are multiple ''free cities'' which allow all three religions to ess, trade, and inhabit without difficulties, and those who disturb the peace are punished. "The agreement for the existence of the free cities is one of the first cases of the Law of Agreement being used on arger scale. And even to this day, they abide by thew. No religion willy their hand on these cities." Ria exined while they continued to look for a travelling caravan leading to the city. "Do they ignore each other in the city, or do fights break out?" Alice couldn''t imagine it being conflict-free as they could also just wait outside of the city to settle their grudges. "There is usually at least one Custodian present in the cities. They act simrly to the City Lord but are solely focused on maintaining the peace. It''s a coborative effort between the three religions, so each city has three Custodians in the vicinity." Ria recalled as Gin had exined all of this to her before. "I see, then I''m guessing even though it''s a ''free city'', those not affiliated with a religion still lose out somewhat." "To an extent." Ria shrugged. There could never be an unbiased city when the leadership in the Abyss is based on power. With power, anything is possible. For the religions, they keep each other in check so none of them can step out of line. Exploring the stables some more, they soon found a small caravan that was nning on transporting some wares to the city of Eldoria. It wasn''t quite Isilvaria but wasn''t far off as it was the closest they could find. As for the city itself, it had a heavy focus on Abyss Engineering and tools rather than Sigils. Chapter 155: Ellie Wildheart The small caravan consisted of two merchant parties and one main group that oversaw the safety of the caravan. The rest of the guards were either lone Hunters or mercenaries who were going the same way. Unlike the main group, these lone Hunters and mercenaries didn''t get paid. They were simply allowed to travel with the group for safety, and everything else was up to them to find. Of course, they could pay the merchants for food if they couldn''t find any dinner for the night. With Ria asking permission to travel with them, Alice walked around and familiarized herself with some of the faces, especially the main group of Hunters who were responsible for their safety. ''The Hunters and mercenaries that are just tagging along seem pretty weak. Most of them only have 2 Sigils at best,'' Alice thought with a slight frown. She didn''t think that getting Sigils was that difficult as she could get a third Sigil right now by killing a weak beast. For people who didn''t want to risk their lives so much, getting Sigils through weak beasts was usually what they aimed to do. ''Or maybe me and Ria are the abnormal ones?'' She mused. Considering the fact that neither of them was scared of fighting nor were they against the idea of risking one''s life for the hunt, it was to be expected that what they thought as difficult was different from themon folk. "Oh, shit¡­ Is this how Allura feels?" Alice muttered as the realization settled in. Crossing her arms for a moment, Alice sighed as she felt like she was bing more like Allura with each passing day. "Yuck¡­ I hope I don''t start smoking like she does." She groaned, sticking her tongue out in disgust as she remembered the smell of the smoke vividly. A smell she could not get used to at all. Setting aside her realization, Alice nced toward the group of five Hunters huddled around the main carriage while talking to one another with a smile. They called themselves the Raven''s Watch. ''The leader seems to have four Sigils while the others have three. I assume they all have resonances unless they''re like Ria.'' Noticing her gaze, the leader of the Hunting group gave Alice a small wave as a sign of courtesy while Alice did the same. Giving them onest nce, she noticed the weapons they were carrying. The leader wielded a crossbow with a frame made from what seemed to be ice. Countless small contraptions could be seen around the top as it acted as a loading mechanism of sorts but strangely enough, he didn''t have any bolts on him. ''''Crossbow, greatsword, rapier, weird circle des, and a longbow. I guess his role is to oversee the battlefield when a fight breaks out.'' With her observations now done, Alice made her way back to Ria while taking a sip out of her sk. With a slow sip, she enjoyed the sweetness of the mead unfolding before a gentle warmth spread through her body. Shivering from the sensation, Alice let out a satisfied sigh as her gaze blurred, fully immersed in enjoying the taste. "What the f*ck?" Ria''s voice snapped her out of it as she put the lid back on her sk. "How did it go?" Alice smiled. "It went well. The guy organizing all of this said that the trip should take roughly a week or so since there is a lot of distance to cover. We''ll be responsible for our own food, but they can give us some bedrolls to sleep in when we''re out camping. If we cannot get any food, it''ll be 30 silver per meal. A tad expensive but better than starving." Ria shrugged. Should the two of them fail to get any food, 60 silver per night was still within their budget. "Eug¡­ 30 silver?" Alice''s smile froze as she heard the price. She stopped herself from saying the second half of her sentence as she knew that Ria would definitely scold her. After all, 30 silver could buy her a decent bottle of mead. "Yep. But it''s merchants so what can you do about it? At least they''re giving us some camping supplies so we don''t sleep out in the wild like we did when we were lost." "True¡­ When do we set off?" Alice asked as quite a lot of people were now gathering around the caravan. "We''re waiting on a few extras then we''ll be ready. Cedric said that it''ll be one hour at most. After that, we''re leaving regardless of who is left behind unless they pay a hefty fee for dying everyone." With an hour to spare, Alice took this time to check out their route of travel as the path to Eldoria does not lead them to Isilvaria. Once they arrive at Eldoria, they''ll need to take another caravan southeast to reach their destination. ''We''ll be camping out in the wilds for the majority of the trip but there are some towns and viges we pass by on the way to Eldoria.'' Alice thought to herself while checking the map. She assumed that they would be taking a few stops. However, as she continued to study the map, tracing her finger across the route, Alice couldn''t help but notice a slight peculiarity. ''This path¡­ They''re purposefully going into the forest where there are beasts roaming around?'' As she was pondering to herself, Ria nced over Alice''s shoulders and looked down at the map. "Is there an issue with the route?" Ria asked curiously. She noticed after her many interactions with Alice that she was extremely intuitive to the small details. "We seem to be taking the more dangerous route. Wouldn''t it be faster and safer to avoid some of these stops?" Alice asked, pointing at the path where it enters the forest. If this was merely delivering goods and selling wares to different parts of the Abyss, there would be no need for such a detour. "Hmm¡­ Now that you mention it, it does seem a bit strange. However, it''s not like we''re being hired to fight. In fact, we''re the ones tagging along to the next city." Ria shrugged. "Mnm, maybe I''m being too paranoid after everything that''s happened." Alice sighed but decided to remain on the side of caution. ### The hour passed quickly, and soon the caravan was ready to set off. With this being Alice and Ria''s first proper caravan trip without the protection of Allura and Gin, there was an air of excitement buzzing around them as Alice''s eyes wandered across the groups. The different travellers, merchants and Hunters gathered their belongings and gear while the organizer, Cedric, sat in the main carriage, ready to lead the way. As they left ckrock City, they were greeted once more by the familiar sights of the forest. Alice and Ria, without a carriage of their own, sat with a diverse group of merchants, each looking as though they were from a different part of the Abyss yet gathered under the banner of being a merchant. Their carriage was one of the moremon-looking carriages,cking the fancy essories and foam padding the others had. But it was enough for the time being. To avoid talking to the others inside the carriage, as she just wanted to enjoy the journey for now while keeping an eye out for any dangers, Alice took the initiative to sit on the back of the carriage where some of the luggage was ced. Meanwhile, the Raven''s Watch took their positions around the caravan, protecting it from all angles and kept their weapons beside them, ready to be drawn at a moment''s notice. Thankfully, the journey was rather uneventful as they were still within the vicinity of the city. Most of the dangerous beasts have learned not to approach the radius lest they want to get hunted down for their blood and flesh. Time passed, and Alice would asionally take naps on the back of the carriage. But the difort from sitting down for long hours on the unpadded carriage eventually took its toll, and Alice decided to walk for a while in order to relieve the pain in her behind. She noticed that most of the merchants were now sleeping in the carriages while drivers continued to steer. The leader of the caravan, Cedric, was wide awake and making sure nothing went wrong. "Hey~ Are you not tired? I''m surprised you''re taking a walk while everyone is sleeping?" A calm but cheerful voice called out as Alice nced back and saw a Hunter belonging to the Raven''s Watch. "Butt hurts from sitting down too long. Figured a walk would help me out." Alice shrugged and admitted honestly. "Ahhh, I get that. It was the same for me when I was first starting out, could never get used to the crappy seats they gave us. I noticed that you were looking at our group earlier when we were back in the city; are you curious about how Hunter groups work?" "You could say that. I only ever travelled with my friend who''s sleeping right now." Alice nodded as she couldn''t deny that she was interested. She wanted to know how normal people acted and responded to being a Hunter. "Well, for us, we decided to group up once we realized we fought well with one another. It''s always safer to travel as a group, you know? I''ve been Hunting with these guys for about 3 years now." She grinned while walking with her hands behind her back. "What was the three years like? Was it hard?" "Hmm¡­ naturally. We started as frencers, fighting for jobs in the Hunter''s Guild. Odd jobs, stray beasts that are getting too violent, and so on. It was only in our second year did we finally get a bit of recognition and now we''re escorting caravans for some coin. We decided on the name Raven''s Watch so that it''s easier for merchants to hire us and recognize us. Makes it sound more serious, you know?" She chuckled. "By the way, my name is Ellie. Ellie Wildheart, and I''m the archer of the group." Ellie introduced herself as Alice seemed nice to talk to. As their journey was going to be quite long, it was good to familiarize herself with some of the passengers. "Alice, Alice Agnelia." Chapter 156: Hunting For Dinner As they walked, the two spent the entire time talking, with Ellie recounting some of their battles. Unlike Alice and Ria, who relied on themselves to survive situations, Ellie''s group often relied on strategies involving their entire party. It allowed them to take a safer approach and take down beasts that should theoretically, be much stronger than them. ''Ria went for absolute speed for survivability while I''m going for self-healing for survivability. It''s a necessary part of our Sigil, as without it, we won''t be able to hunt stronger beastster. But for these people, they don''t have the desire to go past high Sigils, so the risks they take are much lower,'' Alice thought to herself, reaffirming Allura''s lesson on the Hunter''s mentality. Only the truly dedicated and insane Hunters could reach the upper limit of human power. ''Since I already have 2 Anti-Hunter type Sigils, my next one should also be Anti-Hunter type to get my resonance. I know that Allura mentioned that there is a third stage of resonance. I need to be careful not to pick any Anti-Beast synergies.'' "By the way, I noticed that our route seems to diverge into a forest? If we go through the main path, shouldn''t it be faster?" Alice asked, pulling out her map. Since she was talking to Ellie, she might as well see if they knew anything about this. "Hm? Oh yeah, we''re not just hired to safeguard the caravan. Cedric wanted to acquire some merchandise from that forest. Apparently, there''s a special type of water that could be found in that forest, and it sells for quite a bit of money. "The beasts in the surrounding area are rather weak, and they like to group up. With how many people we''ve got on our side, it shouldn''t be an issue to collect some of the water. Naturally, once we get there, Cedric will ask if anyone else wants to help collect the water, as he''ll purchase them off us when we collect them," Ellie rified as she rummaged through her bag. After a short moment, she pulled out what seemed to be themission she received from the Hunter''s Guild¡ªa request for Sylvan Essence along with guarding the caravan to the next city. "The pay is quite good too," Alice remarked, as the reward was 1 tina for the whole party. ''1 tina is around 100 gold for the average person, meaning that''s 10 weeks'' worth of earnings for one trip.'' "Yep. It''s why Finn chose to take this quest," Ellie smiled while putting themission sheet back in her bag. Finn was the leader of the Raven''s watch, and their party was as follows: Finn ¨C Leader and strategist of the party. Ellie ¨C Archer. Griffin ¨C Frontline. Kaida ¨C Frontline support with the rapier. Isabe ¨C Assassin with the chakrams. They all had secondary roles within the party, and Ellie yed the part of healer. She would handle the first aid and healing blood, while Isabe was the herbalist and alchemist. She would give Ellie the needed materials if they were out in the wilds while procuring Abyss Blood for Hunts. Isabe made her own vials of blood for use rather than purchasing them from the stores, as it was far more expensive than doing it herself. However, for rarer bloods or dangerous hunts, they would fork up the money for safety. Hearing that Isabe dealt with Abyss Blood, Alice couldn''t help but be a little wary due to her history. "Ah, will you be okay with getting dinner once we set up camp? I know the meals here are way more expensive than the ones in the city. Of course, the quality doesn''t match the price, sadly." Ellie asked in consideration. "We''ll be fine. We''re actually nning on hunting some wild beasts for some food when we set up camp. It''s what we''ve been doing when we got lost for two weeks. You just need to be careful with draining the blood cleanly, then cooking the meat thoroughly," Alice reassured. Widening her eyes in disbelief, Ellie was speechless. There was still a risk in eating wild beasts due to the Abyss Blood that was flowing through their veins. No matter how careful one was, it couldn''t eliminate the inherent risk! To eat wild beasts for two whole weeks was almost unthinkable for her. "Well¡­ I guess if you''re lost for two weeks, you can''t exactly help it, can you?" Ellie sighed, pitying them as she nced at Alice''s right eye and split hair. Noticing this gaze, Alice simply smiled and stayed silent. It was better to let Ellie convince herself that these abnormalities on her body were a direct result of Abyss Blood side effects. "You know¡­ You don''t have to hunt wild beasts tonight if you want. I can pay for your meal," she offered, but Alice shook her head. "Don''t worry. Plus, hunting wild beasts keeps the senses sharp. Let us stay on guard and ready for battle, even though we''re just passengers," Alice chuckled. ''It''ll give me a chance to test out the Bloodme de.'' Alice thought to herself, caressing the grip of her katana. The caravan''s journey continued, and soon it was time for them to rest as Cedric announced for them to stop and set up the first camp for the night. With this being the first day of their journey, they wanted everyone to getfortable first. *Yawn~ Stretching her body, Ria scratched her hair as she still felt rather groggy from her nap while noticing that Alice was talking to Ellie. "Alice~" Ria called out as Alice nced back. "Should we go hunting now? We''ll need time to drain the blood if we want to eat early," she reminded while trying her best to wake up properly. "Alright, I''ll be right there," Alice nodded before turning to Ellie. "I''ll talk to youter. It''s been a pleasure." "The pleasure is all mine. Remember if you can''t find anything, let me know; I''ll be more than happy to pay for your meals," Ellie nodded while giving Alice a small wave. Saying goodbye to Ellie for now, Alice made her way back to Ria. "The other Hunters seemed to be preparing to Hunt for some food too, while the merchants and travellers are simply paying the price for a meal. We should set off now if we want to catch some easy prey, or do you want to go a little wild and find something bigger?" Ria asked curiously as Alice thought to herself for a moment before a grin crept up on her face. "Let''s go a little bigger. Plus, that means the others can have something to eat too if we''re fast enough." "So it''s a time challenge then. Same as when we were lost?" Ria chuckled. When they were lost, they had apetition they would host with one another to keep their senses sharp. They would see who could hunt a designated beast the fastest. Naturally, Ria would hold herself back, as it would be unfair for Alice. She would limit herself to purely physical enhancement, while Alice was allowed to fight however she wanted. Of course, she wouldn''t use Abyss Blood to enhance herself, as this was just a funpetition between them. "Whoever can bring something back first is the winner. We''llpete in the size of the kill and how clean the final blow is," Alice nodded as sheid out the ground rules. They needed a clean kill so that the meat is actually edible. During one of their first hunts while being lost, Ria had used too much power, evaporating the meat in its entirety. "Do you want a head start?" "Don''t mind if I do," Alice chuckled and turned around. Without hesitation, she dashed towards the forest and activated her first Sigil. *BANG!!! Stomping down as hard as she could, she disappeared into the forest, surprising the Hunters who didn''t think Alice would rush out so quickly. Closing her eyes, Alice immersed herself in the feeling of the Hunt and smiled. Back when she was training with Allura, she would flip a switch inside her mind and designate something or someone as the target for a Hunt. It allowed her to ignore the fact that they were human and cut them down with brutal efficiency. A simple change in mindset when approaching the subject. However, something had awakened inside her when she was tracking down the culprit during the battle in ckrock City. In this hunting state, her senses would reach an all-time high, and her reaction improved drastically. It was a sense of flow that she had never tapped into before. While she couldn''t reproduce the full effects of her state, the sensation was now open to her. She was still able to replicate a portion of the ability she had demonstrated. Curling her lips into a wide grin, Alice let out augh as she used the tree trunks as a springboard tounch herself further into the forest. Each jump would cause the wood to crumble inward from the force as she picked up some multitude of tracks within the forest. There were several beasts roaming around, and considering the side of these tracks, they were only slightly bigger than her at best. ''Since Ria is giving me a head start, I''ll aim for the biggest set of tracks.'' Alice thought to herself as these tracks seemed differentpared to the others. There was a distinct glow within the centre. As she dashed through the forest, her ear twitched for a moment as she heard the sound of rapid movements to her right and understood that her quarry was trying to escape the range of her detection. ''Found you.'' Adjusting her direction, she jumped up to the branch and caught sight of her target. The creature was covered in tough ck skin with no traces of fur. Strange blue energy red from each of its ws, leaving behind ghostly w prints in the ground. Seeing that it had been discovered, it slowly reared its head towards Alice as it took an aggressive stance, radiating with hostility. The absence of fur revealed the contours of its body with powerful muscles wrapping around the bones. Its long tail whipped at the ground, cracking the air with a loud snap as it tried to ward Alice off. "Lots of meat and muscles, you''ll make for a nice dinner." Alice grinned, pulling her sword from the sheath as red and ck mes danced on the de''s edge. Chapter 157: Bloodflame Blades First Hunt In one swift motion, Alice unsheathed the katana and held it by her side. As the de met the cold night air, it seemed to hum out in excitement as the mes flickered in the wind. The ethereal tune echoed in the silent forest as the beast could feel a sense of despair creeping up its back. It kept an aggressive stance with its eyes not daring to stray away from Alice. Silence ensued between the two as neither made a move. Alice could feel her mind sharpening as her senses fully focused on the beast. The thrill of the hunt pumped through her veins as she activated her Sigils. The gentle moonlight shone down from above, seeping through the gaps of the leaves as Alice spread out her arms and closed her eyes, basking in this feeling. ### An unseen predator had appeared near its territory. A surge of bloodlust and killing intent washed over the forest and it had wanted to run but it was no use. The intruder, a two legged figure with an unusual aura around her had already appeared near it. The beast could sense an impending doom as she unsheathed a stunning de that hummed with the song of destruction and malice. It locked eyes with the intruder and knew that the moment it lost sight of her, it could spell its doom. *BANG!!!! With a heavy stomp, the woman shot from her location, swinging her des with deadly intent. mes danced forth from the de as the creature jumped back, shing its ws against the woman. It managed to parry several attacks as the woman seemed unfamiliar with the weapon. However, she adapted to the situation, ducking to the side before twisting her body and letting out another sh. By the time the beast had managed to jump aside and parry the sh with its own ws, the woman had disappeared. There was an ominous crackle in the air as the beast started to panic. It had lost sight of woman but could still feel her gaze upon its figure. A soft chuckle rang through the surroundings as bushes would rustle from the wind. It could not track her down at all as it felt like countless spectral beings danced through the forest, encircling it in a dance of death. Sensing a burst of malevolent energy behind it, the beast howled in anger as it twisted its body andshed out with the tail. But upon seeing the thread holding up a dagger covered in mes, the beast knew the end drew near. In the mist of its confusion, it heard a soft thud behind it andshed out with its tail. *BANG! The beast''s retaliation missed the mark as it was a simple branch that had been crushed under the attack. It could feel its mind cornering itself as fear took over. Taking several steps back, it howled outin defiance, putting up onest act to hopefully dissuade the attacker. "It''ste at night, don''t cry so loud." A soft voice echoed next to the beast''s ear. Widening its eyes in panic, it rolled across the ground and wed at the space behind it but the intruder was not there. It was only after it had tried to retaliate did the beast notice the ming de pressed against its neck. Before the creature could let out onest cry, the de dug deep into the flesh and separated the head from the copy in one clean slice. *Thud ncing up at the sky, the light in the beast''s eyes faded away as itsst sight of this world was of the moon. ### Sheathing her de, Alice took a deep breath and sighed out. The beast had surprising reactions and finding the opening for a clean kill was not easy. She had to bait the beast into exposing its weak point before she couldnd the final blow. However, with the beast now dead, her meal for the night had been secured. Taking a moment to survey her surroundings to make sure there weren''t any more beasts nearby that could pose a threat to her, Alice grabbed the beast by one of its legs and started to drag it back to the camp while leaving the head behind for other beasts. Meanwhile, Ria had just entered the forest and caught sight of the final attack that Alice hadnded. "Jeez, I wouldn''t want to be on the receiving end of that sword." Ria remarked as that beast was rather sturdy to say the least. It was able to parry several attacks that Alice threw out yet still died to a single attack. "Mnm, it''s a good sword. Matches well with my fire. But since I got a clean kill, I suppose it''s my win?" Alice chuckled, holding up the headless carcass. "Yep. It''s your win. Let''s head back and start draining the blood. We got a bit of time to spare since you killed it pretty damn quickly." Ria smiled, pointing to the direction of the camp. Making their way back, some of the Hunters were surprised to see Alice and Ria back so soon and with such arge quarry too. With a beast this big, it would be enough to feed a whole party. Naturally, it wasn''t just the Hunters that were surprised by their speed and efficiency. Even the merchants were bewildered by how fast Alice had aplished this task while Ellie was speechless. It wasn''t that long ago did she tell Alice that if they struggled with finding a beast to kill, she would cover for her meal. With the beast now back at the camp, it was time to drain it of its blood so the meat doesn''t go bad. Laying the beast down in front of her, Alice made a small cut on her arm as she allowed her own blood to drip into the wound. Closing her eyes, she focused her mind and activated her second Sigil. The Sigil belonging to the Maiden of the Blood Moon allowed her to control blood at will. All Alice needed to do was to ''infuse'' her blood into the target. With her target being a carcass, it was much easier to infuse and take control of all the blood within this body. Little by little, the blood started to wiggle out from the wound and gather into an orb that floated above the carcass. She needed to drain all of the blood from the meat so that eating it would not have the risk of giving them side effects due to ingesting the blood. As the orb of blood continued to grow above the beast, there were whispers between the merchants and Hunters but eventually they settled down. The ability to control blood was not seen often as not many would choose this path. After all, the risks of gaining said ability was the concern over side effects of Abyss Blood. Having seen Alice''s eye and hair, they were convinced that this was the side effect of Alice choosing the Sigil. Once the blood was drained, Alice took a deep breath and narrowed her eyes. She extended her hands, palms facing each other and started to exert greater control over the pool of blood that hovered before her. As her hands inched closer to one another, the pool started to shrink as the outer edges seemed to crack and fracture yet retained its form. With a final push, Alice sped her hands together and the pool of blood was condensed into a small solid orb that could fit easily atop her palm. Taking the orb, Alice ced it inside one of her empty vials and leaned back with sweat covering her forehead. During their two weeks of travel, she started to use this method to substitute usingrge quantities of her own blood to ignite into mes. As her blood had taken over, it was still able to invoke the violet mes but required her topress the blood into an orb first. Unfortunately, she has not found a use for these orbs just yet as they proved to be difficult to utilize but she didn''t give up on her experiments. Sooner orter, she will find a use for these orbs. "Do you want to do the skinning and carving today or should I?" Alice asked curiously as she was feeling rather exhausted already. "Since you hunted and drained the blood, I''ll do the annoying job today." However, just as Ria was about to borrow Alice''s bracelet, she realised that using it in front of everyone may cause a bit of trouble. But Alice had her covered. Grabbing her katana, she handed Ria the de. "You¡­ Want me to use this to skin and carve the carcass?" Ria asked, unsure of Alice''s n. "Yep. I mean it''s sharp and it''s the only knife we on hand." Alice shrugged nonchntly as a de was made to be used. She was simply using it outside of a hunt and in this case, to prepare their dinner. Feeling her smile begin to twitch, Ria simply sighed and stared at the Bloodme de. The fires upon its de edge was silent as it seemed to also be in disbelief that its owner would actually degrade it into a mere butchering tool! ''I''m sorry.'' Ria apologised as she began to skin and carve the meat, separating it into edible chunks that could be eaten while setting the parts that couldn''t be used aside. Once again, Ellie was speechless at their efficiency as Ria seemed to be experienced in preparing the meat. Thinking about it for a moment, she decided to help out a little by giving them some spices that the merchants had offered to her. "Would you like to have some spice with the meat? It should give it more vour and make it more digestible." Ellie asked as Ria nced back and nodded her head. "If you don''t mind. You can join us for the meal if you want." Alice offered as Ellie contemted her options before shaking her head. "It''s fine, I have some food prepared for me already. It would be disrespectful to those that already made my meal." She declined and ced the spices next to Ria for her to use however she wanted. Time passed quickly and soon Ria was done with the carving process. All that''s left to do was to simply grill the meat and apply the spices. Chapter 158: Isabella With all of their preparations done, Ria started to grill the meat while Alice took a moment to rest and sat by their campfire. Thanks to the spices that Ellie had given them, the delightful scent of the meat started to spread through the camp. The fire crackled beneath the roasting meat as Ria took this time to offer a meal to those who wanted a portion. Seeing how Ria was socialising with all of the Hunters that were part of this caravan, Alice couldn''t help but chuckle. She was always the social type and even when they first met, it was Ria who reached out to her. Just as Alice was about to eat her portion of the meal, she noticed a woman approaching her from the direction of the Raven''s Watch. It was Isabe, the woman who dealt with Abyss Blood within the group. She had long tousled blond hair and an aura of lethargy paired with her sleepy eyes. There was a sense of effortlessness around her yet the chakrams around her hips speak otherwise. Despite herzy aura and bodynguage, there was a subtle ''sharpness'' that she carried with each step. Her attire was simple, consisting of leatherwear beneath arge cloak. "Can I help you?" Alice asked as she was on guard against Isabe. She was someone who dealt with Abyss Blood so she couldn''t easily bluff her way out of certain questions should Isabe ask them. "Sorry for bothering you¡­" She muttered, her voice filled with the same lethargy that radiated from her body. "I noticed how you drained the blood of that beast¡­ Can I ask how it''s done? And does the orb retain the properties of the original blood?" "It''s done through my second Sigil. It lets me hijack a blood source and control it to a certain extent but seems to be only useful on dead things right now. As for the orb¡­ I''m not sure. I''m still experimenting with it right now, I don''t know how pure it is and I haven''t found a use for it yet." Alice replied as Isabe crouched down next to her and nodded her head. "I see¡­ Can I buy some samples from you? And what beast did you kill for the Sigil?" Alice was caught off guard by the unexpected offer. She didn''t think that Isabe was interested in the blood orbs that she had created but considering she hadn''t found any uses for them just yet, perhaps it was a good chance to get some hints. "I can give you the one I just got right now. I don''t need anything in terms of payment, just some research notes if you decide to experiment with these orbs. As for the beast that I killed, it was a Blood Widow." Upon hearing the name Blood Widow, Isabe froze up as her eyes widened in a mixture of disbelief and doubt. "A¡­ Blood Widow?" She asked hesitantly as Alice nodded her head. "Mnm. It was annoying to kill since I had to do a lot of training for it but the rewards are pretty worth." Alice shrugged. ". . . I see. But okay, I will give you some notes on these orbs once I''m done with them." Handing over some samples to Isabe, Alice watched as she stepped away, seemingly still in shock that the target was a Blood Widow. ''I didn''t tell her that it had ascended into a Maiden of The Blood Moon. It should be fine I think¡­'' Alice mused to herself before focusing back on her dinner. ### "Ah wee back, how was it? Did Alice give you a sample of the blood?" Ellie asked, noticing Isabe''s return. "Yes she did. . ." Isabe nodded. Seeing that her mind seemed to be elsewhere, Ellie tilted her head in confusion. "Did something happen?" "Your new friend¡­ Her second Sigil belongs to a Blood Widow." Isabe answered as silence descended upon the Raven''s Watch party. Even Ellie froze up as they''ve encountered one in the past. Even after extensive preparation and countless weeks of research on the beast, it was still a hard-fought battle that had almost killed them. The hardest part of the battle was trying to resist the hypnosis effect the boss would radiate yet Alice was able to kill one and im it as her Sigil. Griffin, the frontline of the party, dropped in fork in shock. "You''re telling me that the girl over there killed a Blood Widow?" He asked hesitantly. "She didn''t seem to be lying." Isabe nodded. "Well if she did, it exins how she managed to kill a Vor''thrak so quickly and brought it back to be cooked." Kaida sighed as he still remembered how nonchnt Alice looked bringing the corpse back to the camp. The Vor''thrak was a dangerous three star beast that could break apartmon weapons with ease. It was also hard to pin down the beast as its reaction and offensive capabilities are on the high end of the three star beasts. "Do you think we can get her to help out with ourmission then? With Vor''thraks being spotted, there''s definitely going to be stronger beasts around the designated area." Finn, the leader asked as he was feeling a little wary with beasts that were stronger than what they expected appearing around the area. "I mean¡­ I can go ask her if you want me to." Ellie shrugged as Alice seemed easy to talk to. "Let''s ask if dangerous beasts keep appearing. If not, we should be able to deal with it ourselves." Griffin shrugged while picking up his dropped fork. ### After finishing their meal, it was time to rest as everyone was given a bedroll for the night. Finding a spot near their carriage, Alice stretched her body and yawned. The long travel followed by a hunt in the forest and the extraction of blood has taken a toll on her body. And with her barely taking a nap during the actual trip, she couldn''t wait to rest her body. "I''ll take the first watch. You can sleep for now." Ria offered. "Thank you~ Let me know when it''s my turn." Alice replied, epting the offer as she tucked herself into the bedroll and closed her eyes, dozing off to sleep. ### [O'' master of mine, you draweth near.] Ca''s voice rang out through the darkness as Alice found herself in her own mind. The eye above the realm was opened albeit only slightly. "Are you awake?" Alice asked curiously as she hadn''t heard from Ca ever since the hunt against the Maiden. [I''ve merely been spurned from my slumber. I sense a relic or perhaps a ruin of the past. A deep connection to the Abyss. I can sense a tether linking to the depths but the path is not fully formed. If you desire¡­ I can grant upon you a shard of my senses when you approach the tether.] Ca offered. ". . . How dangerous is this tether? And how will it help me?" [That is for you to judge mine master. Information is information. How you perceive that information is dependent on your goals. Perhaps the tether will grant you a boon or misfortune, I do not know. I''m merely stating that there is a tether nearby that links downwards into the depths of the realm. But there should be no danger ced upon thee as the tether is not a stable one.] Contemting for a moment, Alice nodded her head. "Alright. I''ll check it out if it''s not too much trouble. Speaking of which, how familiar are you with Ayr and Allura''s past?" She wanted to find out some information of the strange figure if she could and with Ca, she might be able to get a hint before Allura contacts her. [I''m rather familiar.] "Then do you know of someone who controls I think ink? And can make clones of himself. I''m not sure how strong he is but his clone has 5 Sigils. He spoke of Ayr and seems to know of Allura." Silence. There was a long pause as Ca seemed to be gathering her thoughts. [This¡­ I do not know. Those who know of Ayr and Allura''s connection are few and far between. But master mine, I must as you to recall the interaction. Are you certain his ''clone'' possesses five distinct Sigils?] There was a strange sense of seriousness in Ca''s voice as Alice nodded her head. "I''m sure it was five Sigils. That''s why I thought it was weird. If he knew of Allura and Ayr, he must possess more. And those with more than six Sigils only show up as six for me right now." [You are indeed correct master. For you see, while the boons of the Abyss do indeed grant the power to create a clone of thyself, a clone should not possess Sigils. The Sigils are markings that the Abyss grafts upon your body, a sign to say you''ve entered a contract with the realm. A clone does not possess that grafting even if it wields the same power as the source is still the main host of the body.] [The power I grant upon you is not one that simply sees the Sigils but rather the contracts that people have formed with the realm itself. For a clone to possess Sigils meh this man has somehow discovered a way for the clone to act independently to the main host. I have no recollection of such a person and thus cannot help you with identifying this man.] [However, I believe that you should inform Allura of such developments as soon as possible, mine master.] Before Alice could reply, she could feel the connection between her and Ca faltering. She knew that this meant Ca was about to fall back to sleep as there was onest question on her mind. The question regarding the heart blood. "Ca,st question. What is the heart blood? And why is it the purest blood that you can get from an Abyss Beast?" Alice called out. [The heart. An organ wherein lies the engine of the body. Upon activating the Sigils or gaining a passive ability, thine blood has already be¡­ Abyss Blood. ''Humans'' merely struggle to convert the power of those in a simr state. That is to say, other ''humans''.] With this final revtion, the connection between Alice and Ca faded, leaving Alice alone in the silence of her mind once more. Chapter 159: Late Night Training ''Upon activating the Sigils or gaining a passive ability, the blood has already be Abyss Blood¡­ Does that mean once a person gets a Sigil they are already considered an Abyss Beast but in human skin?'' Alice asked herself as she couldn''t help but wonder if her strange state was linked to this. The heightened senses, the bloodlust and the way her instincts warned her of danger. It has surpassed the realm of ordinary humans. Scratching her hair, Alice let out a deep sigh as she set in the empty void. Ca has now returned to her slumber and there was a faint mark on her hand. It was different to the Sigil marks as it was something to help her track down the ruins. ''Not only that, but the guy I fought seemed to have made a whole ''new person'' since his clones had Sigils. What could he be trying to do? Would Allura have an idea?'' But no matter how many questions she asked, Alice didn''t get an answer and soon, she left the realm of her mind and enjoyed the silent slumber to ease her fatigued mind. The night passed peacefully, and Alice was soon woken up by gentle nudges from Ria. It was her turn to keep the night watch and for Ria to get some sleep herself. Sitting outside of the tent, Alice couldn''t help but curl her lips into a grin as she pulled out her sk and opened the lip. Taking a deep smell of the scent emanating from the sk, she shivered in anticipation. As she was enjoying her drink while keeping an eye on her surroundings, she could see that several other Hunters were doing the same. Even though they were travelling as arge group, they were still unfamiliar with one another and thus made their own arrangements. Around the Raven''s Watch camp, there was a miniature archer tower set up as Ellie could be spotted at the top, keeping an eye out on any distant threats. She would asionally notch an arrow and fire it into the distance, warding off weak beasts that were getting too close to the camp without spilling blood. Thinking about it for a moment, Alice decided to make her way over as it would be rather boring to spend the night drinking alone. Approaching the archer tower, Alice gave Ellie a small wave before jumping up with ease. "Yo! How''s night watch going?" Alice asked with a smile while sitting down on the edge of the tower without care. Leaning back, she lifted the sk and drank a mouthful of mead. "Ehhh its alright. The number of beasts around the camp is more than expected but nothing too dangerous yet. If things get a little rough I''ll wake up the others." Ellie chuckled as Alice nodded her head. "Have you gotten some sleep yet? Keeping watch all night would be hard for you no?" "Yes I have. Usually, it''ll be Isabe who keeps watch all night due to her Sigil. It makes it hard for her to sleep hence why she''s always tired. But today, she''s been engrossed in her research with the blood orbs so I''m taking over for this shift." Ellie chuckled. Raising an eyebrow in interest, Alice couldn''t help but wonder what kind of Sigil would make it hard for her to sleep but if Ellie wasn''t going into detail, it was probably something that was only shared between the party. "Say, do you like drinking mead?" Alice asked, offering her sk but Ellie shook her head. "Since I''m keeping watch right now, I don''t want to dull my senses ahaha." Nodding her head in agreement, Alcie understood where Ellie wasing from. "I don''t mind doing a smallpetition though if you want. I have a spare longbow here." "Oh?" Raising an eyebrow, Alice put her sk away and grabbed the bow that Ellie had offered. Lifting it in front of her, Alice noticed the tension of the string was far stronger than what it seemed as it required her to activate her first Sigil to fully pull it back. Despite how small Ellie''s arms looked, they hid a surprising amount of strength behind it. "So what kind ofpetition do you want to do?" Alice grinned as her fighting spirit ignited within her eyes. ### Even though she said it was apetition, it was in fact more of a test. Their party had discussed that if the number of beasts continued to increase, they would ask for some help. However, without seeing how Alice fought, it was impossible to judge how well they could cooperate. Hence thepetition. "Just beyond the main road, there are some Shadow Fang Serpents. Whoever can kill the most out of the group will win. We''ll take turns take shots regardless of hitting or missing." Ellie exined as Alice nodded her head. ''The Shadow Fang Serpents are rather small and fast. It''s quite difficult to hit unless you have great kic vision and talent or practice with the bow. Since she can take on hard hunts, she should have some experience with the bow and arrows.'' Ellie thought to herself as this was just something she thought up of in the moment. It wasn''t a request from the party but if they do decide to ask Alice for her help, they would have more data to base her strength off of. "Take turns huh? Can I make the arrows out of my own blood?" "Of course. It is part of your Sigils after all." Ellie nodded. Taking a step back, Ellie observed Alice''s actions as she fixed her grip on the bow and made a small cut on her arm. Blood oozed from her wound and formed an arrow that notched itself to the bowstring. Just when Ellie thought Alice would begin to aim the bow, she released the arrow and watched it cut through the sky. ''I guess she''s not that familiar with the bow. Maybe the alcohol is getting to her.'' Ellie thought to herself as she walked up to the railing and nced towards the group of Shadow Fang Serpents. To her surprise, the blood arrow had pierced through three serpents that crossed the arrow''s path. "Was going for four but the fourth snake was pretty sharp. Noticed the arrow at thest moment and got away." Alice shrugged. ". . . How? How did you manage to lock onto all four and fire so quickly?" Ellie asked as she leaned in towards Alice. ''Is it a technique? Natural gift? Sigil power? If I want to perform as a archer I need this kind of power.'' Ellie thought to herself as being able to find the best shooting course in such a short amount of time was practically godly in her eyes. If she could even learn a fraction of this power she would be twice the archer she was before. Even now, when in a battle, it takes too long for her to find a right shooting course without hitting her allies by ident. "Ehh¡­ It''s just how my vision works and I instinctively shot towards what I thought was the right direction." Alice scratched her cheek awkwardly. Hearing this, Ellie couldn''t help but feel a little disappointed as this was the same as saying it was just talent. "But you can usually predict a beast''s movement so I''m sure what I did was nothing special. I just got a shortcut in performing the task." Alice reassured as Ellie could only sigh and nod her head. "Okay, I have an idea. My teacher gave me a training task when I hunted the Blood Widow. While it''s not used for archery, it should help out quite a bit." ''A training task? From her teacher? Maybe that''ll contain a hint.'' "What kind of task is it?" Ellie asked curiously. "It''s simple. I willunch a variety of attacks using my blood. All you have to do is dodge them with your body. But since we''re getting you to practice your bow, I''ll change the spears to orbs for you. Your goal will be to hit multiple of them with one arrow with the least amount of prep time. You have to be on the move while you shoot as well." Alice chuckled. ''I''ve heard of this training before. It shouldn''t be too difficult since it''s just the standard training to navigate the battlefield.'' Ellie had experienced this kind of exercise before in the Hunter''s Academy when she was younger. It was a task that every Hunter was expected to do as it massively boosts survival rates out in the field. "Alright. Let me get ask Isabe for a favour while we try this training out." Ellie nodded. It was just for a quick moment anyways. A simple training like this should be over in one round. Climbing down from the tower, she made her way to the tent while Alice prepared the training ground. Pushing aside the tent ps, she could see Isabe still awake while experimenting with the blood orbs. Not only that, she had gathered a variety of strange contraptions around the orb as its form would twist and stretch with each second. "Aren''t you supposed to be keeping watch?" Isabe asked, not turning around. "Yeah. But Alice wanted to do a quick training session for me so can you pause for a quick moment? It shouldn''t take too long since it''s just the standard evasion training." Ellie shrugged as Isabe sighed. "If its just the standard evasion training why do you still want to do it?" "Just out of curiosity. She said her master did one for her before she hunted the Blood Widow. I want to see what kind of training she''ll provide. Plus, she mentioned using her blood so maybe you can get some hints for your experim-" Before Ellie could even finish her sentence, Isabe was already on her way out while carrying her notebook. "Why are you dawdling? Let''s go, we''re wasting time already." Hearing this, Ellie couldn''t help but chuckle and nod. Making their way to the training ground that Alice had prepared, they noticed that Alice was making cuts on her arm while allowing her blood to drip onto the ground. "Seems like you''re ready." Alice smiled while ncing back. "Yes I am. I''m ready to start whenever." Ellie nodded while Isabe took a step back so the two could have some space. "In that case then let''s begin." Alice grinned. *BANG!!!! In that moment, the oppressive aura of a malevolent beast exploded forth from Alice. The cold hands of death grabbed hold of her limbs as Ellie realised this was no simple evasion training. Chapter 160: Demonstration Of Alluras Training "Wait wait wait!" Ellie''s screams could be heard as she frantically rolled to the side, barely managing to dodge the blood orb that was flying at her. "What''s wrong? This is several times slower than the training that my teacher gave me." Alice tilted her head. She knew that Allura''s standards were too extreme hence she scaled down the difficulty of the training. Right now, there were a total of 20 blood orbs that were under her control. 15 would be responsible for attack while 5 would hover in predictable patterns. Compared to the barrage that Allura presented to her, this was child''s y. Ducking down at thest moment, Ellie tried to prepare a shot when an orb charged in from the right side, knocking aside her aim and causing her to miss. "This is too many attacks!" She cried out while taking a step back only to get hit by an orb from behind. Once she was hit by one, a chain reaction urred as she was unable to recover her posture to dodge the others. Flicking her finger, Alice halted the orbs. "Do I have to tone it down some more?" She asked, tilting her head in confusion while Ellie felt like she wanted to cry! ''This was toned down? It''s like I''m getting attacked by a giant mob of beasts while trying to shoot something far away. How is this toned down?!'' Ellie shouted in her mind. "Urg¡­ How am I supposed to evenplete this?" "It''s honestly pretty simple. You just have to notice the pattern of movement and squeeze in between the attacks. Once you have that down, you just have to aim your bow and shoot." Alice scratched her hair. It was just 15 orbs, most of them were rather slow and she had left Ellie plenty of gaps. "How about¡­ You do a demonstration for Ellie. An example of how it''s done." Isabe suggested. She too was intrigued by how Alice dealt with this training. "Hmm, you make a good point. Alright, watch carefully. It''s going to be a bit biased since I''m controlling the orbs but I''ll repeat the movement that I did for you." Hearing this, Ellie nodded her head and stepped out of the way. Flicking her fingers, Alice had the orbs repeat the motions that she had performed for Ellie and took a step into the barrage of attacks. She navigated the storm effortlessly while moving as little as possible. Her steps were light but nimble, never staying in the same location for more than a split moment. Isabe and Ellie watched in disbelief as it seemed as though Alice was phasing through the barrage of attacks. Nothing could hit her and she was evading all of the attacks easily. "Do¡­ do you think you can dodge like she can?" Ellie asked as Isabe was the assassin of the group. Out of all of them, she was the most nimble and flexible. "Definitely not." Isabe shook her head. She may survive longer than Ellie in that barrage but she wouldn''t be able to find a chance to attack back. Any attacking posture she assumed would get instantly hit by the orbs. As Alice neared the centre of the barrage where it was most violent, she twisted her body and pulled out her arrow. Barely giving the orbs a nce, she released the arrow while dodging orbs that tried to attack from behind. The arrow found its mark easily as it pierced the orbs with ease. With three of the five orbs pierced, the barrage stopped as Alice furrowed her brows. "I still need some practice myself. I''m not an archer but seems like I need to take ount of the arrow speed some more. It slowed down after the first few hits." Shemented. ". . ." Ellie was silent. ''Are you kidding me???'' Her mind was not. "But setting that aside, it''s just a case of finding patterns and taking the fastest shot you can while maintaining uracy." Alice shrugged. Looking at each other, both Isabe and Ellie sighed. "What''s wrong?" Alice blinked in confusion, their reaction was certainly not what she had expected. "Alice¡­ What kind of training did your teacher give you?" Ellie asked hesitantly. If this was considered toned down, then she couldn''t imagine what the original training was like. "Oh that''s simple. But I won''t be able to do a demonstration since my mind will be focused on controlling the orbs. In this version, I had to rely on a few shields and gimmicks to survive and even then, I still barelynded a blow." Alice smiled while flicking her finger. From her wound, countless blood orbs started to seep out as she began to replicate the attack pattern of the Blood Widow that Allura had demonstrated. She couldn''t imitate the attackpletely as it was far too fast and far tooplicated for her current level of control. ### ''This is the training she had to survive?'' Ellie asked herself, unable to fully believe that it was possible for a 2 star Hunter toplete such a training task. The sight before her was in no exaggeration, a meat grinder. There were hardly any safe spots that she could find and even after finding one, it would be quickly filled up with attacks that would shred her to countless pieces. Each attack was filled with deadly precision and murderous intent while the passive aura that Alice emanated would slow her movements down. Ellie knew the feeling in her heart. Fear. The fear one felt when facing an absolute beast you have no chance to fight against. The power difference one would experience and the futility of their actions against such overwhelming force. That''s what she felt right now. Just the sight of this barrage of attacks caused despair to embed itself into her heart. ''If a two star Hunter could do this, does that mean there are ''weak'' beasts who are just as strong as her?'' Fear gripped her throat. What if her next hunt had a beast that could do what Alice is showing right now? How would she survive such an ordeal? Ellie didn''t know. She had no answers. After all, the only thing on her mind after seeing this was death. If she stepped into that array, she would die. If a beast released that attack, she would die. Death was the only answer she could think of. Clenching her chest, Ellie could feel the fear digging deep into her heart. ''How could Alice even survive this kind of attack?'' Looking at Alice''s back, Ellie felt fear. "#####!" "#####!" "Ellie!" "Huh?" Ellie blinked as she nced to her side and saw Isabe''s worried expression. "Ellie you scared me for a moment. Are you feeling alright?" "Ah sorry, I think I''m feeling a bit more tired than I expected." Ellie smiled. It was a lie. "Ah I see. Go back to sleep then, I can cover the shift like usual." "Mnm, thank you. Sorry Alice, I''m going to go back and rest for now. We can continueter if I have some time." Ellie apologised as Alice nodded her head. It was a lie. Stepping away from the two, Ellie made her way back to her tent. She tossed her bow to the side of her tent and sat down on her bedroll. She was satisfied being the Hunter she was, the missions they took while dangerous, weren''t something they couldn''t deal with. But having saw what Alice demonstrated, her mind began to doubt and fear the unknown. She felt the inevitability of death. ### "Maybe she felt overwhelmed by what you showed. Sorry about that." Isabe apologised as they both understood that Ellie''s reaction was unnatural. Isabe didn''t me Ellie as she too couldn''t believe the spectacle that Alice demonstrated. ''Anyone would be turned into a meat paste if they tried to walk through that.'' "It''s fine. Hopefully she feels better tomorrow. I''ll go back to my tent now." Alice smiled. Saying goodbye to Isabe, her smile slowly faded away. Sitting down by her tent, Alice took out her sk but didn''t take a drink. *Sigh¡­ "She''s definitely scared." Alice muttered. It was a gaze she had seen before. Long ago when she was still part of the Zenia family. ''Was it during my birthday?'' She asked herself. The moment she was injected and had be a beast. Looking up at the moon, Alice realised that perhaps she was more unnatural than what she had originally expected. Or perhaps it was simply a byproduct of gaining strength. The gap between her and normal Hunters would only widen as she needs to challenge her limits. If she wishes to aplish her desire, vengeance and the recreation of Ayr, she needs the strength befitting of a Lord. An Abyss Lord with no equal. Alice understood that she would feel these stares more often as she grows in strength. Sighing out softly once more, Alice took a sip of her mead and enjoyed thefort of the cold night wind. ### As night passed, the caravan continued the journey and Alice noticed that Ellie seemed to have grown meek after the incidentst night. Deciding to give her some space, Alice spent the timeying on the rooftop of her carriage. The following night and day followed the same routine as they continued towards their first destination. With each passing moment, Alice could feel the mark on her hand growing stronger. She understood that they were approaching the ''ruins'' that Ca spoke of. And soon, they reached the entrance of a forest where the path diverges. Should they go to the right, they would reach a faster path to their destination, Eldoria. However, due to the mission that Cedric had given to the Raven''s Watch party, they travelled to the left, entering the forest. Alice could feel the reaction in her mark growing stronger than ever as they ventured into the forest. ''Seems like the ruins are in this forest. With the Raven''s Watch needing to collect some water, I can probably use this time to explore a little on my end.'' Alice thought to herself as Ca had mentioned the ruins holding some information that she may want to know of. Chapter 161: Emerald Glade "Everyone! We will be making a main camp in this forest once we''ve reached the location known as the Emerald de. Please do not stray from the main camp as we are here to collect some Sylvan Essence." Cedric called out. "Even though the beasts within this forest are weak, please bear in mind that they are still beasts in the end. One mistake and it can cost you your life! Thankfully, we are under the protection of strong and experienced Hunters so all you have to do is remain at the camp! If you venture out, it is your own life that you''re putting at risk. "We will be leaving in exactly one day! Any longer and you will be left behind so remember that!" Hearing the announcement, all of the lone Hunters and Travellers understood that he was simply warning them from doing anything stupid. All they have to do is wait at the camp and things will be resolved. "What do you want to do?" Ria asked curiously. Alice had mentioned that she there might be something she wanted to check out nearby but she wasn''t sure where it was. Now that they were stopping for a day, this may be the perfect chance to explore. "I''m not sure how long it''ll take though. If we spend too long, they''ll leave without us. And you know how it wentst time we tried to navigate by ourselves." Alice sighed while ncing at the map. "However¡­ I think what I''m looking for is in this forest so I need to check it out. It has something to do with Allura." "Well if that''s the case then obviously we have to go." Ria smiled as Alice nodded her head. ncing towards the Raven''s Watch party, she couldn''t help but sigh at the sight of Ellie. After travelling for a few days, they never continued the training session as Ellie seemed more and more hesitant on the career path of being a Hunter. ''Did the training affect her that much?'' Alice thought to herself with a sigh. However, considering the fact that they were working as a group, they will cover for one another. "Let me mark down this location and then we can search the forest." Making a cut on her arm, Alice left a small blood orb by her carriage so that she could sense it wherever she went. The range wasn''t as far as she had hoped but it was better than nothing. They knew the general direction of the camp anyways, the blood orb was simply confirmation. As Alice was preparing to explore the forest with Ria to find the ruins, the Raven''s Watch party had noticed this. And despite wanting to ask for a bit of help, they decided against it for now as they heard of what had happened during the night. The demonstration that Alice had performed. There was a desire to recruit her help but considering the state that Ellie was left in, it seemed as though the training was too much for her. "Guys¡­ You don''t have to do it for me." Ellie sighed but Finn shook his head. "We''re a group. We work better when we''re on the same page. Even if she is powerful, we need to first make sure we arefortable as a group. So don''t worry about it." He reassured while making double checks of their equipment. There was a slight increase of beasts on the way here but they stayed rtively weak. Most of them were just two star fodder that they can take care of easily or three star beasts that required a bit more effort from them. The caravan leader had already provided them with all the information they needed for the location of the water and all that was required for them to do was clear the path and im the treasure. "Remember, there are anomalies right now and even if it is still within expectations, keep an eye out." He reminded as they made their way out of the Emerald de and into the forest. At the same time, Alice and Ria made their way out as well with Alice leading the way based on the feeling she received from the mark. Towering trees surrounded her as theirrge trunks were akin to pirs that held up the night sky of the Abyss. Through the gaps of the leaves, the ethereal moonlight descended upon thend as a kaleidoscope of colours reflected from the flowers that inhabit this forest. Despite searching for the Ruins, Alice couldn''t help but stop and marvel at this sight. ''The Abyss is truly filled with beautiful ces like this¡­ Yet dangers lurk behind the radiance, waiting for a chance to tear out your throat.'' Alice thought to herself. "Do you think we can take some of these flowers back? If kept in a ss, I think they''ll look quite nice." Ria asked curiously as she was about to lean down and pick on up but Alice stopped her. "If you want to have it burrow its roots into your arm then feel free to grab them. They''re the Verdigrasp Lily and they feed off the water in your body. By the time you''re done, you''ll be nothing but a corpse blooming with more of these flowers." Alice warned as she noticed the names above these flowers. She had personally experienced the feeling of having her veins slowly being reced by these flowers. The sensation of small writhing roots wiggling through her body and tugging at her flesh. Of course, it takes more than just a touch to have them invade your body but it was better to warn Ria in case there was an anomaly. It''s not a difficult beast to deal with even after it invades the body but the experience is definitely not worth it. "!!!" Pulling her hand back in shock, Ria couldn''t help but sigh in regret. Such beauty yet the thorns hidden in the shadows were truly deadly! Looking at Alice''s back, Ria couldn''t help but apud Alice''s knowledge on Abyss Beasts once more. Had it not been for her, she would''ve picked up the flowers without hesitation. "It''s mostly nt based beasts around here. As long as you are careful, it should be pretty easy to navigate." Alice warned while pushing aside the foliage. The deeper they went into the forest, the stronger her mark felt along with a strange swirl of emotions that manifested in her heart. ''Is it memory of Allura''s master?'' Alice thought to herself. There was a sense of bitterness within her chest as regret and sorrow gripped at her mind. And atst, they discovered a path leading down to the nextyer of the Abyss. A small opening leading to the infinite void below. ncing down at her mark, Alice understood that this was indeed the path. ''Is it simr to the weird tree that Allura took us tost time?'' She wondered to herself as her interaction with the Crystal Grove had awakened what remained of Ca''s master. Perhaps going down would lead to another awakening. "Shall we head down?" Nodding her head, Alice condensed a small orb of blood hovering above her palm and ignited it with the violet mes, acting as a light source to help them navigate this darkness. One of the most fearsome mes that Ria had ever seen, one that could burn away the powers of the Abyss, was being used as a candle. "What''s wrong?" Alice asked curiously, noticing that Ria was staring at her me. "Nothing. Do you think it''ll take us more than a day to get back? We seem to be going pretty far." Ria shook her head while making a small lightning bolt on her finger tips. Flicking it into the darkness, she watched as the small speck of light was soon engulfed by the darkness. "Yikes¡­" "Well if it begins to take too long, we''ll start making our way back since our ultimate goal is still to reach the next city. If anything, I can leave a mark here on the map ande revisit when I have time." Alice shrugged as she continued her way down. The deeper they went, the more invasive the darkness came. Even with the power of the violet me, it seemed as though the darkness was alive and fighting to extinguish the foreign mes. As she took another step, her vision shifted as she was now surrounded by the mes of war. Countless cries merged with one another as the air crackled with power. Widening her eyes, Alice could see the battlefield stretch across the Abyssal expanse as spectral figures loomed above thend, seemingly overlooking the world as though it was naught but a small orb within their palms. These figures shed as Abyssal power rained down upon thend, damaging it beyond repair while the skies split apart with countless cracks sending the stars themselves into oblivion. In another blink, the scenery had disappeared as Alice stumbled to the side, almost falling off the steps but Ria managed to catch her in time. "Are you okay?!" "Ah¡­ Mnm, I am. A weird vision appeared for a moment and I lost track of myself." Alice sighed. Clenching her chest, she could feel the anguish buried deep within, taking over her mind. Such overwhelming emotions that threatened to overrule her entire existence. Taking a moment to catch her breath, Alice had to reassure Ria multiple times before they could continue. Perhaps the darkness had numbed them to the flow of time but soon, they approached a cliff before a sea of mist that obscured thends below. "That''s probably the Howling Depths¡­" Ria muttered. She remembers vividly the dangers they had to face during their first visit to theyer. If they wish to proceed, they had to do with the utmost care as Allura was not here to assist them. Alice was hesitant. The source of the feeling was so close yet it was deep within this mist. If she wanted to find the ruin, it meant traversing this foreignnd and the dangers that lurk within. Taking a deep breath, Alice calmed her mind and contemted her options. "Lets¡­ Take a quick peak. If things get dangerous let''s leave as fast as possible." Alice suggested as Ria nodded her head. "Need my blood again?" Ria offered. "It won''tst long enough unless we n to kill the danger." Leaving behind an orb to mark the entrance, the two of them jumped down into the mist. Chapter 162: Relic In The Mist Jumping into this ethereal shroud, Alice and Ria could feel a chill invade their bodies while faint shadows slithered across the mist. Keeping close to one another, they navigated the veilednds. Ria was on edge. Each step into the unknown was a risk and the moment she let her guard down, a beast could jump out and kill her before she reacted. This was the danger of the Howling Depthsyer. "There''s nothing near us so far. Just be careful where you step. Some of the vegetation that aren''t considered beasts can still kill." Alice warned while using the mark on her arm as a guide. Within this realm of mist, a series of circr gates slowly revealed themselves. Each gate was broken and covered in vegetation while signs of carvings could still be seen etched upon the surface. Approaching this gate, Alice could feel the link between her mark and the gate. "Is this what you''ve been looking for?" Ria asked curiously. "I think so¡­" The circr gates were suspended in midair. Upon touching the gates, the etchings radiated a soft blue glow that bathed the mist in azure lights. The luminescence was not just decoration as the surroundings were enveloped in a strange power simr to Abyssal power that flowed through all Sigil users yet more potent and powerful. With a connection formed between Alice and the gates, it now pulsed with an erratic echo. They could feel the push of power across their body as the two jumped back in surprise. "It''s turning on." Alice muttered, understanding that this strange device was now activating. The stones crackled with Abyssal energy and the mist slowly dispersed as the energy stretched outwards from the gate. With the veil no longer obscuring the floor beneath them, they now see the space for what it truly is. Arge tform decorated with the corpses of thousands. Radiant tendrils of light burst out from the gates, stabbing downwards while Alice and Ria watched with a mixture of fascination and caution. Alice in particr, could feel the gates trying to form with the realm itself. Turning themselves horizontally, the gatesyered upon one another, seemingly attempting to drill a hole into the Abyss. *BOOM!!! With a loud thud, two gates collided with one another as a pulse of purple light exploded out, lighting up the Howling Abyss. *BOOM!!! Another gate collided and once more, the lights exploded out. Unable to pull their eyes from this spectacle, the two could only watch in silent fascination. One by one, the gates continued to collide as energy started to gather within the core. Separating from one another, it winds up for onest collision. An ocean of energy washed over the area as Alice and Ria felt suffocated by the presence of such power. Purple lightning crackled around the gate and Ria realised the power was now simr to what her grandfather had demonstrated in the battle against the White Death. Before she could warn Alice of the build up in power, the gates mmed down. *BANG!!!!!! It ruptured the space with the final collision as the air crackled with a vtile surge of power. The realm itself was torn apart as a gateway down to the depths of the Abyss was formed, a malevolent swirl of untamed energy roared out as both Alice and Ria copsed on their knee, unable to stand against the pressure. Alice widened her eyes as unfamiliar emotions surged from her body, a deep longing for the depths and darkness. A sense of desire and want. The path pulsed with an unsettling rhythm as though they were hearing the heartbeat of the realm itself. Tears began to form around the edges of Alice''s right eye as she slowly reached out with her hand, wanting to reach into the void. An influx of power roared out from the Abyss, sending chills down their spine as Alice could see a distant name, slowly manifesting itself from the depths. A deep bloodthirst ravaged the realm as the name became clear. # [Dreadmaw Harbinger - ??????] ''Six stars!'' Alice paused in shock as her mind cried out for her to leave. From the tear, elongated fingers slowly emerged, creeping and slithering around the edges of the portal, attempting to grab on firmly. The fingers were like long gnarled branches of a withered tree, crackled and dry. Each joint was pronounced and clear as it pushed against the thinyer of skin. "We need to leave! NOW!" Ria shouted out but she knew it was already toote. They could feel several pairs of eyes, locking onto them and preventing them from moving. It felt as though the gaze of a god had descended upon them. Their survival was merely mercy from such a being. *CRACK! Unable to support itself, the gate started to split apart with the edges fracturing the and realm restabilising itself. An invisible force crashed against the edges of the gate as the pathway to the depths copsed in on itself. The fingers, unable to hold onto the tear were unfairly pushed back as a deep guttural cry of anger pulsed out from the void before being sealed. The swirl of power that filled the air dissipated, leaving only echoes and remnants of its presence. Around them, the realm returned to normal as the gates lost their power and the mist rolled in one more. Free of the presence, Alice and Ria paused in silence and shock while cold sweat covered their back. "Let''s get the f*ck out of here before whatever that wases back." Ria shook her head and stood up, not wanting to spend another second in this ce. However, Alice wasn''t responding. The beast wasn''t the only thing that tried to escape from the depths of the Abyss. In front of Alice, floated a broken crown of ck obsidian. Countless splinters hovered around the diamonds that made up the spikes while a single fractured ring held the diamonds together to hold their shape. Once again, unfamiliar feelings surfaced in her heart. The joys, the excitement, the fear, the sorrow and at the end of it all, nothingness. Coldness filled her heart as changes urred to her body. Just like what happened before, a simr crown manifested above her head while both of Alice''s eyes turned ck and purple. "[My crown¡­ A symbol of the peace I offered to my residents. Forever looked upon as safety in this realm. And yet¡­ It nowy splintered and broken just like my kingdom, my subjects.]" Alice muttered but Ria did not recognise the tone of voice she was using. Furrowing her brows, Ria was about to say something when ''Alice'' reached forward and grabbed the crown. "[May this be the sign. For a new inheritor. May you rebuild what is lost. May youy im to everything I have left behind.]" Alice smiled softly as the crown broke into several pieces before being embedded into Alice''s chest. As the pieces of obsidian melded with Alice''s body, they slowly disappeared one by one and Alice was returned back to normal. She kneeled down with pain surging through her body. Gritting her teeth, Alice could feel something foreign invading every part of her body, overwriting and taking over but soon, a warmth washed over her as the pain faded away. Pulling her shirt forward, Alice could see a ck star on her chest. ''What did she do to me¡­'' Alice thought with a frown. Shaking her head, she nced down at the mark on her hand. It nowid dormant and didn''t react to the surroundings at all. The gate was broken and unresponsive, the beast has been sent back to the depths of the Abyss and a broken crown was now merged with her body. "Are you alright? What was that? Who was talking just now?" Ria frowned. She knew that there were secrets that she wasn''t privy to between Alice and Allura and perhaps this was one of those moments. However, the fact that such a dangerous beast was this close to breaching the surface followed by a foreign entity taking over Alice''s body, she''s wanting some answers of her own. "Mnm, I''m fine. Let''s get out of here first. I''ll tell you on the way back." Alice nodded, taking onest nce at the broken gate thaty in this world of mist. "Alright." Tracing their steps back, Alice started to exin the rtionship between her and Allura. How Kaden was the one who freed her from the Zenia family. How she was thrown into the Abyss to fulfil a promise she does not know the details of. The existence of Ca and Ayr. Allura''s old master who governed a kingdom in the Abyss. Staying silent, Ria digested all of this information as more questions filled her mind. "So¡­ With that special Eye, you can see things in slow motion, see the names of the Abyss Beast and how difficult they are. But only up to six Sigils right now. Ayr is Allura''s old kingdom, Kaden is her old friend who rescued you and dug out your eye before throwing you into the Abyss as a ve. Zenia''s have no connection to Allura or Kaden, you just hate them because of everything they''ve done to you. You can copy Sigil abilities by drinking their blood¡­ Is that part of Ca''s power?" Ria asked but Alice shrugged. "I don''t know. It''s something very recent to me." "What the f*ck. Do you realise how absurd thatbination of scenarios are right? You have a ghost in your body that might wake up whenever youe into contact with these¡­ relics of the past. And considering the gate led to the f*cking depths of the Abyss, perhaps that past is filled with Abyss Lords like Allura. Who the f*ck knows since the beast, for all we care, could be 9 star difficulty." Ria questioned while scratching her hair. "Then we take into ount the things you can do. mes that burn away Abyss power that no one has seen, heard or known of. Not only that, but because this weird Raven guy, who dug out your bloody eye and imnted the Eye of a dead person into your body that''s called Ca, the Abyss is acting all weird?" "Seems correct." Alice nodded. ". . . Can I have some of your mead? I need something to wash down what in the flying f*ck you have just told me." Ria groaned while Alice gave her the sk. Ria had to admit that these circumstances scared her, especially the beast that was about to break out. However, she couldn''t deny that a part of her was intrigued. This unknown history of the Abyss. Chapter 163: Aura From The Terminus After taking several mouthfuls of mead, Ria exhaled out in satisfaction and handed back the sk. "I''m guessing this is not something people should know. Since if that Eye grants you so much power without acting like a Sigil, I can imagine that a lot of powerful people will want to dig it out of your skull. Plus, if it can affect the Abyss in such a manner that it''s better to leave it dormant, maybe it''s something far more primal and ancient than we might expect¡­ F*cking hell¡­" Ria groaned as her mind struggled toprehend and ept all of the information. "You are using quite the colourfulnguage today." Alice chuckled while Ria rolled her eyes. "You expect me not to swear after dumping this on me?" Ria replied while giving Alice a ''are you serious'' face. "True." "So what now? Is there anything we should''ve done with the gate?" Ria asked curiously. If it had such a reaction towards Alice and tried to establish a pathway down, perhaps there was something Alice needed to find out. But with such a beast guarding the entrance, going in would simply be suicide. "I''m not sure¡­ Ca only said the relic might give me a boon or misfortune. I suppose this could be considered a boon?" Alice shrugged, showing Ria the mark that now appeared on her chest. "I suppose we can always mark this ce down right? Ask Allura about it when she contacts us." "Mnm. For now though, let''s head back." Alice nodded as she adjusted her outfit and started to climb out of the Howling Depths. Tracing their steps back, they arrived back at the surface and eventually back to the camp. Seeing that the Raven''s Watch group isn''t back yet, the two could only assume they were still collecting the Sylvian Essence. Once they arrived at their caravan, Alice could feel fatigue washing over her. She could feel a warmth seeping out from the mark over her chest as she was unable to keep her eyes open. "I''m¡­ Just going to sleep for a bit." Alice muttered. "Alright. If it''s Ca again, say hi to her for me." Ria chuckled as she stood guard for Alice. Nodding her head, Alice closed her eyes and fell asleep. ### [I must congratte you o'' master mine. You hathy im to the crown mine old owner left behind. The symbol of her sovereignty.] Ca''s voice rang out as Alice could see Ca walking next to her. "Was this what you wanted me to find?" [Nay. I had not known that the crown would await thee. I merely sensed a connection. But with each interaction master has with mine old owner, her spirit would taketh over thee momentarily. Are you afraid?] ". . . A little." Alice couldn''t deny that the feeling and thought of having her body being taken over with her unable to do anything scared her. But aside from the anger and sadness that Allura''s master seemed to harbour in her memories, her presence felt warm. "She said that this is a sign. For a new inheritor, for me to rebuild what is lost and im what she left behind. Do you know what her words mean?" [Once again I must say no. Mine old master is¡­ An anomaly to say the least. She is not someone people can bepared to nor is she someone that can beprehended by the conscience of someone such as I. But if she hath giveth you her crown, she does not bare ill will.] [If anything, she looketh upon thee with favourable intentions.] Ca chuckled as she leaned down and pressed her finger against the mark on Alice''s chest. "Can you tell me what this crown does? What it changed in my body?" [I know a portion of its capabilities. After all, I''m now far more awake than I was before, am I not? The crown grants thee power and sovereignty. While you may not know what it represents, it is something that many dream of obtaining. Just know that it is also a protection against the reaches of the Abyss.] Hearing this, Alice paused and contemted Ca''s answer. "Are you saying you''re fully awake now?" [Thrice I must answer with no. You can consider this to be what humans considers to be¡­ Sleep talking. You may rest assured that I have not fully awakened my full potential.] "Onest question Ca." Alice asked as this was a thought that''s been on her mind for a while now. [Ask away.] With the power that Ca holds, how the Abyss has reacted to her awakening as well as the connection to the depths of the Abyss, Alice wanted to ask Ca regarding Allura''s master. "Your old master. Is she¡­ Is she an Apostle?" Upon hearing this question, Ca was silent. She simply stared at Alice, contemting how she should answer without putting Alice in danger. [Knowledge can grant upon thee mastery over life. Yet some knowledge is better left untouched and unknown. Mine answer to thee could bring you much danger. So I cannot verify the truths you seek from me and I know that Allura would not want thee to know too soon. But as you are my master, if you wish to know, I can onlyply.] Ca warned. ". . . I see. Alright, I will ask Allura when I see her again." Alice nodded. [Thank you for your understanding. However, there are more pressing matters mine master. With the pathway formed between thisyer and the deepest reaches of the Abyss, even if it''s merely for a moment, the influence would reach out and corrupt the beasts on thisnd. It is not safe for the people to rest within the forest. The aura emanated from the depths of the Abyss, Terminus, is one that drives the coldest grasps of death into even the hearts of Lords. If embedded into a beast, they will fight with the desire of taking everything down with them. [This ravenous fervour is not one that Hunters can deal with.] Ca warned. Hearing this, Alice realised what Ca was warning about. "Ellie and her friends are in danger¡­" Alice muttered. [Exactly mine master. But now that you haveid im to the relic left behind, I will re-enter mine slumber to consolidate the power within your body.] Ca smiled as she flicked her finger, forcefully sending Alice out of her mind realm. [Mine master is such a curious soul. If she was to discover the true identity of my old owner and what Kaden expects of her, I wonder how she''ll react? I know that in her heart, she prizes the connection between her and Allura. Perhaps if Allura was to ask she wouldn''t hesitate. Yet to taketh on the role that was owned by my old master¡­ is no ordinary task. But to think mine master thought that she was an Apostle¡­ *chuckle*] Shaking her head, Ca slowly disappeared from within the realm as she gathered her strength to help Alice''s body ept the crown. ### Jolting awake, Alice had a frown on her face but sighed as Ca probably wanted to rest as soon as possible. Standing up, Alice tapped Ria on the shoulder. "We need to leave. Ellie and the rest of the Raven''s Watch are in danger and so is his camp. The portal we opened was one that leads to the Terminus, deepestyer of the Abyss. Ca mentioned that the beast will go into frenzy when exposed to the aura of Terminus." Alice exined as Ria''s expression was serious. "If Ca is warning you then I''m guessing the beasts aren''t something that the Raven''s Watch can handle." "Mnm. It''ll be hard for us to convince the camp by ourselves so the best move would be to help the Raven''s Watch. Once we bring them back, we need to leave this forest as soon as possible." Alice nodded while running out of the camp with Ria following closely behind her. "Do you even know where they are?" Ria frowned. "I do. Isabe is holding one of the blood orbs that I made. It holds my blood. We know the general direction they ran in, as long as I get close enough, I''ll be able to sense where they are. Or at least, where Isabe is." Since this was a direct byproduct of their actions, Alice didn''t want any danger to befall the Raven''s Watch party. ''Ellie is also not in the right state of mind to fight something that will stop at nothing to tear out your throat. If Ellie fumbles, the party will try to cover for her and that''ll only lead them to more danger!'' Activating her first Sigil, Alice stomped down and dashed forward. *BANG!!! "What the!" Widening her eyes, Ria was shocked at Alice''s speed as she didn''t expect this kind of eleration that rivalled her own in the past! The difference here was that her''s was focused on speed while Alice''s first Sigil was merely physical enhancement! ''Is it because of the crown?'' Ria thought to herself while activating her own Sigils so that she could catch up to Alice. ### In the dim light emanating from theke, Ellie''s heart pounded in her chest as she stared at the swarm of monsters emerging from the shadows around them. The gnashing of their teeth, the grinding of their scales and their growls echoed through the air, sending shivers down her spine. Each of their eyes were blood shot and hungry for flesh, each one radiated killing intent that chilled her to the bone. Her bow quivered in her trembled hands as she desperately tried to notch an arrow only for it to drop on the floor. Fear gripped her mind as her once confident aim faltered. Her party were injured and exhausted having fought off the first wave but they kepting. "Ellie! We need some range support now!" Finn shouted while Isabe was trying her best to heal him using some Abyss Blood. Griffin was the only one holding back the army of beasts and they were pressed against the wall, unable to retreat or run forward. Without Ellie''s support, they were going to die. "ELLIE! HELP HIM!" Kaida shouted as he cleaved through the wave using a half broken rapier. His arm had been torn off during the first wave and his arm had been hastily bandaged up so that he could keep fighting. Blood poured from his wounds as another beast sunk its teeth into his shoulder, causing him to cry out in pain. Surrounded by screams and blood, Ellie found herself unable to move. Chapter 164: Finns Choice Where did it all go wrong? When she epted this mission with the others? When she met Alice? When Alice demonstrated her power? Ellie didn''t know. All she could think about was death and the inevitability of it. The gap between the talented and talentless. The power difference despite having more Sigils. She wished she had never met Alice nor asked her to demonstrate her strength. If she had never met her, she wouldn''t have understood the meagre strength she possessed and lived in blissful ignorance. If it wasn''t for Alice, she wouldn''t have fumbled against beasts that would''ve been easy kills for them. ''Where did it all go wrong?'' Ellie asked herself once more as tears formed around her eyes. Reaching for her arrow, she desperately pulled it back before letting go. However, her aim was off. "ARGGG!! Watch where you''re shooting!" Griffin shouted in pain and anger while wrestling with arge armoured beast with four limbs. He grappled two of the arms and held them at bay yet the other two dug its nails deep into his torso, causing blood to pour onto the ground. Gritting his teeth, Finn turned around and grabbed Ellie by the cor. "Get yourself together! We can''t afford mistakes like this right now!" He lectured but he saw the fear deep in her eyes. He knew she wasn''t getting better and this fight could only rely on the four of them excluding Ellie. Jumping up, Finntched himself against a tree to look for a way out of this swarm. However, the densely packed beasts of the Abyss refused to reveal a gap. "Damn! Griffin! Keep to the walls and push to the right! Isabe! Take Kaida back and patch him up! He''s getting eaten alive out there! I''ll open a way to the right! Make sure you run through when I tell you to!" Finn shouted as he reached into his bag. Every Hunter owned one of these. A vial of blood for emergency use. The power it granted was one that could turn the tides of battle, but the side effects were not something a Hunter dared to trifle with. He was given two options. Either drink the vial or try to push out without its power. But he couldn''t risk the safety of hispanions on his desire to remain ''human''. Taking a deep breath, he opened the vial and stared at the crimson liquid that shimmered from the lights. The Abyss Blood, an ambrosia of forbidden might for a hefty price. With no more time to waste, he swung his head back and poured the contents into his mouth. The moment the blood touched his tongue, Finn felt an abyssal surge of power course through his body. It was as if the primal power belonging to the Abyss Beasts possessed his body, awakening a never before seen power from his flesh as changes urred to his body. His body convulsed as luminescent blue mes started to dance around him, the blood working its way deep into the core of his being. Sharp elongated teeth pierced through his lips, transforming his once human visage into that of a fearsome half man half beast. Upon his head, twisted ck horns erupted with demonic elegance and curved back. His hair, once a mundane brown now erupted into a wild ring disy like the mane of a beast. Strands of white reced his original colour while ck scales emerged along the edges of his face, neck and arms. Finn''s body which was once human was now an amalgamation of human will and Abyssal might. Yet, along with the surge of power came a sense of cruelty. Finn could hear the dissonance of the Abyss, whispering into his mind. Its thoughts and will polluting his own, urging him to ughter. The boundary between Finn and the will of the Abyss blurred. He staggered back, overwhelmed by the feeling before pulling himself together and wrestling his conscience from the depths of the Abyss. He now stood, understanding the price he had now paid for this power. Clenching his fist, he rushed towards the swarm of beasts and mmed his hands down. Luminescent mes erupted out as ice formed wherever they touched! With a path of beasts now frozen, Finn created a de of ice and mmed down with all of his might, shattering the statues and opening a path out. "TO ME! RUN! DON''T LOOK BACK!" Finn screamed out as Griffin threw the beast aside, allowing it to tear a chunk out of his torso. With his remaining strength, he grabbed Kaida and Ellie who were out ofmission. Isabe followed behind as she was responsible for support hence she was still able to move. Seeing that Griffin and Isabe ran past him, a smile crept up on his face as he turned around and mmed his fist into the chest of the beast that Griffin was fighting. Letting out a roar to drag out as much strength as he could, Finn watched as blue mes and ice erupted from within the beast, ripping it apart as the blood was frozen before it could touch the ground. "Finn!" Griffin shouted, noticing that Finn wasn''t nning on leaving the swarm. "LEAVE! DON''T LOOK BACK! LIVE WELL MY FRIENDS!" He shouted out, shing the beasts that tried to get past him. He had to stall for as long as possible so that they could escape. Gritting his teeth, Griffin turned around while Isabe hesitated. "What are you waiting for!" He shouted as Isabe bit her lip and ran behind Griffin. Seeing that his friends were leaving as per his orders, he smiled in satisfaction. Surrendering his mind over to the Abyss, he bit down on the neck of a beast and ripped it apart. Allowing the primal urge to wash over him, Finn was no different to an Abyss Beast as he wed away at the horde. There was no longer any reason to his actions, all he knew was that he had to KILL! "ARG!!!" Letting out a cry of pain, he could feel the ws of Abyss Beasts piercing his torso as thest embers of his life slowly fizzled how. Gathering as much power as he could, blue mes erupted out with his body as the epic centre of the st. An ice age washed over the region as the trees and beasts were all frozen solid. ### Griffin couldn''t say anything. All he could do was carry Kaida and Ellie while Isabe followed. He could feel the vibrations through the ground, the expansion of power and his friends final shout in defiance. However, the malevolent aura behind them continued to surge out. The beast swarm was not stopping. "Go ahead without me! You need to warn the caravan! They have to leave as soon as possible!" Griffin called out as he understood his current state. He was running on nothing but adrenaline while blood continuously leaked from his body. But Isabe was different, she was naturally fast and as the assassin of the group, it would be an easy task for her to reach the caravan. "I''ll be fine. The sooner you notify them, the faster they can prepare." Griffin smiled softly after seeing Isabe''s hesitance. Clenching her fist, Isabe nodded. "Don''t fall behind." "Who do you think I am? Now go!" Griffin chuckled. Stomping down, Isabe rushed forward as fast as she could. There was only one hope on her mind, Alice! She had to find Alice! The demonstration from the other night, if she was capable of such power, she should be able to help Griffin. Finn had sacrificed himself to buy them some extra time, she didn''t want to see more of her friends disappear! ### "You¡­ Can put me down¡­" Kaida muttered weakly as he could barely keep himself conscious. "Shut up." "I''m no help to¡­ anyone right now. If you put me down, I can stall them for you. What else can a one armed swordsman do anymore?" He smiled before coughing up some blood. Even though Isabe had patched him up, he could feel his wounds reopening as the healing blood was unable to heal the rest of his wounds. Before Griffin could reply, Kaida mustered some strength and forced Griffin to let go of him. "Hah¡­ You can''t even hold onto a dead man like me. Go ahead, I''ll buy some time for you like Finn did." He groaned while forcing himself to stand up. "And how much time can a half broken twig like you stall for?" Griffin scoffed. "A few seconds give or take. But better than nothing." Kaida shrugged to the best of his abilities. But despite his strong words, he could feel fear gripping his heart. He didn''t want to die but things have already reached this stage. He was broken and wounded, no use to anyone. Only dead weight. "Then let me help. The longer we stall for the better no?" Griffin sighed while Ellie froze up. "N-no!" She cried out as this was all her fault. If she didn''t panic they wouldn''t have gotten so injured. If she didn''t screw up her role, Finn wouldn''t have had to sacrifice himself. She couldn''t let these two pay for her mistakes. "Just go back with Isabe will you? Try stay away from danger next time." Griffin chuckled as the roars of beasts slowly grew louder. Grabbing Ellie, he mustered as much power as he could and threw her as far as he could, not wanting her to remain here as the beasts will soon arrive. Widening her eyes, Ellie felt her chest tightening as she was unable to let out her voice. She could only pray, pray that someone wille save them. *BANG!!!! From the skies, a bolt of radiant lightning crashed down as four motes of lightning transformed into a spear. "I''ll hold them off! Help me when you''re done with them!" Ria shouted out as Alice caught Ellie before rushing next to Kaida and threw a vial of healing blood into his mouth. "Here''s your portion. Take them away." Alice threw a vial towards Griffin before unsheathing her de. Running forward, she activated her second Sigil as violet mes appeared on her de. ''Destroy as much as you want, I allow it!'' After receiving permission, the mes roared out in joy as the mes pulsed out with anticipation for ughter. Chapter 165: Stygian Shadow Drake "What are we dealing with here?" Ria asked as she could clearly feel the bloodlust from the forest. "Three stars and four stars. All of them extremely pissed off." "Alright. I''ll take the fours you take the threes." Ria chuckled as the first beastunched from the shadows in an attempt to w Ria''s head off. But before it could reach Ria, a vertical sh cleaved the beast in half as violet mes burned on its wound. "Alright. We don''t need to kill them all, just enough so they can reach the caravan and help with the evacuations." Alice nodded while adjusting her grip. "Need my blood or you good?" "I''ll be fine." Alice shook her head as she rushed towards the left side of the forest while Ria dealt with the right. ''Most of the ones charging at us are cannon fodder. Or at least what the ''leaders'' consider them to be.'' Alice thought to herself as she nced into the crowd of beasts and noticed one beast in particr, not doing anything and merely observing the situation. Knowing what the aura of Terminus could do to a beast, it seems as though it has taken advantage of the situation and assumed a leadership role. ''If we want to disperse the swarm, we need to kill it so the beasts lose theirmander. But doing so means we''ll be in the middle of the swarm. Just killing him doesn''t mean they stop being blood thirsty.'' Pausing in her step, Alice bent her body back as a scythe like arm swiped above her in an attempt to separate her upper torso. In one swift motion, she twisted her body and shed the arm while the violet mes roared out, spreading across the body of the beast. Unlike the beasts she had thought when she was in the howling depths, the mes weren''t hindered from spreading and Alice allowed them to do whatever they wanted. With this in mind, the mes spread freely from the beast, consuming everything and jumping to the next target. ''Letting these mes do things by themselves saves me some stamina. I can probably threaten the main beast with a long range attack and force it to back off.'' Narrowing her eyes, Alice snapped her finger and jumped onto of a tree branch. Taking a deep breath, the violet mes started to converge towards the tip of her finger as Alice aimed towards the beast in the back. She didn''t want to unleash a full power Nova Core as doing so would exhaust her to the point she could no longer fight. What she needed was a warning shot. Something that holds great power but didn''t take her out ofmission. Fiery strands of violet mes swirled towards her as she took care not to absorb too much. ''I just need enough to form a stable orb.'' Alice thought to herself as she noticed some of the beasts attempting to stop her attack. Jumping down, she fended them off with the Bloodme de. Each attack was slow and predictable as they were naught but bloodthirsty beasts devoid of intelligence. In this aspect, Alice was grateful for the effects of the aura. Adjusting the grip on her de, she parried the punch of a three star beast thatunched her into the air due to the force. But this is exactly what she wanted as she aimed her finger towards the leader. The air around her crackled with energy as she fired the orb, allowing it to unleash the dormant power from within. *BANG!!! The orb tore through the first beast of the swarm, shredding a hole through its torso while setting the remains aze with violet mes. Beast after beast sumbed to the power as theyunched themselves at the attack in a futile attempt to stop it. But with each beast that died to its radiance, its power only seemed to grow as it opened a path through the swarm. The leader of the swarm, shocked at the disy of power, wanted to dodge out of the way but it was toote. The ming sphere of destruction was rapidly approaching its location as the beast roared out in defiance. Its blood shot eyes red at the orb as ck and red crystals formed a halo around its mouth. At that moment, the beast released its own attack to fend against the Nova Core as crackles of crimson energy erupted from the gaps of each scale to form a breath of energy. Jumping back, Alice sheathed her de and started to run towards Ria as they should start making their way back to the caravan. Her violet mes will stall the horde as it was allowed to spread freely amongst them, sustaining itself from the flesh of the beasts. Upon arriving at where Ria was fighting, Alice couldn''t help but notice the corpses of four star beasts strewn out around the forest as each had holes pierced through their heart and head with a bolt of lightning. The echoes of thunder raged forth while Alice looked around for Ria and spotted her manifesting orbs before turning them into bolts of lightning to kill the surrounding beasts. "Ria!" Alice called out, getting her attention. "We''re falling back. My fire is stalling the leader and the others. No need to tire ourselves out too much." Hearing this, Ria nodded her head as the two started to run back. Turning off her resonance, Ria panted heavily as keeping it on was exhausting. However, if she didn''t use her resonance, killing four star beasts in the dozen would be far more difficult than what she would be capable of handling. "How was your side?" "I''m letting the fire do its thing. It still takes some power from me but as long as the weak beasts are dying to it, it''ll keep burning." Alice replied while ncing towards where she had juste from. She could see the flickering purple lights signifying the movement of her mes. "But if the leader is smart, they''ll probably iste those affected by the fire. It was able to counter a small scale Nova Core that I had fired off earlier." She sighed while Ria was shocked. Even if it was a small scale attack, it was still shocking to hear that a beast was able to block it. Before Ria could reply, she felt a surge of blood lust behind them as she immediately turned around and reactivated her Resonance. *BANG!!!! From the darkness, a beast of awe-inspiring grandeur rushed out. Its massive form moved with unmatched ferocity as its ck fur shimmered in the moonlight. The beast''s mane, a cascade of midnight ck flickered like fames around its neck. ck horns and scales could be seen around its head and body as it seamlessly blended with the rest of its fur. With a single swipe of its w, it was able to send Ria tumbling back as the armour around her arms cracked apart while blood poured through the gaps. "Ria!" Alice cried out in shock as she could see the name above the beast. [Stygian Shadow Drake - ?????] "It''s got five stars!" She shouted out while unsheathing the Bloodme de. Before she could even attack the beast, she watched as the tail appeared in front of her face. Widening her eyes, Alice knew that if she was to allow the attack to connect, the damage done to her would be unthinkable. Tilting her head to the side, she was barely able to dodge the tail swipe as the Drake wed towards her in an attempt to crush her under its weight. Gritting her teeth, Alice rxed her body before sliding out of the way. *BANG!!! The weight of the beast caused the ground to sink down as it pulled its w back, ready for another attack. "B*stard! Over here!" Ria shouted out from above as she gathered all of her lightning into a spear and threw it down only for the beast to disperse the lightning through its fur and redirect it with its tail, throwing the lightning back at Ria. "!!!" Twisting her body to the side, Ria was barely able to dodge the lightning as she understood this beast was not something she and Alice could deal with right now! Taking a deep breath, she gave up on the offensive and threw a small bolt of lightning next to Alice and activated her fourth Sigil, teleporting next to her. Even without saying anything, they both knew the dangers and had to leave fast! "Go on ahead, make sure the caravan is ready to leave. I can stall it with my lightning. Once everything is ready shoot some fire into the air so I know." Ria smiled as she was the best one out of the two of them to stall this beast. Furrowing her brows, Alice wanted to say something but decided not to. The resolve in Ria''s eyes meant that she was not taking no for an answer. "Use this powder. It should negate its power for a little bit. Be careful not to inhale it yourself." Alice nodded as she handed Ria a vial of powdered blood that she was experimenting with. Giving the beast onest nce, she rushed towards the direction of the caravan while sounds of lightning could be heard from behind. She needed to hurry them up as fast as possible so that they could leave without the beast catching up. However, upon arriving at the caravan site, Alice paused in shock. All of the merchants were still packing their crap without a care while Isabe was arguing with them. "We have to leave! Now! They''re going to catch up at any moment!" She cried out, hoping that they would just leave. "Not yet! I''m sure we can wait a little longer! Do you have any idea how expensive this is? We have to make sure everything is in order!" One of the merchants shouted back. Griffin and Kaida were too injured and fatigued to act against them as the Hunters were employed by the merchants to keep them at bay. Seeing all of this, Alice could only feel her anger increasing as these people cared more for their merchandise than danger. They weren''t the ones holding back the swarm nor did they know the true extend of the danger. Gritting her teeth, killing intent exploded out of Alice''s body as she unsheathed her de. "Either leave now or I will burn everything to the f*cking ground!" Chapter 166: Retreating From The Emerald Glade "Either leave now or I will burn everything to the f*cking ground!" Alice shouted while raising her sword above her head. The sudden surge of killing intent attracted everyone''s attention as some of the merchants frowned at her threat. "Who the hell do you think you are? You''re just a standalone Hunter. Can you even pay for the damages caused to my wares?" One of them retorted. Just as he finished his sentence, a de of blood appeared next to his head. "I''m the person trying to save your lives. If you treasure your wares more than your f*cking life then keep packing! Everyone else who wants to live stop packing and prepare to leave! The swarm is right behind us, if we don''t leave now we won''t be able to leave at all!" Alice shouted. "She''s right. The swarm behind us is not something we can handle no matter how many Hunters we have." Griffin squeezed out as he forced himself to stand. While they had plenty of Hunters at the camp, they weren''t used to fighting as a group. The swarm would easily tear through them. Cedric was hesitant before nodding his head. He was already leaning towards the opinions of those from the Raven''s Watch but it was hard to convince the others. "Anyone who wants to leavee with me! We''re packing up now! Drop everything you don''t need!" Cedric shouted out as the Hunters under his employment started to follow his orders. "Dammit Cedric! Do you know how much everything is worth here you bumbling moron!" "It doesn''t matter if we''re all dead! You can stay behind and take my wares for yourself if you want." Cedric scoffed while having his Hunters carry Griffin and Kaida onto the carriages. "Where''s your friend?" Isabe asked as she rushed over to Alice''s side. "She''s holding off a beast right now. It''s not something we can handle with our power. Once we start leaving, I''ll send her a signal so that she can catch up to us." Alice replied while sheathing her sword. Just as she was about to make her way to Cedric''s carriage, her path was blocked by two Hunters under the employment of the merchant she had just threatened. She could clearly sense the hostility in their eyes as she took a deep breath and sighed out. "If you want to die just say so." Hearing her threat, their eyes twitched for a moment before one of the Hunters rushed forward with his de to his side. Taking a step back, Alice dodged his swing before twisting her body and kicking up with her leg, knocking him on the wrist and forcing him to drop his sword. In one swift motion, she unsheathed her de as ck and red mes coated the edge. shing in a downwards arc, the de tore through his arm with ease before cleaving through his torso. She had coated her de with a thinyer of her own blood so that the moment her de caught ame, it would produce the fumes to stop his Sigils from working. It allowed her to kill him before he could fight back while the other Hutner stared in bewilderment. Pointing her de tip at his face, Alice red in silent warning. Raising his hands in surrender, the Hunter took a few steps back, no longer wanting to give her any trouble. "Let''s go. How many carriages are wanting to leave immediately?" Alice asked as some of the merchants were still ignoring her warnings. "Four." Isabe replied. She wanted to thank Alice for saving them but this was not the time. They weren''t in the clear yet. "Alright." Jumping onto the fourth carriage, Alice nced back into the forest while Cedric ordered their retreat. They needed to leave this region and pray the beasts won''t continue to chase after them. With everything prepared, Alice took a deep breath and aimed her finger at the sky. Activating her second Sigil, violet mes started to swirl around her as it converged into an orb. *BANG!!! Firing the orb into the sky, Alice waited for it to reach the necessary height before detonating into a ball of violet energy. "Was something about to attack?!" Isabe asked in a small panic but Alice shook her head. "No, just sending a signal to my friend." Clenching her fist, Alice waited while ncing towards the direction of the forest. Her heart wouldn''t rest easy until Ria was back safe and sound. *BOOM!!! Hearing the distant thunder, Alice sighed out in relief as a bolt of lightning shed across the sky. From within the light, Ria appeared, battered and wounded with blood dripping through the gaps of her armour. Spotting the carriage, she threw another bolt of lightning before teleporting down and crashing against the carriages. The sound of wood nks breaking startled the driver but Alice didn''t care. She rushed next to Ria and rummaged through her pouch for any Healing Blood she had left. Ria, once full of energy and life nowy bloodied and wounded in the amidst the broken nks. Cuts marred her skin, her clothing was torn and stained deep with her own blood. Her hair, now dishevelled and soaked with sweat, clung to her forehead. Her gaze was blurred with fatigue and relief seeing that they were now leaving this forest. Thankfully, there was one vial left and Alice quickly poured the contents into Ria''s mouth. "Took you a while¡­ To send the signal." Ria chuckled weakly as she regained some of her vitality but she was unable to move freely. Despite the healing blood, she could feel pain from across her entire body. "Sorry. Dipsh*ts cared more about their wares than their life. I can assume they should being face to face with the beast right about now." Alice scoffed while ncing back before focusing her attention back on Ria. "We need to get you to a healer. There''s only so much this vial of Healing Blood can do for you." Alice sighed. "Erm¡­ I have some healing blood if you don''t mind¡­" A small voice called out as Alice nced up, noticing it was Ellie. Her eyes were dulled by the weight of guilt and sorrow. The sadness in her expression was clear to all as her shoulders sagged under the burden of her actions having caused a death in their party. The death of Finn. Her hands trembled as she tried her best to hold the vial of blood steady for Alice as she understood that without Alice, Griffin and Kaida would also be dead. Even now, the final stand continuously reyed in her mind, her mistakes and herck of action. Seeing this, Alice was silent. ''If I didn''t touch the relic¡­ Would the beasts have gone out of control?'' Alice asked herself. Had she not followed the mark, perhaps they wouldn''t be in this situation. But what is done is done. All she could do was to apologise. "Thank you. And sorry¡­" Alice sighed as she epted the vial of blood. Forcing a smile, Ellie walked away and sat down in her own carriage while the injured Kaida and Griffin wereying down on the seats. Kaida cannot continue his life as a Hunter anymore. The healing blood needed to repair his injury was far above their pay and even if they sold everything, they wouldn''t even be able to match a fraction of the price. "I''m sorry¡­" Ellie sobbed as she clenched her fist. The tears rolling down her face as she wished everything was a bad dream. ### Leaning against the outside of the carriage, Isabe was silent. Their party was now over, Finn is dead, Kaida is maimed and Ellie''s mental is broken from her mistakes and her fear of death. Looking down at the vial in her hands, Isabe sighed. She could no longer bring herself to keep researching as it was done for her party in the first ce. She wanted the knowledge so that she could keep them safe and prepared but there was no longer any point to it. Making her way back to Alice, she noticed that Ria had fallen asleep while Alice sat next to her, guarding her safety. "Is something wrong?" Alice called out, noticing Isabe by the door. "Ah no. I just wanted to give you my research results. I won''t be needing them anymore." Isabe smiled bitterly as she pulled out a stack of parchment with her handwriting and diagrams scribbled across the surface. "I have some theories that I''ve written about on the sheet but most of it is in my mind since this is just notes. "But basically, thepressed orbs seems to have reduced effectiveness when ingested. Naturally, that ounts for the side effects too. However, if merged with some other blood with higher purity, it seems to be able to bring out thetent potential of the blood. Boosting the effects while keeping the side effects low." Isabe exined while showing Alice an experimental vial of blood that she had created. "I''m not sure if this is applicable for healing blood but that''s my main theory on what you can do with these orbs. This vial of blood right here is made using the orb you gave me. Its effects are giving you heightened reaction and sensitivity while also boosting your physical power. Side effects have been reduced to the point where just drinking one vial won''t do anything to you." "Is that so¡­ Thank you, I''ll keep these research notes in mind." Alice smiled as she epted the vial of blood as well as the parchment sheets. Opening her mouth, Isabe wanted to say something but in the end chose to stay silent and leave the carriage. It was something she also discovered in her experiments but didn''t make any notes as it was unconfirmed. There were traces of what could only be described as¡­ ''life'' in the blood orb. As though it was trying to reform itself. It seems to resonant with the realm and gain power from it. Yet something was limiting the power it could gain and eventually, it ''died''. Isabe had too many theories but no evidence. She could only keep the thoughts to herself. Looking up at the moon, she sighed and wondered what kind of life she should live now. "Maybe I should be a baker." Isabe muttered, retreating to her own carriage and resting her mind while the howls of Abyss Beasts echoed out in the distance. Chapter 167: Sealed Terminus A destendscape stretched as far as the eye could see, a realm torn by relentless battles, dances of blood and the mes of war. The ground, once verdant and full of life was now charred and withered, littered with the countless corpses of man and beast alike. The scent of blood hung heavy in the air, a reminder of the battles and violence that ravages on. As far as the horizon reached, corpses painted the ground. Despite the gruesome reminder, the sounds of battle continue to rage on. A symphony of shing des, desperate roars and explosions from Sigil abilities. The very ground trembled in response to the strife as each sh left another mark on the scar riddled realm. Above the sea of war, the moon loomed closer than ever. Its crimson glow casting an eerie light upon the battlefield as though it was a giant unlinking eye, witnessing the carnage below. *BANG!!! A serpentine beast erupted from the ground. Its scales gleamed with dark light and with a malevolent roar, it unfurled its wings that blocked out the sky and cast a deep shadow upon the field. The beast ascended into the skies as bright blue energy gathered beneath the scales and snapped open its mouth. A torrent of searing mes rained down upon the approaching army. A waterfall of destruction engulfed everything in its path as the dragon reared its head back and let out a roar of triumph. Yet from the mes, a single woman stood while smoking a cigarette. She took a deep drag and sighed out in satisfaction. "Not bad for a lighter. The mes are just right." She smirked before tossing the cigarette aside. Raising her hand above her head, Allura snapped her finger as luminescent red energy shed across the skies, forming countless crosses that hovered above the beast. Yet before she couldunch her attack, a de of shadows erupted from the dragon''s shadow, cleaving it in half. "Dammit! Gin! That was my kill!" Allura clicked her tongue while Gin appeared next to her and shrugged his shoulders. "You shouldn''t use your powers on weaklings like that. Don''t forget what we''re here for." Gin reminded but Allura understood what he meant. "I''m just trying to get back into shape you know? I''ve stayed a neutral party for far too long. I''m no longer in my prime." She shrugged. "Speaking of which, seems like Alice and Ria ran into something pretty weird." Hearing this, Gin furrowed his brows and paused. "What do you mean?" "A portal was opened to Terminus. I''m not sure how they got their hands on a gate but it was damaged so the path is iplete. Good fortune on their end since something terrible would''ve been allowed to escape Terminus. But they haven''t used the life saving tools we gave them so it should be fine." Allura exined as she nced to her side and noticed that Gin was preparing to leave. "You know even if you leave now at your top speed, you won''t make it in time, right?" ". . .Tch. So will the path reopen?" Gin sighed as Allura shook her head. "No. It copsed on its own and can''t be reopened anymore." ''Master must''ve left something for her sessor. The fact that it opened a path to Terminus means it should be near the heart of Ayr¡­'' Allura thought to herself as she didn''t think Alice woulde across something like this in her absence. "That''s good then. Terminus has been sealed for centuries, for good reason too. If any of the Apostles get their hands on anything that resides there, it could spell disaster for the others." Gin nodded in relief. Information about the Terminus is not known to many. Those on the surface know it as the deepestyer of the Abyss. However, the true identity of the Terminus is more akin to a prison. A realm to keep the Lord level beasts in check. Beasts of pure rage and instinct with an oppressive bloodline. Power with no chance ofmunication. Just one of these beasts being allowed to reach the surface means the cooperation of several Abyss Lords to keep it in check. If an Apostle was to move, the others would follow as it means they receive a weapon of war. But no one knows how or why the Terminus was sealed. No Lord can get in or out of theyer with only hints of its influence left upon theyers above. Gin could only hope that Ria stays out of trouble. It was already unsettling knowing the Eclipse learned above his survival. As long as the Eclipse doesn''t discover Ria, he could rest easy. ### Keeping watch while sitting on the roof of her carriage, Alice sighed in relief after seeing no beasts chase after them. With the caravan now far from the forest, she could finally let her guard down. ''Hopefully the beast''ll calm down after a while. If they keep maintaining their current state, the nearby cities will need to figure out a way to deal with them. I don''t think that beast is something that can be killed easily unless you get several City Lords on the level of Lord Kallus.'' Alice mused to herself as the toughness of that beast was no joke. Ria''s lightning was reflected with ease and she didn''t even get a chance to attack the beast. But the biggest question remains, what was its ability? ''It only used physical attacks against me and Ria¡­ Why? Or was the reflection its ability?'' Tapping her finger, Alice couldn''t help but wonder what kind of ability she could get if she was to drink its blood. Licking her lips, a smile slowly crept up on her face before she quickly shook her head and dismissed the thought. It was far too dangerous of an endeavour for her right now. Her Sigils, while strong, didn''t provide enough physical reinforcement for her to match these beasts of higher difficulty. Just reacting to the drake took everything out of her never mind trying to fight back. ''I think it''s time for me to hunt for my third Sigil. I need an Anti Hunter type Sigil that works with blood, my mes and possibly enhances my innate potential.'' Once again, she is reminded of her desire to get her hands on the blood belonging to the Scarlet Winged Monarch. A beast that could keep fighting for as long as its will held on. Killing the beast would be no easy task but it is not immortal. The fact that the Zenia''s were able to get their hands on its blood meant that it was doable. ''Hardest part would be to track down the beast I want to kill. I have a benefit over the other Hunters in the Abyss since I can pick my bounty whenever I want instead of going to amunal point or asking a Shaman. But¡­ Trying to find a beast while others are contesting it is going to be hard.'' Alice groaned in her mind. She could still remember Allura telling her how families would hire people to keep the Hunt secured or make sure no one could get close to them. The information she obtains for the beast she Hunts will definitely be known to others. She''ll always be one step shorter when it came to Hunting. ''Seems like we''ll have to rely on rumours instead¡­ If I look for rumours of beasts that have ties to blood, I can then choose it as my bounty. I need to be proactive for rumours rather than waiting for things to be confirmed. If I wait too long, the others will get the Bounties from the Shamans and I''ll lose my greatest asset in Hunting.'' Sitting up straight, Alice knew what she had to do first once they arrive at one of the major cities. That was to immediately ess the Underground and purchase any rumours regarding signs of beasts with rtions to blood. ''If there are news for dried up corpses, it should provide me a good lead since most beasts that have blood abilities will seek to drain their victims.'' Making a mental note for herself, Alice made her way down from the roof and entered her carriage where Ria was still sleeping. Fatigue took over her as her adrenaline wore off. She no beasts threatening to take out their caravan, Alice was free to rest her mind. ### The following morning, the entire caravan was exhausted as they had travelled without rest through the night. They decided to make camp during the day and let those who haven''t rested rest while the others kept watch. Breakfast was sombre as Ellie was unable to eat while everyone was present. Seeing Kaida''s current state was enough to dissuade her from eating. Griffin had recovered decently but Isabe still warned him from making anyrge movements. The wound he took to his torso had taken arge chunk out and their Healing Blood could only do so much for now. They needed to find more potent vials if they wanted him back in peak condition. Griffin and Kaida gave their thanks to Ria who was still feeling rather exhausted having over exerted herself in stalling the beast. As for Cedric, he decided to handle the fee for the healing blood they would need as if it wasn''t for them, the beasts would''ve caught up to them and taken them out. Not only that, as a merchant, he knew that Griffin would be a great asset and protector with the Raven''s Watch disbanding after this mission. Thankfully, the rest of the journey was uneventful as they travelled peacefully to their destination. The city of Eldoria, a city focused on Abyss Engineering. Chapter 168: Arriving in Eldoria Nestled between towering spires of brass, iron, rails and countless towers decorated with gears and pipes was the city of Eldoria. A city of innovation and discovery in the blood arts of Abyssal Engineering. Every inch of the cityscape was covered by numerous contraptions and vehicles. It was simply night and day inparison to the other cities that Alice and Ria had visited. Even from afar, they could see the skyline of Eldoria, a masterpiece of metallic towers and flying ships. "What in the hell is that???" Alice blinked in sheer confusion upon seeing an airship powered by Abyssal Engineering. A vessel of pulsating energy through the clear pipes and an array of ethereal power keeping the ship afloat in the abyssal skies. Wings, ribs and even the scales of a beast were used as reinforcement of the ship. A man-made construct in awe or perhaps mockery of the very beast that was in to craft it. "A flying ship. It''s not even the most impressive feat of engineering that people havee up with you know?" Ria smiled after seeing Alice''s childlike curiosity regarding the technical marvels of Eldoria. She too was the same at the start and Luke was the one who educated her on much of the information on this topic. The notable inventors, the pioneers of such magic without Sigils. "A flying ship¡­ Do people use them to travel often? Like to hunts?" Alice asked curiously but Ria shook her head. "There''s no point. Stronger beasts can take it down in a heartbeat while the weaker beasts don''t require such a contraption. It''s more¡­ A proof of wealth for the rich. In terms of actual practicality there''s basically none. If anything, the rails are more interesting. They''re already making tracks leading to some of therger cities." Ria exined while pointing at the rails in the distance. Small carriages with people inside could be seen being transported upon the rails leading to the different levels of the city. Just as she was about to say something, Alice noticed a small figure running across the carriages while holding a bag in her hand. Squinting her eyes to try get a closer look, she saw that the figure was being chased by a mechanical serpentine beast along with several cat like contraptions. Their bodies, a union of metal, bones and scales. Snapping open its jaw, the serpentine beast shot forth a glowing green dart towards the figure who tried to dodge but was not fast enough. The dart made a cut across her leg as her body instantly tensed up and stumbled over the edge while the cat like contraptions transformed into a bird and caught her. Seeing this, Alice was shocked that they were able to create man-made beasts of the Abyss using this Abyssal Engineering. "Unlike actual beasts thate from the Abyss, these ones follow instructions without failure and you don''t have to risk your life training them either." Ria shrugged. ''Well that''s what Luke told me anyway. He did mention that he could hijack the controls of these beasts if he tampers with the inner workings should he wish. They work off blood so changing the blood within should change its master.'' "Heh~ Is that so¡­ I wonder what''s the strongest beast you can make. Having them guard the people without Sigils would make any ce safer for living." Alice mused while her eyes scanned the city. Each scan would offer her new contraptions to wonder about and theorise the uses of such items. "Seems like we can buy some pretty interesting items here. They''re probably going to be expensive though¡­" She sighed thinking about the cost of such contraptions. "They''re actually more affordable than you expect since they''re mainly made for those without Sigils. The rich can afford to gain ''real'' power from the Abyss while people usually just cope with these¡­ imitations of the real deal. I think you can buy a mechanical beast with the same power of one Sigil for a months worth of wages." Ria shrugged. Beasts on the low end of difficulty could be dealt with easily by ves and mechanical beasts as they''re essentially normal beast with some extra power. The higher difficulty beasts on the other hand couldn''t be imitated so easily as they have an advantage in physical power. These mechanical contraptions can only replicate the power of beast but was held back by the durability of the metal they were made from. Hence some of the higher end products were fused with beast scales and bones to reinforce its durability. As they approached the city, they showed their identification before going their separate ways. Cedric needed to report regarding the issue in the forest along with the deaths on this journey. Not only that, he needed to report the merchants that remained behind as missing. He couldn''t confirm if they had died or not even though the answer was likely dead. Meanwhile, the Raven''s Watch party made their way to the Church of the Moon to see if there were any ways to help Kaida. As Alice and Ria stepped upon the cobblestone streets of the city, their ears were assaulted by the tter of mechanized carriages, the hissing of steam and the sounds of trains that passed above. Covering her ears, Alice furrowed her brows as this city was far louder than what she had excepted. Meanwhile, Ria seemed used to the noise as she had visited many cities in the past with Gin. "Let''s see¡­ The workshop district is down the main road and into the heart of the city. It''s roughly a 30 minute walk but we can get there faster using the trains. The Hunters Guild is next to the workshop district and it seems like the Underground is pretty open with its ties. There''s a mark next to the Guild symbol showing that they''re there too." Ria remarked while checking the map of the city that had been ced on arge board next to the main entrance. "What do you want to do first?" "I want to visit the Underground. I think it''s about time to go for my third Sigil." Alice admitted while taking a sip from her sk. She was basking in the view while enjoying her favourite mead, a luxury. "Oh? So soon." Ria paused in surprise as she didn''t expect Alice to go for her third Sigil already. However, when she thought about what Alice would need to deal with in the future, it was no surprise that she was in need of extra strength. "I want to look for some rumours first. If we just go for news on beasts that are discovered, there''s a good chance that others are already on their way to kill it. Plus, I''m pretty sure they keep the good beast for those that pay a high price." Alice shrugged. "Mnm¡­ You''re not wrong about that. Alright. But maybe we should replenish on some healing blood first. We pretty much emptied our supply after trip." Looking into her pouch, Alice could see that she only had one vial of her own blood left and one vial of blood belonging to the five star Hunter. She wasn''t sure if she could still use his blood as it has been quite a long time now without use. She wasn''t sure if it could expire or not but there could be dire consequences in relying on unknown factors. Hence she avoided using it even when her life was threatened since there were other options. It was only when all options ran out that would she even consider using the blood. "Sure. We can also do a little experiment since Isabe mentioned that I could decrease the side effects if I use thepression method. Might make it safer for use since overdosing on healing blood wouldn''t be great." "True. I''m still feeling the side effects from ck ze Blood. Just a small increase in sensitivity to fire." Ria sighed. If it wasn''t for how much danger they keep running into, she wouldn''t need to keep consuming so much healing blood. She was thankful that they''ve been drinking a variety of blood so the side effects could never stack up and leave a mark on her body, forever changing it. Some weren''t so fortunate as they would keep drinking the same type of blood. Maybe it was due to price or perhaps addiction but doing so meant the side effects would keep pilling up until you were taken by the Abyss. Hearing this, Alice couldn''t help but feel a sadness creep into her heart. She understood that the longer a Hunter''s life goes on, the easier it is for them to fall to Abyss Blood rather than the beasts that reside within the Abyss. Ria was no exception. Sooner orter, she too would show the symptoms of consuming Abyss Blood. Thinking of this, Alice couldn''t help but wonder if there was a way for her to share her resistance. But that was greedy of her. ''If the Zenia schrs couldn''t figure out a way maybe I can''t either¡­'' "What are you thinking about?" Ria asked curiously, noticing that Alice''s mood had dropped after her mention of Abyss Blood. "Sorry. Just thinking we should reduce how much Abyss Blood we drink or else the side effects could get dangerous. Especially for you since you drank a lotst time." Alice shook her head. "Ahaha don''t worry, I know. It''s why I keep buying different types of healing blood. But there are only so many variants we can go for before we get duplicates or we fork out more money for the expensive ones." Ria reassured as the two made their way to the Apothecaries that is located in the same district of the Hunters Guild. It was only to be expected as Hunters were the main customers of these Apothecaries. They decided to avoid the trains for now as they required the funds for the healing blood and soon, they arrived at the store called Veridian Blossom Apothecaries. Chapter 169: Veridian Blossom Apothecaries As they approached the Apothecaries, the scent of flowers wafted through the air, surprising Alice. She had expected the heavy smell of medicine or iron, yet the fragrance of herbs and botanicals was all she could smell. The shop was adorned with potted nts and hanging baskets filled with herbs. From the outside, it seemed no different from the residential homes used by the civilians, but therge sign above the door and the wooden emblem hanging on chains told a different story. Pushing open the door, a melodic chime rang out as Alice and Ria stepped through. Inside, the apothecary was arge open space separated in the middle by a worn counter. The counter showcased an array of delicate ss vials containing a myriad of blood and tinctures. Each bottle was handbeled, detailing the effects, side effects as well as the price of the vial. Behind the counter, countless herbs, flowers, and fungi were disyed for the visitors to see. Immediately, Alice recognized some of the herbs used, often paired with the blood that the Zenia''s would feed her. A selection of poisons and medicines aimed to make a vial of blood more effective or flip the effects to make it extra harmful. Closing her eyes, Alice could distinctly recognize the different scents blended into the aromatic smell that filled the store. ''Most of these can be turned into powders that enhance the blood''s effect and counter the side effects of healing blood. Seems like the owner has chosen to focus on healing and supporting type Abyss Bloods rather than the offensive types.'' Soft light from the street filtered through therge curtains, casting a mellow glow into the store as though it were daylight, illuminating the treasures of this apothecary. Alice and Ria weren''t the only ones inside this store, as a variety of customers explored the narrow aisles, seeking the right blood for their next hunt or simply exploring the options the store had to offer. The air hummed with hushed tones and whispers as customers conversed. Standing behind the polished counter filled with precious Abyss Blood, a man of quiet wisdom and a gentle demeanour weed them. He wore a crisp white long-sleeved shirt neatly tucked into his suit pants,plemented by a sleeveless vest marked by intricate floral swirls. His ck wavy hair framed a pair of round sses, hiding a set of kind yet tired grey eyes. Despite the tiredness that lingered in his gaze, there was an undeniable depth of knowledge etched within. A bounty of wisdom. "Ah¡­ Unfamiliar faces. Wee to my apothecary. What kind of blood are you looking for today?" He asked with a smile. His voice was a low, melodic rumble that carried authority within the establishment, each wordforting yet powerful. "We''re looking for some healing blood. We''re trying to vary the ones we choose so the side effects don''t stack up." Ria took the initiative as the man nodded and reached behind the counter. Even in the simple gesture of reaching for a catalogue, he was measured and deliberate, emphasizing the professionalism he took in his work. There was not a single movement done without purpose. In one swift motion, he retrieved a weighty catalogue from the counter. Its cover was worn from years of use. As he held the catalogue, his fingers moved with seasoned familiarity across the pages before stopping near the end. "I believe these should fit the requirements. These are a little harder to procure than the rest, and not many apothecaries would have them in stock. Their price is a little on the high end when you take into ount their potency. But if you are seeking rare healing blood to avoid side effects, these are the perfect candidates." cing the catalogue on the counter, he turned it upside down so that Alice and Ria could read the contents themselves. Without even seeing the effects, Ria''s gaze was focused on the price and felt a dagger pierce her heart. When they were buying ck ze Blood back in Zadash, it had only cost 5 gold per vial, high for the standard citizen but affordable for Hunters. Yet here, the cheapest vial of rare healing blood costs an astounding 20 gold per vial. Essentially, half a month''s worth of earnings for themon family for ONE VIAL. It would take most of their current funds to just buy one healing vial, never mind restocking their pouchespletely. Seeing the smile on Ria''s face twitch, the man understood that this must be above their current funds. However, there was nothing he could do about it. Due to the difficulty of obtaining these healing bloods, the price was set in proportion to the dangers. "We have some variants that are less costly but carry a little more danger in the side effects. It simply means you cannot take them often unless you do not mind transforming a little." He interjected and flicked the pages a little, showing a new selection of blood that cost 3 gold per vial. Despite being much cheaper, the trade-off was that they were all essentially one-time-use vials. "Is itmon for apothecaries to have such arge selection? Some of these are rather rare." Alice asked curiously while scanning her eyes over the names of these vials. ''Moonshade Lotus blood. A potent healing blood that can heal a variety of injuries. Side effects include making you extremely delectable for beasts and practically ae-eat-me sign for them.'' She had personally felt the regenerative ability of this blood and found it to be one of the least painful variants of nt-based healing bloods. "We pride ourselves in our supply of supportive and healing-type bloods while most apothecaries are focused on offensive types. It will be hard to find a better apothecary that offers more healing blood nearby." "I see¡­" Nodding her head, Alice looked over the selection with Ria, and eventually, they chose to buy 4 vials of Frostshroud Willow Blood with the side effects of decreasing body temperature, causing you to possibly fall into a short hibernation. However, if you consume more than four vials in your lifetime, your blood will begin to freeze from within. If you continue to drink, the blood will eventually burst from your body and solidify into the shape of willow leaves. Hence the name Frostshroud Willow. "Thank you for your purchase. Is there anything else I can help you with?" He asked while cing the catalogue back where he got it from. "Actually, yes there is. Is there a way for me to tell if a vial of Abyss Blood has, let''s say¡­ expired?" Alice asked curiously as the man tilted his head at her question for a moment before nodding his head. "Generally, it depends on the way the blood is stored. Most vials used to store Abyss Blood that is sold can keep blood ''fresh'' so long as it is not opened. Naturally, external factors can still affect the potency and side effects of said blood, such as heat. But there is a trick to determine how much¡­ Potency is left in said blood." The man exined before retrieving a small sample of blood from the back. "Of course, to use this method means you''ll have to open the vial. If you get a small sample of the blood you wish to use, you should smear the sample over your Sigil mark then partially activate your Sigil so that the mark appears. Once you do so, the blood should begin to boil immediately, even if your Sigil ability is based on Ice. If it does not boil, it has lost its potency. If it only bubbles rather than boils, then it''ll do more harm than good on your body." Rolling up his sleeve, he drew a line of blood above his forearm before activating his Sigil, and a mark appeared. Immediately, the line of blood started to boil before disappearing. "This is a sign of blood that can still be used. I don''t have any bad samples on hand, but remember, if there are any traces of the blood left after you activate your mark, you probably shouldn''t drink that blood." He exined, showing Alice his arm that didn''t have a single trace of the blood, as it had boiledpletely. "Hou~ I didn''t think there was a method like this." Alice remarked in surprise, as she didn''t think something like this existed. "It''s not surprising that not many would know. Since most would usually drink the blood pretty quickly for their Hunt." "Thank you for the tip." Alice smiled, bidding farewell to the owner and leaving the store with Ria. "Are you wondering if the blood you got fromst time is still usable?" Ria whispered curiously since she knew Alice could ''borrow'' the power of Sigils from others. "Mnm. It''s been several weeks since then. The longer it goes on, the less inclined I am to use it since it could give the enemy a chance to attack while I drink. And if it doesn''t give me power, then well¡­ I die." Alice shrugged. She wasn''t able to use a proper extraction kit when obtaining this blood, so it was clear that it wasn''t going to be pure. However, she wasn''t bothered about the side effects. All she wanted to know was if she could still gain the power belonging to the man she killed. Taking the vial of blood from her pouch, she smeared a line on her arm before activating her first Sigil. Little by little, the blood started to bubble but was unable to boil and eventually, left stains on her arm. "Seems like the effectiveness of this vial is practically gone." Alice sighed heavily. ''It didn''t even bubble a lot either...'' She thought to herself. "Well, I''m sure we can find some better blood for you to drinkter." Riaforted. "Either way, let''s make our way to the Hunter''s Guild. After buying those four vials, I only have 19 gold left. We can also ask the Underground to see if there are any rumours for beasts that you''re looking for." Nodding her head, Alice put the vial away into her pouch for now. She was going to dispose of the blood at ater date since she couldn''t just pour it out onto the road. Chapter 170: Purchasing Information As they arrived at the Hunter''s Guild, Ria made her way to the missions board to see if there were any quests they could do that''ll earn them some quick coin while Alice looked for the Underground. With the map saying that it was in partnership with the Guild, all Alice needed to do was find where the symbol of the Underground was. Thankfully, it wasn''t too difficult as the sign was hanging above what seemed to be the bar. The hum of conversation and the clink of tankards filled the air as several Hunters could be seen sitting around the counter,ughing joyously about their most recent sessful hunt. The kind of beasts that tore apart their frontline, how they were able to heroicallynd that final blow and watch the beast topple over, bathing them in its blood. As Alice neared, the barkeep approached her with a smile. She was a unique presence amongst the Hunters around the bar. Two elegantly pointed horns, reminiscent of bull horns, protruded from the side of her head while a vibrant purple flower was nestled into her right eye socket. Her blonde hair was being drained of its original golden colour as silver decorated the edges of her hair. She had carefully swept her fringe to one side in order to hide the flower as best she could but it was unable to fully cover the bright purple petals peaking out from behind. Immediately, Alice froze up as the visage of a girl she had in with her own hands ovepped the barkeep. Her smile, her advice, her sacrifice and her final expression as Alice tore the life from her body. Her breathing quickened as each breath was taken with great difficulty. She pressed her trembling hand against her chest, hoping to alleviate the constriction she was feeling but it continued to persist. Gritting her teeth, Alice closed her eyes and tried her best to calm her mind. What was done had to be done. She had no other option, but Lilia''s blood stained her hands. ''I''m sorry¡­'' Little by little, she regained her calm and took a deep breath. Opening her eyes once more, the visage of Lilia disappeared and all Alice could see was the barkeep who was suffering from a simr condition. "Are you alright dear? You look a little pale. Did something happen?" The barkeep asked with concern. Originally, she was going to ask Alice what she wanted to order. However, the moment Aliceid eyes on her, her gaze constricted and she started to breathe uncontrobly. "Sorry just¡­ thinking of old friends. I saw the symbol here, I wonder how I can order the services provided by the Underground." Alice shook her head and smiled. She was here for a simple transaction, nothing more nothing less. Hearing this, the woman paused for a moment before nodding her head and smiling. "Of course, what kind of service are you looking for? Auctions? ck market? Or information?" She asked, gesturing for Alice to take a seat. "Any information on rumours?" "Oh? Depends on what kind of rumours you are looking for. We also offer our services for investigations if that is more in line with what you are looking for." The barkeep smiled while showing Alice a menu of drinks. "Rumours on potential beasts. Blood based if possible." Alice replied while picking the option for mead. "Interesting. Very well, I canpile some rumours for you. Let''s see¡­ As this seems to be your first visit to us, Miss Agnelia, it will be offered at a discounted price. There are no records of you having essed any Underground branch personally while the City Lord reached out to us on your behalf." The barkeep smiled mysteriously as Alice paused in surprise. She didn''t know how the woman had enough time to find out about the things that have happened so far but that simply proves how much of an information powerhouse the Underground is. "No need to be on guard Miss Agnelia. It''s simply protocol for us to understand our patrons. Your master is a valued customer of ours so we must treat you with a certain amount of courtesy lest we incur her annoyance. As for the information, it will depend on the package you wish to purchase. "We have the most basic package costing 10 gold, level 2 package that costs 25 gold, level 3 costing 50 gold, level 4 costing 1 tina and level 5 costing 10 tina. Your discount will halve the prices of these packages." The barkeep exined briefly as she ced Alice''s drink in front of her along with a sheet of parchment containing details of the packages. Excusing herself for a moment while Alice checked what she wanted to purchase, the barkeep attended to the other patrons. ''Let''s see¡­'' ncing over the sheet, Alice took a few sips of the mead and paused to enjoy the vour. After the initial burst of sweetness came a flood of floral scents then followed by the rising spice that warmed her up from within. Appreciating the taste of this mead, Alice focused on the sheet that was presented to her. The main difference between the packages was validity and variation. For the more expensive packages, the Underground would send their own trusted people to seek out rumours and information for you while the cheaper package would simply be providing you with a list of fresh rumours from reliable sources. As their funds were limited, even with the discount, it was impossible to go for anything more than level 2. Tapping her fingers on the counter for a little while, Alice contemted her options before gesturing to the barkeep. "Level 2. What kind of rumours can I expect with level 2?" "We will give you a list of all the rumours and potential leads that match your requirements, even if they are a little far out inparison to this city. For example, and this is a freebie for you, there are rumours pertaining a blood beast near the city of Whiteridge. Several carcasses have been found with their blood drainedpletely and ck string like residue left within the body of the victims. "There are two candidates on what the beast might be. Vitalis Veilstalker or a Bloodscar Constrictor. Both leave simr marks and we have a map of where the victims are found along with potential areas of search." She exined as Alice raised her eyebrow. The information given by just a level 2 package far exceeded what she had originally anticipated. They even provided names and a map of where it might be. "Hmm¡­ Alright. Then can you get me a list of rumours near this city or on the way to Isilvaria? Blood based and difficulty doesn''t matter. Just give me as many as you can." Alice requested as the woman nodded her head. "Payment will be given upfront and the totales up to 12 gold and 50 silver pieces.Delivery of the information should be a few hours after payment or at thetest, tomorrow evening. If there are new rumours within 24 hours of receiving your list that match your requirements, we will provide it for free. After 24 hours, the service can be deemed as concluded. Is that eptable?" "Yes it is. Though you''ll need to wait for my friend Ria since she carries the funds for us." Alice nodded. "Then it seems like I don''t need to wait too long." Behind Alice, Ria was approaching while holding a parchment in her hand and had overheard part of the conversation. "Did you get the information you needed?" Ria asked curiously, taking a seat next to Alice. "Not yet, it''s gonna cost 12 gold and 50 silvers." Alice shook her head as Ria paused before nodding. Since this was in preparation for Alice''s third Sigil, 12 gold and 50 silvers was a small price to pay. Paying the required fee, Ria also ordered a quick drink as she presented the next contract to Alice. "Three star difficulty killing contract. Kill the Unbound Demte. The reward is 250 gold pieces!" Ria grinned with excitement. "250 gold for a three star hunt? Really?" Alice couldn''t believe it. 250 gold was astronomical even if they took into consideration that it was a three star hunt. The usual price for a three star hunt was only 100 to 150 gold pieces but this was practically double! Immediately, Alice felt like this was too good to be true. "Are there any catches to it?" "Aside from the fact that it''s stronger than the average three star hunt, no. A few have tried toplete this contract but they either died or ran away. It''s gotten to a point where the Guild has decided to offer some extra coin from their own pocket in order to raise the priority for this contract." Ria shook her head. Furrowing her brows, Alice wanted some context on the Hunt before they risked their lives. But first and foremost, she wanted to know what kind of beast they were dealing with. Closing her eyes for a moment, she retreated back to her mindscape as she immediately filtered through the spectral illusions of beasts until she found their target. The Unbound Demte looked no different from the average person you could find on the street. She was cloaked in an ethereal darkness that seemed to obscure her figure while her skin, devoid of any colour, stood out in the darkness. Her entire body and facial features seemed to have been sculpted meticulously as her skin didn''t ''look'' like it had the texture of skin but rather that of porcin while also being strangely organic. One feature that stood out was her smile. It stretched from ear to ear, revealing the rows of razor sharp teeth. She smiled impossibly wide as if she could not contain the joy from within and with a loud crack, des started to erupt from her body with the sound of grinding metal mimicking the howling shriek ofughter that sent chills down Alice''s spine. That was what they were going to deal with. The Unbound Demte, a beast in the guise of ady. A demon''s smile and des that shrieked inughter. Chapter 171: Unbound Demonette "Themissioner is actually a noble of the city and the story behind it is pretty sad. However, the reward is nice and from what the Guild has told me, the Unbound Demte is only really known for their de attacks and speed. Both of which I can deal with rather easily." Ria exined while Alcie raised her eyebrow. "Oh? There''s a story behind this one?" "Yep. Apparently, the Demte was something a small Lordmissioned after his wife had passed away. It was supposed to be a reminder of what he lost. However, due to his dealings with Abyss Blood, it seems to have corrupted the original mannequin and now its gone out of control. He''s asking for it to be disposed of before it could cause any harm." Ria exined. The Guild didn''t give her too much context but this was merely the rumours that people have heard regarding this Demte. Hearing this, Alice couldn''t help but tilt her head. If she recalled, there were indeed types of blood that could take over certain tools but they were usually limited to nt types rather than whatever beast this was. "How many are taking thismission right now and where is it?" "We''re the only ones right now. But if we take too long some others might take the mission." Ria shrugged. Contemting to herself for a moment, Alice suggested that they should begin the mission tomorrow as they had just arrived at the city today. They still need some lodging and the clues regarding beasts for her third Sigil should also arrive tonight. "It also gives us some time to do some research on this Unbound Demte. I haven''t heard of it before, so it''ll be good if we find out about its weaknesses. It''ll make the hunt smoother." Alice knew that even if it was a three star hunt and with Ria being far above average in strength for a four star Hunter, they shouldn''t let their guard down. Caution is their best friend in the depths of the Abyss. "Actually, it''s funny you mention that. You see, this guild is actually attached to the Inn as well as one of the biggest libraries in this city." Ria grinned, causing Alice to pause in surprise. She had asked the receptionist regarding a library when she epted thismission. After all, no matter how confident she was with her own power, she wanted to verify her knowledge of her target before hunting. That was the basic principle of being a Hunter. A Hunter who goes into a fight blind is not a real Hunter. "Shall we go?" "Of course we should go. Why wouldn''t we go?" Rolling her eyes, Alice finished her drink in one gulp and wiped her mouth using her sleeves. Getting Ria to lead the way, they took an elevator leading down the Guild and into the depths of this city. Compared to the elevators in Zadash, the elevator in this guild was smooth and hardly made a noise. As the doors opened, Alice and Ria found themselves in the heart of the library with a single person sitting behind a desk in front of them. Looking around them, Alice could see countless rows of towering bookshelves, each filled to the brink with books of varying ages. Some were worn down with the leather bindings practically peeling apart while some were fresh. The cumtive wisdom from the efforts of countless Hunters and Schrs. The middle aged librarian behind the desk gave them a quick nce before focusing back on his own book. "Hello~ Do know where you keep the books for beasts? The one we''re hunting is puppet like." Ria asked as he nced up once more. "Name?" "Ah Ri-" "Not yours. The beast." The man rolled his eyes as Ria felt the urge to smack him on the head but held herself back. "Unbound Demte." Nodding his head, the man took out a small handbook before flipping through the pages. Alice managed to catch a nce at one of the pages and it was filled to the brim with names of beasts. It was in alphabetical order and the location of said book was marked next to the name. "Section 57 on the second floor. Look for the shelfbelled A2 and the books there should have what you need." He replied before putting his handbook away. Seeing that he wasn''t inclined on talking to them anymore, Alice thanked him before dragging Ria away who seemed to be annoyed by his disinterest andck of politeness. "Gods! What''s with him?" Ria huffed while Alice couldn''t help but chuckle. "He''s probably had to deal with countless Hunters on a daily basis. He probably wants to get the interaction over with and read his book." "True but still, where''s the professionalism." Ria shook her head. Compared to the people they met earlier today, the service was far too poor inparison. While Alice agreed with her opinion, she didn''t mind the short interaction as he showed them exactly where they needed to go. Arriving at the location he mentioned, Alice and Ria decided to split up so they could find the book they needed faster. As Alice was going through the different titles, she couldn''t help but notice that most of these were based on rituals and possession. Narrowing her eyes, Alice decided to pick up the book titled: The Mystic''s Codex on Possession Type Beasts. Giving it a brief skim, she could tell that this book mainly detailed on how the different rituals that could be performed to create such a beast butcked the details of the rituals. Merely mentions of names as well as the effects followed by how to control said beast. As she flipped towards the end, she found the page that documented the history of the Unbound Demte rather than the creation. ''The Unbound Demte is a testament for those who grieve their lost ones. Sometimes it''s better to leave them be than to reach into the afterlife. An unholy mockery of the life we have been given and the mimic that now stands in its ce. ''The Demte was first discovered in the 9th Umbral Year. A sudden influx of puppets that expelled des from their body invaded the Abyss as Schrs at the time realised these beasts could be artificially manufactured¡­?!'' Widening her eyes, Alice paused in shock as she continued to read. ''The Unbound Demte could be found in the wild as they were usually spawned from the corpses of those that have died to beasts. Travelling merchants or civilians with no Sigils were especially susceptible. Once killed, depending on their surroundings, their bodies would slowly petrify before being turned into Organic Porcin. It is from there, they be the Abyssal Beast known as the Unbound Demte. ''However, one of the methods of artificially creating the Unbound Demte is to recreate the surrounding environment required for the transformation to begin. There are many more methods of creation as the Unbound Demte proves itself to be one of the most mass producible Beasts¡­ ''Some of the key weaknesses to dealing with the Unbound Demte is its adverse reaction towards light and cold temperatures. The Organic Porcin that cover the Demte is extremely fragile despite the insides housing numerous des. Exposure to light and cold temperatures causes the skin to dry up and crack apart with the beast unable to sustain itself. ''As a three star difficulty beast, it has a reputation to being extremely aggressive and fast but the durability is rather weak. Proceed with caution and when hunting, prepare multiple source of light. Having one source of light will make the user of said light the prime target of the Unbound Demte.'' Closing the book, Alice was silent. Her mind digested the information along with the implications of the fact that the Unbound Demte could be artificially reproduced. With a connection to grief and death, she couldn''t help but wonder if the beast was truly an idental remembrance gone wrong or was there something darker at work. Keeping a hold on the book for now, Alice made her way to Ria so that they could share the information. She noticed Ria reading a few books before putting them back with disinterest as she seemed to be having a hard time finding the information they wanted. "I found something that you might want to see." Alice called out, holding the Codex. "Apparently the Demte can be artificially reproduced in mass quantities. Not sure if the Lord did it purposefully or identally. Hard to tell." Hearing this, Ria''s expression shifted and epted the book. Flipping to the page that Alice was reading, she read the passages herself before frowning deeply. "These requirements does seem¡­ Hard toe across in a city. Especially if it requires the original body. Unless¡­ It''s not an Unbound Demte?" Ria asked as it could be a mistake on the Guild''s side. A beast that looks simr but not quite the Demte. "I mean¡­ It''s possible. But if it is indeed the Demte then it might''ve been done on purpose." Alice sighed. "Let''s take it slow then. We''ll talk to the Lord thatmissioned this first and get a quick look at the beast. If it''s the Unbound Demte then we''ll take it out. If not, we''ll take a step back and investigate the situation first." Agreeing to Ria''s suggestion, the two ced the books back before making their way out of the library. ### "Dammit! Can the Hunters take care of the beast already?!" A man dressed invish clothesined while pacing back and forth in a room. "Rx yourself my Lord. The beast will fall and that is a certainty. The Guild has notified me that another has taken the Commission, I do believe they will be in contact soon." "They better make it quick then! So many have already failed. Any longer and we''ll have to take matters into my own hands!" The Lord grumbled before leaving the room. If this Unbound Demte continues to run rampant, the amount of damage done to his home would be unthinkable. He couldn''t let this continue anymore. ''How hard is it to take care of one damn beast!?'' Chapter 172: Andrius Blackthorn "Now I believe you have requested to meet me due to some questions about the task, yes?" The Lord smiled while having his butler serve some tea to the twodies in front of him. Lord Andrius ckthorn, the esteemed noble of the city that had assisted in creating the mechanical guards that patrol these streets. A striking figure with ck hair entuated by streaks of white, signs of his age. A cleanly trimmed beard framed his face marked by a scar that travelled up from the corner of his lips to his cheek. He wore a fancy ck shirt with silver embroidery, a raise cor along with a set of earrings and a ne. ck suit pants and a pair of shoes to match his dark attire. "Indeed, Lord ckthorn. We wanted to ask some questions regarding the Unbound Demte so that the Hunt can proceed smoothly. After all, several Hunters have already failed to dispatch the beast." Ria nodded with a polite nod. "Then ask away. I will provide you with as much information as I can though¡­ I am unsure how it would benefit your hunt." He gestured while leaning back on his seat. "We just wanted to make sure it was indeed an Unbound Demte and not something simr. Different beasts possess different weaknesses while some may assist the beast instead. Since the Hunters have failed, it clearly meant something had gone wrong so we wanted to verify some facts." Alice interjected as she rested her elbows on her knees. "The creation of the Unbound Demte is usually discovered in the wild, it is hard pressed to find it being created within the city, ident or no. So perhaps it was a simr beast that disguised itself as the Unbound Demte? "I''m not sure if you are familiar with a certain beast known as the Silver Masquerade. It''s a beast that can mimic and act as though it is another beast while disying simr abilities. However, it will not share the same weaknesses. We''re worried that we might be dealing with a beast simr to the Silver Masquerade hence why we need to verify a few details. I hope Lord ckthorn doesn''t take offence." Alice smiled while Ria paused in surprise. She didn''t expect Alice to be able to speak like this nor act in this manner. Her expectations was simply for her to start questioning the Lord if he was the one behind the creation. "Ah I see. I have indeed heard of such beast but I assure you that doesn''t seem to be the case." Andruis shook his head. "When I was transporting the replica statue of myte wife, I was also dealing with a shipment of Abyss Blood that was to be tested with a new generation of the Mechanical Legion. We wanted to see if we could use the speed and power of the Unbound Demte for our creations. Unfortunately, one of my servants that had been cleaning the workshop had knocked the vial over and the contents stained the doll." He sighed while massaging his nose bridge. "I''m unsure what followed after but the doll Imissioned came to life with des appearing around her body and the distinct smile belonging to the Demte. It has taken over my old residence and I had the guards seal the ce off with the Mechanical Legion so that the others cannot enter by mistake nor could the beast leave." Seeing the Lord drop his shoulders helplessly, Ria wanted to say something when Alice spoke up first. "I see. In which case would it be okay for us to investigate the old residence first? Once we see the beast for ourselves, we should be able to make better arrangements for its disposal." "Of course. If you''d like, I can have my butler show you the way to the house." Andrius offered but Alice shook her head. "It will be fine. The Guild has already let us know of the location. As long as you let them we''reing everything will be fine." Thanking the butler for the tea, Alice gestured for Ria to leave as the two made their way out of the mansion. Watching Alice and Ria leave, the Lord narrowed his eyes for a moment before getting his butler to notify the guards regarding Alice and Ria. ### "What the hell was that?" "What the hell was what?" Alice raised an eyebrow while taking a drink from her sk in order to wash away the taste of tea. "The way you were talking and smiling, didn''t feel like the usual¡­ You." "Of course it didn''t. I was copying other people." Alice shrugged. She had seen the way the barkeep and the owner of the Apothecary had conducted themselves and simply took inspiration. She knew that she was not the most delicate with words hence why she copied the way they acted along with their mannerisms. To make herself seem more ''normal'', trustworthy and professional. "So what did you think? Is the Lord suspicious or is he not guilty?" "Something''s definitely wrong. From my knowledge, just the blood itself would not ''recreate'' a beast using a doll. But we can''t rule out the possibility either since the Abyss is changing with each passing day." Alice admitted. "Hmm¡­ Well let''s just see what happens. Honestly I just want the 250 gold reward so we can splurge a little on buying stuff." Riaughed while Alice couldn''t help but agree. Their main goal in this city was simply to earn some coin and begin the hunt for her third Sigil. As they made their way to the location of the Lord ckthorn''s old residence, they noticed the increase in guards that patrolled the city. Hunters dressed in uniform would walk around with a mechanical beast in tow, each with different designs and uses. Taking this chance, Alice got a better look at the way the blood was being used as fuel and couldn''t help but notice countless pipes running to the chest. ''Seems like it mimics blood flow of beasts and people¡­ Once again it ties back to the heart. Why is the heart so important for Abyss Blood?'' Alice asked herself. The robed figure''s final hints regarding the secret behind the outbreak and the true nature of heart blood. cing her hand on her chest, Alice sighed and shook her head, dismissing the thoughts from her mind for now. Soon, they reached the mansion. The old residence of Lord ckthorn stood proud against the surrounding buildings encircled by iron gates carved with ornate designs. The guards and their mechanical partners patrolled the area, making sure that no one could approach without permission. Upon seeing Alice and Ria, the guards gave them a polite salute as they have been notified about the two. Stepping aside, they allowed the two to enter. Seeing therge metal doors that sealed the inside of the mansion from the outside world. Looking at one another, the two nodded before pushing the doors open and stepping into the house. Darkness filled the space as dust was sent into the air from the opening of the doors. "Seems like the perfect environment for the Demte." Ria muttered while snapping her finger and created a small pulsing orb of lightning that shed some light into the house. She didn''t mind the beast targeting her as she is the stronger one between the two of them. "Take care not to damage anything too important. If we have to pay for damages after we may as well not have taken thismission." Unsheathing her de, Alice allowed the red mes to burn freely while making sure they didn''t get too close to anything mmable. Walking over to what seemed to be the lights, Ria could see deep shes, destroying the mechanism used for turning on the light. While Ria was investigating the light, Alice started to make her way in while using her de as a torch. Not only did it serve as a light source but by having it in front of her, she could attack whatever rushed towards them at a moment''s notice. As she made her way deeper into the mansion, she could see traces of old battles. Broken weapons and torches were thrown around the floor. Kneeling down, Alice nced at the weapons and noticed that despite being broken, they carried a trace of frost upon the edges. ''Seems like they prepared well for this fight. Logic dictates that the Demte should recoil and break apart based on its weakness. However¡­ Seems like this didn''t work.'' "Ria, did the Guild tell us why the other Hunters failed?" Alice asked while checking out the other battle scars. "Yes they did. A few died before they could let the Guild know anything though." "Oh? What did they say then?" Alice raised an eyebrow. She was surprised Ria didn''t say anything earlier but if she''s only bringing it up now then it must not have been that important. "They said the beast was too fast. Screamed that the light didn''t work. Panicked as it broke their weapons apart. Neither light nor cold worked on the beast." Pausing mid movement, Alice slowly stood up and held her de beside her. Something was wrong as that was most certainly not Ria speaking. However, it had her voice and tone of speaking. "Is that so? Then what worked?" Alice asked while slowly scanning her eyes across the darkness, hoping to catch a glimpse of the tag above the beast. "Nothing. They died." Ria''s voice whispered out as Alice felt as though it was spoke directly next to her ear. shing out with her de instinctively, she found herself alone in the darkness. Even the door they had entered from had disappeared as Alice took a deep breath and calmed her mind. She remembered the lessons that Allura had thought and with the nature of her second Sigil, Alice did not hesitate to make a cut on her arm before setting her blood ame. The fumes from her blood began to clear her mind as the darkness slowly retreated. Alice could finally see their target hanging from the ceiling, barely illuminated by the light from her mes. She hung suspended from the ceiling while thin barely noticeable thread dangled from her body. Her white porcin skin showed countless scars and stiches while des tore through the surface. Cracks decorated her skin and blood dyed her dress. The flickering of the mes revealed her ghastly expression of a smiling woman. Her eyelid forcefully pulled open through threads. [Unbound Demte (Iplete) - ???] Chapter 173: Fighting The Demonette Upon seeing Alice breaking out of her illusion, the Demte twitched ufortably as des pulsed across her body like a heartbeat. She recoiled in surprise before carving a hole through the ceiling and climbing through, disappearing into the darkness of the mansion. Furrowing her brows, Alice didn''t think she would leave just like that but first things first, she needed to find Ria. Making her way back to where she hade from, she noticed Ria clenching her heat with furrowed brows. "Ria! Are you okay?" "Huh? Yeah, don''te here. Please tell me you''re actually Alice and not whatever the hell that was." Ria groaned as she clearly had a harder time breaking out of that illusion than Alice did. Before she could say anything, Alice felt a chill down her spine and she immediately bent her body back out of instinct. Above her, a shimmering de reflected her visage as Ria had transformed into the same smiling woman that had disappeared into the cracks of the house earlier. Widening her eyes, Alice rolled to the side and activated her second Sigil. The violet mes now covered her de as the illusion was shattered once more. She was still in the same location while the smiling woman growled in annoyance. ''What the¡­ Did it cast a second Illusion after I broke out of the first one? Where''s Ria?'' Alice thought to herself as she didn''t dare to let the violet mes drop for even a moment. She didn''t know if she would be dragged into another illusion if she allowed the mes to extinguish. After seeing Alice break out of its illusion for a second time, the beast seemed more annoyed than before as she crouched down and slowly backed away. Alice''s main priority right now was to find Ria, not to fight this beast. Until she found Ria and made sure she was safe, she didn''t want tomit herself to a fight. Just as Alice took a step back, the Demte pounced forward. Her speed, far surpassing Alice''s expectations as she was already in front of her face by the time she could react! *BANG!!! Cleaving her de up to parry the w, Alice was sent crashing into the walls of the mansion as the Demte followed up with a spray of thin threads that aimed for her limbs. Stabbing her sword above her, Alice dragged her body up to dodge the threads before using the wall as aunch pad. Lunging at the beast with a de in hand, Alice shed down diagonally only for her attack to miss as the beast split itself in two. Widening her eyes, Alice watched as her de passed through the gap and missed her target entirely. Threading herself back together, a de jutted out of the beast''s chest, stabbing into Alice''s shoulder as she rolled back. Gritting her teeth, Alice sealed her wound using her blood for now but she couldn''t keep taking attacks like this. ''What the hell is up with that speed? Not to mention¡­ I didn''t think she could separate her torso like that.'' This was no ordinary Unbound Demte. The illusionary abilities and the way it was separating itself was outside of the usual skill set. On top of that, the Organic Porcin was having no reaction towards the light shed by her de. With one of the aforementioned weaknesses of the beast no off the table, they had two choices. The first was to observe and take samples to see what it would react to. Impossible given the current situation and the limits of their power. The second was to brute force it! It wasn''t going to let her reach Ria in this state. The moment she even shows a slight hint of weakness it would lung for her life. Taking a deep breath, Alice gave her surroundings a quick nce to see if there was anything she could use. This was the time to be resourceful while she figured out where she was at. ''Did the beast cast an illusion the moment we stepped in? This ce seems to be rather deep into the mansion.'' Alice wondered to herself while creating a set of blood needles and shot it towards the beast. Once the beast parried her needles, she charged forward and cleaved up with her de only for the beast to separate itself once more. But this was what she was aiming for! The needles that the beast had parried suddenly burst into mes as they attached themselves to her innards, burning her from the inside out. Letting out an ear piercing screech, she swung her ws at Alice while cutting off pieces of herself to stop the fires from spreading. "Tsk!" Clicking her tongue, Alice threw a dagger of blood at the beast but it was now cautious of her attacks. Jumping to the side, the beast began to breathe heavily as streaks of red slowly stained its porcin skin. A primal growl escaped her mouth while the des started to vibrate with each breath. Alice could feel the temperature around her dropping rapidly as frost started to form on the walls while her breath created clouds of mist. Widening her eyes, Alice understood that this beast is an Unbound Demte that was no longer vulnerable to her original weaknesses! Disappearing with a burst of shadow, the beast vanished from Alice''s view. "!!!" Turning around out of instinct, she was barely able to catch a glimpse of her reflection upon the Demte''s de before it disappeared once more. No matter how fast she turned, the Demte always seemed to be right behind her, waiting for the perfect moment after she tires herself out. She could never catch more than a glimpse of her target while frost slowly built up on her body, slowing down her movement. Clenching her fist, Alice amplified the head emitted by her de to try stave off the coldness, but it did not stop the decreasing temperature of the room. The harder she fought, the colder it became. Turning around once more, Alice decided to run to the closest window if she wanted a chance to get out of this predicament. Even if she risked the Demte attacking from behind, it was a risk she was willing to take! *CLANG!!! Parrying the Demte the moment it had attacked, Alice used the force from its w to push herself further away. As Alice pushed herself away from the frenzied Demte''s attack, she raced further into the mansion in a desperate attempt to find a window that she could use. *CLANG!!! Parrying a second attack, ayer of ice manifested around her fingers as she reopened the wound on her shoulder. Getting the blood to ssh on her hand, she enveloped them in a violet me to warm herself up before resealing the wound. ''Do I use Allura''s skill? No¡­ doing so will do more harm than good in this situation.'' Alice bit her lips while trying to think of a way out. Parrying another attack aiming for her throat, Alice tried to kick the beast away only for its torso to open up into a swirling mess of des, waiting to tear her leg apart. Stopping herself before she lost her leg, Alice rammed her shoulder into the beast''s head, forcing it to stumble back. Adjusting the grip of her sword, she shed towards the beast once more as it flickered into the darkness before reappearing beside her. Her ws were mere centimetres away from her eyes as Alice tilted her head to the side, causing the beast to scratch her face. Countering with a swipe of her de, Alice jumped back as the cold air assaulted her lungs. No matter what she did, the cold seemed to invade every part of her body and her mes weren''t strong enough to counter the coldness. Pushing into a corner, Alice could feel her heart begin to panic as she scratched away at her neck. No matter what she envisioned herself doing, it felt impossible to take down this beast. ''Think! What else can my Sigil do?!'' She cried out in her mind. Her first Sigil made her blood poisonous and dispelled Abyssal influences due to her second Sigil. Her second Sigil created mes from her body while also allowing her to control blood. Parrying another strike from the Demte, Alice mmed into a bookshelf and broke it apart while the beast lunged at her from above. Quickly rolling to the side, she threw a handful of blood towards the beast. Dodging the ssh, the beast attacked from behind once more as Alice barely managed to block with her sword but her reaction was slowing now. ''F*ck it! I can worry about damages after this b*tch is dead!'' With no other choice, Alice enveloped herself in a frenzy of purple mes, preventing the beast from approaching before gathering it into an orb above her palm. "Come on then!! Didn''t you enjoy trying to rip my head off?! Try to do it again! I dare you m*therf*cker!" Alice shouted as the orb started to stabilise itself. But before she could fire her attack, a de erupted from the ground beneath her, piercing deep into her arm. "!!!" Widening her eyes, Alice understood that the Demte had detached a part of itself to interrupt the cast of her skill! Unable to pull her arm away, Alice was flung into the walls as the orb destabilised and copsed in on itself, causing a burst of mes to erupt out and mmed against Alice. With her arm almost torn off due to the de and the cold invading her body, Alice could feel herself reaching her limit. Her breathing was shallow as her gaze blurred. ''Is this the end?'' She wondered to herself. She wanted to muster up the power but her mind was surrendering to the coldness that surrounded her. She just wanted to close her eyes and sleep in this moment. No! She had survived for far too long for this to be the end! Gritting her teeth, she set the blood within her body ame as she was engulfed in the violet re. The blood she spilt started to surge towards her as she covered up her wounds. There was now a new malevolent light in her eyes as a cruel unhinged grin manifested on her face. She remembered the feeling of being pushed to the brink when she was in the Colosseum. The bestial urge that erupted out from within. ''Her switch'' that she would flip when she began a hunt. "Yo~ Demte. Shall we go for round 2?" Chapter 174: Truth Behind The Demonette Alice couldn''t hold back as she let out augh from the deepest part of her soul. In this state, she could recognise a distinct emotion from the beast in front of her. Despite her smiling visage and aggressiveness, she was ''afraid''. The Unbound Demte was feeling fear as Alice stood up while mes engulfed her body. Jumping back to make some distance between them, she had the piece of herself that she split off earlier shoot another de towards Alice''s face. *PSHH!!! Blocking the de with her arm, Alice grabbed the de with her bare hands and pulled it out of her arm. "Just because this thing is split from you doesn''t mean you can''t feel it right~" Pulling the de out of the ground, Alice could see threads and flesh extending from beneath the wooden nks. Naturally, she could burn it to cinders but she had other goals. No, she felt¡­ Hungry. Pulling out the flesh from the floorboards, Alice started to bite down as she swallowed the flesh, allowing the tainted blood to flow into her body. The smile on her face only seemed to grow as she lunged towards the Demte with the mes still burning across her body. As she lunged towards the Demte, Alice couldn''t help but wonder why she had been so reserved. Why did she restrain herself? She should be indulging in the blood of her enemies, tearing them limb from limb. Missing her lung against the beast, Aliceughed as she aimed her palm towards the Demte and released the same de that the Demte had used. *CLANG!!!! Parrying the attack, the Demte used to leverage its speed against Alice but she was now catching up! No longer could she take the Hunter off guard through raw speed! "What''s wrong? Running out of ideas?" Alice snickered as even the cold no longer bothered her. With the mes running through her body to clear the illusions and Unbound Demte''s blood keeping the cold from killing her, this had be her turf. Kicking off the bookshelf, Alice lunged forward and grabbed the beast by the throat. des pierced her body but her response was tough. Blood sshed against the Demte as violet mes assaulted her body. No matter how she attacked Alice, she seemed to shrug off the wounds as tendrils of flesh would weave around the damage, fixing itself. As she was holding the beast up by the throat, Alice could feel herself sinking deep into the bestial nature thaty dormant within her. This¡­ Sadistic nature where she does not care for the damage caused upon her so long as her enemy suffers and dies. Her vision started to blur as all she could imagine was the warm corpses of those belonging to the Zenia family. How she would gut them and pull them apart for their sins. How she would drink deep of their blood and watch as the life faded from their eyes. She had felt this before, yes. This sensation that she''s been deprived of. A shudder of excitement rang through her body as she snapped open her mouth and bit down against the Demte''s neck. The squirming, the panic, it felt just perfect. How the des cut against her skin only to show the Demte her futility. She remembers the feeling of warm blood coating her body, the sensation of des trying to stop her. She remembers the screams and the cries. The pleas and soon, the silence. Just as she was about to continue her savagery, Alice paused as the Demte had stopped resisting. Her limbs fell limp beside her while Alice sat in the pool of blood, panting heavily. Her face, flushed with excitement as her hands trembled in glee. This is who she is. She who revelled where there is bloodshed. It was never a ''state'' nor the flip of a switch. It was merely the act of her giving up her restraints. This is her nature. Touching the warm blood that sshed against her face, Alice couldn''t help but lick her lips in satisfaction. She wanted more of this feeling, the feeling of a life slipping into the embrace of death. How the warm blood loses its heat and how the body turns cold. "Alice?" Hearing her name called out, Alice slowly looked behind her and saw Ria by the doorway. ### Ria knew that Alice''s past wasrgely unknown. As much as Alice was sharing, there were parts of her history that she did not want to share. She respected that as she too did not tell her full history to Alice. However, there had always been a side to Alice that she could never wrap her head around. That killing intent and savagery that she disyed was not something you would see often. Perhaps a side effect of her imprisonment? Or was she imprisoned because of this state? As sheid her eyes once more upon the brutality that Alice could cause to the Demte, Ria couldn''t help but think it was thetter. The way sheughed as des cut into her body, the joy she felt when tearing out the guts from the beast. She was clearly not in the right state of mind as she didn''t even notice the abnormalities in the beast. All she did was pull out its insides and enjoy the shower of blood. Even now, Ria felt as though she was staring at a beast, ready to pounce at a moment''s notice. She had no doubt that if she was not Alice''s friend, she would most certainly lunge towards her at this moment and tear out her insides just like what she did to the Demte. "Are you alright?" Ria asked out of concern. She wanted to know how Alice was feeling, if she was back to normal and if she knew what had just happened. After stepping into this ce, Ria felt her mind being mired in a swamp of her own thoughts and hallucinations with no sign of being able to break out. But before she knew it, she was back in her own mind, leaning against the wall not far from the entrance of the mansion. She could hear the sounds of battle in the distance and clearly, halfway through the battle, the beast had given up on maintaining the illusion. And when she arrived, Alice was brutalising its corpse without a care in mind. "Hm? Yeah I am. I was just¡­ indulging myself a little. My wounds¡­ should be fine without healing blood if you''re worried about that." ''Seems like she has returned back to her usual self. At least¡­ somewhat.'' Ria thought to herself before examining the corpse. "Wait¡­ weren''t we supposed to check out if there''s anything wrong with the beast?" ### As the two stood before the brutalised corpse of the Demte, Alice finally returned to her usual state of mind and was silent. She didn''t know what hade over her but her memories of the fight werergely a blur. All she knew was that it felt good and she caused this. "Well sh*t. Hm¡­ I mean¡­ It wasn''t a normal Demte since it wasn''t weak to light or cold. In fact, it was the one making the surroundings cold. Not to mention it could use illusions which is most definitely not part of its skill set." Alice scratched her hair in confusion as she wasn''t sure what kind of beast this was. "But Ca did show that it was indeed a Demte and with three stars at that. But it said something about it being¡­ iplete?" If she hadn''t murdered the beast in such a way, she might''ve been able to investigate the truth a little easier but now they were on their own. "We could just take the money that''s owed to us since wepleted the task. But its definitely weird. The Guild mentioned that those who survived left and gave up on the task because they didn''t feel like they could aplish the task. When asked about it they only said they don''t know but something felt wrong." Ria shrugged. Just as Alice was about to open her mouth, a sudden realisation dawned on her. "Ria¡­ Do you still remember what the Lord said about the beast?" "Hm? I mean yeah but you''re gonna have to be more specific than that." Ria nodded. "Remember how he got his hands on the Demte." Tilting her head, Ria furrowed her brows before searching her memories. And upon remembering the Lord''s words, she too paused in realisation as her eyes slowly widened in shock. "He mentioned that it was a replica statue of histe wife. But why would a statue have blood and organs?" Alice spoke slowly as she looked at the state of the skin. It was a strange rubbery texture, not quite skin yet not quite Porcin. The lustre and shimmer of the surface mirrored that of Porcin to a poor degree. Looking at the eyes, Alice could still see the horror and fear that the beast showed in the final moments, but they were definitely organic. If the Abyss Blood had merely possessed a statue replica it wouldn''t have ''grown'' the organs. Not to mention, what about the rest of the body? It was clearly all organic. Hesitating for a moment, Alice gave the woman a silent prayer before using her dagger to pry the head open. "Why would a statue have a need for a brain?" Alice narrowed her eyes. ". . ." Ria was silent. This was not the replica statue of the Lord''s wife. This was a living breathing person before they got forcefully transformed into an Abyss Beast. Even now, Alice could see the signs of surgery on her body. "We should report this to the Guild." Alice suggested as Ria nodded her head. However, before they could leave, they felt the ground beneath them disappear as they fell into the darkness. Chapter 175: Paradoxical Existence As the two fell through the darkness, Alice tried her best to stabilise herself but it was futile. The darkness clung to her like thick viscous liquid that refused to budge no matter how much strength she used. "Arg! A-Alice!" Ria called out, wanting to find out where Alice was within this sludge so that they didn''t separate. Gritting her teeth, Alice mustered up as much strength as she could and unsheathed her de. Bright red mes erupted out in an attempt to illuminate their surroundings but the darkness snuffed out the fire in an instant. Reaching out to try to grab onto Ria, Alice could feel them falling deeper into the Abyss¡­ ### The rhythmic footsteps rang out through the dusty mansion as Lord Andrius arrived at the spot where Alice and Ria disappeared. Narrowing his eyes at the corpse of the beast in front of him, he scoffed with a smile before tapping his foot against the floorboards. "We''ll need to prepare some¡­ Corpses if you want the Guild to believe they died with the beast." "Naturally. Though I must say, I wish I had observed the situation closer. But had I chosen to approach, the split haired girl would''ve noticed me. Her senses are rather sharp and I''m surprised she was actually able to break out of Mermaid''s Call so easily. That is an illusion skill that a two Sigil bearer should have no right to resist." The man beside him muttered with intrigue as he recalled her fight. The brilliant violet mes that cut through the darkness and flesh, the way she fought at the end, not caring about the damage done to her own body. Oh how he wished he could turn her into the perfect specimen and figure out what kind of secrets she was hiding. "And your verdict on the prototype?" Andrius asked, knocking the corpse of his wife to the side in disgust. "Fast and deadly. Butcks¡­ Adaptability once their prey discovers a way to counter their illusions. And outside of the illusion, the offensive capabilities leave much to be desired. In exchange for getting rid of its weaknesses, it had lost out on the speed and deadliness a true Unbound Demte has." The man muttered while tapping his finger against his notebook. "Meaning?" "We''ll have to make some additional changes and add more samples for the future prototypes. But worry not, this fight has given me much inspiration for the abilities that are required. Now, I will deal with our two new¡­ subjects." He chuckled while giving the Lord a bow. "Before you go, I believe you still owe me something?" Andrius raised an eyebrow as the manughed and reached into his pocket. "Silly me. Here you are my Lord. Herdyship will be very proud of the work you''ve done for the greater will." Handing the Lord a vial of blood, the man bowed once more before falling backwards and disappearing into a pool of blood. Swirling the vial lightly, the Lord smiled and ced it into his pouch before leaving the mansion. All that''s left was to report the ''failure'' of Alice and Ria to return alive while the issue regarding the Unbound Demte has been resolved. He just needed to get the corpses put in ce. ### Continuing to fall through the darkness, Alice and Ria found their senses overwhelmed by countless voices in the dark. The cries of the young, the pleas of the homeless, the mournful sadness of those that remain. Their identities blurred together, threatening to invade their mind when a blinding light filled their vision. Shielding their eyes from the light, the darkness surrounding them finally released its grasp as the two fell without hindrance. Quickly adjusting themselves in mid air, theynded on the ground and summoned their weapons. Alice brought out her de and coated it with the innate blood me while Ria created a spear out of lightning. Looking around, Alice observed a twistedndscape that defied thews of reality or anything that she had seen in the Abyss. Strange misshapen trees cast ominous shadows over thends as countless inds floated in the void. This cluster of floating inds were connected by thick chains while cages hung off each segment. Within the cages, countless corpses rested lifelessly. Somerge some small, some humanoid some bestial. ncing above them, a blood red sky could be seen yet no moon was present. And at the heart of this realm stood a sinister altar. The altar, looked as though it was crafted from blood obsidian and etched with ritualistic symbols. Dried blood stained the ground while dried husks kneeled in perpetual prayer, stuck in the motion of reverence. Their ghastly expressions bore neither happiness nor sadness. Only fear. "What in the hell¡­ Are we still in the Abyss?" Ria asked hesitantly as something about this realm sent the shivers down her spine. She could feel every part of her body rejecting this ce. It felt as though she was in the presence of something¡­ unnatural and should not exist. It was a different feelingpared to Alice. It was far more ominous. "I¡­ Don''t know." Alice shook her head. Her voice filled with a mixture of uncertainty as she recognised some of the symbols. Only a small fraction but she had definitely seen them before. It had nothing to do with the Cult of the Eclipse nor did it have anything to do with the Rituals that she had seen thus far in her ventures deep into the Abyss. No, she had seen these in her time on the surface. In the Zenia prison. ''These symbols¡­ two of them were near the operating table¡­. Do the Zenia''s control this realm?'' Alice thought to herself hesitantly as she was ready to activate the gift that Allura had given her if things showed even the faintest signs of going south. She was not ready to face the Zenia family again and she knew this. It was too early for her to expose her existence to them. "Beautiful isn''t it?" ""!!!"" Hearing a voice behind them, body Alice and Ria shed out at the same time as lightning and fire weaved together into a wave of destruction. However, their target wasposed as the wave of energy soon dissipated before reaching him. ''What?!'' Widening her eyes, Alice didn''t expect this to happen as she had never seen the powers of the Abyss dissipate in such a way. The only time she had seen something remotely simr was her violet mes! "Surprised? The gift of the Abyss does not reach this far." He smiled while walking towards Alice and Ria. "Now, I must apud your efforts. Especially you youngss, you actually killed the Unbound Demte. That sort of power with only two measly Sigils at that. I believe your talent can be put to better use than the Abyss." Hearing this, Alice couldn''t help but frown while Ria lunged forward with a spear. She wouldn''t usually attack like this, but she could not stand the presence of this person! To her surprise, her weapon and body phased through the man as though they were not present. "We are merely here in spirit. Not flesh. Had we been here in flesh we would''ve died to his benevolent gaze. But this is merely a glimpse into the future of this realm. The Abyss to be imed by the one true Lord." Snapping his finger, a wave of lethargy washed over both Alice and Ria as they copsed on their knees, finding it hard to stay awake. Gritting their teeth, the two red at the man as he paused in a mixture of confusion and surprise. ''Their souls are rather¡­ resilient. How?'' Narrowing his eyes, he scrutinised Ria, staring deep into her eyes before smiling. "I see¡­ Your soul has already been tainted by the God of the Eclipse. What shame. A tether? No¡­ A cor seems more fitting. Seems like your Lord will not let go of his control so easily. Now¡­ What about you youngss?" Walking over to Alice, he kneeled down and stared deep into her eyes. There seemed to be an endless darkness within her gaze as the longer he stared, the deeper he felt himself sinking. Her gaze was mesmerising, maic even and he found himself unable to take his eyes off her. Alice''s right eye, this strange orb where the whites have been dyed by the darkest ck. Something seemed to call out from within. In her gaze, he saw his own reflection. His shaded figure when suddenly, his reflection smiled. "!!!" Wanting to pull back his gaze, the man tried to take a step back but he was unable to. He could only watch as his reflection moved without his permission. Little by little, ''he'' seemed to walk closer to the veil separating the two of them. Was this the girl''s soul? No, it was not. It was a reflection of his own yet twisted beyond recognition. A reflection of the sins he''s indulged in. He saw his own death. Deep within, the girl envisioned herself gorging upon his flesh, tearing him limb from limb. She envisioned ripping off his head and carving out his brain, using his skull as a cup while his bodyy lifeless. She envisioned countless beasts eating him alive, wing out his eyes and digging their ws deep into his body. She imagined the bodies of spider like beasts injecting their eggs within his body to be used as a host, a nt like beast nting its roots deep into his nervous system and then there was simply him. Alone in the darkness with a single girl who stared at him with a smile. Chainstched around his figure as she stepped up, slowly digging out his flesh and consuming it with a charming smile. He felt pain. Pain in the deepest parts of his mind. *BANG!!! A barrier interrupted his vision as he stumbled back, cold sweat covering his face as his visage within this ghostly realm was distorted, on the verge of breaking apart. Had he continued to stare into her gaze, his soul would''ve been swallowed up! "What are you?!" He screamed out in bewilderment. She has no soul! She is an empty void existing to devour! An empty husk ready to devour any soul brave enough to step into her depraved mind. She is a being that cannot, should not exist! She is no man nor beast. She is an empty husk, a shell of what once was. Chapter 176: Escaping The Realm Clutching his head in pain, the man red at Alice before taking deep breaths to calm himself. Both Alice and Ria were confused by his reactions but right now there was nothing they could do. ''She has no soul yet she is in this realm. Something is anchoring her down to the realm of the living¡­ But what?'' The man thought to himself. He had attempted to peer into the true nature of their souls, to see why they were able to resist the influence of his most benevolent lord. For Ria, it was because the Cult of the Eclipse kept its hold over her. For Alice, it was something far too paradoxical in nature. A being with no soul yet she is still pulled into the realm of souls. She who should by rights be a husk could think and act on her own. Strange, too strange. Getting over the initial shock of almost having his soul devoured by this husk, the man watched in silence as he contemted his next moves. With two prime subjects, talented ones at that, he didn''t want to waste this chance. However, he couldn''t make use of them in their current state. ''I need to observe them¡­ But the Eclipse girl can''t be tampered with. At least not yet. As for the girl with no soul, I can''t mark what doesn''t exist.'' He frowned. But he couldn''t deny that once he got over his initial shock, he was very intrigued by the girl''s existence. An impossible anomaly. "I''m simply me. What do you mean what am I?" Alice retorted with a brave smile but her mind raced for a solution. Above his head, Alice couldn''t see anything meaning this was not Sigil power. This was something else entirely. He was able to influence their souls while they could not harm him at all. ''Ria is holding on strong but her attacks can''t harm him. He said the influence of the Abyss doesn''t reach this far but is that the same for my violet mes? My mes are technically manifested from my own blood while the Sigils merely help me in bringing it out¡­'' Alice wondered to herself. However, she couldn''t expose her intentions so easily or else she''ll lose the element of surprise. ". . . Perhaps it would be better to deal with you now. You are clearly an anomaly upon this world. Perhaps I may even be doing the world justice to get rid of you." The man squinted as Alice gritted her teeth and lunged towards him. Sighing at the futility, the man simply stood when he felt something was wrong! *BANG!!! Exploding out of her body, violet mes roared out into the shape of a dragon and wed down towards the man, aiming to consume him in his entirety. Jumping back, he activated strange glyphs that''s been etched onto his skin and chains erupted from the ground. The same chains that held the inds to one another. Wrapping around the ming dragon, it was forced to kneel down as Alice ran past the dragon and dodged the chains. She could tell the mes were working! Taking a deep breath, she enveloped her entire body in mes andunched a punch towards him. *BANG!!! Parrying with his arm, he tried to push her away but the messhed out at him in defiance. "What are these mes?!" Without responding, Alice used his arm as a handle andunched a kick towards his head. Dodging the kick, he created a dark spike above his hand and stabbed towards Alice''s chest but she was able to flip backwards and avoid the attack. The chains around the dragon shattered as it was unleashed once more, releasing a torrent of mes towards the man who conjured a wall of darkness to swallow the mes. Seeing that it wasn''t working, he adjusted his skill and an opening appeared behind him, releasing the mes while avoiding the damage. Looking at the violet mes that were burning on his arm, he frowned before flicking his wrist. A portion of his arm was separated from him as it the mes fizzled out having consumed the piece he discarded. "Answer me now. What are you?" He asked while frowning at Alice. "Haven''t I exined myself already? I''m simply me." "Fine. Better to remove you from this world than to pursue a fruitless task." He scowled as the glyths around his body started to light up. Blood pooled beneath him as arge ritualistic symbol slowly manifested. *RUMBLE!!! Before he could continue his ritual, he could feel an oppressive aura descending upon the realm. The ind trembled as the man nced up in shock and bowed immediately while neither Alice nor Ria dared to turn around. ''Something'' was behind them and turning around meant death! Silence dawned on the realm. As quickly as it arrived, the aura disappeared leaving Alice and Ria panting for air. "Unfortunately, it seems like our meeting will be cut short. Perhaps my benevolent lord has taken a liking to you and your¡­ strange talents. Perhaps he sees a use for you in the true future of this realm. I dare not presume his will as I am merely his loyal subject. But I will do as the lordmands." He sighed. Flicking his finger, a rift opened beneath Alice and Ria, expelling them from this realm. Kneeling towards the altar, the man gave one more prayer. His Lord has given him his order. ''Keep an eye on the Anomalies. Find out the secret behind the girl with no soul.'' "All is as youmand my Lord." He muttered before leaving the realm. While he could not tamper with the soul of the girl that belongs to the Eclipse, marking her was still possible. "Seems like I''ll have to apologise to mydy. Lord Andrius will be dealt with and his secrets left untold for my benevolent Lord has ordered the observation of these two young seedlings. Meaning, Andrius shall be sacrificed for the greater good." He smiled, flickering through the realm as he sought out Andrius. ### After being expelled from the strange realm, Alice and Ria found themselves copsed beside the road. Both of them were silent as they digested what had just happened. How they were dragged into a strange realm for the soul. How the man proimed the future of the Abyss is to be ruled by his ''Lord''. "With each day we have more sh*t to tell my grandfather and Allura. At this point I''m wondering if it was better for them to just follow us." Ria sighed while scratching her hair. She couldn''t help but feel angry about the fact that she couldn''t do anything in that realm. Her ''soul'' was helpless there. The only one who could move was Alice and even then, he was able to handle her strange fire with ease. "Mnm. I don''t know why he looked afraid for a moment though¡­ Is it because of Ca?" Alice muttered. She could see his fear when he was staring into her eyes. It was genuine fear that couldn''t be faked. Not to mention his reaction afterwards, questioning who she was. "How many Sigils did he have?" "No idea. He had nothing above his head. Not a single Sigil." Hearing this, Ria paused. Everything that he did, all of the powers he demonstrated and the strange symbols on his body. None of it was Sigil rted. "Should¡­ We use one of the life saving tools that Allura and grandfather gave us? I feel like this information shouldn''t wait." Ria asked hesitantly. "Maybe Allura might know more. But these are supposed to be used to save our lives. I''m not sure if it''ll summon them or not." Alice frowned. They only mentioned that these will help them and didn''t tell them the effects of activating these items. "True¡­ Urg, what the hell is even going on. No matter how strong we get it never feels enough. We might need to speed up a little and get more Sigils." Ria sighed in frustration. Nodding her head in agreement, Alice wanted to get her hands on her third Sigil as quickly as possible. Standing up, Alice looked down at her outfit and frowned. Giving her sleeve a quick smell, she couldn''t help but recoil in disgust as the stench was an unbearable mix of dried blood and trash. "Let''s get changed first. I don''t want to spend another second in this state." Ria couldn''t agree more as the two made their way to their room within the Guild. They needed to sort out how they should deal with the Lord who clearly hide something from them and the Guild. The fact that the Demte was a person and not a puppet was not something they could just overlook. Leaving the area, they didn''t notice a single lone raven staring at them from the building above. Its eyes sparked with intelligence as the bird let out a cry before pping its wings, flying away from the duo. ### Cleaning his hands, the man that had taken Alice and Ria earlier looked down at his handy work. The body of Lord Andrius nowid dead beneath him without a single wound. His face warped with anger and betrayal. "Quite the interesting way you''ve decided to deal with that Lord. I must say, it''s not often that you meet someone who can directlymunicate with the soul." A voice rang out behind him as he froze up in surprise. He didn''t know who it was but he could clearly tell the other party was far above his level. Even with his traits, it was not something he could deal with. He didn''t dare to turn around. "May I ask who it is that I''m speaking to?" "Don''t bother. I''m merely visiting to see who dares to tamper with my littless. And it turns out to be quite the strange fellow. You know, you had me concerned when she suddenly disappeared from my radar." The visitor chuckled as the cries of ravens started to echo out. The man could see a raven birdnding on his shoulder while shadows stretched out around him. "So why don''t you tell me why you bear unfamiliar crests upon your body. They''re not gifts of the Abyss." Kaden narrowed his eyes as the realm lost its colour. "Ah¡­ Seems like I''ve attracted the attention of someone powerful. However, my Lord has work for me elsewhere, I do hope we can meet in better circumstances." With an explosion of blood, the man disappeared as Kaden furrowed his brows. "Strange b*stard. What has that girl gotten herself into." Chapter 177: Thane Returning to the Guild, the two ignored the stares they were receiving and made their way to their rooms for a shower and then a change of clothes. After the shower, Alice decided to go for somethingfy consisting of arge brown jacket, a white dress, a pair of tights and shoes.Just as she was about to leave her room, she heard a knock and opened the door. She could see two staff members with serious expressions on their faces. "Can I help you two?" "I believe you epted amission with Lord Andrius ckthorn earlier today, am I correct?" The first staff member asked as Alice nodded her head, wondering why they were looking for her. If anything, it should be the other way around since the details of themission were clearly incorrect. "The body of Lord Andrius was discovered in an alley not far from the Guild. We''re ordered to take everyone who is involved. That includes you and your friend who took themission with you." He exined with a serious expression. Hearing this, Alice couldn''t help but pause in surprise as she didn''t think the Lord would just die like that. "Alright. We were about to report to the Guild regarding an issue with thismission as well." Alice nodded. "We will listen to what you wish to say once we''ve gathered all involved parties." Leading Alice out of her room, they escorted her to the upper floors of the Guild where Alice noticed Ria was also waiting. Sitting down next to her, both of them sighed at the same time. "What a pain in the ass¡­" Ria groaned. "Yep¡­ I just had a shower too. I haven''t even had food yet." Alicemented, feeling hungry. "So Andrius is dead. How are we even going to get our reward money? I really hope they didn''t make us waste our time." "I''m pretty sure he already handed the gold to the Guild. The main issue right now is that he''s well¡­ Unalived. What do you think happened?" Alice asked curiously. They were busy with killing the Demte then waking up on the street so it wasn''t a crime that they couldmit. The only fear now was that they would get ndered and be med for his death. "Wait, he''s dead???" Ria blinked her eyes in surprise as she wasn''t told about that when they took her in. "Yeah." "Well sh*t¡­ Were we thest ones that saw him at his house? Though I suppose his butler would''ve been thest one. As they were waiting, more and more people were brought in ranging from simple guards to workers of the house. Alice and Ria were taken to a separate room as there were two people there waiting to question them regarding where they were and what they were doing. Answering honestly, the two exined that they were in his old mansion tracking down the Unbound Demte. Naturally, they didn''t forget to mention the fact that the Demte was actually human and not a puppet. Signs of surgery as well as organs could be found within her body and did not match up to what themission detailed. Hearing this, the interrogators were concerned about the new information and decided to investigate the old mansion for the Demte''s corpse to verify their ims. With nothing else they needed Alice and Ria to answer, they allowed the two to leave for now. Sighing out in relief, the two made their way down to the main guild. "Do you want to try to get our reward money or¡­ Should we go gambling some more? I want to get my mead money soon since I''m running out of mead." Alice asked while shaking her sk gently. "Let''s see if we can get our reward money since we technicallypleted it. There were justplications at the end since themissioner is dead." Ria shrugged. ### "I''m sorry but I cannot give you the reward money just yet. The Guild has yet to verify thepletion of the task and due to theplications on themissioner''s side, the reward money will be held in the guild for 3 days or until the higher ups give the go ahead." The receptionist exined as both Alice and Ria groaned before turning around without hesitation. "Gambling?" "Gambling. Want to take part this time?" Ria offered as Alice thought for a moment before nodding her head. "Sure, I''ll fight a few fights myself. I want to get used to using my de after all. Thest fight with the Demte showed me that Ick the technique required. What I''m doing right now is basically swinging on instinct." Alice sighed. She''ll admit that she had a talent for these weapons but there was only so far instinct could take her. After a certain point, she''ll need techniques to bring out more of her potential. And thus far, the best way she could think of honing her technique would be through experience. Meaning battles in the gambling den. Hearing this, Ria had a wide smile on her face as all it took was the first step before she became addicted to the arenas. Not that she was addicted herself of course. "Alright, leave it to me. I''ll find the gambling den in no time then we can earn some quick coin." Ria proimed while hitting her chest. Asking Alice to wait by the tables next to the bar in the Guild, Ria ran out in search of the gambling den. With her now being left alone, Alice wondered what she could do to pass the time. ''Maybe I should visit the library again.'' She wanted to see if the library had any books regarding fighting techniques so she could improve herbat with weapons. However, she doubted she could learn much from just reading as she felt morefortable with a demonstration. It was how she learned the skill Nova Core from Allura after all. As long as she could see it in action and the logic behind the actions, Alice figured that she''ll have a good chance in replicating said technique. Just as she was about to stand up and make her way to the library, a man sat down opposite her with a smile. There was a strange sense of confidence and mystery to him as he made himselffortable on the seat. He had long ck hair that had been tied up into a ponytail and a pair of ck eyes filled with amusement. Dressed in a sleek ck suit that showcased his lean figure, he draped a slightly oversized jacket over his shoulders. Something about him felt familiar to Alice but she couldn''t quite put her finger to it. ncing above his head, she could see six floating Sigils and her guard was instantly up. "Don''t mind me, I couldn''t help but overhear that you are nning to go to the gambling arena to earn some coin." He chuckled while resting his chin against his palm. He narrowed his eyes at the girl in front of him, clearly on guard against his present. "I am." Alice replied short and direct. She didn''t want to say the wrong thing to annoy this man as he is someone dangerous. Or at least, if he was in a bad mood, he could kill her with a single thought. "How do you feel about earning extra on top of the normal payout? I have a few fighters in mind and let''s just say if you were able to defeat them, you get arge reward. For each fighter you defeat, the reward is increased. If you lose, the gamble is over. How about it?" He offered causing Alice to furrow her brow immediately. This deal seemed too nice for her. It was dangerous. "What''s in it for you? I''m sorry but I''m a simple two Sigil user. I''m not sure what you''re expecting from me." Alice asked, taking a step back as the man only tapped his finger against the table. "Now now don''t be in a rush. Let me exin my side of things." An invisible pressure loomed over Alice as it restricted her movements, preventing her from leaving this spot. All she could do was stay silent and listen to this strange man. "You see, the gambling arena in this city has been¡­ A little too eager for earnings. While arenas do indeed rig certain matches, this arena rigs every match for coin and it''s hurting the overall profits in a long term scenario. "Hence I want you to defeat some of their best fighters and even it out a little." He exined but Alice still wasn''t convinced. "You can be honest with me you know?" Hearing this, Alice couldn''t help but raise her eyebrow. ''Like hell I can! You''re a potential Abyss Lord!!!'' "It seems too suspicious. I''m sure there are better candidates than me. What made you approach me out of everyone in this Guild? Not to mention, it seems like they''re not hearing any of this conversation either. You''re blocking off the sound aren''t you?" Blinking his eyes in surprise, the man paused before nodding his head. "Indeed. Well then, I''ll be frank with you. I''m merely curious about who Allura has decided to train. I''m an old friend of her''s you see, very difficult not to notice her presence on you when you''re wearing her amulet." He admitted while pointing at the amulet hung around Alice''s neck. It was the gift that Allura had given her and it was something to be used when her life was in danger. "And as her old friend, I have a responsibility to see how you are doing while she''s busy on the frontlines. So do you believe me now? Plus if I actually had harmful intentions for you, do you think you''ll still be breathing right now?" He squinted his eyes dangerously as Alice gave the Sigils above his head another nce before nodding her head. "Fantastic. Let''s work out the arrangement as well as the list of names I want you to beat inbat shall we?" He pped his hands, dispelling the aura and allowing Alice to move freely. "Before that, what do I call you?" "You can call me Thane. You should be honoured to meet me." Chapter 178: Thanes Gamble Raising her eyebrow, Alice didn''t think he would say it was her honour to meet him. However, considering that he could be a potential Abyss Lord, she wasn''t going to retort to his statement. ''Even though he says he''s Allura''s old friend, I can''t take his word for granted. But I can''t just not do what he says either¡­ Let''s just y along for now.'' "So how many of them do I have to beat? Like I said earlier, I only have two Sigils. There''s a limit to what I can do." Alice shrugged since her limit was probably going against three star Hunters. Of course, that wasn''t taking into ount the properties of her body and mes. If she includes them, then she could fight up to five star Hunters should they underestimate her. "If you were anyone else I might''ve agreed. But we both know Allura doesn''t do things the simple way. I assume you can probably skip stars and defeat those higher level than you right?" Thane smirked while calling over the waiter for some alcohol. ". . .Perhaps." "Then it''s simple. Your first opponent will be three stars and once you show you capabilities we''ll move to four stars. Naturally, the people gambling there will bid for the contestants provided by the arena. Especially the VIP''s when seeing the Sigil difference. That''s when they realise you aren''t simple and you''ve already cost them hundreds of gold perhaps even tina." Thane chuckled. "And you''re so sure they''ll bid against me because?" "Because I''ll be bidding you up obviously. There''s no way a scrawny brat like you can even generate enough interest for bids let alone bids in the hundreds." He rolled his eyes while reaching into his pocket and pulled out a note. Seeing this, Alice understood that he was never asking her to take part. "First opponent, a swordsman who dual wields while having a greatsword nearby. Basically a three sword user. Three Sigils and his powers are based on leaving ''traces'' of his shes in the arena. Be careful of where he already shed or else you might be in for a nasty surprise." Thane exined while looking through his notes. "Let''s go now since he should be free for a match." "Ah! Wait, Ria hasn''te back yet." Alice called out as she didn''t want to leave without notifying Ria. "Ria? Right¡­ the grandkid of that brat. I don''t have any responsibility for her. Why should I bother?" Thane asked with a raised eyebrow. "Well¡­ Because Ria was also trained by Allura. So if you have a responsibility for me since Allura is training me, surely Ria is ounted for right?" Staring at Alice for a moment, Thane was silent before leaning back in annoyance. "Heads or tails?" He asked suddenly. "Huh?" "Heads or tails. Pick one." Blinking her eyes in confusion, Alice wasn''t sure if this was a trick question or not. "Don''t tell me you don''t even know about heads or tails? Tch fine. Basically, I flip a coin and you guess what side itnds on. If itnds on the one you called, you win. So if you get it right I''ll take responsibility for a second brat and not just you." Thane waved his handzily while pulling out a coin. "Now pick one before I say no." "Ah! Erm¡­ errr¡­. Heads!" Flicking the coin the moment Alice mentioned her choice, Thane closed his eyes and allowed the coin to drop against the table. After a series of bounces, the coin started to spin before stopping on heads. Seeing this, Alice''s eyes lit up in happiness while Thane let out the deepest, most annoyed groan he could. "How long is the brat even going to be?" Thane asked while epting the beverage that the waiter brought over for him. "I''m not sure. She said she was looking for the arena." "Then why am I even bothering with waiting? Tch." Rolling his eyes, Thane closed one of his eyes before covering it with his hand. Activating two of his Sigils, he sat in silence while Alice didn''t want to bother him. "Found the brat." Tapping his finger against the table, a swirl of darkness gathered above them as it started to distort. Finally, piercing the veil of darkness, a human leg could be seen. "SH*TTTTTT!!!!" A woman''s cry out heard as she fell from the portal andnded against the floor. *BANG!! Hitting her head from not being prepared, Ria curled up into a foetal position while clutching her head. "Ria?!" Alice cried out in shock as she didn''t think Thane would just bring Ria here of all things. "F*ck! Huh??? Alice?? Why am I back here?" Ria widened her eyes in surprise as she immediately froze up upon seeing Thane who was sitting in front of Alice. He had a bored look in his eyes while ncing down at Ria from above. "It''s¡­ kind of a long story." Alice forced a smile while surveying their surroundings. The sudden appearance of Ria had attracted quite a bit of unwanted attention. While Thane didn''t care, it may make things moreplicated for the two of them so Alice suggested they make their way to the arena while she exined the situation. "Sure go ahead. I''ve fulfilled my side of things by bringing her here. Let''s go to the arena now before I get bored waiting." Thane yawned while finishing his drink. Standing up, he made his way out of the Guild building while Alice and Ria followed behind. Hearing the situation from Alice, Ria couldn''t help but look at Thane with scepticism. After all, this seemed too good to be real, even if he was an old friend of Allura. There must be something more that he wasn''t telling, especially considering that he''s a potential Abyss Lord. Hell, even six star Hunters wouldn''t bother with small fries like them. Alice had avoided exining some of the situation as she couldn''t just say he had six Sigils. Instead, she held up six fingers while pointing to her Sigil. "Let''s just y along for now. Not like we can go against what he says anyway. But if things get too ridiculous, let''s use you know what." Ria whispered while Alice nodded her head. However, a small hammer made from shadows appeared above Ria as it hit her on the head, causing her to cry out in pain. "Oi brat, I can hear you. Even if you use the tools they gave you, they won''t be able to save you. Especially that brat who mingles with death." Thane scoffed, sounding as though he was offended by the very notion that some tools could stop him. Where he wanted to go, nothing can stop him. Making their way through the city, they took a train that slowly descended into the lower half of the city. As they made their way down, the surface disappeared from their sight while another city appeared beneath the surface. Surprise filled Alice''s face as the undercity looked as though it was bathed in sunlight. Whenpared to the darkness that prevailed in the Abyss all day every day, this felt like a breath of fresh air. It was cheap mimicry but for Alice, this was the first time in 10 years that she felt as though she was out in the open. Clutching her chest, Alice couldn''t help but wonder what it''ll feel like once she finally arrived at the surface and out of the Abyss. Seeing this, Thane couldn''t help but smirk to himself. The arena in this under city was located in the very centre. While there was indeed gambling, it wasn''t the main attraction since many of the residents came here to watch the machine prototypes fight one another as a form of entertainment. They would differentpaniespete with one another to see who has made the best guard to be implemented into the cities defences. The human battles were merely an addition to the machine battles. Registration for the arena was simple just like how it was in thest city. They just needed to present their Guild ID which verifies how many Sigils they own. After asking to be put up against the fighter known as Mortis, the receptionist gave her a questioning look before asking about the wager. They needed to make sure it was worth his time. Before Alice could say anything, Thane ced a coin pouch on the desk. "I want to bet 100 tina on her victory." He grinned, causing everyone who heard him to pause in shock. 100 tina! For a single match between a two star Hunter and a three star Hunter! Not even the matches between four star Hunters would have this high of a wager never mind the battle for a two star Hunter. Not only that, this was for her victory!? "Erm¡­ Sorry! This is too much for me to deal with. Allow me to get my manager." The receptionist apologised as she quickly ran to get someone who was more qualified to deal with this much money. This was 100 tina for gods sake! This was far above what someone like her was trained to handle! Noticing Alice and Ria staring at him in shock, Thane only shrugged. "You want to fight and I want to make it interesting for my own sake. Just some pocket changepared to some of the other stuff I''ve collected over the years." Hearing his response, Alice''s smile twitched as she didn''t think her fight would now have a wager of 100 tina. However, the main issue came from the fact that there were now going to be more eyes on this fight than ever¡­ ### "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! WE HAVE AN ASTOUNDING FIGHT FOR YOU TODAY! A WAGER OF 100 WHOLE PLATINA! YOU HEARD IT RIGHT, YOU''RE NOT HALLUCINATING! 100 PLATINA IS BEING USED AS A WAGER FOR THIS FIGHT!" Hearing the announcer cry out in excitement, Alice stood on the arena with her face being hidden by the shadow cast by her hair. Around her was the arena, a breathtaking spectacle of metal and stone. Towering pirs served as obstacles within the arena while seating arrangements surrounded the main tform, allowing everyone to get a good view on the stage. There was only one thought in Alice''s mind. ''F*ck¡­'' She wanted to cry. She didn''t mind fighting but in front of everyone and 100 tina on the line as well? No thanks. Chapter 179: Inner Hunger Sitting in the VIP suite, Thane had a bored look on his face while leaning against the sofa. He was currently overlooking the entire venue as he had arranged subsequent fights for Alice after she finished the current match. ''She seems to be doing well for herself. Doesn''t quite have the same look in her eyes as she did in the prison. I guess Allura must''ve treated her quite nicely in the time they spent together.'' He mused to himself. Alice had even taken on some of Allura''s habits that she has from time to time. The way she would sigh and posture her body when she felt annoyed or helpless at a situation. Even back in the Guild, he felt like he was looking at a younger Allura which is why he decided to y a prank on her. If it wasn''t for that, he wouldn''t have stepped in like he has done right now. It was simply not his nature to do so. But since he was here, he may as well make it worth it for the girl. ''She''s not using the weapon I had Nalem give her. I suppose using the heirloom of a family I ruined might be a bit too much out in the open. For someone of her strength anyways.'' Then there was the case of the brat next to him. Even if he did make the bet with Alice out of boredom, he wasn''t going to go back on his promise. And while he was here, he may as well guide her a little. "Oi brat." Thane called out as Ria frowned slightly before ncing over. "What is it?" "What are your Sigils and what do you n to aim for?" He asked directly while tilting his head to the sidezily. "Huh?" "Stop wasting my time and just tell me. I''m pretty sure Allura and your grandfather have given you some tips but they''re both too soft. Answer me and I can help you get stronger." Hearing this, Ria paused. She thought back to the moment she felt helpless against the strange man in the realm of souls. How her attacks did nothing and how only Alice could react. She didn''t want to be helpless. She didn''t want to suffer the same way she did at the hands of the Cult like she did before. Biting her lip for a moment, Ria stood up and activated her Sigils, allowing them to manifest on her body. "Stormweaver, Thundercoil Harpy, Thunder Fury Serpent and Storm Leviathan." Ria answered truthfully as Thane gave her Sigils a nce before nodding. "Seems like you''re aiming to be a physical fighter with lightning. Storm Leviathan is pretty impressive if you got it as your forth. Did Allura ask you to choose the Lightning Ascent skill?" Pausing in surprise, Ria didn''t expect him to be able to guess so urately and nod her head. "As expected of her." Thane chuckled. Even after so many years, Allura still favoured Sigils that boosted physical attributes and diverse effects. Just judging from her overall choice of Sigils right now, Thane could already simte the fighting style in his head. "Have you tried focusing on ranged attacks rather than physical?" Thane smiled. Herbination of Sigils may be used for physical fighters but he knew that there was more to it than just being a frontliner. Plus, just because someone is ranged doesn''t mean they''re weak in closebat. It''s a mistake that many Hunters make when underestimating their opponents. It''s also a tactic used by stronger beasts so they waste less energy when dealing with weaklings that don''t deserve their time. "Once thess has finished her fights I''ll show you somethingter. Do as you please with the information. You can ignore it, you can take it to heart or you can even sell it. I don''t care what you do with it." Thane waved his hand, gesturing for her to sit down since the fight was about to start. He wanted to see how Alice was doing in terms of surviving in the Abyss. ### Looking at her opponent Mortis, Alice could already feel a silent pressure dawn on her as he looked around at the numerous spectators that came to watch the hundred tina fight. He is a tall figure wearing a tattered cloak that exposed some light armour through the gaps that didn''t hinder his mobility. Two swords in their sheaths were strapped to his waist while arge greatsword could be spotted on his back. With arge hood and mask covering his facial features, Alice could only see a pair of crimson eyes surveying the arena. "100 tina. A price that not even I could reject. Who are you? I don''t know who is reckless enough to gamble such arge amount for this kind of fight." Mortis asked, finally looking at his opponent. "He said he was an old friend of my master and wanted to make things interesting. I''m not exactly in a situation to stop him." Alice smiled bitterly while observing her surroundings. With Mortis having three Sigils, there was a high chance that he had a Resonance or else Thane wouldn''t have paired them together. ''Knowing how Allura is and how simr they act, he definitely picked someone stronger than average. I can''t take this opponent lightly.'' Alice thought to herself while narrowing her eyes at him. Unsheathing her de, Alice held it by her side as the announcer had finally finished hyping up the battle. Most people understood that this fight wasn''t exactly going to be a spectacle, they were merely here because of therge wager that even the nobles were shocked by. Alice could hear their whispers of doubt. How they found it impossible for her to stand against one of the best three star Hunters of the arena. "I see. I will apologise in advance but I won''t be taking this battle lightly. Even if you are supposedly weaker than I." Mortis nodded as he reached behind him and pulled out the greatsword effortlessly. Stabbing it into the smooth ground in front of him, he crouched down slightly and ced his hands against the handle of his sword. In that instant, Alice could feel an overwhelming pressure wash over her as her instincts were immediately kicked into survival mode. This was the aura of a man who''s fought life and death battles. Unknowingly, Alice took a step forward with a smile on her face. Anticipation bright in her eyes and a ravenous hunger blossoming within her mind. ### What is this girl? I asked myself in confusion. The killing intent I had so proudly cultivated in my many battles was met with happiness and excitement. A far cry from the reaction I would usually get. Instead of stepping back, she stepped forward. Instead of panicking, sheughed in excitement. There was no hint of fear orposure in her eyes. ''She''s too strange.'' Something about her was off. She felt unnatural. Every cell in my body was warning me, begging me to step away from this battle in pursuit of safety. A feeling that I only felt when I was out on the field. ''She feels just like an Abyss Beast.'' That was the conclusion I came to. Perhaps she had spent a long time with them or perhaps it was due to some other circumstances. The stance she took was reminiscent of a beast. Full of openings yet should I attack recklessly, she would not hesitate to sacrifice a part of herself to deal the same damage back to me. A deranged beast was the best description I could give to her. No matter her appearance or way of speaking, she could not hide her bestial nature. I was starting to regret my decision to ept this battle but it was no use in thinking about that now. The hosts have already instructed me on what to do. I need to win this battle like I have done before. Closing my eyes I focused my mind. The announcer should be starting the battle soon. When he does, I''llnd the first strike. ### "Begin!" "!!!" Before Mortis could even unsheathe his des, Alice''s sword appeared in his vision. She had thrown her weapon the moment the battle began! *CLANG!!!! ''What is this force?!'' Mortis thought to himself in shock. Even after blocking her attack, his hands were ringing from the collision. This was not the strength a normal two star Hunter should be able to exert yet the results speak for themselves. He leaned forward, expecting the girl to be behind the de but she was nowhere to be found. Above, behind, left or right, not even her shadow could be spotted. Almost as if she had disappeared entirely. ''No! It''s a hallucination!'' In realisation, he hurriedly activated his Resonance to dispel the effect, but it was too slow. She had already appeared in front of him in all of her unsatiable hunger. Her de above her head, ready to cleave down. There was no technique, no refinement. Only pure brutality! *BANG!!! Kicking his leg down, he used the greatsword as a shield to block the strike. Yet her response is simple, primal even. She grabbed hold of the de edge of the greatsword and swung herself towards him, kicking him in the chest and pushing him back, setting Mortis off bnce. ''She''s an instinctual fighter! I need to take hold of the tempo of this fight or else she''ll keep pushing me until I fall in defeat!'' He had kept his des sheathed due to the effects of his Sigil, unsheathing them would''ve produced the most speed and power but clearly it was a mistake! Even if he lost in power, he should''ve taken the first move. Just as he pulled his des halfway out of their sheath, Alice stomped down against the pommel, forcing him to sheath his des once more. He could see her preparing to knee him in the face but once again his vision blurred. Another illusion! But the duration of this illusion was far shorter than the other due to his resonance and he was able to react in time to block her knee. Grabbing the arm he used to block, Aliceughed as excitement was apparent in her eyes. Her face was flushed from ecstasy as the feeling of battle took over her mind. Bending her body back, she was able to avoid the greatsword shing towards her from behind. Going into a handstand, she grabbed his neck with her leg before throwing him away to the other side of the arena. This was how it should''ve been. She should never have denied her inner hunger. Chapter 180: Thanes Dilemma Narrowing his eyes, Thane was silent. Alice''s condition was far from normal. Even for someone like him, who barely knew her could tell. This bloodlust, this hunger, this drive for violence. ''Does Allura know? And if she does, what did she say about it? Hmm¡­ This is a little concerning. I haven''t heard of a condition like this before. Unless it''s possession? I doubt it. There were no signs of such when I found her.'' Tapping his finger for a moment, he made up his mind. ''Seems like I''ll have to investigate the Zenia family a little more and find out what they did with thess while they had her locked up. Might clear up my questions of why her cell was so heavily guarded.'' But for now, he will watch how the fight unfolded. If needed, he will intervene. ### Parrying her attacks to the best of his ability, Mortis gritted his teeth as she was like a spectre. Through a mixture of hallucinations and speed, she continuously evaded his gaze while attacking him from his blind spots. Jumping out of the way, Morits hid himself behind a pir to try catch his breath but felt danger above him. As he tilted his head back, he could see Alice waiting for him from above. Launching herself towards him, her sword was ready to cleave him in half! ''This isn''t a duel anymore! She''s trying to kill me!'' Mortis thought to himself while rolling back to dodge the attack. Sliding against the ground, he gritted his teeth and decided to fight as though his life was dependent on it. In this case, it was! mming his hand down, he called back his greatsword and twisted his body, letting out arge horizontal sh before unsheathing his other two des. As expected, Alice managed to dodge the initial sh but gave him enough time to prepare. ''Three fold ambush!'' Dashing forward, Mortis cleaved down with his left sword while his right sword shed twice towards Alice. A technique designed to cut off her escape should she dodge the first attack! "!?!?!" Widening his eyes in disbelief and shock, Mortis couldn''t believe the sight in front of him right now. Alice did not fear the first cleave. Instead, she parried it with her own sword while biting right hand, preventing him from shing her with the other de. Flinching from the pain, Mortis couldn''t help but drop his de while trying to shake Alice off. Tearing off a chunk of his hand, Alice stumbled back as she licked her lips with a smile before shuddering in satisfaction. When did her thirst for blood begin? This was a question that had been on Alice''s mind since the start of this battle. This hunger that was rampant within her mind, this desire to kill. When did she first feel this? ''Ah~ I remember now¡­'' Closing her eyes, Alice remembered this first hunger. The party banquet, that''s when she felt it. She could feel this rush of starvation flooding through her body as she sought to quench this desire with anything she could get her hands on. The second time she felt this hunger was after she woke up. When they forced her into the room with the mad schrs who tore away at her body. She could finally remember the words she spoke that day, the requests she had and the way she looked at the servants, wanting to quench her hunger. "Father¡­ Can I eat what I ate at the party again?" Alice muttered while she slowly leaned back, staring at the ceiling of this arena. She finally remembered the face fear, grief and anger that her father disyed. Every day this hunger continued. She fought the schrs for two reasons. First was for survival. Second was to satiate this desire. Somewhere along the decade of imprisonment, the hunger disappeared and her only reason to hold on was for survival. But now it''s back. And Alice wanted to enjoy herself. Snapping her body forward, Alice shot towards Mortis like a ravenous beast, hungry for blood. Out of instinct, Morits swung his de but Alice was ready. Grabbing the de with her bare hands, she pushed it to the side before shing down with her sword. Silence descended upon the stadium as no one dared to make a single sound. "Let''s calm down for now. As much as I don''t care for his safety, let''s not break the rules of this arena." Thane''s voice rang out as he covered her eyes with his hand from behind while he caught her de mid swing using his finger. He could still see the ravenous smile on Alice''s face as her chest heaved with excitement. However, in the darkness cast by Thane''s hand covering her eyes, Alice was able to regain some form of control as the smile slowly faded away. ". . ." Closing her eyes, Alice sheathed her de as she took a deep breath to try to calm herself. She wanted to figure out the source of this side of her, why it reappeared. There were hints of it before when she would ''flip the switch'' but never was it this oppressive to the point she couldn''t even control herself. "Shall we take a break from the fighting today?" Thane asked as Alice nodded silently. She didn''t want to speak right now. In the darkness created by Thane''s hand, she felt oddly at peace. It feltforting and wrapped around her mind like a nket, soothing her agitation. Looking down at Mortis who felt death pass by him, Thane shrugged before taking Alice away from the arena while keeping his hand over her eyes. Right now, he was using his own Sigil powers to calm her mind but he didn''t think her desire for ughter would be this strong. It felt no different from the blood-starved beasts that he fought in ages past. The beasts hidden within Terminus. ### With the first match ending in such a manner, Thane cancelled the remaining matches and didn''t care about the pocket change he would be penalized for doing so. He had much bigger issues to take care of right now than to care for coin. He had Alicey down on the sofa in the vip room of the arena while covering her eyes with his hand and resting her head against his leg. Ria sat next to him with a worried expression while looking at Alice. "Will she be alright?" Ria asked hesitantly. If an Abyss Lord had to rush out to stop Alice when the fight ended, she didn''t want to imagine what was happening within Alice''s mind right now. "Hmm¡­ Maybe? Who knows." Thane shrugged. This was nothing like anything he had seen before. Hearing this, Ria couldn''t help but feel disappointed. If Thane didn''t know then who could they even ask for help from? Allura and her grandfather were busy with their own tasks and couldn''t be reached out to unless they do it first. "Tsk, you look like thess had just died in my hands. Her condition is¡­ strange to say the least. It reminds me of certain conditions that I''ve seen ur in beasts. Ones that are dominated by their baser instincts. Difficult to control and in her case, highly destructive. "I''m sure even you can imagine what kind of trouble she''ll cause if she ran rampant within the city. Now, I''m all for a little bit of chaos here and there to alleviate this boredom but even for me, letting her kill everything in sight is pure stupidity. Such a sight won''t relieve my boredom, only makes me look at it with annoyance and dissatisfaction. "If I wanted to see such a sight I would''ve just gone deeper in theyers. But setting aside my own enjoyment, this seems to be something she has to figure out herself rather than have us intervene. Fighting against one''s baser instincts, especially instincts on this level, is something she has to sort out on her own." Thane shrugged as he released his hand. With the darkness disappearing, Alice opened her eyes once more and saw Ria''s worried expression. "Sorry for the trouble." Alice apologised while sitting up. Even now, she had a headache but she felt more in control. "Ah its fine. How¡­ How are you feeling?" "Complete sh*t." Alice groaned. She felt exhausted both mentally and physically as the fight had taken everything out of her. It had pushed her body beyond her limits and her joints feel like they''ll dislocate with the slightest movement. "Care to tell me when that condition began?" Thane asked while giving Alice onest nce, making sure there wasn''t anything else that was wrong with her at the moment. "I¡­ I think it resurfaced after I almost died to the Demte. I had this kind of feeling before but it was controble. After almost dying to the Demte, it''s like¡­ How do I exin it¡­" Alice furrowed her brows while trying to think of the words to use. This side of her now felt unrestrained. As though she lost the chains that were holding it back after almost dying against the beast in the mansion. "Whatever it is, seems like you were able to control it before. Have you tried using the same method to control yourself?" "Haven''t tried yet." Alice shook her head. "Hm¡­ Alright. Well just get some rest for now. You''re in no state to continue humouring me. And for you, I''ll get youter." Thane waved his handzily before stepping out of room. Taking a deep breath, he sighed while scratching his hair. ''Why did I evene down here again? The more I involve myself the more time I waste. I''m pretty sure if Lua saw me now she won''t let me leave so easily¡­'' Thane thought to himself while leaning against the wall. It was always hard to say no to her. ''I''m sure she felt the brat''s signal disappear from our radarpletely. Even if it was just for a moment. Yet she''s not contacting her. Do I really have to send out a raven to get her?'' Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Thane snapped his finger and created a shadow raven on his shoulder. Hesitating for a moment, he decided against this and dismissed his summon. He''d rather extend his trip than to face Allura again. ''It shouldn''t be that much of a headache right? I''ll sort out her instinct issue then leave the Abyss like nothing ever happened. She wouldn''t need to know I came down here again after so many years.'' Chapter 181: A Price For Knowledge And Power After Thane left the room, Ria let Alice rest while thinking about what had just happened. Laying on the sofa, Alice looked at the ceiling in silence. She had three questions she wanted to ask herself. Why did she feel this hunger? Why she had lost control after so many years of it being dormant? And finally, what really happened at the birthday banquet? She had her own hypothesis but it wasn''t a pleasant one. The screams in her mind resonated so vividly when she remembered back to that time. Alice understood that they must''ve been her victims. Even though she was resistant against the Abyss, that first contact had indeed transformed her. ''Now that I think about it¡­ How did I even turn back to human after being a beast? Even when the schrs pushed my body to its limit, only parts of me were transformed from the side effects. Never fully. On that day I went past the line and fully became a beast¡­'' Alice frowned as she looked at her hand. Perhaps that side of her was simply the instincts left over from when she became a beast. Perhaps it was something more. ''Or was it a reaction based on my resistance to the Abyss?'' Alice knew that there was an invisible power ''operating'' the Abyss itself. The contracts that it makes with people are what allows them Sigils and it slowly transforms them into a beast. Pressing her hand against her chest, above her heart, Alice wondered once more about the connection of the heart to the Abyss. ''Actually, now that I think about it¡­ Thane is Allura''s old friend. Maybe he knows about the importance of the heart.'' Sitting up, Alice didn''t hesitate to make her way out of the room as she noticed Thane leaning against the wall silently while slight traces of sadness could be seen in his eyes. "Need something?" Thane asked as the sadness disappeared as though it was never there. "I have a question. Since you''re Allura''s old friend, you should know a lot about the Abyss right?" "Depends on what you want to know. And if you ask some boring sh*t I''m just going to get you to go to the library instead." Thane shrugged. "The heart. Why is it important?" "Are you serious? Maybe because it keeps you alive?" Thane rolled his eyes but Alice shook her head. "That''s not what I meant. I¡­ Learnt that the heart is important to the Abyss. Why? Why is the heart so important that the purest blood that you can get from a beast is from the heart? And¡­ Do you know what kind of contract the realm gives in exchange for Sigils?" Hearing this, Thane''s expression faltered for a moment, expressing surprise upon Alice mentioning these questions before returning to normal. ''Seems like she''s adapting well to the Eye if it told her this much. Hmm¡­'' Narrowing his eyes at Alice, he thought to himself for a moment before standing up properly. "How much are you prepared to learn?" Thane asked seriously. Tilting her head in confusion, Alice wasn''t sure what he meant by that. "Let me rephrase it. How much are you willing to sacrifice in order to learn the truth? Is the truth about the heart blood so important that you are willing to give up something important to you?" Biting her lip, Alice hesitated for a moment before opening her mouth. "What would I need to give up in order to learn about the Abyss?" "You don''t know until you ept the risks. Maybe it''s something useless to you. Maybe it''s the most important aspect of your life. It''s up to you if you want to exchange something in pursuit of knowledge. However, I will tell you this." Thane held up one finger. "One Sigil is all it takes for a Hunter to step onto the path of no return. This contract of the Abyss will only end in suffering unless you sacrifice a part of yourself at the end of all roads. There are no exceptions. Whether that is for me or Allura, no one is an exception." Thane warned. ''Especially not you, the holder of the Eye.'' "Knowledge and powere at a price. Should you ever gamble with the Abyss, know that you will always take the short end of the deal. But I can tell you one thing. When you ept the contract of the Abyss and receive your first Sigil, your heart is no longer yours. "It bes the Abyss''s property. What you think and gather from this information is up to you. Maybe you might stumble on the right answer without giving up anything. Maybe you won''t. Either way, it''s none of my business now." Thane shrugged while opening the door back into the VIP room. "But it seems like you have a guest so I''ll take my leave." He pointed at the woman making her way towards them. ncing over at the new arrival, Alice was about to ask what she was here for when she silently handed Alice a rolled up sheet of parchment. The parchment was tied up with a ribbon embroidered with the symbol of the Underground. Understanding that this was the information she had purchased earlier, Alice thanked the woman as she gave a bow and left. cing the parchment in her pocket, Alice looked over to Thane who was now sitting on the sofa, clearly bored out of his mind. She thought back to his earlier words. ''Was my resistance to the Abyss something I traded for? He said one Sigil is all it takes for a Hunter to go on a path of no return¡­ What does he mean by that? He also mentioned that Allura gave up something at the end of all roads.'' Sighing out heavily, Alice scratched her hair in confusion as there were simply too many unknowns right now. She doubted Allura would be able to tell her much either at this point with the way Thane worded things. It seems like if she wanted to know more at this point in time, she''ll have to give up something potentially important to her. And that was not a risk she wanted to take right now. ''Let''s just get my third Sigil first. I can think about thister when Allura contacts me.'' ### *BANG!!! A ck of darkness cleaved through a beast as Ginnded heavily against the ground. His chest heaving from exhaustion while ncing back at Allura who had spaced out a few times during the battle. "What''s wrong with you? Getting distracted so much." "Sorry¡­ Just¡­ Thinking of stuff." Allura scratched her hair while smiling bitterly. There was a sad glow in her eyes as she had clearly sensed what had happened near Alice. The power of shadows that surrounded her for a moment. A familiar feeling that tugged against her chest. He was back in the Abyss and yet he didn''t want to face her. "Well you can think of stuff once we''re out of this mess!" Gin shouted as he forcefully activated his resonance one more. An avatar of death cleaved the skies apart and descended upon the battlefield as a baleful aura exploded forth. However, tentacles erupted from the ground,tching onto his avatar and tearing it apart, scattering its bones across the battlefield while Gin cried out in pain. "Allura!" Gin shouted out in annoyance. "Alright aright, I got it. Sorry, I''ll focus up now." Allura sighed before disappearing from her location. Appearing in front of the source of tentacles, she pulled back her arm as mes erupted around her. The sparks and crackles of the air exploded around her arm as the mes started to expand before condensing into a blinding white me. In a single instance, her fist jolted forward and not even Gin could see the motion of her punch. All he could see was therge body of the beast disappearing into the distance while thend was torn apart by the impact. Seeing this, he couldn''t help but smile bitterly as this was the gap between them. A beast that forced him to use his resonance was dealt with easily by Allura who simply used her third Sigil. Even to this day, he hadn''t seen Allura use more than 4 Sigils. "Let''s find a ce to catch a break since you''re in no shape to keep fighting for now." Allura suggested while pulling out a cigarette. Lighting it on fire, she took a deep breath before sighing out a cloud of smoke. Surrounding them were the corpses of countless beasts that could be harvested for blood that would shock the market but she didn''t care for their value. "Alright. Now care to exin why you kept spacing out at the end?" Gin nodded, limping over to her while taking a drink of some healing blood. "Alice disappeared for a moment. Seems to have been taken into a strange realm. But an¡­ old friend bailed them out. They''re under his care right now and surprisingly, he''s taking responsibility for them." Allura smiled. "Isn''t that a good thing then? Why did you space out and look sad?" "Because he said he wasn''t going to return to the Abyss centuries ago." She shrugged, not wanting to expand on the topic. Understanding this, Gin didn''t ask for more details as Allura clearly had a lot going on her mind right now. As the two were making their way back to their base, Allura couldn''t help but look at the sunless sky above and sigh. ''If you''re back¡­ At least send a raven dumbass. You haven''t even talked to me face to face in centuries now, always sending your familiars. Master would be upset if she saw you like this¡­'' Allura thought to herself before shaking her head. If he didn''t want to speak to her face to face then there''s nothing she could do. She needed to focus on her own task as being distracted, no matter how powerful she is, is dangerous on this battlefield. Chapter 182: Blood Coil Amphiptere "What did that woman give you? She seems to be working with the Underground." Thane asked curiously after seeing Alice sit down and ce the now opened scroll on the table. "Just some rumours and potential hints for beasts that I can hunt. If I were to go for beasts that have already been identified, there''s a good chance that others will step in ahead of me and take the kill." Alice exined while looking through the notes. As expected, there were indeed a handful of rumours pertaining beasts with connection to blood. However, a lot of these could just be victims that have been left out to dry. She wanted to find some evidence that had close rtions to the beast she wanted to hunt. "Oh? Now you''ve got my attention brat. What kind of Sigl are you going for?" Thane sat up in mild amusement as he wanted to see what kind of Hunter Alice wanted to be. "Another blood type. I want something that can heal me in battle and help me keep fighting. I don''t really have an attack that can end a fight easily. Well¡­ I do have one but it''s hard to use if they''re on guard." Alice sighed. Raising an eyebrow, Thane couldn''t help but wonder what kind of attack she was talking about. "If I remember correctly, your first Sigil is hallucination plus strength augmentation. Your second Sigil is blood control and violet mes right? Where''s this finishing attacking from?" Before Alice could answer, Ria cut in. "It''s the skill that Allura showed us before. She called it Nova core or something and gathered a bunch of mes into a single dot that destroys everything around it. Though Alice''s is more like a giant cannon rather than what Allura did." "!?!?!" Widening his eyes, Thane was stunned in disbelief before looking back and forth from Alice to Ria. "You. Learned Nova Core from Allura?" He asked, pointing at Alice. "Well she didn''t teach me. It just kind of happened." Alice shrugged but didn''t deny it. "There''s no way¡­ Prove it to me right now. I''ll protect this room, I just want you to fire the skill." Thane furrowed his brows. Flicking his finger, a darkness coated the room as once again Alice was surrounded by a familiar feeling but she couldn''t quite pin down where it wasing from. But seeing that he wasn''t going to take no for an answer, Alice nodded her head while Ria took cover. Taking a deep breath, she activated her Sigils as violet mes started to flicker around her body. Little by little, they engulfed the area Alice was standing in as Thane noticed another strange aspect about Alice. ''Are her mes¡­ trying to eat my shadows?'' He thought to himself as he couldn''t bring himself to believe it yet the evidence was there. His shadows were being threatened by some two Sigil possessing brat whom he picked up from the Zenia prison. But that wasn''t the only surprise. Converging towards Alice''s finger, the mes started to condense into a bright ming orb above her finger. Seeing this, Thane understood that they weren''t bluffing but at the same time, it wasn''t the same skill that Allura was known for. Her skill, Nova Core, was one that could destroy everything through raw power. It was a skill that condensed her me to the maximum limit before releasing it in a controlled manner. As for Alice, it''s more like she''s focusing on the direction of her mes rather than condensing and controlling. Itcked the delicate control and implication that Allura would demonstrate with her skill. ''But I suppose¡­ It does look like the Nova Core skill. The method is simr but modified to suit her own body and powers.'' Watching the web of mes condense into one, Thane aimed his palm towards Alice. "Shoot the skill towards me." Nodding her head, Alice didn''t hesitate to release the orb of fire. Within this realm of darkness, a torrent of mes and light exploded forth with more intensity than the attack she had fired off against the strange man. This time, she was allowed to focus her mind and attack without distraction! As the light reached its brightest and the wave of heat exploded out, Thane closed his hand into a fist. *BANG!!!! Shadows immediately copsed around the attack and extinguished the me without even giving it a chance to fight back. Stumbling over out of exhaustion, Alice couldn''t believe her strongest attack was extinguished with a single movement from Thane. "Hmm¡­ I''d give it a 3 out of 10 for a decent Hunter by my standards. A 1 out of 10 if you truly want topare it against Allura''s Nova Core skill. But it''s as you said, it takes too long for you to focus to achieve decent results with this skill. Seems like you should be a more prolonged fighter since your tenacity and will to fight is strong." Thane nodded while shaking off the heat from his hand. "So any targets in mind?" He smiled, curious as to who her ideal target was. Depending on what she wanted, he could do her a favour and bring it here. But if he was to do that, it would be no fun and she wouldn''t get the full experience in hunting. "Ideally I want the Scarlet Winged Monarch. But I haven''t found any information on it yet." Alice shrugged while reading over the scroll once more to see if there was anything she missed. "Scarlet Winged Monarch? You want¡­ a five star beast as your third Sigil? Even if you were Allura that''s rather, reckless." Thane frowned. As much as he would like to see the fight happen, Alice was not ready for a challenge of this magnitude. Not only was it a five star beast, but it was also one of the strongest beasts within the difficulty and could even kill those in the six star category. There was another nickname for the beast to those who live near it and have seen it in action. The immortal berserker. A beast so ferocious and deadly that it felt nigh impossible to kill. If a Hunter dares to face him head on, it bes a battle of who gives up first and in that scenario, the beast ALWAYS wins. "Then do you have any suggestions?" Alice asked curiously. Knowing that Thane is an old friend of Allura along with his power, there was a high chance that his knowledge of Abyss Beasts was extensive. "Well that depends. But we''re basically in the middle of nowhere right now. None of the good beasts are avable to hunt. Show me that scroll, let me see if any of them are actually worth checking out." Thane suggested as Alice nodded her head. Reading through the contents, Thane closed one of his eyes and didn''t say a word. Neither Alice nor Ria wanted to disturb him as Alice understood he must''ve sent a familiar to verify these rumours. With a rare moment of silence dawning on them, Alice observed Thane while the familiar feeling kept nagging away at her mind. ''Have I seen him before? He does use the power of shadows and can teleport people around with ease¡­ But I''ve also seen others use simr powers before with the exception of teleporting. Hmm¡­ But if he is Kaden, why would he hide his identity?'' Alice wondered to herself. In her brief contact with Kaden, someone who didn''t hesitate to break into Zenia''s strongest prison because a lot of guards were there and it seemed like it had something valuable, hiding his identity didn''t seem possible. ''Unless there''s a big reason why he doesn''t want to be known. And even if he is Kaden¡­ What then?'' If Thane turned out to be Kaden, Alice didn''t know what she would say. The person that saved her from her torment, gave her a second chance at life and even imnted an eye into her, leading to her meeting a mother and mentor like figure in Allura. Not only that, due to his actions, she was able to find a friend and enjoy exploring the world with. He had practically given her everything she had wished for during her time in the prison. A swirl of emotions appeared in Alice''s mind but she couldn''t say anything just yet. She wasn''t sure if this person was indeed Kaden or someone different entirely. She could only keep these guesses to herself for now. "There''s one that seems pretty¡­ interesting I would say. It''s no Scarlet Winged Monarch but~ I think it would be perfect for you in terms of wanting something to prolong your fights." Thane smiled but paused noticing that Alice was staring at him as though trying to see behind his face. "Now. I''m not against getting stared at but I''d rather it be from a woman than a brat. So do me a favour and stop staring at me so hard, it''s gross." Thane rolled his eyes and flicked Alice on the forehead. Despite her tolerance, a bolt of pain shot through her body as Alice jolted backwards and held her forehead in confusion. "This rumour seems to hold some validity to it. Couldn''t find the beast''s main body but there were traces and I do have a candidate in mind. If it is what I''m thinking of then you might be in for a treat." Hearing this, Alice looked over to the rumour that he pointed to. [South of Ironforge, strange remains have been discovered. Beasts have been found, drained of blood with shards of metal burrowing into their flesh. The carcass has been left rtively untouched with other beasts scavenging it for food but the blood has beenpletely sucked away.] "If my guess is correct, those wounds should be caused by a Blood Coil Amphiptere, a dragon-like beast of metal and blood. It shouldn''t be that strong but it''s been a while since I''vest seen one so don''t take my word on it. But if you were to kill it¡­" Thane trailed off with a smirk. "You should be able to get an ability called Lifeblood Link." Chapter 183: Information About The Amphiptere "Lifeblood Link?" Alice blinked her eyes in confusion as Thane nodded his head. "It''s an annoying Sigil to fight against even by my standards. I don''t quite remember how long ago it was but I was fighting against someone with the Sigil. It was also this fight that made an impression on me as he was able tost much longer than expected." Thane remarked while leaning back on his chair. "Are you curious on what it does?" He grinned, seeing the interest in Alice''s eyes. "Mnm. I do." Nodding her head, Alice wanted to hear more about this as it was a Sigil that made an impression on an Abyss Lord. Surely it must be something good. "Not telling you. I already done plenty by verifying this rumor and telling you about the beast. Everything else is now up to you." Thaneughed causing Alice to pout slightly in annoyance. "You''re a Hunter. You should be the one seeking out your prey, learning everything there is about them and then striking when they''re at their weakest. You can''t expect someone else to do the heavy lifting for you. "All right then. Keep your secrets." Alice huffed as she asked Ria if she wanted to go down to the library with her. However, much to her surprise, Ria shook her head as there was something else she needed to do in the meantime. Shrugging her shoulders, Alice made her way to the train station. She needed to take a train up to the surface if she wanted to ess the library in the Hunter''s Guild. Seeing Alice leaving, Thane tilted his head back and looked at Ria who was staring at him nonstop. "Same as what I said to that brat, feel free to not stare at me so much." Thane sighed. "Well you said you''ll get meter to do some training. Now ister so what are we doing?" ". . . I mean you''re not wrong but I also said I''LL get youter. Not the other way around. *sigh* Well may as well get the annoying part over and done with. That brat will be busy researching about the Amphiptere." Thane scratched his hair in annoyance as they had many simrities to Allura in the way they act. Their impatience was certainly one of them. He could still remember when he and Allura were still working together in Ayr. How anxious and hasty she would be whenever he brought up a new beast suitable to act as her Sigil. She would burst into his office with a bestiary in her hand, her eyes sparkled with excitement while shouting about how they should make a move quickly. Just remembering the scene caused Thane to chuckle softly. Standing up, he stretched his body before gesturing for Ria to follow him. "First and foremost, do you understand why I''m asking you to try using ranged attacks rather than physical attacks?" He asked in a rare case of seriousness. "Hm¡­ Because my Sigils suit it? I think." Ria furrowed her brows, unsure as to what he wanted her to answer with. "Not quite but yes, it''s part of the reason. The main reason is because Lightning, while a great source of physical reinforcement, is even faster when used in a ranged attack. It''s hard to miss something when it practically reaches its target instantly." Thane exined while mimicking a bolt of lightning with his shadows. "By channeling it within your body however, you give up much of its speed. Whether that be subconsciously or consciously, you make sure your body is not broken by the burden of your power. What I''m suggesting is not for you to give up your physical fighting style but add the option of range into your arsenal." He exined as he flicked his finger. The bolt of lightning shot past Ria''s face before she could even react, causing her to widen her eyes in surprise by the speed. "You can also say it''s wasted potential for you to limit yourself to just physicalbat when your powers can be so much more." Ria was unable to respond as she hesitated for a moment before opening her mouth. "Then will it help me fight against someone that harms the soul?" "The soul?" Thane furrowed his brows. "Yes. Earlier, me and Alice ran into someone strange. He brought us to a realm with just our souls apparently. The powers given to us by the Abyss didn''t work well there and all I could do was watch." Ria sighed, looking down in disappointment. Meanwhile, Thane was silent as this changes things if it was true. ''If that man was indeed messing with their souls then I shouldn''t have let him leave so easily¡­ People that tamper with souls or even know how to ess it can be counted on one hand but he didn''t match anyone I knew.'' Thane thought to himself with a frown. ''But if he did indeed try to tamper with their soul, how did the brats escape before I arrived? Neither of them should have a defensive measure for their souls so it shouldn''t be possible.'' Scratching his head in annoyance, Thane couldn''t help but feel as though he''s been scammed. There were so many issues cropping up that shouldn''t happen so soon yet here they are. ''Sh*t¡­ What kind of brat did I even save from the Zenia''s.'' Sighing out, he looked at Ria before considering how he should answer her. "The soul¡­ is something that you would usually interact with or rathere to a small understanding of once you reach six Sigils. But more urately, once you reach your second Resonance. It''s not something Hunter''s can touch upon early so you don''t have to worry about it. Just know that it''s somethinges naturally and you and Alice simply met an anomaly." He exined as Ria reluctantly epted his reply. Even she knew what they met was an anomaly but the issue was the fact that Alice kept attracting these kinds of people! If they don''t be anomalies themselves, they''ll never be able to survive against them. ''That guy said my soul was touched by the Cult. Even though the Ritual didn''t finish, it still left a mark on me¡­ Maybe I need to see if there are any information avable on these rituals. If I know more, I might be able to find out how I could deal with the soul.'' Ria thought to herself while Thane started his next lecture. What he wanted to teach Ria was how overwhelm her opponents with the sheer speed of her lightning from afar. And once they approach her, she''ll blitz them with her physical prowess. ### Taking the train up to the surface, Alice could feel the passengers staring at her in wariness. Understanding that they must''ve seen how she was fighting in the arena, Alice pulled up her hood and stood by the doors, waiting for her stop. In her mind, she recalled the sensation she felt in arena and how she used to control it before. ''I just need to designate the time for a ''Hunt'' and the time outside of one. The main thing is being able to turn off this state otherwise I''ll keep going until I brutalize their corpse like I did with the Demte. If Ria didn''t appear, I doubt I would''ve been able to stop.'' Just like her violet mes, she wanted to see what made the other side of her go out of control. If she could figure out this condition, she would be able to fully control one of her strongest weapons. ''In the Hunting state, I react to things more instinctively. I can dodge much easier and counter without thinking much but at the same time, I don''t care about the damage done to my body. Even if I have healing blood, continuously taking damage like that is dangerous.'' Alice sighed. Granted, she was able to mitigate some of the damage she took by stopping her bleeding thanks to her second Sigil but that doesn''t ount for heavy damage. There was still a limit to what she could do and from the sound of the Sigil name, Lifeblood Link might be able to help her solve this issue. Arriving at the surface, Alice made her way to the Guild Library and sought out the books rted to the Blood Coil Amphiptere. After 30 minutes of looking around, Alice found three books that seemed to contain what she was looking for. A bestiary for dragon like creatures including Drakes, Wyrms and so on. A book on blood based beasts and the recorded Sigils that have obtained from them. And finally, a book on how to counter blood type beast abilities using Abyss Blood or tools. Pulling out her almost empty sk, Alice savored a sip of her mead before opening the first book. Finding the right page, she skimmed over the information regarding the beast. ''The Blood Coil Amphiptere is a beast of mesmerizing motion. A swirl of blood and metal yet seemed to have no flesh beneath the armour.Its serpentine body is covered with razor sharp pieces of metal and along with its fearsome speed, possesses unrelenting tenacity. ''Tworge wings that can block out the sky are not just there for flight. These wings are sharp and allows it to drill through the ground like it''s nothing. Despite having wings, these beasts tend to hide beneath ground, waiting for their prey to walk over them andsh out. The Blood Coil Amphptere is primarily an ambush predator.'' Narrowing her eyes, Alice traced her finger across the image of the beast. There was a single warning next to the image for Hunters who wish to kill this beast. ''Under no circumstances should you allow a piece of the metal to enter your body. If it happens, remove that section immediately if you wish to live!'' Chapter 184: Counters Against The Amphiptere Reading this, Alice couldn''t help but frown as this meant she had to take extra caution not to get hit during the fight. And considering the beast was known for speed and ambushes, this may prove to be more difficult than expected. ''Hmm¡­ Wait, if my mes can cancel out beast powers, does that mean it''ll lose control of the metal in my body?'' Alice thought to herself while making a small orb of violet mes above her finger. "What even are you¡­" She muttered. She had no idea what kind of mes this was and why it could counter the powers given by the Abyss. Was it a byproduct of the experiment done by the Zenia''s? Was it something she was born with since the start? Or was it when she was injected with the concentrated Abyss Blood? However, this would prove to be her strongest asset against the beasts and Hunters of the Abyss. Setting the first book aside, Alice checked out the second book that documented the type of Sigil abilities you could get from the beast. Unlike the other beasts, there were two main types she could pick from and a third that changed based on its environment. The two main Sigils were the following: [Blood Coil Manifestation] A Sigil that allowed her to conjure the signature ability belonging to the beast. When activated, it coats her body with a swirl of blood and metal, granting her great defensive and offensive capabilities. The metal and blood can be controlled at will. Not only that, but in this state, she''ll gain a significant boost to her physical attributes. As for the second Sigil, it was the Lifeblood Link that Thane mentioned earlier. [Lifeblood Link] With this Sigil, you tether yourself to your enemy and begin to share vitality. Any damage you do to them is reflected onto you. Any damage they do to you is reflected onto them. So long as this tether persists, you will continuously share damage with one another. Healing done will also be shared. The key to this Sigil is that after linking your lifeblood to one another, it will slowly equalize your vitality until they are evenly distributed as long as you can withstand the pain. ''If a Hunter was to be categorized as having 10 vitality and the beast having 100, the Life Blood link will slowly equalize until it is a 55 split between the two. The danger to this Sigil is that if your body cannot handle the equalization, it will forcefully cancel this tether and the rebound is not something many Hunters can withstand¡­" Reading this, Alice couldn''t help but furrow her brows. From the sound of it, this Lifeblood Link seems to be a double-edged sword that could harm her more than the beast in a prolonged battle. "But Thane said it was annoying to fight against¡­ Why? Is there something I''m not seeing?" She muttered while rereading the Sigil. The key point to the Sigil was that she can now equalize her vitality with her opponent, very advantageous should they be stronger than her but with a risk of rebound. If used against someone weaker, she''s practically stabbing herself to make it an even fight. Next, any damage she does to them is reflected onto her and vice versa. Including the healing. Narrowing her eyes at this part, Alice soon realized that even though she was taking damage, her vitality was still being equalized! Meaning she''ll receive the pain thates with the injuries but she''s actually getting healed by the link. Realizing this, Alice''s smile couldn''t help but twitch. ''What kind of masochistic ability is this???'' She thought to herself while taking a sip from her sk. However, despite the¡­ Strangeness of this ability, Alice could see why Thane would say it was annoying to fight against. If someone could withstand the link to an Abyss Lord then that means they practically be a fighting machine that can hold out until the target is equal to them. Of course, the equalization doesn''t include the difference in power but just being able to heal while fighting someone stronger was very beneficial and close to what she was needing right now. The final book was on how to counter the beast. ''The beast relies on its senses aside from sight to locate the prey, primarily vibrations through the ground when it waits underground for an ambush. Hunters can get an early hit by baiting it using false vibrations in the rhythm of walking. ''Using blunt weapons can cause damage to the metal around it, making movement harder and reducing the beast''s speed. Abyss Blood that can freeze liquid or Sigil abilities that let you halt the movement of blood will also restrict the beast''s movements. The Blood Coil Amphiptere does not have a ''real'' physical body aside from the swirl of blood and metal that coils around the core of its being. Focus on restricting its movements and deal with the core.'' Furrowing her brows, Alice was silent. Her target this time was a beast with no ''body'' and with her current Sigils, restraining the beast would prove to be a difficult task. ''I''m not sure what kind of effect my mes would have on the beast¡­ I should prepare for the worst case scenario and have some Abyss Blood ready. Which means I''ll need to earn some more coin so I can actually afford anything.'' Alicemented. Once again, it came down to an issue regarding money. She doubted Thane would give her the money needed for the blood and with their reward of 250 gold still being held by the Guild for now, she''ll have to go back to the arena. Scratching her hair, Alice stood up and ced the books back where she got them. She needed to make her preparations as soon as possible and make her way to the beast before it got taken by someone else. ''First, I need to see how expensive the blood is. Second, I need a blunt weapon to deal with the beast. I have that covered with Obsidian Retort since it can take the shape of any weapon I want. Third, I need something to throw off its senses so I can get the first hit in.'' Pausing at this step, Alice realized the book didn''t say anything on how to counter the tethering ability. *sigh¡­ "Seems like I''ll have to take it head on in that aspect." She groaned while making her way out of the library. Thankfully, the Veridian Blossom Apothecaries was nearby so it was a simple walk over to check the prices of the blood she needed. Upon arriving at the store''s doorstep, Alice could once again smell the fragrance of herbs and flowers ced around the shop. Stepping through the door, she saw the same man behind the counter. "Ah¡­ Back so soon. I presume you are preparing for a hunt yes?" He smiled as Alice nodded. "I am, how did you know?" "There are variations in the gazes of people who step into my store. New customers like yourselfst time have a curious light. Their gaze will be all over the ce, seeing what''s avable. Those who seek to find a specific type of blood wille straight to me. After working this job for many years, I''ve be ustomed to telling the difference in bodynguage." He chuckled. "So how may I help you today? "Do you have any Abyss Bloods that will help me freeze liquids? The beast I''m fighting constantly has blood swirling around it." Alice inquired as the man was silent for a moment before nodding his head. Reaching behind the counter for a catalogue, he flipped through the pages before stopping roughly a quarter of the way in. "I believe the blood of the Warden of Frost should suit your requirements. It temporarily grants you control over a frozen mist that circtes around your body. This will let you freeze most liquids rather quickly. Side effects include frostbite if you are not careful and something most would like to call Icebound Affliction for a few days." "Icebound Affliction?" "Indeed. It''s simr toing down with a sickness, your body will struggle to regte your internal temperature and you''ll feel quite sleepy along with a constant shiver. You be weak to ice attacks and during this period, it is advised not to drink any ice based Abyss Bloods. Including the vials you boughtst time. So if you are thinking of using both, I advise you to drink the healing blood first before drinking this." He warned while Alice looked over to the cost. Immediately, she felt as though a dagger of ice pierced through her heart as the price was an astounding 35 gold per vial. "We can make some arrangements if this price is above your currently avable funds. Is this amission from the Hunter''s Guild?" He asked after seeing the bitter expression. Shaking her head, Alice exined that this was for a Sigil hunt. "That does make things a little more difficult. If this was a Guild Commission, I can put in a request and get some smallpensation in the off chance that you fail and find yourself unable to pay off the debt. But since this is a personal Hunt, there''s no guarantee." The man sighed. "Actually¡­ I still have the reward from a previousmission. Butplications urred and the money is being held by the Guild." Alice forced a smile. She didn''t exactly want to say the reason out loud but if she could get her hands on this blood now, she could leave as soon as tonight. "Give me a moment, I''ll send a message to the Guild and see what they say about this." Excusing himself for a moment, the man left the counter while an assistant took over. Left on her own, Alice browsed the catalogue to see if there were any Abyss Blood''s that she''s personally tested before. Some had the symbol of the Zenia family printed next to them while others had symbols belonging to rival families. Just seeing the symbol of her old family was enough to annoy her but it was something she couldn''t avoid. They were the forerunners in Abyss Blood research after all, it would be stranger not to see their symbol next to these images. Soon, the store owner returned and offered Alice a deal. Chapter 185: Luminous Gryphon "The Guild has offered to¡­ pay for the cost of this blood now. Once the investigation is over and you receive your reward, they would take an extra fee on top of what you pay for the blood." The owner smiled awkwardly since the price they wanted to take from Alice was quite substantial. "They wanted to take an extra 15 gold, meaning you''ll have to pay 50 gold in total for the vial." ". . ." Alice was speechless. The Guild wanted to take 15 gold from her even though they were the ones holding the gold and stopping her from buying things. Furrowing her brows, Alice massaged her eyes before nodding. "Fine alright. Let them take the gold since I''m in need of this vial." Hearing this, the owner apologized once more as he made his way to the back and prepared a vial containing Warden of Frost Blood. After preparing a vial of blood, he handed her a Law of Agreement which she read carefully and agreed to. With the documentation done, he handed her the vial and stored the contract away. "If you don''t mind me asking, can I know what kind of beast you''re going after? While I may not be a Hunter, my knowledge regarding beasts should be rather sufficient. Since the Guild is taking extra gold from you, I hope I canpensate with a bit of information." He asked with an apologetic smile. "Well¡­ There''s a high chance the target will be a Blood Coil Amphiptere. The traces left behind seem to mirror its tracks." Alice answered as any information is good information. "A Blood Coil Amphiptere? Hmm¡­ Can you remind me of its details?" He furrowed his brows and tried to recall if he heard about such a beast. "Doesn''t really have a body, swirling blood and metal, hides underground and has wings that can cut a bunch of stuff. Not sure what else there is to say about this beast." Alice shrugged. "Underground? With wings?" "Yep. It''s a bit weird but it''s what the book said so who am I to judge." Alice chuckled as the pairing was quite strange. "Indeed. Though that has helped me remember what kind of beast you''re trying to hunt. If I recall, its abilities should differ based on its environment. Considering that you don''t seem to be travelling far from this city, I can assume the beast would''ve taken the properties of our surroundings." He muttered while making his way to the back of the store. Alice could hear him muttering to himself while rummaging through the different containers before walking out with a small vial of blood. "This should be helpful for you. It''s a small sample vial but it belongs to a Luminous Gryphon, one of the Amphiptere''s natural enemies. It''s not a full vial so you can''t drink to get the effects but if you are in danger, you can throw ssh this onto the beast. It should disorientate the beast into a panic and you can take that chance to either run or attack it." He smiled, handing the small vial of blood to Alice. This was his way ofpensating her for the loss of 15 gold. Plus, it was just a small sample, not big enough to sell in the first ce. Receiving the gold, Alice smiled and thanked the shop owner before making her way out. "Ah! Before I forget, I never asked your name." Alice paused mid step while the store owner chuckled. "Victor. Not many have asked for my name before." Victor raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. "Well I might be revising this store for a while so I may as well get to know you. Thank you again for the blood." Alice grinned before leaving the store. Looking into her pouch, she made a mental note of her supply of blood. 2x Frostshroud Willow Blood (Healing) 1x Warden of Frost Blood 1x Luminous Gryphon Blood (Sample) She had given the other two vials of the willow blood to Ria since they couldn''t drink more than 4 vials in their lifetime. In her case, there was no limit but the same couldn''t be said for Ria. ''I have 4 vials of blood in this pouch that can hold 10. I can''t siphon my own blood just yet since I don''t have enough funds to buy low rank healing vials to replenish the lost blood.'' Alice sighed inwardly. However, with her recent purchases, she was pretty much ready to face the Amphiptere. Or so she thought. She had the weapon and the blood to deal with the beast, even a small vial to stun it if things go wrong. All that was left now was to track down the beast and kill it for her bounty. She needed to hire a carriage down to Ironforge as the rumours state that the corpses were found there. But with Ria holding most of their funds, she''ll need to find her first and n their journey. "Are they still by the Arena? Hmm¡­ Maybe I should just wait in my room. She should be back soon enough right?" Alice muttered, making her way back to the Guild. She was still feeling a little fatigued from her fight in the arena and wanted to rest up so she could be in peak condition when she set off to hunt. ### Alice didn''t know when she fell asleep but by the time she woke up, Ria had just returned to her room. In the brief moment Alice saw Ria, she noticed the absolute exhaustion in her eyes as Ria didn''t even notice her. Seeing this, Alice couldn''t help but wonder what she had been doing for so long and made her way downstairs. She noticed Thane sitting by the bar, looking bored as usual. Sitting down next to him, she ordered herself a tankard of mead. "Why do you always look so bored?" Alice asked curiously. She wanted to know more about Thane as he''s an old friend of Allura. Plus, if her guesses are correct and Thane was actually Kaden, she would want to know more of her would be savior. "When you''re surrounded by boring things you are naturally bored." Thane shrugged. "But if it''s boring shouldn''t you be doing something you enjoy?" "I would be if I wasn''t taking responsibility for the two of you. If it wasn''t for the bet I made to you I wouldn''t even care about what happens to the lightning brat. But here we are." Thane sighed while resting his chin on his palm. His entire posture and aura screamed his desire to leave this ce. How much he didn''t want to be here right now but Alice didn''t know why he wouldn''t just leave then. As an Abyss Lord, he shouldn''t be restricted by anything. "Did you and Ria do some training together or something? She looked exhausted." "Just a little. I showed her another way to use her Sigils but I won''t spoil the fun. She was pretty proud of what she did. Anyway, stop beating around the bush and just ask me what you want to ask. You don''t exactly do a good job of hiding your desires." Thane rolled his eyes. "Ah was I that obvious?" Alice furrowed her brows as it almost seemed like everyone around her could read her mind. Ria could, Allura could and now even Thane. "Yes you are. So what do you want? If it''s a boring question I''m just going to leave to have some fun." "I just wanted to know more about you and Allura. You said you are her old friend right? What was she like back then? And how different is she now?" Hearing this, Thane was silent as he tapped his finger on the table. Opening his mouth, he hesitated for a little bit before taking a drink of alcohol and sighing out deeply. "She was¡­ quite a scaredy cat at first you know. Everything terrified her, she worried about things needlessly and kept thinking about the future. Even a small bug could''ve scared her." Thane chuckled softly as Alice noticed a strange light in his eyes. An emotion she had never seen before. "But over time she mustered up some courage and became boisterous. She would practically be shouting every sentence she spoke and was always full of energy. Naturally, she was quite reckless once she got over her initial fear and picked some random Sigils she felt was ''cool'' in her terms. You have no idea how long it took for me to help her figure out some uses for her first few Sigils. "But after that, she was a little more careful and considered her choices slowly. It gave me less of a headache but I do miss the sight of her panicking once she realized she couldn''t do what she originally wanted to do. Sigils are permanent after all, once you pick one you can''t undo." Shaking his head with a nostalgic smile, he missed the old days in Ayr where they practically had no worries. But things changed and Ayr was gone. Their era will nevere back, all that''s left is to fulfil his task. "Did she smoke a lot back then too? She seems to be smoking practically every hour." "Did she smoke? No, never. I didn''t even realize she was smoking until recently when I saw it through my familiar. But considering the contents¡­ I suppose it''s only natural." Thane paused briefly before pausing. Tilting her head, Alice couldn''t help but wonder why he paused. However, she had one more question she wanted to ask him. With how he was speaking about Allura and the nostalgic look on his face, he must have a deeper connection to her. And the only person she had in mind that fit the bill was Kaden. Hesitating for a moment, Alice took a deep breath and opened her mouth. "Are you¡­ Kaden?" Chapter 186: Thanes Answer "Are you¡­ Kaden?" Alice asked hesitantly. The words left her mouth as silence dawned between the two. Thane nced down at Alice and squinted his eyes. A menacing aura radiated from Thane''s body as Alice felt as though she was being choked by the air itself. "Hah???? What even made you think I was him?" Thane groaned out in disgust. The menacing aura disappeared as though it was just a figment of Alice''s imagination, causing her to tilt her head in confusion. "Why would you even think I''m Kaden?I look nothing like him." He furrowed his brow in clear annoyance as Alice panicked. "Ah sorry, it''s just¡­ Well you know Allura. You spoke of her fondly and you used shadow powers like him. You even teleported Ria so I thought you were him." Alice waved her hand, trying to exin herself while Thane continued to stare at her in irritation. "Was what everything? That was enough for you to think I was Kaden? You realise that the same power can be found in two people right? Sigils aren''t exactly rare." Thane scratched his hair. Alice couldn''t find any excuse and simply apologized in the end. ''Did I really guess wrong? His annoyance and disgust doesn''t seem fake¡­ Maybe he was close to them and just didn''t like Kaden?'' Alice thought to herself as Thane calmed down after a brief moment. "So you''re looking for Kaden? Howe?" Thane asked curiously once he stoppedining. "Well¡­ He kind of saved my life. I wanted to thank him personally and I guess¡­ get some answers like why he picked me." Alice smiled while thinking about how he broke into the prison looking for treasure only to find her. Much like Thane, he expressed his annoyance but still helped her in the end. Perhaps that was why she mistook him for Kaden. "That so?" "Mnm. It might not seem like a lot but I was stuck there for 10 whole years you know? It was a long¡­ agonizing wait. Sometimes I thought of ending it, sometimes I pushed on. In the end, I held on for revenge, to see if there''s a chance at changing things. And he gave me that option so I wanted to thank him for freeing me." Alice chuckled while drinking her mead. "But that was simply me grasping at myst straws. The cor they put on me didn''t let me die even if I tried my best." Alice smiled bitterly. Unconsciously, Thane reached out and patted Alice on the head, surprising her as she nced over at him and saw a brief moment of sadness in his eyes before it got reced by confusion then the familiar boredom. "Quite a sob story you got there. Though he''s quite the insensitive b*stard so I doubt he''ll be able to appreciate yourgratitude fully." Thane shrugged, removing his hand from her head before calling for more alcohol. Holding her head, Alice couldn''t help but wonder why Abyss Lords always liked to pat her head. Did she had a ma on it? Why did they keep going for it??? Furrowing her brows in confusion, Alice was left sitting in silence, still holding her head while trying to think of answers. "Don''t think too much about that gesture. Just a habit. So, did you do your research on the Amphiptere?" Thane rolled his eyes before focusing back on the main task. "Oh right, yes I did. I made some preparations of my own and it should let me fight that beast to a high degree of sess." Putting her pouch onto the table, she showed Thane her selection of Abyss Blood that she bought for the hunt. Examining them, Thane nodded his head before cing them back. "Pretty good selections. How confident are you at killing this beast?" He asked in seriousness. Seeing this, Alice stopped ying around and became serious as well. "I''m not sure since I haven''t seen the beast in action before. The only doubt I have is getting the initial hit since it''s an ambush predator. I should be able to deal with the other aspects of its power." "A Hunter shouldn''t go into a hunt with doubts in their mind. There are no guarantees so the fact that you think you should be able to deal with its other aspects is good enough as it is. However, you must control what you can. And the fact that there is still uncertainty means you have not prepared enough. How do you think you should counter his ability to ambush from underground?" Thane shook his head. Flicking his finger, shadows converged onto the desk and formed an scene. It depicted a small version of Alice taking a step and arge beast erupting from below, killing her in an instant. "Well?" He gestured for her to answer. "Hmm¡­ The books said I could draw it away by using fake footprints. But my abilities don''t exactly allow that so would using the surrounding wood work? I can wrap them with my blood and have them mimic my footsteps." Alice asked as Thane only shrugged. "Why are you asking me? I''m not the one hunting it. It''s you who''s putting your life on the line. YOU need to think of a n that''s worth risking YOUR life for. If you are not satisfied with your own n then keep revising it. Change it until you are confident enough to risk your life. That is the basic all Hunter''s should abide by." He wanted her to be able to make her own judgement rather than seek his help. For a beast like this, Alice should be more than enough to kill it especially if she is able to make use of the Eye. "Ah right¡­ Hmm¡­" Going silent, Alice stared at the miniature scene and started to formte some ideas in her mind while Thane watched silently. ''If you don''t want to be put into a helpless spot then prepare as much as you can. Prepare for the information you have and have the confidence and adaptability for any uncertainties that may arise.'' He thought to himself as he urged her to develop her capabilities as a Hunter. He couldn''t deny that she had fighting talent. But as he had witnessed before, she relies too much on her baser instincts when she fights, especially when she''s in her enraged state. While there are different types of Hunters, being able to prepare for a fight and enter with a n is a must. Just because someone fought physically and worked on instinct doesn''t mean they should neglect rational nning and preparation. Neglecting this is practically asking for death to knock on your door. "I think I have a n. First, I know that the beast hides underground and ambushes those that walk above. I have two ways of approaching this. The normal way is to bait it using fake footsteps then fighting it out in the open." Alice exined as Thane could see the determination in her eyes. It was a far better light than the uncertainty she had before. "And the second?" "Fight it in its home. Since it hides underground, it is stationary. It''s waiting for a chance to attack not knowing its actually helping me out. I''ll have my blood survey the ground beneath and find the tunnels its hiding in. "Once I find that, I will prepare the strongest Nova Core I can and fire it into the tunnel, beginning the fight. Since I''m standing by the entrance, the me will have no other choice than to rush towards the beast where it is waiting to ambush me. It should deal a significant amount of damage before bursting out of the ground." She exined as the scene started to change ording to her suggestion. With the tunnels that the Amphiptere digs, it was practically a cannon waiting to blow once Alice fires the attack. "Hou~ Even with that poor replica of Allura''s skill, it should be sufficient like you said. However, can you physically contest with the beast focused on speed and tenacity?" Thane chuckled. He was happy that she had figured out a second n of attack but she was still not thinking far enough. The Blood Coil Amphiptere despite being a three star difficulty beast, was built like a ss cannon. It had raw speed, power and tenacity with its Lifeblood Link making up for the weak durability. Alice needed a way to deal with that raw physical power and he had a way to solve it. "Your second Sigil belongs to a Maiden of the Blood Moon yes? An upgrade from a Blood Widow who focuses on attacking with speed and blood." Thane asked as Alice nodded her head. "And I''m sure Allura had done some training so you could get limated to the speed." Once again, Alice nodded her head. "Now, what do you think the difference is between the two?" Thinking for a moment, Alice opened her mouth. "The Maiden stands still because her attacks are fast while the beast is moving itself?" "Correct. The Maiden can attack fast but her own physical body iscking. Hence her other support skills that can help her move around. However, the Amphiptere is different. It moves itself fast and uses its body as a weapon. "Since you are primarily a melee fighter with a rtively short range with your me, you need to be able to adjust and adapt to the way the beast charges. And naturally, the best way to do that would be some¡­ light training. Most Hunters would do this through hunting weaker beasts before they go for their main hunt. "For you, I will train you personally like I did for the Ria brat." Thane grinned as Alice suddenly felt a shiver down her spine. This reaction was far stronger than what she had felt from Allura as after many nights, she finally understood that this was her survival instinct! Something was telling her to run right now! However, before she could, Thane grabbed her shoulder to stop her from escaping. "It''ll be a short session so you have nothing to worry about." Thaneughed ominously. Little did Alice know, he was the one who trained Allura and the one who taught her the training methods! Chapter 187: Thanes Training "Oi oi oi! What happened to your confidence earlier huh? Brat?! Why aren''t you dodging? You would''ve died by now!" Thane shouted out in sadistic joy while Alice was running as fast as she could. Sweat poured from her head as a shadowy beast lunged from behind her. Rolling forward, Alice was barely able to dodge when it circled back and mmed into her from the ground. "GAH!!!!" "Your recovery is too slow! There''s no way a beast will let you recover in time!" He berated while flicking his wrist. The shadow mimic of the Amphiptere started to twist in the air as itunched an array of fake metal shards towards Alice who widened her eyes in a panic and shed out with her de. She managed to parry two when a third mmed into her back,unching her towards an array of metal shards. *CRASH!!!! Copsing on the ground from the impact, Alice wanted to just hug her knees and cry. ''Demon!!!!'' She shouted out in her mind while forcing herself to stand up. She could feel the pain through her body as he clearly didn''t hold back as much as Allura did. While Allura''s training was hard, she still adjusted it so it feltfortable. Thane on the other hand waspletely merciless! "Ohya? You can still stand? Let''s continue then." He grinned. Snapping his fingers, the beast roared back to life once more as it mmed its wing into Alice''s stomach and threw it into the air. The world seemed to slow down as Alice had a single thought in her mind. ''Dearest Allura, my mentor and guardian. My one and only master, the star in my life. PLEASE TAKE ME BACK I DON''T WANT TO TRAIN WITH THANE ANYMOREEEEEEE!'' Before she could even crash onto the ground, the beast grabbed her with its tail and mmed her against the walls of a nearby cliff, creating a hole in the rock. Alicey motionlessly as she wanted to throw up all the mead she had drank before this. After grabbing her shoulder, Thane took her out of the city and into the mountain range before surrounding them with a barrier of shadow, preventing her from escaping. This was the same ce that he was training Ria earlier and Alice could see several cavities and damages caused to the surroundings. "Is that it? What happened to your ns? Everyone''s got a n until a beast hits them in the face. Now stand the f*ck back up and actually try!" Gritting her teeth, Alice red in anger as she felt wronged by what he said. "F*cking dammit! Fine! You want me to try?! Let''s f*cking go b*tch!" Alice cursed as her Sigil burned across her eye. Violet mes erupted from her body as her de immediately reacted, bing a catalyst for her mes to manifest in greater power. Seeing this, Thane raised an eyebrow in surprise and curiosity as the feeling he got from the mes was like nothing he had felt before. He felt a deep rejection towards this power from deep within, a feeling he couldn''t get rid of no matter what. Rushing out of the cavity in the wall, Alice lunged towards the beast and shed her de down, causing a ming dragon to rush out. *BANG!!!! Colliding with one another, the dragon bit down on the shadow beast''s neck as the shadows started to flicker as though it was struggling to keep its shape. ''Hm? Are my powers¡­ fading? What''s going on¡­'' Thane frowned as he could feel a slight disturbance to his connection with his summon. However, the connection held on in the end as his power was not something that could be easily cut off. But the fact that Alice was able to cause this kind of reaction was now piquing his interest as he didn''t think such a feat was possible. ''Let me see what else she can do.'' He thought with a smile as he injected more power into the beast. *ROAR!!!! Overpowering the mes, the beast unfurled its wings as an array of metal shadows shot out, shredding the mes apart and flew into the air. A storm of ''blood'' detached from the beast as it swarmed towards Alice but she was prepared. While the ming dragon was keeping the beast busy, she had been charging a Nova Core shot! ''Myst fight has already demonstrated that this is too slow in charging. I need to gather power faster. I don''t need the full power of this attack, just enough to cancel out these mes. ''I''ve been focusing too much on copying Allura I haven''t made the most out of my own powers.'' Alice thought to herself as she made a cut on her arm. Blood surged above her fingertips and condensed into an orb as mes erupted around it. As though pulled in by an invisible force, all of the violet mes that she had unleashed converged towards the orb and condensed into a blinding orb of light. But she wasn''t done yet. ''I did this before, I still remember the steps.'' With her other hand, she stabbed her de into the ground as blood formed a circle around her. ''Is she¡­ Doing a ritual? But she doesn''t know any of the required symbols. Unless she''s wanting to make something of her own?'' Thane wondered as he flicked his finger, allowing the beast to slow down a little bit just so Alice could have more time to try this ritual out. Taking a deep breath, Alice remembered the steps of the Ritual she had done when fighting the Jester''s Regret when the beasts attacked Zadash. It was instinctual at the time but she was now doing it with a purpose. ''Establish the environment.'' The blood circle around her manifested fully as they burst into mes, feeding power towards the orb above her finger. ''Focus on intent.'' The ground around her started to crack as the power condensed into the orb was too much for the surroundings to handle. ''Offer a sacrifice.'' More blood flowed out of her body as it evaporated in an instant. *CRACK!!! Widening her eyes in shock, Alice didn''t expect to see a crack manifest on the orb in front of her as the Ritual had failed! ''Sh*t!'' Without hesitation, she threw the orb towards the beast and jumped back to seek some cover. Even though her ritual failed, she still created an orb of condensed power on the level of her Nova Core! Gliding through the air, more cracks appeared on the orb as tendrils of mes wed their way out of the condensed orb, shattering its outer shell. A surge of mes danced out in a disy of destruction as countless arcs tore away at the shadow beast, shredding it into countless pieces. The fire engulfed the entire area as Thane flickered next to Alice wrapping the two of them in a protectiveyer of shadow. Unable to see anything, Alice could only wonder what was going on as they didn''t even feel the impact. However, there were more pressing matters at hand. She could feel Thane''s stare boring a hole into her as she meekly looked away as though she wasn''t responsible. "Did you seriously just try to invent your own ritual?" "Ehehe~ Perhaps?" Knocking her on the head, Thane sighed as he had allowed her to do what she wanted since it looked like she knew what she was doing. Looking back at it... She did not, in fact, know what she was doing. Massaging his eyes for a moment, he took a deep breath. "Do you even know the steps to a ritual? It seems like you had the initial partspleted but failed at the end." "Erm¡­ I seeded once before so I thought I could do it again. I just need to establish an environment, lock in the intent and offer a sacrifice right? Isn''t that how all rituals work?" Alice replied, recalling her fight against the Jester. "Let me exin how stupid you are. What you did was essentially find a beast, prepare a trap, lure the beast then decide to dive head first into the trap yourself to test if it worked or not. The most important step in a Ritual is establishing a connection before giving a sacrifice. How do you n on sacrificing something if there''s nothing to sacrifice to? And what power are you nning to even connect with?" Thane lectured as Alice could only sit there and listen with no retort. But this served as a good lesson for her the next time she wanted to try such a thing. Seeing that she wasn''t reflecting upon herself but rather thinking of how to do it again but better, Thane had a headache as she was no different from Allura! "Fine whatever. Just a heads up, be careful who you connect to for the Ritual. Depending on the target and the situation you are in, you may bite off more than you can chew. I''ve known a few who have established a ritual only for the God to ask for their life in return. Obviously, they were unable to reject since it was past the point of no return." Thane sighed deeply. He could remember a priest belonging to the Church of the Moon asking for enlightenment so many years ago. In response, the Goddess of the Moon epted his ritual. The only issue was the sacrifice she demanded was for him to shed his mortal body and if his desire was pure, she would bless him with enlightenment. However, his desire was not ''pure'' enough for the Goddess and he died for nothing. He didn''t want the same situation to happen to Alice. "Always remember, never establish a point of no return before the sacrifice. If you do, you give the target full control of what they want to do to you. That is an advantage you never want to give up." Thane warned as he flicked his finger. The barrier of shadow around them started to disappear as they were greeted by the destruction caused by Alice''s attack. All of the obstacles around the location had been destroyed while the surface of the groundwas melted into a bubbling obsidian. But if it wasn''t for him, Alice may have perished in her own attack just now. Yet all he could see was curiosity in Alice''s eyes as she was trying to think of ways to seed in a ritual. ''Seems like Allura influenced her in all the bad ways.'' Thane sighed, moving them to a new location so they could continue their training. He wasn''t going to stop because of a small mishap. Chapter 188: Results Of Thanes Training Dusting his hands, Thane looked down at Alice now that their training session had finished. Shey on the floor hugging her knees as though she had just been traumatized. "Stop being a kid, it wasn''t even that difficult." Thane shrugged since he felt like Alice was overreacting a little. Hearing this, Alice felt like a vein on her head was about to burst open. What he ssified as not difficult was having her run from the beast until her legs gave out, hit the beast until her arms became numb, get hit until she could no longer move and when all of that is done, be healed and repeat the process all over again. Not only that, but he would also manually control the floating pieces of shadow metal to hit her mid dodge, ruining her bnce and causing her to take another hit from the beast. But that wasn''t everything. The cherry on top of everything was that every time she fought back, the beast would only get stronger and shrug off her attacks! However, she wasn''t even sure what the training did for her. All she did was get beat up for a few hours! "Well it''s about time we go back now. The city lord will already have a headache wondering why thendscape has changed so much." Thane massaged his neck while looking at the damage that his summon caused. Flicking his finger, shadows wrapped around Alice''s body and started to puppeteer her. "Can''t you just teleport me back? Why are you forcing me to walk like this." Alice groaned in annoyance while ring at Thane. "It''s no fun then. Why would I go out of my way with that training if I''m just going to let you rest wellter?" ". . . But you let Ria go back?!" Alice protested, causing Thane tough. "Pft ahahaha! Bold of you to assume I teleported her back. Nope, I made her walk the entire way using the same method. If anything, it would be unfair of me not to make you walk." Snapping his fingers, the shadows started to pilot Alice''s body while Thane looked at her from behind. ''Her body is a lot sturdier than I expected. Even after injecting that much power into the beast she was still able to protest. Not to mention that recovery of hers. I don''t think that''s a normal recovery. The closer she is to passing out the fiercer she bes and to amodate this, her body patches itself up to allow her to keep fighting.'' Thane frowned since he had learned a lot regarding Alice during this training session. The way she fights, how she strategises and most importantly, the quirks surrounding her body. On top of the clearly abnormal regeneration, she was actually able to cancel out the Sigil powers to a certain extent. In order to maintain the manifestations of his power, he had to put in twice the amount of effort. Had it been a normal Hunter with 3 Sigils, the summon would''ve been dismissed. ''I don''t think I''ve heard of a beast with the power to cancel out Sigil power. If people had known, the lengths they would''ve gone to obtain this information would have been unthinkable. All of the Anti Hunter users would be far more dangerous and this would be a mandatory Sigil for anyone wanting to be an assassin. This abnormality¡­ Does ite from her or does ite from the synergy between her two Sigils?'' Narrowing his eyes, he contemted in silence before closing one of his eyes. He wanted to see what kind of information he could get regarding this regeneration of her''s along with the strange mes. There was one man that he knew of who might have the information he wanted. And if not, he would know where to look. ''I''ll send a message to Nalem and see what he knows.'' Thane smiled inwardly as Nalem of all people should know. After all, he is who people used to hail as the all knowing librarian, The Observer of Life. But that was a time long ago and the only ones that know of him could be counted on one hand. "So how confident do you feel about hunting this beast now?" Thane asked while speeding up a little so he was next to Alice. "Maybe 70% if I can get the first hit in. less than 50% if it fails." Alice groaned while trying to suppress the pain she was feeling. "Hou? And what makes you think that? With the way you were getting beat up by the copy, you made it look like you weren''t going to kill this beast at all." Thaneughed causing Alice to pout in annoyance. She wanted to hit him right now but two reasons held her back. First he is an Abyss Lord. One flick and she may as well be a stain on the ground. Second, she couldn''t control her body right now. "I''ll figure it out once I get there. Honestly speaking I''ve already prepared as much as I can in the time I''m given. Take too long and someone else will take it." She sighed. She had the blood, the weapon and now the strategy. All that''s left was to actually hunt the beast. "Oh right, speaking of that, I did see a group of people approaching the area. They seem pretty well geared so I can only assume they''re there for the beast as well." Thane muttered as he had been monitoring the area using his ravens. "You only tell me that now?!?!" Alice widened her eyes. Gritting her teeth, she mustered as much power as she could and started to run back to the city. She needed to get Ria and hire a carriage as soon as possible before they kill her target! "Seem''s like I didn''t train you enough if you can still run." Thane chuckled, catching up easily. "This is no time for a joke! My third Sigil is about to get stolen!" Alice shouted while holding back the pain. "Why didn''t you tell me earlier?!" "It wouldn''t be fun otherwise." Thane shrugged. Whether or not she could get this Sigil didn''t matter to him. He''s already fulfilled his responsibilities and even more with the training he gave to Ria. Running back to the city as fast as she could, Alice ignored the burning sensation coursing through her lungs. She could feel the pain in her muscles and each movement felt like it was tearing her flesh from bone. However, she couldn''t help but notice that by running in a way that reduces the pain, she was increasing her top speed while conserving more stamina. All of the hits she took from Thane throwing metal was actually to correct her posture albeit in a roundabout and painful way. ncing over to Thane, she could see that he was ying dumb as though he was unaware of the affects of his training. Gritting her teeth, Alice took a deep breath and adjusted her posture. It wasn''t perfect but it was far better than what she was doing before. Once they arrived at the city, Alice immediately made her way to the Guild and woke Ria up. In her confusion, Ria wasn''t even able to ask Alice what was going on. To assist Alice some more, Thane flicked his finger an a tendril of shadow grabbed Ria by her waist and held her like a sack of potatoes. ". . ." Ria was unable toprehend the situation and eventually came to one conclusion. She was going to continue to sleep. With Ria sleeping while being held by a tendril of shadow, Alice ran to the stables with Thane behind her. *BANG!!! Bursting through the doors of the one handling the different carriages, Alice mmed her hand on the table while taking deep breaths to refill her lungs. "How can I he-" "Carriage! Ironforge! South side! Round trip! Right now! Fast as possible!" Alice listed between her breaths. Seeing her bloodshot eyes, the man nodded his head and figured it must be an emergency. "15 Gold for the fastest route and carriage carrying three people. Round trip, can depart immediately." Hearing the price, Alice paused as she was still waiting on the payment from the Guild but Thane stepped in and ced 15 gold pieces on the table. "You owe me twice." He grinned. "Twice???" "Training and gold. My time is important you know? Even just talking to you now is an honor for you. If anything, you should be paying me to be standing next to you." Thane smirked as Alice''s smile twitched. However, since he was the one covering for her fee''s right now she couldn''t say anything back. "You can ask Allura for the repayment then. She''s my guardian right now I''m sure she can pay you back while I work for the coins." Alice huffed. Her reply caused Thane to wipe the smirk off his face as that was thest thing he wanted right now. Contacting Allura for something as meager as 15 gold was asking her to punch him in the face with all her might. "I''m benevolent so I shall grant this 15 gold to you out of pity." He replied while waving his handzily. Meanwhile, the man led them to a carriage being pulled by two horses. He exined the request to the driver while Alice sat down on the seat and immediately copsed from exhaustion. She could feel the sweat sticking to her skin as she made an expression of disgust. The sooner she kills this beast the faster she can take a post training shower that she had to skip due to potentially losing her third Sigil to some random Hunters. As for Ria¡­ She was still sleeping and Thane sat downfortably in his own seat. Once the driver understood the assignment, he drove the carriage out of the city and made his way to Ironforge using the shortest route. Their estimated time of arrival was 2 hours and Thane continued to keep an eye on the situation using his familiar. Once they arrive at Ironforge, the hunt for the beast will begin. Chapter 189: Arriving At Ironforge As the carriage made its way along the path leading towards Ironforge, Alice, despite her exhaustion, double checked her equipment and made sure everything was ready. Even her gloves, which had to be fixed, might need to be used in this battle to ensure the best possible rewards. Looking over the mechanism within the gloves, she made sure the threads could still be deployed and hooked it onto her bracelet. Seeing Alice do some light checkups on her gloves, Thane couldn''t help but observe her work curiously. Naturally, he recognized the bracelet on her arm but the gloves were something new entirely. ''Those threads... I doubt she''ll be able to collect something that expensive easily. Maybe Allura gave it to her.'' He mused before turning his attention back to their surroundings. Once Alice finished checking through all of her equipment, she fastened the pouch and looked towards Thane. "Have they found the beast yet? Or are they there for something else?" She asked, hoping that it was just a coincidence that another group was in the same area. "They''re still there and gathering some information from the locals right now. For your standards, I''d say they''re pretty experienced Hunters considering the prep they''ve put into this." Thane replied with a nonchnt shrug. Furrowing her brows, Alice nodded her head and closed her eyes. She needed to rest her mind for now and focus up once they arrived. If she could help it, she wanted to avoid conflict with the other party. Alice hoped that they were just there to take care of the beast and not there for a Sigil. If it was the former, there was a chance for negotiation. However, if it was thetter, they might have to fight it out to see who can get the beast. Just thinking about this, Alice could feel the slow rise of ''hunger'' within her mind as she shook off the feeling and took deep breaths to calm herself. She was here to hunt the beast, not the people. Unless they aimed for her life, there was no reason to kill them. "Need some help with that killing intent of yours?" Thane asked with a light yawn. Even though it was brief, he could clearly sense the fluctuation of Alice''s mental state. "No it''s fine. I just need to control myself a bit and things should be okay." Alice shook her head. Since Alice said no, he wasn''t going to continue asking. As the carriage continued to drive towards their destination, thendscape changed from the city outskirts to open terrain and finally, a mountainous path. Ironforge, much like its name suggests, is a forge rather than a city. The forge itself is located in the middle of the Iron Mountains while rivers ofva flow underneath. Even from afar, they could see the billowing smoke pushing out of the mountain top while a rhythmic echo would pulse out, sounding like the sh of metal against metal. Upon arriving at the south side of the forge, Alice didn''t even bother to explore the city as she immediately jumped off the carriage. "Where is the group right now?" Alice asked while trying to wake up Ria. "Don''t know." Thane smiled. His reply caused Alice to pause in confusion. "I''ve already done plenty. If I told you it''ll be no fun for me. Just know the beast is still alive." Thane shrugged, showing that he wasn''t interested in helping her anymore. "Alright thank you." Giving Ria a few more shakes, she groggily sat up and looked around her in confusion. "Huh? Where are we?" She yawned, rubbing her eyes. "Ironforge. We''re going to hunt the Amphiptere right now since another group is also going after it. If they''re friendly we might be able to negotiate but if they''re not we''ll have to fight. Blinking her eyes, Ria had to take a moment to digest what she had just heard as thest thing she could remember was sleeping in her room. But once she fullyprehended what they were about to do, her eyes turned serious as she jumped off the carriage and stretched her body. "Alright, what do you need me to do? There''s only so much I can help since this is a three star beast. I''m not sure what my assistance will do for the contributions." "Are you able to help me hold the beast back if things go south? Either that or drag me away since it''s known for its speed. If the n falls through, I''ll need to rethink my approach." Alice asked as she let the driver know where to wait. Meanwhile, Thane simply followed behind without saying anything for now. He was simply here to observe after all. "Alright. I''ll do what I can." Ria nodded. This suited her just fine as she wanted to test out what she had learnt from Thane in a practical setting. Especially since the beast is known for its speed. With the basic tasks now done, Alice didn''t hesitate and immediately made her way out of the city and towards the lower mountains down south. That was where the beast was supposedly huntingso looking around there was a good start. Plus, she''ll be able to find the tracks of the hunting party as well. "Ria can you see if you can spot a group of Hunters from above? If we can find them that way it''ll save us the time of looking for their tracks." Alice asked as the faster she found them the better. "Sure." Ria nodded before throwing a bolt of lightning into the air and teleporting away. With Ria scouting the scene from above, Alice adjusted her posture and rushed through the mountain. Unlike her previous hunts where they were mostly done in forests, there were no trees to obscure her sight. The only difficulty with this terrain that Alice could see was the cracks and crevices in the ground, leading to ravines. She was unfamiliar with the type of beasts that roam these parts of thend as the Blood Coil Amphiptere is not alone. There will be other beasts that might be an issue if she''s not prepared. ''Damn¡­ I should''ve read some books about the surroundings. Maybe this is what Thane means.'' Alice sighed inwardly as making a note on as many variables as possible would''ve made this so much easier. But there''s no use crying over spilt milk, she''ll just have to do better next time. "I found them." Ria called out while Alice looked up. Seeing that Ria was pointing towards the west, Alice adjusted her pathing. Equipping her gloves, she activated her first Sigil and boosted her physical capabilities to its max so she didn''t need to wait should a fight break out immediately. Twisting her body, she adjusted the bracelet into a dagger and rapidly ascended one of the many peaks of the mountain range. As she reached the top, she looked down and saw the group that Ria was talking about. They were travelling in a group of four. A front liner wearing a full set of heavy metal armour with a cape. Judging by the shield on his back and the sword on his waist, Alice could assume that he was probably an Anti Beast user if he had a resonance. ''One sword and shield user, a swordswoman wearing clothes in the eastern style like what Ria wears, a fighter judging by his gauntlets and finally a girl without any weapons. Hmm¡­ she probably focuses on using Sigil abilities rather than something that augments her body like the other three.'' "They''re all three''s. Let''s just hope they can be negotiated with." Alice sighed. "Shall I wait up here then? If it looks like a 4 vs 1, they''ll be less on guard since you''re alone." Thinking about it for a moment, Alice nodded her head before sliding down the mountain face and running towards the group. Naturally, her presence was soon discovered and the group went on guard immediately. "Stop! Who are you and what do you want?" The frontliner shouted out as he grabbed his shield and entered a defensive stance, ready to charge her if she was hostile. Raising her hands as a sign that she didn''te to fight, Alice opened her mouth. "Alice Agnelia, just a Hunter looking to kill a beast. Not here for a fight. I just wanted to ask if we''re here for the same thing." Hearing this, the frontliner frowned slightly before ncing to the rest of his party. "Rowan. We''re here because we received amission to investigate and take care of whatever is causing the troubles." Rowan replied while Alice sighed in relief. "Would it be okay if you want the target over to me then? I believe it should be the beast I have as my bounty. If I can kill it, I get another Sigil." "You know what the beast is?" The weaponless woman asked in surprise as Alice nodded her head. "I have a good idea of what it is. It should be a Blood Coil Amphiptere based on the rumours I''ve heard. I think we cane to an agreement here. Let me kill the beast so I can finish my bounty while you can finish yourmission without having to do anything. What do you say?" Alice smiled. Looking at one another, they seemed to exchange silent words while Alice waited patiently. "Are you here alone?" "Yes I am." She wasn''t technically lying. She was alone while meeting them. "And you have the confidence to hunt the beast solo?" The swordswoman raised an eyebrow. "I''m pretty confident in my power. So can I have your answer?" "What if the beast isn''t the Amphiptere?" Rowan asked, wanting to discern Alice''s intent. Even though her initial answer seemed truthful, you could never be too careful when dealing with other Hunters. "Well if it isn''t the beast I''m looking for then I can only leave. But I''m pretty confident in my sources." Alice smiled. Seeing this, Rowan could only frown as things had be awkward for them. After all, themission was simply an excuse. They were also here for the Sigil! Noticing the hesitation in his expression, Alice was confused. If they were here for themission then surely there shouldn''t be an issue. She''ll get the kill for the Sigil and they get their reward. "I''m sorry but I have to ask you to leave this beast to us. Firste first serve." Rowan smiled apologetically as Alice furrowed her brows. But considering that they were kind enough to warn her, she wasn''t going to kill them. Chapter 190: Alice Vs Hunting Party "That does make things a little difficult you know?" Alice sighed deeply while scratching her hair. "Is themission really that important to you?" "Unfortunately it is." Rowan reaffirmed as Alice put down her hands and sighed once more. She had wanted to avoid this but there was no helping it. She''ll make it quick. Turning around, Alice looked as though she was about to leave when she exploded with blinding speed and shot towards Rowan, surprising the party. "FIGHT BACK!" Rowan shouted, raising his shield at thest moment and barely being able to block Alice''s sword strike. "Ohya~ Old man that was quite the fast reaction speed." Alice chuckled as she expected him to be knocked out immediately from her surprise attack. Of course, her turning around was simply to let Ria know not to kill them. She wanted to spare them if she could since it was simply a conflict of interest. Jumping off of Rowan''s shield, Alice backflipped over a sword sh from the swordswoman before grabbing her wrist. "What the?!" Widening her eyes in shock, the swordswoman was unable to react as Alice used her arm as a handle. Twisting her body, Alice kicked the woman in the face and made a small cut on her arm. Tens of blood needles hovered around her as she sent them flying towards the weaponless girl, stopping her from using her Sigil abilities as she was forced to dodge. ''Rowan has recovered from the surprise, swordswoman should take a moment to attack again. Girl in the back should be able to follow up this next attack by the fighter.'' Alice thought to herself, analyzing the state of the battle thanks to Ca. Landing on the ground, she stomped her heel against the fighter''s foot before bending back to avoid his punch. With him unable to adjust his footwork, Alice twisted her body and round house kicked him in the side of the head while keeping her heel on his foot. Just as the fighter fell, Rowan''s shield entered her vision and Alice was forced to raise her sword to block his charge. *BANG!!! Widening her eyes at the weight behind his charge, she was forced to stumble back as he helped the fighter back on his feet before adjusting their formation. Their eyes were now full of hostility which was to be expected. Massaging her neck, Alice adjusted her grip on the Bloodme de while retrieving the needles and allowing it to close up the cut on her arm. "Wanted to handle it quickly what a shame. Any second thoughts about giving the beast up to me? You''re only here for themission anyways while I''m here for the Sigil." Alice asked again. The chances of them epting are rather low but she wanted to give them the option. "Thanks but no thanks. The same could be said for you. We don''t want to hurt you but you''re forcing our hand." Rowan frowned while Alice shrugged. "Sorry, but I''m not changing my target." Crouching down, Alice shot forward as mes erupted from her de. "Get ready!" Rowan shouted. Activating his resonance, an emerald aura enveloped his body as a new set of armour manifested around him. His shield was now a towering wall of white and green metal while his sword had been transformed into ance. mming his shield down, the ground beneath Alice cracked apart as he charged forward like an unstoppable beast. Widening her eyes in surprise at his speed, Alice didn''t hesitate and activated her gloves. Jumping to the side, she hooked her threads against his body, using his momentum to propel her towards the rest of his party! "Not on my watch!" The fighter shouted, rushing towards Alice. Activating his resonance, three Sigils manifested around his body as another set of metallic arms erupted from his back. His hair grew longer as it was dyed into a pure white with crackling red energy. Appearing next to Alice, he clenched his fists and swung towards her. "I''ll deal with you first then." Alice grinned as she retrieved her threads. Using her sword to stop her movement, she vaulted above him and grabbed his arm. Twisting her body, she kicked him in the face, forcing him to stumble back and swing wildly at her. Prying open his guard using her arm and leg, she hit him in the throat using the pommel of her de before jumping off him. Right as she jumped up, a surge of orange energy rushed towards her as she coated her de in violet mes and cleaved down without hesitation, splitting the wave in half! "The f*ck?!?!?" The girl in the back shouted out in absolute bewilderment and confusion. She had never seen anyone or anything cut apart her attack like that before. It had always been either dodged or resisted! Never shed apart! "Focus!" The swordswoman shouted, appearing beneath Alice. Unlike the others, she didn''t have a resonance but three Sigils glowed brightly across her body. Her form blurred slightly as she lunged up at unparalleled speed. Her de was enveloped in a blend of blue and white energy, crackling as though it was tearing apart the very space around Alice. Even without getting hit by the attack, Alice could sense the force behind the strike and if she was to get hit, she would be out ofmission! Not only that, this energy was surging from all sides, blocking her path of retreat. ''That''s quite the interesting attack¡­ I wonder if I can replicate it.'' Alice thought with a smile as she snapped her finger. An orb of blood converged in front of her before exploding into mist. At that moment, the swordswoman''s sh disappeared, leaving only the de as Alice transformed her bracelet into a glove and caught the de with ease. "!!!" Widening her eyes, the swordswoman couldn''t believe what she had just witnessed. It was as though all of her power had just disappeared the moment Alice caught her de! Her confusion was short as she immediately adjusted her posture and kicked towards Alice''s stomach. Blocking it with her arm, Alice was able to guard against the kick but she was stillunched into the air where Rowan was waiting for her! Behind her, he stabbed down with hisnce as a surge of wind threatened to shred her to pieces. ''It looks like he''s holding back. These are nice people.'' Alice mused after noticing his restraint. She understood that they just wanted to take her out ofmission without killing her. She almost felt bad for taking this beast from them now. Pointing her finger towards his stab, she converged a small amount of blood into a miniature Nova Core and detonated it at the tip of hisnce, forcing his stab to go off course and miss her entirely! Missing his target, Rowannded heavily on the ground as he swung himself to face her once more. Countless thoughts rushed through his mind but all he could settle on was how much of a monster Alice is! Her reactions, her speed, her intuition. She was practically untouchable even though they have four people on their side! ''She''s this strong yet she''s looking for the Blood Coil for her Sigil? Don''t tell me she''s not even four star yet¡­'' Rowan thought to himself as cold sweat covered his back. However, it wasn''t over yet. Mira was just about to finish the activation of her Sigil! Compared to other Sigil users, Mira was a little different. She was a rare summoning type where her Sigil''s would conjure an avatar to fight in her ce! On top of that, the Sigils she gains further down the line will only augment this avatar. It was the reason why they were looking for the Sigil belonging to the Blood Coil. By giving her avatar the Lifeblood Link Sigil, it could fight with increased vigour! Behind Rowan, a pir of crimson energy erupted out around Mira as a strange female humanoid materialized behind her. ck and red energy converged towards her back and bloomed like flower petals while a ck and red dress wrapped around her pristine white skin. Covering the top half of her face was abination of flowers and horns. Hovering next to Mira, the summoned beast aimed her hand towards Alice. *BANG!!! From the ground, countless vines erupted out,shing towards her as Alice narrowed her eyes. ''What is that? Is that a beast under her control?'' She mused to herself before turning her attention to the vines. Curling her lips into a menacing grin, Alice shed towards the two closest to her before adjusting the grip of her sword. Twisting her body, she dealt with the other vines and pointed her de towards the beast. ''I''ll break their spirit one by one and make them surrender!'' Stomping her foot down, she rushed towards the beast as Rowan intercepted Alice''s charge but this was fine. It didn''t matter who Alice''s target was as she wanted to test out the new technique she saw earlier! Crouching down, she entered the same stance as the swordswoman and shed up with her sword. Purple and red mes weaved with one another as her me looked as though it had transformed into the maw of a beast! Cutting off all paths of retreat and forcing Rowan to grit his teeth and pray he could withstand this attack! Meanwhile, the swordswoman halted her movements in disbelief seeing Alice mimic her attack after having seen it once. ''Who the hell is she?!'' She cried out inwardly. Her hesitation to help opened a gap in their formation as Rowan''s guard was shattered in an instant by Alice''s attack. Forced to drop his shield, Rowan could only jump back and allow the fighter to face Alice but once again she was prepared! Flicking her wrist, threads shot out and restrained his arms as Alice performed a high kick into his jaw! Taking this chance to rush towards the swordswoman, Alice threw a ssh of blood towards her, making her hallucinate. With her dropping her guardpletely, Alice took advantage of this and mmed her elbow into her chest followed up by a pommel to her ribs. There was only one target left and Alice moved swiftly. Flicking her wrist, the threads wrapped around Mira''s ankle. "Eh?" Before she could even react, she was dragged towards Alice as the Bloodme de stabbed toward her head. Closing her eyes out of fear, Mira could hear her heart pound once she realised the de barely missed her face, stabbing into the ground beneath her. "Would you surrender the beast to me now?" Chapter 191: Thanes Advice Looking at the de next to her face, Mira felt a chill down her spine as she hurriedly nodded her head. While the Sigil was important, it wasn''t worth exchanging their lives for it. Plus, they were clearly outssed and trying to fight would only bring more harm than good. "I-I surrender! Please don''t kill me!" Mira cried out as Alice pulled out her de and sheathed it. "If I wanted to harm any of you some might not be breathing right now." Alice shrugged while giving her body a stretch. A warm-up fight after the training with Thane felt great as she could feel her reaction and decision making improve. If it was her from before, she might''ve been too focused and get hit from behind. With Mira surrendering to Mira, Rowan could only smile bitterly and deactivate his resonance and check up on how the fighter and swordswoman were doing since they were injured more than him. "Thank you for going easy on us." Rowan sighed in relief seeing that the two were alive. It would''ve been easy for Alice to kill them with the prowess she demonstrated yet she chose not to and spared their lives instead. "You''re wee. But can I ask why thismission is so important to you? It should''ve been fine right? Since I''m only here for the Sigil." Alice asked curiously since they were quite determined to stop her from getting this beast. "Ah that was a lie. I¡­ Was kinda going after that beast for my third Sigil ahaha¡­" Mira smiled awkwardly. Hearing this, Alice finally understood the conflict of interest. ''If they had told me sooner we could''ve talked about it.'' She thought to herself. Unlike conventional Hunters, she was not bound by their restrictions of choosing a target before a hunt. Whatever she saw and wanted to hunt, she could designate it as her target. Depending on the information or other forms ofpensation, giving up this beast wasn''t an impossibility. "Do you have any more leads on other Blood Coil Amphipteres?" "Sadly no. We missed out on a hunt the first time Mira chose this as her bounty target since someone killed it before we could arrive. This was going to be our second attempt after quite a long time of looking for one close to us." Rowan shook his head while the other members recovered from their injuries. The fighter was still ring at Alice in annoyance and looked elsewhere while the swordswoman had countless questions swimming through her mind but decided not to say anything. Thinking to herself in silence, Alice hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. A win is a win, she was simply stronger so the prey belonged to her. They were kind to her and her kindness was not killing them in their conflict. She didn''t owe them anything. "Sorry. I can only wish you luck for your next hunt." Alice apologized before walking away. Once they were alone, the group collectively sighed out in disappointment. "What kind of monster was she??? How the hell do you even move like that????" Mirained. A bitter feeling enveloped her heart as she missed out on her third Sigil for a second time. At this rate, she might be stuck as a two star Hunter for years toe. "Just be happy she didn''t try to kill us. She had plenty of chances to end Celine and Alex''s life." Rowan smiled as he remembered her gaze. The way those eyes looked at them¡­ There was no doubt, it belonged to a killer. Even now, he could remember the sensation he felt all over his body when she stared at him. Her gaze felt like invisible daggers were stabbing into his skin, ying him apart, toying with his life before ending it. She owned such a gaze yet was capable of kindness and mercy. ''Truly a strange one.'' Rowan thought to himself as he was prepared to sacrifice himself to hold her back if she tried to kill them. "Old man, how many Sigils do you think she''s got. That reaction speed and fighting instinct couldn''t havee from a newbie." Alex grumbled as he was barely able to throw two punches during the entirety of that fight. "She''s probably three stars at most. Notice how she didn''t use a resonance? I can only assume she either didn''t find a need for it or doesn''t have one." Rowan shrugged. While they were discussing with one another, Celine stared at her de in silent thought. "Say¡­ Are there any beasts that can cause your attack to just disappear?" Celine asked after a period of silence. "I''m not sure. I''ve never heard of such a beast. Perhaps it was something to do with her gloves?" Rowan suggested but Celine was unsure. Alice had demonstrated several abilities during their fight. First was her blood that could be controlled at will. It could be gathered up and exploded to divert Rowan''s attack. Along with that, it was this same move that caused her Sigil to deactivate. ''Was it her Sigil? Or was it something else¡­'' Celine thought with a frown. However, one thing was for sure. "Do you think¡­ She is a two star Hunter?" Celine spoke up as the others were silent. Such a notion felt impossible for them. "She could set her blood on fire and control her blood. Not only that, when she threw her blood at me, I fell into a hallucination. I''m guessing both of her abilities are based on augmenting her own blood which is why she''s going after the Blood Coil." She exined herself but Alex and Rowan was still skeptical due to the power she demonstrated. "Either way let''s make our way back. No point hanging around if she''s going after the Blood Coil. Sorry Mira, hopefully we can find another one soon." Rowan apologized as he stood up. With them recovering their stamina, the group made their way out of the forest while Ria observed from the mountains silently. She was prepared to step in but when Alice turned around, she had clearly signaled for her not to step in. And seeing as how the group was leaving, they weren''t going to cause Alice anymore trouble. "Oi brat. If you were with that group fighting against Alice how would you approach it using the new stuff I taught you?" "ARGH!!!!" Crying out in shock, Ria had a heart attack hearing Thane''s voice so close to her ear as he had appeared behind her. "Jeez! You''re not different to Allura! Why do you two always just appear out of nowhere?!" "Well of course. I''m the one who taught her this. But setting that side, how would you have approached that fight?" Thane smiled while ncing down at Ria. Even for his standards, he had to admit that Alice''s improvement was fast. It wasn''t perfect but the skill and intuition she demonstrated in that fight was satisfactory. It was clear that she had taken the training to heart. "Hmm¡­ It''s hard. If I''m going long ranged, it''ll be difficult to catch Alice off guard since she was keeping herself close to the other members of the group. If I was to shoot my attack without much thought, there was a high chance I''ll injure my allies. Rather than looking for the kill, the best I can do with range is probably to just hinder her movements." Ria replied after reflecting on the fight. "Cut off her paths for movement and let the others handle it if they can. Unless I''m willing to risk friendly fire that''s about as much as I can do." She shrugged. "The standard response. Not bad but not great either. It''s certainly one method you could use but there was a better option." Thane chuckled. "First, you should spend the time observing your opponent''s movements. Alice had taken this into ount and made sure she was close to her enemy to avoid ranged attacks. "But no one can keep their guard up 100% of the time. And that''s when you should strike. The first hit should aim to kill. But if that''s impossible, it should aim to disrupt her movement as much as possible, luring her into your next shot. Once this condition is fulfilled, you be the proactive party while she bes the reactive party. You can dictate how the fight will progress if you y your cards right." Thane exined as he flicked his finger. In front of Ria, a replica of the fight began as there was now a mini her added into the mix. Following his advice, the first shot disced Alice at the exact moment she was kicked into the air towards Rowan. With both Rowan and the shot rushing towards her, shadow Alice was forced to move awkwardly as she shifted Rowan''s stab before twisting her body to narrowly dodge Ria''s shot. Once shended, a barrage of shots cut off her path of retreat while the party regroup. Seeing this, Ria was surprised by how one sided the fight had be. It wasn''t that Shadow Alice wasn''t reacting as fast as the real Alice but rather all of the shots were ced in a way that it forced the most awkward dodging patterns from her. It now required far more stamina to avoid these shots and the pressure was immense! "I see¡­ Alright, thank you." Ria smiled as she looked up towards Thane. Only to see that he had long disappeared, leaving her sitting by herself. ". . ." ''Appear fast, disappear just as fast. Why are these old people the same?'' Ria thought to herself with a sigh before making her way to Alice. With the group now dealt with, it was finally time to track down the beast and y it for Alice''s third Sigil. Chapter 192: Tracking The Amphiptere Regrouping with Alice, the two made their way through the mountains as they finally found their first track. There were pieces of metal left over in deep grooves as though something heavy had just passed by. "Seems to have gone north, towards the top of the mountains." Ria muttered noticing the direction of these tracks. "Mnm, we''ll need to be careful from now. It could be waiting below ground." "Guess I''ll continue scouting from above, I''ll let you know if I find any tracks." Ria stretched before teleporting away using her lightning while Alice made her way up the mountains. She was careful to examine her surroundings for any additional tracks. Not only that, she kept her guard up at all times, ready to move should the ground break apart signaling an ambush. As she climbed higher, her senses continued to sharpen as her mind attuned to even the slightest movement she could perceive. Every now and then, she would stop and inspect the ground, sending blood needles down to see if there were any potential tunnels. Just as she was about to leave, she felt her blood needles breach into the dirt into a tunnel and widened her eyes. Without hesitation, she gestured for Ria toe down and exined the situation to her. If it turns out that this was indeed the tunnels that the beast had dug, she would engage the fight using her skill and force it to the surface. "Take this. If things go south and I can''t force the beast up, I''ll detonate the blood orb." Alice said while handing Ria a small condensed blood orb the size of her pinky. "Alright, I''ll jump in if things don''t look good." Nodding her head with a smile, Alice dug a hole barely big enough to allow her through as she didn''t want to make too much of amotion. She still had the upper hand right now and it was a race of who could find the other first. Not that the beast knew it was being hunted right now. Taking a deep breath, Alice calmed her mind and made an orb of blood. Controlling it to take the left route, Alice made her way down the right side of the tunnel while making small blood trip wires behind her. If they broke, that meant something was behind her and she''ll be able to react ordingly. Creating a small me, Alice had it scout out ahead so she could get a clear view of the path while keeping herself out of the light. ''Even if the beast was to react against the light, I should be rtively safe if I''m this far back. It''ll probably think something strange entered its tunnel and nothing else.'' Alice thought to herself while noticing the traces of metal on the walls and floor. However, on top of the metal that was present before, there seemed to be dried blood in the mix. ''Is it injured? Or did it leave behind parts of its blood mist?'' Furrowing her brows, Alice continued down the path. Each footstep, no matter how careful she was, felt extremely loud in this darkness. As she continued forward, Alice furrowed her brows as she felt her instincts warning her of danger. She couldn''t see the danger nor did she know the direction but it was the same feeling as standing on the edge of a cliff. Her body was rejecting whatever was about to arrive. Unable to quell this feeling, Alice dug a hole to her right and hid in it while allowing her me to continue down the path. Peeking just a bit of her head out of the hole she dug, she kept her eye on the me. The feeling of danger grew stronger the further her me travelled. And then, within the darkness where the me couldn''t reach, something stirred. "!!!" Before she could even read the tag floating in the darkness, a gust of wind exploded forth as Alice dove back into the hole, barely managing to stop herself from getting hit. Her me was snapped up in an instant! Darkness returned to the tunnels as Alice held her breath. She could see and hear the metal scraping against the walls of this tunnel as it was inches away from her face. Had she not decided to dig this hole, she would''ve been hit by that lunge! However, she was now prepared. ''The Amphiptere hasn''t noticed me yet.'' She thought to herself as she waited for the beast to move back to its original spot. Once the beast stopped blocking the exit, Alice poked her head out of the hole and looked at the tag floating above its head. [Blood Coil Amphiptere -???] Seeing that there were no strange addition to its name, Alice couldn''t help but sigh out in relief as most of the beasts she had faced thus far had been abnormalities. ''Nothing out of the ordinary, the n can continue as normal.'' Alice thought to herself as she had a daring thought in her mind. It felt risky but the reward could be spectacr. A brave smile appeared on her face as she was still following her original n but with some¡­ minor tweaks. Exiting her hiding spot, Alice created several tripwires with her blood, enough to cover a decent length of the tunnel before creating one final with the thread from her gloves. As much as it hurt her to do this, Alice decided to separate the thread she was going to use from her glove as if it wasn''t able to withstand the charge of the beast, it would definitely break the mechanism from the resulting pull. The threads could be reced, the mechanism however, could not. With her preparations in ce, Alice forced a brave smile and activated her second Sigil. Immediately, mes burst out from her body as she condensed her blood into an orb above her finger. A brilliant purple glow lit up the tunnels as Alice felt a chill down her spine. It felt as though two daggers had just stabbed into her skin as she dismissed the feeling and continued to charge her attack. The convergence of fire dispelled the darkness while the ground started to rumble. Despite not seeing the beast, Alice could tell it was now rushing towards her. ''Not yet¡­'' Narrowing her eyes, she continued to charge the orb as she needed to condense as much power as she could in the first hit. She needed topress it to the point it felt simr to what Alura had demonstrated. A single spark of light that felt harmless until impact. That was what she needed to achieve. Taking a deep breath, Alice funneled as much power as she could into the orb as it exploded with violent vigor. Chaotic tendrils of violet energy whipped out, melting the tunnel walls before being absorbed into the orb. This cycle continued as Alice could feel the strain on her body. All of the blood felt as though it was boiling from within as the mes continued to roar out uncontrobly. But this was what she desired. She needed to manifest the strongest me she could before condensing in one go. That was how Allura achieved her spark. ''No¡­ That''s wrong¡­ It didn''t feel like this.'' Alice frowned as this didn''t feel quite like the process Allura had demonstrated. This was far too chaotic andcked the elegance of her technique. The expansion of power and thepression was done in the blink of an eye. It did not require the same effort she was exerting right now in order to maximize the power it could generate. ''What should I do in order to bring out as much power as I can thenpress it in an instant?'' Alice thought to herself as she remembered the scene of Allura demonstrating the attack. She remembered the flow of energy, how it exploded out before being crushed by an overwhelming force. ''I don''t have the power required to bring out the maximum effect of my mes at once. But it''s not impossible¡­'' Alice thought to herself as she curled her lips into a dangerous smile. Looking at the orb in front of her, Alice crushed it with her hand as she reabsorbed all of the mes. Since she couldn''t bring out the power of the mes in one go, she''ll be the container to hold this me then allow it to burst out in a single moment! Activating her second Sigil once more, Alice could feel her blood boiling as violet mes enveloped her body. Her hair danced wildly behind her as she felt her first trip wire being broken followed by the second and the third. The beast was here! ''There are three steps in Allura''s skill. First, explode all of the power and gather it in one spot! ''Second, converge the power into a single spot!'' Gritting her teeth, Alice controlled her blood so that she had just enough not to pass out. She was going to burn all of this in a single attack to replicate the power of the true Nova Core! As she controlled her blood, the mes around her copsed into a single radiant shard of blood that hovered above her finger. A shard that contained the full might of her violet mes. Even now, she could feel the shard on the verge of breaking as she could not keep the mes contained in this state for long. But thankfully, she didn''t have to. As the beast broke the final trip wire made from blood, Alice snapped her finger and set them all on fire. Violet mes danced around the beast, lighting it up as the effects of her blood activated. She was going to negate its power momentarily to prevent it from defending itself! *BANG!!!! Crashing into the final web of threads, Alice came face to face with the beast. A body of blood mist covered by an armour of metal and a pair of eyes that looked as though it held the hatred of the entire world stared back at her. Curling her lips into a smile, Alice aimed the shard towards the beast and let go of her control. Chapter 193: Alices Mastery Of Her Skill "Hah~ So boring¡­ She''s been in there for, 30 minutes now?" Ria muttered, waiting by the mountain peak. She was keeping her eye on the entrance that Alice made while also taking a note of the condition of the blood orb that was handed to her. However, with nothing going on, Ria couldn''t help but wonder if Alice had gone further than expected in the tunnels. Thane didn''t reappear either so she was left on her own to spend this time as she pleased. ying around with an orb of lightning, Ria''s mind wandered to what Thane had shown earlier. How she should use her powers if the opponent is too annoying to hit. ''Cut off their path of retreat and fire my attack where it would cause them the most annoyance huh?'' She thought to herself while pointing her finger out to the mountain range. "Bang~" Ria muttered jokingly. *Rumble "Hm?" Furrowing her brows, she felt something was wrong as the ground shook for a split moment. Just as she was about to investigate further, the entire mountain range started to shake uncontrobly as Ria jumped up into the sky to avoid the tremors. Looking down from above, Ria could see the earth trembling and with a deafening crack, the ground was torn apart and a pir of mes erupted into the sky! The entire abyss was dyed in a violet glow as even from this distance, Ria could feel the power behind the st. Just seeing this caused her to wonder what would''ve happened to her if it was directed at her. There was only one answer and that was she''d die! "Alice!" Ria shouted out once she got over her surprise. From within the pir, two figures rushed out as one was heavily wounded with the metal around its body glowing with a bright yellow glow. Cracking its jaws open, the Blood Coil Amphiptere let out a malevolent roar now that its form was fully visible in the light of Alice''s attack. The beast was shrouded in a vortex of blood and metal. Its wings unfurled but what was once a formidable weapon now bore the scars of Alice''s attack. Riddled with gaping holes that were still burning from the violet mes, the blood struggled to mend itself and could only burn away helplessly. Its body is a grotesque fusion of blood and metal beneath the vortex, a blend of the organic and inorganic. Blood weaved into strands of muscle and skin that pulsed and writhed with each movement. Through the gaps of its wounds, one could see the metal that acted as the skeletal structure while also serving as armour. Soaring into the sky, the beast red at Alice with raw anger as its eyes radiated a predatory hunger and malice. On the other hand, Alice quickly drank a vial of Frostshroud Willow Blood, replenishing her blood along with the wounds she sustained within the st. Even though it was her own power and attack, she still received some of the feedback due to using her own body as the catalyst. The risk was great but the reward was greater! Seeing the damage caused to the Amphiptere caused a flood of ecstasy through her body as sheughed out in satisfaction. She hadn''t designated the beast just yet in fear of it running away after taking the surprise attack. But considering it was showing the intent to fight, it was worthy of being her prey! At that moment, a tether was formed between the two as the beast was now designated as her target. Having drank the full vial of Willow''s blood, Alice could already feel a coldness extinguishing the mes within her body as the side effects of the blood had already begun to manifest itself. ''I''ll have to be careful. If I drink another vial in quick session, I risk slowing my movements down and dulling my reactions.'' Alice thought to herself before adjusting her grip on her sword. While the mes were still cancelling out the beast''s abilities to heal itself, she needed to act fast! Ria was nearby if things were to go wrong so she didn''t need to worry too much. Taking a deep breath, Alice made a cut on her arm and exerted control over her blood. She needed a way to reach the beast that was flying in the air while she herself, could not fly. There was only one way in her mind and that was to create tforms! ''My blood is brittle. It won''t be able to sustain my full weight so in the moment Ie into contact with the tform, I need to exert all of my strength in one moment tounch myself up.'' Alice thought to herself. Should she hesitate and mistime her jump, it would only result in her falling. Activating Ca, Alice needed to time the application of her strength precisely! However, the Blood Coil wasn''t about to allow that to happen. Just because its regeneration was being hindered by the strange mes doesn''t mean it had nothing it could do. Pushing out its chest, the beast let out a roar as shards of metal started to excavate themselves from its body, hovering in the air around him. With a single p of its wings, a storm of blood and metal rushed towards Alice! Seeing this, Alice narrowed her eyes and prepared to swing at the attack. *BANG!!!!! A bolt of lightning interrupted her attack as it struck therge pieces of metal within the storm, causing the attack to go awry and allowing Alice an easy path towards the beast! Turning her gaze towards the mountains, Alice could see ria preparing a second bolt of lightning as though it was an arrow notched on an invisible bow. The moment she released the lightning, it had already struck the next piece of metal in an instant! Seeing this, Alice grinned as she created more tforms using her blood and rushed towards the beast while Ria sighed in relief seeing that she was urate with her attacks. As Thane had exined in her private training, she didn''t need to worry about uracy when her attacks and reach her target almost instantly. All she needed to do was aim and fire thepressed bolt of lightning! Her attacks werecking the power but that was fine, she was responsible for supporting Alice right now. She didn''t need to deal damage to the beast. Seeing that all of its attacks were being knocked aside, the beast howled in frustration and rushed towards Alice with blinding speed. Widening her eyes, Alice jumped to the side, barely dodging the wing strike before attaching her threads to one of the metal pieces around its body! Immediately getting dragged away by the beast, Alice could hear the mechanism crying out on the verge of breaking as she immediately created a blood needle and shot it towards the beast''s head. Detonating it into a surge of violet mes, she watched as the me wrapped around the beast, burning away the blood that coated its body! ''Its speed is decreasing!'' Narrowing her eyes, Alice wanted to finish this fight before the initial effects wore off. Closing her eyes for a moment, Alice took a deep breath and ignited herself once more! She knew the process needed for her new and improved Nova Core and this time she''ll hold nothing back! Everything will be done for this one strike to finish off the beast. Pulling two vials from her pouch, Alice threw the Luminous Gryphon Blood towards the beast before drinking the Warden of Frost Blood! Cold mist radiated from Alice''s body as she could feel her body temperature dropping further but this didn''t bother her. What she needed right now was to stun the beast and render its regeneration null! As the Gryphon Blood spilled over the beast, its eyes constricted in primal fear. This was the chance that Alice was looking for. A moment when its guard waspletely down. Using her left hand to control the cold mist surrounding her body due to the Warden''s blood, Alice enveloped the beast in a blizzard, freezing its blood and tearing its ''flesh'' apart, revealing the metal underneath. Gathering the mes using her right hand, it copsed into a single spark of light! ### This speed, this technique! Thane widened his eyes in shock as he didn''t think she was able to improve her mimicry of Allura''s technique to such an extent! Had it not been for the clearck of power and control of the explosion at the end, it was practically indistinguishable from the original skill! ''She''s using her entire body as the conduit for this power! Reckless girl!'' For a normal person, doing so was akin to turning yourself into a bomb! Yet not only has she seeded in doing this once, she was about to do it again! This was a feat that not even Allura would be able to aplish if he took into ount the power that Allura wielded. However, when paired with her mes and strange regeneration, it was clear that this was a feat that only Alice could pull off sessfully. A skill that only she could use! This is no longer the skill that Allura had created but rather something that reached the same heights. Watching Alice press the shard of light into the beast, he hesitated on whether or not he should drag her away but this was a choice that she had made. If things go bad, it''s not toote for him to step in. ### mming the shard of light into the beast, Alice watched as a singrity manifest at the point of contact. The air itself seemed to warp from the power as she immediately jumped away. At that moment, the silent copse of the spark began. Without a sound nor cry, a part of the beast disappeared into the spark while the surroundings realm looked as though it had been twisted, sucked into the singrity. The spark flickered in desperation, seemingly trying to keep itself in existence when thest of its embers disappeared. ''Did it fai-'' Before Alice could even finish her thought, an expansion of power erupted out. A nexus of pure destruction manifested in the center of this phenomenon while a disk of violet messhed outwards, warding the core. Each burst of fire would send out a shockwave while pieces of the Amphiptere was torn to oblivion upon contact with the core. Not even Alice had anticipated this kind of reaction. Had she not jumped away in time, she may have shared the same fate as the Amphiptere! Chapter 194: Third Sigil Looking at the phenomenon her attack caused, Alice couldn''tprehend how she was able to manage such a feat. Even if she was able to copse her mes into an orb and release all of its power, it shouldn''t have caused such destruction. "We seriously need to talk about that me of yours." Thane''s voice rang out as he appeared beside Alice. Reaching out with his hand, four Sigils manifested on his body as the Abyss itself seemed to bow down to his power. The space surrounding Alice''s attack started to fracture and crack as darkness spilt out, enveloping the expanding nexus of destruction in its shadow. With a single flick of his wrist, the shadows crushed the attack, leaving not even a speck of the original attack. Sighing out heavily, Thane scratched his hair while ncing down at Alice with uncertainty. That attack, that me she manifested. ''That me tried to breach the fabrics of this realm. The connection between the Abyss and the Surface. In some aspects¡­ It mirrors my authority to some degree. If she could control it further, perhaps she may even be able to tear open a bridge between this realm and the Surface.'' "So how would you rate that Nova Core?" Alice asked with a slight chuckle despite the fatigue and coldness she could feel within her body. Part of her motivation to experiment with this attack was to prove herself to some capacity. She wanted to show that she was more than just a 3 out of 10 whenpared to a decent Hunter. And to meet the expectations of her guardian, Allura, she wanted to show Thane that she was more than just a 1 out of 10 copy of her. Raising an eyebrow, Thane couldn''t believe that Alice was asking him to rate her attack after it had just tried to tear a hole through this realm. Shaking his head, he massaged his eyes for a moment before opening his mouth. "A slight improvement. 5- no. 6 out of 10 whenpared to a decent Hunter. As for Allura¡­ Well, it stopped being the same skill once you started to use your body as the conduit. But if Allura was able to replicate what you did at her level, I''d say it''s a 4 out of 10. Not bad but stillcking since you can injure yourself." Thane smiled helplessly and reached for Alice''s head. Alice definitely reminded him of Allura based on her sense of recklessness and eagerness to experiment with her attacks. In that aspect, the two were practically indistinguishable. Of course, Allura had mellowed out quite a bit in the recent years but the Allura before was just as, if not more reckless than Alice. Hearing this, Alice smiled happily as strength left her body. Her vision blurred as a stinging sensation could be felt on her back. The rewards of her hunt was being engraved upon her body as darkness took her mind. Not letting her fall, Thane lifted her up into a princess carry rather than grabbing her like a sack of potatoes. "Oi brat. Come down, we''re going to make our way back. I don''t know if you want to be around this ce when the lord of the Ironforgees to check out that situation personally. Especially with the damage that Alice had caused to his foundry." Thane called out while ncing back at the destruction brought forth by two casts of Alice''s skill. ''I''ll give them an extra push before I leave. Seems like I was worrying a bit too much.'' He thought to himself as Ria teleported next to him. His next steps were to take these two back to the city, sort out the issue with the Lord so they could travel without worry and give them some final tips. Once that was done, he can return to the surface. ### Once again, Alice found herself floating in her own mental space. In this void, three paths presented themselves each with a different aura and Sigil. As expected, the first two Sigils that were presented to her were the main ones that people could choose upon ying this beast as a bounty. Blood Coil Manifestation and Lifeblood Link. Since she was able to surpass the beast using her mes, she had negated its ability to use the Lifeblood Link. If the beast had used said skill, the battle would''ve been dragged on for much longer. As for the third Sigil, it was something that changed based on its environment. [Nightstalker] When in darkness, gain a huge increase in physical powers. Attacks will have reduced effectiveness against you under the protection of the darkness. Activating this Sigil manifests a set of armour around you, granting you a secondary boost to physical powers along with the ability to sense others in contact with the ground you are standing on. Gain night vision. ''Since the Abyss is in perpetual darkness, does that mean this Sigil is always on? But it doesn''t really suit me. I''d rather avoid taking a hit if I could help it.'' Alice sighed inwardly as this third Sigil didn''t suit her fighting style. With eh third option rejected, there was only one choice for Alice. Lifeblood Link. The Sigil that Thane had suggested and the one that would grant her increased tenacity and the ability to equalize her health with her opponents. However, there was only one issue with this Sigil. It was not an Anti Hunter type! Meaning, if she were to choose this, she wouldn''t be able to unlock her first Resonance. Moreover, it locks out the option of choosing 9 Anti Hunter Sigils. Allura had mentioned that there were a few who had attempted to get 9 Sigils that belonged to the same ssification but most would be unsessful in their attempts. "Sh*t¡­ Why didn''t I think about this? Stupid stupid stupid!" Alice stomped in frustration as this was now a dilemma. "Allura mentioned that 9 Sigil resonance was something she never achieved and that its power was something not even she knew of. But the only Anti Hunter Sigil here is the first and third one¡­" She muttered while biting her nails. The third option waspletely off the table which meant it was a choice between Blood Coil Manifestation and Lifeblood Link. Scratching her hair in frustration, Alice took a deep breath and calmed her mind. She needed to think of it objectively and the potential it held. "Blood Coil Manifestation. It allows me to conjure a storm of blood and metal around me, giving me great defensive and offensive capabilities¡­ But it doesn''t really offer me anything else." Alice furrowed her brows. Stepping up to the path, she had a look at the demonstration of said skill. As expected, nothing special happened and it simply acted as a defensiveyer that warded off the iing attacks. Shaking her head, Alice stepped away and prepared to choose the Anti Beast Sigil when she had a realization. Widening her eyes, she ran back to the demonstration of the Blood Coil Manifestation and watched carefully, scrutinizing every detail that was shown. After watching the demonstration for a third time did Alice finally confirm her thoughts. "The Blood Coil Manifestation doesn''t take blood from within my body. It conjures fresh blood or steals from my surroundings and turns it into ''my'' blood." She muttered with a smile as this had three implications. First, this blood could be used to activate her violet mes. Second, this blood can be used to replenish her own lost blood and seal her wounds. And third, this meant that any Sigil she gets in the future that improves her control or the versatility of her blood would benefit from this Sigil. While Lifeblood Link granted her the survivability she so desperately needed right now, Blood Coil Manifestation and construct the foundation of her future Sigils while giving her a band-aid solution to her problem. Through using the conjured blood to patch herself up, she can extend the time she spends fighting while also using it as fuel for her violet mes. ''It''ll also give me my first Resonance¡­ This will work.'' Alice nodded as she epted the Sigil. It was against what she had originally desired due to her own mistake but that was fine. This served as a lesson for the future. Gritting her teeth, Alice could feel a dagger carving into her back as a Sigil was being grafted onto her body. Now that her connection with the Abyss had improved thanks to Ca and the strange crown she retrieved, she could feel the abyssal energy flooding in from outside of this realm and weaving itself with her being. Foreign strands of energy tore apart her muscles before repairing them while her blood was flushed out before being reced. While her entire body was being reshaped by the Sigil, Alice could see briar vines extending from her first Sigil, connecting to her second before forming a link with the third on her back. A resonance of her three Sigils! Power pulsed within her as she could feel each of her Sigil harmonizing with one another. She felt a primal connection with the essence of her power and the Abyss that granted it but that wasn''t the end. From her chest, the broken obsidian crown burst forth, radiating an ominous energy that enveloped Alice''s body like a cocoon. Standing in this darkness, surrounded by the power flooding out from her Sigils, Alice knew that this was the manifestation of her Resonance. It was tapping into the very core of her being, granting her the culmination of her efforts. With a sense of determination burning in her heart, Alice reached out with her hand and tore through this shell that had surrounded her. She could feel the roar of excitement originating from the hunger deep within as power flooded through her body. This strength, this control. She could clearly feel the growth of power within her body. As information regarding her Resonance flooded her mind, a smile appeared on Alice''s face. While it was a shame she had lost Lifeblood Link, this resonance had more than made up for it. Chapter 195: Demonstration Of The Third Sigil Opening her eyes, Alice noticed that she had been taken back to her room at the Hunter''s Guild. During the time she was unconscious, Thane must''ve taken them back. Sitting up, Alice massaged her neck before walking to the mirror. She was still wearing the same thing she had worn while fighting the Amphiptere. Forcing a smile, Alice changed her outfit for another set of clothes that she had bought earlier when shopping with Ria. ''I''ll have to throw this one out. Dried blood, burns and rips. I doubt anyone could fix it.'' Alice sighed as she was rather attached to the outfit. But she couldn''t live wearing the same thing every day. Before changing into her new outfit, Alice wanted to see what her third Sigil looked like. Turning her back to the mirror, she activated the Sigil as crimson marks manifested from her spine. The Sigil depicted four wings, each tattered and worn yet radiating a menacing aura despite its damage. Looking at the Sigil, Alice couldn''t help but be reminded of the wings she had seen upon the back of her violet mes. When sheunched her mes as arge attack, often it would manifest itself as a dragon with four wings. In that sense, the Sigil on her back looked exactly the same. ''I suppose the mes manifested from my strange body in the first ce.'' Alice shrugged. While the Blood Coil Amphiptere didn''t have four wings, the ability she chose was technically one that further augmented her blood. By activating the Sigil, she was able to conjure more of ''her'' blood that rejected the Abyss. Flicking her wrist, blood and metal swarmed around her in an instant as she examined the metal. Noticing that they didn''t take any shape but instead stayed as lumps of metal, Alice couldn''t help but wonder if they could be transformed into handier alternatives such as daggers or swords. Following her will, the metal started to reshape itself as six daggers now hovered around her. "Hou~ This¡­ Might be more helpful than I expected." Alice couldn''t help but mutter. Narrowing her eyes, a daring idea appeared in her mind but she dismissed her des. Now was not the time to try it, she had to get changed and see where Ria and Thane were. Browsing her wardrobe, Alice settled on an outfit she deemed to be cute while also practical to some extent. It consisted of a white turtle neck jacket with oversized sleeves, afy pair of ck shorts that allowed her freedom of movement when traversing the terrain, ck tights and finally, knee-high boots. Giving herself a light spin in front of the mirror, Alice smiled in satisfaction. Looking around the room for gloves and Bloodme de, she strapped the sheath on her waist and equipped the gloves before leaving her room and locking the door. ''Now¡­ Where would Ria and Thane be? Ria doesn''t seem to be in her room.'' Alice thought to herself, making her way down to the main hall of the Guild. Pausing in surprise, Alice noticed that Ria and Thane were currently having some food by the bar. "Seems like you''ve woken up brat. How do you feel?" Thane asked with a smile as Alice couldn''t help but notice that he seemed very refreshed for some reason. Ria on the other hand, looked absolutely drained as though her soul had just been sucked out. "I feel pretty good. Hungry though." Aliceined, ordering her own meal while sitting down next to them. "That''s obvious since you''ve been asleep for an entire day. Must''ve gotten quite the boost if your body took this long to limate to the power." Thane remarked while taking a drink of his alcohol. "Speaking of which, I didn''t pick Lifeblood Link." Hearing this, Thane paused in surprise, as did Ria. "Wait¡­ You didn''t get it? I thought the entire goal was to get this Sigil?" Ria asked curiously. "Well, there was a slight¡­ issue in picking that Sigil." Alice scratched her cheek with an awkward smile. She wasn''t sure how she was supposed to tell them that due to her negligence, she didn''t check what kind of Sigil the Lifeblood Link was and by picking it, she would forfeit her chance of getting a 9 Sigil resonance in the future. "Did the beast not have it? That shouldn''t be the case." Thane furrowed his brows as beasts usually gave the same options unless something major had changed. "Nono, it had the Sigil. Just¡­ It turns out it was an Anti Beast Sigil." Alice sighed. There was no avoiding the topic so she may as well admit to it. "Ah, you were going for Anti Hunter Resonance right?" Ria muttered in realization while Alice nodded her head. "So¡­ You gave up the Sigil you needed right now for a Resonance?" Thane questioned with a raised eyebrow. He didn''t think Alice would give up something she was actively searching for because of a slight oversight. "Well Allura mentioned that 9 Sigil Resonance was really good so I figured I should aim for it. If the Anti Hunter Sigils were bad, I would''ve still gone for the Lifeblood Link. However, turns out it was better than expected if I read between the lines a little." Alice chuckled, feeling proud of her choice. She was happy that she had double triple and quadruple checked this option to see if there was anything she had missed. "Plus, the Resonance I got for it made up for what I lost so I''m not too bothered by it." Alice shrugged. Seeing her response, Thane couldn''t help but be curious about her choice and what kind of Resonance she gained as a result. "Alright. Finish your food and let''s take the new Sigil for a test." Thane grinned. ''If the brat is this happy she must''ve gotten something good.'' He thought to himself. He could practically see the enthusiasm in her eyes, all she was looking for was a target to test herself again so he may as well y that role. He wanted to see if she could satiate his boredom. ### After the previous incident with the huge bet he ced on the fight, Thane was a treasured VIP in the underground fighting arena. Reserving one of the arenas with no one to spectate was simple as all he needed to do was throw some spare change at them. Of course, for Alice and Ria, seeing Thane throw this ''spare change'' at them only caused their hearts to bleed. ''So much money! We could''ve just gone to the wild and you give me the funds rather than rent a ce like this!'' Alice cried out in her mind as their money struggles seemed like nothingpared to what he was spending. Standing in the empty arena devoid of spectators, Thane massaged his shoulders before flicking his finger. His shadow started to twist and elongate as three dark tendrils manifested from his shadow. "I''ll limit myself to¡­ Hmm. Let''s go with decent Hunters with three Sigils. Of course, this is my standard so let''s see how youpare to them." Thane chuckled. Even though he called it ''decent'' Hunters, the people he judged as decent were the geniuses or treasured sessors that people could only look up to but never reach. Of course, while Alice didn''t know this, she knew it was going to be difficult. Even though she''s just gained a huge boost in power, she wasn''t going to drop her guard. "Do you want the first attack or shall I take the first attack?" He asked as Alice stretched her body. Feeling the power coursing through her body, she curled her lips into a smile. "I''ll let you take the first attack." Activating all three of her Sigils in tandem, a maelstrom of blood erupted around her as four metal des hovered behind her. Each crafted from a mixture of hardened blood and metal. Seeing this, Thane raised an eyebrow and understood that Alice must''ve chosen the Blood Coil Manifestation Sigil. ''Let''s see what she meant by reading between the lines then.'' Flicking his wrist, the tendrilsshed out towards Alice as they each transformed into a different kind of Hunter. One had a greatsword, another had a spear while thest had a bow. But despite this change, Alice wasn''t worried as she mmed her hand down. Shards of metal appeared around the arena as blood formed threads between them. In an instant, an territory of threads was created as Alice jumped back and used the thread to propel herself towards the shadow Hunters! Twisting her body, she controlled two of the des to lock down the greatsword before kicking the Hunter in the head. Seeing that her kick was blocked by his arm, Alice couldn''t help but chuckle since it wasn''t going to be that easy. ''Thane said they were decent. Something like this won''t be able to scratch them.'' Flipping back, she dodged two arrows in quick session. The first was aimed at her while the second was aimed towards hernding spot. She created a thread of blood and pushed herself away from the arrow. Taking advantage of this sudden change in movement, the spear Hunter stabbed towards Alice''s torso but it was blocked easily by one of the hovering des while another pierced towards its neck. *CLANG!!! Parrying the de with the shaft, the shadow watched as the de was shattered into countless pieces that swarmed around him before stabbing down! Twirling the de in his hand, a swirl of shadows manifested around the Hunter, blocking the shards of metal as the de reformed itself and floated next to Alice. Jumping back, the three Hunters looked towards Alice who was now sitting on one of her threads and nced down at them with a smile. Seeing how quickly she was able to adapt to her new Sigil and utilize it in a fight, Thane couldn''t help but be impressed. ''Not many can adjust this quickly and this is her first fight too. Not bad.'' Narrowing his eyes, Thane sent the Hunters towards Alice once more. It was simply a taster earlier, now they were going to take it more seriously! Chapter 196: Alices Resonance Seeing the three Hunters charge towards her, Alice swung her legs back and forth on the thread of blood. ''What should I do¡­ Hmm¡­ They don''t seem to be showcasing that many Sigil based abilities. Perhaps Thane is saving it forter or are they physical based Hunters? Either way, let''s see how they react to this.'' She thought with a light chuckle. Flicking her finger, a blood needle shot out from below as the first Hunter managed to bend his body back and avoid the attack. As the needle collided against a blood thread, Alice flicked her finger once more and it reappeared from a different thread. It was a diversion and a tactic to make them misjudge her attack. ''When I was fighting the Maiden, I had the ability to teleport by using the blood as portals. Even attacks worked. If I were to ''replicate'' the attack using these needles through a set pattern, they''d begin to predict the next movement thinking they''ve got a grasp on the pattern. And when they do¡­'' Narrowing her eyes, Alice sent several more blood needles as she kept track of where they were entering and exiting from. While establishing the pattern, the shadow using a bow shot three arrows at Alice but she simply leaned back and fell off from her thread to dodge. Jumping on another thread, she repositioned herself and moved freely within her territory of threads. It was an arena that allowed her to use her instincts to its full extent. Alice had to admit that it was hard to control herself when the inner hunger decided to make itself known. Tobat this, she simply had to make an environment that was beneficial to her! That way she would instinctively use these threads and metal sheets as cover against her opponents. Not only that but should they try to cut the threads, Alice could simply have it reform itself since they were all created from her blood. ''And if anyone was to be unlucky enough to have the bloode into contact with their body, they''ll start burning with no other choice but to remove that part of their flesh.'' She mused to herself as she flicked her finger and blood shot out from the ground. Surprised by this sudden attack, the Hunters jumped to the side but Alice was waiting for them. shing towards them with the Bloodme de, the four other des worked in tandem to cut off their paths of escape! With no other choice, the Hunter with the greatsword raised his sword and used it as a shield while charging towards Alice. With him taking the vanguard position, the others followed suit. This time, they seemed as though they were no longer holding back. Each had their figures adjusted as though they activated their resonance. The spear Hunter transformed its weapon into a scythe as they shed towards Alice. Behind the sh, a wave of chaotic energy trailed, shredding anything in its path. Seeing this, Alice knew she had to dodge this sh or else she may be in serious danger. But the bow Hunter didn''t let her escape easily. Pulling back her bow, she released seven arrows towards Alice as they were locked onto her. No matter how she moved, they seemed to track her without issue. ''Interesting.'' Grabbing a thread and swinging her body up, Alice watched as the arrows did a 90 degree turn up and continued to track her. With no other choice, she coated her de with violet mes and shed towards the arrows. Just as she shed, the scythe Hunter manifested behind her and shed towards Alice''s neck. *CLANG!!! Blocking her attack using the four floating des, Alice couldn''t help but furrow her brows. From below, the greatsword Hunter aimed his palm towards Alice as chains shot out around her,tching onto her wrist. "Tch!" Using the chains to her advantage, Alice swung herself to the side and avoided the pincer attack. Landing on one of the strands, she was preparing to counterattack when an arrow appeared in her vision. Widening her eyes, Alice swung backwards and dodged the arrow while the scythe swung towards her neck. Understanding that Thane stopped holding back, Alice curled her lips into a grin as she activated her second Sigil. The instant she activated her second Sigil, a storm of fire erupted out around the Arena, causing Thane to pause in surprise. He finally understood what she meant when she said it was better than expected. All of the blood that was conjured by her Sigil contained her weird power! With the sudden appearance of the violet mes, the shadows faltered for a moment as they struggled to hold their shape. Meanwhile, Alice had four ming swords float behind her while standing in this maelstrom unfazed. Seeing the shadows struggle, Alice decided to mess with Thane as payback for all the ''kind training'' he has given her. "Don''t tell me your summons can''t stand a little bit of heat? I''m just a weak three star Hunter, surely they can handle this much right?" Alice asked with a smug grin. Seeing this, Thane''s smile twitched as he squinted his eyes at her. "Cheeky brat. Fine, let''s see how you handle this then." Snapping his finger, a surge of shadows erupted out from beneath them, engulfing their figures and reinforcing them with more power. The spear wielder was now transformed into a humanoid beast with six arms and six swords, the greatsword user''s body shrivelled down until it was nothing but skin and bones. As for the bow user, a pair of wings unfurled from their back as their bow merged with their arm. Seeing this, Alice understood that all of them have had their ''Resonances'' upgraded to increase the difficulty level. Even in this storm of mes, they were holding their own. But that''s only while Alice was in her base form. Standing up on her thread, Alice snapped her finger as a storm of des barred the shadow Hunters from approaching her. "Thane. You wanted to see what my Resonance is right? Why I said it was worth losing out on the Lifeblood Link." Alice called out with a smile. ying along, Thane nodded his head. Taking a deep breath, Alice closed her eyes and gathered the power within her body. She could feel the dormant abyssal energy stirring in her chest, spreading out to the rest of her body. As Alice opened her eyes, Thane noticed that both of her eyes were now red and ck rather than the half and half state it was usually. A surge of power erupted from Alice''s body as ck lights pulsed out from her chest. Little by little, an obsidian crown manifested itself above Alice''s head while the mes transformed into a new dress that wrapped around Alice''s body. Her once split hair was dyed in a majestic violet while a dress of darkness and mes fluttered behind her. The underside of the dress glowed a bright violet as within this glow, a hellscape of mes could be seen with what felt like eyes staring back at you. Yet one blink and the eyes disappeared from your sight. From the tips of her fingers and toes, a darkness seemed to creep up her body but faded back into her normal skin tone while markings from her Sigil was clearly visible, wrapped in ayer of briar thorns. The swords that floated around her burst into mes and positioned themselves behind her, looking as though they were her wings of fire. Seeing the crown along with the eyes, Thane froze up in shock as the visage of his old master ovepped Alice. The way she grinned, her mannerisms and the confidence in her gaze. It was exactly like her. Snapping her finger, motes of fire flickered to life around the shadow Hunters as thread extended from each mote, preventing them from moving. "I have two abilities in this state. The first, so long as I have blood to burn for these mes, they will keep me alive. Even if my arm is to be torn off, my head cut off. If I bleed, my mes will mend me." Alice dered with a grin as she aimed two fingers at the group. "As for the second ability¡­ I can draw upon the abyssal energy used by my opponents to help fuel my attack. So long as I have my resonance activated, they will exhaust more strength than usual when fighting me. Of course, that''s just the surface level. With this extra power, I can do this." Narrowing her eyes, Alice tapped her finger against the empty air. At the moment, Thane felt a chill down his back as the entire Abyss seemed to react to hermand. Widening his eyes, Thane could feel the flow of energy gathering around the Hunters as every single mote she had conjured simultaneously copsed into sparks of light. Each mote had be a cast of her newly adjusted Nova Core! Without giving them a chance to fight back, Alice raised her hand above her head and clenched it into a fist. At that moment, Thane immediately mmed down his hand as a wave of shadows burst out from the arena itself and swarmed around the cluster of Nova Cores that had just been created. Refusing to let it explode, he extinguished the attack, causing Alice to pout in annoyance and stomp her foot against the thread. "Hey! That''s not fair! You said you were only going to use decent Hunters against me. That was more than the power of even the four star Hunter''s I''ve seen!" Alice called out as the mes crackled around her. Even just activating her resonance briefly felt as though she had just been fighting nonstop for 24 hours. On top of feeling suddenly drained of stamina and energy, her lungs struggled to pull in air. While she was in this state, she was kept alive by her mes but it doesn''t change the fact that she struggled to breath due to theck of oxygen! "Weren''t you the one taunting me earlier? Such a sour loser tsk tsk." Thaneughed while shrugging his shoulders. However, deep down, he knew thatst attack would''ve annihted the shadow mimics he had created. The moment the motes copsed into sparks, the surrounding energy was cut offpletely and no abilities could be used from within. It was practically a deathtrap for those that relied on their Sigils extensively. ''What kind of monster did I release from the Zenia''s.'' Thane mused to himself. After seeing this, his dream, his goal and his purpose was no longer just a fantasy. Chapter 197: Distant Dream Seeing Thane''s response, Alice could only huff in annoyance as she deactivated her Resonance. The storm of violet mes disappeared in a single instant as Alicended on the arena floor. Just as she was able to stabilise herself, she felt her legs give up under her. Falling back, Alice blinked her eyes in confusion feeling the fatigue that washed over her body. "Huh?" She muttered, looking down at her hand that barely at the strength to carry her sword. "It''s normal. Resonance is usually limited to one per day. But it''s better to think of it as once per rest." Thane chuckled seeing Alice unable to move. Crouching down in front of her, he curled his lips up into a grin and poked her nose while dodging her retaliation. "I''m not sure if Allura exined it well but the phenomenon of activating a Resonance is essentially going into debt with the Abyss. In exchange for a big burst of power, you tap into the power you would''ve had for the rest of the day and use it in that moment. "That''s why the briar thorns manifest around you Sigils and link them to one another. Extra power is siphoned and it''s only natural that the bacsh of doing such a thing is pure exhaustion. With enough training, you can avoid this exhaustion and continue to fight." Thane exined while flicking Alice on the head. Standing up, Thane reached towards Alice''s head before closing his eyes. Just as she was about to say something, Alice could feel a foreign power entering her body and washing away the fatigue that had umted within her body. "This''ll do for now. The best remedy is still for you to rest but this should let you move to a certain extent. Just keep in mind that you shouldn''t fight anymore until you''ve rested." Thane smiled as Alice nodded her head. "What was that? Was it a Sigil power?" "Nope. It''s just a simple parlour trick that I picked up. Doesn''t help you with fighting but just helps with those who aren''t used to using Resonances." Thane shook his head while walking away from the arena. ''I made it for Allura since she was always terrible at recovering from her Resonance use. To think I''ll use it again after so many years.'' Massaging her neck, Alice noticed Ria jumping over to her. "Alice! What was that attack at the end? It was like Allura''s Nova Core but there were so many of them! And the way it started to eat away at everything. Is it something I can do as well?" Ria asked as there was a light of excitement in her eyes. She knew that the skill Alice used was not tied to Sigils so if she was able to learn what she did then it would be another boost to her skill set. "Erm¡­ I''m not sure to be honest. It''s inspired by Allura''s Nova Core but I can''t replicate it properly. I kind of improvised but if you want, I can try and exin how I did it." Alice chuckled as Ria nodded her head. The basic premise of her skill was simple but hard to execute. "Step one is to gather as much power as you can and release it all at once. Once that''s done, you want topress it into a single spark. The key is how fast you can aplish this stage. If you take too long, it loses a lot of power and makes you vulnerable to attacks. The faster you are, the better. "Once it copses into a single spark, you just need to guide it towards your opponent and then run since you''ll get hurt in the explosion as well." Alice exined. "Hmm¡­ I can give it a try." Ria muttered. But before she could say anything else, Thane interrupted. "Don''t. I don''t know why Allura decided to teach Alice that skill but you shouldn''t try it. After training with you, I''m very familiar with how your body works. It will not be able to support the activation of this skill." He shrugged while gesturing for them to hurry up. "Ehhh but Alice could do it. I''m sure if I try hard enough I''ll be able to aplish it." Ria frowned. "I don''t doubt that. But you want to know how many Sigils it took for Allura to use this skill without blowing herself up in the process?" "How many?" "It took her seventh Sigil for her to be able to utilize this skill. In that sense, Alice here is a freak of nature of can use a Lord Level skill no matter how abridged she made it. The control and power needed along with physical toughness is not something you can handle." Thane exined as he knew the secret behind how Alice was able to aplish such a task. He noticed it several times now but now he confirmed his theory. That regeneration of hers was actively repairing her body while she flooded herself with power. Had it not been for this regeneration, he had no doubt that her limbs would be torn apart before she could evenpress the spark! "Ehhh¡­" Seeing this, he knew that Ria was disappointed but there was nothing he could do about it. Not even he knew why Alice had that insane regeneration but it was the foundation that allowed her usage of this skill. "Don''t be too disappointed. I''ve already shown you the way you can unleash your power. I''m sure you just need a chance to disy that skill properly." Thane reassured as Ria nodded her head. He wasn''t wrong, the ''skill'' that he showed her was something that would allow her to hold her own. Both of them now received help from Abyss Lords, she shouldn''t be too greedy for more. "Anyways, let''s go somewhere nice to eat. It''ll be my treat since my job here is done." Thane smiled as both Alice and Ria paused in surprise. It had only been a short period of time yet he was already leaving. "What? Missing my abuse already? You two really love to get kicked by me huh? Ew." Thane raised an eyebrow as the two were instantly angered. "Hah? What the hell do you mean missing your abuse?!" Alice shouted out as she could still remember the pain she felt. "We''re just surprised you''re leaving already. Who the hell wants to get beaten for fun? Alice let''s eat his wallet dry today!" Ria huffed. Hearing this, Alice blinked her eyes and looked at Ria with doubt. This was a man who could throw hundreds of tina out without care. No matter how much they ate, she doubted that they could eat enough to empty his wallet. And even if they were to try, they''d die trying! "I''d like to see you try. To make it easier on your pitiful appetite, I''ll even have mercy on you and take you two to the most expensive restaurant. Surely you can make me spend more than a bit of pocket change right?" Thane taunted with a smug grin as Ria stomped past him with Alice in tow. "You better not take that back!" Seeing the two make their way out, Thane chuckled to himself. He had to admit that seeing their reactions never bored him. In the short time he had known them, thest fight especially, he had forgotten about the boredom that gued his mind. ''Perhaps this is why Allura is so attached to them. Not just because I gave Alice the Eye.'' He smiled, following behind the two. ### Renting a private room for the two to enjoy the food as much as they wanted, Thane stood by the balcony and looked over the city. The sights of the Abyss changed every time he visited and just seeing this sight, reminded him that Ayr was truly gone. Ayr was nothing but a distant echo in the timeline of the Abyss. A relic of the past that no one could remember. It was a ce of boundless joy and memories. Its skyline was dominated by towering spires that reached the skies above. Each spire had its own story while the guardians of the city patrolled, ensuring the safety of all those who sought refuge. His master, in her boundless love, epted all who sought help from Ayr yet her reward for all of this was death. After all these years, his memories were now tinged with sorrow. Every time he came back to the Abyss he felt as though a knife had plunged into his heart. The devastation brought forth by the cmity was still fresh in his mind. How the citizens screamed, how he tried his best yet for all his power, he was useless in diverting the tragedy. Taking a deep breath, Thane sighed as a bitter smile hung on his face. Despite the passage of time, he longed to go back to the good old days. But those days will forever be out of his reach. ''Perhaps at the end, when everything is done and my role has ended¡­ I can finally rest and eternally dream of the life I once had¡­'' He thought to himself. "Thane?" Alice''s voice rang out, surprising Thane as he was lost in thought. He had expected her to still be eating right now. "Hm? What is it?" He forced a smile. However, Alice didn''t say anything but only pointed to his eye. Furrowing his brows, he felt the corner of his eyes and realised that a stray tear had formed. Widening his eyes in surprise, he wiped away the tears and took a deep breath to calm himself. "Are you alright?" Alice asked with a slight frown. "Yeah don''t worry about it. I was just thinking about how I''ll miss hitting- I mean training the both of you." Thane dismissed with augh but Alice could see the pain he tried to hide. Even though it was only there for a moment, she recognised his expression as Allura had the same expression before when talking about Ayr and her old master. Biting her lip for a moment, Alice stepped forward and hugged him, surprising Thane. "I promised Allura this before so I''ll say it to you too. I''ll try my best to rebuild Ayr in the future so you can have a home to go back to." Hearing this, Thane''s eyes softened as his fa?ade disappeared. He wasn''t sure what he should say but in the end, he settled on two words. "Thank you." Chapter 198: Thanes Farewell After finishing their meal, the three made their way back to the Hunter''s Guild as Thane was going to help them onest time. He was going to help them resolve the current investigation regarding the death of the Lord so they could travel freely. While Alice and Ria wanted to see how he would resolve this, Thane simply shook his head and had a ''private'' conversation with the Branch Leader. "What do you think he''s gonna do to him?" Ria asked as a bad feeling surfaced in her heart. The way Thane smiled while reassuring them sent a chill down her spine. "Erm¡­ Probably going to reveal a bit of his power right? Maybe a bit of coercion." Alice tilted her head as her question was answered rather quickly. Opening the doors, Thane left the room with a satisfied smile while the branch leader looked pale in his seat. The fear in his eyes was prevalent as Thane threw a card at Alice. "I had him update your Hunter''s licence while I was at it. I pretty much verified your strength as a three star Hunter after all. You two can leave this city whenever you want and the reward for yourmission has been handed to you. The full reward without any subtractions as the branch leader was kind enough to pay off what you owe. Isn''t that right?" Thane chuckled as he nced back at the branch leader who hurriedly nodded his head. Seeing this, Alice''s smile twitched as he was able to resolve their issues with a simple ''talk''. "I guess that''s what you can do when you''re powerful." Alice muttered as Thane smiled. "It can''t resolve everything but it''s definitely handy. Without power, no one would give a crap about what you say." He shrugged before yawning loudly. "I''m pretty exhausted now after babysitting the two of you these days. Don''t cause too much trouble if you can help it, especially when you can''t resolve it. Avoid weird cults, if anyonees up and talks to you, be wary of their intentions. "Don''t take candy from a stranger, don''t trust free hospitality and what else? Hmm¡­ Right, train as hard as you can but remember to take breaks. Your body is important after all. Do as much research as you can in libraries. If your research is sufficient you can usually kill a beast before it uses its skills. If they''re fighting back then you''re doing something wrong." Thane paused for a moment before shaking his head. "Well I''m sure you have it handled. Just try to stay out of trouble." He chuckled, patting both of them on the head while making his way out of the guild. "Will we see you again in the future?" Alice called out. Pausing in his step, Thane turned around and smiled. Without saying anything, a swarm of shadows swirled around him as his disguise was dismissed. The shadows bowed down in reverence as he revealed his full figure. A familiar face greeted Alice as his cold eyes stared back, this time with a trace of warmthpared to their first meeting. His long ck hair swayed behind him as a raven feathered jacket appeared around his shoulders. "You will definitely see me again in the future. Live well kid, you''re doing good so far." Kaden chuckled as he raised his hand and snapped his fingers. Before Alice could even call out to him, a flock of ravens appeared around them and both Alice and Ria had to shield their eyes. By the time they were able to see again, Kaden had disappeared leaving the two behind while the staff around the Guild looked in confusion. Biting her lip, Alice sighed before smiling. It was Kaden all along. Which meant he heard her gratitude towards him. "Was that¡­" "It was Kaden. The one who saved me and started my journey." Alice chuckled. Looking down at her hand, a single raven feather was left behind as she stored it inside her jacket. Knowing that both Allura and Kaden were looking after her, protecting her, Alice felt a warmth in her heart that she hadn''t felt in so many years. It felt just like the warmth she received before her birthday, the warmth of family. "That was Kaden? So he wasn''t Thane? Or did Thane never exist?" Ria asked in confusion as she was trying to work out what exactly happened. "Seems like it was just an alias he was using to approach us." ''Though¡­ that hate he showed. It was real. I wonder what happened in the past for him to hate himself so much.'' Alice thought with an inward sigh. "He''s kinda hot though." "?????????" Widening her eyes, Alice snapped her head towards Ria and saw her staring at where Kaden had just been standing. "Huh?" "What? You have to admit that he''s kinda hot." Ria shrugged nonchntly while Alice couldn''t wrap her head around it. "Oh well. Anyways, what are we doing now? Since he''s resolved the issues holding us in this city I''m pretty sure we have enough travel funds now so we can leave whenever." "You can''t just change the subject after that?! What do you mean he''s kinda hot???" Alice retorted in disbelief. "Of course I can. It was just a thought anyways don''t think too much about it ahaha. Let''s go." Ria grinned as she made her way downstairs while Alice was left speechless. Sighing out, she facepalmed and followed behind Ria. Arriving downstairs, Ria made her way to the receptionist and inquired about the trip to find her friend Luke. Keeping silent, Alice listened by the side since Ria hadn''t mentioned the city he was in. Silverwind Valley. It wasn''t a traditional city like Alice had expected but rather a city suspended in a fracture of space in the middle of the Silverwind Valley. She wasn''t quite sure what it entailed but from the receptionist''s reaction, the trip was going to be a long one as they required several changes and even the addition of airships. In the end, it seemed like they would need more than 200 gold in just travel fees alone and that wasn''t including things like lodging or food. Hearing the price, Ria felt like coughing up blood but since they now had the reward from theirmission, they were able to afford the price. "200 Gold for travel and we''ll need to figure out our own lodging. *sigh...* Moneyes in slowly yet leaves so fast. How do old people like Allura and Kaden even umte so much coin to begin with." Riamented as their wallet had finally gained weight only for it to disappear for travel fees. "I mean¡­ Kaden probably robbed it from families if I''m being honest." Alice chuckled since she still remembered their first meeting. He had broken into the most heavily guarded prison owned by the Zenia family out of boredom and curiosity. To him, it looked like they were guarding some precious treasure yet all he found was her. In that aspect, he wasn''t wrong. She was indeed the treasure of the Zenia family as she was the reason why they were able to produce so much usable Abyss Blood for public use. Without her sacrifice, the people wouldn''t have gotten so much. "Well we''re not strong enough yet to do what he does so we''ll probably have to gamble a bit as we travel. Either that or do it the hard way and take somemissions on our way there. Which ever fits your fancy but personally, I would prefer the gambling route." Ria shrugged. "Let''s¡­ Just take somemissions on the way there. On the other hand, I''m more interested about Silverwind Valley. You said it was suspended in a fracture of space. What do you mean by that?" "Ah that. Well¡­ I''m not versed in the history of that city. You can probably ask Luke when we see him. But grandfather did exin why the city is like that. Apparently, one of the Ancient Abyss Lords wouldn''t take his punishment without fighting back and his response is to try blow himself up along with a piece of the Abyss. "However, the Hunters at the time were able to seal the attack and now it''s frozen in ce as a fracture. The side effect is the area got distorted and those that enter could feel the influence of the Abyss directly. It''s great for learning how to manipte the power within your body and so they made an Academy there." Ria exined as Alice raised her eyebrow. "Hou? So the reason why they build a city there is because they could sense the Abyss better?" "Yep. It''s quite a popr ce you know? Just going to the city is enough to enhance your mastery over Sigils while those who study there often be famous Hunters. I never bothered with enrolling at the Academy since I was travelling around with grandfather and Allura. "But Luke managed to enter without any Sigils at the time. It was a special case you know? First in the history of the Academy." Ria chuckled, feeling proud of her friends achievement while Alice wondered what kind of test they would have for him to be the first in history to enrol without a Sigil. "Ah I need to send a letter to him so he knows were visiting. If we just show up without warning he might be out on a study trip." Ria remembered as she quickly jogged over to the bar andmissioned a letter delivery. Seeing this, Alice wondered what kind of person Luke was. From all the information she''s obtained about him, it seemed like he was extremely knowledgeable regarding Abyss Engineering. ''Seems like he''s someone who values knowledge¡­'' Alice narrowed her eyes. Just thinking about it was enough to cause a reaction within her as she squeezed her arm. Those that follow the pursuit of knowledge will no doubt want to find the truth behind her body. Perhaps Luke was no different. However, there was also a chance that he was different to the others. He was someone that gave Allura and Gin a good impression. Taking a deep breath to calm her mind, Alice wanted to see him in person before judging what he was like. All she could hope for was that he was different to the Schrs that tore her apart. Chapter 199: Departing For Silverwind Valley Once Ria finished sending her letter, they made their way to the stables as the Guild had already arranged the necessary transport vehicles. The entire trip was going to take them roughly 2 weeks with the second half being done on an airship. "For the first week, we''ll take journeying with these caravans. They aren''t taking any detours, and their route is predetermined. We''ll just be joining different caravans at different points of the journey until we reach the airship docks. I believe it should be 3 changes." Ria exined as she recalled what the receptionist had told her. Of course, she had the note given by the Guild so the other caravans knew that they were there for a ride. "Let''s just hope nothing likest time happens again. I don''t think I can deal with more interactions with the low depths." Alicemented, remembering the incident where they briefly opened a gateway to the deepest parts of the Abyss. One where several people were killed in the process. "Let''s hope not. Thankfully the main routes used by the Guild caravans are secured by several Hunters who''ve been tasked to guard the path. Should anything strange appear, they would immediately report it to the Guild and resolve the issue as soon as possible." Ria reassured. However, Alice only stared at her with doubt as their supposedly ''safe'' journey had been filled with abnormalities and strange people. People who could make a clone who canmune with the Abyss, someone who could tamper with their souls, strange beasts that have been tampered by the Cult of the Eclipse and so on. Their path thus far was anything but normal or safe. "W-What? I know it''s been a bit¡­ Strange so far. But it''ll return back to normal. I promise!" Ria coughed awkwardly after feeling Alice''s doubtful gaze. *Sigh¡­ "If you say so. I''ll prepare myself just in case." Alice shook her head as she made her way back to her room. Packing up everything into a suitcase, Alice carried it down while Ria did the same. The next caravan that was leaving the city was going to depart in an hour and while they were waiting, they decided to make themselvesfortable in their own carriage. Thankfully, they didn''t need to share this carriage with anyone else as not many were going in the same direction as them. "Do you think Allura noticed that Kaden was here then?" Ria asked curiously while making herselffortable on the seat. "Probably. I mean Allura likely has her own way of keeping an eye on us. Maybe it''s the amulet maybe it''s something else. Though I can sense a bit of Kaden''s power on this feather that he left behind. So maybe that''s his way of looking out for us too." Alice shrugged while pulling out the raven feather that she had picked up. She noticed that after gaining her third Sigil, her senses towards the flow of abyssal energy had improved. While it was faint, she could sense a strand of energy within this feather. It was simr to what was in the amulet and bracelet that Allura and Gin had given them. Thus, she guessed that Kaden probably left them the same thing. Messing around with the feather between her fingers, Alice ced it back into her jacket. "So can you tell me a bit about the academy? I remember that there was one back in Zadash but we only had a spar with them. What do they study there? Or is it a wide variety?" Alice asked curiously as Ria furrowed her brows before holding her chin. "Erm¡­ I think it''s mostly practical studies. So stuff like how to be a Hunter, Abyss Engineering, Blood Alchemy, beast tracking and hunting. There are probably more but this is just what I remember from the top of my head. Why do you ask?" "Nothing much. Just curious about what it''s like to be in an Academy." Alice shrugged. Since she was locked away after her birthday, she never got to properly experience school/academy life. She couldn''t deny that her curiosity for such a life burned bright but there was no reason for her to enrol. Her experiences as a Hunter could be gained out in the field, it''s what Allura suggested as well. Not only that, but she also had no interest in Abyss Engineering and she had heard her fair share of Blood Alchemy over the decade. The only reason why she was even remotely interested was due to the fact that it was something new to her. "I mean¡­ If you''re curious we can enrol there. The process is pretty simple and granted, most are either enrolling when they''re young or they''re invited by the academy itself. Without connections or an invite, you''ll need to take a rigorous enrolment procedure. Honestly¡­ you''ll take care of thebat aspect rather easily." Ria chuckled. She had never seen a three star Hunter as strong as Alice before. Especially that resonance. With what she knew of Alice''s me, not even her in her Resonance form could deal with that me. ''If she was an enemy that I ran into while I''m out on a hunt, I''ll probably die before I figured out why my powers aren''t working.'' Ria thought to herself as Alice''s mes were truly the bane of the Abyss. The fact that something rejects the blessings of the Abyss to this degree where even an Abyss Lord needed to exert some strength to maintain their connection was crazy to her. Alice, a three star Hunter, was able to force an Abyss Lord to exert themselves more than normal. If anyone else heard such a im they would dismiss her as delusional, yet it was the truth. "I''ll pass. Didn''t Allura task us with going to the maind? I doubt we should spend too much time in Silverwind Valley." Alice dismissed with a wave of her hand but Ria noticed the curiosity in Alice''s eyes. "It''ll be fine~ Allura wanted us to enjoy ourselves anyway. Honestly going to the Academy is pretty good too ya know? You get to fight some of the students that main look up to as talented. Not only that, theye from pretty big families too so you know their Sigils will be good. Don''t you think it''s going to be a fun challenge?" Ria persuaded with an excited smile as she too was curious about how she faired against these talents. Would she be able topare to them? Would she defeat them easily? She wanted to know her standing against these people and going to the Academy was the first step in doing so. "I mean¡­ It might be fun. But you realise I can''t exactly expose my power against a bunch of students, right? Plus, I''m pretty sure there will be powerful teachers there. If they decide to go against me, I''m not sure how I would be able to react to that." Alice sighed as they would most definitely ask her about her fire if it was to be exposed. "Just don''t use it then. You can practice using four of your swords at once. Well¡­ five if you include your Bloodme de. Six if you include the obsidian one." Ria pointed out. Contemting for a moment, Alice had to admit that her words made sense. She had been relying on her fire for a lot of her fights. It was a powerful tool to fight against those stronger than her but it was also her biggest weakness. Once news of her fire gets out and they be curious about her secrets, she wouldn''t be able to handle the aftermath of such an event. If she was able to improve her swordsmanship, she would be able to better utilize the power granted by her third Sigil. ''Even during the fight with Kaden''s summons, I was pretty awkward with the des. It''s hard to focus on their movement while I''m busy dodging attacks. Perhaps it''s better to use one de to attack while the rest for defence and go on from there¡­'' She mused to herself while activating her third Sigil partially. Gathering metal above her hand and transforming it into four small floating des, each the size of a finger, Alice tried to replicate a sword fight yet the movements were awkward and static. Itcked the fluidity needed to take advantage within close-quartersbat and certainlycked the swiftness needed for her to catch her opponents off guard. After all, if she focused on the movement of the des, her own movements would be jeopardised and vice versa. Dismissing her des, Alice nced over at Ria''s expectant gaze and sighed. "Well I suppose it wouldn''t hurt to check out what it''s like. Your friend is studying there too so I''m pretty sure we can spare a week or so." "No taking that back! Let''s get you enrolled once we''re there." Ria grinned while cracking her knuckles. There was another reason why she wanted to go but she wasn''t going to tell Alice. At least not yet. Since a lot of the students there were sons and daughters of Nobles, their wallets would be rather fat and heavy. As the merciful and kind-hearted girl she is, she was going to help them lighten their burdens and keep the coin safe from anyone that may have nefarious thoughts about their wealth. Of course, that was her motivation but seeing as how Alice was just following along since she might as well, Ria knew she needed a motivator for Alice too. And with Alice''s biggest hobby being drinking mead, she formted a n in her mind. "Say, Alice." "Hm?" "Do you think you''ll be able to swindle¡­ no that''s the wrong word. Win some expensive mead from the rich folks there? I''m sure if they sign a Law of Agreement with you before a fight, you can get some good mead that only Nobles can drink." Ria grinned as her smile reached from one ear to the other. "!!!" Widening her eyes, Alice sat up as she hadn''t even thought of this possibility. The Law of Agreement imposes a restriction they couldn''t go back on. Meaning if she was to coerce- nono, persuade them in Kaden''s terms, they had to follow through if they lost. Even if the mead was extremely expensive. With a fire lit in her eyes, Alice had a goal at the Academy. In the short time she was going to be there, she will rob them of all the mead she could get her hands on. Wiping the drool from her mouth, Alice was now looking forward to meeting the noble sessors. Chapter 200: A Name For Her Skill As the caravan started to depart from the city of Eldoria, Alice swung herself onto the roof of her carriage and looked back. The time they spent here was short but it was enjoyable. She was able to get her third Sigil, her resonance and even say her thanks to Kaden who freed her from the Zenia prison. Not only that, she was made aware of this hunger that was dormant within her mind. A side effect of the brief moment she spent as a beast during her birthday perhaps. Whatever it was, she had to find out the cause. ''Since we''re going to the Academy anyways, I may as well do some study on myself. Surely one of the teachers or schrs there will know about this other side of me. A split personality maybe¡­'' Alice mused to herself as she was warned not to sit on the roof. Unable to enjoy the cool air, Alice could only go back inside as Riaughed in response. "This isn''t a caravan we hired. It''s technically sponsored by the Guild despite the price we paid so we have to follow their rules." Ria grinned as Alice grumbled and sat down. "You could''ve at least told me." As she wasn''t allowed on the roof, Alice could onlyy down on the seat and rest for now. Seeing this, Ria chuckled at her disgruntled expression. "Well it''ll be fine. I''m sure you can catch plenty of cold air once we get on the airships. Not only that, unlike thest caravan, the Guild has actually provided meals with this trip. We can just take this time to rest up and rx. Just think of it as a vacation." Ria smiled while Alice only raised her eyebrow. "I suppose you''re right. But I wouldn''t mind hunting for some food too. Stretch the body, test out more ideas with the new Sigil." Alice shrugged. "Speaking of that, have you decided to change the name of your skill yet? Tha-no, Kaden mentioned that it waspletely different to Allura''s Nova Core right? If it''s different you may as well give it a new name." Hearing this, Alice thought for a moment before nodding her head. She wasn''t wrong as this skill was no longer Nova Core. It was something unique to her that could be done due to her mes. "Hmm¡­ What do you think is a good name for it then?" Alice asked as she closed her eyes, remembering what the skill looked like. The way it copsed in on itself and dragged the surroundings with it before exploding. "Well it makes a singrity and looks like it''s eating away at the world. Hmm¡­ Void Surge? Ster Flux? Discharge?" Ria furrowed her brows as she wanted to think of a cool name for Alice. Her skill needed a powerful name to match the destruction. It wouldn''t do if the skill was called big boom. Granted, it was urate but it just sounds¡­ dull for Ria. "Not sure why it''s important but just wake me up when you think of one." Alice waved her hand dismissively but Ria grabbed her by the arm. "No! This matter is important Alice! Think about it. What if you''re in the hardest fight of your life and the finishing attack was something you call¡­ Boombies!" Ria shouted out but paused once she realised what that sounded like. ". . . Boombies?" Alice blinked her eyes as she had to make sure she wasn''t hallucinating. "Yes." "Really? Of all the throw away names you could''ve chosen, you chose¡­ Boombies?" Alice asked in bewilderment. Blushing from shame, Ria could only nod her head as she doubled down! "Yes! Imagine if you had to exin that your attack is called Boombies to a whole crowd of people. Imagine the shame you would feel at that moment." Ria persuaded as Alice had to push Ria back slightly as she was getting rather eager. "Alright alright! I guess you have a point. But I''m feeling more shame from you having thought of such a name. What''s even going on in your head?" Alice pushed Ria back as she sighed and sat up. "I don''t want a long name since it''ll be too much of a mouthful. Can''t we just call it Rupture? I mean it''s not incorrect. I basically copse the mes into an orb and explode it. In other words, Rupture." She suggested, wanting to get this over with so she could rest but Ria shook her head. As they continued back and forth with their discussion of names for her skill, they reached their first destination and camped for the night. However, their discussion still wasn''t finished and neither of them could get any sleep with Ria continuing to suggest names. Come dawn, both Alice and Ria stared at each other with dark rings under their eyes. "Is it decided then?" Ria asked, her voice weak with exhaustion. "It seems to be so. Unless you have ast minute change in mind." "Stop, please don''t tempt me. Otherwise I might actually try to think of something else." Ria quickly shook her head as she was reaching her limit. She needed her sleep and fast. Taking a deep breath, Alice nodded her head as she opened her mouth. "Void Flux. No take backs ok?" "Mnm¡­ This is good. Goodnight. Or is it good morning? I don''t care, I''m passing out. Wake me up when it''s time for food." Ria yawned as she stood up and walked to their carriage. Following behind, Alice wanted to sleep as well. However, the moment she stepped onto the carriage, she saw Ria had fallen asleep on the floor of the carriage without even reaching the seats. Chuckling softly, Alice reached down and picked her up before cing her on the seat. Sitting on her own side, she slowly closed her eyes. Her own skill, Void Flux. A skill that consumes all of her energy andpresses it into a spark before detonating. There were two variants of this skill. The first acted as a bomb in an arena around the detonation point. The second was a beam where she would try her best to direct the st for maximum damage. In her Resonance state, she was able to conjure a field of version one Void Flux due to the power that Kaden wielded. However, should she try the same with other people, she doubted she could pull off anything close to it. After all, they didn''t have the spare energy like an Abyss Lord would. ''If I apply the power of a Ritual to the Void Flux¡­ How powerful can it get at this stage?'' Alice asked herself as sleep slowly took over her mind. She had already glimpsed at the potential when she tried before. Should she sessfully establish a ritual with the Abyss with a sacrifice she could afford, perhaps her Void Flux could reach even the high ranked six star Hunters. But of course that was just wishful thinking. What kind of six star Hunter would allow her to charge up such an attack not to mention get hit by it. Falling into a slumber with the gentle rocking of her carriage, the journey continued on without any issues. ### Much to their surprise, and boredom, they journeyed for an entire week without any mishaps or fights. With theirst change of caravans, they arrived at Ashen Port where they would take an airship to their final destination, Silverwind Valley. Stepping off the carriage, both Alice and Ria thanked the driver as they stretched their bodies. "Hng!!! Ahh~ I don''t mind a period of peace but f*ckkkkk I want to move my body a bit." Ria sighed out as she felt weird not fighting for a week straight. "Same here. I feel like I''m about to go insane if I don''t get myself some mead right now. My sk ran out a while ago." Alicemented. The only reason she didn''t mind a long journey was because of her mead but after getting carried away since she had nothing else to do, she had ran out of all of the mead she had bought. "Shall we indulge ourselves a little before we get to the airship then? ording to the schedule, we have another 2 hours before we have to check in on the airship." "Ohya? What do you have in mind?" Alice nced over in curiosity as she wondered what Ria had nned. "What else? Gambling and buying alcohol." She gave Alice the thumbs up and a wide grin. "Pft alright. I''ll go buy the alcohol and you can enjoy your gambling. Take this with you so I can find you in case you get lost." Alice chuckled with a smug smile while handing Ria a blood bead. The blood bead was one of Alice''s new inventions and had three uses. First was to track someone or something. Second was to poison liquids as she could break it down into a powder and mix it into the drink. Andstly, it could be used as a miniature bomb that can dispel Sigil attacks to a certain extent. With all of this in mind, Alice made sure she had a constant supply of blood beads on hand if she ever needed to use them. In her pouch of Abyss Blood, one of the vials were filled with these beads. "Hey! My directional sense has improved a lot ya know!? I''m not so helpless to get lost in a city tsk." Ria huffed as Alice shrugged. "Then I guess you don''t need the blood bead." "Now hold on ass hat, I never said that." Ria snatched the blood bead back, causing Alice tough. While Ria ran away to look for the gambling arena, Alice looked around for a bar where she could buy some mead for the journey ahead. Chapter 201: The Dragons Breath Arriving at a bar known as the Dragon''s Breath, Alice couldn''t help but admire the building. It stood tall and imposing with a single signboard showcasing a dragon breathing out a torrent of mes. The entrance was nked by torches housing a flickering blue me, casting a spectral glow on the entrance. As she stepped through the door, it felt as though she was transported to a brand new world. The interior of the building was bustling yet much to her surprise, all she could hear was murmuring. She couldn''t quite make out what they were saying no matter how hard she tried. A thin veil blocked her from making out what they were saying. In the background, music yed yet Alice couldn''t find the band that was ying. Continuing into the bar, the aroma of food, alcohol and scented candles filled the air as the lightning of the interior was rather dim. It was only illuminated by the glowing shelves disying different bottles of alcohol along with lights above the different tables. Standing in the middle of all of this, Alice couldn''t help but feel as though she was out of ce as she didn''t expect something of this level. Her initial expectation was a rather standard rowdy bar. Making her way to the bar where several seats were ced in front of it, Alice sat down and nced over to the bartender. Due to the light from the disy behind him, his features werepletely obscured and even trying to focus on his face didn''t help. "Judging by your bodynguage, you must be a new traveller to this port." The bartender smiled as he walked over while cleaning an empty cup. "Hm? Oh! Yes, I am. What''s with this ce?" Alice asked curiously, ncing over to the different tables spread through the building. "Ah~ You must be confused by the secrecy. It''s one of the shining features of our establishment. We are rather confident in our ability to help you keep matters confidential should you decide to hold a meeting here. As the best bar in an international port, it''s only natural." He exined with a lightugh. "You can think of it as a protective measure since it is applied to the staff here as well. Even now, the voice you are hearing is not my real voice and my figure, not my real figure. It gives noble families more confidence in us should they decide to visit rather than hosting private parties. Of course, this means that the meetings conducted here are usually for nefarious matters such as murder." Hearing this, Alice couldn''t help but raise an eyebrow as he pulled out a mirror from behind the bar. cing it in front of Alice, he took a step back as Alice realised that her own figure was obscured as well. Blinking her eyes in surprise, she paused in realisation and understood it must''ve been the blue mes by the entrance. "Seems like you understand the allure of this ce. Now how may I help you?" "Well¡­ I''m here for some mead." Alice replied honestly. She just didn''t expect the bar to be this kind of ce when she was simply here to get a drink. "Ohya? Most interesting. Can I ask what kind of mead you are¡­ Looking for?" The bartender chuckled softly. "I''m thinking something spicy but sweet. Not too harsh on the body." "I see¡­ A gentle time. Understood. Any preference on time of service?" He nodded as Alice felt confused by his response but dismissed the feeling for now. "As soon as possible. I still need to catch an airship so I can''t stay for long." "I will see what I can do. I will give you a list of our catalogue once I check the avability. In the meantime please enjoy thisplimentary drink." He bowed before pouring a pink alcohol into a small ss and pushing it before Alice. "Oh? Thank you." She didn''t think they would give her a free drink on top of what she wanted to order. Bringing the ss to her nose, she gave the alcohol a smell. A soft floral scent drifted from the liquid with a tinge of sweetness. Taking a sip, Alice could feel the alcohol going through her body as warmth spread through her body in an instant. Licking her lips, Alice couldn''t help but sigh out in satisfaction. Just as she finished her drink, the bartender came back with a list and pictures next to the time. But once Aliceid her eyes on the contents, she froze up in a mixture of confusion and stock. "Erm¡­ I''m pretty sure I ordered mead?" Alice forced a smile while the bartender tilted his head at her response. "Yes?... Wait¡­ Are you talking about the drink mead or do you mean the¡­ service mead." The bartender asked hesitantly. "The f*cks a service mead?" Coughing awkwardly, the bartender hesitated before opening his mouth. "The bedroom service kind. My apologies, since you described mead as not too harsh on the body, I had assumed you read the sign. And understood what you were asking for." He bowed with embarrassment as he pointed to the sign behind him. It was next to the disy of alcohol and clearly stated the code words of this establishment. The code words ranged from poker to different types of food and finally, mead. [Mead = Massage, Ecstasy and Desires] "!!!" Widening her eyes in horror, blood rushed to Alice''s face as she was so focused on the alcohol on the shelf that she didn''t even see the sign next to it. Hiding her face out of shame, Alice took a deep breath and sighed. "I¡­ Just want to fill my sk with some me- alcoholic beverages for the journey ahead since it''ll take a week." Alice exined, suppressing the desire to crawl into a hole and hide herself. "Once again I''m sorry for the mix up. It''s just¡­ hardly anyonees here just for the alcohol since it''splimentary with the service we provide. But since this is my mistake, please let mepensate you." He apologised sincerely as he had truly never seen anyonee to this establishment just for alcohol. ''Once you enter this ce, it should feel no different to the deepyers of the Howling Depths. Does this person not feel anything? Who would believe someone like this is just here for alcohol? Or is it some other code word I haven''t remembered?'' He thought to himself. Those who treated this ce as a normal bar would find themselves struggling to move from the malevolent aura emanating from this ce. Yet she was sitting here just fine and wanting a simple refill of her sk. Not wanting to make another mistake, he decided to ignore the abnormalities and refill her sk with the highest grade mead they had. "Here you go, your sk has been refilled. Once again I apologize for my mistake of misunderstanding your intentions. I hope you can forgive me." "Ah it''s fine. It''s my fault too for not reading the sign." Alice waved her hand as she was in the wrong. She should''ve seen the sign and asked the moment his response felt weird. Looking back, it truly sounded like she was asking for a bed warmer to spend some time with. ''Urg¡­ I''m going to take this secret with me to my grave. If Ria found out¡­ Yeah no she''ll definitelyugh at me.'' She sighed inwardly. Thanking the bartender once more, Alice stood up and left the establishment. Leaving the door, Alice could feel the concealment effect lingering on her so long as she was near the strange blue mes but once she stepped away, it disappeared. ''What a strange thing¡­ I wonder if I could take a sample of it. Nah, I don''t want to test my luck.'' Whoever had created this establishment knew what they were doing and she didn''t want to annoy someone like that identally. She couldn''t even sense the abyssal energy flowing through the establishment hence why she didn''t realise something was off. Shaking her head, Alice turned around and left when she noticed a group of three preparing to enter the bar. Stepping to the side so as to not bump into them, Alice was about to walk away when she noticed a crest embroidered on their jacket. ''Dagger in a heart¡­ Isn''t that the crest of the Morrigan family?'' Alice paused in surprise as the Morrigan family was one of the families responsible for Abyss Blood production before the Zenia family took over. After the sudden rise of the Zenia''s, they could only survive as a family that supplied the nobles with high-purity blood at their request. ''If I remember correctly, they should be a Blood Harvesting family now¡­'' Alice thought to herself before walking away. She understood that with how famous the Silverwind Academy was with it being located in the self-destruct site of an Abyss Lord, she shouldn''t be surprised if famous noble families were to show up. Especially if it was the Zenia family. cing her hand over her chest, Alice furrowed her brows as she didn''t know how she would react. Would she have another panic attack? Would shesh out in anger? Or could she hold back her fury and simply watch? Allura wasn''t here to protect her right now and she had to be responsible for her own actions. Thinking to herself, Alice made up her mind. Depending on the rules of the Academy, and if she saw anyone she knew, she''d work within its boundaries to achieve her goals. ''If I want to get dispose of any Zenia''s Ie across, I''ll need to do so quietly. How would I even hide my identity? My split hair isn''t exactlymon in the Abyss.'' Alice thought to herself. Strolling through the port, her mind was solely focused on how she would get away with a murder should she find a member of the Zenia family. Chapter 202: Boarding The Airship ". . ." Looking at the scene in front of her, Alice was speechless. Massaging her eyes, she wasn''t sure how she should react. "Didn''t you say¡­ You were just going to find the gambling arena? How did you even end up in this situation?" She sighed, looking at Ria who was chained and cuffed up in a cell. "Ahahaha¡­ That''s a bit of a long story." Ria smiled awkwardly. She wanted to scratch her cheek but due to her restraints, she was unable to. Sighing deeply, Alice wondered how she should proceed. After she left the Dragon''s Breath, she went to look for Ria. However, following the traces of her blood bead, she found herself in front of the guard house where Ria had been apprehended due to misconduct. "I''m sorry for what my friend caused. Would it be alright if I take her from here?" Alice asked as she nced over to the guard next to her. "That''s fine. Just make sure she doesn''t cause any more trouble. The first instance is just a warning, if it happens again we''ll take no responsibility if you were to miss your airship." The guard exined. Opening the cell, he unlocked her restraints and gestured for her to leave. "Phew finally. I was wondering how long I''ll have to wait for them to let me out." Ria smiled in relief while massaging her wrists. "So care to exin the whole story now?" "Sure. So for you see, after I had found the gambling arena, I signed myself up for it as per usual. Looking to earn some coin for my wallet. "However, after my first match, I had some pompous ass trying to invite me to dinner or some crap. Of course, I rejected him but he didn''t understand the word no so I tried to exin that I''m just here to gamble. Nothing more nothing less. Can you even guess what he decided to say next?" Ria huffed while rolling her eyes. "What did he say next?" "He asked if I wanted to gamble with him. And to make it more ''spicy'' he said why don''t we gamble with our body on the line? Honestly after hearing that I decided to hit him in the face. Turns out his guards didn''t take kindly to that so I started to fight his guards. After the first wave another wave came, some people got dragged in and it spiralled into the entire gambling arena fighting one another." Ria shrugged as though it was just an everyday scenario. Meanwhile, Alice could only blink her eyes in disbelief. "I get why you would hit him but why the hell did the entire arena start to fight one another? How did it even spiral to that extent???" "I dunno, don''t look at me. I was just focused on punching the pompous ass." Ria shrugged her shoulders before stretching her body. "So what did you do in the meantime? Did you get the mead you wanted?" "I did. A full sk hehe~ I have to admit this mead is actually quite nice. One of these days I should learn how to make it myself so I can always keep a supply on me." Alice chuckled while patting the sk on her waist. "OH? If you''re saying it''s good then it must be some fine mead." Ria remarked as Alice''s taste for mead had only gotten more expensive as time went on. After leaving the guard house, the two made their way to the docks as they decided to spend the rest of the time making themselvesfortable on the airship. With Alice not wanting to repeat the misunderstanding in the Dragon''s Breath and Ria not wanting to get apprehended again, they registered their arrival and waited for the airship to be open for boarding. Waiting by the waiting rooms, Alice couldn''t help but wonder why they couldn''t board yet. Considering the actual airship itself was ready by the docks. The airship that loomed over the docks was a magnificent sight to behold. The ship itself was adorned with intricate designs and patterns that spoke of detailed artistry yet the sturdiness of the ship itself could not be underestimated. Unlike standard ships, there were no masts that would guide its path. Instead, there seemed to be a harness thatcked a wearer at the moment to which Alice could only assume the beast hadn''t arrived yet. ''Beasts are usually killed on sight with very few being captured alive for other purposes. I wonder what kind of beast will be carrying this airship.'' Alice mused to herself as she could see the crew scurrying about on the deck of the airship, making final preparations for departure. "This will be your first experience with an airship right?" "Mnm. Though I assume the novelty will probably wear off after the first hour or so." Alice shrugged. She didn''t understand the excitement and enjoyment that came with riding a vehicle like this. To her, it was no different to a ship or a carriage but this time it was through the sky. "Boo no fun. I''m sure once you see the sights it offers you''ll think otherwise." Ria chuckled. "Perhaps. I don''t mind a surprise so long as it''s not finding you locked in a cell again." "Arg¡­ Don''t remind me. I should''ve just left but you don''t understand. His face was just so¡­ punchable after he suggested that crap to me." Ria sighed while resting her chin on her hand. "Bah forget it." Waving her hand in annoyance, Ria closed her eyes and rested her mind while waiting for their turn to board the airship. After waiting for 30 minutes, the staff called them over as the final preparations were finished. Stepping onto the ship, Alice couldn''t help but wonder what kind of beast was even able to lift up such a mass of materials like this through the sky. Thinking about how heavy this construct was, it seemed crazy that a beast could even support this kind of weight. But most importantly¡­ ''What kind of power would its blood give me if I drank it? Would I be able to carry the ship through the sky as well?'' Alice mused to herself curiously. However, she would probably run out of power before she could even go anywhere. There was only so much she could do since Abyss Blood effects were only temporary for her. Shaking her head, she made her way to her room and put away her luggage. She wasn''t carrying much considering it was just a few sets of clothing and her sword. "Have you finished unpacking?" Ria asked as she poked her head out of her room. "I''m not carrying that much you know? We''ll be spending a week on this ship, please tell me we have a bit of entertainment or is the only entertainment the scenery around here?" Alice asked as she strapped her sword to her waist. "Oh! Let me give you a quick tour then. Most of the airshipyouts are pretty simr so I should be able to find my way around this one quite easily. And as much as I would like to say there''s a training facility, there is nothing like that on the ship. If an ident was to happen and the ship gets damaged, it would be quite the issue." Ria chuckled as she waited for Alice. "Then what is the entertainment if not training?" "Bleh it''s always training with you. Some bands will be performing throughout the trip. A few ys and bardsing to tell some stories from farawaynds." Ria exined but Alice seemed uninterested. Seeing this, Ria tried to think of other activities before sighing and relenting to Alice''s gaze. "Fine okay there are a few training facilities. But they''re mostly for building body strength or correcting your posture. Nothing too intense. But are you really going to use this time for more training rather than loosening yourself up with some fun activities?" Ria asked as Alice thought about it for a moment before nodding her head. "Unless there''s a bar with good mead you can count me out. Plus¡­ Now that I think about it, when have you been interested in band performances and bards? Let me guess, there''s gambling tables for you to enjoy?" Alice asked as Ria flinched at the mention of gambling. ". . . I f*cking knew it. Will the gambling involve fighting? Or is it just normal gambling?" Alice asked with a sigh. "Just normal gambling ahaha. They don''t allow fighting on board the ship after all. But think about it, since we''re here for a week anyways, we may as well earn a bit of coin as enrolment fees." Ria grinned. Sighing out softly, Alice could only nod her head since she wasn''t wrong. Their funds right now weren''t exactly plentiful after spending over 200 gold just on travel. ''Ria only won one match before getting into trouble. All things considered, we only have 77 gold and 50 silver right now. I don''t know how expensive the enrolment fee is but it''s probably more than what we have right now. Hmm¡­'' "I suppose you''re right. Since we''re spending a week here we may as well procure some funds and- never mind. Let''s just focus on getting some funds." Alice smiled. She cut herself off from saying that they should stay out of trouble too. However, trouble follows them everywhere and event mentioning it could jinx things for them. "That''s the spirit hehe~ Let''s go check out the main deck first. We''ll be taking off soon so you''ll be able to see the beast up close and the scenery as we ascend." Ria grinned, leading the way to the deck of the ship while Alice followed closely behind. Even though she had expressed her disinterest, there was a hint of curiosity in her heart regardless. She had seen the airships in Eldoria but this was clearly a different type of airship. As her first time on this kind of vehicle, there was bound to be some curiosity. However, as they left the corridor leading to their rooms, Ria paused mid step as they came face to face with another group of people. Chapter 203: A Beast To Carry The Airship identally bumping into Ria, Alice furrowed her brows and peaked over her shoulders to see what was going on. In front of them was a group of three who were also staring back in a mixture of surprise and shock. In the middle was a young man who stood tall, his demeanour exuding an air of importance and arrogance. He wore a distinctive attire of a Hunter except it was mixed with essories befitting a noble. Rather than a proper Hunter gear, it felt more like an imitation than the real deal. Intricate designs are embroidered onto the soft fabric along with a crest depicting his family. nking on either side were what seemed to be his two bodyguards, both radiating a threatening aura as though onlookers shouldn''t even think about approaching their young master. One was a woman who wielded a gleaming sword with barbs extending from the guard. Her stance is poised and ready for action and her eyes reveal her hostility towards Ria. The other was a man who wore metallic gloves that reminded Alice of her own. He wore a shirt with a sleeveless tunic and a pair of suit pants and shoes. He stood in front of the young man while preparing to fight. "How the hell are you on this airship!?" The young man questioned as his face twisted with disgust. "It''s got nothing to do with you. Why don''t you f*ck off with your shitty guards or do you want to fight round two? I let you off easilyst time. How about I break a few bones this time?" Ria retorted as lightning crackled from her body. Seeing this, Alice understood that a fight could break out at a moment''s notice and doing so before the airship departed could mean trouble. If Ria were to get apprehended once more, they wouldn''t be able to make their trip to Silverwind Valley. Thinking about this, Alice decided to take matters into her own hands. "Let''s just take it easy, okay? The ship''s about to depart. We''re going to be staying here for a week, why don''t we just ignore one another?" Alice smiled as she remembered how some of the staff acted in order to dispel tension between people. Sometimes it felt easier to act as other people than it was to react as herself. After all, the easiest course of action would be to kill them but that would cause a myriad of other issues. "Shut the f*ck up you split-haired freak of nature. Who the hell do you think you are to interrupt my conversation?" He sneered. *PUCHI! Feeling as though a vein was about to pop, Alice narrowed her eyes as her smile slowly faded away. ''How should I kill him? I''ll need to hide the body and make it fast if I don''t want to alert anyone else on the ship. If I use strong attacks, they''ll feel it. However¡­ I can probably turn my bracelet into a hook and dig out their brain by the time they can react. I''ll be able to take care of two but the third is an issue if I don''t want to alert anyone.'' Thoughts shed past her mind but Alice managed to reign in her thirst for blood and simply reached into her pouch. "You know, it''s not exactly pleasing to be called a freak of nature in our first meeting. Shouldn''t you be more cordial with people you first meet?" Alice sighed, causing the young man to nce at her with disdain. But before he could say anything, Alice flicked a bead towards them before snapping her fingers. After doing so, she simply walked past them while Ria wanted to stop her. "Wait!... Huh?" Noticing that the three weren''t doing anything, Ria tilted her head in confusion. "Just some hallucinations. Hold your breath when you walk past them and it should be fine." Alice exined nonchntly. If they wanted to avoid any conflict and without bloodshed, her first Sigil would do the trick. "I see¡­ Well, I guess that avoids things for now." Ria shrugged, following behind Alice. ncing back, she couldn''t help but think about how easy it would be for Alice to kill them right now. "We''ll keep things civil. They won''t be able to do much once the airship''s taken off but if we were to cause trouble and dy the take-off then they could still arrest us." Alice shrugged as Ria understood why she didn''t do anything. Even after he called her a freak of nature. "I''m surprised you didn''t kill them." Ria sighed, ncing back at the motionless trio who were trapped in a hallucination. "Like I said, I don''t want to cause trouble before we take off. But the little sh*t called me a freak of nature so I let him have a taste of what I had to go through. I''d imagine he''s probably in the middle of having his organs removed and reced with different contraptions to pump him with Abyss Blood." Alice smiled devilishly as Ria felt a chill down her spine. "Sh*t forget I even said anything then. How long do you think it''ll take for them to break out of it?" "If they''re strong and have a strong will to match, they should be out of it around now." Alice muttered while ncing back. Copsing on his knee, the male guard panted heavily as his face was pale and sweat covered his body. His pupils trembled from what he had just witnessed as he repeatedly patted his body to make sure it was just a hallucination and nothing more. "Seems like one of them managed to get out. The other two might take a while." Alice smiled. Just as they were about to leave, the two sensed a wave of danger behind them as they instantly turned around and saw several threads shooting towards their heads. Twisting her body to dodge the threads, Alice narrowed her eyes and nced behind her. The threads weaved with one another to block their path and she could only sigh. "Must you really go this far? Don''t you have your master to protect? Your colleague hasn''t even broken out of the hallucination yet, dog. You''re barking up the wrong tree." Alice asked as she didn''t know what was going on in his head for him to attack them again. Two of them were incapacitated too. Hearing no response, Alice scratched her hair and turned to Ria. "Want to deal with him or should I?" "I''m pretty sure if I dealt with him he''s either gonna get fried or die, depending on his durability. I''m sure the staff here wouldn''t appreciate that very much." Ria chuckled since her power was far too destructive to just simply incapacitate someone. It was simply a sign of her ownck of control which she needed more training for. "Alright." Nodding her head, Alice turned to the guard before stomping down and dashing forward without hesitation. Seeing this, the guard reacted by mming his hand down and creating a wave of threads to slow her approach. Formting several ns in his mind, he created arge array of defensive traps and web spears before shooting it at Alice who could only furrow her brows and parry the attacks before being forced back. "Aside from your hallucinations you''re just all talk!" He called out with a grin as he noticed his co-worker waking up from her own hallucination. With the two of thembined, dealing with a bunch of young brats should be easy. ### "Poor b*stard." Ria sighed seeing the man twitching on the floor with a forced grin. "Meh, he''s the one who wanted to fight again." Alice shrugged. The moment she charged towards him, she detonated another bead and threw him into a hallucination before mming his head into the ground. "Anyways, I didn''t kill him so it should be fine? Plus he''s the one who attacked us so self-defence. . . I think." "But aren''t you the one who used the hallucination on them first?" Ria raised an eyebrow. ". . . We don''t talk about that. Let''s leave quickly." Aliceughed awkwardly as the two scuttled away from the crime scene and made their way to the deck of the airship. Finding an empty spot along the railings, Alice leaned forward and noticed a faint shadow approaching from the skies. The clouds were blocking the beast''s figure as all she could see was a blurred silhouette. However, once it broke out of the clouds, she was able to see its full figure. A colossal whale on the scale of the Abyss Lords, perhaps even bigger floated its way towards them as fourrge fins acted as its wings. Its body was divided into two distinct halves, each portraying a differentndscape that contracted one another yet held a sense of harmony. The underside of the whale resembled the vast expanse of an astral sea. A tapestry of colours and stars that danced across its body and shimmered with bands of light that looked like silk. Waves of iridescent blues, purples and greens coalesced into an otherworldly spectacle that seemed to stretch on infinitely. In stark contrast, the top half resembled a series of lush inds floating amidst this astral sea. Clusters of verdant forests, mountains and waterfalls adorned its back, creating a painting of a different world atop this beast''s back. Together, the two halves of the whale created a breathtaking sight. To the extent of which that even Alice was mesmerised by this sight and didn''t have any words she could offer in awe of this beast. [Starborne Wanderer - ?????] As the two watched in silence, the Starborne Wanderer hovered above the airship as riders atop the whale jumped down and began to attach the harnesses. Once everything was attached, the beast began to fly into the abyssal sky with the airship in tow. Their destination, Silverwind Valley. Chapter 204: Training Facility Within The Airship As the Starborne Wanderer soared above the skies, its colossal form casting a shadow upon thends below. The people living in the port looked up and waved their hands as the giant beast departed their city. Enjoying the view of their surroundings as they ascended past the clouds, Alice took a deep breath and smiled. Perhaps this was what freedom felt like. The ability to enjoy a simple scenery without worry. This thought only reaffirmed her desire to get stronger so she could dispatch the Zenia family. "Shall we head back now? The scenic show is over." Alice asked as Ria nodded her head. "Sure. We have around a week to enjoy everything this airship has to offer." Ria rubbed her hands expectantly while Alice could only sigh. "How experienced are you with normal gambling in the first ce? You said this ce doesn''t allow fighting right? So what will you do if the host decides to cheat?" Alice asked curiously since she doubted they were going to let Ria leave with all the money she could potentially win. Hearing this, Ria''s smile faltered as she hadn''t thought this far. She knew that gambling ces were rather biased and unless she could prove herself, she wouldn''t be able to walk away with her earnings. So far, she''s been earning coin through gambling arenas where she knows she can walk away safely. But for this airship that''s guarded by five star Hunters, a giant beast and guards of nobles all heading to Silverwind Valley? Unlikely. "Urg¡­ But what else am I supposed to do for a week?" Riamented while clutching her chest in sadness. "Well for starters, you can enjoy a drink with me. That and a bit of training. You said they had training facilities right?" Alice smiled, shaking her sk. "I mean calling them training facilities is a bit of a stretch. It''s more like a ce for Nobles to show off their status as well as their bodyguards. Few would actually take the training seriously." Ria sighed. "Huh? Why?" "Because why would you want to show off your full strength against your enemies? You have to think of it like this. They''re children of powerful nobles. Anything they do may implicate their family and the view people have towards them. If they were to expose their strength and others realise the future hope of the family is weak, what do you think they would think?" Ria exined as Alice paused in realisation. Should the future of the family be foundcking the strength to carry the burden, it is only natural that their enemies would n for their destruction and to absorb their assets for themselves. "What a shame. Is that the same for the Academy then? If it is I might pass on the enrolment after all. Sounds boring if everyone is hiding their strength and no one takes it seriously." Alice sighed in disappointment. "Oh don''t get me wrong, the Academy is a different thing entirely. They hide their strength outside but inside the Academy, every little helps. "You see, the Academy is sponsored by the several Great Families of the Abyss and with it being located in the middle of an Abyss Lord''s self-destruction, it serves as a prime location of study. No one in their right mind would give up such a precious opportunity so everyone who goes to the Academy, unless they have ulterior motives, would showcase everything or close to everything they''ve got. That way, they can prove that they''re most deserving of the resources provided by the Academy." Nodding her head in understanding, Alice sighed in relief. While her main goal may be to bargain for as much high quality mead as possible, she''s not against actually studying should it help her grow in strength. The studies may yet open more doors towards her ability much like her discovery of how to control the hallucination of her first Sigil. After gaining her third Sigil, her senses were improved to the point of being able to perceive the flow of energy within the body and inanimate objects. Using this as a basis, Alice discovered that certain abilities are activated with a unique passage of power through the body. The manner of which is reminiscent of creating a ritual tomune with the Abyss itself. Considering that the Sigils are a byproduct of a contract to begin with, it was only natural that the source of this power would originate from an act of exchange. The first step in understanding this discovery was changing the effects of her first Sigil. Originally, her first Sigil would cause the target to hallucinate a scene of their desire. In the middle of a fight, this meant that they would perceive their victory. By changing the conditions of the ritual being performed subconsciously, she was able to change this scene of desire into a scene of anything Alice wished for. But in doing so, the drain of using this kind of hallucination caused her to be exhausted much faster with the target building resistance towards her hallucinations. Not only that, the ''materials'' required were increased with the change in effect. If she was able to create 3 hallucinations before without needing to ''replenish'' her blood, she would only be able to create 1 of her desired hallucinations with the new change. Which is why she created the blood bead. Apressed bead of blood that could help her achieve her desired effect. She had tried to teach this technique of adjusting the ritual to Ria but it seemed as though no matter how hard she tried, Ria wasn''t able to do the same. The very act of perceiving the flow of energy was beyond her and perhaps was only avable to Alice due to Ca''s influence. One of the many mysteries Alice has discovered after obtaining Ca. "Do you want to practice the new idea you had then? Since we have a week, it should be enough time to turn it from a proof of concept to something we can use in a fight." Alice suggested as Ria thought about it for a moment before nodding her head. "We might as well use the training facility then. I''m sure they''ll have no issues with us using it as intended." Asking one of the staff where the training facility was, the two made their way down the airship. The airship itself was split into five mainyers. The upper deck where they are right now, the main deck where most of the entertainment such as gambling was held. The lower decks where the residents would sleep. Beneath the lower deck was the training facility where they were heading. Following the staff down to the training facility, they listened intently to the rules. Most of it was simplymon sense where you don''t want to cause trouble for others while the unique rules could be summarised as controlling your output so you don''t injure others on the ship. Even if the training facility had been created with Hunter''s in mind, there were always bound to be exceptions and they wanted to avoid such a scenario. After the staff exined this rule, Ria gave Alice a side nce with a smug grin as Alice acted dumb and ignored her. Obviously, she wasn''t going to use Void Flux in this ce. Doing so was simply asking for death since she couldn''t fly. And even if Ria could, there was bound to be a limit on her stamina, especially when they were this high up. After exining all of the rules, the staff bowed and wished them a good time before leaving. Left alone, the two could see the full scale of the training facility. To their left, a group of what seemed to be trainee Hunters sparred with wooden weapons while talking with one another. Their movements were controlled and simply mimicked the action of a fight with a constant back and forth. Rather than training, Alice much preferred to call it an amateur dance since they didn''t put their heart into it. In the centre of the facility was arge space where trainees could be found practising their Sigil powers while their bodyguards would help them with their training. To their righty a cluster of corridors and private chambers, each dedicated to a different aspect of training while allowing the users secrecy. In one of the unupied rooms, Alice could see several training dummies and an assortment of weapons. Not only that, the dummies were also surrounded by contraptions that seemed to mimic attacks. "Now then, I see a few private training rooms and a few fighting rings. There are some training dummies on the side and seems like some of the crew here are training as well. We probably want to use the private rooms if we want to practice the technique." Ria mused. Nodding her head in agreement, Alice scanned the private chambers to find one that was suitable for their purpose. "That room looks good. It seems to have a dummy focused on resilience and looks like it measures the power of your output." Alice suggested as Ria nced over. "Sure. Though the staff did tell us to control our output so we should be careful just in case." Ria chuckled. Their idea was simple. It was to use Alice''s third Sigil to act as a booster for Ria''s attacks! The concept of their technique was to somehow ''fuse'' Alice''s violet mes with Ria''s lightning in a way that allows the fire to burn away the defence before Ria''s attacknded. That way, even if they were resistant towards lightning based attacks, Ria would still be able to cause significant damage. It was an idea born from Alice''s concern regarding her technique. Void Flux was powerful yes. But it was still avoidable unless she took her opponent by surprise or risked losing her own arm to guarantee a hit. In such a scenario, where Alice couldn''t guarantee her strongest attack, she would need to support Ria instead and have her attack while she nullified the opponent''s Sigil. Entering the training room, the two locked the door and began experimenting on how they should manifest this technique in a fight. Chapter 205: Rias Preparation For Arrival For the next week, their schedule consisted of getting food, testing out newbinations and rest. asionally, Alice would visit the bar to enjoy some alcohol since she didn''t want to drink all of her mead at once. Ria on the other hand was tempted with the gambling tables. After much persuasion, Alice agreed for her to try it out once. The result of which was Ria losing 25 times in a row and losing 30 gold in the process. In the end, she vowed not to y around with gambling tables. Instead, she would gamble at fighting arenas where she knows she could win instead. Having lost 30 gold, the duo was left with 47 gold in total between them. As for the young noble whom they ran into on the first day, he avoided them in the rare instances where they would meet. Havingid eyes on Alice, his face would lose colour and his body would tremble at the thought of what had happened before. The sights he saw and the horrors he felt, it was far too real for just a hallucination. They were, after all, her own experiences. Thanks to that, they weren''t given any trouble through the week even though she expected the crew to talk to her about the incident. "We will be arriving in Silverwind Valley shortly. May all passengers collect all of your belongings and prepare for arrival. Please make sure you do not forget anything and should you misce or lose your items, please talk to the supervisors at the port to inquire about missing items." Hearing the announcement over the loudspeaker, Alice yawned as she slowly opened her eyes. She had fallen asleep in the training room since they had gotten a little carried awayst night. Seeing the marks left behind by their training, a smile crept up on Alice''s face. ''It''s a little difficult to use but not impossible. In the middle of a fight, we should be able to execute this attack with some effort and distractions.'' She mused to herself. Stretching her body, Alice walked over to Ria who had also fallen asleep in the training room and shook her on the shoulder. "Wakey wakey. The airship is about to arrive." Letting out an annoyed groan, Ria swatted away Alice''s hand as she curled up into a morefortable position. Seeing this, Alice sighed and allowed Ria to sleep for a little longer. Returning to her room, Alice had a shower before looking over her wardrobe once more. Since they were going to meet Ria''s long-time friend, Alice didn''t want to look sloppy. Plus, they were going to enrol at the Academy too and ording to her old knowledge, first impressions are rather important. ''Even if I''m strong, if I don''t look the part the staff at the Academy might hold some bias.'' Alice thought to herself as she picked out a few dresses. ''Do I go with a smart look? Serious or cute?'' Furrowing her brows, Alice had a hard time choosing the outfit she wanted since all of them looked good. But in the end, she settled with a rather practical attire that would help her out inbat. The outfit consisted of arge white jacket with a hood. Oversized sleeves to hide any weapons she may be holding or attacks she might be preparing such as the blood beads. Beneath the jacket was arge shirt hiding some padding. It wasn''t much in terms of protection but better than nothing. Wearing a pair of shorts and ck stockings, she put on a pair of armoured boots that reached just below her knees. During the week they were training, they weren''t solely focused on bringing forth their ideas with the new technique. Alice wanted to learn more hand to handbat and who better to ask than Ria. But unlike Ria, Alicecked the upper body strength to properly attack her opponent so they opted for a fighting style that prioritized kicking rather than punches. With her flexibility and reactions, Alice turned out to be quite the lethal fighter with her legs. Which is why she chose a pair of shorts rather than a skirt since she''d rather not reveal herself in the middle of a fight. Feeling satisfied with her choice of attire, Alice gave herself a light spin to make sure everything looked good. Packing up her belongings, she made her way back to the training room and saw that Ria had now woken up but was still feeling groggy. "Seems like you''re finally awake. Airships almost reached the destination. They''re telling passengers to get their stuff ready." Alice exined with a smile. Hearing this, Ria paused before jumping up. "Oh sh*t already? Why didn''t you wake me up?!" "I did but you pped my hand away." Alice shrugged as Ria dashed back to her room. Shaking her head with a smile, Alice nced back at the training room before leaving. The crew might have a slight headache trying to repair all of the damages but believe it or not, they actually held back a lot. Arriving at Ria''s room, Alice noticed Ria panicking about what she wanted to wear. "Argh! Dammit this wouldn''t work!" Ria cried out in annoyance as she stuffed one of her martial split dresses into her suitcase. "Why wouldn''t it work? I thought you liked that dress quite a bit?" Alice asked curiously as Ria folded her arms. "I mean yeah but it''scking something. I dunno¡­ I can just feel it ya know? The moment I wear that Luke will definitely make fun of me. I wanna find something that can really knock him off his senses, make him speechless." Ria exined. "Oh? Are you trying to impress him?" Alice paused in surprise but Ria shook her head. "Nope just want to make him speechless that''s all. He''s always got so much sh*t to say to me so I want to change things. Come on, help me pick something. What do you think will make him speechless?" "I mean if you really want to make him speechless you can just throw some rainbows and glitter on a tattered dress and vomit some colours on it. I''m pretty sure that''ll make anyone speechless not just your friend." Alice smirked, causing Ria to roll her eyes. "No sh*t. I meant in a good way. Like wow! Way." "So, to achieve this you decided to ask someone who''s been locked away for 10 years? I mean if you trust my aesthetic sense sure, but it might be a bit outdated." Alice warned. "It''s fine. Now which one do you think looks better on me?" Ria asked, showing Alice a selection of five dresses. With no other choice, Alice sat down and started to help Ria with picking out an outfit. ### ncing up at the time, a young man removed his sses before massaging his eyes. He was currently sitting by a desk with a mountain of textbooks and notes. "I think it should be time for Ria to arrive. Her airship should bending in 30 minutes." He muttered with fatigue. Closing the book in front of him, he stood up and grabbed his jacket from his seat. The jacket was ck and red in colour and adorned with an intricate golden emblem and embroidery. Swinging the jacket over his shoulders and allowing them to hang off thanks to the clips, he stepped away from his workstation and prepared to meet his old friend. He stood at 6ft 2 and had a slender frame. He has muted long purple hair that looked as though it was losing its colour into a grey and was loosely tied into a low pony tail as strands of hair framed his face, swaying with each step that he took. Behind his sses, a pair of turquoise eyes looked on with fatigue yet there was a sense of dormant power in his gaze. Beneath the ck and red jacket, he wore a sleeveless ck vest that contrasted the long-sleeved red shirt he wore under the vest. A pair of suit pants and polished ck shoes to match. Luke Isander. An orphan thanks to the rituals of the Cult of the Eclipse. Much like Ria, he was saved by Gin during his purge of the cult and the two travelled with him for a period of time until Luke decided to branch away and enter the Academy for study. Yawning softly, Luke didn''t notice the small smile he had on his face as this was going to be a reunion long overdue. Ria mentioned that she was bringing along a friend for this trip but didn''t specify any details regarding this friend. All he could hope was that she was less talented than Ria when it came to stirring up trouble. For Luke, a quiet life was the best life. Having one person bring chaos with her every time she visited was enough. Two was going to be far too much of a headache. ### "I think this should be good enough no?" Alice groaned as she felt exhausted from helping Ria pick an outfit. Every time she made a suggestion Ria would shoot it down with a reason and this has continued until the crew has announced that there were only 10 minutes left until arrival. "Urg¡­ F*ck it! This should be just fine right?" Ria bit her lip as she nced into the mirror. "Don''t ask me. I''m not the one trying to make the target speechless. I don''t know your friend so it''s up to you if you think this is enough." Alice sighed. However, she had to admit that with the outfit Ria had chosen, she felt like apletely different kind of person. The usual Ria felt like a crackling bonfire. Exuding energy and a sense of eagerness no matter what she was doing. As for the current Ria, she was more akin to the gentle moonlight. Soft, charming and elegant. "Erm¡­ Alright! This will do. I''ll make sure I make him speechless today." Ria puffed out her chest as the fires of determination burned bright in her eyes. Packing the rest of her things into the suitcase, the two arrived at the deck and watched as Silverwind Valley came into view. Chapter 206: Arriving In Silverwind Valley Standing on the deck of the ship, Alice looked on in awe as no words could describe the feeling she felt in her chest. Even though she had heard the description of the Silverwind Valley, the words failed to live up to the sight she was seeing. Before her was a mountain range with two colossal peaks piercing into the sky. The sheer size and height was far bigger than anything she had ever seen, yet the way the mountain bent towards a singrity thaty in between these peaks defied thews of nature. A swirling orb of darkness that radiated violet lights and consumed everything around it. Absorbing the realm into a chasm of oblivion and distorting the very fabric of space surrounding this orb. This distortion created an inverted world where the skies andnd have swapped ces. Staring at this orb from afar, it almost looked like an eye belonging to an unspeakable demon that peered into their realm while the residents were ignorant of its existence. Embedded into the valley itself were countless buildings and towers. Their architecture blended seamlessly with the natural surroundings and invoked a sense of mysteriousness when paired with the vibrant purple motes of light that danced in the air. Each mote is akin to a celestial firefly, radiating an ephemeral glow upon thend and with the extinction of a mote, another would appear to rece it. From the heart of the singrity was a cascade of water that poured forth ceaselessly. Its crystalline streams flowed down to the river between the twin peaks and weaved towards the city below the mountains. Simr to the strange waters that Ria submerged herself into when choosing a bounty, this river shimmered with a strange, otherworldly light that reflected a myriad of colours that danced from the inverted world around the orb. But that was just what normal people saw. Through the gaze of Ca, Alice observed the invisible reality of energy. Swirling currents of Abyssal energy that was being drawn inexorably towards the heart. A mesmerizing kaleidoscope of colours that pulsed and shifted to the rhythm of a beating heart. It was a sight that filled her with a mixture of wonder and trepidation, for she did not know what this kind of phenomenon represented. Was the Abyss Lord dead? Are they still alive? Will this orb copse in on itself? Countless questions floated past her mind as within that swirling vortexy countless secrets that defiedprehension. However, on an instinctual level, Alice felt as though she could sense the emotions of the Abyss itself as its energy surrounded the orb. Mourning. ''The Abyss¡­ is mourning the Abyss Lord? Why? All of the Abyss Lords of old were sealed and doomed to repent their sins apparently... Howe the Abyss is mourning this one? Or was it mourning the others and I simply wasn''t privy to that information?'' Alice thought to herself as the airship came to a stop at the port. "Oh gods we''re here¡­ urg¡­ I''m feeling nervous now." Riamented as she bit her lips while hiding behind Alice. It was quite theical sight considering the fact that Alice was a head shorter than Ria. "I mean it''s now or never. Didn''t you send a message to him that you were going to arrive? Though if you want to stand him up we can just sneak out and try not to bump into him." Alice chuckled seeing Ria feeling nervous. She who wouldn''t even flinch in the face of a beast was now nervous at what her friend thought regarding her outfit. "Look, if you want, you can use me as a cover. Point out where your friend is and I''ll walk you there then you can step out when you''re ready. How does that sound?" She offered. Nodding her head without hesitation, Ria took a deep breath and hid behind Alice as the two of them stepped down from the deck and made their way through the docks in search of Ria''s friend. ### ''Where''s Ria? The ship''s been docked for a while now but she''s nowhere to be seen¡­'' Luke sighed as he was currently sitting on a bench by the entrance of the docks. Seeing the masses of people leave the ship, he couldn''t help but feel more worried as time went on. ''Did¡­ Did she get lost? Surely not¡­ Right? Ria''s not that directionally challenged that she can''t find a ship. Or is she? Sh*t.'' Sighing in anxiousness, Luke bounced his right leg up and down as the seconds passed by. Yet there was no sign of Ria. It wasn''t until the final passenger had stepped off the ship did he prepare to leave. However, he noticed a strange girl walking towards him. She had split hair with one side being white while the other being a dark purple. A pair of curious eyes tinged with a hint of helplessness. Luke wondered if her eye and hair were the results of Abyss Blood intake or something else since side effects are usually more¡­ pronounced depending on the blood you drank. Rarely would it look harmless like this. Naturally, he didn''t know the effects she was suffering from but for all he knew she could be blind in the right eye. "Sorry to be a bother but are you perhaps Luke?" Alice called out with a small smile as the man in front of him blinked his eyes in confusion before nodding his head. Seeing the heightparison, Alice couldn''t help butin inwardly as everyone in the Abyss seemed abnormally tall, especially Allura while she herself was a meagre 5 foot 2 inparison. Squinting her eyes in displeasure, she hid her inner thoughts before carrying the usual smile. "Yes I am. And you are?" Luke nodded his head. "Alice Agnelia. A pleasure to meet you. Ria has told me much about you but¡­" "Did that girl get lost again? Please don''t tell me she got lost and missed the airship. If that''s the case then I''ll have tomission some people to look for her." Luke sighed as he took off his sses and massaged his eyes. "Well¡­ I can guarantee that she didn''t get lost." Alice smiled awkwardly as she noticed Ria trembling in annoyance while hiding behind some cover. ''When is she even going toe out.'' She chuckled before turning back to Luke. "Oh? She didn''t get lost? Impossible. If she didn''t get lost then where is she?" He asked, looking around the port but couldn''t spot anyone that would match the description of Ria. "You''re quite certain that she got lost huh?" "I''m not sure if you know this but her sense of direction is pretty abysmal. I''m not talking about standard forgetfulness no. I''m talking about she''ll leave the house and nevere back because she mistook someone else''s house as her own and forgot her way back." Luke exined before standing up. "I''ll have you know my sense of direction has improved dipsh*t!" Unable to hold herself back anymore, Ria stepped out of her hiding spot and stormed towards her long-time friend in annoyance. Hearing the familiar voice, a smile appeared on Luke''s face as he prepared to recount a few tales regarding her sense of direction. Yet the moment he turned towards her, his smile froze. She wore a delicate white dress, the fabric billowing around her slender frame with each movement. Silver embroidery traced intricate patterns along the hem of the dress in the design of flowers. The dress itself was modest in length, almost reaching her knees while revealing her slender legs. Frilled sleeves adorned her arms, giving her an almost vulnerable aura. On her feet, she wore a pair of silver coloured shoes to match her essories. But despite all of this, hernguage broke the illusion of a frail girl. "The f*ck do you mean my directional sense is abysmal? If anything same could be said for you when you forgot to eat for 3 days and had to have me kick down your damn door and force-feed you so you didn''t f*cking die!" Ria raged, forgetting her original goal of making Luke speechless. Granted, she achieved her goal as Luke was indeed speechless but she hadn''t noticed. "Well?" Ria pouted seeing no reaction. "You¡­ Did you get your head kicked in by an Abyss Beast? I knew you were insane but at least you dressed the part back then. The hell is all this?" Luke asked as he recovered hisposure. "!?!?!" Widening her eyes, Ria felt the urge to smack him in the arm as they had spent quite a lot of time choosing this outfit yet all he had to say was to ask her if she got her head kicked by a beast?! "I don''t know about you two but I''d rather not walk around with suitcases in tow. Perhaps we can find a inn to stay at for now before we continue to argue?" Alice asked, gesturing to the people who were turning their heads towards the trio. After all, they didn''t control their voices at all so everyone could hear what they were talking about. Realising that she was still out in public, Ria felt a little embarrassed but recovered herposure. "Ah sorry about that. Please, let me show you the way to the Inn. How long will you be staying in Silverwind Valley?" Luke asked curiously as he offered to carry their suitcases. Without hesitation, Ria threw her suitcase towards him since she wanted to get a bit of revenge while Alice rejected the offer. "We''ll be staying here for a while. Me and Alice will be enrolling for a short period and see what we can get from it. We still need to travel to the maind after this." Ria exined while walking ahead of the two. "You? Wanting to study?" "Ha- Ha- very funny jackass." Ria rolled her eyes while giving him the middle finger. Shaking his head with a smile, Luke walked on ahead and showed them to a rtively cheap Inn that they could afford without any issues. Chapter 207: Luke Isander Helping the two find an inn to stay at for now, he decided that it was time to properly introduce himself to Alice now that they found a ce to stay. "Sorry for thete introductions but as you''ve probably heard from Ria, I''m Luke Isander. A pleasure to meet you." Luke bowed politely as Alice returned the bow. "Alice Agnelia. A pleasure to meet you." "Now that we have properly introduced ourselves to one another, I believe we can talk about your enrolment to the Academy. I''m not sure how much this stupid duck has exined to you but she probably said something along the lines of enrolment is rather simple." Luke sighed, ncing towards Ria who felt offended by her nickname. However, she couldn''t quite retort since that''s exactly what she told Alice. "Something along those lines." Alice nodded, sitting down by her bed as the three of them were in her room right now. Ria sat by the desk and she by the bed while Luke stood by the door. "I knew it." He sighed. "You see, while it is true that the enrolment for the Academy could be considered¡­ Easy in some aspects few have actually managed to enrol using these methods." "Oh? Do you know the details of the test?" Alice raised an eyebrow as Luke spoke as though he knew the details. "Partially. I was one of the few that passed this test but from what I know, each test given to the contestants is different. "Mine was to survive and Hunt certain beasts within the inverted world. I couldn''t bring anything except the tools I had made myself in order to get my schrship. Of course, this wasn''t the only thing I had to do but it was by far the hardest part of the test if I''m being honest. The theory exam was easy with a bit of dedicated study." Luke exined. Hearing that part of his exam was to Hunt down beasts, Alice focused her gaze above his head and saw three Sigils just like her. But there was something else that confused her. "Inverted World? What''s that?" "Hmm¡­ It''s a bit hard to exin since it''s still being studied. But so far, it seems to be a reflection of the Abyss within the orb. There''s a passage from the Academy that allows you to approach the centre where you can venture into this alternate world. Unlike our reality, beasts are far more frequent and aggressive in the Inverted World. "The concepts of this world are¡­ strange to say the least and honestly the teachers can exin it far better than I can. In my area of study, I don''t need to visit the Inverted World after my initial test. But those in thebat department would frequent the realm." Luke admitted as it was not a topic he had researched much about. "But as I said,bat is not the only requirement needed for you to enrol freely. There are other tests and in recent years, the difficulty has only increased. If you want to enrol freely right now¡­ It''s probably easier for you to study well and get in the normal way." "Urg¡­ The normal way is boring though. I don''t want to study." Ria groaned while ying around with the frills on her sleeves. "Then you don''t need toe to the Academy yet here we are. Also, you still haven''t told me where Sir Gin is." Luke retorted before inquiring about Gin''s whereabouts. "Grandfather''s sorting out some stuff with Allura. Apparently some trouble came knocking on our door and their mission for us was to get as strong as possible before going to the maind. Since we''ve been given free rein on what we want to do before they contact us, I figured we might as well see what the Academy can offer." Ria shrugged. "Well giving the exam a try certainly doesn''t hurt. If you want, I can help you arrange a trial exam to see if you can qualify for the main exams. That way you can skip a lot of the boring procedures needed." Luke offered, causing Ria to raise an eyebrow in surprise. "When did you be such a hotshot? Didn''t think you had connections like this." "Being one of the few that can actually pass this testes with some perks. But setting everything aside for now, how many Sigils have you got for Sir Gin to be okay with letting you roam free?" He asked curiously. With his knowledge of Gin, Luke knew that Gin wouldn''t let Ria go so easily unless she was able to fend for herself. "Hehe~ It may surprise you but I''m actually a four star Hunter now! I even got my resonance!" Ria grinned, puffing out her chest in pride before Alice could even warn her. "Hou~ Congrats. You finally caught up to me but I''m already thinking about my fifth Sigil." Luke chuckled, pouring cold water over Ria''s enthusiasm. "Tsk, you always have to one up me don''t you." "No sh*t. If I don''t, you''ll get carried away with your crap." Luke rolled his eyes before turning to Alice. "So what''s your n then? Are you interested in this trial?" "Just a tad. I''m more interested in this Inverted World you speak of though." Alice nodded, ncing out of the window towards the orb hovering between the mountains. "Alright. There are three types of study that you can choose within the Academy. Theory, Combat and the one being handiwork. Theory involves research and study of anything and everything rted to the Abyss, its history and even strange anomalies like the Inverted World. Combat is self-exnatory and focuses on Sigils andbat techniques. "As for handiwork, it''s what I enrolled in and focuses on craftsmanship. Whether that be cksmithing or engineering, the course covers pretty much everything. Which one do you n on enrolling in? I know the muscle head over here is going to go for Combat since it''s the only thing she has an interest in." Luke asked curiously while Ria didn''t deny his im. "Which one has the most interactions with the Inverted World?" "Combat. The Inverted World is like a training realm ording to them. You''ll spend a lot of your time training and entering the Inverted World for Hunts if you join thebat group." Luke answered directly. "Oh? I thought theory would be the one that interacts the most." "Most would think that. But I rarely see theory students entering the Inverted World since they''re off trying to prove their hypothesis and performing experiments rted to their theories." He shrugged since it wasn''t the first time he had heard this assumption. "Then I guess there''s only one choice since I''m a bit of a musclehead like Ria." Alice chuckled while ncing over to Ria who gave her a victory sign with her fingers and a wide grin. "Mnm¡­ Understood. If you don''t mind, how many Sigils do you have right now?" "Three." Alice held up three fingers. "Don''t let the number deceive you. Alice is more than a match for those with four Sigils. She got both grandfather''s and Allura''s stamp of approval for her strength." Ria chimed in. Hearing this, Luke couldn''t help but pause and reevaluate the girl sitting on the bed right now. Unlike Ria who only dressed to look harmless despite having foulnguage and an aggressive personality, Alice felt like she was theplete opposite. That being said, he hadn''t seen her inbat yet so he couldn''t confirm anything. Contemting in silence, Luke eventually nodded his head and made a mental note. "Alright. I''ll see how quickly I can help you two arrange for a trial once I get back. But now business is over, let''s rx for a bit." Luke chuckled as Ria smiled. "Took you a while. Business mode is finally over huh?" "You decided to dump me with a bunch of work after not seeing each other for so long. Naturally, I had to take it seriously and deal with it first before I could actually rx." Luke chuckled, sitting down opposite Ria and crossed his legs. Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out a block of wood and a small knife. "Ohya? Showing off your figure sculpting to Alice even though it''s the first meeting?" Ria asked with a grin as Luke shook his head. It was a hobby that he never showed others with the exception being Ria, Allura and Gin. "Well considering the way you spoke about Alice, it seems like you''ve really opened your heart up to them. In order to preserve the friendly atmosphere between you two, I''d rather not be rigid and lock myself up else I may spoil the mood." Luke chuckled as he delicately shaped the wood in his hand. Each stroke would remove ayer of material as his finger moved with practised ease and familiarity. Leaning on the table, Ria rested her chin on her arms as she watched him carve away at the block of wood. Even though it was a mundane task to her, she didn''t know but it was enjoyable seeing the focus and dedication Luke showed towards this craft. She wouldn''t be able to achieve the same feat if she was to try her hand at woodcarving. With Luke carving away at the block of wood and Ria enjoying the sight, Alice grabbed some cups from her table. "Care for a drink while you work?" She offered, opening her sk and allowing the aroma of the mead to drift through the room. "Yes please." Luke nodded as he received a cup of mead from Alice while Ria got a cup as well. Sitting by the window, Alice had a smile on her face. She enjoyed this kind of peaceful atmosphere without any fighting or worry. They didn''t need to talk, just being in the presence of one another was more than enough. ncing out of the window and looking towards the orb, Alice couldn''t wait to see what kind of revtion she would find within this Inverted World and why the Abyss mourned the passing of an Abyss Lord. Chapter 208: Head Of Department After rxing for a while, Luke decided to take his leave since he needed to arrange a meeting between these two and his department head. Only through the rmendation of his department head could Alice and Ria skip the process of proving themselves and immediately go on taking the trial to be an Honoured Student in the academy. With Luke leaving, Ria decided to change into a set of pyjamas while rxing in Alice''s room. "So what do you think of Luke?" Ria asked with a smile while looking at the sculpture that Luke had carved out. It was rough around the edges andcked a lot of detail since he didn''t have much time, but it was a sculpture of Alice where they first met at the port before Ria appeared. A gift for their first meeting. "Hmm¡­ How do I put it? I guess you can say he''s a man of responsibility and stability. He deals with the main things first before allowing himself to rx and takes his role seriously." Alice replied after a brief pause. From the way he worked on the sculpture, Alice understood that Luke was a man of focus and dedication. Since they''ve only just met, Alice didn''t have a concrete impression of him but as it stands, he showed the impression of stability. "Hehe~ Yep. Luke''s definitely be more mature as time went on. Though to be fair, he was always kinda like this. Not surprised though since he was another victim of the Cult like me. It''s hard to act normal after going through that kind of ordeal when you''re young. Which is why I''m surprised he dropped a lot of his walls despite this being your first meeting." Ria nodded with a soft smile. "I mean he did say he didn''t want you to feel awkward and disrupt the atmosphere. It''s more about you rather than me." Alice dismissed with a wave of her hand. She could see clearly that Luke favoured Ria and focused on making sure she wasfortable despite his words against her. "Ehhh I doubt that." Spending the time chatting with one another, the two decided not to do anything for the day and just rest up as they were mentally fatigued from travelling. Anything else will have to wait till tomorrow. ### Waking up the next day, Alice and Ria wanted to take this time to explore the city. However, upon going downstairs, they saw Luke having some breakfast by the canteen and waved towards the duo. "You''re here so early. Don''t you have your studies?" Ria asked curiously as she got some breakfast as well as sat next to him. "Don''t worry, missing a day or two won''t affect me since I''m studying pretty much every day." Luke chuckled before turning to Alice. "I''ve talked to the head of department. He said he has some time to take a look at you and see if you''re fit for the trial. Thebat department head is currently away on an expedition within the Inverted World so he won''t be avable and the Theory department head doesn''t care and doesn''t want to bother with it. "We can meet with him whenever you want since he''s pretty free today. As for what''s in the trial¡­ He hasn''t told me so I don''t know." Luke shrugged his shoulder. "Already? It hasn''t even been a full day since we told you that we wanted to enrol. What the f*ck." Ria blinked her eyes in surprise as she didn''t think Luke was able to arrange it so quickly. "Like I said, passing the special exam gives you quite a few privileges. But the department head also looks at me favourably so that helped." He smiled in response while Alice contemted for a while. "Well if the department head is ready then I don''t see a reason not to go now. The sooner we pass the trial the faster we can arrange for the exam right?" Alice asked. "Indeed." "Then let''s finish up here and go quickly." She smiled and began to finish her breakfast with a side of mead. Seeing that she was drinking this early, Luke was a little surprised but didn''tment on it since it didn''t look like she was getting drunk. As the three finished their food, they left the Inn and made their way up the mountains with Luke taking the lead. The main transportation around the city was actually through trains that go through the mountains. Each carriage was controlled by Abyssal Engineering and had dedicated drivers ensuring that everything was working as intended. Not only that, there were mechanics and students on standby ready to repair the trains should anything go wrong. As they approached, several students would greet Luke with respect while the mechanics did the same. Both Alice and Ria said nothing and only looked on as Luke was far more well known than they had expected. "Seems like passing the special exam is a big deal." Ria whispered over as Alice nodded her head. "When the number of people passing the special exam hasn''t reached beyond three digits since the inception of this Academy, it''s only natural that people will remember you if you pass." Luke interjected before signalling for a train. "Department of Handiwork. Building 1." "Of course sir. We will be arriving in 10 minutes." The driver nodded, allowing the three to sit downfortably inside the train. Sitting down, Alice could see that they were the only passengers in this carriage while other trains were filled with civilians and students. "Let me guess, special privilege?" Alice asked with a smile as Luke nodded his head. "Before we arrive, I''ll tell you a little about the department head. He''s a little entric but he means no harm. Likes to ck off but can be provoked very easily. If you want anything from him you usually have to make a bet to get him to work. The final point would be that he loves an inquisitive mind so don''t hesitate to ask him any questions. "But aside from that, he''s a prettyid back person and won''t take offence to pretty much anything. Of course, if you go out of your way to insult him then you''re asking for a p." Luke exined with a shrug. "I see¡­" Nodding her head, Alice couldn''t help but wonder what Luke meant by entric. Arriving at the Department of Handiwork, Alice was surprised to see ack of students walking around but Luke exined that they were working either in their rooms or at the workshop. It was natural that the students here wouldn''t walk around often. Guiding Alice and Ria through the building, they arrived at an inconspicuous room far away from any light source as dust piled up to the point it was visible to the naked eye. Knocking on the door, Luke cleared his throat before opening his mouth. "Lazy sack o'' sh*t, we''re here." ""?????"" Both Alice and Ria widened their eyes in shock as they didn''t expect Luke to address the head of department like this. "Alright alright~ No need to call me that when we have guests." Azy voice rang out from within the house as the head of department opened the door. He had messy long ck hair that was tied into azy man bun and a pair of tinted blue sses. He wore a baggy white tank top, arge jacket that hung off his shoulders and oversized pants with a pair of slippers. Scratching his leg with his foot, he yawned and weed them in while both Alice and Ria were speechless at his appearance. "Alice, Ria, this is the head of department, Xinbei. Lazy sack o'' sh*t, this is Alice and my friend Ria that I mentioned before." Luke introduced as he stepped into the house without care. "I know I let you get away with it but I''m still head of department, Lulu." Xinbei sighed before giving both Alice and Ria a small wave. "Pleasure to meet you two. Please don''t mind the mess, it''s been meticulously handled to ensure I remember where I ced everything." He smiled before gesturing for the two to enter his house. "It trantes to he couldn''t be bothered to tidy things up so he just left them as it is." Luke''s voice rang out from inside the house as he retrieved two pairs of slippers for Alice and Ria. "Pft¡­ Thank you Lulu~" Ria grinned, holding back herugh as she didn''t expect Xinbei''s nickname for Luke was actually Lulu. "Shut it." Luke frowned, scratching his hair in annoyance. "Please sir can you have some professionalism? We''re handling actual business now." Luke sighed a Xinbei nodded his head. "Fine fine. Help me clean up a bit while I talk to these two okay?" Xinbei asked as they entered his living room. "I don''t see the point when you''re just going to make a mess of it anyway." Lukeined. "I can get you more research materials for your project." Xinbei offered. "With pleasure." Luke replied without hesitation. Going to the closet to get a broom and dustpan, Luke started to clean up the house with surprising efficiency as though he''d done this hundreds of times before. "Ah~ life just isn''t the same without having someone to help you out. Now then, my teaching assistant has told me that you two want to attempt the special Exam through a trial. If you don''t mind, can I ask what department you''re signing up for?" Xinbei asked, sitting down on the sofa. His gaze was focused on Alice who hadn''t said anything yet but her eyes were fully focused on him. After all, he had six Sigils above his head! "Is there something wrong with my face?" Xinbei asked, seeing that Alice wasn''t responding. "Ah¡­ sorry I was thinking about something. We''re going for the department ofbat." Alice replied after realising that she had just been staring without a word. "Just like what Lulu said then. And it''s for the both of you right?" "Yep." Ria nodded. "Then let''s see what you can do." Xinbei narrowed his eyes with a smile. Tapping his finger against his knee, the world around them transformed into a white canvas as splotches of ink sttered against the realm, transforming into a painted scenery with beasts slowly manifesting from the gaps. "I have high hopes for you since my dear assistant spoke so highly of you two. Don''t disappoint me now." Chapter 209: Xinbeis Impression Peaking into the living room, Luke noticed that Xinbei had transported the two into his own pocket dimension for the trial. "Is there something you need Lulu?" Xinbei asked as he nced back with a smile. "I wish to request some time off sir." "Oh? I''m guessing you''re going to hunt down your fourth Sigil then?" Xinbei raised an eyebrow as Luke had been researching his fourth Sigil for a while now but didn''t make a move. "Mnm. I may have bluffed and said that I also had four Sigils to my friend. But it''s about time I hunt the beast since I''ve been tracking it for two weeks now." Luke sighed as he felt a little embarrassed by his actions but it had already happened. He didn''t think that Ria was able to grow at such an astonishing rate. He knew that Allura and Gin wouldn''t let her take something weak, so the fact that she had gotten her fourth Sigil meant that her strength had reached a satisfactory standard for the two! Luke couldn''t let himself fall behind so he bluffed. "Oh? It''s not like you to bluff like this. I''m guessing you got caught off guard then ahahaha. Would a week be enough time? I can tell them I sent you on a separate mission in the same area." Xinbei offered. "A week should be plenty." "Should I get Miki to join you? Hunting down a Vermilion Quartzscale on your own might pose a bit of a challenge. Having Miki join you should make it easier." He asked as Luke shivered for a moment before shaking his head. "I''ll have to decline." "Why? Miki''s pretty fond of you though Lulu." Xinbei tilted his head as Luke sighed. "That''s exactly the issue sir. She''s a little too fond if anything. It''ll distract me from the Hunt." "Mnm¡­ Alright. Since you''re going alone get some backup blood from my room. They''re pretty high in purity so you shouldn''t worry about the side effects but don''t use them unless you''re about to die. You already know what they are so just pick the ones that suits you the most okay?" Xinbei waved his hand as he turned his gaze onto the orb in front of him. Nodding his head, Luke retrieved a bottle of blood before leaving the house. He had no doubts that Alice and Ria will be able to pass this little trial easily. ''They''re trained by Gin and Allura after all.'' ### As Xinbei turned to the orb, bewilderment filled his mind at the sight before him. "Eh?" He saw all of his summons breaking apart and disintegrating! And from within the realm, Alice opened her mouth. "Is the trial over? I hope our performance hasn''t disappointed you." ''It''s over already? Nono, I can''t let it end like this. I haven''t even seen them in action yet!'' Xinbei cried out in his mind as he regained hisposure. "Ahem. Not bad. But I need to see a little more than that. Shall we increase the challenge a little?" Xinbei smiled as he snapped his finger. Countless strokes of ink sttered across the sky of the realm as from this inky darkness, ws started to emerge before converging into one point. Creating an egg of sorts, it began to beat to the rhythm of a heart as a crack appeared on the surface and a new beast was born. A humanoid figurepletely wrapped by the ink as uneven butterfly wings sprouted from its back. Countless eyes filled the surface as they locked their gaze on Alice and Ria. From its shadow, a mixture of hands and tentacles emerged. "Careful. This one is a bit stronger than the previous beasts." Alice warned as her senses were warning her of the power this creation possessed. "I know. I''m getting goosebumps just looking at this damn thing. But that''s about it. Same n as before or shall we adjust?" Ria asked as she gave her body a good stretch. "Maybe he wasn''t happy with how fast we cleared thest one. Let''s go with the instant kill." Alice narrowed her eyes as Sigils red across her body. "Hou hou~ Alright~." Ria grinned as she stomped her foot down. *RUMBLE!!!! Lightning crashed down on her as she activated her Resonance! With Ria activating her Resonance, Alice charged forward with her de in hand. Flicking her wrist, a storm of blood and metal erupted around her and surged towards the beast as Alice used the metal as footholds tounch herself into the air. Twisting her body, violet mes erupted around her and converged towards her de. shing towards the beast, Alice released a wave of mes that was blocked by a wall of tentacles. Much to Xinbei''s surprise, the mes tore away at the wall with ease! ''What the¡­ How is she burning through the wall so easily? Is it her weapon? No¡­ her weapon shouldn''t give her this kind of power.'' Xinbei furrowed his brows as he sat up and watched carefully. With the wall being unable to hold back the mes for long, the beast jumped back and sent a swarm of hands towards Alice but she wasn''t phased. Without changing her pathing, she charged towards the swarm. *BANG!!! At that moment, five orbs of lightning manifested around the swarm of hands, sting them to smithereens and clearing a path for Alice. With a clear path nowid out before her, Alice enhanced her physical attributes using her first Sigil, increasing her speed in an instant and rushed towards the beast. Cleaving up with her de, Alice forced the beast to jump into the air in order to dodge her sh in fear of being burned. "Gotcha." Snapping her finger, her third Sigil burned bright as blood rushed towards the beast, forming blood chains and metal swords that stabbed into the beast''s body, suspending them in mid-air. Without dy, 3 orbs of lightning manifested above the beast as Ria teleported into the air. In her hand, lightning roared violently as itshed out and tried its best to escape her grasp but Ria was unaffected. Narrowing her eyes, she pulled her arm back and turned it into an arrow before firing it at the orbs. *BANG!!!! A chain reaction shed through the orbs and a pir of lightning struck the beast, exploding it apart in an instant while Xinbei was speechless. ''No wonder I didn''t catch the fight earlier!!! What the hell is with their offensive power?!?!'' He shouted in his mind as both Ria and Alice were far more powerful than what he had expected. Alice had her strange mes while Ria had her unbelievably high attack power using her lightning. While he had held back slightly with his summon, it was still not something that could be dealt with easily. ''My connection with the summon faltered a little and the blood seemed to eat away at its defences when Alice suspended it. Is she focusing on weakening the target while the Ria girl is fully focused on attack?'' Xinbei analysed but he had seen more than enough. These two clearly proved that they couldn''t be judged through normal standards. "And here I thought Lulu was the only abnormal one around here with his Sigils. Birds of a feather flock together I suppose¡­ They seem to be more troublesome than Lulu too..." Xinbei groaned as he tapped the orb. *Crack! Breaking apart, both Alice and Ria were teleported back to the sofa as Xinebi scratched his hair. "You two pass with flying colours. I''m sure none of the department heads will have anyints since I''m vouching for you. But who did you even train under? Or rather what kind of noble family do you belong to? I haven''t seen anyone with this kind of power since Lulu." He sighed, gesturing for the two to sit down. "I''m an orphan, my grandfather took me in when he found me and we''ve been travelling together. I don''t belong to any noble family." Ria replied, omitting the fact that Gin was the Abyss Lord of Death. "I used to be a ve then my¡­ Adoptive mother and master took me in and trained me. She''s a little harsh and strict but her training is effective." Alice followed up. "You don''t say¡­" Xinbei''s smile twitched as what Alice demonstrated wasn''t just ''effective'' it was too damn strange! "But setting that aside, what do you mean by you haven''t seen this kind of power since Luke? He only bullies me or talks about his engineering stuff so I actually don''t know much about his Sigils." Ria asked curiously. "He hasn''t told you? Then I guess it''s not surprising since he doesn''t care much about Sigils. But yes, his power is rather¡­ unique since he can work both as a supportive Hunter and an offensive one." Xinbei chuckled as Alice''s interest was piqued. "His Sigils are those that empower the people around him rather than himself. Increased strength, speed durability even Sigil output. He''s the best support this Academy can offer if arge group decides to do an expedition into the Inverted World. The only issue is that these buffs do not apply to himself. "But that changes once he activates his Resonance. With how much he uses his gadgets, you''d think he''s weak in close quartersbat but a lot of the seniors learned the truth the hard way." Xinbei chuckled remembering how many fights Luke had gotten into when he first enrolled. Not only was he an orphan with no backing but his Sigils were all supportive and many questioned his qualifications on passing the special exam. Several rumours saying he somehow cheated his way through. "Why didn''t he mention anything before!? Urg¡­ I should''ve asked if he wanted to spar before we came here. Is he still around?" Ria asked curiously as she nced around the house but Luke was nowhere in sight. "I''ve dispatched him on a little mission of mine. It''s a little¡­ urgent so he couldn''t say goodbye. But he''ll be back by the end of the week." Xinbei waved his hand as Alice raised an eyebrow at this. ''Is he going on a Hunt? He said he has four Sigils even though he only has three¡­ I guess he doesn''t want to lose to Ria.'' Alice mused to herself as they began discussing the main topic. The Special Exams! Chapter 210: Explanation On The Inverted World "I''m sure that Lulu has already told you a little about how this Academy works. Or did he skip over the details?" Xinbei asked as he didn''t want to repeat the information that Luke had already given them. "Ah, he kind of glossed over it. He did mention that the Special Exams are different for people but that''s about it. Didn''t mention what kind of ss and only that there are three main departments." Ria shrugged as Xinbei sighed in response. "That little huh? Well that''s fine. It''s a teacher''s job to exin in the first ce. You see, Silverwind Valley Academy is different to the other Academies you may be familiar with. In this school, your lessons and what you can learn is determined by how strong you are. If you are capable, you can seize more opportunities. "Whether that be visiting the Inverted World or otherwise. There are four grades of Students. You have the Special ss,posed of those that have passed the Special Exam and are given free rein on what they want to do. Naturally, you still have to show proof that you''re doing research. "Next you have the Advanced Students. They have a schedule and get specialized training from the teachers. They have quite the degree of freedom as well. This rank is limited to 100 people no matter what. If you want this role you have to either fight for it or defend it from being taken from you." Xinbei chuckled. "Next are the Normal Students. They get some training and schedules and enjoy the facility provided by the Academy. Overall, they''re treated like the high ranking students in other academies. "Andst but not least are the Basic Students. As the name suggests, they get the most basic training and schedules with a limited number of teachers watching over them. What they can do is limited which is why they''re urged to try as hard as they can to be a Normal Student." Hearing this, Alice understood that the Basic Students are probably those who don''t show enough results or improvement. "Once you enrol, you''ll be given a choice of several topics that you can take. Since you two are going for the Combat Department, you''ll be given a choice of different fighting styles and techniques. It''s anything from Tracking all the way up to martial techniques to help you utilise your Sigils better." "But that''s once you enrol. The enrolment process is usually a mix of theory exams and practical. However, with the Special Exams, you''ll be taking tasks focused on what kind of specialisation you''re going for. If you''re a cksmith going for the Special Exam, it''ll be cksmithing tasks under certain restrictions and so on." Xinbei exined as he rummaged through some of the documents ced next to his sofa. After a short while, he sat back down and scratched his hair in annoyance. "I forgot where I put the report. Oh well. But I do have a general idea of what you''re supposed to do for the Combat Department test. You''ll bepeting with a few people for the role since there are Advanced Students aiming for the role of Special Students. I believe you should be heading into the Inverted World and hunting down a list of beasts that the Department will provide to you." He shrugged. ''I thought he said he had everything meticulously ced¡­'' Alice thought to herself as she stared at him with a deadpan expression. But that wasn''t what she was interested in right now. "I heard a lot being talked about regarding the Inverted World. But I still don''t know what it is exactly. Luke hasn''t exined it to us." Alice asked as Xinbei thought for a moment before leaning back. "Honestly we still don''t know much about the Inverted World. But let me start from the basics." He narrowed his eyes as his aura changed. Both Alice and Ria understood that he was now serious and no longer was the samezy department head that they had seen till now. "First of all, why do you think Hunter levels are split into three realms? The first realm from one to three stars are those who are slightly stronger than normal humans but with additional abilities. The second realm where the destruction they can cause means they''re observed by the government as to not cause mass destruction. And finally, the realm of Lords." Xinbei asked as both Alice and Ria thought about it for a moment before replying. "Isn''t it just a scale of power based on Resonance? Three Sigils is the requirement to gain a Sigil hence it''s split into three sections." Alice suggested while Ria had another thought. "Is it because of how the body changes once they get the four or seventh Sigil?" "Exactly." Xinbei smiled towards Ria. "As young Ria has said, the stages of power are split due to the changes it causes in the body. Think of it like this." Xinbei stood up and walked to his kitchen beforeing back with a cup and a bottle of water. "This cup is your human body. This water is the powers of the Abyss granted by the Abyss itself." Pouring the water into the cup until it''s full, he pushed it in front of the two. "From Sigils one to three, nothing really changes with your body except for the boost in power granted by the Sigils. For the sake of simplicity, we''re going to ignore the effects of Abyss Blood for now since that''s a whole different topic that I''m not qualified to exin." Xinbei chuckled as he flicked his finger and ink started to wrap around the cup. "Once you get your forth Sigil, your entire body is reforged to ept more power. The human body is limited in its durability no matter how much you train it. There is always a soft limit and a hard limit. Breaking the hard limit will break you. "Which is why the fourth Sigil will reforge your body and change it to amodate more power. Think of it as a rebirth of sorts." Tapping his fingers once more, the ink solidified and he poured more water into the cup. "After your forth Sigil, you can say that your body is now fully prepared to ept more power from the Abyss. The fifth and sixth Sigil enhances your body and power to the point you can no longer get any stronger no matter how much A.B you drink. Your body will never bridge the gap between being the host of six Sigils and bing a Lord." Snapping his finger, the water started to overflow but the cup didn''t change. "To be a Lord, the methods have been debated quite a bit as it''s not just a simple case of getting the seventh Sigil. However, seeding in the attempt to be a Lord will connect you to the Abyss on a deeper level." Tendrils of ink shot out from every corner of the room as it formed a web of sorts that converged around the cup and transforming into a basin that epted more water. "The most popr theory right now is that the Abyss itself bes an extension of the container known as an Abyss Lord. Now, what do you think would happen when an Abyss Lord that''s linked to the Abyss on such a deep level perishes?" Xinbei asked as he clenched his fist. At that moment, the room itself seemed to fracture with the cup in the centre breaking into countless pieces. "No ideas?" Xinbei asked again seeing that both girls were silent. "Not really." Ria sighed as she had a guess but wasn''t sure if it was what Xinbei wanted to hear. Meanwhile, Alice was silent as all she could think of was what she felt from the Abyss when she firstid eyes on the orb between the mountains. Mourning. ''*Sigh¡­* Lulu was more fun to talk to. But setting that aside, when an Abyss Lord that''s linked to the Abyss at this level perishes or rather, begins to die, the world itself will fracture from the sudden copse. Much like what happens to a container underwater, the realm implodes around the Lord and in this case, with the death being sealed and halted, a strange phenomenon urred. "Many of our teachers call it a pathway while some call it something else entirely. But the official name for this phenomenon is the Inverted World. A world where we can dive in and discover more of the Abyss''s secrets. Due to the connection between the Abyss Lord and the Abyss, this hole that was formed from their death is intricately linked to the Abyss. Meaning¡­" Xinbei smiled as he reached his hand into one of the tendrils of ink that represented the Abyss. "Through this Inverted World, we canmunicate directly with the Abyss on a level that''s only open for Abyss Lords despite not having gone through the second rebirth. The Inverted World is simply another manifestation of the Abyss. A purer version if you could call it that. Meaning the influence is stronger and so are the beasts. "However, the Department Head of Theory has been researching a rather curious topic for a while now. She discovered that some of the manifestations created by the Abyss seem to trace back to history. It''s only happened a few times but it proved enough for her totch onto it as a research topic. Most believe the Inverted World is simply a pathway to further our connection with the realm that grants us power. But the Department Head of Theory believes it''s a doorway to a giant library of knowledge and we are simply ''reading'' the books within and gaining experience as a result." Xinbei concluded as he given the two much to think about on their way back. "The exam wouldn''t be happening for a while so take this time to prepare. I''ll send someone over to let you know when it''s time since I need to put your rmendations forward." Nodding their heads, Alice and Ria thanked Xinbei for his exnation before leaving his home. Stepping out of the house, Alice nced towards the Inverted World and ced her hand on her chest. The crown that Allura''s master left her and Ca who was dormant. Both seem to hold important ties to the Abyss and she couldn''t help but wonder if Ca would be stirred awake by the Inverted World or not. Chapter 211: Miki Nightingale "So what do you think about what Xinbei said about the Inverted World?" Ria asked curiously as the two made their way back to the inn. "Honestly I''m not sure. The rtionship between Abyss Lords and the Abyss is¡­ strange to say the least. I told you that I felt the Abyss was mourning the death of the Lord. Do you think it''s rted to what Xinbei said?" Alice answered with another question. "Hmm¡­" Furrowing her brows, Ria wasn''t sure. "Maybe it''s because it''s lost a part of itself? I''ll be pretty sad if I lost an arm ya know? Could be simr to that." She shrugged. "True¡­" Turning her head to look towards the Inverted World once more, Alice couldn''t help but feel herself being drawn towards it ever since she firstid eyes on the orb. It was a strange curiosity but now the feeling has grown stronger. Perhaps it''s her curiosity growing stronger or perhaps it was the reaction between Ca, the crown and the Inverted World. "But all of this theory and all this talk is making my head hurt. I thought we were just going to enrol and punch some things not do all of this fancy stuff with the Abyss." Riamented. "I mean you mentioned that it''s one of the most popr Academies right? It''s only natural that they''re on the more Academic side. That and we''ve only been talking to people that are focused on the theory side. Well¡­ Not exactly theory side but they''re more focused on matters other than just fighting." Alice chuckled. If they wanted to talk about fighting it was better to talk to the Combat Department students or teachers. "Ah speaking of fighting¡­ Did we even ask if we could take the exam as a duo or is it strictly solo?" Ria blinked her eyes and turned to Alice. "That¡­ I don''t know. I assume it''s probably solo only right?" "Well, I guess we''ll find out on the day. Surely it''s not that hard right? If Luke can pass it we should be fine. He never managed to beat me in a spar when we were younger hehe~" Ria grinned as she flexed her arm jokingly. "Xinbei did say that his Sigils are supportive until his Resonance. Maybe you''ll have a harder time beating him now." Alice chuckled since one Sigil could make all the difference. ''Since he''s probably going out to get his fourth Sigil, Ria will probably get a chance to fight him once he''s back. It''ll give me a chance to see what kind of supportive abilities he has ess to.'' Allura had mentioned that Luke would make for a great third party member for their group since his fighting stylepliments theirs. Right now, Ria served as artillery and melee hybrid while Alice considered herself a control type fighter that''s focused on offence. "I mean¡­ I don''t know until I fight him. But considering my speed and power, I should be able to overwhelm him pretty quickly. Naturally, I''ll have to hold back since it''s just a spar and not a battle to the death." Ria shrugged. "So you''re confident that you''ll win?" "About 80% confident. Might have a little trouble depending on what his supportive abilities are like when stacked but I''m sure it''ll be fine~" Ria reassured. She didn''t even need to ask if Alice would since she was basically the bane of everyone. No matter your defence or supportive ability, once you''re affected by her blood it all bes useless. At that point, only your physical body will be able to help you. Ria could practically imagine it. In the future, should someone be overconfident in their defensive capabilities and show off in front of Alice, they''ll be cut in half before they even realise what had happened. "Say Alice..." Ria called out as Alice nced over curiously. "What do you say we go for a spar first? It''s been a while since west sparred since we''ve been focusing on developing the new technique." Hearing this, Alice thought for a moment before nodding her head. They haven''t sparred properly since she got her third Sigil and Resonance. Naturally, that was out of fear of what she could do without a proper understanding of her own strength. Now that some time had passed and she had better judge of her own abilities, a spar wouldn''t be an issue. "Sure let''s go for it. Though do we even have enough money to rent a ce to spar?" Alice asked curiously since their spar would definitely, without doubt, leavesting damage on their surroundings if they were not careful. Without a specialized facility, it was too dangerous to fight. "Nope. But we''re at the Academy, aren''t we? I''m sure we can borrow a few facilities. They''re not that stingy right? It''s just borrowing a room for a bit after all." Ria shrugged but Alice guessed that it was probably going to be moreplicated than that. "If you''re going to spar you need to be a student here first. Outsiders aren''t permitted to use the facilities nor are they allowed to enter this far. I don''t believe I''ve seen you around the department before. May I see your ID''s?" A voice rang out as Alice and Ria nced back and saw a woman staring at them. She had short pink hair that reached around her shoulders and a pair of purple eyes. Much like Luke, she had a grey jacket draped over her shoulders with the cor being linked together by a golden emblem. Beneath the jacket, she wore a white shirt with a ck tie. A pair of well fitted suit pants and polished ck boots. Adorning her waist were several belts, each with an array of different contraptions and gadgets. However, the most eye-catching feature of her appearance was no doubt the twin blessings bestowed by the Gods themselves. Tworge melons hung off her chest, each practically the size of Ria''s head. Each melon looked as though they weighed around 15% of her body weight as Ria nced down at her own chest and felt the sheer chasm of potential. As for Alice, her reaction was simr yet also different. She also looked down at her own chest before turning to Ria. And finally, she looked towards this strange girl with a single thought floating in her head. ''Are those the side effects of Abyss Blood?'' "Hello? Did you hear me?" The Girl asked once more, furrowing her brows after seeing the two looking down at their chests. "Ah yes sorry. We''re not students yet. Our friend brought us here to meet the Department Head and we''ve just finished talking to him." Alice exined as the girl thought for a moment before nodding. "Can you let me know who brought you here? They should know the rules of the campus. No outsiders are allowed to be left alone before they be students. If they can bring you to see the Department Head, it means they''re probably an Advanced Student. Yet they left you alone is not something I can overlook." Looking at one another, Ria scratched her hair before turning to the girl. "Well Luke''s not an Advanced Student. He''s a Special ss." Widening her eyes in surprise, the girl took a moment to digest what the two had just said before opening her mouth. "Luke Isander?" "That''s him." Ria nodded. "Ah¡­I see you''re friends of Senior. Did the Department Head send him away on an errand before he could guide you out of the campus?" The girl smiled as the serious aura around her disappeared in an instant. "The Department Head said that Luke will be away for a week or so and had us leave on our own." Hearing this, the girl sighed before massaging her eyes. "Department Head is always like this. Leaving all the annoying tasks to Senior while he gets toze around. Please let me guide you out so you don''t run into more troubles. My name''s Miki. Miki Nightingale." She bowed slightly. "Ah¡­ No wonder you have pink hair. So you''re from the Nightingale family." Alice muttered in realisation. Pink hair wasn''t amon colour by any means but a few of the Noble families had this gic trait. A rather dominant one at that. While they''re not the most famous, the Nightingale family was still apetitor to the Zenia family and one of the noble houses that got effected once the Zenia took over the market. "You know of my family?" Miki blinked her eyes in surprise. After the Zenia''s took over the market, few took notice of them as they practically disappeared from the public eye and became a family focusing on the distribution of Abyss Engineering instead. "Kind of but not really. Just some whispers from the past." Alice shook her head as there was no reason for her to say more. "But my name is Alice Agnelia." Alice bowed back in courtesy. "Ria. No surname. Pleasure to meet you." Ria followed up. "So you mentioned that we can''t use the facilities without being a student. Is there anyway for us to use it just for today?" She asked as she was now fired up to spar with Alice. Not doing it was practically pouring cold water all over her and dousing her fighting spirit. "Well since you''re friend''s with Senior it would be possible. But I''ll still need to get permission from the Department Head first since Senior is not here." Miki nodded her head. Asking the two to wait for now, she jogged towards the Xinbei''s house while Alice and Ria could see her body swaying from the motion generated by herrge assets. "They look like a pain to handle in a fight. Not for the opponent but for herself." Alice mumbled. "Mnm. But what theyck in practicality during a fight grants her boons of seduction through everyday life." Ria nodded. "What did she eat to even get thatrge? I''m thinking it might be Abyss Blood side effects." "Possibly¡­ If I had boobs that big just trying to punch would be a pain." Ria sighed. Turning their gaze to one another, specifically their chests, the two shrugged. At least they won''t have back problems or be thrown off during a fight. Chapter 212: Crescent Crown Arena After waiting a while, Miki came back with a set of keys and waved to the two. "I''ve gotten permission to use the training facility. We''ll have to take a bit of a detour since he specifically mentioned that I should take you two to the high end Training Facility." "Hou~ High End? Better than we expected right?" Ria whistled in surprise as she was fine with just using a standard facility. But if they were going out of their way to give them the High End one then she wasn''t one toin. "Perhaps he''s worried that we might cause some damages after what he saw in the trial." Alice chuckled. Of course, she wasn''t going to tell Xinbei that they actually held back a lot. Neither Alice nor Ria used their full power as doing so would cause too much unwanted attention. Especially Alice''s Void Flux skill. While Alice and Ria were joking to one another, Miki couldn''t help but doubt their ims. After all, Xinbei told her how many Sigils they had. One had three while the other had four. Quite the standard amount for students of the Academy. But their confidence, especially Ria''s confidence against Senior Luke irked her somewhat. ''Department Head told me to observe their sparring and see if I can learn anything from them. But¡­'' Furrowing her brows, Miki could only sigh and y her part as a guide. She wasn''t going to question Xinbei''s decision as despite his actions and demeanour, he was still a Hunter who became the Department Head of Handiwork. "Please follow me." Miki smiled as she led the way. ''Only actions can prove what the Department Head ims. And since they''re Senior Luke''s friends too, I doubt they''ll stoop as low as to brag to one another.'' As the three navigated through the Academy, Alice was in awe of the sheer scale of this institution. Even though she had seen parts of the Academy from outside, most of it was hidden by the mountain around them. A maze of buildings and corridors that twisted and turned. Spacious atriums adorned with carvings of important figures or historical moments. asionally, there would be gaps in the mountain where the light of the Inverted World would peak through, casting a dreadful red glow upon the stone floors below. With Miki guiding them through the Academy, Alice and Ria noticed that all of them were wearing a simr jacket with different emblems and slight variations in design. ''That must be the uniform they''re supposed to wear. Each one represents a different department or level of the student.'' Alice mused to herself as her eyes wandered through the array of buildings. Entering an inconspicuous building, Miki showed them to the elevator as they descended into the depths of the mountain. "The High End training facility is made using thebined power of Abyss Engineering and Sigils. If you have any specific requests for the environment please let me know and I can make some changes." Miki informed with a smile. "We don''t need anything fancy. Just arge open area will do." Ria shrugged. "Understood. There are certain presets but I believe the Crescent Crown Arena matches your description the best." Arriving at the bottom of the elevator, a corridor with countless doors revealed itself as Miki brought them over to what seemed to be an empty room. Inserting her key into a strange contraption on the wall, a strange interface appeared and she inputted a set of instructions before walking over to the two. "Since this is your first time, you may feel a sense of dizziness or the urge to throw up. Please hold it in as cleaning up is a little annoying." Miki warned. Before the two could reply, an array lit up beneath them as energy flooded into the room. A wave of weightlessness overwhelmed the two and caused them to copse onto the floor. Shielding their eyes from the wave of light that obscured their vision, they soon felt a cool wind blowing over them as their location had changed. The Crescent Crown Arena, a magnificent tform that hovered in mid air by unseen forces. Pirs rise from the edges of the tform, adorned with carvings and statues that radiated ethereal energy. Above, the vast expanse of the ster sky unveiled itself. Countless jewels of space flickered with starlight as arge crescent moon hung on the celestial canvas. Its soft glow casting a soft radiance upon the arena below. Seeing this, Alice was silent as she didn''t think this kind of ce existed. "Feel free to fight to your heart''s content. Please do not be worried about falling into the abyss as there are invisible walls around the edge as most of this is scenic rather than reality. I believe you have experienced Department Head''s Sigil power that transported you to his dimension, this is something simr." Miki exined, noticing Ria who seemed to be trying to peak over the edge of the arena. Finishing her exnation, Miki stood over to the side where there was a protected room for observers. "Seems like we''re getting spoiled if they let us use a room like this." Ria chuckled, walking towards the centre of the arena as Alice nodded her head in agreement. "Any rules for this spar?" "Nope. Same rules as usual but we''ll need to hold back a little since Allura isn''t here to heal us with expensive Healing Blood." Ria shook her head. Around her, lightning started to crackle as Alice could feel her hairs stand on end. Now that they were properly beginning the spar, she could feel the dangerous aura around Ria that was solely directed towards her. ''I''ve seen Ria fight. Her overwhelming speed and power are not to be taken lightly.'' Alice thought to herself as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Calming her mind, she surrendered part of her mind to the hunger within, enough to hone her instincts and sharpen her senses but not enough to lose her mind and go berserk. Reaching to her waist, Alice unsheathed the bloodme de and held it in a one handed aggressive stance. "Ready when you are." Ria smiled as she too entered a stance while orbs of lightning hovered around her body. With Ria allowing her to take the first move, Alice curled her lips into a smile and stomped down. Twisting her body, she did not hold back and immediately conjured her violet mes and sent a crescent sh towards Ria. Seeing this vertical cleave, Ria understood that trying to contest against this me was futile. Knowing its properties, the most efficient solution for her was to dodge and counter! Snapping her fingers, four orbs shed out as Ria teleported to the top and looked down at the arena. She wanted to get a good overview before nning her next moon but Alice was prepared! Having fought side by side for so long, Alice knew the way Ria would fight and her habits. Creating footholds for herself, Alice rushed towards Ria as a swirl of blood circled around her, preventing Ria from conjuring orbs of lightning around her body. *BANG!!! A bolt of lightning shot out as Ria immediately appeared next to Alice, her fist pulled back and ready to punch forward while being charged with electricity. Immediately entering a defensive stance with her de, Alice managed to capture everything that happened thanks to Ca and reacted ordingly! ''Coat the de with my mes to reduce the impact. With my other hand, I should aim to manipte my blood and metal!'' mming her hand down, two des manifested near Ria and stabbed towards her. "Tch!" Clicking her tongue, Ria exchanged ces with a lightning orb before snapping her finger, allowing the orb to detonate in front of Alice! Thankfully, the storm of blood was there to protect her otherwise she might''ve been taken out in one go. Landing on the ground, Alice looked up at Ria who was floating in the air as the two of them began tough. "Alright, enough of a warm up. I''ll be cranking it up a notch, make sure you keep up okay?" Ria warned. "Right back at you." Just as Alice finished saying this, a bolt of lightning appeared in front of her as she immediately twisted her body and cleaved up using her de. With the properties of her violet mes, the lightning was torn apart in an instant but the barrage wasn''t over! After the first bolt, two more appeared, each nking her side. Taking a note on their location, Alice narrowed her eyes and swiped up with her finger. Two spears coated in her blood intercepted the lightning before erupting with mes to cancel out the attack. Following that up with snap of her finger, Alice controlled the blood she had scattered around the arena and shot several threads towards Ria who teleported out of the way in fear of having her powers sealed. However, what awaited her at her destination was Alice as she had used the threads to catapult herself towards Ria! Teleporting out of the way once more while firing back at Alice, Ria watched as she used the threads to swing herself away from danger. Landing on another thread that she had set up, Alice had now created the best environment for her to fight in! Watching all of this happen, Miki was speechless. This speed, this power, the way they reacted to one another and their abilities. Just watching the spar as a bystander caused a chill down her spine. But what made it worse was that they weren''t even giving it their all! ''They''re holding back because it''s a spar but what kind of power would they exhibit if they were fighting for real?'' Miki asked herself. A part of her wondered if she would be able to hold out against the barrage that Ria had sent out. While she may survive, she would definitely be hit by at least one of those lightning bolts! But Alice was untouched! Even the lightning orb that detonated in her face failed to do any damage due to the barrier of blood that she had conjured. ''What kind of beasts did they even hunt to have this kind of power at three and four stars?'' Watching the fight slowly unfold, all Miki could do was watch on in silence as their strength was engraved into her mind. Chapter 213: Reinforcement, Displacement And Discharge Watching Alice set up a web around the arena, Ria took this time to take deep breaths and calm her mind. After spending all this time with Alice, she knew that Alice was no easy target to overwhelm with pure brute speed. ''Ca helps her kic vision to the point she can practically react to anything within her sight so long as her body is able to keep up. The blood she keeps around her blocks out Sigil abilities to an extent while her instincts and reaction help her counter. She''s practically the perfect counter for every Hunter.'' Ria thought with a bitter smile. But Alice wasn''t invincible. There were gaps that she''ll be able to exploit but the key is to create that opening! Ria jumped back and surrounded herself with lightningnces as she remembered the training she had with Kaden. ### "Listen up brat. The power of lightning is fast and destructive. When people see lightning, they think of speed. Generally, they will tell you that you have two options of attack. Either reinforcing your own body or the method I''m showing you. Ranged attacks." Kaden exined as he created a strand of shadow to mimic lightning. Flicking his wrist, he sent the bolt forward and in the blink of an eye, it crashed into the mountain in the distance, creating arge cavity. "Personally, I like to say that there are three types of usage to lightning. Reinforcement, discement and discharge. But that''s based on what I''ve seen thus far so if you can figure out more that''s on you. First of all, reinforcement is something you do already on a very basic level. "Enhancing your body with lightning to increase your speed. Discement is simr to what you do with the Leviathan Sigil, you swap ces with your lightning bolts. The power of teleportation. "Discharge is what I''m teaching you now, a method to gather your power and discharge it in one go to achieve maximum speed and power." Demonstrating the different techniques using his shadows, Kaden was surprisingly patient and meticulous with his demonstration as Ria observed every detail. "Before we move to the next part of the lesson, any questions?" Kaden asked, noticing the light of curiosity and eagerness burning in Ria''s eyes. "I know you want me to learn rangedbat but are there more methods to Reinforcement? You said I''m doing it on a basic level, but Grandfather and Allura never taught me more." Ria asked. *Sigh¡­ "I''m not a reinforcement user so there is a limit to what I can tell you. Allura is a reinforcement expert since close-quartersbat is pretty much all she does. As for that brat you call a grandfather¡­ I believe he is a Discharge user like me. But putting that aside, show me how you reinforce your body for now." Following his instructions, Ria stood up and coated her body with lightning. Sparks crackled across her body as her hair red back from the fluctuation of energy around her. Standing next to her, Kaden ced his hand on her shoulder as shadows erupted from the ground and wrapped around her. "You''re wasting too much of your power on reinforcement. Try to contain everything within the vessel known as your body. If you want to achieve greater efficiency in reinforcement, you''ll need to first control the flow of power within you without leaking." ### Narrowing her eyes, Ria started to draw lightning towards her body as she could feel the pain flowing through her body. ''More. I need to prevent the power from leaking out. If I have the power of lightning, I need to have the reaction to wield it. I need to supercharge my body so I can keep up with Alice''s kic vision!'' *RUMBLE!!!! Dark clouds loomed around the Crescent Crown Arena as bolts of lightning struck around the arena. Seeing this, Alice felt a chill down her spine as she immediately conjured several spears coated in violet mes. She needed to watch out for Ria''s teleportation and react ordingly. ''Ria can teleport to bolts of lightning. If I create a zone of blood around each bolt that I can see, I should be able to narrow down her options.'' Narrowing her eyes, Alice snapped her finger. The swirl of blood that surrounded her dissipated into blood mist that started to spread through the arena. Her instincts told her that Ria was about to attack! *Crackle! Instantly turning her head to the right, Alice sent a dagger towards the bolt of lightning that pierced down. However, Ria only appeared briefly before disappearing! ''She''s teleported twice!'' Gritting her teeth, Alice jumped down from the thread before looking up. But what she saw exceeded even her wildest expectations! Countless bolts of lightning struck towards her as each one seemed to hold a mirage of Ria. Even with the help of Ca, Alice found it impossible to distinguish the real from the fake. With no other choice, she could only resort to a brute force method! Swinging on a thread, Alice created several spears of blood andunched them towards the different bolts of lightning in a desperate attempt to force Ria to react. But every single spear phased through Ria as they were all fake! The real one was never amongst the group. Realising this fact, Alice barely managed to turn her head in time to see Ria waiting below her. Flickers of lightning seemed to sh past her eyes but all of the energy was contained within her body. Ria''s left palm was held out, aiming towards Alice while her fist was pulled back and ready to punch forward. Even if she was to spread out her blood right now to cancel the effects of Ria''s lightning, she would still be hit by the punch and the gap brought forth by this hit was more than enough for Ria to finish her off. Smiling bitterly, Alice understood that in this spar, Ria had won. But just because she knew this didn''t mean she wasn''t going to try! Letting out a shout, Alice aimed her hand towards Ria and created a wave of chains while mes roared forth in defiance. Yet Ria was faster. *BANG!!! In a single strike, her lightning crashed through the chains and shattered them into pieces as the force of her punch mmed into Alice''s chest, sending her crashing towards the pirs. Teleporting away before the mes could reach her, Ria followed up with a spear of lightning that was ready to pierce Alice''s chest but stopped herself since this was just a spar. "Seems like it would''ve ended a bit differently if this was a real fight rather than a spar." Ria chuckled as Alice had aimed her index and middle finger towards Ria''s neck. The motion for gathering power to perform a Void Flux. "If this was a real fight you would''ve used your Resonance and finished me off earlier." Alice sighed, understanding that this was her loss. She had the option of Void Flux but it wasn''t as though Ria had used everything she''s got. Both had trump cards left and there was no reason for a spar to be so serious to the point they had to unleash their strongest attacks. "Same could be said for you. But urg¡­ I didn''t think trying the reinforcement that Kaden taught me would be so taxing." Ria groaned, copsing on her back as the lighting faded from her body. While she was able to reinforce and enhance her body with her orbs of lightning before, the method Kaden taught her brought forth better results yet the stress it ced upon her was far greater. It showed her how wed her previous method was with how much energy she was wasting. ''With my old method, not even five orbs reinforcing my body would be enough to pull off thatst attack. But with the new method, just the energy of one orb at maximum efficiency was enough to outperform what I was doing before.'' Ria thought to herself. The knowledge and experience Kaden held as an Abyss Lord was clear as day. Just one lesson with him improved her power by a visible margin to the point she was even able to overwhelm Alice who had the help of Ca. "Was that thest move you showed?" Alice asked curiously as Ria had never shown a move like that before. "Mnm. Yeah it is. Anyway, let''s go get some food shall we? I just want to eat a fat meal then go to sleep. Too tired to do other crap." Riaughed as Alice helped her back on her feet. "Any preferences for what you want to eat tonight? I lost so I''ll see if I can find us a ce to eat." "Ohou~ Let''s see¡­ How about some grilled meats? After a hard fought victory I want to sink my teeth into some meat." Ria asked with an excited light in her eyes. "Should be possible if we look around a little. This is arge city with one of the best Academies after all." Alice chuckled. While the two were discussing what they wanted for dinner, Miki waspletely silent having witnessed their full spar. She hadpletely lost track of Ria during herst attack! Had she not seen this and fought Ria, she would''ve been eliminated by Ria at that exact moment. In fact, she doubted that there was anyone in the Combat Department that could match Ria''sst attack except for the those at the very top. And even then, it felt like a coin flip whether or not they''ll be able to counter. ''Anomalies! They''re anomalies! What kind of low rank Hunter showcases power like this!?!?!'' Miki cried out in her mind as her standard for how powerful a Hunter should be waspletely shattered. Chapter 214: Alices Theory As they approached the safe spot within this arena floating in the sky, both Alice and Ria noticed a small change in the way Miki looked at them. Within her gaze, there was now a mix of disbelief. "Are you okay?" Ria opened her mouth first since Miki wasn''t saying anything. "Ah yes, sorry. It was rude of me to keep staring. Is your spar finished now?" Miki replied,posing herself and revealing a smile. "Yeah, we''re finished now. So how do we leave this ce?" Ria asked as there didn''t seem to be an exit here. "I have that covered don''t worry. Please stand next to me and brace yourself. The journey back will be simr to the journey here as you may feel a sense of difort." Miki reassured. Once she made sure both Alice and Ria stood next to her, she reactivated the key in her hand and an array appeared beneath them. A familiar feeling washed over the two as with a single blink of an eye, they were returned back to the underground room. "That''s handy. Can''t we use this as transport between two locations?" Ria asked curiously as that would eliminate the long travel time needed between cities but Miki shook her head. "Transportation between two locations is a little difficult, unfortunately. You see, this works because the realm we''re entering doesn''t move. It is a stationary coordinate that doesn''t need recalibrating and thus a transportation circle can be drawn to link the two together. "With one target being stationary, it is far easier to calibrate the location of transportation. But if both targets are moving, quite a few issues begin to crop up. Of course, that''s not to say that people aren''t researching this side of transportation. If a breakthrough does indeed happen, it''ll benefit the entirety of humanity." Miki exined as she made her way to the door. "Soundsplicated." Ria groaned. It was just an offhanded question but she didn''t think Miki would reveal so much. "Really? It sounds pretty simple though." Alice blinked her eyes in confusion while Miki paused. "Simple?" Miki asked, doubtful that Alice truly understood the brief exnation. "Well, you said it was easy to calibrate if one side was stationary right? I assume it''s simr to when I swing using my threads." Snapping her finger, two pieces of metal floated in the air while a thread of blood connected them to one another. Keeping one side stationary, she flicked her finger and it began to swing. "With one side being stationary, the moving side will always orbit the centre, no? So long as the connection is maintained, it will never go off course. But if you were to remove the stationary side¡­" Flicking her finger, Alice allowed both sides to move at will and it began to spin uncontrobly around the room. "That happens and trying to pinpoint where it is bes difficult." Alice exined. Since the pocket dimension was stationary, the coordinates always stayed the same. "Yes¡­ That''s surprisingly urate." Miki blinked her eyes in disbelief as it was surprise after surprise with these two. "Wait¡­ but a city doesn''t move though? So why wouldn''t it work?" Ria tilted her head. "Allow me to exin. You see, when we create the passage towards the Crescent Crown Arena, the dimension itself is the entire arena. Everything outside doesn''t exist and you can think of it as decoration on the walls. Meaning we''re forming a pathway to the entire realm. "But if we were to link it between the cities, we''re linking two very very small points inside arge realm where the edge hasn''t even been discovered yet. Can you understand why it would be difficult to locate two locations within this realm? And it''s been confirmed that our coordinates are always being shifted. Every second of every day. "Meaning, unless one side ispletely stationary, like a pocket dimension, it would be almost impossible to perform the calctions needed to link two locations using Abyss Engineering." Miki tried her best to break down the information. ". . . F*ck it. I just want to eat something, it''s not like I''m here to study about Abyss Engineering in the first ce." Ria sighed while Alice chuckled. "Will you be interested in taking some courses in the Theory department or perhaps the Handicraft department to try solve transportation between cities?" Miki asked, turning to Alice. "I will have to decline. I only had a rough idea since-" Pausing mid sentence, Alice''s eyes widened as she realized arge fact that she had been overlooking. Gateway to Terminus! The gateway they found within the Emerald de, where she retrieved the crown. There was a portal there linked to the deepest parts of the Abyss. It proved that while difficult, it wasn''t impossible and it had even been aplished in the past. Yet this technology was lost to time and the current schrs of this era had no clue on how to achieve the same feat. ''How did Ayr aplish something like this in the past? How was it still working after all these years? How can technology like this just disappear from history with no one having any idea of it? Not only that¡­ How is Kaden able to teleport me into the Abyss? Forming a pathway between the surface and the Abyss, urately at that is¡­ Absurd!'' Countless questions appeared in Alice''s mind as she flicked her finger and dismissed the diagram she had created. Sitting down, she started to create smaller simtions based on her understanding of the Gateway she found. Her experiences using the Sigil of the Blood Maiden, what if felt like when Kaden teleported her around and the example that Miki had just given her. "Ria I exin how you swap ces with your lightning bolts. Does ite naturally? What do you feel when using it?" Alice asked. She wasn''t doing this to help humanity or Miki, it was merely to satiate her own curiosity and form theories based on what she had experienced herself. "Huh? Eh? Well¡­ I throw out a bolt of lightning and there''s like a¡­ feeling? No¡­ A mote that appears in my mind. Kinda like when you poke your finger on the skin, you know where it''s touching. I just tug at that and my ce swaps." Ria scratched her hair as her teleportation was mostly instinctual. "Hm¡­ I see." Nodding her head, Alice furrowed her brows and thought deeply. She had to organize the facts she knows, her experiences and then fill the gap with theories. First, she knows that the coordinates within these realms are always shifting. Because the pathway within this building was linked to the entire dimension of Crescent Crown Arena, one side of the coordinate didn''t move. So why was Kaden able to pinpoint where Allura was so urately? Why can Ria teleport to her lightning bolt despite the coordinate moving on both sides? Alice felt as though she was on the precipice of a breakthrough yet there was an unbreakable veil blocking her from the truth. ''Think Alice think¡­ When Kaden teleported me, it felt like I was falling through an ocean before I realized I was swimming in the Abyss Waters. Teleporting through the blood was simr. I could dive into this mirror like surface and find myself appearing at the exit¡­ ''With the blood, Ria''s lightning and the Crescent Crown Arena, there was always a target. I''m guessing Kaden''s target was Allura and the gateway''s target was Terminus. So why was I dropped into the Abyss Waters rather than right next to Allura? ''Was there some problems that Kaden ran into when transporting me?'' Thinking to herself, Alice created diagrams of all the forms of teleportation she had experienced. Or at least her best understanding of these paths. The pathway to Crescent Crown Arena, one side being stationary while the other is moving. Ria''s connection to her lightning. The pathway between blood. Then came the diagrams for Kaden and the gateway to Terminus. These two were aplete mystery to her as she didn''t even know where to begin. While Alice was lost in her own world, both Ria and Miki looked at her with confusion as she was creating, destroying then redrawing the diagrams of what they could only assume to be forms of teleportation. ''Does she have an idea? She caught onto the concept pretty quickly¡­'' Miki thought to herself. "This is a bit of a stretch but¡­ What if you were to throw yourself loosely rather than having a secure pathway?" Alice asked out of nowhere as Miki blinked her eyes. "Pardon?" "Like this. Say you have a general idea of your target and you know where you are currently. So long as you know the general direction of your target, can''t you, using the method where both sides are not stationary, fling yourself towards the target using the right calctions?" Alice suggested. Creating a target with metal and a b of sorts, she swung it around before throwing it towards the target. *CLANG! Seeing the b hit the target, Miki''s smile twitched. "You realize that throwing yourself, no, HURLING your body through a pathway could easily shred you to pieces right?" "You just gotta reinforce your body right?" Alice asked but Miki shook her head. "It''s not as simple as that. Reinforcing your body doesn''t matter much as this method could result in your arm being teleported away from your body. Or¡­ even your head and you''ll die." "Figured. I was thinking that method one was a bit of stretch." Alice shrugged while standing up. She had a second method in mind, but it was far more oundish than the first. However¡­If her theories are correct, the chance of sess was much higher if they could fulfil the required conditions! Chapter 215: Alices Second Theory Of Teleportation "Well it was worth a try." Alice smiled, heading out while Ria followed. Looking at them from behind, Miki could only sigh before thinking about the theory that Alice put forth. No matter how she approached the idea, it seemed too far-fetched for it to work and dismissed the thought. After escorting the two out of the premises, Miki made her way back to Xinbei''s house and saw that he was leaning on his sofa while enjoying a drink. "I''vepleted your assignment. The two have been safely escorted out." Miki reported. "That''s good. Miki, did they do anything interesting while sparring? Manage to learn anything?" Xinbei asked, curious as to whether or not Miki benefitted from watching them spar. "Aside from understanding that the two are clearly abnormal when ites to raw power, not much. I cannot replicate what they do in a fight." Miki shrugged with a sigh. Most of their techniques were entirely based on intuition and was not something she could easily replicate to a usable degree. "What a shame. The split-haired girl''s mes were pretty interesting. If you were able to replicate it, it could''ve served as another potential research topic. The fact that it could burn through my summons already made it worthy of attention." Xinbei chuckled. "Unfortunately it''s not possible sir. I''ve already tried and as I mentioned, it''s simply out of my reach." "It''s fine, I''m not faulting you." Xinbei waved his hand dismissively as Miki handed back the keys. "Ah there is another thing to report though. After just experiencing the teleportation once and a brief summary of the inner workings, Alice seemed to have understood how the teleportation worked and even tried toe up with a working theory based on her own ideas. Hearing this, Xinbei raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Oh? So she tried toe up with her own theory? Interesting. What did she suggest?" "It''s an oundish idea. Instead of creating a tunnel between two locations, she proposed to have the second location act as a target. Using this, she would then hurl herself towards the target using the unstable method like a b." Miki exined. "What? What do you mean by ''like a b''?" Xinbei tilted his head in confusion. Drawing out a diagram to show Xinbei, Miki recounted everything that Alice had talked about. Crossing his legs, Xinbei analysed the diagram silently. Something was nagging at his mind, a connection that could be formed, but he wasn''t able to figure out anything. ''She wouldn''t have formed this theory if she didn''t have anything to base it on. With just lightning gal''s and my own teleportation, it''s not enough for her to figure out this kind of method. In theory, if you are able to keep yourself intact, this method should be achievable. In theory. Surviving it is another matter entirely.'' Xinbei thought to himself. In the end, he chose to give up for now since he still had to sort out their registration for the Special Exams. It was one that required the presence of all the Department Heads and the principal. "Thank you for your hard work as always. Take tomorrow off since I''ll be busy with notifying the other Department Heads." Xinbei smiled as Miki nodded her head and left the house. ### "So you''re telling me you had 5 different theories and only settled on the two that seemed most likely. One was what you told Miki and the other you haven''t said anything yet. How the f*ck did you get five theories from just a brief exnation???" Ria asked as the two were walking to a restaurant where Ria could eat as much meat as she wanted. "It just kind of appeared in my head. It''s like seeing one plus one is two and so on. It just made sense." Alice shrugged. "I''ve had Kaden teleport me, I''ve tried out teleporting myself through blood, I''ve seen you use your lightning teleportation and I''ve just experienced Xinbei''s teleportation using the training rooms. After this many interactions, it''ll be weirder if I didn''t have a few ideas." "I see¡­ So what''s the second idea then? If you didn''t say anything about it, I assume it''s because it''s linked to Ca or your body." Ria asked curiously. "You''re on the right track. It''s actually because of Ca. If you want, I can exin it in great detail or I can simplify it." Alice offered as Ria didn''t hesitate to pick the simplified version. "You see, the Abyss is filled with this kind of strange energy that is always on the move. An invisible flow that lets me see when you''re preparing to activate a Sigil for example. When I was doing my simtions, I realized that this energy wasn''t only just there for looks. "Think of the Abyss as the beach and this energy as the sea. I can see it, I can touch it, but I can''t exactly manipte it to a great extent considering the sheer magnitude. But, if I was to fulfil certain requirements, I''d be able to surf this wave of energy to my destination. "When Kaden sent me to the Abyss, he had wrapped me with a protective cover. I can only imagine that this is one of the requirements and once this is fulfilled, I''ll be a raft in the sea, waiting for my destination." Alice exined while Ria stared at her nkly. "To simplify it even further, my current theory is that the Abyss is like the sea. Depending on my control, I can either travel the sea via raft which I have very little control over to get a ship and sail to my destination, no matter how chaotic it bes. I can only assume that Kaden''s mastery and understanding of the Abyss allows him to teleport people with ease along with the help of his Sigils." "Ah¡­ Alright, I get it now." Ria nodded. "You sure about that?" "Not really. But, if your requirements are met, you can teleport wherever you want. In theory right?" Ria shrugged. "Ehh close enough. But yeah that''s the basic idea." Alice chuckled. Making their way to the restaurant, the two enjoyed a hearty meal and tried their best to forget about how much this cost. They were going to take somemissions to replenish their funds after this. ### Sitting on a building with his raven cloak billowing in the wind, Kaden had a strange expression on his face while looking over the city in the distance. He had already left the Abyss yet there was a deep sense of yearning once more. A feeling he had forgotten after so many years. But all it took was one trip back to revive this long-dead emotion. *sigh¡­ Sighing out softly, Kaden leaned back. "The brat''s thinking of some interesting theories with teleportation¡­" Kaden muttered with a small smile on his face. He had noticed that she had disappeared into another dimension again and decided to check out what was happening. He saw their spar, he saw Alice''s initial theory and he heard her second theory. Overall, he was satisfied with the spar as Ria had performed better than he anticipated while Alice wasn''t far off either. But what caught his attention was her second theory. "Seems like Ca is close to waking up if she could see the flow of the Abyss. Once she wakes up, everyone will realize. Lua is¡­ Buying time for Alice in the Abyss. Keeping the other Lords distracted in the frontlines. I suppose my job is to keep the ones on the surface busy." He mused to himself. She was on the right track as he did indeed manipte this flow to transport her. That was the foundation of his teleportation as someone who can exert a degree of authority over the Abyss. But what she described was a crude variant, simr to her initial mimicry of Allura''s skill. ''I suppose she should be able to make something better or at least usable for her in the near future. Kids grow up so fast these days, it''s only been a week or so since we parted ways.'' Kaden thought to himself as he stood up. "Now¡­ how should I distract the Lords on the surface." ying around with a feather in his hands, a smile slowly crept up on his face. Naturally, the best way was to piss off the church of the Sun, Moon and Eclipse. With the connections they''ve made, going after them is basically stirring the ho''s nest. Not that Kaden was afraid, brats like them could only wish they were able to touch a feather on his cloak. "Kill three birds with one stone. Or is it piss off three religions with one¡­ Hmm. Well whatever, I''ll just stir some sh*t then leave." Kadenughed, taking a step off the edge of the building. The best way to piss off all three of the religions quickly was simple. All he had to do was ''borrow'' some of their strongest relics. For the Church of the Moon, he was going to ''borrow'' the Twilight Moonde. A weapon blessed by the Goddess of the Moon herself. For the Church of the Sun, he was aiming for the Eternal Solstice. The Eternal Solstice was a bow that could be transformed into a spear. Both forms of the weapon harboured the might of the Sun God. Andst but not least, for the Cult of the Eclipse, he was going to steal- no ''borrow'' two items instead of just one. The first was the Tablet of Judgement and the second was the de of Dusk. Both were heavily involved in their rituals and depriving them of both would definitely send the Eclipse into a frenzy. ''Plus, if I manage to borrow all of this, they''ll pull back the forces they sent to the frontlines. It should give Lua a bit of breathing room too.'' Kaden thought with a soft chuckle. Falling in a standing position, he flicked his finger and his entire body was wrapped in raven feathers before disappearing. Chapter 216: Grimwater Wyrm Sitting on a tree branch, Alice couldn''t help but sigh as she looked at her surroundings. She was currently in the heart of a murky swamp. The air was filled with the scent of decay and rotting corpses. Around her, countless broken trees reached for the sky with their withered fingers while parts of the trunk sank into the swamp. Despite the moonlight that was ever present in the Abyss, the swamp was filled with a sickly green fog that threatened to corrode the skin and flesh. Located in the midst of the withered trees was a solitary broken-down hut with broken nks and a bridge branching out to different parts of the swamp. However, she wasn''t here to admire this scenery. Her target lies in the murky waters that surround this hut. Its massive form was barely visible through the dark, churning waters. Yet the ripples caused by its movement betrayed its location and its size. Circling around the house, its glowing eyes would pierce through the darkness and survey its surroundings before diving back down, waiting for any signs of its next meal. The Grimwater Wyrm, the target of her hunt. *Sigh¡­ "I should''ve found out more about this beast if I knew it was in a swamp." Alice groaned in annoyance. After they had finished their meal, the two of them decided to split up andplete somemissions to earn some money. For her, she chose a three star hunt while Ria chose a four star hunt. The closest target that was only a day''s journey away was the Grimwater Wyrm and the reward for this hunt was 120 Gold pieces. A little less than what she had hoped but considering it was close to the city, Alice couldn''t exactlyin. Standing up, Alice massaged her neck before taking a deep breath. Her target had two main features that she had to watch out for. First was its skin which has a high tolerance against weapons and Sigil powers. Second was its Frenzied form where it gives up all of its defensive abilities for offensive power. ''I''ve done my research, made my preparations. If all things are ounted for, this hunt should be over before it can enter the Frenzied form. And even then, dealing with it in the second form should be easy since I''ve already prepared for it.'' Alice thought to herself. A Hunter''s job was to prepare and ambush their prey, aiming to kill it as fast as possible before it could retaliate. There were several ways Alice could approach this fight with one of them being pure brute force and destruction with Void Flux. But she didn''t want people to redraw the map constantly. Swinging herself from the branch, Alice created a single thread of blood that connected between two trees and bnced herself on it. Wrapping her foot around the thread, she dangled herself down and created more threads as well as traps using a mix of her third Sigil and blood beads. Her n was simple. Using her blood beads and third Sigil, she''ll lure the Wyrm into her optimal striking range before suspending it using her traps and killing it in one go before it can even retaliate! Narrowing her eyes, Alice finished her preparation and sat up on the thread. With a single snap of her finger, she detonated one of the blood beads. *THRASH!!! The instant she detonated her blood bead, the beast shot forth and snapped its head at the location, causing a wave of swamp water to ssh outwards as Alice smiled at the response. ''Seems like this beast has fallen prey to its instincts,shing out at anything that moved. No wonder beasts around here avoided this area.'' She mused to herself as she snapped her finger once more, detonating another blood bead. Watching the beast thrash around the swamp, Alice watched on calmly while sitting on her thread. Crossing her legs, she noticed that the beast had realized something was amiss. Snapping its head towards her direction, the beast let out a deep growl as it prepared to attack. "Ohya? I''ve been spotted. But don''t you think it''s a little toote now beasty?" Alice chuckled before snapping her finger. From the swamp, countless blood threads burst forth, wrapping around the beast and forcefully dragging it out of the water. While it was busy thrashing around to catch her blood beads, she was busyying out the trap for it. Seeing the beast suspended above the swamp, Alice was able to see its body in its entirety. Its serpentine body was covered with tattered fins and jagged spikes that protruded from its back. Layers uponyers of scales flowed down its body. Upon its head, it had two pairs of eyes that red at her in anger. Letting out another growl, Alice could see a row of sharp teeth lining its maw. The Grimwater Wyrm was a deep green while the edges of its fins and underbelly were illuminated by a bioluminescent turquoise with a strange hypnotic pattern printed across the surface. The inside of its jaw was a bright turquoise stained with crimson due to her blood beads. Just as she was able to act, Alice noticed a strange flow of energy gathering towards its body. She could see the energy that permeated through the Abyss coalescing towards the beast, seeping into its body. ''Is this the Frenzied form?'' Alice thought to herself. It was easy to end its life here and now, but her curiosity burned bright. She wanted to see how the energy flowed through its body and transform its innate nature of having high defence. Curling her lips into a smile, Alice flicked her finger and released its bindings. "Go on, entertain me." Alice taunted. Understanding that it was being underestimated, the beast reared its head back and let out an ear shattering cry. Energy from within its body entwined with the energy flowing in from the Abyss and a burst of energy exploded forth from within. The horns upon the head of the beast grew longer and more jagged while its flesh split apart, revealing the pulsing green flesh beneath. Spectral green energy wrapped around the Wyrm''s body, creating a strange veil that trailed behind it as though it was floating underwater. Observing the transformation of energy within its body, Alice''s eyes lit up with intrigue. ''The way it mixes its own energy with the Abyss is simr to Resonance¡­'' Alice thought to herself while the beast lunged forward in the blink of an eye. Leaning back and falling from the thread, Aliceughed as the beast missed its target before creating another thread to catch her mid fall. "Not bad beasty. You showed me something pretty interesting." Alice grinned as she shed down with her finger. From above, the metal converged into a greatsword before cleaving down at the Wyrm. Cracking open a second jaw, a pulse of light trailed up from the tail and flowed up its body before stopping at the neck. *KSHHH!!! A stream of violet acid roared out, melting the sword in an instant. Turning its neck towards Alice''s direction, the torrent of acid whipped towards Alice who created a of blood before detonating it into a wall of violet mes that burned away the acid before it could reach her. Bncing herself on the thread, Alice decided to test something out. ''When activating a Resonance, we directly connect ourselves to the Abyss using our Sigils as a link. The Abyss then provides us the power to change our bodies to a certain extent in order to bring out the best of our abilities and the culmination of our first three Sigils. ''But with the method the beast has shown, it seems like there''s an alternative method in this connection. One that wouldn''t burn through all of my power at once to activate my Resonance.'' When the beast had activated its Frenzied form, the flow of energy was slow and methodical, slowly changing its body to bring out the power rather than a sudden violent burst which is what the Resonance Hunters can activate. Narrowing her eyes, Alice observed the flow of energy around her and started to gather it towards her own body. She didn''t need to open her full Resonance. If the Resonance is created through the reaction of all three Sigils connecting to the Abyss, what would only having one Sigil create? What about two? It was simr to the partial Resonance activation that Allura demonstrated yet very different. The partial Resonance was still done with all three while this was aiming for a partial activation with just one Sigil. Closing her eyes, Alice jumped back and deactivated the rest of her Sigils except her first. The Sigil belonging to the Spectral Hunter! From her chest, she could feel the crown within her body stirring as a connection was formed. The Sigil that was glowing on her forearm started to move and squirm. Little by little, it started to spread through her body as Alice felt a new reservoir of strength within her. Flipping her body in mid air, shended on the roof of the broken hut as broken fragments started manifesting themselves before hovering above her head in the shape of a crown. The Sigil pattern representing her first Sigil could now be seen across her body with parts of it visible on her neck. Narrowing her eyes, Alice dashed to the side and realized the physical boost granted by her Sigil had been enhanced! ''It''s a lot more exhausting than normal but not quite at the level of using my Resonance. Though using this would probably reduce the time I have in my Resonance form.'' Alice thought to herself. If Resonance took power from all three Sigils to activate briefly, this method allowed her to space out how she wanted to use her strength. Handy for situations where her Resonance would be overkill. "As thanks, let me finish you off quickly and painlessly." Alice called out to the beast as she drew her de. ring with ck and red mes, Alice''s figure shot towards the beast who tried to retaliate but its vision blurred. With the blood bead being consumed by it, Alice activated her illusion to create a gap in its defense! Now the first Sigil was enhanced, even a beast of this caliber was helpless against her. Unable to defend itself, the beast didn''t even know when the de cleaved through its neck, separating its head from its body. Landing on a tree branch, Alice deactivated her partial Resonance and panted heavily while satisfaction filled her heart. "Now¡­ How the f*ck do I carry this back with me?" Chapter 217: Side Effects Of One Sigil Resonance Looking at the corpse of the Grimwater Wyrm, Alice figured she should get some sort of verification that she killed the beast. ''I should probably get its eyes, fins and maybe an arm for good measure.'' She thought to herself, creating a butcher''s de to hack away at the beast. Even though she''d left most of its corpse behind, the parts she wanted to bring back was still quite a handful. Tying it up using her threads made of blood, Alice started to haul her quarry back when a wave of lethargy hit her, causing her to stumble onto her knee. Widening her eyes in surprise, she wanted to move her body but it didn''t listen. *Drip "Eh?" Looking down, she could see a droplet of blood hitting the moss-covered nks beneath her as she slowly reached for her nose and realized that she was bleeding. ''Is this a side effect of using a single Sigil as my Resonance?'' Alice thought to herself with a frown as she tilted her head back and stopped the bleeding. Forcing herself to stand up, Alice could feel a stinging pain emanating from her left arm where her Sigil was engraved. Pulling up her sleeves, she could see the Sigil itself pulsing with life. Parts of the Sigil tried to branch out and cover her body once more but there was an invisible force holding it back, stopping it from doing so. ''Wait¡­'' Pausing for a moment, Alice felt as though she needed to reevaluate her understanding of Sigils and Resonance. If the Abyss was simply bringing out the dormant power within your body using Resonances, it wouldn''t have created this much of a reaction. Yet her Sigil felt¡­ ''alive''. Furrowing her brows, Alice focused on the flow of energy within her arm and realized that something foreign was being generated within the Sigil. The connection that she had formed between the Abyss and herself using just one Sigil was still connected. It was faint but the connection was enough to stir her Sigil. Trying her best to suppress the Sigil, turning it off as she had done many times before, Alice felt as though she was in a tug of war. A struggle within the body over the control of her Sigil. In a single burst, she exerted as much power as she could to suppress the Sigil and managed to regain control of her Sigil, turning it off in the process. Taking rapid breaths out of exhaustion, Alice copsed on the bridge with a frown on her face. A single thought was present in her mind. Whether or not the Sigils are truly alive or not. Or else why would it have tried to override her control? Perhaps it wasn''t even the Sigil, perhaps it was her own body. Scratching her hair in annoyance, Alice took a deep breath and sighed. As much as she loathed the thought, she figured that getting the documents of her own experimentation may help her understand her body more. If there were anyone in the world who knew more than her about her own body, it would definitely be the Zenia Schrs. "Tsk... How would I even get their notes without getting recaptured in the process?" Alice muttered, unsure of how she should approach this. But the more she knew about her strange condition, the better. After spending a few momentsying motionlessly on the bridge, Alice managed to stand up without any issues as the fatigue left her body. Looking down at her arm, it was the same slender arm that she was used to seeing. Activating her Sigil, it obeyed hermands without any resistance as though its previous show of defiance was merely her own hallucination. But she knew that wasn''t the case. ''The connection between it and the Abyss has truly been separated for now. Seems like I''ll need to borrow more than just thebat department at the Academy.'' Alice sighed inwardly. If she could get ess to the other facilities, she might be able to redo some of the experiments performed on her and try to figure out something. Noticing something strange on her reflection against the swamp water, Alice tilted her head before leaning in to get a closer look. Pausing for a moment, she hesitantly raised her hand above her head and felt the broken obsidian crown. Unlike before, it wasn''t disappearing once her Resonance ended. Instead, it continued to float around her head. But unlike her Resonance form, it merely looked like broken shards that floated rather than a crown. "Urg¡­ Is this a side effect of me testing the one Sigil Resonance? How am I supposed to hide this? I''m already getting a lot of eyes drawn to me because of my hair and eye." Alicemented since it was going to be much harder to hide when she had such a conspicuous detail. Flicking her crown with her finger, Alice sighed. "How should I even exin what this is? I guess I could be dismissed as an Abyss Blood side effect." Shaking her head, she dragged the corpse of the beast with her as she made her way out of the swamp. Finding the carriage that had brought her here, Alice loaded the remains of the beast onto the back before gesturing for the driver to take her back to the port. She''ll take an ship back to the city via sea and she should be back to Silverwind Valley in a few hours. ### "I thought the crown only appeared in your Resonance form? Howes its¡­ floating above your head now?" Ria asked as the two of them sat around a table with several cups of mead, all for Alice to enjoy. "Urg¡­ Just an experiment gone wrong I suppose. I was trying out something I thought was pretty interesting but turns out it gave me two kinds of side effects. One disappeared pretty quickly and this crown is the second." Alice sighed, drinking her mead before leaning forward, letting Ria touch the floating crown. Tapping the cold obsidian that floated above Alice''s head, Ria couldn''t help but wonder if she could pull it away from Alice''s head. But try as she might, the pieces refused to budge. "I mean¡­ It''s a pretty unique essory." Ria shrugged. "I''m not denying that. I''m just saying the unwanted attention is annoying." ncing around her, Alice could see several eyes staring at her while whispering to the people around them. "Mnm, that is an issue. If we were to annoy anyone, all they need to do is ask around for a split haired girl with mismatching eyes and a crown. I doubt anyone would forget what you look like ahahah." Riaughed since it was quite rare to have those features appear simultaneously on one person. And if someone did indeed see Alice, Ria doubted they''ll see another with simr features. "Don''t remind me. I''ve been trying to be low key while we travel. But this doesn''t allow that." "By low key, you mean reshaping the map and the fully charged Nova Core that you fired at ckrock City? I''m pretty sure the City Lord has an idea that it was you who caused that kind of destruction." Ria chuckled with a raised eyebrow while Alice couldn''t refute. Indeed, looking back, her actions haven''t really been low key. Anyone near the site of her fights would probably remember the destruction she caused as well as a flip in personality should she allow her inner hunger to take over. "You know what I meant. Setting that aside how was your hunt?" Alice asked curiously. "Honestly, it was a lot easier than I expected. The beast was already injured in a territorial dispute with another beast so all I had to do was take aim from a distance and fire a bolt right through its head. Shredded the upper half of its skull so I had to take the lower jaw to verify my kill." Ria shrugged as she had gotten quite lucky with how easy her hunt was. She half expected another beast to interrupt her or an ident were to happen but it was simply a normal hunt that didn''t trouble her at all. "But with two hunts done, I think we''ve gotten a decent amount of funds. I need to buy myself a pair of gauntlets to fight with even if I rely on my Sigil power. And you can probably find someone to fix your gloves in the Handicraft department. I''m sure there''s a good cksmith there that can try out some repairs since this is a famous Academy after all." Ria suggested. This Academy was probably their best shot at fixing Alice''s gloves without going directly to the maind. "Hmm¡­ You''re not wrong. If I could use these gloves alongside my third Sigil, I could focus my mind on controlling the metal rather than both the metal and the blood." Alice sighed as using her third Sigil was a little taxing on her focus. But if she could relieve her burden by making blood threads to be used with the gloves, she could rely on her own muscle memory and instinct to manipte the threads while her mind focused on fighting using the floating des. With their next steps decided on, the two finished their drinks. For Ria, it was a single tankard while Alice chugged down several with ease then letting out a sigh of satisfaction at the end. Seeing Alice with a happy grin on her face, one that wasn''t due to seeing blood or killing something, Ria couldn''t help but chuckle at her love for alcohol. ### Walking past the countless containers filled with a strange blue liquid and the bodies of Abyss Beasts, Xinbei kept azy smile on his face and approached a woman sitting in front of the operating table. He needed to notify all of the Department Heads and have them be present at the exams. Naturally, that included this woman in front of him. The Department Head of Theory, ra Frost. A woman who''s responsible for many of their breakthroughs regarding the Inverted World. "Ara~ Good evening Xinbei~ I''m surprised you''re visiting me. It''s not often youe here, should I prepare some tea for you?" Her whimsical voice rang out as Xinbei shook his head. It was here for two reasons, both having something to do with Alice. Chapter 218: Elara Frost "Should I prepare some tea for you?" Hearing this question, Xinbei could only smile and shake his head. The woman in front of him sat in at the operating table without turning around. Her hair, a chaotic mess of untamed grey strands reached beyond her waist and almost touched the ground. Even though he couldn''t see her face, he knew that she had her signature eyepatch that covered her right eye, changed via beast blood. Her singr golden eye stared unblinkingly at the beast pinned down on her operating table by strange appendages that reached out from beneath herb coat. She had sharp teeth, bestial in nature. Another change brought forth by the blood which flowed through the Abyss while bandages covered the stitches and defects that were more visible across her body. Draped over her shoulders is a wornb coat, stained with countless samples of blood belonging to different beasts, a symbol of her dedication and enthusiasm. "I don''t think I''ll be staying long enough for tea." Xinbei replied, grabbing himself a chair in this dimly lit room and sat down. "Aww~ But the beast blood tea I''ve brewed up recently is rather good for the body. It''s rather rejuvenating once you look past the aftertaste." ra snickered before twirling a scalpel between her fingers. The beast strapped to the operating table had long died but that didn''t stop her from continuing her experiments until she''s gotten as much value as she could from said beast. "So are you just here to see the cutie known as me or are you here for other reasons? I''ll be disappointed if you''re here just to take advantage of my maiden heart~" She asked, ncing back briefly before turning her attention back to the beast in front of her. "I''ll have to disappoint you then. I''m here to ask you to partake in the Special Exams after all." Xinbei shrugged. He knew that despite her whimsical attitude and disposition, she was probably the most dangerous person on this campus if you got on her bad side. A single look at her experiments told you everything you needed to know. "Boo~ You know I don''t like to deal with official matters. They''re all so boring, I''d rather find some cuties to y around with." ra waved her hand dismissively. "You''re the Department Head of Theory. Unfortunately, it''s part of your payroll to attend these kinds of events. As it is with me. Otherwise, do you think I''ll have the motivation to go?" Xinbeiughed. Both of them only took this position because of how useful it was and how it allowed them to get the resources they needed for their research topics. "Should I give my job to Runi then? She usually takes care of all the boring stuff anyway. It''s not something a maiden like me should be dealing with~" "If you give it to Runi I''m pretty sure you''ll get more work than before and have less time for your own entertainment. Plus, I think you''ll be pretty interested in this round." Xinbei chuckled as he brought out a small crystal ball. A recording of the trial that he conducted for Alice and Ria. "Interesting? For my standards? Xinbei~ If you lie to me I''ll be heartbroken you know? Thest time you forced me to leave myb for the boring exams was for your assistant. You promised me it would be interesting as well but in the end, it was boring as usual. "There''s only so many times you can y around with a maiden''s heart before she loses interest in you." ra replied with a sad tone while one of the appendages aimed a scalpel at Xinbei''s neck but he didn''t react. "Ahaha, sorry sorry. But this time I''m being serious. I even managed to convince Garret after only showing him the recording. Didn''t need further persuasion." "Ohya? You''ve managed to convince that gori to take part?" ra paused in surprise as Garret, the Department Head of Combat wasn''t one that could be convinced easily. If he agreed to take part in the exams from just one recording then the person doing the trial must be rather talented. "But you know¡­ You can''t loop me and the gori together. One''s a maiden and the other is a brute~ What makes you think I''ll be interested?" "Because I think she might be your kindred spirit." Xinbei smiled, throwing the orb at ra who caught it with ease using one of her appendages. "If you tease a girl this much she''s bound to be interested. Alright, let me have a look then." ra sighed. As she peered into the recording, she watched in silence. To others, she may seemposed as always, but Xinbei noticed the change in emotion within her. Her eye focused solely on Alice. Her hand trembled slightly as she watched Alice unleash the violet mes that tore away at Xinbei''s summon and her pupil constricted. Blood rushed to her cheeks as her lips curled up into a bewitching smile, revealing her sharp teeth. Unable to contain herself, ra bit on her finger as her gaze never left Alice. "Alright~ You''ve convinced me. I am rather¡­ no. Saying I''m interested may be an understatement aha~ What''s her name?" ra asked, rolling the orb back and forth on her table. "Alice Agnelia. Just like you, it seems like her hair and eye are byproducts of Abyss Blood. She''s rather smart too. After just one interaction with the training rooms, she''s figured out the basic theory between how I connected my pocket dimension into a training room." "Oh~ Smart and cute¡­ I like her. Ah~ If only she was a beast. Then I can open her up and study her as much as I want. What department is she going for? I hope it''s Theory." ra smiled. Her eye was still fixated on Alice. "She''s going to be a student of the Combat Department. I doubt you''ll have many interactions with her. That and also maybe you shouldn''t say that out loud. If others heard you, they might get the wrong idea." Xinbei sighed. "I know~ I can''t help it you know? Just like Abyss Beasts, Alice has captivated my maiden heart~ When is the exam happening?" ra giggled before finally turning to look at Xinbei. "It''ll happen roughly two weeks from now." "The same time as the Student Advancement exams?" ra raised an eyebrow. "Mnm. The principal suggested that they should also go through the Advancement Exams before going for the Special Exams. Think of it as their enrolment test. They''re already skipping arge queue." "Two weeks? Alright~ I''ll have to doll myself up for this cutie then. I''m sure the Hunter''s Guild will have plenty of information on her right? I wonder what kind of beast did she kill for those mes." ra mused to herself. "Since I''ve got your confirmation I''ll take my leave now. I have plenty of other things to do." Xinbei smiled and stood up. "Take care on your way out~" Making his way out of theb, he was about to close the door when it was mmed shut behind him and then locked. *Sigh¡­ "Seems like ra has found her new target of focus. I''ll have to apologize to Alice if ra causes any trouble but she was bound to find out eventually since I need her." Xinbei shrugged and walked away. Meanwhile, ra continued to analyse the recording in the crystal. Her mind brought forth all of her knowledge regarding the Abyss to prove the phenomenon that she was witnessing yet her mind could notprehend this paradox. The mes that seemed to eat away at the powers of the Abyss with ravenous hunger¡­ belonged to a Sigil. Through her understanding of this realm, her experiences and the years of effort she had put in, the scenario in front of her should be impossible. Yet this impossibility was proven through the actions of this girl in the recording. While she didn''t understand Xinbei''s summon and dimension fully, she still had a good idea of how strong it was and how it worked. What she witnessed had flipped her understanding of how Sigils worked. Their powers, their limitations and the gap between Hunters. It''s as though her lifelong understanding of 1 plus 1 equals 2 was suddenly changed to 1 plus 1 equals 11. What Alice performed defied their knowledge of Sigils on a fundamental level of which ra couldn''t take her eyes off. "Ah~ How do the mes work? How does she feel wielding these mes? What beast did she kill? What power do the mes originate from? How does it feel¡­ To get burned by the mes?" Muttering the countless questions that flowed through her mind, ra found it hard to retrain herself. Slowly, her hand slid down between her legs as she moaned out softly. Holding her fingers in front of the light she could see a sticky fluid drip from her fingers, her body shivered with anticipation as she brought it to her mouth and gave it a lick. It''s been so many years since she felt like this. Never did she think that something other than her experiments would invoke this feeling yet her first sight of this girl caused exactly that. "Fufu~ Is this what they call love at first sight?" This exam, she had to witness it no matter what. She had to get her hands on Alice. ### "!?!?!" Feeling a chill down her spine, Alice couldn''t help but pause mid-step as she looked around in confusion. She didn''t know what had just happened but her instincts were warning her of something. She could feel her hairs stand on end, warning her of something dangerous. "Are you alright?" Ria raised an eyebrow. "I think so. I just got a chill¡­ Look, I even got goosebumps." Alice furrowed her brows, rolling up her sleeve and showing her arm to Ria. "Are you cold?" "I¡­ Don''t think me being cold is the issue. Especially when we''re at the cksmithing district. If it''s from the cold then I''ll be more concerned." Alice frowned since they were practically surrounded by fire. "That''s true. Well I''m sure it''s nothing." Ria reassured since there was no danger around them. Hesitating for a moment, Alice sighed and nodded her head. They were here to get Ria a better pair of gauntlets after all. One that could help with her new fighting style of mixing ranged attacks and close quartersbat. Chapter 219: Vultures "So what kind of gauntlets are you looking for this time? I thought the gloves you got from ckrock City were pretty good no?" Alice asked curiously while the two of them walked through the streets of the cksmithing district. The rhythmic sounds of hammers shing against metal echoed out with each step they took while the air surrounding the different forges warped from the heat. "Don''t get me wrong, these gloves are good. They help me parry attacks and control my lightning when I''m fighting up close. But the issues appear once I try to use long distanced attacks. I noticed it a while back but I thought it was just me. "Turns out it was these gloves hindering me from gathering power tounch a long ranged attack since it passively stores some of my lightning to be used for parrying." Ria exined. She couldn''t exactly demonstrate it in the middle of the city unless she wanted to get into some trouble with the guards. "So¡­ You''re looking to rece them with more offensive options?" "That''s the idea. I want something that doesn''t hinder me when I try to go for the long ranged option. You know how surprised I was when my attack wasn''t as powerful as expected? I still killed the beast but I expected half of his body to get blown off and not just his head ya know?" Riamented. In her own words, the restriction caused by the gloves was one thatpletely sacrificed ranged for close quarter supremacy. Of course, with her abnormal attack power, she was able to ignore this restriction to a certain extent. But that extent was roughly 20% of her original power. Being restricted to 20% of her power when using long ranged attacks was a no go for her. However, the more they browsed the cksmithing district, the more disappointed they became as the weapons avable were either not up to par or far too expensive for their current funds. Tobat this, Ria had an idea of trading in her current gloves to try to bridge the missing funds but it was still not enough. In the end, she could only settle for a pair of subpar gloves that simply enhanced her lightning attacks slightly. The boost was small but it was still better than not being able to use her long ranged attacks effectively. Looking at their coin pouch that had 219 gold pieces, including Alice''s reward from her hunt, the two couldn''t help but sigh once again when faced with money troubles. "We can ughter four star beasts yet we''re still gued with money issues." Riamented. It felt as though no matter how many beasts they killed, money flew out faster than they could earn. Travel funds, equipment funds, blood funds and so on. Try as they may, all they could do was amass 219 gold. More than enough for a small family but they''re not the standard family. They were two Hunters. "I''m starting to think that being a Hunter is not as profitable as I had initially expected." Alice smiled bitterly while scratching her cheek. Currently, she had her hood over her head to cover the floating crown. "Tell me about it. *Sigh¡­ You know what we must do." "Get moremissions?" Alice tilted her head. "No! We must journey to the gambling arena! Only through blood sweat and lots of fighting can we earn the coin we need to fund our expenditures!" Ria shook her head as a fire burned in her eyes. "Ahaha¡­ You know we should probably cut down on that right?" "Ehh? But why? It''s not like I''m losing in there hehe~" Ria stuck out her tongue, feeling excited about going back to the arena. "I''m not saying I think you''d lose. But what would we do if someone you can''t handle appears? What then?" Alice asked, wondering if Ria had a backup n. "Erm¡­ We run." ". . . But we''re going to be studying here?" Alice raised an eyebrow. "That''s true¡­Alright fine. Unless we have no other options, I won''t use this method okay?" Ria sighed. She knew that Alice was just worried and it was justified. Now that they were at a more popted city, one that was rather famous at that, the level ofbatants will naturally increase. This meant the Gambling Arenas would be harder to defeat if they tried to rig things as per usual. "How do you think Allura and Gin earned money when they were on the road? Or do they not need to bother considering their connections and so on." Alice asked curiously, wondering if Ria had an idea of how they did it. "Honestly, I think they just robbed whoever they killed. If their corpse is still intact. If anything, we could try our hand in hunting down some wanted people for their bounties." Ria shrugged. "If their names are on the wanted list, wouldn''t they prepare some guards to protect them?" Alice furrowed her brows as Ria''s second n sounded far more dangerous than the first. If anything, she would prefer Ria to gamble rather than taking on wanted bounties right now. "Urg¡­ Also true." With no other choice, Ria relented to doing normalmissions within the city. That was if they could find any. Upon returning to the Hunter''s Guild, most of themissions within the city were taken the moment they were put up on the board. It was only when trying to get themission themselves, did Alice and Ria noticed that there was always a group of people, eyeing the board for the moment thesemissions appeared. With them around, it felt impossible for the two of them to get themission they wanted. "Is this a challenge? I feel like this is a f*cking challenge. All they do is sit around until themissions are up then f*cking run up and grab them! Do they have nothing better to do?!" Riained, mming her drink down in annoyance. She had wanted to use her lightning powers to teach them a lesson by being faster but with how many people were crowded around, it was hard to use it without bumping into people and bing public enemy number 1. "Pft ahaha seems like you''re having difficulty gettingmissions." The bartenderughed, handing Alice her mead while taking away the empty cups. "Of course! I mean they''re practically hunting thesemissions. If they got so much time and effort they might as well go out and kill a damn beast." Ria clicked her tongue, ring at the group of Hunters who were waiting around but they only gave her a provocative grin in response. *PUCHI! Feeling as though a vein was about to burst, Ria could only chug her drink in one go to try and soothe the anger within. "You''ll get used to it. These kinds of people are known as Vultures. People who wait around for the easiest tasks within the city and don''t let the others get it. While it''s apetitive environment within the group, they make sure ''outsiders'' don''t get a chance to grab themissions." "Oh? Seems like they got quite the background." Alice muttered in surprise as she hadn''t noticed them before. "Well, they''re everywhere. The Guild''s tried to deal with them before but you can''t really stop people from gettingmissions otherwise it''ll cause all kinds of other issues. So they could only leave them be. And to be fair, it''s not really urate to call them a group as they''re just regrs who recognize one another and stop others." The bartender shrugged. "All in all it''s just a matter of being faster and more perceptive against them." Hearing this, Alice nodded her head as she nced over at the board. So far it''s just been Ria who''s trying to get her hands on themissions since she was the faster one out of the two. But Alice had an idea on how to potentially be faster than them. This wasn''t a matter of speed but rather perception and reaction. Both of which she has an edge over due to the existence of Ca. Finishing her drink, Alice stood up. "I''ll be right back." Alice smiled as Ria nodded her head. "Good luck~ Hope you can bring one back." Nodding her head, Alice narrowed her eyes and walked towards themission board. Naturally, the Vultures kept their eye on her as Ria had made herself known and as her friend, she became a target as well. ''I need to be subtle about it. Manifest only the metal. A small piece will do, as long as I can see the reflection.'' Alice thought to herself as small fragments of metal appeared beneath her shoes. Controlling them to move through the blind spots and hover in the air above, she sat down on an empty table and waited patiently. She needed to set up her hunting ground before making her move. The basics of being a Hunter. ''I have four points of reflection. It doesn''t seem like anyone has noticed. Refine their surfaces so I can see the reflections. If the metal isn''t enough, I can use blood as a recement.'' Closing her eyes for now, she focused her mind on adjusting the properties of her metal. After a moment of silence, she opened her right eye and focused on the pieces of metal above. It was rough but enough to make out a few words. All that''s left now is to make her move when the opportunity presents itself. Thankfully, she didn''t have to wait long as a Guild Staff made her way to the board with a stack of papers in her hand. Alice had seen a few of themissions she had shuffled into the stack and knew this was her time to shine. Standing up, she and several Vultures made their move. While she walked at a brisk pace, the Vultures were already there. But this wasn''t a race of speed. No, this was her hunting ground. Speed will not avail you in this ce. Curling her lips into a grin, she waited for the Staff to pin themissions on the board since they needed to wait. Once she was done with the final sheet, Alice struck! A faint trail of blood mist diffused through the crowd as Alice''s first Sigil lit up. She didn''t need to make a big illusion since that would be too obvious. Just a momentarypse in concentration as though they aimed for the wrongmission. That hesitation was all the Hunter needed. And in that moment, Alice snatched twomissions away from the hands of the Vultures before they could react. Chapter 220: Arunya Holding the twomissions triumphantly, Alice turned to the Vultures and gave them the same smug smile back that they pulled towards Ria. Giving them a small wave, Alice made her way back without turning to look at their expressions. "Tada~ Twomissions within the city." Alice chuckled, cing them on the table while Ria blinked her eyes in surprise. Ignoring her surprise, Alice ordered another cup of mead while looking over the details around thesemissions. The first one seems to bemissioned by a student of the Combat Department within the academy. They required a sparring partner so they can prepare for the Student Advancement exams. The Hunter needed to have at least four Sigils and defeat his bodyguard. If they are able to fulfil these requirements, they''ll be sparring every day and the payment will be 50 gold per sparring session. Seeing this, Alice figured that Ria would be the perfect fit for this considering her focus on martial techniques and close quartersbat. Between the two of them, she was the best candidate for this. "This one is happeningter today if you want to give it a go." Alice offered as she slid themission next to Ria. Reading through the details, Ria almost choked on her drink seeing that it was 50 gold per session. If they were doing one session per day for the next two weeks before their exam, that was 700 gold in total! It was enough for her to buy the gloves she wanted. "Holy crap! What kind of rich young master can spare 50 gold per session?" "Dunno. But if they''re willing to pay the price why not ahaha." Alice chuckled since this''ll solve their funding for now. But that was just Ria''smission, turning her eyes to the second one, she started to read through the details. To call it amission was slightly incorrect as it was more like an advert than anything. The poster was a Department Head''s assistant within the Academy and required a helping hand while working in theb. ''You will be required to be able to handle yourself in an environment filled with Abyss Blood. During this period, you will act as an extra pair of hands for me. You will not defy what I ask of you as all experiments and research require careful actions. ''However, in the time you are working as my assistant, you will be allowed to use some of the equipment provided by the academy so long as you notify me of the uses. The pay will be 30 gold per day but you will be expected to be by my side for a minimum of 8 hours. Depending on the experiment, you will be going into overtime but I will pay the fee ordingly.'' Tapping her finger on the table, Alice understood that most people would probably be cautious regarding thismission. Not only was it an environment filled with Abyss Blood, but the pay didn''t match the risk not to mention the hours. ''Just being able to use the equipment doesn''t cover the hour required. But¡­ the environment isn''t an issue for me. If anything, I can probably persuade them by saying my body''s already been affected by side effects.'' She mused to herself. Should she decide to go through with thismission, she''ll be able to earn around 420 gold pieces not including the supposed overtime. In the end, she decided to meet themissioner first before she decided to ept the task or not. ''If I can get ess to the facilities early then I can run some tests of my own without waiting till I''m enrolled. Though even if I enrol, I doubt they''ll lend testing equipment to a Combat Department student.'' She sighed. Finishing her drink, Alice stood up. "I''m gonna go meet themissioner for this task. Are you going to meet yourmissioner as well?" Alice asked, ncing over to Ria who was also preparing to leave. "Mnm. The sooner I meet them the faster we can set up the sparring sessions. And the faster I do that, the faster I get paid." Ria grinned. "Pft alright. You''re gonna get paid a bit more than me but hopefully, mine should be rtively rxing if I decide to say yes to this." Letting the Guild know that they were taking these twomissions, the two made their way back to the Academy. Ria made her way to the Combat Department while Alice walked to the Theory Department. They were both given a temporary pass that allowed them to wander the Academy without issue since they were here for amission. Each of the Departments was located in their own area. The Handicraft was located near trains that allowed them easy ess to the rest of the city. The Combat Department was located directly below the Inverted World while the Theory Department was located around the mountain peaks. There were several observatories built on the way up, giving a full view of the Inverted World. While she was making her way up the path, Alice turned her head to the right and stared into the distortion that inverted the reflection of this world. In this distortion, Alice could see a reflection of herself. But there was no need to rush since she''d visit this strange world in due time. Shaking her head, she continued up the mountain and made her way into the Department of Theory. Looking down at themission sheet, Alice familiarized the details before putting it away in her coat. Her would-bemissioner was the Assistant of the Department Head of Theory, Arunya. ''Seems like she holds a simr role to Luke. Though it doesn''t seem like she''s a Special ss student.'' Wandering around the area, she soon found the location mentioned on themission sheet. The entrance to the building was embedded within the mountains as expected. A wide, arched doorway with carefully carved statues weed any and all visitors. Above the arc was a series of gargoyles that perched menacingly, their stony visages casting a dreadful shadow upon the path in. Unsure as to whether or not these gargoyles could move or not, Alice couldn''t help but furrow her brows as the feeling they gave her was reminiscent of Abyss Beasts yet no stars appeared above their heads. Pushing past the heavy wooden doors that were reinforced by metal bands and adorned with intricate patterns, Alice was greeted by a dimly lit corridor lined with flickering torches mounted on each side of the pathway. Further inside, the corridor opened up into a vast chamber, revealing the heart of theb. Large pirs supported the ceiling while bookshelves could be seen around the room. Containers filled with unconscious Abyss Beasts could be seen as their bodies were filled with tubes siphoning their blood while keeping them alive. Standing in the centre of the room was a single woman with her dark blue hair tied up into a high ponytail and a pair of blue-rimmed sses. She had a pair of piercing blue eyes that didn''t reveal any kind of emotion, a small beauty spot on her chin next to the corner of her mouth and a scar across the bridge of her nose. She wore a pristine whiteb coat and a crisp uniform. The coat was adorned with various pockets andpartments, each holding a set of pens and instruments for her experiments. On her chest was the crest for the Department of Theory. "Ah¡­ You must be the Hunter who epted mymission. Do you understand the risks you take in bing my assistant for two weeks?" Arunya asked in a soft monotonous tone, as though she couldn''t spare the effort to speak. "Yes I do. It simply requires me to befortable in an environment with Abyss Blood right?" Alice nodded as she noticed Arunya scanning her from head to toe. Her eyes stopped briefly on the crown, her hair and her eye. "It seems like you''ve ran into your fair share of troubles¡­ Please, if your body cannot handle more people don''t force yourself. I''d rather not see someone sumb to side effects in myb." Arunya shook her head. "Don''t worry, these are minor¡­ side effects that have been with me for a while. They won''t cause any inconveniences, nor would I sumb to the effects in yourb." Alice reassured. "I''m not worried if you would fall to the effects but rather I don''t want you to do so in myb. Do it out of myb so the janitors can clean it up when they see you¡­ But it seems like you''re aware of the risks. I''ll conduct a primary test if that''s okay with you." Arunya corrected herself, gesturing for Alice to stand next to the operating table. Laying on the table and strapped down using several strange belts, a young woman could be seen with barely any strength to resist while several openings have been made across her body, revealing countless rows of sharp teeth, flesh whips and pulsing ck mist. "How familiar are you with being an assistant?" She asked, wanting to determine Alice''s experience level. "Never been one but I''m familiar with certain techniques required for surgery and such." "Alright¡­ It''s never toote to learn. Familiarize yourself with the tools. I''ll need you to hand me the tools I need when I call for them. Gloves are to the side, take a pair if you don''t want to touch the blood directly." ncing to her side, Alice could see the bloodied surgical tools neatly lined up and ready to be used. All of which she had seen many times during her 10 year imprisonment. After putting on a pair of gloves, Alice saw that Arunya was already poking and prodding the body on the table. The sight of which reminded her of her past. But there was one thing that Alice couldn''t help but praise morbidly. Arunya''s technique was precise and fast, refusing to extend the suffering more than needed while observing the results. Had it been Arunya operating on her throughout the 10 year imprisonment, she might''ve had a slightly better time. Without wasting any time, Alice helped Arunya with the experiment. Whether that be passing the tools or holding parts of the organs open, she worked without saying a single word. Chapter 221: Becoming Arunyas Assistant ncing up at the girl in front of her every now and again, Arunya couldn''t help but wonder in silence. She had posted hermission to get some help with her studies so she could be better prepared for the exams. The Department Head, for unknown reasons, has locked herself up in herb and refused toe out. Therefore, she could only request help from the Guild. ''She''s fast¡­'' Arunya thought to herself, seeing the efficiency of Alice. How she was able to pick the right tools and hand it to her. How she was able to deduct what needed to be done next and even make preemptive moves on the body in front of her. ''Where did shee from? Who did she study under?'' Even without saying what she needed at times, Alice had it prepared. To Arunya, it felt like she was working with someone who was extremely experienced with the physiology of an Abyss Beast. It wasn''t just blind luck either. There was an air of confidence and expertise about her that revealed more than what she was letting on. As they continued their work, their speed slowly increased over time as Alice familiarized herself with Arunya''s workflow and pacing. What would''ve taken her a while to finish was done in just over two hours. Walking over to the other table, Arunya started to document her findings and results before giving Alice a brief nce. "When you said you had never been an assistant, were you the operator instead?" Arunya asked curiously but Alice shook her head. "I was neither the assistant nor the operator. You can just think of me as a spectator." It wasn''t wrong. She was spectating her own operation after all. "?" Tilting her head, Arunya wondered how a spectator could obtain such skills. But it didn''t seem like Alice was lying either. "So did I pass?" "You have. Take this watch. It will inform you of the schedule. It''ll also serve as an identification so you don''t need to spend time getting a temporary pass from the office. We''ll be doing 8 hours per day, maybe longer depending on the experiments but I doubt we''ll be going into overtime. If anything, we may finish earlier but I will pay you the promised 30 gold per day." Arunya exined, cing a watch next to her while scribbling down some notes. "Are there any questions? If not, we''re done for today¡­ Since you did well, I''ll pay you an extra 20 gold for today." Taking the watch and small pouch of gold, Alice was about to shake her head when she remembered something. "On the sheet, it said that I''ll be able to use the equipment provided by the Academy. How would I go about doing that?" Alice asked curiously as she wanted to see the transformation of her blood during the one Sigil Resonance along with other changes in her body. "Ah¡­ you can use anything from myb. Just put it back when you''re done with it. Though¡­ if you''re looking for equipment outside of myb, you''ll need to let me know what you need it for so I can borrow it from the Academy." Arunya replied after a brief pause. "Here''s one set of keys to myb. Once I finish noting down my findings for today, I need to go visit the Department Head. Just remember to lock the door when you leave." Handing a set of keys to Alice, Arunya focused on writing down her notes and indicated that there was nothing else she needed to talk about unless Alice had any questions. Seeing this, Alice simply nodded and started to browse through theb. She was familiar with a lot of the equipment here but there were a few she wasn''t sure about. ''I''ll focus on the stuff I know. That way she doesn''t know what I''m doing with the tools. If I ask for a specific tool, she might be curious.'' Alice mused to herself. From what she''s seen thus far, Arunya was someone who was deeply intrigued by Abyss Blood and how it affected the body. Alice knew that if Arunya was to find out details about what she was nning to test, there would be questions. ''There are¡­ three? No, four tools I need if I want to examine the changes in my body. Seems like she''s already got two of them¡­'' Alice thought to herself as she continued to look around theb. After a while, Arunya closed her notebook. "Remember to lock the door when you''re done. I''ll take my leave." She reminded before making her way out. Looking towards the opposite mountain, she sighed and made her way down before taking the train. As ra''s assistant, she needed to check up on the Department Head often as she would forget to eat. Naturally, she wouldn''t die from not eating but doing so would cause damage to her body due to the Sigils and Abyss Blood side effects. ra doesn''t mind it much but the same couldn''t be said for Arunya. Her thought process was simple. It would be annoying to redo everything if the Department Head was to die. She''ll lose her role as an assistant. Stopping by the food court, she picked up a few dishes before taking the final train to ra''sb. Upon arriving, she knocked on the door. "Professor. I''m here with some food. You haven''t eaten yet right?" Arunya called out with the same monotonous tone as usual. Not hearing a response, Arunya sighed and pulled out a set of keys. "Ah! Just give me a moment Runi~ Surely you won''t intrude when I''m not even ready right?~" ra''s voice rang out from within. Frowning slightly, Arunya could hear that ra was struggling to catch her breath as though she was doing some intense exercises. *Sigh¡­ "Did you find a new Abyss Beast that caught your attention? You didn''t even respond to mest time I came to check." Arunya asked as she could hear the door behind unlocked. Entering the room, Arunya was hit by a wave of humidity, causing her to take a step back. ". . .Professor, please at least ventte your room properly if you''re going to explore your body rather than an Abyss beast." Arunya sighed as she closed the door behind her and opened every window in theb. "Ara~ It wouldn''t do if people heard such vulgar noisese out of my room. I know I may be like this but I still have a reputation to uphold Runi~" ra''s voice rang out as she leaned against her door frame. She was only wearing her bloodiedb coat with nothing underneath. Her bandages were loose and covered with her sweat while Arunya didn''t even bat an eye to ra''s condition since she''s done this before. She may have been surprised the first few times but due to her side effects, she was unable to express such emotions. "So what''s got you excited like this? Ah¡­ Also here''s some food before your body starts to eat itself." Arunya asked, cing the food on the table. "Fufu~ Thank you~ Runi is always so thoughtful of me. Ah and it''s not a beast that''s caught my attention this time." ra chuckled, hopping over to the table. Her wet footsteps echoed through theb with each step she took. "Not a beast? Then is it a special kind of Abyss Blood?" Arunya tilted her head. She couldn''t fathom the thought of anything other than Abyss Beasts or blood getting the professor into a mood like this. "Nope~ It''s a person this time. Someone''s stolen my maiden heart ahaha~ Just thinking about it makes me excited again~" ra narrowed her eyes while Arunya chopping down against ra''s head with her hand. "Please not while I''m here." "Boo~ You''re not the least bit curious about who it is?" ra asked curiously but Arunya shook her head. "Whoever made you like this must be rather abnormal. I''d rather not interact with them if I can avoid it." "Well that''s fine. I''m sure you''ll run into them eventually since they''ll be taking the exams to enrol in the Academy. They''re quite the cutie too~" raughed as she started to eat her dinner to replenish her energy. "How are your preparations? I''ll be a little¡­ busy these days so I won''t be supervising. Not that you need it to begin with." "Going well. I got a new assistant today, she works fast and efficiently. Doesn''t talk much thankfully. She seems extremely experienced for someone who ims she was never the operator nor an assistant to these kinds of experiments." Arunya shrugged while walking into ra''s room. Looking at her clothes that were strewn around the room, Arunya sighed as she bent down and picked up the pieces of clothing. Pausing momentarily, she could still feel the moisture on some of her underwear before tossing it into the basket. "Heh~ Do you have enough funds for them? A good assistant doesn''te cheap." "I do. And that is also why you should increase my pocket money. If it wasn''t for me saving over the course of several months, I wouldn''t even be able to hire someone decent to help. Plus¡­ 30 gold per session is still low for the risks in theb." Arunya replied as she cleaned up ra''s room and put everything in the basket. "You know our department is spread pretty thin on funding already even with some of my discoveries." ra coughed lightly on the mention of increasing Arunya''s funds. "Only because of how much research material you go through professor." Arunya replied when suddenly, she felt a weight on her back. ra hugged Arunya from behind as she wrapped her arms around her neck while resting her head against her shoulder. "Runi~ Should I pay you with my body~" ra whispered, biting Arunya''s ear. *Flick! Flicking ra''s forehead and forcing her to hop off her back, Arunya simply shook her head and walked away. "Getting entangled with you on a physical level causes more troubles than whatever pleasure you may offer in the moment. Between momentary pleasure and funding for my research, I''ll choose thetter thank you. Only the results of my experiments will grantsting happiness. If there''s nothing else professor, I''ll go wash these and return them to youter." Arunya replied, causing ra to sigh and shrug her shoulders. "Okay~ I''m here if you need a break from your experiments~" Nodding her head, Arunya left the building, leaving ra to finish her food before resuming her¡­ activities. Chapter 222: Alices Self Experimentation Finding herself an empty operating table, Alice grabbed a seat and several tools and ced them next to her. ''First experiment. How the blood changes based on the activation of Sigils.'' Alice thought to herself as she sat down and ced her hand on the table. Strapping her arm down, she narrowed her eyes and grabbed the scalpel. Without any hesitation, she cut into her arm, carefully avoiding her tendons, veins and arteries. Controlling her blood so that it didn''t spill everywhere, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Recalling the sensation of the one Sigil Resonance, Alice tapped into the power within, controlling the energy so that only her first Sigil was activated. ''Stage one activation has no issues. Curiously, it seems like there is a tether being formed within my body. The tether reaches out and links up with the Abyss, hence the appearance of Sigils. They could be called the pathways where we, as the host, and the Abyss perform the exchange of power.'' She documented in her mind. Little by little, the Sigil started to branch out from its initial spot, making its way across the surface of Alice''s skin. ''More pathways are being forcefully opened, allowing an influx of energy to enter the body. It seems to be giving the first Sigil¡­ More priority.'' Alice narrowed her eyes. Now that she was observing the changes carefully, she understood why Resonances required three Sigils rather than being forcefully activated by one. Each of the three acted as a counterbnce while opening new pathways to the Abyss. By having three conflicting powers, even if they synergise, it creates a stable foundation for the transfer of power. By having one side be more dominant than the others while opening pathways, the structure of power within the body copses. Thus causing the side effects that Alice had felt before along with the Sigil trying to forck of a better word, ''consume'' the rest of the body. Making a note of this finding, Alice narrowed her eyes and clenched her fist, forcing the deactivation of her first Sigil. Having done so once, she knew what she needed to do in order to stop the activation. ''Compared to the partial activation that Allura showed, it seems like my version is more vtile but grants more power in exchange. Allura is like slowly opening three openings and allowing the water to flow in slowly while my version is turning one on full st while the others are dormant.'' With her initial observationpleted, she moved to stage two. Reaching towards one of theb equipment that she had borrowed earlier, she started to connect her arm to the device with several tubes going into her veins and arteries. While she didn''t know the exact name of this device, she had seen the schrs use something simr before. It was one that allowed her to observe the changes and purity of her blood. For the Schrs of the Zenia family, this was one of their favourite tools as they could watch in real time how her blood recovered from being Abyss Blood back to ''normal'' human blood. ''Unlike the full Resonance, I can use this multiple times. Though the trade off is still unknown for now except extra fatigue and the crown above my head.'' Taking a deep breath, she activated her first Sigil that transformed her blood into a hallucinogenic poison.Watching the numbers skyrocket towards the boundary between normal blood and Abyss Blood, Alice verified Ca''s ims from a while back. Those who obtain Sigils have already stopped being ''human'' in a sense. Their blood was merely in the stages of transforming into Abyss Blood. Then what would happen if she were to activate her one Sigil resonance? Upon activating the Resonance, the needle on the counter immediately broke past the boundary! Through her one Sigil Resonance, her blood had fully transformed into Abyss Blood! ''No wonder it felt alive. Using the one Sigil Resonance is no different to overdosing on Abyss Blood and transforming. In that sense, my arm was trying to f*cking kill me!'' Alice sighed, looking down at the Sigil that was trying to spread across her body. Perhaps this was a power that was only open to her due to her special constitution. Deactivating the Resonance, she watched as the numbers returned to normal. There didn''t seem to be anysting effects thus far. ''It doesn''t seem like people are able to emte this power, thankfully. Without direct control of the flow of energy and the ability to perceive it, people are still bound to the three Sigil resonance. If this method of Resonance was to be discovered, some stupid idiot would probably try it and die in the process.'' Alice frowned. However, she paused as she realised she had indirectly called herself an idiot. Who would immediately attempt a method used by Abyss Beasts to power up on themselves without any prior experiments? Only a reckless idiot would. Sighing softly, Alice removed the tubes from her arm before condensing the blood in the machine into a blood bead so that she didn''t leave any traces. Setting the device to the side, she was now left to her final experiment. One that she wanted to test out the most. How her violet mes are able to burn the influence of the Abyss. How it could cancel out abilities upon contact. She wanted to find out if she could use this to ''purify'' the people influenced by Abyss Blood beyond the point of saving. If she was able to burn away the influence in their blood, would they turn back to normal? Alice could remember the expression Allura made whenever she saw someone who was on the verge of transforming or someone who had been transformed. If she could solve this issue, Allura wouldn''t have to feel saddened by the state of this world and its addiction to Abyss Blood. She wasn''t doing it for the good of humanity. No, she was doing it for Allura. Thisst test required her to use both machines to see the changes of the blood along with observing how the mes attacked. The first was to track the numbers while the second recorded the changes in the blood and transcribed it onto a piece of parchment. With thebination of these two devices, Alice wanted to see if it was possible to return Abyss Blood back to normal while also seeing how it was done. Pulling out a few vials of Abyss Blood, Alice poured a sample into the first machine and recorded the numbers before creating a small flickering me above her finger. It wasn''t exactly how Allura was doing it but rather she was creating the same effect through her third Sigil. By constantly providing the me blood to burn, she could replicate the finger lighter that Allura uses. ''If I directly apply the me, it''ll burn up the sample without leaving anything behind. That''s not what I want. What I want is to ''purify'' the blood. So please, don''t just burn everything connected to the Abyss.'' Alice thought to herself as the mes had a mind of its own. Unless their goals were aligned, it was extremely hard to control. Of course, there''s been a semnce of understanding between the two of them hence why she was able to use it however she wanted but for more precise operations such as this, she needed more authority over her me. Meaning the violet me needed to surrender itself to her control. Taking a deep breath, Alice tried her best to slowly lower the me onto the sample. As the me drew near, she could see the numbers on the machine fluctuating rapidly between the two values of human and Abyss Blood. Meanwhile, the second machine showed that part of the blood had already been evaporated. The values shown before the evaporation revealed that the values had decreased slightly but it was barely noticeable. Continuing until the sample waspletely evaporated, Alice picked up the piece of parchment and read through the transcription. ''Hmm¡­ Seems like it''s possible to some extent.'' Alice thought with a sigh. There was a slight issue with this. The issue was that the me was too vtile. Just exposing the Abyss Blood near the me causes it to start dropping in purity before burning up. Even though it had shown the possibility of purifying the blood, exposing the blood to this me would kill the victim. Scratching her hair, Alice was d she didn''t try to forcefully purify the blood of Allura''s old friend. Otherwise, it may have caused him even more pain before death and that was thest thing she wanted to do. Destroying the parchment with her fire, Alice prepared the second sample. This time she wanted to control the mes in a simr manner to how she achieved the one Sigil Resonance. By observing the flow of energy and feeling its movements, she wanted to adjust the flow so that the mes weren''t as vtile. There was another idea but she didn''t want to try it out in an enclosedb. And that was the one Sigil Resonance using her second Sigil! Through the Resonance, the abilities of the Sigil were increased. Meaning theoretically, she could further enhance the potential of her blood. The first enhancement granted her mes that cancelled out the Abyss, what would the second enhancement do? Regardless of the answer, she knew that she couldn''t do it here. So for now, the only thing she could do was practice her control using the observation method. But as expected, trying to control the me this way didn''t seem to yield the results that Alice had wanted. In fact, it did the opposite. By trying to control the me directly using her control over this abyssal energy, it became more defiant and unruly, refusing hermands and trying its best to burn up the sample before she could see the results. Seeing this, Alice could only sigh. "Hm?" Noticing something strange, Alice couldn''t help but furrow her brows and double check what she was seeing on the machine. The numbers that revealed whether or not the sample was Abyss Blood or Human blood was¡­ in the negatives? If Human blood was 0, Abyss Blood was 100, the effect her mes caused had turned the number into -100! She knew the me countered the Abyss but she didn''t think it was theplete opposite side of the spectrum. If that was the case, where did this me even originate from? What was the secret of her body? Chapter 223: Hall Of Champions Looking at the numbers, Alice had a frown on her face. Even though she had gotten the answers she wanted, it opened up more questions than what was answered on her end. Scratching her hair, Alice sighed deeply. Using these numbers, it was natural to assume that there was probably another realm simr to the Abyss but filled with an opposing energy. Possibly the same energy as the me. But if that was the case, why was she the only one thus far who''s shown this potential against the Abyss? Were the others taken away like she was? ''I doubt such a realm could exist without others knowing. Plus, Allura and Kaden don''t seem to know about the nature of my power too. Not to mention¡­ If it really was a natural counter then why would it be able to exist in my body? Especially with it being invoked by the powers of the Abyss itself.'' What she was doing was akin to lighting a me using nothing else but water as fuel. It was simply impossible to perform. Yet this paradoxical ability manifested in her body and was one of the reasons why she was able to survive thus far. With no other test she could perform on herself right now, she could only pack away all of the equipment she used and clean up theb. Looking at the beasts that were sealed within the containers, waiting for the next experiment, Alice couldn''t help but press her hand against the ss. On the beast, she could see her own reflection. Had Kaden not freed her, she may as well be no different from them. And yet here she was, helping another researcher dissect a beast just like what the schrs did to her. ''I suppose I''m quite the hypocrite.'' Alice mocked inwardly. When it came to her own benefit, she didn''t mind doing the same thing she hated so much. After locking thebs, Alice decided to try and find Ria now that her work was done. She was carrying Alice''s blood bead, making it easier to track her down if they ever wanted to meet up. Closing her eyes, she realised that Ria''s bead was a little further than what she had expected since it was out of her detection range. ''The Combat Department is located under the Inverted World. It should be rtively simple to get to her from here.'' Making her way down the mountain, she took a leisurely walk to the Combat Department as she wasn''t in any rush. With the experiments being finished earlier than expected, she had plenty of time to herself. ''Ria should''ve passed the initial test pretty easily if she''s still around. Either that or she''s already gone back to the Inn, but I doubt that.'' When it came to fighting one on one, Ria wasn''t someone that could be defeated easily. Even for those with more Sigils than her. As expected, Alice was soon able to feel the presence of Ria''s blood bead. It seemed like they were currently training in one of those private training rooms she had seen on the airship. Understanding that Ria was most likely busy, Alice couldn''t help but wonder if she could borrow the facility and enjoy herself to pass the time. Walking up to the doors of the Combat Department, she used her temporary pass to get in for now since she hadn''t returned it yet. Seeing as how people weren''t bothering with her nor was there anyone to guide her around, this was a ce that allowed you to n your own training and use the facilities at will. Looking around her with curiosity, Alice couldn''t help but wonder about the quality of this facility. It was provided by one of the best Academies around after all. The building itself was a vastwork of corridors and rooms with countless signs hanging from the ceiling, telling her where to go. Scanning her eyes through the different signs, she couldn''t help but notice a name that caught her eye. [Hall of Champions] Contemting to herself for a while, she decided to take a look. After all, she was basically here as a tourist. Following the sign leading to the Hall of Champions, Alice couldn''t help but notice that the people who were walking around her had decreased the closer she got. A few of them gave her a curious nce after noticing where she was going. Pulling down her hood so that others wouldn''t see what was underneath, especially the floating crown, Alice continued down her path and soon, there was only a single set of doors in front of her. There was no one around anymore and upon this door was the depiction of several Hunters, each with a different weapon and armour. ''If it was dangerous, they wouldn''t leave it unguarded. It''s probably like a museum piece or something.'' Pressing her hands against the doors, Alice tried to push it open but realised the sheer weight of these doors. With no other choice, she had to activate her first Sigil before she was strong enough to push open the gates leading to the Hall of Champions. As she opened the door, a golden light surged from below, lighting up the room and causing Alice to pause in surprise. The room was just as if not bigger than the airship she travelled on with a single arena in the middle. Surrounding the arena were towering statues depicting the Champions. Golden letters inscribed upon the base, revealing their name and title. [Lady Lyra ¨C The de Dancer] [Lord Aldric ¨C The Berserk Star] [Lord Alexander ¨C The Liberator] [Lady Scarlett ¨C The Dawnbreaker]... Alice could see 13 statues in total with their names lit up while several others that were hidden by shadows seemed to be dormant for now. She could feel a strange sensation wash over her, beckoning her to the arena. A challenge for the worthy. It was as though instructions were imnted into her mind, unable to resist itsmands. Taking a step forward, she made her way to the arena as she understood that this was not just a museum piece. No, themand in her mind told her that this was a fight. A trial ofbat. Unsheathing her de from its sheath, ck and red mes lit up as Alice ced one foot on the arena. At that moment, her Sigils manifested around her body. One on her arm, one over her eye and thest on her back. ''Seems like it''s detecting how many Sigils I have. Interesting.'' Alice thought to herself as she couldn''t suppress the smile on her face. Standing in the middle of the arena, the ground started to shift as miniature versions of therge statues manifested around her. It wanted her to pick her first opponent. Thinking about it for a moment, Alice decided to pick the statue of Lady Lyra, the de Dancer. Upon selecting her target, all of the statues crumbled to ash as therger statues around the arena had their eyes light up with a fiery glow. Observing and judging her every move. Killing intent erupted around her as Alice instinctively jumped back and gripped her de. Her first Sigil roaring at full power, enhancing her physical power to its limit. In front of her, motes of red condensed into a single figure that walked calmly. Lady Lyra took slow calcted strides forward as her hair fluttered behind her. Her tall slender frame was covered with a set of gleaming silver armour. Each te, meticulously crafted and designed to protect her while giving her as much movement as possible. Strange silk like veils hung from the edges of her armour, covering her with a strange ethereal dress that shifted with her movements. In her hand, she held arge twin de that radiated with an ominous aura. Her body seemed to be made entirely from energy as Alice couldn''t make out the colour of her hair nor her eyes. But in her moment of observation, she disappeared from her sight. "!!!" Holding her breath in shock, Alice could see a single de slowly approaching her head. Had it not been for Ca, she wouldn''t have been able to see the attacking! *CLANG!!! shing up with her de, she parried Lyra''s attack and immediately assumed a defensive stance to recover her posture but Lyra continued her onught of shes and stabs. Twirling the twin de in her hands with ease, her footsteps made it seem as though she was dancing in the midst of this fight. But as the recipient of these shes, Alice knew it was far from a simple dance. Each step allowed her to maximise the power of her attacks as well as the speed. As it stands, Alice could only defend but found it difficult to fight back! Gritting her teeth, she mmed her hand down as blood spears shot out of the ground in an attempt to force Lyra away but she evaded the spears with grace. *CLANG!!! Lyra''s cleave was met with resistance as Alice parried the attack to the side before flicking her finger. From the blood spears, metal spikes rushed towards Lyra as she managed to jump out of the way at thest moment. Alice wasn''t fazed by the fact that Lyra avoided her attack. She simply wanted to create some distance between them andpose herself. ''This ce is called the Hall of Champions. She''s not someone I can take it easy on.'' Alice thought to herself. Lady Lyra the de Dancer. If her being was immortalised in this ce, it meant her fighting prowess was recognised by all! ''Calm the mind. Trust in my instincts but don''t lose control. Use the hunger to my benefit. Let the hunt begin.'' Alice thought to herself as a smile crept up on her face. Narrowing her eyes at the armoured Hunter in front of her, Alice rushed forward without fear. Chapter 224: Lyra, Blade Dancer Rushing towards Lyra, Alice adjusted the grip on her de before creating several tforms of metal with strands of blood around the de Dancer. Jumping up, she swung on one of the threads beforeunching a ming sh towards Lyra. It wasn''t her Sigil power but rather the passive effect of her Blood me de. Had it not been for her violet mes, this would''ve been her main form of attack aside from her Sigils. Brushing off the mes with a single swipe of her twin de, she brought her fingers to her mouth before exhaling. *KRRR!!! Sensing danger, Alice jumped back just in time to see all of her blood being frozen in an instant while a cloud of cold mist manifested in front of Lyra. ''Ice powers huh? Tsk.'' Alice thought as she snapped her finger. Immediately, all of her blood erupted into a brilliant violet me that melted the ice beforeshing out at her. Surprised by the cancetion of her ability, Lyra twisted her body and twirled her weapon around her, creating a storm of ice to counter Alice''s mes. If the mes were normal mes, this would''ve been enough. Unfortunately for Lyra, her mes weren''t normal mes! Latching onto the ice, the fire roared out in defiance while Alice circled around, setting up the perfect environment for her hunt. Landing on one of her threads she observed Lyra''s fighting style carefully, engraving it into her mind. The way she moved, how she swung the de and how she reacted to the me''s attacks. But the more she watched, the deeper her frown grew. Even though her mes were able to counter her abilities, she was able to weave herself through the swirl of fire with ease and even redirect it using the movement of her de. Alice couldn''t find an opportunity to attack, and if she was to force it, she''d only be exposing herself instead. "!!!" Widening her eyes, a spear of ice speared in front of her as Alice immediately swung herself back using her threads. Watching the spear pass over her head, she knew that she couldn''t stay passive. Her instincts were telling her to go all in and disregard her safety. In this battle, she must be willing to take hits if she wanted to defeat her! If she gets hit, hit back 10 times harder. If she gets cut, cut them back! If she loses an arm, take both of theirs! Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. Landing on the arena floor, Alice stomped her foot down and a pool of blood manifested around her. She had wanted to pull the de Dancer into an illusion, but it wasn''t working. Perhaps it was because she wasn''t ''alive'' and couldn''t be poisoned. But she was limited to two of her Sigils if she excluded her Resonance and one Sigil Resonance for now. Feeling a chill down her neck, Alice realised that Lyra had disappeared from her entrapment and appeared behind her, de ready to swing down! ''She''s faster than before!'' Rolling forward to avoid the strike, Alice couldn''t recover her posture before hastily parrying the next attack with her de. Each strike that Lyra sent out caused Alice to stumble back some more, making it harder and harder to recover. No matter how many blood spears she sent out, Lyra was able to avoid them effortlessly. For Alice, Allura was an insurmountable wall that couldn''t be surpassed even with technique. Alice could reassure herself saying it was a difference of Sigil. But for Lyra, Alice was outssed in every aspect. Technique,posure, movement, speed, power everything. Alice knew that Lyra had only showcased one Sigil ability so far! Two at most but not more. Narrowing her eyes, Alice decided to risk it. Lunging into Lyra''s attack range, Alice focused her senses to their limits. She needed to keep track of the twin des movements, her footwork and how Lyra dodged. She needed to consider all of this if she wanted tond her first strike against her! Reinforcing her arm with her blood and metal, Alice used it as a shield against the twin de. Ignoring the fact that it had cut into her arm even with all the protection she prepared, Alice mmed her shoulder into Lyra''s chest, forcing her to take a step back. shing up with her de, violet mes roared out as Lyra side stepped the me. But her weapon was stuck in ce. Curling her lips into a grin, Alice took advantage of this moment and grabbed onto the twin de! Using as a bar, Alice jumped up and twisted her body, mming her heel into the side of Lyra''s head. *BANG!!! Crashing into the ground, Lyra recovered from the kick as she stared at Alice who was bloodied and exhausted but the fire in her eyes refused to extinguish. But there was something else that surprised the de Dancer. A strange ck metal started to morph around Alice''s wrist as it connected itself onto the handle of her de. At that moment, Alice created her own twin de and twirled it around her body before entering a simr stance to Lyra. Taking it as a challenge, Lyra stood up. Her Sigils appeared across her body as markings could be seen on her neck. Staring at one another, the two had a rare moment of silence before all hell broke loose. Bothbatants rushed towards one another as Alice mimicked Lyra''s fighting style. ### Department Head of Garret. The most powerfulbatant within the Academy and the man whom the students call the Mad Demon. He is a tall Hunter with a muscr physique. Each muscle looked as though it was chiselled from the hardest stone. He had short, untamed white hair that red outwards and a goatee. He wore a pair of round red-tinted sses that hid his fierce eyes radiating with power that seemed to pierce through anyone who met his gaze. He wore a simple ck shirt without any designs, a pair of baggy pants with a long ck ribbon around his waist. The ribbon was adorned with blood flowers that was printed onto the fabric. Red rope is tightly wound around his ankles, leading to a pair of wooden sandals. And finally, bandages wrapped around his arms. Sitting in his office, Garret watched the students train in the facility and yawned in boredom. Even though they were talented, far more than what he exhibited when he was younger, they couldn''t interest him. Theycked a certain re to them that simply didn''t get his blood pumping. Thinking about this, he couldn''t help but think back to the recording that Xinbei had showed him. The technique, intuition and eagerness disyed by the girl d in lightning stirred something inside him. No matter what, he wanted her to pass the exams so that he could watch a fine Hunter realize their potential. He wanted to see a new addition to the Hall of Champions. *BANG!!! Bursting into his room, a woman struggled to catch her breath. "S-sir!" She called out in a panic. "Calm yourself. Did some idiot hurt another trainee?" Garret asked as it was rather strange for her to be this nervous. "No sir. Theres *Pant* There''s an outsider challenging the Hall of Champions!" "The f*ck did you say?" Garret blinked, standing up in surprise. The Hall of Champions, the pride and hardest challenge within the Combat Department. A special trial left behind by their predecessors at the time of their graduation from this Academy. Each a legend of their time. The room was left untouched and unguarded as there was no need to guard it. The door to the trial will not open to anyone who did not meet the basic requirements imposed onto the room. The only requirement they have discovered thus far was thating into contact with the doors allowed the ''room'' to read your history andbat experience. This''ll determine whether or not you are worthy to challenge the Hall of Champions. The other requirements were still a mystery to them but those who reached the pinnacle of the Combat Department at the time of Graduation could challenge this trial. There was nothing to gain within the Hall other than to prove yourself. "Did they find a new requirement in order to enter the hall?" Garret asked, wondering if someone from the Theory Department had discovered something but the woman shook her head. "Forget it. Look after these brats. I''ll check out the situation myself." He sighed, taking a step out of his room and immediately disappearing with a burst of wind that sent the woman stumbling back. He wanted to see just what kind of dumb b*stard would challenge the Hall of Champions without proper preparation. And if things start to look bad, he''ll need to intervene and take them out of the trial. Upon arriving at the Hall of Champions, he could see that a few Seniors of the Combat Department was guarding the Hall, preventing people from entering the spectator stands while the woman earlier was sent to bring him over. "I know the situation, make sure people don''te in. I''ll deal with it." Garret nodded, stepping through the secondary door. There could only be one challenger at a time while the secondary door led to the spectator stands. Upon entering the Hall, Garret wasn''t quite sure how he should describe the situation. He recognised the summoned Champion, Lyra the de Dancer. A Hunter who was close to the realm of Abyss Lord yet was just short of reaching that pinnacle. A woman who could be called the upper tier of six star Hunters. And yet¡­ There was someone else who was able to keep up with her techniques! Not only that, but she was even replicating Lyra''s prized fighting style close to perfection. It was as though she was looking at a younger clone of Lyra. Her understanding was shallow but she was catching up. Blood poured from her wounds, but the smile only grew wider. Just seeing Alice''s current expression caused a chill down Garret''s spine. It felt as though he was looking at a beast, unafraid of death, wanting to take at least an arm with them before they sumbed to their wounds. Would she be able to catch up to Lyra? He wanted to find out. And if she could, he wanted to poach her into the Department! Chapter 225: Alice Vs Lyra As her de continued to sh with Lyra, Alice found herself unable to suppress the surging emotions within her body. This rush of adrenaline and joy flooded her body as she mmed her foot down, kicking the de away from her chest and ignoring the cuts she suffered. Twisting her body, Alice kicked her other foot into Lyra''s chest before following up with a sh with her makeshift twin de. However, her follow up attack was blocked. Alice understood that her replication of Lyra''s fighting style was rudimentary. She needed to fill the gaps with her own re. Integrate the moves into her own fighting style. With a gap being created between them, Alice sheathed her de before entering a low stance. Rushing forward, she pulled her de out of the sheath as a wave of violet mes rushed forth. *BANG!!!! An explosion of vibrant mes lit up the arena! A storm of ming dragons rushed up into the sky before crashing back down. Within this violent storm of mes, Alice dashed towards Lyra without fear. The de Dancer was silent despite seeing how her ice was having no effect against the mes. Looking up at the mes, the de Dancer raised her twin de and stabbed it into her own chest, surprising Alice who felt a chill down her spine. Three motes of light erupted from Lyra''s body as ck armour started to coat her body. An elegant ck dress fluttered behind her while a ck crown appeared around her head, covering the upper half of her body. Pulling out her de, Lyra broke the de in half, turning her twin des into dual swords instead. Blood dripped from the edges and froze over uponing into contact with the cold mist around her body. Manifesting her Resonance, a burst of energy erupted out. A field of ice flowers bloomed around her. Twisting her body, she shed down with her sword! At that moment, through the view of Ca, Alice felt as though the world had frozen over. A singr wave of ice energy, a cascade of frozen lights and countless reflections through the ice shards. Its crystalline tendrils extending outwards, parting the ming sea and plummeting the temperature in the arena in an instant. Within the centre of this wave pulsed an ethereal light that cast an iridescent glow against the mes. Even the air itself wasn''t safe as shards of ice materialised in the air and floated down. In the wake of this energy, all that remained was a frozen tundra of ice and snow. The one raging inferno was quelled by the woman d in a ck dress within thisnd of cold. Holding her dual swords, Lyra finally curled the corner of her lips up into a small smile and gestured for Alice to respond to this attack. Ayer of ice had already formed across Alice''s body and she found herself unable to move from her spot. ring at Lyra, Alice simplyughed. *CRACK!!! Forcefully tearing herself from the prison of ice, blood poured from her body, staining the frozen crystal in crimson. Seeing this, Garret widened his eyes in shock as this girl was crazier than he expected! Just as he was about to make a move to stop this trial, he noticed all of the blood around the arena surging towards Alice, mending her wounds. ''What the¡­'' Furrowing his brows in confusion, Garret decided to keep watching. ### Alice knew her mes weren''t going to be enough to defeat Lyra. Even though it countered Lyra, she was still too weak to put it to full use. Therefore, she decided to not hold back anymore. Controlling the blood to converge around her body, her Sigils lit up with an ominous glow as her left eye mirrored her right. Her hair was now dyed in a violet hue while the blood that surrounded her body transformed into an elegant ck dress with mes flickering around the edges. Activating her resonance, the crown above Alice''s head started to repair itself as she supported a cruel grin on her face. "Yo~ Champion. I''ll admit, I can''t beat you in technique. But how will you deal with this?" Alice asked, her personality flipping to the other side as her restraint was removed. Aiming her hand towards Lyra, Alice snapped her finger. Two motes of fire flickered to life around Lyra as they copsed into a single spark. Void Flux! Alice''s personal skill, one that she could use freely while in her Resonance form. Lyra wanted to jump back but her reaction was too slow. Erupting into a blinding ball of light that destroyed everything around it, Lyra could only sacrifice her right arm in order to avoidplete destruction! Tumbling back from the attack, she stabbed her sword into the ground to stabilize herself but Alice''s face appeared in front of her. She was hanging upside down from the thread and stabbed her dagger towards Lyra''s mouth. Bending herself back, Lyra managed to dodge at thest second but another mote appeared beside her. *Click Snapping her finger once more, Alice detonated the Void Flux before flipping through the air. Flicking her wrist, a thread of blood stretched from one side of the arena to the other. Sitting down, she crossed her legs and nced down at Lyra whose Resonance form was on the verge of being dispelled. Yet despite all of this, Lyra regained herposure as she dropped her ice sword to the side. Biting the tip of her finger, she began to draw a ritual circle in front of her. Seeing this, Garret was shocked. Lyra the de Dancer, a Hunter who can kill anyone she faces just by using her fighting techniques. Rarely could people force her to use her Resonance never mind a ritual! ''Even though this trial has been scaled down, Lyra is still not someone you can contest against easily. And yet¡­ This gal has actually forced her to activate a ritual!'' Garret thought to himself in excitement, his hands almost crushing the railing he was grabbing onto. To force Lyra to use her ritual was making her admit that she was inferior! mming her foot down, a garden of frozen flowers and vines bloomed as in the centre of the flowers, swords crafted from ice manifested themselves and shot towards Alice. Understanding that this was a mere distraction, a wave of boredom appeared in Alice''s eyes. "If you want to use your move, go for it. Why would I stop you?" Alice chuckled softly, snapping her fingers. In an instant, countless motes of fire appeared on the des, each copsing into a Void Flux and detonating all at once. "So go for it." Alice gestured with her hand. Pausing for a moment, Lyra took a deep breath and dismissed the distraction. Around her, giant arrows started to manifest themselves as Lyra adjusted her posture. A giant crystal bow appeared before her. Pressing her right foot against the grip of the bow, her hand pulled the bow string back. Upon the manifestation of the bow, the ambient energy surrounding the arena surged towards her while the arrows acted as containers for this energy. Collecting, condensing and then amplifying the power that she could draw from the Abyss. Struggling to contain the power, the arrows started to unravel themselves into thin strands of crystalline thread that coiled towards Lyra''s bow. While Lyra was charging her attack, Garret became was in a dilemma. The power that was being disyed right now could devastate the entire arena! But if he was to interfere, he wouldn''t be able to see what Alice had nned to do in retaliation. His inner fighter was telling him to sit back and watch while his responsibilities warned him to stop this fight right now. He had already seen the power hidden behind Alice''s Void Flux and he knew she was already suppressing herself greatly! Even six star Hunters would struggle to demonstrate the level of control that she had just exhibited. Just as he was about to interfere, Lyra shot him a warning re while the other statues in the arena all turned their gaze towards him, rooting him in ce. "!!!" Alice''s demonstration had invoked a reaction from the arena! Never in the record of the Academy had this happened before and now, he was witnessing history being written before him! With no other choice, he could only take a step back and watch. As Lyra pulled back the bowstring as far as she could, fractures started to appear on her body as parts of her Resonance armour broke off. Yet she continued to pull the back without care. Reaching the apex, the ritual circle around her printed itself across the entire arena! Alice couldn''t help but let out a heartyugh, spreading out her arms and weing this strike. [Spirit of the Abyss heed my call, bring forth the power held within this vessel.] [I offer my heart, my wisdom, my will and my soul to the dark mother.] [All who value their lives should flee. All who watch in awe shall bow.] [Hearken, sinner. The dark mother has heard your name.] A feminine voice echoed throughout the arena as a simtion of Lyra''s contract was formed! Upon the finalization of this contract, a secondary burst of energy erupted through the arena as Lyra released the arrow. *BANG!!! The arrow burst forth and, in an instant, shattered the arena and the parts of the walls around them. It was as though the realm itself was bowing before the might of the arrow as the space warped from its speed. Without even touching the arrow, Alice could already feel her skin tearing apart from the energy it exuded but her smile only grew wider. She had watched the manifestation and finalization of the contract. She had seen the steps required and the movement of energy. She has imprinted the instructions upon her mind. ''To show my gratitude for this lesson, allow me to give you my all.'' Alice thought to herself and aimed her fingers towards the iing arrow. There was no need for her to reach out to the Abyss for a contract at this moment. No, there was a far better candidate. Snapping her finger, her second Sigil red to life as it stretched across her body. Opening her mouth, Alice formed her contract. There was no need to revere the target. No need to sing its praises. All she needed was a simple instruction. [Feast o'' me of mine.] Chapter 226: Feast O Flame Of Mine Upon hermand, mes erupted from Alice''s body. An array of vibrant blues, reds and purples danced around her as theyshed out and merged into one. The sound of shackles breaking could be heard followed by the deep roar that resounded throughout the arena. From this me, a single draconic head manifested itself. Unlike before, its form was not an obscure silhouette formed by the mes. Its form was shrouded by darkness yet one could tell the body was encased by ayer of ck scales that seemed to devour all light that touched upon it. Beneath the scales, an inferno raged with the pulse of life. From its head, the dragon bore several piercing purple eyes, each one glimmering with malevolence, hatred and sadistic cruelty. Each one seemingly staring into the deepest parts of your soul. At the centre of its chest, a swirling vortex of energy pulsed and thrummed, drawing the energy from the Abyss into itself like an unsatiable maw, hungry for more. It was a conduit for all the vast energy that epassed the Abyss, channelling the flow through its own body with every beat of its heart. Its wings that stretched into the darkness resembled parasitic ink,shing out andtching onto the realm in an attempt to consume the space itself. Within the membranes of these wings, a kaleidoscope of coloured danced and shifted, crafting a prismatic reflection that embodied the nature of the Abyss. So full of beauty yet danger lurks beneath. Tendrils, spikes and strange appendages protruded from various parts of its body and back, twisting and writing in an unholy symphonic of heresy towards the realm. Even Alice was frozen in shock beneath its shadow as the beast did not even cast a single gaze towards her. Instead, it looked at the frozen arrow and curled its beastly maw into a grin. *BANG!!!!! As the arrow collided against the dragon''s chest, it was as though all the evils in the Abyss was released. Countless rows of teeth and ws erupted from its body, crushing the arrow into pieces while tendrils of flesh shot out in all directions. Coiling around the pieces of the arrow, it dragged the attack into its body. Within the prismatic reflection sealed in its wings, the energy of the arrow could be seen being assimted into the dragon''s being. The arrow crafted from Lyra''s life having exchanged everything with the Abyss was consumed and absorbed with ease. Even Garret found himself not daring to even breathe in the presence of this beast! Just as the dragon was about to take a step forward, golden chains burst forth from the mes, wrapping itself around its neck, wings and limbs. The teeth that consumed the arrow tried to fight back but a golden stake burst through its chest, forming a hook and began to drag the beast back into the fires. Letting out a defiant roar against its imprisonment, the beast found itself helpless against these chains. Thest thing Alice could see was the beast''s mocking gaze before dissembling into a wave of mes that extinguished itself. A rush of fatigue struck Alice as the blood and obstacles she had set up around the arena disappeared one by one. Falling backwards, Alice mmed into the arena and found herself unable to even move a single muscle. Not far from her location, Lyra stood unmoving. The light that crafted her body was now dull and fractured as pieces of her crumbled away. Meanwhile, the damage caused to the arena slowly mended itself. From within the selection of statues representing the champions, a new tform was created. Little by little, a statue started to form itself into the appearance of Alice. But as the final detail was ced upon the statue¡­ *CRACK!!! A fracture appeared in the centre, causing the statue to shatter into countless pieces. Recovering from his stupor of seeing the beast that Alice had somehow conjured, Garret looked towards statues and frowned. He had a guess on why the Arena was acting like this. But the answer he came up with was simply oundish! Yet it was the only possible conclusion. ''The Hall of Champions is unable to properly record her strength!'' Trembling at the thought, Garret swallowed his saliva as his fighting spirit burned in his chest. He could feel his blood rush from excitement. Right now, the girl in the arena only has three Sigils! What would happen if she was to get more? Would she be a Lord? Was he seeing the first steps of a future Abyss Lord? Shaking his head, he didn''t want to get too ahead of himself just yet but the truth could not be denied. The Arena acknowledged this girl''s strength. Lyra the de Dancer had acknowledged this girl''s strength. And as the witness of her fight, he had also acknowledged her strength. Jumping down, hended next to her and kneeled down. Reaching into his sash that was tied around his waist, he pulled out a small ampoule the size of his thumb and broke off the tip. Pouring the sample of blood into Alice''s mouth, he watched as the countless wounds across her body started to thread themselves back together while she stared at him, unable to speak from the fatigue. "Not sure if I should congratte you or question you on who you are. Do you know what kind of ce this Arena is?" Garret asked, maintaining a calm demeanour despite his excitement. "Hall of Champions. That''s all I know." Alice groaned. Despite the healing blood, she could still feel pain in her body. A sea of fire raged within her veins. Her blood boiling with each passing second. Looking at the man in front of her, she could see six floating Sigils above his head and understood that he must be someone rather high up within the Academy. It was to be expected as themotion caused by her fight with the de Dancer just now was something hard to conceal. "How did you even get in? I can only assume you must''ve gotten a visitor pass considering you don''t know much about this ce. Otherwise, you wouldn''t enter here recklessly." "Visitor''s pass. Came here for amission, went to look for my friend. She was busy so I explored a bit and found this ce." Alice answered truthfully. "Do you have your Hunter''s Guild ID on you?" Nodding her head, Alice groaned as she reached into her tattered jacket and rummaged for her ID. Handing over the card, there was only one thought that went through Alice''s mind. ''Urg¡­ I liked this jacket too. Now it''s wast-'' Upon thinking about her jacket, she realised something important. Her sk! Widening her eyes, Alice felt a sense of panic. "Let''s see¡­ Alice Agnelia-ARG!!!" Garret muttered to himself when suddenly Alice sat up. Her crown stabbed Garret''s nose, causing him to stumble back. Hastily reaching into the other side of her jacket while ignoring the pain in her body, Alice felt the blood drain from her body. With a trembling hand, she pulled out the sk that had been shed to pieces. *Crack Her heart broke in half. Tears streamed down her face as she looked at her sk, the memories of her mead surfacing in her mind. The moments they shared, the joys she enjoyed and could''ve enjoyed. Yet the path of the future had been cut off. Her sk was dead. "???" Holding his nose, Garret blinked his eyes in confusion seeing Alice suddenly burst into tears while holding a broken sk. Forcing herself to stand up, Alice stood in front of Garret. "Can I have my ID back for now¡­ I need to conduct a funeral." Alice held out her hand. "Ah¡­ Sure. You have my¡­ condolences?" Garret tilted his head, handing back the ID and watched her limp away, cradling the sk in her arms. Looking at her retreating figure, he finally recalled where he had seen her before. The recording that Xinbei presented to him. He had his focus entirely on Ria during the recording and ignored Alice. Even though she demonstrated goodbat potential in the recording, it wasn''t anything special. At least by the standard of the Combat Department. But the fight he had seen today had proven otherwise. Her Resonance allowed her to control a strange skill that looked as though it could destroy anything with a single touch. A me that could melt away Lyra''s ice and finally, a ritual that could conjure forth a beast he had never seen before. Recalling the sight of the beast, Garret felt a chill down his spine once more as he couldn''t help but let out augh. ''I don''t think Xinbei truly knows what kind of beast that gal is. Thatst attack¡­ Even with all of my power, can I guarantee I won''t be hurt by it?'' He asked himself. But the fact that he needed to ask himself this question had already proven her might. The Department Head of Combat, the Mad Demon Garret found himself unsure of his defensive capabilities before Alice. However, what he felt upon this realization was not shame, inferiority or anger. No, what he felt was pure unfiltered excitement. Their powers were simr in certain aspects, especially thatst Ritual of hers. If he could understand even a fraction of the foundation behind her powers, it might give him the key he needed to enter the realm of Lords. Garret''sughter rang out through the arena as he stood up and stretched his body. Even though he had a reason not to miss the Exams before, he will now make sure nothing gets in the way of his attendance. Even if the sky was to fall, he will lift it upon his back and make sure he arrives on time! Meanwhile, Alice made her way back to the Department of Theory and found the highest point where she could make a grave for her sk. Digging out a hole, she grabbed a rock and carved it into a gravestone before giving her deceased sk a solemn prayer. Chapter 227: Sir Bacchus The Second Wiping away her sweat with a towel, Ria stretched her body in satisfaction. She had just finished the sparring session with her new client. As she exited the training room, she couldn''t help but notice arge gathering of people around the facility. ''Is this to do with the quaking earlier? Did a big fight break out?'' Ria thought to herself as an earthquake had interrupted their sparring earlier. It was brief so she figured it was probably a fight. Looking at the crowd of people, she decided to eavesdrop. "There''s no way right?" "Trust me. What the Seniors saw before the Department Head intervened couldn''t be faked. An outsider actually passed the Hall of Champions but their statue couldn''t be recorded!" "Who did she even challenge?" "They barely got a nce, but it seemed to be someone who uses Ice. Maybe she was challenging Lord Lucas or Lord Andrew but Lady Lyra is not off the table either." "Lady Lyra? Are you serious? There''s no way she would''ve picked her out of all the Champions unless she has a death wish!" Listening to the whispers being spread amongst the students, Ria couldn''t help but wonder who had challenged the Hall of Champions. She wasn''t familiar with the term, but it seemed to be a trial ground of sorts where you could test your might. ''Could be interesting to take a look atter with Alice. She might enjoy it with all things considered.'' It would serve as a perfect chance for her to study the fighting styles of the Champions mentioned by the students. After all, Alice was someone who grew faster the stronger her opponent was. Whether that be the technique that Allura showcased or the sword technique she stole with a nce when she was hunting her third Sigil, Alice was like a nk canvas that absorbed everything in her surroundings. Leaving the facility, Ria figured that Alice would''ve looked for her if she had finished hermission. Meaning she was probably still busy. Asking around for some directions, Ria eventually made it to the Department of Theory. Just as she got off the train, she noticed Aliceing down from the mountain peak. Her movement was sluggish and her shoulders were slumped. Sensing that something was wrong, Ria rushed over. "Alice! Are you okay? What happened?" Ria asked with worry. She could see that the corners of Alice''s eyes were red while her outfit was in tatters. Looking up, Alice saw Ria and bit her lip. Tears started to form once more and she copsed on the floor. "Ria¡­" Alice called out, suppressing the tears. Seeing this, Ria immediately hugged Alice, patting her back. "What happened? Did someone bully you? Could you not deal with them?" Ria asked. The moment Alice drops a name, she will go to that peak and get revenge for her. How dare they make Alice cry! "*Sniff* Ria¡­ My sk *hic* My sk got destroyed¡­" Alice answered with great difficulty as tears streamed down her face. Pausing for a moment, Ria felt as though her brain had just short-circuited. "Pardon?" "My sk¡­ *hic* My treasure, the love of my life¡­ It got torn apart while I was fighting. My sk got killed!!! Now I can''t carry all my mead with me!!" Alice cried out, showing Ria the part of her jacket that was soaked by the holy water contained within her sk, mead. Blinking her eyes, Ria understood why Alice was upset. For her, the sk was akin to her lifeblood. It was what kept her going. The mead within gave her fuel for the day. Yet if it got destroyed¡­ "Who even destroyed it? Did you ask them to pay?" "I shouldn''t have gone into that room *hic*¡­ It was not worth it. I got nothing from it and instead got my sk killed. Do you want to visit its grave with me?" Alice asked, wiping away her tears using her sleeves while pointing at the mountain peak. Hesitating for a moment Ria shook her head but she couldn''t help but feel pity for Alice. "Since we''re earning some money¡­ Do you want to buy a new sk? It won''t be as good as your old one but it''s better than nothing." Ria offered. If the sk was more expensive than what they had expected, then she didn''t mind asking her employer for some extra funds early since they were extremely happy with her performance. Hearing this, Alice''s ears twitched as her eyes lit up. Ignoring the pain, she jumped up andnded on her feet. "Let''s go buy Sir Bhus the second!" Alice dered, recovering from her sadness. "Sir Bhus... The second?" "Mnm. Sir Bhus the first is my sk. Originally, I wanted to keep a collection of Sir Bhus'' on me at all times so I have multiple sources of mead. But because Sir Bhus the first died a horrific death, the next sk shall honour it by inheriting its name." Alice clenched her fist as she gave a salute towards where she had buried Sir Bhus the first. Still confused by everything, Ria followed up with an awkward salute of her own before the two of them made their way out of the Academy. Naturally, Alice had countless eyes turn towards her due to the current state of her outfit but they ignored it. "So¡­ You still haven''t told me what happened? What did you even fight for you to be injured to this extent?" Ria asked as the two of them handed back their visitor passes. Both of them have gotten other forms of identification for entry and the visitor pass was no longer needed. "Went to a room called Hall of Champions and fought Lyra the de Dancer. You should give it a go too. Almost f*cking died to her." Alice admitted as Lyra was truly on another level. Had she not learned and Modified Allura''s skill, it was probably impossible to win the fight without some kind of sacrifice other than the energy held within that arrow. Which only made her wonder what kind of beast that was and what were the golden chains that sealed it back into her mes. "Wait¡­ holy sh*t, really?" Ria froze in surprise. Not at the fact that Alice was the person in the rumours who challenged the Hall of Champions but rather the fact that she almost died to Lyra! "Yeah. Her ice froze me in ce and I had to forcefully tear myself from it to avoid her attacks. Even my mes were pushed back. You know how hard that is to achieve?" Nodding her head, Ria regretted not being able to see the fight with her own eyes as she would''ve been able to learn something from it. "So I''m guessing the earthquake was caused by you then." Ria asked as Alice shrugged. "Yes and no. I decided to do something a little funky and conducted a ritual. Turns out I summoned a massive f*ck off dragon beast thing that ate thest attack before disappearing. Was it the best move I could''ve chosen? Probably not. But it was damn effective." "Pft ahaha, next time you should let me know when you do something fun like this. I would love to see it with front-row seats." Riaughed. "I mean it''s not impossible. Seems like if we join the Department of Combat it should be avable to us. Though I didn''t ask much about it but I''m sure it''ll be fine." Agreeing with Alice, Ria wished the exams would arrive sooner so that they could enrol. Not only that, she wished Luke was here as well. She wanted to see his reaction towards her achievements and capabilities. ''He''s always beenposed with a few exceptions. If he saw what Alice can do¡­ Would it break hisposure?'' Ria wondered to herself. If she could find the limit of hisposure, then she could n on ways to surprise him in the future. Chuckling to herself, the two made their way to the shopping district in order to find Sir Bhus the second. Meanwhile, after recovering from his initial excitement, Garret had calmed down and focused on his duties as the Department Head. Namely to report the incident to the principal and make adjustments to the exams. After all, one of their exam takers was now someone who had passed the Hall of Champions. Thinking about a meeting with the principal, Garret couldn''t help but scratch his hair and sigh. If it was possible, he would keep the interactions to a minimum as she freaks him out. Even though he''s called the Mad Demon by the students, he was helpless before her. It wasn''t that she was aggressive but rather unfathomable. The way she conducted herself, the way she talked, and her choices confused him at times. It was hard for him to understand the principal as a person. But despite his thoughts towards her, there was one thing that would never change. His respect towards her. After all, one sentence could be used to summarise the principal. Beneath the realm of Lords, she is invincible. Even though there were many who have six Sigils imprinted onto their body, their powers differed greatly. Contemting on how he should approach the principal regarding this report, he paced back and forth before mustering up some courage. If he struggled to do it alone, he''ll drag others into it! A grin appeared on his face as he went to look for Xinbei and ra. "There''s no need for you to drag others in, Garret. I already saw what happened when the Hall failed to record her strength." A voice appeared behind him, causing him to jolt in surprise. ''Why is everything freaking me out today?! First is that gal and her dragon thing and now the principal!'' Garret shouted in his mind while turning around to face the principal. "Then I suppose I don''t need to say anything." Garret forced a smile. "Possibly. I need you to do something else for me. I need to make some adjustments to the exams and my hands are a little tied up at the moment." She smiled while Garret nodded and listened to her instructions. With Garret leaving toplete the task she gave him, the principal made her way out of the room. A mysterious smile surfaced on her face as she hummed to herself. Chapter 228: Elaras Discovery A week had passed since the incident of Sir Bhus the first. After visiting the shopping district, Alice was able to buy a sk which she named Sir Bhus the second. It could hold up to 3 bottles worth of Mead, a little less than the original 5 bottles worth but it was still better than nothing. After her sk was sorted out, Alice decided to buy a new set of clothes as her current favourite ones had been damaged beyond repair. She didn''t want to keep recing her outfit and thus decided to buy something simply while saving up money to get Hunter''s gear simr to the one that Sera had given her all the way back in the ughter Docks. The outfit she settled on for now was a simple ck dress with a pair of ck stockings and knee-high boots. Along with this dress was arge white jacket with the edges reaching down to her thighs and a hood to cover her crown if needed. Of course, Ria had questioned why Alice didn''t just use some of the clothes she had already bought but her response was that these were cuter. ### Finishing the final experiment with Runi, Alice gave her body a big stretch as this experiment was a lot longer than what the others were. "Good work as usual today." Arunya spoke in her usual monotone voice but after a week, Alice could tell when Runi was happy or upset based on the slight variations in her bodynguage and tone. "Today''s thest one. You''ve got your student exams to prepare for right? Is there any difference between the Theory tests and the Combat tests?" Alice asked curiously. During this week, Arunya found out that Alice was taking the Combat exams, which she thought was a shame due to Alice''s talent in the Theory department. But regardless, she was going to respect her choice since it was Alice''s life and not hers. At most, they could be considered acquaintances during this week of bonding. "It depends on the topic during the exam. Usually, it''ll just be a bunch of students crowded into a single room and show off the knowledge they have acquired and how they can put it to good use. As long as you study well and show off your intelligence, you can pass the Theory exams. Rarely would it require us Theory students to actually fight anything." Arunya shook her head. "Thest time that happened, the teachers wanted us to hunt down beasts using only Abyss blood and our understanding of their biology. It''s also the exam that I failed when I tried to be a Special ss student. "As for Combat exams¡­ I only saw one personally. That was the Special ss exam for the current top student in the Combat Department. Though his situation is a little special, he''s known as the Pdin. His exam required him to lead an exploration team into the depths of the Inverted World and find out more about it. Some of the dangers he faced that day even garnered some respect from me." She exined while Alice nodded her head. She found herself a seat and leaned back while taking a sip from her sk. "Is he just called the Pdin? Does he not have a name?" "I never bothered to learn his name. It''s not like we have any interactions so it''ll be a waste of my energy. I''ve already done plenty by remembering his nickname. Speaking of which, have you prepared for your exams? Some of the Theory students mentioned that this time was going to be a little different. There''s been somest minute changes." Arunya asked curiously. "Well¡­ I didn''t get told much. They just said to do my best and it''ll be okay." Alice smiled remembering her second meeting with Xinbei. He told her that her Special ss exams would be taking ce at the same time as the other students and that she should just try her best. He couldn''t divulge any of the details or else he''ll get into trouble with the principal. Naturally, he knew about her little scuffle with the Hall of Champions and expressed his confusion as to why she still had to take the exams. Perhaps it was to keep it above the table as the students would be displeased if she was to be given the role of Special ss without them knowing. But he wasn''t the person organising the exams so he didn''t have much of a say in it. "If the exams go bad, I''m pretty sure I can ask my Department Head to give you a free pass. With your talent in the Theory Department, she''ll be d to take you in." Arunya offered. "I''ll keep that in mind." Nodding her head, Alice received her final payment before giving Arunya a wave. There was going to be a small party tonight as Luke sent them a letter saying that he''ll being back from his special mission. He wanted to cheer them on for the exams and thus wanted to prepare a party for the three of them. After Alice had left, Arunya cleaned up herb and made her way to see ra as per usual. Today was going to be the final check up for a while since the Exam was just around the corner. Arriving at her house, Arunya was mildly surprised that she wasn''t hearing any strenuous soundsing from the inside today. Opening the door, she saw ra sleeping by her desk. She was dressed up properly and had even cleaned herb coat which was usually stained with blood. Blinking her eyes in surprise, she couldn''t help but wonder if this was a clone. "Professor, if you''re going to sleep you should do so in your bed." Arunya nudged as ra furrowed her brows and slowly opened her eyes. *Yawn~ "Oh Runi~ Have you finished your experiments for today?" ra asked, stretching her body. "I have. Though seems like you''ve been busy sincest night. Doing your job this time too." Arunya praised, taking a quick nce around the house and saw that it was clean for once. "At the end of the day, I''m still the Department Head of Theory. I still have responsibilities otherwise I would''ve been reced by now." ra shrugged. Hearing this, Arunya squinted her eyes sceptically. "Did the principal scold you?" She asked. Seeing ra freeze up momentarily, Arunya could only sigh. "She didn''t scold me. Erm¡­ Merely a suggestion regarding disposition fufu~ She didn''t want me to scare off the new students that we''ll be getting." ra forced a smile. "So she didn''t want you to be a bad example. Understood. By the way, I was wondering if you''ll be able to maybe take in an examinee on the off chance they fail the exams." Arunya asked while cing some food she bought on the table. "Are you talking about the assistant that you hired?" "Yes. She has a lot of talent in the Theory department. If it wasn''t for her, my experiments wouldn''t have gone so smoothly. Though it seems like she''s focused on joining the Combat Department." Arunya nodded her head, sitting down opposite ra since there was no cleaning for her to do today. "Hmm~ I could consider it if Runi dressed up a little cuter the next time you bring some food." ra chuckled while unpacking her dinner. "Please stop messing around professor otherwise I''ll get the cheapest meal set from now on." "Boo~ no fun. But fine~ I''ll stop ying around. With my rtionship with the gori, it might be a little annoying to have him ept the examinee if they fail but not impossible. But even a favour can only go so far if they''re not capable enough. But if her talent in the Theory department is as good as you say then we have another option we can go for." ra smiled while crossing her legs. "We can enrol her in the Theory department while taking lessons from the Combat Department. I''m sure the gori wouldn''t mind since he''s a freak when ites to helping people realise their potential. As long as they show dedication, he''ll be satisfied enough to ept them into his sses. "Do you have their details? I''ll make a note about them so I don''t forget. I''ll be meeting the goriter so I''ll bring it up to him then." Reaching into her bag, Arunya rummaged through her belongings before pulling out themission report that needed to be handed to the Hunter''s Guild. Handing it to ra, Arunya watched as ra''s expression froze up. "Something wrong?" "Ahem¡­ Your assistant has been¡­ Alice Agnelia for the past week?" ra asked with a forced smile. "Yes. Was there an issue I didn''t know about?" "There is a big issue. Why didn''t you tell me!? One whole week! One whole week that I could''ve spent talking to her but I didn''t even know she was your assistant. Ahhh~ I could''ve prepared something nice for her too~" ramented as her face started to turn red. Looking at the way ra was twitching and squirming in her seat, Arunya couldn''t help but feel happy that she didn''t say anything until now. "Was¡­ Was she the one you''ve been interested in?" "Yep~ You''ve been with her for a week. What was she like? How did she act during the experiments? How did she look at the subjects? I want every detail! Actually, you might even have some of her hair on you hehe~" ra giggled as she ced down her utensils. Seeing this, Arunya decided to evacuate the building. If Alice was indeed the one that ra had been infatuated with, then she was sure that Alice would have no issues regarding the exams. Meanwhile, Alice who was walking home with Ria felt another chill down her spine, warning her of danger. ''Are my senses out of whack? Side effect from my resonance?'' Alice frowned in confusion as she''d been sensing danger several times throughout the week despite nothing happening. Once again, danger didn''t show up near her as she could only shake her head and continue her journey back to the inn. Chapter 229: A Party Between Three "Did you wait long?" Alice called out as she opened the door to her room. Inside, both Ria and Luke were waiting with several bags of snacks, food and different brands of mead. Seeing the drinks, Alice''s eyes lit up as she closed the door behind her and threw her jacket onto the jacket stand. "Fufu~ Nothing beats having some mead after a hard day''s work ahaha." Aliceughed, picking out a bottle from within the pile just for herself. "Usually, people would go for the food but I suppose it''s only expected that you''ll aim for the drinks." Ria sighed. In her hand, she had a chicken skewer that had been seasoned to perfection. "Blehh~ Mead is my lifeblood. Naturally, I''ll go for it first." Alice stuck out her tongue before looking over in Luke''s direction. Seeing how he has four Sigils above his head, she knew that his hunt had been sessful. "So, how was your special mission? Was it dangerous? It took you a week after all." Alice asked with a grin. ''He probably doesn''t want Ria to know that he was behind her in Sigils. Let''s see how he handles this.'' She mused to herself. Today was a day of party, she wasn''t going to hold herself back and enjoy it to her fullest. "It was alright. A little on the annoying side but not that bad overall." Luke smiled, acting as though his special mission wasn''t a scramble for his fourth Sigil. "Oh hou~ How annoying was it? Were there others interfering with the hunt?" Alice gave him a smug grin while kicking her shoes aside and sat on her beat. Hearing the word hunt, Ria sat up with a confused expression. "A hunt?" Ria asked while Alice waved her hand. "Ah sorry, I''m so used to calling every mission a hunt now. That was just a slip of the tongue don''t mind me." Alice chuckled while opening her bottle. As for Luke, he had choked on his food for a brief moment. ''Does she know? Surely not right? I don''t think Xinbei told anyone. Not even Miki knew about my hunt for the fourth Sigil.'' Luke thought to himself while giving Alice a slight nce. "So what kind of annoyance was it?" Alice asked, seeing Luke sneaking a nce at her. "Nothing much don''t worry. It''s too boring of a story for a party like this." Luke dismissed with a forced smile. "Speaking of stories, have you heard the incident at the Department of Combat?" Ria asked while Luke shook his head. He had been away from the Academy and had only just returned not long ago. He needed to catch up on everything that had happened. "There was a brave gal who decided to challenge the Hall of Champions. She wasn''t part of the department and had entered with a visitor pass. It stirred up quite themotion too." "Hm? Hall of Champions? Isn''t that what they used to test the graduates? For an outsider to be able to ess it¡­ She must be rather talented then since that door doesn''t just open to anyone." Luke remarked while picking up another portion of food. Stifling herughter, Ria simply smiled and pointed behind Luke. "Huh?" Turning around, Luke simply stared at Alice who was drinking the bottle of mead at a visible pace. "What? Who told them to leave it unguarded? Not even sure why I have to do the entrance exams when I finished their test for graduates." Alice shrugged while Luke could only massage his eyes. "Do you realise, how absurd that sounds? The Hall of Champions, the greatest achievement that the students of the Combat Department could obtain. Their dream of having their fighting styles forever integrated into the history of this Academy was¡­pleted before you even enrolled???" Luke asked while Alice simply shrugged. "I mean¡­ I''m not saying it wasn''t hard. Just a tad annoying." Hearing Alice call the test for Graduates a ''tad annoying'' Luke felt like something had just broke within him. A sudden surge to throw whatever was closest to him toward her surfaced but he suppressed that feeling and reached for some mead instead. He prided himself on being calm and collected yet a few simple interactions with Alice had already made him break his cool. ''Was Ria influenced by her? There was also the dress she worest time¡­'' Luke thought to himself while throwing his head back and drinking a mouthful of mead. Just as he wanted to put the bottle down, he realised he couldn''t move his arm. "???" Opening his eyes, he saw Alice in front of him with a grin on her face while holding the bottle in ce. "!!!" "Hehe~ Drink! Drink! Drink!" Alice chanted while Riaughed in the background before joining in the chant. Shocked by her strength, Luke could only follow the instructions and try his best to drink the mead. "BLERHH!!! What the hell!" Luke cried out. "Pft ahaha! There you go. You should loosen up a little if we''re having a party." Alice grinned while Luke felt like a vein was about to pop. "You want to y!? Fine let''s y!" Grabbing the closest bottle to him, he removed the cap before shoving it into Alice''s mouth, forcing her to drink the mead. "Jokes on you b*tch, I''m an alcoholic!" Alice dered proudly as the party descended into chaos within mere moments. Watching Alice and Luke forcing each other to drink mead, Ria wasughing hysterically on the floor while clutching her stomach. Tears formed around the corners of her eyes from theughter as she enjoyed this kind of atmosphere. When she was travelling with Gin and Allura, it was always a serious environment. Theplete opposite of what was happening here. Seeing Alice enter a martial arts stance while dual-wielding bottles of mead and Luke doing the same but with a single bottle, Ria nced over at their supply of drinks and wondered if they even had enough. "Shall I go out and buy some drinks for us?" Ria asked while Alice and Luke were panting from trying to force each other to drink more. "Fufu~ Don''t underestimate me. Do you think I wouldn''t keep a supply of my best mead for these asions?" Alice smirked as she carefully took steps back, not turning her back to Luke as he''d take the chance to ambush her if she wasn''t careful. "Maybe you should watch where you''re walking, would be a shame if you tripped over." Luke taunted while Alice scoffed in disdain. "It''s my own room, I got it memorised. But maybe you should turn around instead, you just stepped on some left-over chicken, it must feel gross on your foot." "A small price to pay if it means you don''t get the upper hand." Luke retorted. "Shall we have a momentary truce then? After all, I need to unveil my collection of mead." Alice offered. However, Ria noticed a sh of mischief in Alice''s eyes while Luke was none the wiser. Before she could even warn Luke, he nodded and dropped his guard. ''Gotcha!'' Creating two threads of blood to restrain his arms, Alice jumped up andtched onto his shoulder before shoving two bottles into his mouth. "Mmnth!" Widening his eyes, Luke warned to curse Alice''sck of honour in this duel but the surge of mead entering his body prevented this. Dusting her hands after feeding him two full bottles, Alice skipped over to the wardrobe before opening the bottom shelf. Stepping aside, Alice revealed the rows upon rows of mead carefully stored away. "Behold, my mead." Alice grinned, grabbing several bottles before closing the shelf with her foot. Walking over to the table, she ced the bottles down on the table while grinning at Luke who felt like he was about to throw up with how much mead he''s drank. "Fufu~ Seems like I''m the winner of this battle. Bow before the might of my addiction!" Alice dered while Luke only rolled his eyes. "Urg¡­ I''m actually about to throw up in a second." He groaned, feeling bloated. "Oh~ you''ll be fine. Just means you have more room in your stomach for mead." Aliceughed, opening another bottle. Shivering from the thought, Luke couldn''t help but admit defeat before this alcoholic. Her stomach for mead was truly unmatched. "So what''s up with the crown? I didn''t want to ask earlier because it might''ve been rude but I doubt that''s a worry anymore with you force feeding me f*cking mead." Luke asked, eating some skewers for a change of pace. "Just a slight ident on my end. I thought it might disappear after a week but it''s staying so I might as well embrace it. At least it looks pretty neat aye?" Alice smiled, ncing up at the crown that hovered around her head. "I suppose you''re not wrong. I''m sure the students in the Theory Department would be pretty interested in this crown of yours. Most side effects manifest on the body after all." He shrugged. "Runi seemed interested but didn''t ask so I didn''t answer." "Oh? You met Arunya?" Luke blinked in surprise as he didn''t think she would''ve interacted with another assistant like him. "Just a brief contract through the Hunter''s guild. But enough of this talk, we should party. And I couldn''t help but notice a certain someone who hasn''t drank anything yet." Alice smiled as she slowly turned her eyes towards Ria. Blinking her eyes in confusion, Ria was clueless about the danger that was about to befall her as she noticed both Luke and Alice staring at her. "What?" "Nothing~ Just stay right there Ria." Alice grinned. Without giving Ria a chance to run, both Alice and Luke ambushed her with bottles of mead. "W-wait I''m not an alcoholi- MNMF!" Chapter 230: Exam Day Clutching her head in pain, Alice groaned softly as she opened her eyes. Looking around her room, she could see that it was aplete mess. Even with their alcohol tolerance, the volume of mead they drank yesterday was enough to scare professional drinkers. Trying her best to ignore this headache, Alice forced herself to stand up and leaned against the wall. She could see stacks of empty bottles, half eaten food and her mead stashpletely emptied, which was to be expected. Looking to her side, he could see Luke still sleeping soundly as his clothes were half pulled off from their scufflest night. After making Ria drink the mead, the two of them went back to forcing one another to drink. But this time Ria joined in as a neutral third party whose only goal was to make the two of them pass out first. As for Ria¡­ She was passed out on the bed in a simr state. Massaging her neck, Alice got to cleaning up the ce since today was the day of the exam. It took her around an hour to clean up when Luke woke up. Sitting by the window, he didn''t say a word and simply held his head in pain from the hangover. "Mornin'' How did you sleep?" Alice asked with a grin. "Terrible thanks to someone feeding me mead all night. Urg¡­" Luke rolled his eyes. "That''s what partying is all about. But you can''t deny it was pretty fun." Aliceughed as she made her way to her wardrobe and got out her new outfit for the day. It was the exams so she couldn''t just turn up in her current wear. "You''re not wrong. But I''d keep this kind of drinking to a minimum. I still got stuff I need to prepare on my end since I''m a Special ss Student. Along with the other Special ss, we''re required to observe your exam and give our opinions. Not that I think you would struggle." Luke shrugged, adjusting his jacket so it didn''t look like he just slept on the floor. "As for Ria¡­ Well, I''m still worried even if she does have four Sigils now." "Xinbei did mention that there were some changes to the exam. Probably because I cleared the Hall of Champions. It''s safe to assume that like everything that me and Ria touch, it''ll probably be much harder than the previous exams. Would the normal Students be affected?" Alice asked curiously. "Wait¡­ what?" Luke blinked his eyes in confusion. "Yeah, apparently the principal made some changes due to me. Not sure why considering I cleared the Hall of Champions but Xinbei said he couldn''t do anything about it." Furrowing his brows, Luke sighed before standing up. "I''ll ask him about some details. Ah before I forget, I need to tell you something about the Inverted World. "When you enter that world, be careful of everything around you. Even though they''re technically ''moments in history'', the world itself turns them against you. There are both physical and mental dangers. What you perceive as safe may actually be extremely dangerous." Luke warned. "Alright, I''ll remember that." Nodding his head, Luke made his way out of the room and closed the door behind him. With just her and Ria left, Alice gave her body a stretch before nudging Ria awake. "Hng¡­ huh? What time is it?" Ria asked, rubbing her eyes. Clutching her head, thest thing she could remember was being forced to drink more than usual. "It''s already morning. Well¡­ as close to morning as constant nighttime goes. The exams will be starting in a few hours." Alice chuckled. Sitting up groggily, Ria yawned while her hair was in a mess. "I don''t ever want to do that again. I can still taste the mead in my mouth." Sheined while standing up and stretching her body. "Oh don''t be a big baby, it wasn''t that bad ahaha." "For an alcoholic maybe. I want to take a bath and then eat something before we take the exams." Ria sighed. She wanted to cleanse the alcohol taste from her mouth as soon as possible. Agreeing with Ria, the two grabbed another set of clothes before making their way to the bathhouse. ### Following a quick bath in the bathhouse and some breakfast, the two made their way to the Academy. Compared to usual, the Academy was bustling with activity as airships could be seening in front the distance. The trains were packed to the brim while countless young Hunters looked towards the Inverted World with hope and nervousness in their eyes. Upon arriving at the foot of the Academy, Alice could see the courtyard being filled with clusters of students and examinees alike. Whether they''re here to take the entrance exams or taking the exams to improve their ss, all were equally nervous after the rumour that this year was going to be many times harder than before due to an incident. Rumours were spread that a split-haired girl with a crown was the cause. Due to her action of defeating the Hall of Champions, the principal of the Academy had made some adjustments to the test. Tensions were high and it felt as though a single spark could set off the crowd. Looking at this giant crowd, Alice couldn''t help but feel grateful that she chose a jacket with arge hood. If it wasn''t for this, perhaps everyone in this courtyard would''ve attacked her out of anger for making the test harder. She was currently wearing a white shirt with a ribbon and a pair of ck gloves. A ck skirt with the back being longer than the front and reaching down to her calves. The dress had golden chains connecting the buttons and the underside was deep red in colour. A pair of ck frilled stockings connected by garter belts and a pair of ankle high boots with small heels. Over her outfit, she wore arge white jacket and a hood that hid her face in shadow. As for Ria, she wore a modest white martial arts attire with a ck undershirt. A pair of silver armoured gauntlets for protection and a skirt that reached down to her ankles. The fabric of the outfit was light so she could move without being hindered. As for her hair, she tied it up into a tall ponytail. Looking over to Alice who was wearing a hood like usual, Ria couldn''t help but chuckle since it was to hide the crown above her head. With themotion that she caused by clearing the Hall of Champions, she was basically public enemy number one right now. "Do you have all the blood beads you need? I can make a few more if you don''t have enough." Alice asked as she rummaged through her pouch to make sure everything was in ce. To prepare for this exam, the two of them had prepared 6 vials of healing blood each, 2 vials of Alice''s blood beads, one berserk vial each and finally, one fresh vial of Alice''s blood in case something dangerous was to appear. Even if Alice didn''t activate her second Sigil''s ability, her blood still contained anti Abyss properties and would help in certain scenarios. Not only that, it''ll allow Alice to potentially locate Ria if they were to get split up. "I got everything don''t worry. In fact, I even wanna say my pouch is too full right now. One hit and everything inside might break ahaha." Ria joked, showing Alice the full pouch. Before they could continue their conversation, an oppressive aura descended from the heart of the Academy, causing everyone in the courtyard to shut up. Even Alice felt a chill in her body as though her blood was warning her. All they could hear was the sound of heels cking against the ground. Walking towards the podium, a tall woman could be seen with a soft smile on her face. ''Allura???'' Alice widened her eyes before frowning. Even though the woman by the podium looked like Allura, it wasn''t her. The feeling she got from the woman waspletely different. Not only that, but there were parts of her figure that were different as well. She had a pair of deep crimson eyes, medium length ashen white hair, red markings running up the side of her cheek. A pair of pointed ears and a mysterious smile. She wore a brown turtleneck shirt, a ck zer with a belt around the waist, a pair of suit pants and tall heels. Draped over her shoulders was arge jacket connected by a set of silver chains. Stepping up to the podium, she reached out with her hand as blood mist swirled before her, condensing into a greatsword. Butpared to her height, the greatsword looked like a normal longsword. Stabbing the sword in front of her, she rested her hand on the pommel while sweeping her eyes over the crowd. Noticing a small hooded girl staring at her in a mixture of bewilderment and shock, she couldn''t help but chuckle. "Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed examinees and fellow students, I wish to thank you all for making the journey here today. "For the examinees, this is a time of challenge and opportunity. It is a chance to showcase your talents to the world and realise the potential hidden within your body. "For the students, this is a chance. A chance for you to reach up and grab hold of opportunity with your own hands. It is a chance for you to gain ess to the countless resources we have prepared for the Special ss Students and those who wish to go beyond¡­" While Ria listened to the weing speech, Alice couldn''t help but be fixated on something else entirely. That being what was above the principal''s head. She had expected to see six Sigils as she had done many times before but the Sigils could not be seen. Instead, it was reced by something else. [Crimson Witch of Ruin - ??????] Chapter 231: Crimson Witch of Ruin [Crimson Witch of Ruin - ??????] Seeing the title above her head, Alice felt her pupils constrict in shock. A beast! A beast was the principal of one of the best Academies in the Abyss, one that teaches people how to kill other beasts! ''What the hell is going on?'' Alice frowned. She wanted to see if there was something wrong with her vision but it was perfectly normal. She wasn''t hallucinating, the principal was indeed a beast and a powerful one at that. "Alice¡­ Did Allura ever mention she has a twin or something?" Ria whispered with a slight frown. She too saw the simrities between the beast and Allura but that was it. She didn''t know that she was actually looking at a beast. "No. But she''s not a Hunter. I see six stars above her head." Alice whispered back, making sure the others around her didn''t overhear her. Widening her eyes, Ria nced back and forth between the principal and Alice. Seeing as how Alice wasn''t joking around, Ria understood the severity of the matter. "Six stars¡­ Do you think she has a goal by acting as the principal? Was the real principal taken or has it been a beast all along?" "Don''t know. But she''s something called a Crimson Witch of Ruin." Alice shook her head. Regardless of what they may discover thanks to Ca, the truth was that she is the principal and they''re simply examinees looking to enrol into her Academy. There was probably a deeper reason as to why she looked like Allura but it''s something Alice hoped to figure outter. For now, she focused on the details of the exam. The exam was split into three sections. First were the examinees who wanted to enrol. Second were the students who wanted to advance into the next ssification andstly, the qualified who desired to be Special ssed Students. "As you may know, Silverwind Academy is split into three major categories. Theory, Handicraft and Combat. All examinees will take on three separate examinations to determine your skill with the different subjects and see which area you are more suited towards. Of course, if you desire to study a different subject despite your talents, you may do so. "But you''ll need to prove yourself to our Heads of Department. ra, Head of Theory, Xinbei, Head of Handicrafts and Garret, Head of Combat." The principal exined as she snapped her finger. Beside her, the three Department Heads walked up all with serious expressions, even Xinbei. They all wore smart suits and stood side by side. Feeling a gaze on her, Alice nced up and noticed that it was the Head of Theory, ra. But the gaze was brief and she looked away just as fast. ''Is it because of my hood?'' Alice wondered to herself while the Principal exined the first test. "The first exam of the day will be simple. You will undergo the examination while the current students, Department Heads and the Special ss Students watch. Once you pass the first exam, you will take the second exam with existing students. Upon taking the second exam to determine your rank within this Academy, you will be considered to be officially enrolled. The rules of each Exam will be exined by the Heads of Department. I wish all of you good luck and I hope to see you in the next round." The principal smiled as she snapped her finger and a wave of blood mist surrounded the entire courtyard. Seeing the mist enveloping several hundred people all at once, Alice could see the movement of energy surging from all around them. Even though she could see what was happening with Ca, the process was too fast for her to react! In an instant, everyone was enveloped in darkness as their surroundings began to change. The courtyard, teachers and the existing students disappeared, leaving only the new examinees behind. "Hi~ Can I have your attention please~" ra''s voice rang out as everyone turned towards her. She was the only one who hadn''t disappeared along with the others. "The theory exam will be split into two sections. I''m not a fan of sitting down and writing on a piece of paper to determine your talent. Therefore, we shall proceed with a live demonstration!" She chuckled before pping her hands together. In front of every examinee, a table appeared with a single beast tied to the table. It was still alive and judging by the way their eyes looked, they seemed to be under some sort of narcotic. "Your goal is simple~ I want you to extract blood of varying purity from each part of the beast. Harvest the organs that will be useful and write down their functions. You don''t have to get everything right~ You just have to demonstrate what you know in the shortest time you can. Any questions?" ra asked as tools appeared next to the beast. One of the examinees raised their hand as ra turned to them. "What if I just want to take the Handicrafts exam? Do I still have to take this one?" "Nope~ This is not mandatory at all~ But you have more chances of enrolling if you get some points from here. You can think of it as a backup n~ Any other questions?" ra exined. While she was exining, she continuously snuck nces towards Alice while her smile grew wider with each nce. Alice felt a familiar chill down her spine but was confused by why she felt it from ra. All she did was nce at her asionally. ''Runi did say the Department Head was interested in beasts and Abyss Blood. Maybe she''s curious because of my crown?'' Alice wondered to herself, pulling her hood down further. The feeling she was getting from her was simr yet very different to the Schrs that experimented on her before. It wasn''t malicious or greed but something else entirely that Alice was unfamiliar with. "Urg¡­ maybe I should skip this exam." Ria groaned as she was only really good for Combat. Theory and Handicrafts were beyond her. "You could if you want. But as the Department Head said, it''s just extra points. And honestly, doesn''t hurt to give it a try." Alice shrugged as she examined the tools in front of her. It was the standard equipment that she used while helping Arunya with her experiments so Alice was pretty familiar. "Are we allowed to use Sigil abilities or is it purely tools and knowledge?" Alice asked while raising her hand. "Excellent question~ You are allowed to use anything and everything to attain the results you desire. Out in the field, there are no rules saying you can''t use your Sigils after all~" ra forced a smile while trying to keep herselfposed. ''Ah~ Her voice is cute as expected~ Fufu, ask more questions, talk more, show me more~'' Feeling a shiver down her spine again, Alice was confused by her body''s reaction. ''Did I drink too much yesterday? What the f*ck is going on with me today?'' She frowned while taking deep breaths to calm her mind. Since Sigil abilities were allowed, Alice activated her third Sigil. Blood and metal swirled around her as she set up the operating table to her liking. The tools were strung by threads and dangled in front of her while the vials were ced neatly to the side. Grabbing the scalpel, Alice didn''t hesitate and sliced into the beast with speed and precision. Watching Alice dissect and extract the blood from the beast, Ria couldn''t help but marvel at her technique. She knew that Alice had a knack for this but this was beyond what she had initially expected. It felt as though she was watching a seasoned professional work their craft as Alice peeled back theyers of muscle and directly injected the extractor into their veins. Deciding to try and emte Alice''s workflow, Ria grabbed the scalpel and cut into the beast. Only¡­ It died on impact as she used too much strength and the beast was cut in half instead. ". . ." Looking at the beast in silence, Ria was speechless. "You might want to extract the blood now. The purity is dropping already." Alice reminded. If you desired high-purity blood, each second was precious. While Alice was operating on the beast, she couldn''t help but notice a few examinees who were showing far more talent than her in this field of work. Not only that, their Sigils were also selected to help them with experiments. A girl with spectral hands puppeteering the beast''s body to extract the blood, a guy who could put the beast into stasis using ice and another who relied only on his technique. Not only did he extract the blood the fastest, but he had also stitched up his incisions and the beast was rtively unharmed, free to be harvestedter in the future. Each of them had a different approach and each was far better than what Alice was capable of. Of course, if she wanted to bepetitive against them, she could try and replicate some of the harder techniques that were used on her. But she wasn''t aiming for the Theory department, so this was enough. As the first part of the Theory exam concluded, Alice estimated that she probably finished fourth. Just as how there was a gap between her and the top three who were aiming for a spot in the Theory Department, those beneath her faced a gap that couldn''t be bridged easily without talent. And that was raw experience. In her case, experience of being the one being operated on. After the first part of the exam concluded, ra wasted no time in beginning the second half. The first half tested technique, understanding and polish while the second tested practical application. Chapter 232: Second Half Of The Theory Exam Watching the exams with a smile on her face, the principal was silent while Garret and Xinbei sat beside her. It wasn''t just the Department Heads either, the Special ss Students were also here. In total, there were 5 of them. Lothian ¨C The Pdin. Special ss Combat Student. Hephas ¨C The Forge. Special ss Handicrafts Student. Fynn ¨C The Schr. Special ss Theory Student. Fae ¨C The Witch. Special ss Combat Student. Luke ¨C The Warden. Special ss Handicrafts Student. Their titles weren''t just nicknames that were given to them by the students. It was a representation of the weapons and relics granted to them as congrattions for bing Special ss Students. "There are a few interesting ones in the Theory Department this time. The technique he used seemed to be from the Astram family. Only the Astram family uses the Stasis technique during an operation." Fynn yawned while leaning back in his seat. "What rank do you think he''s aiming for?" Fae asked with a smile. "Who knows. If he''s aiming for Special ss then he''ll need to defeat Arunya first." Fynn shrugged. Arunya was the closest to bing a Special ss Student after him. Yet she still failed in the end. While it was partially due to bad luck, one couldn''t me everything on bad luck. Those with capabilities can push through even in the face of bad luck. "Luke, where are the friends you mentioned will be taking this test? I want to see how they''re faring." Hephas asked with a heartyugh. As they''re both part of the Handicrafts department, they often hang out with one another. "Well¡­ Ria killed her beast instantly ahaha. While Alice is the one next to her, the one with the hood." Luke chuckled while scratching his cheek. He had seen the way Ria handled that scalpel. Even though she tried to restrain her power, it was still too rough for an operation. "If they''re going for the Combat Department then there''s no need to be good with a scalpel." Fae chimed in. While the Special ss Students were discussing with one another, Garret and Xinbei sneaked a peak towards the principal. She maintained a mysterious smile on her face while humming a tune. Neither of them knew why she changed the exams just for Alice but they didn''t want to verbalise their questions. After all, she might just shrug them off like usual. Ignoring these stares, the principal simply kept her eyes on Alice. As an Abyss Beast, could sense a feeling of disgust and repulsion towards her. The way her blood smelled and the Sigils on her body invoked a primal hate from deep within. This was the first time a human had caused her to feel this way. Even the Lords chosen by the Abyss could not invoke such reactions. Yet a three Star girl had just done exactly that. ''Does she feel dangerous because she''s been chosen by Kaden and Allura? Or is it something else?'' She wondered to herself. She could sense Allura and Kaden''s aura on her. It was faint but unmistakable. Regardless, she will see what Alice has to show during these exams. To invoke the curiosity of not just one but all three Head of Departments was quite the achievement. Even the strongest graduate long ago had only attracted two of the Department Heads. ### Moving onto the second half of the Theory Exams, each examinee was expected to face off against an Abyss beast using nothing but the blood they extracted. "The blood you''ve extracted is what we consider to be an extreme counter to the Bone Hound. With the right application and purity, even a single drop will be able to kill this beast. But, if you are to mess up, it''ll send the beast into a frenzy. Your task is to showcase your knowledge without using any of your Sigil abilities~" ra exined before snapping her finger. From her body, countless appendages appeared and embedded themselves into the ground. One by one, walls began to encircle each of the contestants, locking them into a one-on-one fight with the Bone Hound. Looking at the beast before her, Alice was silent. She had several vials of the blood that she had extracted but she was not familiar with this beast nor was she familiar with the blood. Scratching her chin, Alice wondered how she should approach this. Meanwhile, the beast red at the girl in front of it but dared not to take a single step. It was merely holding its ground out of desperation. Within her eyes, it felt as though it was staring at the monster within. A beast that sent fear into the Bone Hound''s heart. "Oh well, let''s just give it a go. Worsees to worse I don''t get that many points here." Alice shrugged since there was no use in worrying about it. Picking up the vials she had extracted from the table, she took calm collected steps towards the beast. Several des hovered beside her, warning the beast. Should it take a single step, the des will shoot out and sever its limbs! But no matter how scared it was, a cornered beast would still bite back! *CRACK! Just as the beast jumped towards Alice, she twisted her body and mmed her heel into its jaw with a roundhouse kick. The cracking of its bones was audible as those who were spectating Alice cringed while imagining the pain the beast felt. Copsing onto the ground, the beast was dizzy from the kick and was unable to react to Alice grabbing it by the throat. "Shh~ That''s a good beast." Alice smiled ominously. Lifting the beast up while maintaining her grip, she poured a vial of blood into its mouth. Seeing red veins pulse through its body along with the flow of energy around it, Alice understood that it was undergoing a simr transformation as the Grimwater Wyrm. One Sigil Resonance! Shrugging her shoulders nonchntly, she injected the other vials into the beast''s body, hoping to find the right area but all it did was continuously increase the beast''s strength. As the beast recovered from the concussion it received from Alice''s kick, it felt a piercing pain in its chest. With a single stab of her hand, Alice punctured a hole in the beast''s chest and destroyed the heart! Tossing the beast aside, she smeared some powdered blood beads onto the blood and shook it off using her blood maniption. With her jacket now clean, Alice smiled in satisfaction. Seeing as how she was one of the first one to finish considering her beast was rather docile and that she killed it in one hit, Alice used the operating table as a seat and leaned back while looking towards the Inverted World in the distance. After a while, the walls disappeared and ra concluded the Theory Exams. There were examineesmenting the difficulty of the exam while Alice could only tilt her head in confusion. In her eyes, the exam wasn''t that hard. The only hard part was potentially the blood extraction. What Alice didn''t know was that the Bone Hound was known to be extremely ferocious and hostile. More so when it goes berserk due to the addition of a certain type of blood. But between her and the beast, the beast was more afraid of her than she was towards the beast thus she felt the exam was far easier. For the other contestants, the second half was truly the most difficult part. As for Ria¡­ Just like the first half, she killed her beast and shrugged it off since she wasn''t aiming for the Theory Department. "Can we not just skip these tests? I''m terrible with Theory and Handicrafts." Riained to Alice who could only shrug. "I mean if you really don''t want to do them you can just take the time to rest up and figure out what you want to do for the Combat test." Alice suggested. Contemting this for a moment, Ria made up her mind. "Yep, that''s exactly what I''m going to do. I''m made for punching things not reading them." She proimed. With the Theory Exams done it was time for the Handicraft Exams. Much like the Theory test, the Handicraft was split into three sections. Abyss Blood Engineering, cksmithing and Tailoring. The first two were by far the most popr out of the three but Tailoring serves a big purpose as well. Those who specialise in Tailoring are able to make Hunters Gear that are resistant to elemental Sigil Abilities. Unlike her demonstration in the Theory test, Alice waspletely clueless regarding these three subjects. Just like Ria, she skipped out on all three and noticed how Xinbei was a little disappointed she didn''t have any hidden talents in Handicrafts. Aside from fighting, drinking and knowledge around Abyss Blood, Alice didn''t have many talents. And finally, it was time for the Combat Exam. Upon the conclusion of the Handicraft exams, both Alice and Ria had a fire light up in their eyes as their interest was raised to the max. Standing in front of everyone with his arms crossed, Garret swept his gaze over the crowd and focused momentarily on Alice and Ria. The principle had asked him to be extra strict with those two to bring out their talents. "I''m not a man of many words. I believe actions speak louder than words. Thus the first part of the exam will be how well you can cope with this pressure." Garret grinned as he tapped his finger. In an instant, a heavy pressure descended upon the crowd as several examinees mmed against the ground, unable to pull themselves up. "This is just the basic pressure you''ll feel once you start going deeper into the Abyss. But this is a far cry from what you feel in the Inverted World. If you cannot handle this then you can forget about joining the Combat Department!" Garret shouted. If the surface of the Abyss and their current pressure was described as level one, what he was having them experience was level two. But most impressive of all, Alice and Ria looked unaffected despite him raising their pressure up to level three! ''Have they been deeper into the Abyss already?'' He wondered to himself as he understood why the principal wanted him to be more serious with these two. It was to find out the depth of their power. Narrowing his eyes, he epted this challenge. Chapter 233: Combat Exams The goal of this test was to see how fast these young Hunters could adapt to this pressure and resume their usual activities. Just because they crumbled under the pressure initially doesn''t mean they were eliminated. Instead, it was a chance for them to experience this pain without the dangers of a beast lurking around the corner. While the rest of the crowd got the standard test, Garret continuously raised the pressure for both Alice and Ria. Watching them stand perfectly still, the only visible reaction was the two of them clenching their fist and keeping their eyes focused. Beads of sweat would drip from their heads, but they maintained their defiance against this pressure. ''These two are monsters¡­'' Garret thought to himself in shock. At this point, he had already raised it to the point where five star Hunters would have difficulty against them! If he was to go any higher, it may pose a big danger yet the principal hasn''t told him to stop here. ''She wants to test out their limits. Urg¡­ Don''t me me if something bad happens.'' Heined in his mind as he cranked up the pressure to a level worthy of six stars. But despite this, the two of them stood their ground despite their body trembling from the pain. Neither of them wanted to back down which caused a few strange stares from their peers around them. Neither Alice nor Ria dared to utter a sound in fear of breaking their concentration. But the secret to their defiance against this pressure was simple. They faced this pressure in the past! And during that period, they were even tasked to fight back against the beast releasing this pressure. It was at times like this where Alice and Ria felt extremely grateful towards Allura''s methods. Had it not been for her choices, the two of them wouldn''t be struggling on the ground by now. Even a slight increase back then resulted in them crawling on the ground. Unable to increase the pressure further without impacting the people around them, Garret nced towards the principal who gave him a silent nod, causing him to sigh in relief as it signified that she was happy with what she saw. Raising his hand, he snapped his finger once and the pressure was lifted immediately. Upon the release of this weight off their backs, all of the examinees stumbled over in fatigue. If just the initial test was this hard, they didn''t want to imagine what the other tests were like! Ignoring the groans of those around them, Alice sat down next to Ria as they rested with their backs facing one another. "Just like Champion of mes?" Ria asked with a forced smile. Even now, she barely had the strength to lift her arms. "Just like the Champion of mes." Alice nodded with a sigh. "Seems like they''re hell bent on testing us if we''re the only ones who felt the six star pressure. Doesn''t seem like the others felt it otherwise over half of them would''ve passed out by now." Ria chuckled while surveying the conditions of those around them. "Xinbei did say they changed the tests for us. But this is probably just the weing show. A hint of what''s toe since I doubt they''ll let us off with just this much." Nodding her head in agreement, Ria couldn''t help but wonder what life would be like if they weren''t trained by Allura. She even contemted the idea of maybe asking her to increase their training next time they reunite but the simple thought of doing so caused her body to tremble in fear. ''I want to get stronger but I''m not a masochist.'' Ria shivered. "Are you cold?" Alice raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Oh don''t worry, I was just thinking about training with Allura. She''s monitoring us right? Well¡­ Kind of by using the amulet." Ria asked as Alice nodded her head. "Do you think she''ll increase the difficulty of our training?" ". . ." Contenting for a moment, Alice nodded her head with a serious smile. "Knowing Allura, she might actually task us with trying to kill something that''s almost a Lord if we get more Sigils." "Urg¡­ Please don''t jinx it." But the fact remained that if it was Allura, this was very much a possibility. ''Alice managed to kill a five Star Hunter because of her copying ability. If we were to fight against something on the boundary of bing a Lord, could Alice simply drink its blood? Or would it be too much for her body to handle?'' Ria thought to herself. Alice had mentioned a few times that her body was both her strong point and weak point. Strong because it could adapt to the different blood she drinks and gain its power without side effects. Including human blood. But the weak point came from the fact that her body was much weaker than those with three Sigils. After all, those with three Sigils has had their bodies enhanced and reinforced by Abyss Blood. A benefit she does not have. Thinking about this, Ria understood that even if Alice was to get Sigils in the future, she would always be behind others when it came to physical reinforcement. If a Hunter who solely focused on offensive potential was called a ss cannon then in Alice''s case, she could be called a paper cannon. The rest between rounds was short as Garret announced the next part of the exams. Stage one was resilience. Stage two was going to be a demonstration of skill. "In the Abyss, there will oftene a time where your weapons may break or a beast disarms you. Therefore, you must have the ability to think on the fly. Use anything and everything around you to your advantage. Think about the best path of survival whether that be to stall or to fight. The key is that you survive. "For the second half of the test, you will be put intorge groups and your only job is to survive as long as you can. Doesn''t matter if you use your Sigils or not. Even if you are eliminated early, do not worry as we''ll be reviewing your overall performance as well. So depending on your actions and demonstration, you have a chance to pass even if you don''t ''survive''." Each of them was assigned a random number for a group to join with Alice and Ria being ced into separate groups. Thankfully, they weren''t fighting one another hence they don''t need to worry about the elimination. Once the groups were arranged, it was time to begin the second part of the test. The test of survival. Their surroundings began to shift as Alice found herself sitting in the spectator stands with the rest of her group. All of the different groups had their own spectator stand that floated within this void while a single arena could be seen in the centre. Its overallyout was basic yet reminded Alice of the coliseums where she had to fight for her survival. The numerous pirs that rose from the ground, countless weapons scattered through the arena along with various obstacles aimed to help the Hunters hide and juke their opponents. And in the middle of this arena, a group of examinees stood. "You will have one minute to grab whatever weapon you want from this arena. Once the time is up, it will be a free for all. This will continue until there are only 20 of you left in this arena." Garret grinned. pping his hands, cages started to descend from above. A wyvern could be seen locked within the confines of these cages. Its ghostly white body shimmering with a ghastly glow that seemed to defy the darkness surrounding it. With each movement that it made, ck mes flickered from where its lower jaw should be. Large ming horns crown its head, down its spine and to the along its tail. It possessed two sets of arms. The smaller pair nestled close to its body along with its legs. The second pair, gargantuan in size acted as the wings with the membrane being reced by the same dark mes that adorned its jaw, head, spine and tail. Within this dark inferno, tendrils of a pink me could be seen within, twisting and writhing. These tendrils pulsed with malevolent energy with the same light being seen between each scale. It was as though these where the roots of the mes,tching onto this wyvern''s body like a parasite. [Ghost me Wyvern - ?????] There were five cages in total and each one held one of these Wyverns. Giving one another a nce and a growl, theymunicated with one other beforeying their eyes upon the examinees. Even though the examinees couldn''t see the tag above their heads like Alice could, they felt a primal fear envelop their hearts and scrambled to find a weapon for protection. Even going as far as to fight each other. Seeing them scramble with each other, Garret couldn''t help but sigh at this disy but avoided voicing his disappointment. After waiting a minute, the cages swung open and all five wyverns jumped out without hesitation. The mes on their backs expended as darkness descended upon the area with each examinee being unable to see ahead of them. Amidst this darkness, their ghastly white bodies could be seen circling the examinees. Those with poor mental panicked and started to run around like headless chickens while thoseposed covered each other''s backs and kept their eyes on the beasts. "ARGG!!!" Screams could be heard as those who panicked were swiped up by the beasts. Hearing these screams, the examinees couldn''t help but wonder if someone had died. It was an absurd thought but not impossible when beasts are involved! But to the spectators, they could see the ones ''killed'' by the beasts were teleported out of the arena to safety. Seeing the panic and fear in their eyes, Alice couldn''t help but wonder if they were teleported at thest possible moment in order to recreate the feeling of death. ''What a sadistic test.'' She sighed, wondering if it was Garret''s idea or if it was the principal''s. Chapter 234: Alices Entrance To The Combat Exams Within the cover of the shadows, it was hard to make out exactly what was happening aside from the rapid movements of the wyverns. Their ghastly white body made it easy to see just how fast and deadly they were. For Alice, she had the bonus of seeing the tags above their heads and thus could estimate the chaos within. Each swipe of their wing would ''cut'' the examinees in half while the mes would burn another group. These wyverns aimed for the easy targets first, those who ran away, lost theirposure and panicked while those who stayed in a group and kept their guard up were ignored for now. As the stragglers continued to decrease, their screams haunted the survivors as they were blind to what was happening. All that surrounded them was darkness. Man''s greatest fear is the fear of the unknown. In this hunting ground of the wyvern''s creation, they were all prey. Watching all of this happen, Alice had a frown on her face as the round was soon over and only 20 people were left in the arena. Even though they survived, their eyes expressed a level of fear they had not anticipated. Some of them even wondered if they should surrender now. If this was what it was like deeper in the Abyss, could they truly survive? ''I suppose the goal of this test is not only to see their proficiencies in different weapons but also how well they fare against unknown enemies. How they react to a situation out of their control with the threat of death around the corner.'' Alice mused. Beside her, there were a few in her group who were boasting about their potential sess. Now that they know they won''t truly die in the arena, it''ll be easier to react. Giving them a side nce, Alice only scoffed inwardly in disdain. There is knowing that something is about to happen and then there is experiencing that said thing. Just because someone said they''ll punch you in the face doesn''t mean you won''t flinch when they do. That was the same with the threat of death. When you are truly under threat, even though you know you won''t die, your mind will y games on you. The threat of the unknown, of you being the exception to this rule and the fear of the pain and coldness thates with death. ''They''ll probably ''die'' first.'' Alice thought to herself as the next group entered the arena. Since their group number was rather high, it''ll take a while before it gets to their turn. It was a great chance to analyse the test and see what could work and what wouldn''t. There were a few examinees who voiced theirints about how those who areingter than them will have it easier. They only lost because they didn''t know what was happening while the onesingter do. Countless excuses andints were shouted but the principal, Department Heads and Special ss students all ignored it. After all, with each passing round, the beasts be more ferocious and hold back less. It was actually far worse if you start the testter! Little by little, people started to notice this and those who were boasting beside her had be pale. Seeing this, a smile crept up on Alice''s before turning her gaze back to the arena. During the time that the other groups had taken the exam, she had already analysed most of what she''s seen. The wyverns were far more dangerous than she originally expected. They had roughly five powers in total that she''d seen them demonstrate. First was the ck mes on their body. Judging by the flow of energy and the amplification shown while they were in the shadows, this me grants them heightened physical attributes in darkness and consumes light to increase this further. Second, they are able to amplify their speed to the extreme in one swift burst. The trade of being the mes dull and their movement slows down for a while. Third, they can use these mes as ranged attacks but they''ve rarely demonstrated this. Fourth, they can change switch between me form and physical form when needed. Parts of their body will transform to avoid attacks but there were certain restrictions around this. Thus far, Alice noticed that as long as the mes don''t bisect their body in half, they can ''absorb'' the attack with the fire. Meaning, if she were to do a horizontal cut with enough speed, she could hit them. The issue with this is that it''ll require both speed and power, both of which shecked dearly if she wished to harm a five star beast. Thest power she observed them use was the one Sigil resonance. In this state, spikes protrude from their body and they enter a berserk state, lunging at the closest target. No more than 3 of the wyverns will enter this state while the other two would protect them. However, they''ve only used this state briefly and the movement was so fast that even Alice lost track of them for a moment. ''If I want to survive that attack, I''ll need to set up some defences around me. Traps that''ll let me know of their location¡­ If I do it well enough, it should give me just about enough time to react.'' She sighed inwardly. Even though she loves a challenge, this was bing far more difficult than she expected. ''Knowing how the previous tests have been, there will probably be an increase in difficulty for me and Ria. We might be their main targets rather than fulfilling certain conditions.'' Those that ran were attacked first. Those who stood their ground were tested and if they were foundcking, eliminated. That was the basic conditions for the wyvern''s attack pattern. As the current group of examinees finished their test, Alice could feel a wave of energy envelop their group''s spectator stands. Understanding that this was their time to shine, she took a deep breath and mentally prepared herself. Shadows enveloped her body as she was transported into the arena. Immediately, Alice felt a chill down her spine as several eyes locked onto her body. Without wasting any time, she made a cut on her arm and mapped the arena with her blood. She needed to get a general idea of where she was right now while also taking into ount of who was where. ''The wyverns are circling around the edges right now. I''m not far from the centre. There are two parties near me who have already grouped up. One is panicking already, and the other is barelyposed. Seems to be a stash of weapons in the middle.'' Alice thought to herself as she turned around and dashed towards the centre. In a situation like this, information was her greatest asset. Without information, she wont be able to react to the movement of the beasts. Her senses were warning her of the impending danger. If she did not act fast and prepare her own hunting ground, she''d be eliminated in a heartbeat! Arriving at the centre of the arena, Alice noticed that two others had the same idea as her. They both had their own methods of mapping around the arena in search of information. One is a girl who was using a multi coloured band of light that wrapped around her arms, the other is a guy who was using ice. Countless snowkes were falling from the sky as Alice guessed that his method was mapping the arena based on what his snowkes touched. "I''m taking the spears. I don''t need anything else. You two can have the rest." Alice spoke first. She didn''t want to use her bloodme de as she wasn''t sure how well it could handle itself against five star beasts that were blood lusted right now. To avoid an ident where her sword snapped in half, she was going to use the spears as disposable weapons. Her goal was not to kill the beasts but to survive. Naturally, she could make weapons using her third Sigil but the amount of metal she could conjure up was limited. If she were to make too many weapons, she won''t be able to make footholds for herself. The beasts will easily break through her defences if they''re just made from blood, hence she was going to mix it with the metal. It''s not a huge improvement but far better than just blood alone. "Shall we group up? The beasts are more likely to attack those that are solo." The girl asked but Alice shook her head. "I''ll pass. You two should get a group as far away from me as possible if you want to survive." She had two options, sabotage other groups so she could get to the end as fast as possible. Or alternatively, she could face the challenge head on and get out with her own skills and experiences. As Allura''s student, she wasn''t going to back down from something like this. Picking up three spears, Alice turned around and left without wasting another moment. She had already picked out a prime location in mind, a spot between four pirs that was empty right now. It was the perfect spot for her to prepare her hunting ground. ### As the round started, both Lothian and Fae focused up as they were curious about how Alice would perform. "She''s already mapped out the arena and found a suitable spot. What were her Sigils again?" Fae asked as Lothian opened his mouth. "Physical reinforcement, me control, blood and metal control. Please read the documents carefully next time if you''re curious." "I know~ But you remind me all the time so it''s easier this way. How well do you think she''ll handle the wyverns that are going to go after her with no restraints?" Fae chuckled. As Special ss students, they knew that Alice was behind the matter of the Hall of Champions which only increased their curiosity. "Who knows. But she might have some trouble since the beasts are genuine five star beasts. They won''t hold back unlike the Hall of Champions." He replied while keeping his eyes on Alice. He wanted to see just how someone who cleared the Hall would fight and study her thought process behind her techniques. Chapter 235: Alice Vs Ghost Flame Wyverns With four pirs surrounding her, Alice immediately created awork of blood threads as well as several tforms to stand on. Once she was satisfied with her hunting ground, Alice sat on the tallest thread and closed her eyes. Snapping her finger, she created a wave of blood mist that permeated the area. ''The minute timer should be up now. People are ''dying'' before they can even scream.'' A silent death is the scariest of all. No sound, only the brief shuffle in this darkness. The wyverns have already begun their hunt and the Examinees are none the wiser. ''Three are on the move. Two are circling around my area. Seems like they''ve locked onto me.'' Opening her eyes slightly, Alice stood up and took a deep breath. They''re waiting for a moment to strike, the moment she lets her guard down. ''They don''t know my strength, but I have an idea of theirs. They''re cautious, these beasts don''t want to jump into my hunting ground blindly.'' Alice was going to keep the situation like this for as long as possible. The longer she stalled like this, the more strength she could save when all hell broke loose. Bloodlust started to emanate from her body as she waited silently for the beasts to fall into her trap. ### "She''s warning them." Fae raised an eyebrow in surprise as she didn''t think a three star Hunter would dare to warn a five star beast. "Seems to be the case." Luke nodded. ''As expected of Allura''s student. They probably went through quite a lot of danger when training with her.'' He mused while noticing the mist that was still expanding around her. Along with the threads and tforms that Alice had set up, there were also puddles of blood surrounding the hunting ground. It was safe to say that this had be her territory even with theck of light due to the Wyvern''s power. Staring at Alice, Lothian was silent and chose not toment before the fight was over. "Well, there''s only so much you can do to warn these beasts. If they judge you as a danger all five will go after you." Fae smiled ominously. ### Furrowing her brows, Alice noticed a significant decrease in attacks around the arena. The beasts who went after stragglers were now circling the area almost as though they were scouting out the dangers. As for the two that she was warning, they simply stood and watched her in silence. ''What are they nning?'' Alice thought with a frown. She wasn''t familiar with these beasts and her knowledge was simply based on what she had seen thus far. ''Well if they''re not attacking then that''s fine too. I doubt the principal and the Department Head of Combat would just watch the round get stalled out.'' Alice shrugged to herself. But the moment her attention fluctuated for a brief moment, she felt killing intent explode towards her. "!!!" Widening her eyes, she sensed all five beasts lunge towards her direction at absurd speeds. Even though she could sense iting through her blood mist and threads, her body was slow to move! ''Above!'' Focusing on the closest attack, Alice bent her body back as the beast crashed down from the area above her. ''One to the right, one below and one behind.'' Calming her mind, Alice sharpened her senses and calcted the best move to make in this situation. Wrapping her disposable spears with her blood, she jumped up and left them behind. Once the beasts were close enough, she snapped her finger. A sea of mes roared out, engulfing the area. But she couldn''t rest easily. Even though her mes could cancel out the abilities of the Abyss, it needed to be able totch onto these beasts first. However, due to the nature of these beasts and how they could turn parts of their body into their own fire, it was hard for the mes to reach the main body. ''If ittches on they''ll just separate that part of them huh? Tsk.'' Clicking her tongue, Alice frowned as a pair of jaws appeared behind her. Gritting her teeth, she created a spear with her third Sigil and lodged it into its maw. Taking this chance, another beast lunged towards her from behind while she was focused on the first beast. Its ws were inches away from hitting her when she twisted her body around and spat out a mouthful of blood. mes erupted in front of her as the beast was forced to jump back in fear. Taking this chance to stabilize the situation, Alice mmed her hand down and all of the threads around herbusted into a sea of violet that warded the beasts off. Cold sweat dripped down her head as she bit off a portion of her tongue in order to drive the beast back. She wasn''t going to use her healing blood just yet since the only injury she received was on her tongue. ''These b*stards are faster than I expected. If it wasn''t for Ca, I wouldn''t even be able to see theming.'' Alice thought to herself while trying to catch her breath. The benefit of being able to see the world in slow motion helped her formte counterattacks and ns against these beasts. Massaging her neck, Alice narrowed her eyes and sensed the beasts through her blood. While the mes were burning through the blood she had set up around the area, they were circling around her like a pack of hungry wolves, waiting for the chance to strike. In the instant she dropped her focus, they attacked with deadly precision. ''They''re really going for me huh? They''re not going after the others¡­ Tsk, I can''t stall this out if they refuse to fight the others.'' Alice frowned when an idea popped into her mind. Since they didn''t want to attack the others, that was fine as well. She''ll drag the beasts to them and kill them as coteral. Naturally, it didn''t mean that she was giving up on this challenge. It was actually the opposite. She was going to take this chance to kill one of them if not more! Focusing her mind to sense who was still panicking, Alice nned a route in her mind as she immediately turned around and dashed towards their general direction. The beasts followed suit with 3 of them catching up instantly. Pivoting on her right foot, Alice leaned down to avoid a horizontal swipe before cleaving up with her blood me de. As expected, the cut was healed instantly thanks to their special property. Creating a spear between her and the beasts, she used it as a tform to kick herself away to create more space. Upon arriving at the first group, Alice''s smile grew wider as they turned towards her in shock. "Yahoo~ Please enjoy this little gift of mine." Aliceughed. Snapping her finger, she blended herself into the crowd and ran away. "Huh? What gift?" "What is she on about?" "Did you guys hear- ARG!!!" "The b*tch brought the beasts here!" "F*ck get into formation!" "The front line is dead jackass!" "S-Sh*t! RUN!" "What do you mean run! It''ll go after us if we run!" "Well if you don''t want to die then ru- ARGGG!" Hearing the chaos behind her, Alice simplyughed before turning her body. Narrowing her eyes towards one of the beasts, she aimed her index and middle finger towards it as mes converged towards her location. She didn''t want to go full power with her Void Flux. For now, she''ll use roughly 10% of her power. *BANG!!!!! Detonating a Void Flux right above the beast, Alice watched as it cried out in pain as it wasn''t able to turn itself into mes fast enough. ''It''ll work!'' Alice grinned as she immediately sensed killing intent aimed towards her. Three of the beasts activated their berserk modes as they instantly manifested next to her. But Alice was prepared. Snapping her finger, strands of blood pierced up from the ground, forming awork of ming wires. The beasts who tried to brute force through this trap found themselves whimpering in pain as the mestched onto their body once they dropped their guard. Dashing out, Alice set her eyes on the next group before creating some distance between her and the beasts. Those who heard the cries earlier realised that someone was dragging the beasts to them! All of them huddled together and pointed their weapons outwards. Their grip, trembling from fear. "Yahoo~ Allow me to give you a gift!" Aliceughed as she appeared before them. "F*ck! I don''t want your gift!" "No refunds~" Grabbing onto his shoulder, Alice flipped herself over their heads as they looked up at her in panic. Right behind her, the jaws of the beast appeared from the shadows. "SH*T!!!" "ARGGG!!!" "Every man for himself! ARGGG!" ### Watching the chaos unfold before them, the Special ss students were speechless while Luke couldn''t help butugh. ''She''s such an asshole.'' He grinned. He understood that Alice knew she was the target hence she dragged the others into her fight. But it was far easier said than done. With the speed of the beasts, it was practically impossible to outrun them. But through her Sigils and the use of meat shields, she was able to constantly create the space needed for her to retaliate with her skill. It may seem cheap to others but for Luke, he could see the philosophy from Allura''s training in her movements. ncing behind him, he couldn''t help but notice the principal''s expression twitch for the first time since he had seen her. For someone who was alwaysposed and mysterious, this was a first. ''Did¡­ Did she just use Nova Core? No¡­ It''s different. But how can she use it? She''s not even four Sigils! How did Allura pass on her skill?'' Countless questions flowed through the principal''s mind as seeing Allura''s skill was not something she had expected to see today. She expected Allura''s fire techniques,bat techniques and even her advanced techniques. But her ultimate skill was not one of them! ''What kind of monster did Allura even train?'' She sighed inwardly, wondering what else there was to discover. If Alice could already use Allura''s ultimate skill, what else could she do? Chapter 236: Alice Vs Ghost Flame Wyverns Part 2 Within the cover of darkness, screams of panic rang out. Cries of terror that echoed one after another. "Sh*t! It''s the crazy b*tch! Run!" "Don''t let her drop the beasts on you!" "Get the f*ck away from me!" Wherever Alice ran, screams would follow. The entire arena was notified on her existence while those watching from above couldn''t help but pale at the sight of Alice. Even those from other groups feared her. As for Ria, she simplyughed. Meanwhile, despite her enjoyment of dragging others into the death trap, the smile on her face faltered after seeing the beasts shrug off attack after attack. Their regeneration and resilience were simply on another level and she could feel her fatigue catching up on her. Sensing danger behind her, she rolled to the side just in time to see a ming w miss her head. Twisting her body, she gritted her teeth and shed up with the blood me de. *CLANG!!! Widening her eyes, she was shocked to see the beast tank her hit head on without transforming her both. ''Sh*t.'' Adjusting her grip on the de to enter a parrying stance, Alice braced herself for impact as the beast''s tail mmed into her body. *BANG!!! Her body was flung away as she rolled violently on the ground. Pushing herself back on her feet, Alice frowned. Her left side was stinging from the hit and her arm was injured. Even with her blood control being able to stop the bleeding, it didn''t heal the damage done to her body. Flipping backwards, Alice dodged another attack by the beast when another appeared behind her. Widening her eyes, she turned around and fired a Void Flux. But it was a bait! Alice''s attack missed as the beast dodged her counter and opened its mouth. A torrent of mes exploded out and engulfed Alice. Crashing to the ground, mes continued to burn as some of the spectators frowned. The mes should''ve killed her and thus teleported out yet she was still in the arena unmoving! Whispers of doubt and worry started to spread through the crowd. A few looked towards the principal and Special ss Students but they weren''t saying anything. Back in the arena, the beasts started to circle Alice with two aiming for other students. Three of the beasts slowly approached her in a mix of confusion and wariness. But just as they took a step towards her, Alice snapped into action! Lunging forward, she readied her de. An insane smile appeared on Alice''s face as her eyes focused on the beast before her. Sigils red across her body as a single image appeared in her mind. The sight of Gin''s sh. A demonstration of a Lord''s power. If it was him, he''d be able to cut through these beasts even with their strange physical properties. Using the knowledge she gained from mastering Void Flux and the movement of energy, Alice coated her de with ayer of blood before detonating it with her mes. Void Flux is a skill that copses the space surrounding the me she creates. If she was to use the skill she stole from the swordswoman she met while hunting her third Sigil then it could work! Through thebination of these two skills, she''ll be able to replicate Gin''s sh. Her breathing calmed, her mind focused and then, she struck! Putting her theory into action, the mes began to twist and turn across her de. As the me sliced through the air, the air around the de started to distort. The purple and red mes red out before transforming into countless white sparks, warping the space around her sh. Cleaving into the beast, it was as though a vacuum was opened up. A torrent of mes and sparks rushed into the beast before detonating! *BANG!!! Shredding through the beast, the sh tore apart the shadows that permeated this arena, revealing the devastation of her attack. In the silence of the spectators, a single de cleaved a five star beast in half. Its eyes widened with fear, shock and disbelief as the two halves copsed on the floor. Panting heavily, Alice looked at her de with a bitter smile. A single crack formed across the body before the de shattered into countless shards. It was unable to contain the power behind it and thus broke as a result. ''Sorry, I got too eager.'' Alice apologised in her mind. Sighing deeply, she threw aside her jacket. When the wyverns had set her on fire, she had created ayer of protective violet mes to feed on the attack. It allowed her to take them by surprise. But just as she turned around, she saw the principal standing in front of the two wyverns who were ring at Alice with unrelenting blood lust and hate. "Calm yourselves. I''ll bring him back, it was just an ident. She didn''t know." The principal tried to calm the beasts down while Alice felt a chill down her spine. She could tell that these beasts wanted her dead and this time they didn''t care if the principal was protecting her! "I think you''ve done enough today. Go rx yourself." The principal nced back before snapping her finger. Blood mist enveloped Alice''s body as she was teleported back to the spectator stands. As for the beast that Alice killed, the principal simply teleported it away along with the other wyverns in the arena. Meanwhile, those who were familiar with the recent rumours were frozen in shock. After Alice threw her jacket away, they could see her defining details and understood she was the one who cleared the Hall of Champions. First came anger towards her making the test harder but then came helplessness. She had just killed a five star beast! What could they do against her? "The test will continue but we will be adjusting the rules." The principal called out after teleporting the wyverns away. Enveloping the beasts and herself in ayer of blood, she teleported away while Garret took over. ### In an undisclosed location, the principal bit down on her wrist and poured out blood for the dead wyvern. Little by little, the blood started to reconstruct its body as light returned to its eyes. "Sorry, it was my choices that led to this." She apologized once more as the beasts rubbed their heads against her. Patting them on the head, there was a serious expression on her face. The techniques she demonstrated definitely, without question, originated from Abyss Lords. Which then begs the question of how she even learned them. ''The techniques of an Abyss Lord aren''t something that can be passed on easily. It''s a culmination of their understanding and control over their powers. And knowing Allura, she wouldn''t teach someone her Nova Core skill until they''re ready. The burden is simply too much on the body. ''Then there''s her sh¡­ It''s not perfect but it shows signs of understanding that only an Abyss Lord would know¡­'' Her frown deepened. She simply didn''t know how Alice was able to replicate these attacks. Even for her, she found it difficult to achieve. Not only that, she was also like a nk canvas. She didn''t know if Alice knew it or not but herst trick of covering her body with mes to protect herself was the same method of these Wyverns only modified to suit herself. ''Is she simply a genius? Or does it have something to do with her Sigils? Her records state that she has physical boost, poison blood, blood and metal control and finally, me control¡­ There''s nothing there that will suggest that she can copy skills.'' Massaging her eyes, she sighed. At first, she found this interesting but now it was tiring. If she could help it, she would avoid getting involved if possible. But now that Alice was enrolling, it was unavoidable. "Where''s Allura when you need her." She sighed. ### Back at the arena, the people in Alice''s group looked at her with a mix of fear and anger as she was the cause of their elimination. But the power she demonstrated sent chills down their spine. Meanwhile, Alice simply sat alone and crossed her legs, not caring that they were staring at her. She looked down at the de once more and sighed. ''Until I can control that sh, I don''t think I can buy a sword that can withstand that attack.'' Alice thought with a frown. It was essentially a different form of Void Flux but made to mimic Gin''s attack. Sheathing her broken de in its sheath and tying it with some thread to prevent it from falling out, Alice nced at her obsidian bracelet. Perhaps only this de would be able to withstand that attack, but she didn''t want to risk it until she''s gained more understanding. For now, she decided to give the attack a name. Void Flux ¨C Cleave. With a new skill in her arsenal of attacks, Alice turned her focus back on the arena. It was now Ria''s turn and with the incident of thest exam, the details were changed. Instead of survival against a beast, Garret had changed it into a survival of the fittest. It was a free for all until only 20 examinees remain. Those that ''die'' will be teleported out of the arena as per usual. With this rule in ce, everyone began to look at one another with hostility while Ria simple nced around her with a rxed smile. After seeing Alice replicate her grandfather''s attack, her blood was now pumping. She wanted to show off skills of her own and she had a perfect candidate for this. During her training with Kaden, he had exined to her some theories behind a few ranged attacks she could do with lightning. But at the time, she wasn''t able to achieve any sess with them. This time, she''ll take this moment to practice. Massaging her neck, lightning started to crackle across her body as excitement rushed through her veins. Chapter 237: Rias Demonstration Of Power As the round began, countless Sigil abilities were thrown around the arena as Ria threw a bolt of lightning to the sky. Swapping ces with the bolt, she looked down at the arena and smiled. Without holding anything back, Ria activated her resonance. The crackle and rumble of lightning roared out as a set of armour materialised around her.The Sigils engraved upon her body lit up with radiance as dark clouds gathered above her. Within this cloud, countless orbs of lightning descended as the examinees were confused by the set up. Some reacted quickly and aimed their attacks at Ria but she simply teleported around while static electricity started to build up around the area. An overwhelming dread filled their hearts as restrictive abilities targeted Ria. Watching the chains rush towards her, Ria flicked her finger as streaks of lightning crashed into the attacks, shattering them. "Your fate was sealed the moment I stepped into this arena. Survive if you can." Ria grinned. Suddenly, a man appeared beside her as he pulled back with his greatsword and cleaved towards her. But Ria expected this as she had essentially made herself the biggest target in the arena. Remembering Kaden''s words, she couldn''t help butugh. "When they find joy in closing the gap after thinking you''re a ranged fighter, hit them with everything you got. Don''t hold anything back as their reaction will be dulled by their misconception of you." Side-stepping his sh, Ria grabbed his arm with her left hand before pulling back her right. Three marks appeared on her arm as lightning crackled around her fist. Three coils of lightning formed above them as Ria held her breath and punched him as hard as she could. *BANG!!!! A giant bolt of lightning crashed down at the same time as her punch, forming a cross on her location as the man was sent out of the arena! He died in one punch! Floating in the air with lightning crackling around her along with a mad smile, Ria looked like the manifestation of a lightning god. Looking up at the clouds, Riaughed as she raised her hand and manifested a lightning bow before aiming it at the arena. Drawing back the bowstring, the air hummed with electricity before gathering into a single arrow. Once again, coils of lightning manifested but this time in front of her bow. It took 3 to kill the man from earlier but this time she had six in total! Narrowing her eyes, Ria released the arrow. A bolt of lightning shot towards the arena as the ground trembled from its might. With the departure of the arrow, the clouds above parted with a deafening roar, revealing an array of countless lightning bolts that descended beside the arrow. Each bolt crackled and sizzled with lightning energy, ready to obliterate anyone who got in the way of its path! As the fury of countless lightning bolts descended into the arena a mass of examinees found themselves teleported outside of the arena before they could react! "Well, would you look at that? A few survived while some got lucky." Ria chuckled as shended on the ground. Narrowing her eyes, she created a thunderstorm of lightning bolts as her figure shed across the arena. Appearing in front of a girl holding a staff while a protective dome was around her, Ria pressed her left hand against the barrier and pulled back her right arm. "You wouldn''t¡­" The girl forced a smile out of fear. "I would." Ria grinned. Stomping down with her foot, she twisted her body and punched the barrier. *BANG!!! SHATTER! Breaking the barrier in an instant, lightning rushed forth and crashed into the girl, teleporting her out of the arena in an instant. Another death by one punch! Massaging her neck, Ria jumped on the spot a few times before disappearing from her location. "S-SH*T! This one''s another abnormal one!" "F*ck! Everyone! Focus on eliminating her!" Cries of panic rang out as Ria teleported around the arena, focusing on ''killing'' those who were able to defend against her initial barrage of attacks. No matter what kind of defensive measure they used, she would simply stack up the number of marks on her arm to increase her power. With each punch, a lightning cross would manifest as the clouds above struck down on her target. Each cross signified a death as the numbers began to dwindle. Seeing Ria appear in front of him, one of the examinees paled as he gritted his teeth and decided to face her head on! He wasn''t going to let himself be eliminated without even fighting back. Golden energy wrapped around his arms as he formed four goldennces around him. Lunging forward, he stabbed towards Ria''s punch with ance as the others followed. *CRACK!!! Just as hisnce collided with Ria''s fists, it was shattered apart from the impact. Watching the fist get closer and closer to his face, he felt as though he was seeing his life sh before his eyes. Closing his eyes, he braced for the punch that was about to ''kill'' him when he noticed the pain never arrived. Opening one of his eyes barely, he saw that she had stopped her punch while looking back at Garret who dered the end of the test. One of the other groups had eliminated a few people beside them. Their idea was that if they couldn''t fight Ria, they may as well eliminate the weaker ones to the test ended faster! Flicking her wrist, Ria disabled her resonance as the clouds above disappeared. She stretched her body and looked at the destruction around her before smiling in satisfaction. It was safe to say that she had proven herself quite spectacrly just like Alice did. Watching all of this happen, Garret scratched his chin. Even though he should be happy that there were strong candidates for his Combat Department, he couldn''t help but feel as though a headache was on its way towards him. ''What''s wrong with this generation? Why are there two abnormal monsters suddenly?!'' He sighed inwardly. The power behind her punches were something that far exceeded what could be achieved by her peers. After dering the conclusion of the enrolment Exams, the next step would be the Student Exams. First, there was going to be a lunch break while they sort out the list of those who passed and those who failed. The results will be announced once the break was over. Concluding his announcement, Garret pped his hand and dismissed the arena around them. Finding themselves back at the courtyard, all of the contestants stood far away from both Alice and Ria. "Look at what you''ve done. You''ve scared them." Aliceughed as she nced around them. "Says you! Who was it that decided to cut one of those wyverns in half?!" Ria rolled her eyes. She was basically the pot calling the kettle ck! "I mean~ My target is a beast. Look at those poor Hunters, your punch practically traumatized them." Alice shrugged while pointing at the Hunters who looked at Ria in fear having experienced death at her hand. "It''s not like they died since they got teleported out. Either way, let''s get some food. I''m starving." Ria smiled while Alice followed behind her. "Do you think they''ll have mead?" "At an Academy? Hell no." While the two were joking around with one another, they didn''t realise that their infamy were now well known amongst the student body with a few even giving them nicknames. Most of the nicknames were variations of ''Crazy B*tch'' for Alice and for Ria, it was ''One Punch Woman''. As for Luke¡­ He simply smiled silently after seeing Ria''s performance. The way she punched the examinees to death in one go sent a chill down his spine as he wondered if he should tone down his teasing of her. But it was a risk he was willing to take or else he wouldn''t have kept doing it for years. ### "How are the results?" The principal asked as she teleported to the Heads of Department along with the Special ss Students. Listening to the run down of the situation, she couldn''t help but raise an eyebrow at the mention of Ria''s attack and how she performed. ''This strategy and logic¡­ Don''t tell me¡­'' "Xinbei, can you show me a rey?" "Sure thing boss." Xinbei replied while scratching his hair. Gathering ink into his palm, an orb slowly materialised itself as a recording of the fight was ced in front of the principal. Watching the yback silently, she took a deep breath and sighed. ''So¡­ Allura and someone else is teaching Alice while Kaden is teaching Ria. What are they even nning? Or have they broke neutrality and began to make a move?'' She thought silently as her fingers tapped against the arm rest. The Heads of Department waited as they didn''t want to break the silence. "Alright. We''ll make some further adjustments. Garret, I want you to find a suitable location in the Inverted World and set up a beacon. Here are a list of locations that might suit the test. Xinbei, I want you to lead the Student grading exams. ra,e with me. I need you to make some vials of blood." She smiled as Xinbei and Garret nodded. "Ehhh¡­ Do I have to go? Can''t I get Runi to do it?" ra groaned as she wanted to keep watching Alice do the exams. "Didn''t you want to make something from my blood for a while now? I''m giving you a chance." She smirked as ra paused and a grin appeared on her face. "Well of course~ Why didn''t you say so earlier? It''s a shame that I can''t see the exams but I can have Xinbei record it for me. Isn''t that right?" ra smiled, turning to Xinbei who only sighed and nodded his head. He was essentially recording p*rn for her right now. But he owed her and couldn''t exactly say no. With the tasks handed out, they split up as Xinbei made his way to the courtyard to announce the results and the next stage of the exams. Chapter 238: Exam In The Inverted World Once everyone was gathered in the courtyard once more, Xinbei cleared his throat before snapping his fingers. Behind him, several ink banners manifested as names could be seen on the surface. "If you see your name on the list, you have passed the initial exams. Those who can''t find their names, I must ask you to leave the Academy as we prepare for the next stage of the exams." After this announcement, he waited as everyone looked for their names. Naturally, Alice and Ria found their name pretty quickly as it''ll be more confusing if they didn''t pass. Next to their name, it also showed them their scores for different tests. For Alice, she received full marks on thebat, 80% on the Theory and a fat 0 for the handicrafts. Ria on the other hand had full marks on Combat, a fat 0 for Theory and 0 for Handicrafts. Little by little, people started to filter out from the courtyard as they had failed. Countless angry res were shot towards Alice and Ria who simply smiled it off. It wasn''t like it was their fault to begin with. Though that was debatable considering it was their appearance that caused the spike in difficulty. There were a few who tried to sneak past but they were promptly escorted out. Once there were only those that passed remaining, Xinbei stepped up once more. "We now move onto the Student Exams. As you may know, our students are split into several ssifications. From the bottom, we have Basic Students, Normal Students, Advanced Students and at the very top, Special ss Students. "For those that have sessfully enrolled just now, you will be given all of the tests with the exception of Special ss to see where you will be ced. For Students, you will be given a task belonging to the next grade up. "Due to certain circumstances of this year''s exam, we will be making further adjustments. Everyone will be split into groups of our choosing and explore a different part of the Inverted World. "Each group will be given a main task toplete as a team for more points towards your evaluation and personal tasks that determine whether you rank up or not." Xinbei exined as a diagram appeared on the ink behind him. The rules of the second exam were simple. Each group had to raid a certain location in the Inverted World. Within the Inverted World, there were certain ''relics'' and treasures you can obtain. Whether they be replicas of weapons in the past or certain Abyss Bloods that were extremely hard to obtain now, each treasure you recover will give you extra points. Thinking to herself, Alice remembered what Xinbei said when they first met. That the Inverted World was like another pathway into the Abyss. Not only that, certain knowledge that only Abyss Lords should be privy too were potentially open to them. After exining the rules, he began to distribute the groups. Alice and Ria were split up into different groups since they both were going to take the Special ss Exams. Looking up at the Inverted World, Alice couldn''t help but feel a wave of excitement and anticipation in her heart. She had been interested in this ever since she stepped foot into this city and now, it was time for her to enter. Her group consisted of 5 people including her. They looked at Alice with worry and wariness as she simply held up her hands. "We''re working as a group right? Don''t worry I''m not going to drag the beasts your way." She reassured with a smile. "Right¡­ I suppose we need self introductions since we''ll be working with one another. I''m Matheo and I''m primarily a front liner. I have 3 Sigils, Anti Beast resonance and I focus on locking down beasts in a one vs one." Matheo introduced himself. He was tall and bulky with rugged features and a stubble. He had chestnut coloured hair and wore a set of ted armour along with a greatsword. "Selena, controller. Three Sigils, Anti Beast resonance. I focus on making beasts fight one another." Selena has short purple hair, a ck and white dress along with arge umbre. She was using the umbre as a cover of sorts, hiding her face from the others, especially Alice. "Luna. Handicrafts student. Three Sigils but they''re not great forbat. Instead, I''ll be supporting you with my tools that I''ve made." Luna has blonde hair, blue eyes and wore a pair of goggles on her head. She wore a Handicraft uniform adorned with several pouches and belts that held her gadgets. On her back was arge backpack that was filled to the brim. "Frode. Theory student. I can be the alchemist of the group. Four Sigils, Anti Hunter Resonance." Simr to ra, Frode had stiches across his body, but he kept it covered using arge cloak and a face mask. It was hard to tell what was beneath his cloak and Alice wasn''t that interesting in prying it open. After they introduced one another, it was Alice''s turn. "Alice. Frontliner and controller. Three Sigils, Anti Hunter Resonance. I focus on using blood, metal and mes. Of course, I can also be ranged support if you wish." Alice chuckled. "So we have two frontliners, a controller, ranged support and an alchemist. Would you be okay with being flexible? Swapping between frontline and ranged support when needed?" Matheo asked curiously as Alice made an okay sign with her fingers. "Of course." Once they sorted out their formation, they could see Xinbei and ra approaching them. "Here is your main task. After entering the Inverted World, there will be someone there to give you a map of the location. Your goal is to go south bound and venture into the heart of the Shadow Gorge. There will be a relic held within the deepest crevices of the gorge. A scythe made from the fang of Dragon. "That will be your main task. Here is a checklist of your personal tasks. You don''t have to do all of them as we will be taking your performance into consideration while you''re in the Inverted World." Xinbei exined while handing out a slip of paper to each of them. Receiving her sheet, Alice raised an eyebrow after seeing the objectives. [Special ss Personal Tasks ¨C Alice Agnelia] Kill [Blood Song Lich] Kill [Void Witch] Kill [Umbral Chain Siren] Prove your might against the Church of the Moon and retrieve [Starfall Scepter] Four tasks for the title of Special ss Student. The fourth being one to go against the Church of the Moon within the Inverted World. "How strong are these beasts?" Alice asked curiously while Xinbei simply smiled. "You will find out when you gather data about them during your stay in the Inverted World. Everything you do whilepleting your task will be observed." Nodding her head, Alice nced to ra who had been staring at her non-stop. "Don''t¡­ Don''t mind her. She''s here to distribute the blood you will be needing for this exam." Xinbei coughed before nudging ra with his elbow. Even though the others couldn''t see it, he noticed her appendages being busy beneath herb coat. "Okay¡­" Furrowing her brows, Alice shrugged. Once they were done with familiarizing themselves with their tasks, ra handed them each a vial of blood while Xinbei gave them a small ck orb. When ra had given Alice the vial of blood, she didn''t do anything strange which surprised Xinbei considering her previous actions. "The blood will protect you while the orb while record everything that happens. Good luck in the Inverted World." Leaving the group to themselves, the two made their way to the next group. Giving ra a nce, Xinbei noticed that she would asionally look back. "I know what you''re thinking Xinbei, you don''t have to make it obvious by keep staring at me. I''ll get shy." ra shrugged. "Have you ever met a celebrity by your standards? Seeing her up close made my head go pew. I didn''t want to scare her." Hearing this, Xinbei nodded his head in understanding. "So basically, you got cold feet." Heughed as she jabbed him in the ribs with an appendage. "Please tell me that wasn''t used." He frowned. ". . . I''m not that shameless." "But you''re shameless enough to touch yourself while on the job." Xinbei raised an eyebrow while ra simply grinned with a blush. "The threat of being discovered is half the fun." "Perv." After distributing all of the tasks along with the protective measures of the blood and orbs, Xinbei lead everyone to the Combat Department that was located directly beneath the Inverted World. In the main hall, there was a tform that was simr to what Alice and Ria saw in the special sparring rooms. Ritualistic carvings surrounded the walls as Xinbei stood in the centre with ra. While he was doing his speech, Alice felt as though something was off. She wasn''t sure if it was something wrong with her or the room itself. It felt as though she was underwater, the sounds around her were dampened while energy pulsed around the crystalline orb above them that represented the Inverted World. A soft rhythm thumped in her ear. *Ba-dum¡­ Ba-dum¡­ Ba-dum¡­ ''A heartbeat?'' Alice thought to herself. She wondered if it was her own as she had heard the same thing when getting hit across the head. The blood that rushed to impact zone while her heartbeat rang against her ear. But this was something different. Almost eerie. As Xinbei concluded his final speech and wished the Examinees a sessful exam, the carvings around the room lit up with an ethereal glow. Energy converged towards her as she noticed something strange. The ink orb and blood that Xinbei had given him started to bubble and crack before breakingpletely. Before she could react and ask about this abnormality, her body was teleported away. ### Sitting on her chair with a pale face, the principal was recovering from losing so much blood and power for the students when she felt something pulse out from the Inverted World. A pulse that resonated with her on a far deeper level than anything she had ever expected. Sitting up, her face paled as she remembered this sensation. "Sh*t!" For the first time, her calm and mysterious aura broke apartpletely as there was pure panic in her face. ### Sitting up, Kaden widened his eyes before snapping his fingers. The raven he had left in Alice''s shadow was killed. "Sh*t¡­" Chapter 239: Heartbeat In the depths of the Abyss, a flickering trail of fire battled against a giant demonic beast. Large obsidian horns, a pair of wings that dwarfed the area, countless spiked scales across its body and arge red crystal in its chest with a tail that mmed the ground behind it. Jumping into the air, Allura red at the beast as she snapped her finger and created two sparks of light in front of her. Firing them towards the beast, she watched as it batted the attack away with its wings before cracking open its jaw. Crimson lightning rushed up from the ground and sky as an orb of destruction formed. *BANG!!! Watching the torrent of energy fire towards her, Allura twisted her hand as another spark appeared before her. Within that instant, the spark detonated into a kaleidoscope of colours that erased the torrent of energy. Taking several deep breaths, sweat dripped from Allura''s head as she reached into her jacket and pulled out a cigarette. With trembling hands, she brought it to her mouth before mes erupted from her body. "Taranis, enough of this sh*t." Allura snapped as she red at the beast in front of her. mes raged around her body as her anger skyrocketed. "For you maybe. But you''ve grown weak Allura. Feeble even. Where is the might you boasted in the old era? Where is the might you were so proud of? Executioner of the Abyss?" Taranis let out a deepugh as lightning coursed through its body. Hearing this, Allura''s smile twitched as she nced back into the distance. Gin was currently engaged in his own fight as his Avatar of Death raged above the crimson skies, tearing apart the space and letting down a ck mist that enveloped thends. "Maybe I''m just taking pity on you. We''re old acquaintances after all." Allura forced augh as she adjusted her posture. "Spare me your bravado. Since we''re old acquaintances, I''ll let you live if you hand me that dying Authority." Taranis grinned. The beast could tell Allura was far weaker than her prime. "At the end of everything, you''re just like the others. Greedy for this Authority." Allura sighed as she pulled her hair back and took another drag of her cigarette. "After today, the Abyss shall lose one more Lord." She narrowed her eyes. The mes around her red out before transforming into a pure white me. As her aura continued to climb, the Abyss started to tremble from her presence. The perpetual crimson skies above faded as light descended around the battlefield. Raising her hand, she gritted her teeth and punched the space in front of her. *CRACK!!!! From the depths of the fracture, she reached in with her hand before pulling out a single de. The de gleamed with an otherworldly radiance as its edge was forged from the very fabric of space. Engraved along its length were intricate ritualistic markings that pulsed with foreign energy that Taranis was unfamiliar with. Pulling out the de in its entirety, the sword hummed with power, resonating with Allura as mes coalesced into ck and silver armour that wrapped around her body. A ck and white dress could be seen beneath the armour as a single crest was visible upon its surface. The crest of Ayr, a ck moon surrounded by a spiked halo. A ball of mes enveloped Allura''s head as a spiked headpiece revealed itself, covering the upper half of her face. Her ck hair faded into a pristine white, pure and untainted like the moon. Behind her, a spectral halo and six pairs of silver wings unfurled themselves as she aimed the de towards Taranis. Anti Beast Resonance! Taranis wanted to interrupt but a suffocating aura restrained her in ce. Invisible chains hindered her movements while the Abyss itself hailed the arrival of the Executioner. "You say I''ve grown weak. But the reality is that you''re just not strong enough for me to go all out. Before me, all defences shall be rendered null!" Allura shouted as she snapped her finger. A pulse of energy erupted out from around her as the space around them froze. White and ck energy red around Allura''s de as she took a step forward and cleaved up with her de. *CRACK!!! A single sh exploded forth, shattering the space and obliterating everything that met the strike. But Taranis refused to be ended like this. Sacrificing its wing to dodge the strike, the beast hissed in pain before punching down with its fist. Lightning exploded out as Allura was dragged into the beast''s personal realm. Upon reaching six Sigils for Humans or six Stars for beasts, they be blessed by the Abyss with a Second Resonance. A personal realm where their powers are enhanced to the limit! For Gin, he chose to do the opposite. He would bring out his avatar rather than drag people into his realm. For Taranis, it wanted to drag Allura in so she lost the blessings of the Abyss! Looking up at the sky, Allura could see a pair of wings crafted from pure lightning as Taranis hovered beneath its light. Taranis'' Second Resonance was a realm forever ravaged by lightning and in this realm, it ruled as Sovereign. There was no need for anymore words. Without hesitation, Taranis struck towards Allura but her expression didn''t even flinch. Snapping her finger, a familiar energy pulsed out, halting the attack as she twisted her body and let out another sh. After the first, came the second sh. Then the third, then the forth. The number of shes continued to climb as Taranis widened its eyes at the sheer number of shes that Allura was releasing, each one with the power to break the space apart. "I have to thank you. If you didn''t drag me in here I might actually have to be worried about the damages." Allura called out in a monotone voice as she pulled her hand back for a final strike. The edge of her de flickered with the same spark of her Nova Core as she disappeared from her spot before reappearing in front of Taranis! Executioner''s de! As her final strike descended, the space was no longer paused as all of her strikes crashed towards Taranis. Unable to defend itself, the beast''s realm was shattered as countless shes tore into its body. Before it could even let out a roar of defiance, Allura''s final strike tore through all of its defences and burned through its essence. A spark detonated within the epicentre of her strike as the realm copsed inwards, destroying all evidence of Taranis'' existence. ncing back at the singrity that was created from her strike, she could see the realm reflected upon its mirror like surface. Snapping her finger, the space repaired itself as her first Resonance disappeared. Her hair returned to normal and her armour faded. Landing on the ground heavily, she stumbled over to arge bolder and copsed with her back against it. *COUGH!! Coughing up a mouthful of blood into her hand, she simply sighed before pulling out a cigarette. Watching the fight in the distance, she could see that Gin will eventually win the fight but he''ll fail to kill the Abyss Lord he was against. "Let me give you some help." She chuckled as she aimed her finger towards the direction of the battle. Narrowing her eyes, the space above them shattered apart to reveal a single white spark that shot towards the enemy Lord who paled at the sight and immediately retreated. With her interference, Gin was able to leave asting wound on the Lord which burned with the power of death. "You''ve be sloppy Gin. Not much of a Lord of Death if your opponent walks away after a fight." Alluraughed, seeing Gin sit down next to her. He was covered with wounds while gesturing her to give him a cigarette as well. "Shut up. I''m not as young as I once was." Gin groaned while ncing at her wounds. "You pushed yourself again didn''t you?" Staying silent, Allura shrugged her shoulders. "So where are we going next? With you killing Taranis, the war in this area should settle down somewhat. They''ll be too preupied with recovering from the loss of an Abyss Lord." "Let''s go up ayer. You''re in no shape to follow me down, it''ll be better if we focus our efforts above for now." Allura replied as the two of them watched the battle in the distance. A war between those who have yet to achieve the rank of Lord. "As you wish. But with just the two of us, especially you in this state, it''s not going to be easy. The more you fight, the more the others will realise." Gin frowned. "So be it. It''s not like I''ll die to a random Lord that shows up." Alluraughed. Just as Gin was about to retort, he paused. *Ba-dum!... Ba-dum!!... Ba-dum!!! Standing up, he furrowed his brows as he looked around in confusion. The heartbeat continued to beat as it resonated with something deep within. An unknown emotion surged forth while confusion filled his mind. Surprise, happiness, anticipation. A myriad of emotions assaulted his mind. "What the hell?" He looked towards Allura for answers. She had dropped her cigarette as her pupils shrunk in shock. "Sh*t¡­ I should''ve known." She muttered while forcing herself to stand up. "Change of ns Gin. We NEED to divert all of their attention to us, no more holding back." "What''s going on Allura?" Gin frowned as he hadn''t seen Allura be this anxious before. "Every single Lord, whether they be in the Abyss or on the Surface has felt that. The issue is that the Lords belonging to the Churches felt it too, no exceptions." Allura scratched her hair as this was a miscalction on her part. She knew that since Alice and Ria were looking for Luke, they''ll find the Inverted World. What she didn''t expect was for Ca to have such a big reaction. It simply meant that she was a lot closer to waking up than what she had originally anticipated. If they don''t divert the attention of the Churches towards them, the Churches will spare no effort in tracking down Ca. And by extension, Alice. "Alice?" Gin asked as Allura nodded. *Sigh¡­ "Alright, but we need to get some healing first. No matter how dire this is, you won''t be able to do much if you continue to fight in this state." Agreeing with Gin, the two disappeared from the battlefield. Chapter 240: Strange City In The Inverted World After being teleported away, Alice felt as though she was falling through a mass of shadows. A sensation not unlike what she felt when she was sent into the Abyss by Kaden. She could feel countless stares examining her body, the origin of these stares was unknown but they sent a chill down her spine. A sense of weightlessness overwhelmed her mind as she realised that she was now falling through the sky! ''S-Sh*t!'' Looking around her, she noticed a city in the distance. Despite the darkness that surrounded the Abyss, this city stood bathed in radiant light. Throughout the city, hues of white and gold decorated the houses while a band of celestial blue light flowed through the streets like a silken banner. At the centre of the city stood a grand castle, its architecture resembling that of a sacred cathedral with a single crest carved into the centre. The crest of a moon surrounded by a halo of spikes or rather in this case, the glow from the moon. Its walls, crafted from pristine white stone seemed to radiate a divine aura while overlooking the city below. Looking at this city, a sense of nostalgia, longing and sadness overwhelmed her heart as tears flowed from the corner of her eyes. "Dammit! This is no time to think about this crap!" The biggest danger right now was that she was about to fall to her death! Making a cut on her arm, she tried to manipte the blood around her but something seemed to interfere with her control of the Sigil. Widening her eyes, Alice realised that she couldn''t use her powers to save herself! With the grounding closer and closer, Alice gritted her teeth and looked at her gloves. ''F*ck it! If it breaks then it breaks!'' Installing the thread as fast as possible, she flicked her wrist and sent the hoot towards a tree that was quite far from hernding spot. Her goal was to reel herself in and redirect her movement from falling to swinging horizontally! As the mechanism pulled the thread back, Alice could hear the stress being put into the device but there was no time to worry about that. Holding onto the gloves with her spare hand in order to distribute the force to her arms and shoulder rather than just her right shoulder, Alice held her breath and pulled as hard as she could. *BANG!!!! Swinging herself using the thread, she crashed against the ground at a diagonal angle and rolled across the dirt. The mechanism in the gloves could not handle the sudden force and broke apart while Alice tried her best to reduce the injuries she would sustain. Once she slowed down, shey in the pit of her own making. The dirt crumbled around her and fell onto her outfit. Spitting out some stray dirt thatnded in her mouth, Alice looked up at the sky and let out a deep sigh. "First Kaden threw me into the gods dammed Abyss Waters and now Xinbei''s teleporter sent me into the sky where I can''t even use my Sigils. No wonder people don''t like to use the teleporters." Aliceined in annoyance. Reaching into her pouch, she wanted to see how many vials of blood were still intact from her fall. Since she needed the healing vials, she made sure to protect the pouch to avoid the vials shattering. Out of her stock of 10, only 6 remained. 3 vials of healing, 1 vial of berserk and one vial of her own blood. But considering what happened during the fall, she wasn''t sure if her own blood was still useful in this regard. Shaking her head, she grabbed one of the healing vials and drank the contents in one go. However, contrary to what she expected, the blood stopped working after a brief moment. It wasn''t her body acting up either, the effects simply disappeared. ''Is there something blocking the Abyss here?'' Alice thought with a frown. Reaching into her jacket, Alice paused after remembering the orb and vial of blood Xinbei had given her broke apart just before she teleported. Meaning she was stranded here. None of her group members were around her, she was on her own. Climbing out of the pit she created, Alice nced back and looked at the trail of destruction caused by hernding. Seeing the ground being dug up from her impact, her smile twitched. She was grateful that each Sigil would passively reinforce her body without her needing to drink vials of Abyss Blood. After all, if she tried to survive that fall with her feeble physique from before she got her Sigils, even if she swung herself at thest moment, she would be a blood smear on the ground. Dusting off the dirt on her dress, Alice needed to figure out where she was right now and how she could leave the Inverted World. ''Xinbei said that this is a reflection of the past. A passageway. If that''s the case then there are probably people around here as well. I doubt they''ll take it kindly if I told them they''re a fragment of the past.'' Alice mused to herself. Climbing up a tree, Alice could see the strange city in the distance. To her right was a river, to her left were ins and some small viges while behind her was a main road that connected everything together. So far, she hadn''t seen anyone walk by. Without her hood, she looked somewhat like an aristocrat, if you ignored the dirt on her body. Frilled white shirt, a bow tie, a ck skirt, stockings and shoes. In the end, she decided to go to the river for now and clean some of the dirt from her body. She couldn''t do much about her outfit but she could at least keep herself clean. While she was making her way to the river, Alice wanted to see what was skill possible and what wasn''t. Her first Sigil and third Sigil were ''sealed''. Same with her blood control. However, her mes were still avable. ''Is it because my mes go against the Abyss? That would exin why I can use the mes but not the blood control my second Sigil also provides.'' Alice thought to herself. Looking at the gloves and broken sword, a bitter smile formed on her face. "Seems like it''s just us two again." She muttered while holding up her obsidian bracelet. Seeing this bracelet, a thought came to her mind as she immediately rummaged through her jacket and found Kaden''s feather along with Allura''s amulet. But both of these items felt lifeless andcked the energy from before. ''Urg¡­ It''s not that easy huh?'' Alice had thought that she could''ve found an easy way out using their help. Looking at her reflection, everything seemed to be normal. Ca inhabited her right eye socket while her left was same as usual. Split hair and the crown that floated above her head that refused to disappear. It was a little conspicuous but there was nothing she could do about it. After giving herself a quick wash, experimented with her mes and how she could use it. Just like before, her mes manifested from her body and blood. While she couldn''t use her blood control, her blood beads and vials of blood could still act as a catalyst for her fire. Not only that, but the obsidian de could still drink her blood andbust into a de of mes. ''At least I can defend myself to some extend if things get rough.'' Since her mes could still be used, it meant that she could activate her Void Flux and void Flux ¨C Cleave. In the case of Void Flux, she''ll be using her beads as bombs since she would rather not detonate something this dangerous right next to her. Once she was happy with the tools avable to her for now, Alice nced towards the city in the distance. If she wanted to figure out where she was, her best bet would be the city ahead of her. ### "Lua, can you help me order the knights? Something dropped down around half a day''s journey away from the city." A man asked while sitting behind a desk. Kaden was currently writing some documents allocating some resources around the city. "Again? How many times has it been now urg¡­" Allura replied with a groan. Sheid on the sofa while pushing all of her work to Kaden. "If you want to make it go faster there is always the option of checking out the situation yourself." Hearing this, Allura sat up and shook her head. "Nope. I''ll go let the knights know. Which squad should we send?" "Just send the scouting squad. We don''t know what it is yet and strangely, I can''t make out its form. It''s like a weird mist is covering their body." "Wait¡­ Even with your authority you can''t make out its form?" Allura widened her eyes in surprise while the Kaden simply nodded. "Just send the scouting party for now. Don''t let them engage in a fight unless it can be avoided. If you want to watch, you can. Try not to cause a mess." He smiled softly while looking at Allura who nodded her head and gave him a salute. "Roger~ Can you make me some cake when Ie back then? I need to replenish my nutrients." "From walking?" Kaden raised his eyebrow. "Effort is effort. I''ll go deal with this quickly, be right back~" Allura chuckled while hopping out of the room. Seeing this, Kaden simply shook his head and looked at the pile of documents left to him. If he wanted to make her the cake she wanted then he''ll need to hurry up and finish all of this. Chapter 241: Observers Even though the city looked as though it wasn''t far from her, Alice understood that it was simply due to the sheer scale of the city. A rough estimate told her she still required half a day to a day''s journey if she wanted to reach the gates. ''I can probably make the journey faster if I get a carriage in one of those smaller viges. Though¡­ I don''t have any money.'' Alice thought to herself with a slight frown. Not only that, but she wasn''t sure ifbour would make up for the cost of transport. It depended on the residents of this vige. Standing on a small hill that overlooked the vige, her gaze was fixed on the residents. Each one had a deformity as a result of Abyss Blood. Some severe, some minor. But there was no one who didn''t have a side effect of some form. ''Are they exiled from the city?'' If they were, Alice wouldn''t be surprised considering the prejudice the current era holds towards people with visible deformities, especially ones that heavily affect their appearance. Ironic considering everyone in the Abyss drinks Abyss Blood. Thinking to herself, Alice assumed that it should be pretty easy to talk to them since she too had visible changes. Though hers were more aestheticpared to having ws for hands, spiked fins on their back and so on. Approaching the vige, Alice furrowed her brows after realising they were practically unresponsive. Each one had a vacant look in their eyes while they went through the motions of daily life. Watching all of this happen, Alice felt a sense of eeriness from this vige as she decided to get a closer look. Her presence was invisible to these residents while they continued to ''work''. ''What''s going on?'' Walking up to one of the vigers, she waved her hand back and forth in front of their faces, but they had no reaction. Bumping into them didn''t have any effect either. It merely stalled them for a moment before they returned to their duties. Questions filled Alice''s mind but before she could theorise about the answers, she felt several eyes lock onto her. ''Are they the guards of this vige? But unlike the vigers¡­ These guys don''t have vacant stares. It''s a bit risky but I can probably get information from them.'' Narrowing her gaze, Alice made her way out of the vige. She needed a way to draw them out. Tapping her bracelet, she allowed it to drink some of her blood before transforming into a single-edged de just like the blood me de. She couldn''t hear it clearly before but now she could. The hunger within her mind crying out for ughter. The word, Kill, resounded constantly in her mind the moment she thought about the Abyss. However, her goal was not to kill them. Merely to drag them out. ''A little killing intent should be fine, it''s not aimed at them anyways and I don''t n on killing them.'' Alice thought to herself as the corners of her lips curled up into a menacing grin. mes began to flicker around her body as thick killing intent seeped out into the world. A deep seeded hatred for all things belonging to the Abyss and a desire to tear them apart. Alice knew that this wasn''t her own killing intent but rather one that belonged to the mes. But that was fine. The deeper the killing intent right now, the easier it became to draw out these people who were spying on her. ### I got my first mission in a while today. Captain Allura had asked us to check out the site of a crash nearby. The task was to simply see what it was and report back. Nothing unusual. "It''s probably just a ''Turned'' who hit the barrier." Was what I said to my friend as we set off for the mission. Things were the same as usual at first. A woman who still had leftover deformities started to investigate the vige nearby. They always start like this, clueless before falling into a routine to live out their days. But she was different. She noticed our gaze and immediately tried to find our location. Thankfully, we weren''t detected, and she began to make her way out of the vige. Just as we were about to report back to the Captain, a chilling wave of killing intent exploded out of the woman. It felt as though a malevolent beast had just appeared where she stood! mes danced wildly around her body. Even in this barrier, she could still use her abilities. There was only one word for this woman. Abnormal! I didn''t even dare to take a single breath in fear of being discovered. This anger, this blood lust was not normal. Every cell in my body screamed for me to run! She hasn''t found us yet, if we take this change to run for it then we should be safe. My friend had the same thought as we both prepared to run. But that turned out to be a mistake. The woman''s gaze immediately snapped towards our location hidden by our Sigil abilities. She knew! "Yo~ I''m just here to talk. Why so eager to run?" Her chilling voice called out to us. Her tone and the way her killing intent felt, she was definitely not going to spare us! If that''s the case, we need to make an opportunity to run! My friend had the same idea as we both activated our Sigil abilities. ### "Yo~ I''m just here to talk. Why so eager to run?" Alice called out as she finally spotted the tags above their heads. She wasn''t sure if it was due to her mes or something else but their stealth had be weaker. ''This should be enough to show I''m here with good will right?'' Just as Alice was about to turn off her killing intent, she felt hostility from the two as spikes erupted from her shadow, forcing her to twist her body and dodge at thest second. "?!?!" ''What did I do!? I didn''t threaten you or anything!'' Alice cried out in her mind. But before she could rify things, one of the scouts jumped out from Alice''s shadow with a dagger in hand. With her main Sigils being out ofmission for now, Alice gritted her teeth and drew her obsidian de, parrying the dagger as her body was sent flying back. Recovering herself, Alice noticed a wave of mist enveloping her. ''Poison!'' It was brief but she could feel her body weakening before her mes burnt away the effects. Watching the violet mes flicker violently around her body, Alice forcefully suppressed the mes for now since she wasn''t aiming to kill these people. She merely wanted to find out where she was and what time period this was! Furrowing her brows, she understood that she had to disarm these two before they could talk! ''First I''ll deal with the dagger girl with shadows!'' Taking a step forward, she ducked down just in time to avoid the dagger and punched up with her left hand. Several spikes jumped out from her shadows once more but Alice was prepared. Using her right hand, she shed towards the spikes, cleaving them in half horizontally with the help of her violet mes. With the shadow girl widening her eyes in shock of Alice''s offensive power, she left a slight gap for Alice to capitalize on. This small gap was all Alice needed as she mmed her elbow into the girl''s chest. ''Tsk! I don''t have enough physical power.'' Her attack was practically shrugged off as the girl''s friend appeared above her. Spiked chains shot out from his arm, forcing Alice to retreat while shing the chains using her de. "Fuuu¡­" Breathing out softly, Alice lost her smile as she narrowed her eyes. With her Sigils being limited, this wasn''t a time to hold back. It was a bit dangerous but it''ll buy her time to talk. Dashing to the side, she reached into her pouch and opened the vial of blood beads. Parrying several more attacks and another ambush from her shadows, she threw the beads into the air before jumping back. "I''d suggest dodging this attack." Alice called out before snapping her finger. Each of the beads erupted into mes as energy surged towards them. ''There''s no way¡­'' Widening her eyes in shock, the scout watched the way the mes were condensing into a single spark, how the space around it warped. It was Allura''s skill! ''How does she know this?!'' Both of them were familiar with the destructive power hidden behind this technique and immediately sought out cover. But Alice took this into ount and detonated the beads early before rushing in. Since it was a premature detonation, the power held behind it wascking and couldn''t be focused properly. But it worked perfectly as a distraction. Realizing their mistake, the scouts wanted to react but it was toote. Alice had her de pressed against the shadow girl''s neck while aiming a blood bead at the second person. "I believe we can have a little talk now." Alice smiled. Even if they were to stab her with the shadow spikes right now, the girl she had taken hostage would most certainly die. Or at least that''s what she made them believe. Unfortunately, Alice didn''t ount for a sudden variable that appeared. "What the hell is going on." A familiar voice rang out behind her as Alice felt a chill down her spine. Her eyes widened as a bad feeling flooded her heart. Even if she wanted to react, her body couldn''t keep up with the speed and a hand grabbed her by the back of her cor before throwing her away. *BANG!!! "Are you two alright?" Allura asked while dusting her hands. She was going to just watch but Alice''sst skill forced her to intervene. "Ah¡­ Yes captain. But¡­ I don''t think she''s okay." The shadow girl frowned, looking over at Alice who was now in the rubble of the broken tree. "Oh she''ll be fine. If she can use that copycat version of my skill, then she''s not so weak to get injured by a throw." Allura shrugged. "But Captain¡­ She''s not moving." ". . . I''m sure she''s just waiting for an ambush." Allura coughed. "Captain, she''s bleeding a lot." "Merely a trap." Allura exined but her exnation sounded less and less convincing. "Captain I''m poking her and she''s not moving at all." ". . .sh*t." Chapter 242: Allura Of The Past "Urg¡­" Groaning softly, Alice wanted to sit up but pain coursed through her entire body. Flinching from the jolt of pain, she furrowed her brows while trying to remember what happened before she passed out. Thest thing she could recall was Allura''s voice appearing behind her as it has done many times in the past. Her habit of showing up from behind without a single sound. ''Why did Allura show up of all people¡­'' Alice sighed to herself as she looked down and around her. She was currently sitting on a bed while her body was covered with bandages. Her belongings have been ced on the side along with her dress that was now torn from Allura''s throw. ''Was she always this aggressive? Just one throw and it almost f*cking killed me.'' Shaking her head, she looked for her pouch containing vials of blood. Alice could tell that her body wasn''t fully recovered and there were still underlying wounds on her body. ''I''m guessing they gave me the bare minimum to survive.'' However, after finding her pouch, she realised that all of her vials had been confiscated. "Sh*t." Clicking her tongue, Alice frowned while forcing herself to get out of bed. Looking at the countless bandages around her body, she couldn''t help but sigh. ''Since Allura appeared at the end, she probably saw me using Void Flux.'' Scratching her hair, she stumbled over to her obsidian de and turned it back to a bracelet. Thankfully, they were kind enough to prepare her with another set of clothing as her original ones were damaged. The new outfit was rather simple. An off shoulder ck dress with white ribbons, frills and tworge sleeves. Grabbing her broken blood me de, she tied it to her belt. "You probably don''t want to move so much. Your body is still injured." "!!!" Widening her eyes, Allura''s voice shocked her as her instinct was to adopt a defensive stance. However, her injuries prevented this as her sudden movement caused her to flinch. Furrowing her brows, Alice looked at Allura who was leaning against the doorframe. There was a smirk on her face while she scanned Alice up and down. "Shall we have a little chat? I must say you''re quite the strange visitor." Allura chuckled while pulling a chair towards her. Sitting down, she crossed her legs while gesturing for Alice to sit down as well. "Now first things first, how do you know my skill? I don''t believe I taught anyone how to use it." Allura asked. She didn''t beat around the bush and went straight for the main topic as this was her biggest concern. Nova Core was a skill that she developed with Kaden''s help and it wasn''t something she wanted to teach others. Especially when it could be considered to be Kaden''s gift. "My¡­ Mother/mentor taught it to me." Alice replied after thinking about it for a moment. "Hou~ Then ording to you I''m both your mother and mentor then." Allura scoffed while Alice choked on her saliva. "But I suppose it''s not impossible since the process is somewhat different to what I use. Plus, the source of the weird fire is not the same. Logic dictates that you shouldn''t be able to use your abilities in this barrier unless you''ve been given permission. So that leads me to the next question, who are you?" Allura asked as a restrictive aura surrounded Alice. Just being in the presence of Allura caused her body to break out in cold sweat. ''Holy crap¡­ Allura has no chillpared to the future.'' Alice shivered. The Allura Alice knew was far more rxed andid back than what was before her. Taking this into ount, Alice figured she probably shouldn''t say her surname is Agnelia. "My name''s Alice. I¡­ Have an idea of how I got here but also not really. I don''t know where this ce is nor the time period though." Tapping her fingers for a moment, Allura took a deep breath and sighed. "So then¡­ Alice. Can you exin why you can use mes in this barrier?" "I don''t know. My fire has always been weird and it was the only thing I could use to protect myself." Alice replied while being as truthful as she could. "I see¡­ Tsk, what a painnnnn." Allurained while scratching her hair. "Whatever. Koya,e in." She called out as a woman opened the door and stepped in. "Was everything she said true?" "Yes, Captain. Everything she said was the truth, there wasn''t a single lie." Koya replied with a simple bow. "That''s all I need to know then. Thank you, you can leave us be." Allura smiled as Koya left the room. "You really are a weird one. Not only did you drop out of the sky randomly, but Kaden couldn''t even tell your outline. What even are you? You look¡­ ''human'' enough. Even with your weird fashion choice of the stones above your head, eye and hair." Allura sighed while the aura around Alice disappeared. ''Outline? From what she''s saying¡­ This seems to be a time when Kaden and Allura were still talking with each other. Did entering the Inverted World cause a reaction with the crown of Ca?'' Alice wondered to herself. But no matter how she called out to Ca, she seemed to still be asleep. "So are you a Turned? No¡­ You have memories so that doesn''t make sense." "What are Turned? Also, there was a vige I visited before¡­ the fight. They were spacing out while doing their routines. What''s up with that?" Alice asked curiously. Now that Allura didn''t seem to be hostile against her for now, it was a good chance for Alice to figure out some answers to her questions. "Hmm¡­ How do I put it? Urg¡­ Just follow me. I''m not good at exining stuff." Allura sighed while standing up. "Where are we going?" "We''re going to my Superior." Allura chuckled while leading Alice out of the room. ### Sitting atop a ruined building, Kaden had a deep frown on his face while his shadow continuously flickered, sending Ravens out into the world. Tapping his heel constantly, he waited patiently. Within this silence, a single Ravennded in front of him. "Let''s cut the banter. What''s going on Kaden? Why is the Abyss stirring? What are you and Allura nning on doing?" Nalem''s voice echoed out from the Raven as Kaden simply sighed. "We''re not nning anything. At least not yet. This is too early for everything." Kaden shook his head. "Did something happen on Alice''s end then?" "From what my Ravens are telling me, it seems like she entered the Inverted World. The Eye was a lot closer to waking up than we expected but that shouldn''t have caused such a big reaction. Do you have an idea of what happened?" Kaden asked as Nalem was the best person to ask regarding these things. The Raven was silent for a moment before opening its mouth. "I have a few ideas but none of them are great. Which one do you want to hear first?" "The most likely scenario." "Alice has recovered more Artifacts rted to her Majesty and the Abyss is adapting to the change within her body. The one that can cause the biggest reaction is either the Crown or the Heart." Nalem replied with a sigh. "Alternatively, it could also be you and Allura. You know better than me that both of your Authorities are dropping with each passing year. The more you use it, the faster it disappears. And soon, you''ll be no different from normal Abyss Lords. If the others find out¡­ Well I''m sure you don''t need me to exin that to you." "Mnm. And the least likely scenario?" Kaden asked while clenching his hands. ". . ." Nalem hesitated. "There is a slight chance that¡­ Nyer has found more pieces." Upon hearing the name, the shadows around Kaden twisted and warped with rage while a dark aura seeped from his body. There were three guardians of Ayr. Allura ¨C The Executioner. Kaden ¨C The Shadow. And finally¡­ Nyer ¨C The Lord Commander. "Alright¡­ Let me know when you find out more." Kaden spoke after a long pause. Tapping his finger, the Raven in front of him transformed into a puddle of darkness and flowed back to his shadow. Taking a deep breath, Kaden calmed his mind. Even if there was a chance that Nyer was on the move, it was unlikely with what had happened in the past. But even if the chance was small, he wasn''t going to stay idle. Standing up, Kaden massaged his neck as he nned his next move. ### "For the Abyss to stir so much¡­ How interesting." A weak voice muttered. Bathed in the soft lights of medical equipment connected to his body through countless tubes and blood infusions, a man narrowed his eye. Curling his lips into a smile, he recalled the halcyon days of his time in Ayr. The days where he would spend his time looking after Allura and Kaden. Though he doubted the two wanted to have anything to do with him after all that he''d done. But no matter what, he willplete what he''s sought out to do. No matter the cost, he will bring forth a new God into this world. ### Alice wasn''t sure what she was looking at right now. The sight before her was drastically different from what she had expected. Even after hearing from Allura''s old master that Kaden was gentle in the past¡­ it was still disorientating to see Kaden in this form. "Is this the anomaly I sensed before?" Kaden asked with a small smile on his face. "Yep. She''s pretty clueless on what''s happening but she''s not a Turned. I figured you''d do a better job at exining than me." Allura chuckled while kicking her shoes away. Sitting down, she rubbed her hands in anticipation while looking at the cream cake in front of her with some strawberries on top. "I see¡­ That is rather strange. You must not be a resident of the Abyss then. Did youe from the surface?" Kaden asked but Alice was too shell shocked to reply. After all¡­ Kaden was wearing a bright pink apron with the words ''Kiss the cook'' printed on the surface along with a blue shirt with rolled up sleeves and some casual pants. Compared to the Kaden she''s interacted with, this was like night and day! Chapter 243: Kaden "Is the cake not to your taste? I don''t me you, Lua does like it to be sweeter than usual." Kaden asked with a smile while Alice simply shook her head and ate the cake. "It''s not even that sweet though." Allura furrowed her brows while biting her spoon since she had already finished her snack. "That''s debatable. But settle that aside, I believe Lua brought you here since she''s bad at exining right? I''m sure you have your own circumstances but I do hope you can cooperate." Kaden chuckled while putting his apron aside. "Now then, you''ve mentioned you''re from the surface but you don''t know how you got here. What''s thest thing you remember?" He asked while flicking his fingers. A book jumped out from his shadow as he flipped through the pages. "I was taking an exam before a blinding light covered me. Next thing I know I was falling from the sky." "And your mes?" "They''ve always been weird. I don''t know why I can use them here but not my other Sigils." Alice shook her head. Nodding his head, Kaden silently flipped through the book while Allura snuck off to get more cake. "Alright, I think I got a gist of everything now. I can only assume you got transported here from the surface since your knowledge of the Abyss is severelycking ording to what Lua told me. You don''t know about the Turned nor do you know about this city." Kaden concluded before throwing the book back into his shadow. "I''m sure there are several things you want to know but let''s take it one step at a time. I''m also quite interested in this mother/mentor of yours who taught you a technique simr to what Lua has made. "First things first, Turned. It''s easier for me to show you what they are rather than exining it to you. That way, you can see for yourself the situation in the Abyss." Snapping his fingers, Kaden''s shadow stretched across the room while Allura panicked for a moment. "W-wait! My cake! I haven''t finished it yet!" She cried out, wanting to grab her te but the shadow was faster. All three of them disappeared into the shadows while Alice felt a familiar sense of weightlessness. She couldn''t help but panic internally, wondering if they were going to appear in the Abyss Waters but to her surprise, they were teleported to the mountain peaks instead. Unlike the Abyss she was familiar with, there was no oppressive aura nor darkness. The soft glow of the moon above felt gentle and even warm. "Look down there." Kaden smiled while pointing towards a white serpentine beast bathing in the moonlight. Countless red eyes and white wings covered its body while ity silently. "Are you familiar with how Abyss Beasts are made?" He asked. Thinking about it for a moment, Alice opened her mouth. "They''re made from the Abyss itself, right? Or people who drink too much Abyss Blood." "Hm¡­ Kind of but not quite." Kaden shook his head with a sad smile. Allura was the same. There was a rare moment of silence and sadness around her. "Keep an eye on the beast for now. You''ll see what we mean by ''Turned''." Nodding her head, Alice kept her eye on the beast. Time passed and she wasn''t sure what was happening but soon, the beast began to change. The feathers around the wings started to fall off while its body twitched and turned. Under the moonlight, a soft glow wrapped around its outline as a silver cocoon was created from the feathers that surrounded its body. Once the beast had transformed into an egg, a single crack appeared on the surface. *Crack! A single delicate hand could be seen, tearing apart the outer shell of the egg. From within, a pale girl appeared with white and red hair. The right side of her face was covered with three eyes while the left only had one. She looked like a normal human with the exception of this and a pair of wings behind her. Without saying anything, Kaden gestured for Allura to take the girl back to the city. "That''s a ''Turned''. A beast who manages to regain parts of their humanity. Though¡­ They lose all memories of what they were before. Those with strong impressions of their past or something they long for will have habits they go through. The vige you saw before was one filled with Turned." Kaden exined while Alice was silent. In a way, it was simr to how she coulde back from side effects but also rather different. "Are you able to help them get their memories back? That and why do they have a vacant look in their eyes?" Shaking his head, Kaden sighed while gesturing to sit down while more beasts arrived to bathe in the moonlight. "We''re unable to give them their memories back. And perhaps it''s for the better." "Hm? Why? Wouldn''t it be better for them to see that they''re no longer a beast anymore?" Alice tilted her head. "Because their journeys will end soon once they be ''Turned''. Bing a ''Turned'' is the final step of a beast''s journey. An act of mercy so they can die as humans. "You''re not wrong when you said that beastse from the Abyss and people who drink too much of the blood. The reality is that everyone whoes from the Abyss, whether they are born here, their parents are born here or a mix blood from here and the surface, will all have the same fate. "No matter how they try to run from it or avoid Abyss Blood, everyone who''s been touched by the Abyss will, without doubt, be an Abyss Beast. The beasts you see, kill or tortured for their blood were all once humans born here. It''s unavoidable. I''m not saying that to make you feel guilty but rather to let you understand reality." Kaden sighed while looking towards the new beasts who had arrived. "I''m sure you don''t need me to exin to you what happens when you be a beast. You''ve seen what beasts are like." Nodding her head silently, Alice didn''t know how to respond. She knew that people could turn into Abyss Beasts, but she didn''t know it was unavoidable. Perhaps that''s why Allura was angered when the pirates had forcefully turned her old friend into a beast. It sped up what little time they had left as humans. "Wouldn''t the numbers dwindle after a while?" Alice asked after a long pause. "Mnm. It would. But the Abyss is resourceful. All things born into this realm belong to this realm. Your soul will be recycled and reused as more beasts to terrorise those who remain. Though if you are lucky, you might be reborn as a human, cursed with the fate of bing a beast in the end. "You could say it''s a futile life but I think it''s no different here than it is on the surface. Bing a beast is simply ''Death'' in the Abyss." Kaden chuckled. "However, her majesty changed things. If you can hold out long enough as a beast, to avoid bing a death and live out the period peacefully, you can be a Turned. Once you be a Turned, the chances of you being reborn as a ''human'' rather than a beast increases. "Now, does that answer some of your questions?" Kaden asked while ncing towards Alice who looked at the beasts with sympathy. "Yes¡­ But you mentioned that her Majesty changed things, right? Does that mean she has control over the Abyss? Can''t she change the natural order of having people be beasts in the end? There are those who don''t want power at all and would much rather live an ordinary life. But if they''re destined to be a beast, isn''t that too cruel?" Alice asked with a sigh. "If she could, she would''ve done so already. But even with her identity, her powers are limited. Anyways, shall we change locations?" Kaden asked before snapping his finger. Shadows enveloped the two of them and teleported them elsewhere. Shielding her eyes for a moment, Alice found herself standing in a sea of white spider lily flowers. "Since I''ve answered one of your questions, would you do me the favour of answering one of mine?" Kaden asked while putting on a pair of gloves. "Go on." Alice nodded. A sense of foreboding filled her heart as she could feel a sense of dread in the air. "With the authority I have been given, I can see the shape of someone''s soul. How they''ve lived their life and the choices that shaped them. But for you¡­ Why do you have no soul? You can think, talk and act like a normal human but your outline is muddled. Unclear. "Not like that of the surface nor like that of the Abyss. However¡­ If you can use Sigil powers, the Abyss would''ve modified your soul already. Yet it is still muddled so I must ask, what are you?" Kaden asked as killing intent seeped out of Kaden. Alice found herself helpless before him. It felt as though the moment she made a move to defend herself, the shadows would consume her in an instant. "I don''t know." Was the only answer Alice could give. She didn''t know if she was human, beast or something else entirely. Two people have imed that she wascking a soul yet here she was. Her own research has shown that her body waspletely strange when judged withmon sense. Even the beast she conjured when making a Ritual with her violet mes, she didn''t know its origin. Staying silent, Kaden sighed before flicking his finger. The killing intent disappeared as Alice could breathe again. "Sorry about that. I wanted to verify a few things my own way. Are you okay?" He asked apologetically. Since he could see the outline of someone''s soul, he wanted to see if she''d lie in the face of death. But her confusion was real, she didn''t know who she was herself. But there was something strange during this test. Within her muddled outline, there was a spark of somethingpletely foreign. It felt familiar yet also different and Kaden couldn''t quite put his finger on it. "It''s fine¡­" Alice replied while catching her breath. Just as Kaden was going to help her back on her feet, he couldn''t help but notice a lifeless feather in her possession. Chapter 244: Alice Vs Kaden He didn''t notice it earlier but now that he was right next to her, it was undeniable. The feather used to contain some of his power. ''It feels¡­ A little different to my power. Not quite a carbon copy but the traces left behind can''t be mistaken. That''s definitely the authority I hold. So why does she have a feather with my authority? And why a feather at that¡­'' Kaden thought to himself with a frown while helping Alice up. He had a few theories in his mind but kept them to himself for now. "Again, sorry about being so forceful. I hope you don''t take offence to that." Kaden apologised once more while creating a small badge using his shadows. "This should block you from the effects of the barrier, letting you use your abilities again." epting the badge, Alice couldn''t help but wonder why he was giving her something like this. "Just think of it aspensation though it''s not much." He scratched his head while taking a few steps away from Alice. "Now that you''ve answered a question of mine, would you like to ask me another question?" Kaden offered while taking a sparring stance. One hand was raised towards Alice while the other was in his pockets. Gesturing for her to attack, Kaden waited patiently. "So you''ve told me how Abyss Beastse to be and the fate of the people born in the Abyss. But the main question remains. What is the Abyss?" Alice asked as she took a deep breath. Activating her first Sigil, she could feel a familiar surge of power within her body. Stomping down, she dashed forward and shed up with her de only to see Kaden catch it between his fingers. "Hmm¡­ That''s a good question. Do you know the rtionship between the Abyss and the Surface?" He smiled while flicking away the de. Alice countered with a round house kick before flipping her body back and sent a metal spear towards his head. "The surface is above the Abyss is below?" "Somewhat but not quite. I''m not talking about the cement of these realms but rather the rtionship they have with one another." Kaden shook his head while ducking under her spear. Just as he ducked, another spear shot up from below, forcing him to tilt his head to the side. Since there were no pirs of obstacles around her, Alice couldn''t set up her usual hunting ground but she had another idea. Countless strands of blood extended through the sea of white spider lilies as Alice flicked her finger up. A cage of blood erupted from the ground while Kaden looked up with a small smile on his face. "What kind of rtionship do they even have other than being next to one another?" Alice asked while threads of blood shot out from every intersection of the cage. Jumping up, she snapping her finger and fired off several waves of ming orbs towards Kaden. Twisting his body, the shadow around his foot expanded into a shield, brushing aside the mes rather than trying to take them on via brute force. "You''re half right. There wouldn''t be a rtionship between the two realms had it not been for the Gods of the Surface. The two realms were next to one another but there never was a passageway between the two. "When the Gods of the Surface, the Moon the Sun and the Eclipse, discovered the Abyss, they established a passage. If they could convert the denizens of the Abyss into their followers, their power will no doubt grow, breaking the delicate bnce they hold between the three." Kaden exined while serpents made from shadow jumped up, cutting the threads that Alice had set up. "But they didn''t realise that once a passage was created, it could not be closed anymore. The Abyss is hungry for expansion, it desires to drag more into this realm and taint them with its influence. The passage opened by the Gods is not a one-way passage. "Just as how they cane down into the Abyss, the beasts that lurk here can go up as well. And the barrier between two realms disappeared." Waving his hand, shadow thorns manifested around Alice, forcing her to dodge. "Therefore, the rtionship between these two realms can now be called two sides of the same coin. So intricately linked yet the opposite of one another. Now, you asked me what the Abyss was right? The Abyss is a realm and a sentient being. There exists a will that controls the Abyss and guides its path though its actions are purely based on a desire to grow. "Does that answer your question?" Kaden smiled, giving Alice some space to breath. "Kind of. But also not really." Alice shook her head. There were still many secrets around the Abyss and her own body. Around Ca, the Crown and why it chooses Abyss Lords. "Then you need to learn how to phrase your questions better. Now I believe it''s my turn to ask you a question now." Kaden chuckled. Snapping his finger, shadow chains jumped up from the ground in an attempt to grab onto Alice but she coated herself with ayer of her violet mes. A trick she learned from the Wyverns and the chains were brushed off. "You mentioned how you learned the technique from your mother/mentor. Can you show it to me? I''ll give you time to charge it up if needed. I want to see the full power." Hearing this, Alice hesitated before nodding her head. It was no secret that her attack resembled Allura''s but she has added her own re to it. Plus, the more she hides the less benefit she''ll get from meeting Allura and Kaden. The best thing for her to do now was to try and get as much as she could from this meeting. Taking a deep breath, Alice activated all three of her Sigils as mes roared around her. Her crown partially repaired itself causing Kaden to raise an eyebrow in surprise. He thought it was merely a left over from Abyss Blood side effect but that doesn''t seem to be the case. Now that the crown was no longer dormant, Kaden could tell that it was an extension of the Abyss. For one that was chosen to be granted dominion. ''But that''s¡­ Impossible¡­'' Watching Alice enter her Resonance form, countless questions swirled through Kaden''s mind but he set aside those thoughts for now. Once this sparring session was over, he''ll go and ask her Majesty himself and see what was going on. Right now, he had to focus on Alice''s attack. Closing her eyes, Alice could feel the essence of the Abyss. The energy that surrounded them funnelled into her, empowering her current state. She could feel the resonance growing stronger with each passing second. Even when she drank the blood of the five Sigil Hunter, she didn''t feel this strong. But now, she felt as though she could do anything. Snapping her finger, several orbs appeared around Kaden as she immediately detonated them, forcing Kaden to take a defensive stance. With each snap of her finger, more would appear, but Kaden understood this was just the preliminary attack. To test if a follow up was needed. And as expected, he could see Alice focusing her mind and senses for that perfect strike. Her sword roared with the violet me as Alice took a step forward. *BANG!!!! Scattering the white spider lilies around her, Alice appeared before Kaden. Her eyes focused onnding her strongest sh. The space around her de began to distort as Kaden manifested a cover of shadows to try and neutralize the attack. But much to his shock, the space was torn apart and his shadows were shredded in the process. He could sense the Abyss itself lending power to her which only solidified his theory. Just before the sh could reach its apex, Kaden ducked to the side before narrowing his gaze. Aiming his hand towards the side of the de, he released a single flick. *KRRRRR!!!!! Forcing the strike to miss him entirely, the sh travelled through the field of white spider lilies, leaving behind what seemed to be an ordinary sh wound on the ground. But Kaden knew it was far more than that. The entire space had been cleaved apart. Even the strongest defence would crumble before a strike that could destroy the space itself. Kaden was no longer smiling as this was far too much of a coincidence. Itcked the Authority and the main concepts but it no doubt held traces of the Executioner''s de. A version that''s been heavily modified to allow for those without the Authority to wield a simr power. After unleashing that attack, Alice could feel the strength being sapped away from her body as her arms cried out in pain. Her veins burned as though someone was pouring molten metal through her body as she copsed onto her knee and dropped her de. Cold sweat dripped from her head as her hand trembled, unable to gather strength. She had unleashed far more power than expected. Perhaps it was due to the area she was in, but Alice now understood she had to take the location into consideration as well when using Void Flux ¨C Cleave. "That is quite the attack you got there. I don''t suppose you learned that from your¡­ Mother/mentor, did you?" Kaden asked, hesitating a little now that he had a slight theory on Alice''s identity in his mind. "Not this time. I actually learned it from my friend''s Grandfather. Well¡­ Learned is a strong word. I saw him use it once and tried to copy what he did but mixed it together with what my mentor taught me." Alice shook her head while Kaden felt his smile twitch. ''Did she reverse engineer Lua''s Executioner de?'' But before he could dwell more on this, Alice opened her mouth. "It''s my time to ask a question, right? Is the city I saw earlier¡­ Ayr?" Chapter 245: Kadens Tutoring "Is the city I saw earlier¡­ Ayr?" Scratching his chin from Alice''s question, Kaden verified parts of his own theory. "Yes it is. Thest bastion in the Abyss, the holy city Ayr." Kaden nodded with a smile. Hearing this, Alice understood that she had been transported to a time in history when Ayr was still around. Meaning, this was a time before their master''s death, the death of the previous owner of Ca and the one who left her the crown. "Can you tell me more about Ayr?" Alcie asked but to her surprise, Kayden shook his head. "Nope. Remember the rules of the game? You ask a question and I answer. I ask a question and you answer. If you want more out of a question you should phrase it better. You simply asked me if the city was Ayr or not and I answered truthfully." Kaden grinned while Alice clicked her tongue. "Tsk, stingy." "You should know how to ask better questions then." Kadenughed, patting Alice''s head. A wave of energy entered Alice''s body as she realised her wounds were healing and the fatigue brought forth by her attack disappeared. Looking at her hands in surprise, she didn''t think Kaden was able to do this. "Anyways, I believe it is my turn to ask a question, right?" Seeing his smile, Alice couldn''t help but feel as though this had been nned by him. A way for him to get information from her and to find out about her origins. While she got some answers herself, she had told him a lot as well. "If you have a mother who is your mentor and taught you a lot of the stuff you know now, you must have a father, right? What''s he like?" Kaden asked with a grin. The nature of his question caused Alice to pause in a mix of surprise and confusion. While she may call Allura mother, it''s more that she was her guardian and Ria kept saying Allura was like her mother. In terms of a father figure¡­ it would probably be Kaden himself. "Hmm¡­ He''s kind of avoiding my mother. Never around but does check up on me once in a while. His training is¡­ well¡­ Abusive is putting it lightly urg." Alice furrowed her brows since Kaden''s training made Allura''s look like child''s y. "And what does it look like?" "Nope~ Remember the rules of the game? You ask a question and I answer. I ask a question and you answer. If you want more out of a question you should phrase it better. You never asked what he looked like." Alice stuck out her tongue before taking a few steps back and readying her weapon once more. "Tsk, stingy brat." Kaden''s smile twitched as she used his own words against him. But that was that was fine, there was plenty of time to get more answers as they continued this game. Taking a deep breath, Alice narrowed her eyes. As it stands currently, she has no way of reaching Kaden. She needed to capitalize more on her capabilities aside from the me. ''He''s on guard against my fire. The best chance I have against him is through my single Sigil resonances. The first Sigil resonance increases my physical power and hallucinations. I haven''t tested out the resonance with my third Sigil yet. However¡­'' Last time she used the one Sigil resonance, she gained the crown above her head as a side effect. She wasn''t sure what else would happen if she was to keep using it. Which is why this was going to be her next question. "Resonance activates with three Sigils. But I can do it with one. What are the potential side effects and dangers of doing so?" Alice asked before dashing forward. shing down with her de, Alice watched as Kaden simply flicked it aside once more before stepping into her range. Two fingers jabbed against her sternum, forcing her to take several steps back as he followed up with a kick into her stomach. "Resonance is a state where it draws out the power you gained from your Sigils. Through the bnce of these three, it pushes you closer to bing a beast while maintaining your humanity. You can think of Resonance being a foreshadowing of what kind of beast you could be if you were to sumb to the Abyss. "Now, one Sigil resonance is very difficult for a human to activate. The reason is that it requires a singr Sigil to dominate your body. For beasts, this is a natural state. But for humans, this threatens the bnce between being a human and being a beast. It''s hard for a human to render the other Sigils dormant to allow for this to happen. "As for the side effects¡­ It''ll be no different from drinking excess Abyss Blood and receiving the properties of the beast. To put it in other words, imagine one Sigil resonance is akin to drinking your own Abyss Blood if you were to be a beast." Kaden exined as he eyed Alice''s crown. "I see¡­" Alice furrowed her brows. She wasn''t sure about the rtionship between her constitution and the one Sigil resonance but it was probably best not to risk it. The crown staying above her head was a sign that things may not be as simple as she had hoped. Snapping her finger, metal swords erupted around Kaden in an attempt to skewer him but he simply brushed them away. "For my question, I think you already know. What does your father look like?" "Long ck hair tied into a ponytail like yours hmm¡­ and his face is a little different. Your eyes are sharper and he doesn''t have as defined of a jawline." Alice shrugged before listing out other details. What she described was Kaden''s disguise as Thane rather than what he looked like usually. "What about your mother?" "Remember the rules?" Alice rolled her eyes as Kaden sighed. "Fine fine, ask away." "Do you know the origin of this fire and what it is?" Alice asked as she covered her entire body in her violet fire. Pulling her sword back, she shot towards Kaden and unleashed a flurry of shes. Blocking every sh using his finger and his shadows, Kaden was silent while analysing the properties of her fire. "Why do you ask? Didn''t you get this from a beast?" "Because the beast I killed didn''t have this fire. My second Sigil draws out the potential of my blood. Meaning this fire is something that originates from my blood. I established a ritual with the me once before and it conjured a draconic beast that I didn''t know the origin of. "Not only that, a friend of mine called the Sigil [Foul Blood Manifestation]." Alice exined while snapping her finger. Activating a Void Flux next to Kaden''s head, she forced him to dodge to the side before releasing a horizontal sh that he flicked up. "Hmm¡­ That is quite strange. Can you tell me the properties of this fire? I might be able to match it with a few beasts that I know of but no guarantees." Kaden asked curiously. If what Alice was saying is correct then this was something Nalem will definitely be interested in. A fire that did not originate from a beast and could emte Allura''s skill crafted from her understanding of her own Authority. "I don''t know much but it seems to hate Abyss powers and It has a mind of its own but it usually cooperates with me. When using it, I can cut apart Abyss powers. Even my mother was surprised by its effectiveness." Alice exined while releasing a wave of violet mes towards Kaden who took the chance to test its effectiveness. Creating a wall of shadows, Kaden watched as the mes began to ''devour'' his shadow and assimte it into itself to act as fuel. Narrowing his eyes, Kaden had a small frown on his face. Now that he was looking at it closer, it was nothing like anything he''d seen before. "Would you like to postpone this forter? I know someone that might have an idea. But as it stands, I have no clue." Kaden shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "But I will say one thing. Why are you wasting the potential of your Sigils? When you fight, you should aim to use utilise everything with maximum efficiency. You''re underusing the power of your Sigils and relying too much on your fire." He asked while taking out his hand from his pocket. "Allow me to give you a quick demonstration. Your first Sigil gives you a physical boost, your second gives you the fire and blood control, your third reinforces your blood and gives you metal control. I won''t go into depth with the first Sigil nor the second. Let me show you what you could be doing with your third Sigil." Stomping his foot down, his shadow stretched across the field of flowers in a simr manner to Alice''s web of blood. During the fight, he had been analysing Alice''s fighting style and habits while asking his questions. At this stage, he had learned everything he needed to know when it came to how she fights. Dashing towards Alice, Kaden stomped his foot down and two spikes of shadow shot up next to Alice who managed to dodge at thest second. Following up this attack, threads of shadow manifested around Alice''s ankles, making it harder for her to move. But Kaden wasn''t done. Using these as a cover, he dashed around the side and entered her attack range before snapping his finger. A pir of shadow interrupted Alice before she could attack Kaden, hitting her precisely on her wrist. Even with Ca''s help, too many attacks were happening in her blind spots! Alice wanted to brute force her way through the restraints but two more pirs mmed into the back of her knees, forcing her to kneel. Holding a shadow de against Alice''s neck, Kaden kept the same smile on his face. "See? Bit of a waste if you don''t use your third Sigil in tandem with your movements. You have great eyesight, use it to your advantage. With enough understanding of your opponent, you can forcefully create a weakness." Kaden exined as Alice could only nod her head. "Now then, it''s time for my question. What does your mother look like?" "What does whose mother look like hm?" A voice rang out behind Kaden as he felt a chill down his spine. Allura''s hand gripped his shoulders while she was forcing a smile on her face. Chapter 246: Executioner Blade "Ahaha, I was simply inquiring about Alice''s family isn''t that right? I asked about her father first then her mother." Kadenughed nervously while giving Alice a few nces, signalling her to back him up. Seeing this, Alice wasughing on the inside but kept her face neutral. "He did. He was also teaching me how to better use my third Sigil inbat." With Alice backing him up, Kaden sighed in relief as Allura let go of his shoulder. "Is that so? Well alright. I''ve finished transporting the new Turned to the city, Maria and the others will be helping them get used to their new life." Allura reported as Kaden nodded his head. "Can you take over helping Alice for a little bit? I need to ask Nalem some questions and have him check out Alice''s condition." "Sure. What do you need me to do? Standard training or show her around the ce?" Allura replied while ncing over to Alice who paused after hearing a familiar name. ''Nalem? Isn''t that the owner of the bookstore? If it''s the same person then he knows Kaden and Allura¡­ I suppose if he''s also old like these two then it''ll exin the knowledge he possesses.'' Alice thought to herself. "Do some standard training. She needs to improve the uses of her Sigils along with outside the box thinking. Ah, you can also help her with two techniques of hers." Kaden smiled before putting his hands back into his pockets. "Don''t hold anything back okay? You need to cooperate if you want to get the most out of Lua''s training. She isn''t great at exining but herbat senses are top-notch. Just watching her will benefit you." He turned back to Alice who nodded in response. Taking a step forward, shadows jumped up and teleported Kaden away and now it was just Allura and Alice. "So¡­ What do you want to do first? I dunno how to teach so don''t expect much okay?" Allura raised her hands in surrender. "Kaden was doing this thing where he would let me ask a question and he would answer. Then he would ask and I answer." Alice shrugged while watching Allura take out a nket and several containers with cake inside. "Ahh yeah, he does that pretty often. In that case, would you like to talk first? I''ll try to answer anything I can. Of course, there are things I can''t talk about but I won''t be stingy. Want some cake?" Allura offered while sitting down. Nodding her head, Alice joined Allura on the nket and got a container for herself. There were several things she wanted to Allura, especially about her old master, the Ruler of Ayr. The one who gave her the crown and the previous owner of Ca. What exactly did they expect from her and what Kaden wished to aplish when he found her in the Zenia prison. But she couldn''t just ask that straight up. "Well¡­ What is Kaden like? You seem to be close to him and you both look to be important people in Ayr." Alice asked while taking a bite from her cake. "Hmm¡­ Do you mean what he''s like as a person or what he''s like as someone important in the city?" "Both." Leaning back, Allura thought to herself for a bit before opening his mouth. "He takes his job seriously. He doesn''t mind helping people out and even takes care of my workload too hehe~ Gives me more time to rx. He''s very diligent and even when he looks like he''s joking around, his mind is always working. "Oh and his expectations for himself are higher than anyone can imagine. He always takes the most dangerous missions and makes sure others don''t get injured." She exined with a smile. Listening silently, Alice could see Allura''s joy when talking about Kaden and a small smile crept onto her face. "Even though he''s serious at work, he''s still very gentle. I mean, he even bakes me cake. When we first met, I thought he was the uptight type who doesn''t know fun. And well¡­ You saw him in his apron. He''s wearing it because I bought it." Alluraughed. The way her cheeks blushed while talking about their interactions, the way she smiled and her gaze. To Alice, Allura looked like the happiest woman in the world right now. A stark contrast to the Allura she knows in the future. The Allura she knows felt¡­ exhausted. Shaking her head, Alice thought about her next question before a grin appeared on her face. "Say¡­ Are you and Kaden together?" Alice smirked while biting her spoon. "PFFTTTT!!!" Spitting out her cake, Allura started to cough while her eyes darted back and forth. "Ahem! I mean¡­ Well¡­ It''s kinda but¡­ I guess¡­" Her words were all over the ce as Alice simply stared at her with a smug smile. "You''re living together aren''t you? He even wears a pink apron and bakes you cake. Don''t tell me you''re not together." Alice teased, finding enjoyment in Allura''s reaction. The future Allura wouldn''t react like this and thus, this was her only chance to tease them. ''Allura and Kaden don''t seem to have a bad rtionship in the future either. They seem to be avoiding each other for unknown reasons. If I try hard enough, I can probably facilitate a meet up again.'' She schemed in her mind as Allura huffed and stood up. "Alright you brat! Enough talking about my love life hmph. I don''t know much about your normal Sigils but show me what you can do with your techniques. Since I''m the original, I can give you some pointers. "And before you say it was your mother who taught you it, it clearly contains simr concepts to my attacks." Allura crossed her arms as Alice finished her cake and stood up. Letting Allura pack up the nket and containers, Alice drew her de and took a deep breath. She''ll manifest the lessons that Kaden had taught her just now in this next spar. She needed to use her own Sigils to create weak points in Allura''s defence. ''First Sigil can let me make hallucinations before my attacknds so they''re thrown off guard. Not sure how well this''ll work on her but I don''t have anything to lose. Kaden already showed me what I can do with my third Sigil through knocking my opponents off bnce.'' Alice thought to herself. Closing her eyes, she tried her best to visualise the best possible attacks that she could create. But no matter what, all she could see was Allura being able to counter them all through sheer brute force. Alice couldn''t visualise herself beating Allura. "Don''t think too hard about it. The higher your target, the harder it''ll be toplete it in one go. Focus on what you can aplish right now whether that be just one step or one sh. Little by little, these small aplishments will build your path to your goal." Allura called out, noticing that Alice was struggling with how she should approach this fight. Hearing this, Alice paused before smiling and nodded her head. Narrowing her eyes, she allowed her inner hunger to seep out as a smile formed on her face. Sensing danger, Allura couldn''t help but raise her eyebrow in surprise. Last time she hadunched a sneak attack against Alice to knock her out in one go. Now that they were face to face, she was surprised by the sheer thickness of the killing intent oozing from Alice''s body. It was a killing intent so thick with hatred it felt as though Alice was treating her like her mortal enemy. But Allura knew that wasn''t the face. ''Her aura shifted a whole 180 just now. Is it a mental state she uses for fights?'' Snapping her finger to signify the beginning of this battle, Allura watched as Alice immediately activated Void Flux ¨C Cleave, sending a sh towards her while countless strands of blood jumped out from the ground. "So eager." Allura chuckled as she pivoted on her left foot and took a step forward. mes roared out around her as she stared at the sh and brought her fist back. *BANG!!! Shattering the space shing cleave in one go, she twisted her body and kicked the strands of blood away with ease. ''I can see why Kaden wanted me to help her focus on the techniques. It''s rough but that sh held simrities to my Authority. Where did this kid even pop out from.'' Before she could bring her foot down, a pir of metal jumped up, locking her ankle in some cuffs. At the same time, needles of blood stabbed towards Allura''s face. Just as she was about to break them using her fists, they exploded into blood mist. A second sh appeared above Allura. "What''s that mist supposed to do kid?" Allura taunted. Using the cuffs as a pivot point and threw a kick using her other leg towards the sh, shattering it once more. Landing on one foot, Allura simply flexed her leg as mes erupted and melted the metal. ''Hallucinations aren''t working on her. Tsk, but she''s letting me do whatever I want with my blood.'' Alice thought to herself as she made a cut on her arm and sent several strands of blood towards Allura. These strands burst into violet mes while Allura kept a smile on her face. "Your sh, do you know the true meaning behind it?" "Hm?" Making a cut in the space around her, Allura reached in and pulled out a single pristine de. "The Executioner de. A technique I made with Kaden to ignore all forms of defence in the world. The true meaning behind this sh is not to be the strongest attack in the world. "The true meaning is to ignore all defence. This shpletely bypasses the ''space'' used for defence and inflicts wounds directly onto the opponent. Of course, brute forcing it like the way you''re doing is hard to defend against as well. But those who specialise in defenceter on will shrug off your attack." Allura exined as she raised her hand and shed downwards. Executioner de! At that moment, Alice felt something wrong with her body. The connection between her, her Sigil, the Abyss and her blood waspletely severed. Her attacks and mes disappeared. "For those whose defence and even offence relies on their Sigil, this is the best attack, no? It''s not the strongest but it''s the most effective." Allura grinned. Alice finally saw the true sh. The Executioner de, an attack that ignores all forms of defence and even cuts the energy provided by the Abyss. Chapter 247: Ruler Of Ayr Even though Alice saw the sh, she couldn''tprehend the requirements to activate the attack. When she copied Nova Core, it felt simple as it was a case ofpressing mes to its absolute limit before detonating it. But this sh held concepts she couldn''t fully digest even though she saw it in full rity. Furrowing her brows, Alice frowned as she jumped back. Remembering the flow of energy within Allura''s sh, Alice tried her best to replicate it but all she achieved was the standard Void Flux ¨C Cleave. "Pft, seems like you realise I''m the real deal hehe~ My Executioner de isn''t something you can copy easily." Allura rubbed her nose with a grin while watching Alice trying to replicate her attack. "You said this attack isn''t the strongest, is there one stronger than this?" Alice asked while continuing to swing her sword. "Oh of course there are. I didn''t focus on the power of this attack, it merely came as an added bonus. If you want to see the strongest attack in Ayr, you should see Commander when he''s serious. Urg¡­ his attacks even scare me sometimes." Allura shivered. "Commander?" Alice had never heard either of them mention amander before. If he was as powerful as Allura was iming him to be, then surely she would''ve mentioned him at one point. Yet that wasn''t the case. "Mnm, Lord Commander of Ayr. He whomands the army and protects her highness. He''s got a bunch of nicknames you know? More than me and Kaden. I have my Title of Exectioner, Kaden has his Title of Shadow but the Commander is simply known as the Lord Commander." Allura shrugged while walking over to Alice. "But setting aside the Commander, focus more on your form. Even though the power generated from the sh is impressive, you can draw out more power with the right form." She exined while standing behind Alice. Grabbing her wrists, Allura began to control Alice''s body, showing the right way she should follow up her shes to generate the most power and speed. "You''re surprisingly gentle." Alice couldn''t help but mutter, seeing how careful Allura was being and the care she was taking in teaching her the stances. "What do you mean by that?! I''m always gentle." Allura clicked her tongue and hit Alice on the head with her chin. "Ouch! You knocked me out on our first meeting, you call that gentle?" "That''s your fault. Who knew you were so weak even though you could use a space rupturing attack." Allura retorted while finishing the sequence of attacks. "Memorise what I showed you and you should see improvements in your attacks. Of course, you need to figure out when to use the different stances but thates with experience. Is there anything else you want to know?" She asked while taking a step back. Thinking about it for a moment, Alice decided to inquire about Ayr first. Once she learns more about Ayr, she could transition it into questions regarding the Lord Commander and finally, about Allura''s old master. "Can you tell me a bit about Ayr? It''s history and how it was founded?" "Hmm¡­ Honestly, I''m not too familiar with the founding of Ayr. You''d better off asking Nalem since he has a record of everything that''s happened since the founding. But I can tell you a little bit about why Master decided to make this city." Allura grinned as she gave her body a stretch. "We''re quite far from Ayr so grab on tight. I''ll take us there in an instant." Remembering how Allura travelled, Alice figured it wouldn''t be too bad since he had experienced it before. But the moment she grabbed onto Allura, a bad feeling manifested in her heart. mes erupted around Allura but unlike its usual colour, it began to flicker into a bright white. Before Alice could even ask about the speed of transportation, Allura had already shot into the air with Alice hanging on for dear life. Hugging Allura''s leg like a sloth hugging a tree trunk, Alice refused to let go. ### "Allura and Kaden seem rather busy today. They''re running back and forth with a guest in tow." A woman chuckled with softly while looking out of the window. She had long white hair that seemed to float behind her, shifting with each subtle movement that she made. A pair of soft half-opened crimson eyes where the whites are pure ck. On her chest, a spiked ne of sorts could be seen, printed onto her skin. The woman wore an elegant white dress that reached to the floor while silver essories decorated her wrists and ankles. She was currently sitting in the highest room of the castle that overlooked the city. Countless strands of energy floated around her while her hands danced across the different strands. "Should I let them know?" A man asked while standing beside her. Shaking her head, the woman simply closed her eyes. "Oh? Our guest is¡­ Rather strange." She muttered upon scanning the person grabbing onto Allura. "Should we be concerned? The meeting between Gods will be happening soon. She might be a variable sent by the trio." "I doubt that. She doesn''t have their brandings. If anything¡­ She resembles the Abyss more. That''s if you ignore her peculiarities." The woman chuckled before opening her eyes. "Peculiarities?" "She doesn''t have a soul. But she''s not like the artificial constructs that we''ve seen before. Perhaps you could consider her a strange mix in the middle?" Hearing this, the man next to her simply shrugged. "It would probably be better to ask Nalem. Unfortunately, my knowledge of these subjects is shallow." He let out augh. "Don''t worry, I''m not testing you. You can take some time off before the meeting begins, I need this time to focus on maintaining this realm." Nodding his head, the man bowed towards the woman in front of him and made his way down the tower. Once he had left the room, the woman simply turned towards the direction of Alice. A soft smile appeared on her face as her hand stroked the spiked marking around her neck. "She possesses the Crown and Ca¡­ I suppose that confirms my passing." She muttered before standing up. Walking to the edge, she looked at the magnificent city before her. The bastion of hope which she poured her heart and soul into so the citizens of the Abyss can find some closure before their fated end. "How strange¡­ I suppose even I can feel fear at the thought of losing everything." Smiling bitterly, the woman gently tapped her finger in the air as strands of energy started to weave together into the form of a woman. She had short silver hair with a pink hue, a pink headband and a pair of blue eyes. She wore a white shirt with a ck cor, sleeves and skirt. A pair of semi-transparent ck tights and a pair of ck shoes with small heels and a ribbon on the shoe strap. "Ca, what do you think the future is like?" "I''m unsure master. I can''t imagine it to be better than what you''ve created." Ca shook her head while hugging her knee. Her other foot was on the ground to stabilize herself so that she didn''t fall. "Perhaps but you never know. I''m rather curious about how the world will change after my death. How would Kaden and Allura react? Those two may look strong on the surface but they''re sensitive children at heart." She smiled while looking at Ca who was deep in thought. "Maybe we can avoid the worst scenario master. What if we ask her what happens in the future? Maybe she knows what caused¡­ Your passing." Ca asked with a frown on her face. But the woman simply shook her head. "Ca, you know as well as I do that we''ve been expecting this to happen. Why else do you think I''ve been making these preparations?" ". . ." Clenching her fist, Ca simply looked down while the woman patted her head. "At least before I go, I want to hear about the future." "Alright. I''ll look for her and bring her here." Ca nodded. Just as she was about to jump down, the woman grabbed her hand. "No need to rush. Let her enjoy the city with Allura and Kaden first. If you want, you can take the time off to understand her too. She is your future master after all." She chuckled. Nodding once more, Ca leapt off the building and made her way down. Now that she was alone, the woman sat back down on her chair and peered towards the countless strands of energy that surrounded her. ### Sitting down by the gates of Ayr, Alice''s hair was dishevelled from the flight. Her stomach churned while Allura simply ate cake while waiting for her to recover. "I wasn''t even flying that fast." She shrugged, feeling as though Alice was exaggerating but seeing her current state, she was probably weaker than what she expected. Even though she was resting by the gate, Alice could still see the bustling nature of the city within. Countless civilians greeting one another with smiles on their faces regardless of the side effects that appear on their body. Not only that, but the technology held within the city exceeded what she had seen before. It bore simrities to the gate she saw in the forest that connected to Terminus. Ghost like beasts would float across the city, helping keep the order while receiving food from the citizens. Scattered throughout the city were statues of a familiar woman that Alice had seen in her mental space before. Allura''s old master. She could see people praying to the statues whenever they walked past, hoping for another happy day. "She seems popr." Alice remarked, hoping Allura would expand more on the Ruler. "Of course she is. She''s the one who built this city and gave people a second chance. But there''s another big reason why people revere my Master." Allura chuckled while looking towards the castle in the centre of the city. "What reason?" Alice raised her eyebrow curiously. "Because she''s a Goddess." Chapter 248: Goddess Of The Abyss What is a God? To Alice, it was a symbol of absolute authority, a leader for mortals and a being outside of mortalprehension. The Sun God that is worshipped by the Church of the Sun. The Moon Goddess revered by the Church of the Moon. The Eclipse God praised by the Cult of the Abyss. All three Gods of the surface are figures that Alice could only hear tales about. Their retainers, the Apostles and their followers being their only connection to this world. But for the Abyss to have its own Goddess¡­ Allura''s old Master at that. Alice''s mind spun. If Allura''s old Master was indeed the Goddess of the Abyss, then what kind of identity did Allura and Kaden hold? Two people who are close to said Goddess. ''Are they Apostles?'' Alice questioned inwardly. It would exin the power behind Allura and how Kaden could send her into the Abyss with ease. Allura had mentioned Apostles before, each one had their own Authority, a fragment of the God''s power. It allowed them to stand head and shoulders above the Abyss Lords as loyal retainers to the Divine. "The ruler of Ayr¡­ Is a Goddess?" Alice asked, wanting to confirm this information. "Yep, she''s a Goddess of the Abyss. Although you can think of it as sharing a Divinity. Compared to the Gods of the surface, Master is a little special inparison." Allura nodded while eating the snacks she had bought. "Special? How so? Aren''t they all Gods?" "I mean it''s no secret but Master started out as a ''human''. The first Human to be born in the Abyss. As the first human in the Abyss, she was confused as to why there were only beasts while reflections of the surface showed her a world of ''humans''. "With her unique connection to the Abyss, she bent the rules and allowed more ''humans'' to be born. Of course, all will have to return to being a beast at one point, that is our ultimate fate. But Master''s tampering gave us a chance to ovee this. "To be an Abyss Lord, be recognised by the Abyss and its Goddess and you will shed your bestial blood and be fully Human." Allura exined while making small fire figures to help tell the story. "You can even say she added the ''Rule'' to how the Abyss functions." Hearing this, Alice nodded her head silently while digesting the information she had just learned. If Allura''s Master was the reason why Humans could be born in the Abyss, what other rules did she implement? And even if she didn''t, what were the other Rules of the Abyss? With one question answered, more questions appeared in Alice''s mind as she couldn''t help but sigh out in frustration. There was far too much she didn''t know and now, even Allura and Kaden''s true identity was unclear due to their connection to a Goddess. Alice could only assume that they''re Apostles and if they were, what did they expect from her? When Kaden found her, he wanted her to help him fulfil a promise. What promise? Allura said she could be her own person and ignore the expectations. But if the Crown and Ca used to belong to a Goddess, how could she simply ignore the weight of this responsibility? Alice wanted Allura to be happy like she was now, in the past. She wanted to rebuild Ayr for her, make it so that people are no longer cursed to be beasts with no way out. But to do so would be to meet the expectations for a Goddess of the Abyss. She had so much she wanted to do for Allura who had be her guardian, her mother figure and for Kaden who brought her out from her personal Hell. Yet when faced with these expectations, Alice found herselfcking. Her thoughts spiralled as she wanted to visualise her being able to achieve such feats but all that came to mind was failure. "!!!" Widening her eyes, Alice snapped out of her thoughts and looked up. Allura had given her a hug while patting her head and back. "Are you okay? You looked like you needed a hug." Allura asked with a concerned expression as Alice was silent. Returning the hug, Alice held on tight as she calmed her mind. It doesn''t matter if the final goal is far away. As Allura said, she needed to focus on the small steps. What she can achieve right now and eventually, she''ll find herself at her goal. "Thank you¡­" Alice muttered, enjoying this hug while Allura scratched her cheeks with an embarrassed blush but nodded her head. Sharing this hug for a moment, Alice finally calmed her mind and looked far better than a moment ago. "You were talking about how she added a Rule to the Abyss long ago right? One that allowed ''humans'' to be born. What do you think is the Abyss''s goal to let this happen?" Alice asked curiously. "Hmm¡­ Honestly, I''m not sure. Knowing Master, if she could stop people from bing beasts, she would. But there are restrictions she has to work around. She doesn''t ''rule'' the Abyss after all. She simply shares a Divinity with the Will of the Abyss. "It''s probably better if you ask her when you meet her. Since your¡­ situation is pretty weird and unique even by my standards." Allura shrugged. Pausing mid-step, Alice turned to Allura and pointed at herself. "Wait¡­ Meet her? Isn''t she a Goddess? I thought Gods and Goddesses don''t interfere much with mortals." "Like I said, Master is a unique case. Plus, you''ve already met two of her closest retainers so what''s there to be surprised about? Meeting a Goddess is crazy for you but meeting her metaphorical left and right hand isn''t? You got some weird standards." While Alice and Allura were debating about their personal standards, someone was observing the situation without making them known. Allura had naturally sensed that someone was observing but considering the ''mark'' on her, Allura didn''t say anything. The longer Ca stared at Alice, the clearer it became. The Eye and the floating Crown. Both seem damaged to an extent which only made her more worried about the eventual downfall of her Master, but nothing could be done. She knew it deep down as well. But she didn''t want to sit around and simply ept that it''ll happen. Closing her eyes, Ca tried to form a connection with ''herself'' that was within Alice''s body. But the connection couldn''t be formed. Instead, a chilling pair of eyes stared back at her as cold sweat dripped down her back. Staring at Alice with a mixture of fear and confusion, Ca didn''t know what to say. Standing silently, she eventually bit her lip before sighing. Just observing wasn''t going to work. She was going to find a chance to talk with Alice face to face. If Alice was indeed her future Master, then the talk should go rather smoothly. ### "So, any thoughts?" Kaden asked as the Librarian was silent in front of him. Nalem, the one who kept a record of everything that has happened in the city and the knowledge they''ve umted regarding the Abyss itself and the beasts within. "Just from what you''ve told me, I have two candidates in mind. But they''re not an exact match." He sighed and shook his head. "Care to give me a percentage?" "20% at most. If the fire is indeed as you have exined then I can only say I''ve never heard or even thought of such a possibility. It''s simply absurd for something to be fuelled by the Abyss yet reject it so thoroughly. Not to mention, I can''t wrap my mind around how that girl is even functioning if she has no soul. She''s not a construct, is she?" Nalem frowned while cing his books down. "She''s not a construct." Kaden shook his head. "Then is she something sent by the Gods of the Surface? The meeting is happening soon, you know what they''re like towards her Majesty." Falling into silent contemtion, Kaden yed around with some shadows between his fingers as several thoughts passed his mind. ''She carries a feather with traces of my Authority on it. An Amulet too with Lua''s aura. But it''s weak¡­ She definitely has a connection with me and Lua, but what kind? Alice clearly doesn''t possess an Authority but she''s disying powers simr to Lua.'' For the first time since he first joined Ayr, he found himself unable to wrap his mind around the problem presented before him. "If you had a sample of her blood, could you run some tests to determine the origin of her powers?" Kaden asked as Nalem nodded his head. "With enough samples and tests, I should be able to give you some better results. But again, it''s highly abnormal so don''t expect much." He admitted. ''For even Nalem of all people to not guarantee results¡­'' "Alright. I''ll see what I can do about the samples." ### Alice didn''t know this feeling she felt within her heart. It was simr to fear yet also very different. It resonated with her on a deeper level, a level that caused her entire body to tremble and pale at the sight of this person. This was her first meeting with the Lord Commander, but every cell in her body was screaming at her to run. He has medium length wild brown hair, a pair of sharp ck eyes and a messy stubble. His attire consisted of a simple ck jacket with gold details, a ck undershirt that highlighted the muscles on his upper body and arms, a waist cloth that reached down to his knees and a pair of baggy pants and shoes. Despite his rxed and yful aura at this moment, Alice couldn''t rx herself no matter what she tried. Chapter 249: Lord Commander Nyer "Are you showing your guest around?" Nyer smiled while sweeping his eyes across Allura and Alice. Seeing Alice''s reaction of hiding behind the tall woman, Nyer couldn''t help but be confused by her reaction. Strangely enough, he could sense fear from her. This should be their first meeting yet she was scared of him? Why? "Mnm, Kaden told me to show her around. She''s got some weird powers and quirks about her so he''s talking with Nalem about it right now." Allura shrugged. "I see¡­ Anything I can do to help? Her Majesty has given me the day off so she can focus on the uing meeting. Personally, I''d want to handle any potential variables to make sure the meeting goes smoothly." He offered as Allura looked towards Alice who was hiding behind her. "When did you be so shy? I know themander looks a little scary but he''s not that bad now, is he?" Hesitating for a moment, Alice shook her head but didn''t dare make eye contact. Shaking his head helplessly, Nyer smiled towards Allura. "As long as you''re prepared for the meeting, I have noints. Just try not to bring out cake when the other Gods appear okay?" "Blerg, do I look that stupid?" Allura rolled her eyes. "The answer may surprise you." Letting out augh, Nyer walked away before Allura couldin. Seeing Nyer escape, Allura could only sigh. "Are you alright?" She asked, looking at Alice who finally calmed down once Nyer had walked away. "Yea¡­ Sorry, I didn''t know what came over me." Alice apologised while Allura simply patted her head. "Don''t worry about it too much. Let''s go find Kaden and Nalem now, shall we?" Nodding her head, Alice hesitated for a moment before grabbing Allura''s hand. As for Allura, she stayed silent while guiding Alice through the city. ### Walking away from Allura and her strange guest, Nyer was silent. He kept a smile on his face but there was no joy to be found inside his heart. Even though her Majesty didn''t say anything, he had seen the signs. Her condition was deteriorating. She is the Goddess of the Abyss but that title did not grant her full dominion over this realm. No, in fact, it could be said that she was its prisoner. Helpless at its whims and all she could do was grant the people of the Abyss a small semnce of peace through her rules and creations. Had it not been for her, he would''ve been one of the lowly beasts fated to die without gaining full sentience. He could still remember the meeting he had with a visitor. A God of the Surface. "Lord Commander Nyer, have you ever doubted the Abyss? I''m not talking about your Goddess but rather, this dominion she ''rules'' over." "She is given divinity, sovereignty and yet all she can do is tamper with the rules and loopholes, praying that her changes are epted all while the burden of hermands falls onto her." "Your dear Goddess of the Abyss is no different than a prisoner in a cage." Nyer knew that they were simply nting doubts in his mind in hopes that he would sabotage the meeting. The Gods of the Surface have always been greedy over the power granted by the Abyss. For the Sun, Moon and Eclipse, their powers are directly derived from their followers. Their beliefs, rituals, sacrifices and worship are what empower their divinity. But the same couldn''t be said for the Abyss. The Abyss is something else entirely, it''s a being that will grow so long as people drink the holy blood that it provides. No matter what God you worship, so long as you epted the power from the Abyss, you have be its follower. In this sense, the Abyss is a parasite that the Gods cannot get rid of. They were the ones who opened a passage to this realm that they could not close. They opened the pandora''s box and brought forth this cmity, this being, this abomination into their world. They suffer yet they cannot help but be enamoured by its all mighty power of corruption. The Gods desire this power and they can only hope that he would serve as their proxy. Just the mere thought made Nyer spit in disgust. There was only one Goddess he tookmand from, no other. His loyalty is to her and her alone. She who brought him out from the depths of the Abyss and granted him life. He owes her everything. ''The Abyss is no doubt a problem. But the biggest threat to her Majesty right now are the other Gods and their Apostles. This guest of Allura¡­ Her Majesty has said that she doesn''t feel like she came from the Gods of the Surface but rather the Abyss. ''Was she sent to watch over what her Majesty chooses to do? Is the Abyss even capable of doing so?'' Narrowing his eyes, he nced back at the castle located in the heart of the city. The symbol of her Majesty''s presence. No matter what, he will protect her till the end. ### After walking around the city for a little while, Alice and Allura arrived in front of a grand building not far from the castle. ording to Allura, this is the main Library of Ayr, a building maintained solely by Nalem and people can borrow books here with his permission. With all of the details that she had gathered, Alice was 90% sure that this Nalem was the same one she knew of. Which only begs the question, did Allura know that Nalem was in the city of Zadash? ''Allura gathers intel quickly and there''s also the Underground. If she knew that Nalem was there¡­ Why did she never mention him? Could it be the same reason why she doesn''t talk to Kaden much?'' Alice wondered to herself as the two entered the building. Upon entering, Alice saw the library in its entirety. The interior was vast and expansive, countless floors filled to the brim with shelves upon shelves of books. Towering pirs that connected the ground to the ceiling with some supporting each of the individual floors. Floating around the interior of the building were strange constructs, tending to the shelves while organizing the vast collection of books. Some towered over the shelves, helping smaller constructs get to higher levels while others had a multitude of limbs. Each had a different purpose, each working at full efficiency. "Yahoo!~ Nalem we''re here. Is Kaden up there with you?" Allura called out, surprising Alice by how loud she was being. "Yes he is. Please don''t be so loud while in the library, you can simply let one of the constructs know and I''ll be notified." An annoyed voice rang out as a small construct floated over to the two of them. Hearing the voice, Alice confirmed that it was indeed the Nalem she knew. "If I do that you''ll just let them deal with me automatically without actually talking to me." Allura shrugged. "That''s their whole point. To deal with the tedious situations so I don''t have to manually do everything. Getting you toe to the third floor is an easy instruction that could''ve been given by the Construct. Instead, you decide to shout at the top of your lungs." Nalemined. Even though Alice couldn''t see his face right now, she could already picture a frown. "Alright alright, I''ll try keep that in mind next time. Third floor right?" "Yes. And before you ask, no, I do not have snacks here and more specifically cake. That is also not an invitation for you to bring your own food. I don''t need your dirty fingers staining my books after you''ve just eaten." He instructed before the construct returned to work. Making their way upstairs, they saw Nalem and Kaden sitting by the table withrge stacks of books next to them. A brief nce at the titles told Alice everything she needed to know as they were researching beasts with fire abilities. "So any results?" Allura asked, making herselffortable on a seat while gesturing for Alice to sits down next to her. "A little. We managed to narrow down the key ''ability'' of Alice''s fire. Or rather, the ssification of it." Kaden smiled while looking for a book from the pile. "ssification?" Alice tilted her head. "Mnm. Your fire can counter Sigil abilities but before we can determine its origin, we need to understand how it works on a fundamental level." Looking over to Nalem, Kaden gestured for him to continue the exnation. Scratching his hair, Nalem sighed before opening his mouth. "There are three types of Cancetion type abilities from my knowledge. First, the Counter type. Like fire and water, the first Cancetion type aims to directly counter the nature of the ability. "Second, the Sunder type. You can think of this one as Allura with how her attacks work. The Sunder type aims to cut the connection between the user and the Abyss to prevent the usage of abilities. "Third, Restriction type. This type imposes rules and restrictions onto the enemy, preventing them from activating their Sigils. Certain Resonances have this power but they are few and far between." Nalem exined, holding up three fingers. "From the initial exnations that Kaden has shown me, there''s a high likely hood that your mes belong to a merge between the first and second types. Rather than an elemental countering, it seems to be something on a far more fundamental level. But here''s the issue." Nalem turned towards Alice. "Most Sunder types are temporary at most while Allura is a special case. Her power partiallyes from her Authority hence why the severance is far more potentpared to others. But for you, you can achieve a simr result despite not having the Authority. "Thus far, there have been no records on beasts that can emte Authority to such a high degree. Your mes arepletely foreign to us." Nalem admitted helplessly. "However¡­" He hesitated before looking towards Kaden. "If you want, Nalem can perform some experiments with a few friends on your blood samples. It should help him figure out the source of these mes. Of course, only if you wish to go ahead with this." Kaden suggested. Hearing this, Alice clenched her fists. Chapter 250: Apostles Alice was put in a difficult position. It was one case to perform the experiments herself but another for someone else to conduct it on her. Could she trust her body over to someone else? Could she go through what had haunted her throughout the 10 years? Just the thought alone made Alice''s heart pound against her chest in anxiousness. She trusts Allura and Kaden. But that was also the case for her father and brothers. Yet in the end, she was chained up and cored against her will. What if she were to lose consciousness halfway through the experiment just to find out that another cor has been ced against her neck? Subconsciously, Alice raised her hand against her neck. She has grown ustomed to theck of weight against her neck. But the phantom pain of the cor forever haunted her. Even now, she could feel its sting, the biting cold metal pressing against her skin. Biting her lips, Alice began to scratch away at her neck as her breathing began to speed up. shes of different experiments appeared in her mind, each one more gruesome than thest. Tubes being inserted into her veins, her organs being reced with bestial parts. Blood that would make her grow gills and suffocate from the air. Overwhelmed by the sights before her, Alice shut her eyes but the sounds of the machinery continued to howl into her ears. A sudden touch against her wrist caused Alice to jolt back in panic as her eyes betrayed the fear hidden within. But this contact snapped her out of her stupor as she looked down and saw blood on her fingertips. Allura had grabbed her wrist in an attempt to stop her. Panting heavily, Alice could see the concern in Allura, Kaden and Nalem''s eyes as all three had stood up and stopped her before she injured herself further. None of them had expected such a reaction from Alice. "Sorry can I have a moment to think about it?" Alice forced a smile while using her Sigil to stop the bleeding. Without waiting for their reply, Alice stepped away while Allura wanted to stop her. However, Kaden grabbed Allura and shook his head. "Let me. I''m the one who proposed the question so it''s only right for me to apologise to her." Hesitating for a moment, Allura nodded her head as Kaden stepped away from the table. Following the path that Alice took, Kaden realised that Alice had made her way to the highest floor of the library. Seeing her stand silently by the window while hugging her own arms, Kaden couldn''t help but feel sorry for the girl. Everyone had a past they don''t want to share. Whether it be Alice, Allura or himself, revisiting old memories are haunting at times. "How are you feeling?" Kaden asked hesitantly as he stood next to her. "Pretty sh*tty." Alice admitted bluntly. Even now, she couldn''t quite shake off the fear of having other people experiment on her. "Sorry about that. Seems like I got a little carried away with wanting to help you figure out the fire." He apologised while looking out at the city. "It''s fine. It''s just me overreacting because of my own past. It''s nothing to do with you guys. If it wasn''t for my past, I wouldn''t hesitate since I trust you and Allura." "Hou~ For you to trust us so much despite this being our first day meeting is quite an honour." Kaden smiled, causing Alice to pause before sighing out in annoyance. "Do we have to y mind games while I''m feeling sh*tty?" "Sorry sorry. But alright, I''ll do you a favour and stop ying around with you. I have a guess on where you came from. Well¡­ Where is not quite the right word but rather when. Isn''t that right?" Kaden held a finger to his lips as Alice raised her hand in surrender. "When did you have this guess?" "Quite a while ago. You own a feather with my power, don''t you? It''s ''dead'' but it still has traces of power that can be linked back to me. Considering the fact that we''ve only met for a day, it was rather strange. "Then you showed powers that mimicked Lua''s Authority. Once you did that, obviously I had a few guesses of my own." Kaden shrugged. Realising that the feather was what gave her away the most, Alice couldn''t help but sigh. ''Sabotaged by Kaden in both worlds.'' "So what now? Are you going to tell the others?" "Nope. It''ll just be a secret between me and you. You''re simply a strange gal who doesn''t know how you got here." Kaden chuckled, causing Alice to smile. "There you go. You''re smiling again." "Tsk. So any thoughts now that you''ve guessed ''when'' I came from?" Alice clicked her tongue. "A few but I''m guessing there are things you don''t want to tell me." ''Yeah like how Ayr is no longer around.'' Alice thought to herself but didn''t dare to vocalize her thoughts. "Well I figured a few things out already like how Lua is your esteemed mother. But knowing her, I''m surprised you don''t know more about the world. Did she not take you travelling?" Kaden asked curiously as Allura wasn''t one to sit around in one ce unless it''s Ayr. And even then, she enjoyed the missions that has her venturing outside. "I mean¡­ I call her mother but she''s not my biological mother. She simply picked me up and took me in after I was thrown into the Abyss." Alice shrugged. "I see¡­ What is Lua like in the future?" "Not much different from now. Though I suppose she''s a lot calmer. Not as loud nor enthusiastic I suppose. Surprisingly less violent and instead of cake, she seems to be addicted to smoking instead." Alice replied after taking a moment to think about the differences between the two Alluras. "Smoking you say¡­ Who would''ve thought? But I''m getting carried away." Kaden smiled. He wanted to see what Allura was like in the future with how Alice was describing her but seeing as how Alice hasn''t mentioned him yet, he figured he was probably not around. ''What a shame.'' He thought with a bitter smile. Looking at Kaden, Alice could practically read his thoughts as it was printed onto his expression. Debating for a moment, Alice opened her mouth. "You were there too. You''re a lot different as well. Honestly, Allura might have taken me in, but you were the one who freed me from my captivity." She admitted, surprising Kaden as a bright smile appeared on his face. "You brat. Why didn''t you say so earlier. And here I thought I died an early death." Kaden grinned, ruffling Alice''s hair while she frowned in displeasure. "Wait¡­ If I''m still around, then¡­ Actually, never mind. It''ll be best that I don''t know anything." He shook his head. He wanted to ask about Alice''s ''father'' but didn''t want to know the answer. As for Alice, she simply thought ''weirdo'' before looking back at the city. Even though they were joking around, Alice''s mind was still on his question earlier. If she wanted Nalem to experiment on her to see if they could find out more about her fire. "The experiment. What do you need from me? I just want to know how far you want to go." Alice asked while tightening her grip around her arm. Seeing this, Kaden decided to be honest. "If you wish to do it, it''ll just be small samples of your blood. We don''t need to do anything to your body. If Nalem still can''t figure out the origin through your blood, there will be no need for further experimentation. "You see, Nalem is a little special. Even though he doesn''t possess an Authority like me and Lua, since Master can only designate two of us, his Sigils work in a way that helps himpile knowledge and cross reference everything he''s seen. Even now, he has his own familiars across the entire Abyss, receiving information for him." Kaden smiled. "So if he is unable to determine a source after experimenting with samples of your blood, it''s probably best to request an audience with my Master." Contemting for a moment, Alice nodded her head. "If it''s just samples of my blood then it''s fine. I just don''t want anything to do with poking and prodding my body." She sighed while rubbing her neck. But this time, she didn''t scratch. "Do you want to spend a bit more time up here? It''ll be harder to speak openly once we rejoin the others." Kaden asked, offering to answer any questions that may be on Alice''s mind. "Your Authority. What kind of Apostles are you and Allura? She''s told me about the Apostles belonging to the surface Gods. War, Famine, Preservation, Protection, Immortality and Spirituality. What are the titles belonging to you and Allura?" Alice asked curiously. This had been on her mind for a while now and she wanted to know what kind of powers they wielded. And more specifically in Allura''s case, what kind of power she was trying to emte. "You have to think of it this way. Apostles are¡­ Roles given to the chosen ones. Roles that embody a portion of the Divinity wielded by the Gods/Goddesses. Already, I can imagine that War and Famine belong to the Eclipse right? Preservation and Protection to the Sun and thest two are for the Moon. "For the Abyss, and more specifically for Master, I suppose you have to think about what kind of powers she wields. Lua''s Authority is that of Severance. Her power allows her to iste a target and strike at their core or at least, that''s what she uses it for. Meaning Sigil abilities and external assistance will be severed temporarily." Kaden chuckled. "A more practical use of her power other than violence would be to iste an entire space, making it almost impossible for people to interfere. She can also tamper with the differentyers of the Abyss and travel between them rather easily. "As for me¡­ Well I''m the opposite. My Authority is that of¡­ Corruption. In that sense, you can say mine is the power to connect the surface and Abyss. But that''s simply practicality. In terms ofbat¡­ Let''s just say it''s a little unpleasant and I''d rather not use it if possible." He smiled bitterly while Alice was silent. The Eclipse has War and Famine. The Sun has Preservation and Protection. The Moon has Immortality and Spirituality. And the Abyss? Severance and Corruption. Chapter 251: Blurred Outline ''Severance and Corruption¡­ I suppose Allura''s Nova Core is based on a branch of Severance. Her Executioner''s de severs the connection of the target to the Abyss beforending the final blow. Nova Core, on the other hand, most likely erases the connection at the post of impact.'' Alice thought to herself as she remembered the phenomenon caused by Nova Core. How it drew in energy from around it before appearing as a single spark of destruction. With this in mind, it was clear that her Void Flux and Void Flux ¨C Cleave should not only aim to condense its power to the absolute limit but also aim for the strands of energy that she could see. If she learns how to differentiate these strands and understand which ones serve as the main connection to the Abyss, she''ll be able to better utilise her abilities. While Alice was thinking to herself, Kaden couldn''t help but chuckle at her expression while deep in thought. He could practically see the gears in her mind turning as she theorised on the meaning behind these authorities and what they could do. "Having fun?" Kaden smiled while giving Alice''s head another pat. "Mnm, I think I kind of understand the difference between my skill and Allura''s. It gives me room to make some adjustments on my end but I''ll deal with thatter. Nalem and Allura are still waiting downstairs right? I''m guessing they''ll be worried about my reaction." Alice nodded. "It''s not every day you hear someone im that they can make adjustments based on an Apostle''s authority. And yet here we are. Take your time, there''s no rush. Both Allura and Nalem are patient people, more so if its something that bothers you." Kaden chuckled. "Don''t worry, I''ve calmed down now. As long as it is limited to just my blood samples, I don''t mind." ncing back at the city one more time, Alice made her way down. While looking at the city, she couldn''t help but notice a strange sight gathering towards the top of the castle. A sea of multicoloured strands gathered together, invisible to the naked eye but thanks to Ca, she could see it. With this in mind, Alice could only assume the Goddess was at the top of the castle. ### "Wee back. Are you feeling better now?" Allura asked after seeing Alice and Kaden returning to the table. "I am. Sorry about earlier." Alice apologised but Allura shook her head. "There''s no need to apologise, it''s normal to be weirded out by someone asking to perform experiments on you. As long as you''re feeling better, I''ll be relieved." cing a te with some cake in front of Alice, Allura leaned back into her chair. Alice could only smile before turning to Nalem. "How much of my blood do you need? If you want, I can also give you some details about my blood that I know of." "How much can you spare? The more tests I can run the more urate the results will be." Nalem shrugged. Thinking about it for a moment, Alice turned to Allura. "In the pouch you confiscated after knocking me out, there should be a vial containing blood beads. They''re made from my blood and should serve as a good sample. If you give me some vials, I can also fill them with my blood. I presume you want it straight from my body rather than created from my Sigils right? Since my third Sigil can conjure my blood." Alice asked while ncing at Nalem towards the end. "That''s right. The blood conjured from a Sigil while containing the same properties, have a different origin than the blood within your body. You can think of it as a product created by the Abyss after observing your blood. The origin will always be better." Nalem exined as Alice nodded her head. While they were discussing this, Kaden took this time to teleport out beforeing back with a small bag. "I''ve brought the vial of blood beads and some empty vials for you." Kaden smiled while cing the bag on the table. "You really didn''t waste any time now did you?" Alice raised an eyebrow. Shrugging her shoulders, she reached into the bag and brought out several vials. "Do you have any healing vials? I''ll need to replenish my blood." "Actually, it''s best if you don''t drink a healing vial while extracting your blood since each sample will be slightly different." Nalem interjected but Alice shook her head. "You don''t have to worry about that. My blood is a little different. The only changes it receives are from Sigils." Kaden simply chose to trust Alice and not pry while leaving to get some healing blood. In the meantime, Alice made a cut on her arm before using her Sigil to control her blood. Extracting the crimson fluid from her body, Alice continued to fill up the vials while Nalem was still contemting about what her words meant. Drinking the healing blood that Kaden had brought over, Alice filled a second batch of blood vials while Nalem beganparing the two. Taking off his sses, his Sigil marking appeared around his eyes as his pupils changed into a deep emerald colour. "This¡­ What the hell is your blood." Nalem muttered with trembling lips, surprising both Kaden and Allura. This was the first time they had seen Nalem lose hisposure in such a matter. "Is something wrong?" Allura frowned while Nalem continued topare different samples. "Something wrong? Yes, everything is wrong. Alice''s blood it''s¡­ it''spletely immune to the permanent change brought forth by the Abyss. The traces left behind by the Abyss Blood is devoured by her own blood. While the effects may linger for a moment it seems¡­ She''spletely immune to side effects." Nalem muttered while looking at Alice in a mixture of shock and fascination. This stare sent a chill down Alice''s back as it was simr to how the Schrs stared at her. Noticing his mistake, Nalem coughed andposed himself. "Sorry. But as I was saying, it seems like her blood ''consumes'' the effects of the Abyss before it can leavesting marks. As you know, epting a bounty for a Sigil is a contract formed with the Abyss. It''s something that changes you fundamentally hence why Sigils are able to change Alice''s blood. However, even with the effects of Sigils, it seems like the foundations of her blood remain the same." He exined while raising the vial of blood against the lights. "Wait¡­ Are you suggesting that Alice can''t ever turn into a beast?" Allura widened her eyes in surprise. "Not quite. But I suppose it''s not far off. How do I put it¡­ Honestly I think Kaden might be able to exin this better than I can. This spills into his territory of understanding regarding the Soul''s outline." Nalem smiled helplessly. "When transforming into a beast, Sigils and Abyss Blood act as a mould for the soul. It changes its shape to fit that mould and eventually, that mould bes a prison. But for Alice¡­ Since she doesn''t have a clear outline, it''s difficult for a mould to be created." Kaden sighed as he created a ball of shadow. "Think of it like this. A clear outline defines the normal soul born in the Abyss." He adjusted the ball so that its outline was clear. "Reshape it and you be a beast." He snapped his finger and the shape transformed into a draconic creature. "As for Alice? The outline of her ''soul'' is so blurred, it''s as though nothing is there yet she still exists. In a sense, she is like a construct but even a construct has a clear outline while she doesn''t. Saying that she doesn''t have a soul is the best description for this anomaly." Kaden admitted while waving his finger. The outline of the ball started to blur until it is simply a blurry patch of colour that seemed to stretch on infinitely. But at the same time, it is also contained within the area above Kaden''s hand. If Alice tried to focus on the edges, she''ll simply see the library while a patch of darkness appears in her peripherals. And when she tries to focus on the shape in her peripheral, it disappears while the surroundings be dark instead. "How can you shape something where the outline is so indistinguishable and blurred that you don''t even know you''re looking at it? This is simply my current observation. I don''t know how it''s changed or hasn''t changed but she is indeed immune to the changes brought forth by the Abyss. No matter how much Abyss Blood she tries to drink, it will not seed in defining her outline and thus, cannot shape her into a beast." Hearing this, Alice finally understood her current condition. 10 years of work put in by the Schrs of the Zenia family could notpare to a day with an Apostle of the Abyss Goddess. ''If my outline is so blurred that the Abyss cannot shape me, then there is probably a way to define it. My one Sigil resonance made this crown above my head permanent. In a sense, using it has defined my ''soul''.'' Alice thought to herself as she furrowed her brows. Countless questions in her mind had be clear. Why could she mimic the powers of Hunters if she drinks their blood? That was most likely a case of temporarily giving her ''soul'' an outline. By ingesting their blood, she takes in the influence of their Sigil and the Abyss blood they have consumed over the course of their life. However¡­ "If the shape of my outline can''t be defined, what will happen if someone who has a clear outline drinks my blood? What I want to ask is, can I blur their outline to make them immune to the effects of the Abyss? Or perhaps even revert the changes?" Chapter 252: Cayla "It''s hard to say since this kind of situation has never happened before. You''re the first case of a blurred outline that I''ve seen." Kaden shook his head since they were in unknown territory regarding Alice''s abilities. "Theoretically, it''s not impossible. We haven''t observed the possible changes that can be brought forth by your blood. Whether or not your strange nature can change the foundation of life in the Abyss. But that''s what we''re trying to find out no?" Nalem smiled as he continued to examine the different samples. Hearing this, Alice nodded her head as he was indeed correct. There was no need to rush things for now. With the Inverted World bringing her to the past or perhaps a ''recording'' of the history in the Abyss, it was a perfect chance for her to learn more about herself. Keeping this in mind, Alice had 3 main objectives she wanted toplete. First: The origin of her blood. Second: Can she stop people from turning into a beast? Third: What are the restrictions around her blood? What can or can''t affect her and the limits of her resistance? If she could aplish these three objectives, she''ll be able to utilize her blood to a much higher degree than before. Whether that be making medicine for Ria so that she can drink blood without worry or helping those who have begun their transformation into a beast. After collecting enough samples for Nalem to work with, Alice drank another vial of healing blood and slumped in her seat. Seeing Alice in this state, Allura shuffled a bit closer and patted her head. "Why do you two like to pat my head so much. There''s a crown floating there. Honestly, it''s more of a hassle to try pat it than anything else." Alice grumbled but didn''t have the energy to move her head away. "Why not? You''re small and cute. How often is it that I get to pat someone with two different hair colours?" Allura chuckled while ying around with Alice''s hair. "I''m average height. You''re just too damn tall. Same goes for Kaden. If you look at Nalem, you can see we''re both simr heights but he''s a bit taller." Alice furrowed her brows. "Regardless, you''re still small for me." Allura chuckled. "Everyone''s smallpared to you." Meanwhile, Kaden simply watched with a smile on his face. Now that he had verified that Allura is Alice''s adoptive mother in the future, seeing this interaction between the two of them made him smile. Perhaps it was destined after seeing how Allura treats Alice. With the samples now collected, Nalem excused himself since he had a lot of work to do if he wanted to figure out the origin and properties of Alice''s blood. After Nalem left, it was just Alice, Kaden and Allura left in the library. "Say¡­ I''ve been meaning to ask but is there mead here?" Alice asked curiously. With everything going on, she hadn''t been able to inquire about the holy water. The mead of a long forgotten and destroyed city, what kind of drink would that be? "Mead? We have mead but why do you ask?" Allura blinked her eyes in confusion. "I wanna drink it obviously. I want to taste what kind of mead is avable in Ayr hehe~" Alice grinned while rubbing her hands excitedly. She had her sk at the ready but since she didn''t know how long she was going to be here, she didn''t want to go through all of her supplies. Plus, it doesn''t hold as much as her original sk so she couldn''t continue her rate of drinking. However, if Ayr had mead of its own then there was no better supply. "Do you want to go get some or shall I?" Allura nced over to Kaden who had already returned with mead in hand. "Damn¡­ I should get a teleporting Sigil, that sh*t is too handy." Alice muttered as she jumped up and looked at the mead that Kaden has brought. Just the smell alone was enough to make her fantasize about the taste. But before she could even take a sip, a wave of lethargy washed over her as Alice felt her vision blurring. Stumbling back, she held her head as she reached out for the drink. Her vision turned dark as she felt herself copsing back into her seat. She could hear the muffled cries of Allura and Kaden but their voices continued to grow feint. ### Snapping her eyes open, Alice immediately entered a defensive stance as she found herself floating in an empty void. Around her, a strange flow of darkness with strands of light surrounded her. The light felt both near and far, within reach but her hand could never touch it. Surveying her surroundings, Alice sensed a familiarity to this space but she couldn''t quite put her finger to it. ''What''s going on?'' Alice frowned. Sensing a gaze linger on her back, she jumped forward before twisting her body. It was at this moment that Alice found out the source of the familiarity. A pair of eyes stared down at her from above. "Ca?!" Alice widened her eyes in surprise. The Ca in her mind only revealed one eye yet there was two here. [So you do know of me. Master''s assumption is correct then, you''vee from a time beyond ours.] An unfamiliar voice rang out as strands of light manifested into a woman''s body. But unlike before, Ca didn''t mimic the Goddess''s form nor did she mimic Alice''s. Instead, it was her own body. Standing before Alice, Ca narrowed her gaze while scanning Alice from head to toe. "I suppose if Kaden and Allura noticed me then it''s only natural for the Goddess to know as well." Alice forced a smile as she could feel a sense of hostility from Ca. It wasn''t quite the to the point of killing intent but more so displeasure and annoyance. ''I''m guessing Ca doesn''t like the fact that I''m her new master¡­'' It didn''t surprise Alice. After all, how could one bepared to a Goddess? [Can I¡­ Talk to ''me''? Or is she unavable right now?] Ca asked as her energy felt faint within Alice''s body. Like a fire that''s almost put out yet held on persistently. "Unavable sorry. You fall asleep quite often." Alice shook her head as Ca simply sighed. [Then I shall talk to you, my future Master.] Snapping her fingers, Ca changed their surroundings into a garden with a single table and two seats. Sitting down, she hugged one of her knees while the other foot helped bnce her. [Future master, if I am in your body, do you know what happened to Ayr?] Ca asked without beating around the bush. She wanted to know if her home was still around or if it had fallen to ruin. Seeing the seriousness in Ca''s eyes, Alice understood that this was a very important question to Ca. Hesitating for a moment, Alice furrowed her brows before opening her mouth. "Ayr no longer exists. I only heard about it from Allura by coincidence. If it wasn''t for that, I doubt Allura would''ve told me." Alice decided to be truthful towards Ca. If she already knew that she was from the future, then a half assed lie wouldn''t work. In fact, it''ll even work against her and harm the chances of having a peaceful talk. Upon hearing Alice''s answer, Ca''s gaze trembled as she clenched her fist and bit her lip. A myriad of emotions swirled within her as every part of her being wanted to deny this truth. [And the Goddess?] "Passed on. I talked with a ''residual spirit'' of the Goddess once. She said that she was no longer around and Allura confirmed this." Alice shook her head. Staying silent, Ca closed her eyes as she took several deep breaths to calm her mental state. If Alice''s words are to be trusted then her beloved home was gone and her master, dead. [How much do you know of Ayr''s final fate? What happened during its final days?] "Sorry¡­ I don''t know much about Ayr. I don''t even know how I got here but I''m trying to learn as much as I can." [I guess that''s to be expected¡­ Thank you for telling me.] Ca muttered. Her displeasure towards Alice had disappeared but all that remained was sadness over the discovery of Ayr and her Master''s fate. Alice couldn''t find the right words tofort Ca as the two sat in silence. [Master will want to see you at some point. All things considered, you are her sessor. I''m sure there are plenty of things she wants to learn from you and vice versa.] "I''m not sure how easy it is to arrange a meeting with a Goddess. Plus, isn''t there a meetinging up?" [It''ll be no hassle. Just let Kaden and Allura know that you want to see her and I''m sure they''ll take you to her after some convincing. It''s not like Master rejects visits in the first ce, people are just too intimidated to ask for one.] Ca shrugged. To them, the Goddess is a figure that''s outside of mortalprehension. They believe she should be looked at from afar but that was no the case at all. In fact, she wees people to talk to her. In a way, the Goddess of the Abyss was a lonely figure who tries her hardest for her citizens and followers. Without waiting for Alice''s reply, Ca cut the connection between the two of them as she sat silently in this realm alone. Tears began to fall as her shoulders trembled. Was the destruction truly unavoidable? Could she not change her Master''s fate? Ca didn''t know. Chapter 253: Successor Groaning softly, Alice found herselfying down on a bed within the library. Both Allura and Kaden were working on some documents nearby. Both of them had a serious expression on their face and even Allura was in a rare state of silence. Her frown only deepened the further she read. Sitting her, Alice held her head as her movements alerted the two. "Ah, you''re awake. Are you feeling better? What happened?" Allura asked, taking this chance to have a break from paperwork. "Mnm, sorry. I''m feeling better now, how long was I out for?" Alice nodded with a small smile while Allura was checking her body to see if there was anything else that was wrong. "You were out for 2 hours." Kaden chimed in. Hearing this, Alice paused in surprise. 2 hours? She had only talked to Ca briefly and nothing more. Yet that still knocked her out for 2 hours. ''Damn, at least she can choose to talk to me face to face next time.'' Alice grumbled inwardly. But considering neither Allura nor Kaden knew of Ca in the future, perhaps Ca didn''t make herself known in this era. To both of them, Ca was simply known as the Eye. "So any reason as to why you just passed out? Or was it the mead?" Kaden asked curiously. He''s heard of people passing out after getting drunk but passing out at the sight of mead? This was the first. "It wasn''t mead. Just had a conversation with someone in my head." Raising his eyebrow, Kaden saw that Alice wasn''t joking. "Should¡­ Should we investigate it or is it fine?" He asked, wondering if Alice wanted assistance. Shaking her head, Alice got out of the bed and looked for her shoes. Just as she was doing this, she had a realisation. ''Why the f*ck is there a bed in the library of all things?'' Turning around, she watched as Kaden snapped his fingers and the bed disappeared into his shadows. ''Damn¡­ That sh*t is handy as f*ck.'' Once again, she was reminded of how efficient Kaden''s shadows were. With the bed now packed away, both Kaden and Allura returned to their work while Alice sat next to them watching curiously. "Did something bad happen?" Alice asked. "Just some annoyances. Beasts are bing rowdier for an unknown reason. They''re attacking everyone on site without care for their own survival. It''s happening all over the Abyss on everyyer, even theyers close to the surface with some from the deeperyers going up." Kaden sighed. Even if he could teleport him and Allura around the Abyss constantly, there were too many reportsing in. Going to one ce means another would be under attack. The Queens Guard and Lord Commander Nyer were out dealing with this sudden uprising but there were only so many of thempared to the vast sea of beasts. Naturally, he and Allura could make a move but Nyer has already contacted him saying that he''ll handle it. The two of them should focus on defending the city since they''ve been granted authority from the Goddess. Nyer wasn''t granted an Authority but he didn''t need one. After all, before he ''became'' human, he was one of the most feared beasts that resided within Terminus. Even after being reborn thanks to the Goddess''s power, he retained the strength he had previously. If anything, in terms of raw power, he surpassed Allura and Kaden! ### Looking at the mountain of corpses before him, Nyer sighed and kneeled down. Closing his eyes, he gave them a silent prayer. While they may have the form of a beast, they were humans to him. Each one had the potential to join them in their glorious city yet their insanity deprived them of such opportunities. He didn''t know what was happening, but it was clear that this was an attack aimed towards his Goddess. A challenge against thews she put in ce. "I am in no mood for visitors. Please leave." Nyer warned without turning around. "Why the cold greeting? I believe you know that I mean no harm to you." A feminine voice rang out behind him with a chuckle. "What does the Apostle belonging to the Moon want with me now? I believe I have already rejected your proposalst time, don''t make me repeat myself." Nyer warned as a heavy pressure descended upon the area. Despite him not being an Apostle, the woman could feel a chill down her spine. He was the only one who could make her feel this way aside from the other Apostles. "I just came to let you know that there''s been a slight change that we''ve observed. You already know about the burden ced upon the Goddess of the Abyss. But what you see is only the surface. Do you truly know what is happening to her?" Furrowing his brows, Nyer nced back at the woman with a frown. "Speak." Seeing his response, the woman''s smile grew wider as this was now a time for negotiation. If she ys her cards right, they may gain another ally. "You see, the Abyss is expanding. The rate of expansion was slow before but it''s beginning to speed up. However, the burden of expansion is being ced on your Goddess since herws are being implemented. "As a result, her condition should be deteriorating. How long do you think she can hold out before she cannot take it anymore? Even though she is a special entity in the Abyss, beneath the Will of the Abyss, she is but a pawn like the rest of you." "Stop telling me riddles and just tell me what you want." Nyer red. He wasn''t unaware of the Goddess''s condition. She who used to walk around her city with joy can no longer move away from her castle. At this point, she can only look over her city while her body continues to suffer. "We''re looking for a way to confront the Will of the Abyss. While we do know it exists, we do not know where it resides. But with your assistance and cooperation, we''ll be able to get one step closer." "Is that all?" Nyer sighed as he turned away from the woman. Hearing this, she was confused when Nyer opened his mouth once more. "Her Highness already knows about her condition and the Will of the Abyss expanding. She also knows that the Gods of the Surface desire her power. Targeting me and convincing me to help you sever the connection is what you desire right? "If I help you sever her connection with the Abyss, you''ll be able to target the source." Furrowing her brows, she wasn''t sure where Nyer was going with this. "I bore of this. All of you Apostles want my power to help you target my Goddess. Be grateful that your Goddess of the Moon has blessed you for this encounter. Now leave." Before she could even ask about what he was talking about, she noticed the area around them beginning to distort. Countless cracks across the space revealed themselves as she had been surrounded by des this entire time. A multilimbed beast loomed above her in the cracks between reality. Slowly, it retracted its weapons and the space sealed itself. Cold sweat dripped down her back as she didn''t even sense anything that was wrong with this space. The only exception within the hierarchy of power. The one who can kill Apostles despite being ''just'' an Abyss Lord. Nyer, Lord Commander of Ayr. Without hesitation, she took a step back and left the area. Standing alone, Nyer closed his eyes. The Gods knew that his will was wavering. That''s why they kept sending Apostles to try convince him. His loyalty lies with the Goddess and no one else. Not even the Abyss. It was she who saved him, not the Abyss. Yet to point his de at the Abyss was equivalent to pointing his sword at the Goddess. ''If I don''t do anything, she dies from the expansion. If I try to stop the Expansion, she may die from the bacsh.'' Taking a deep breath, Nyer sighed while looking up at the sky. He was stuck between two impossible choices where the results would always end up with the Goddess''s death. Was there no third path? ### After dealing with the reports, Kaden stood up as he needed to do the patrols around the current Layer of the Abyss. With his powers of teleportation, he was the most suited for Patrols. As for Allura, she was responsible for the safety within the city and any who targeted the outer walls. Alice will be joining Allura. Before Kaden could teleport away, Alice opened her mouth. "Would¡­ Would it be possible for me to meet the Goddess?" "You want to meet Master?" Kaden raised an eyebrow. Knowing that Alice is from the future, he understood that there were probably things she wanted to find out about. Things she couldn''t easily talk about. Hesitating for a moment, Kaden nced towards the Castle. "I''ll ask Master. If she says yes, I can take you there now while Allura does her patrols around the city." Wrapping himself in a cloak of shadows, Kaden disappeared from the area. It didn''t take long for him to return and when he did, there was a strange expression on his face when looking at Alice. "She has agreed to see you. I''ll send you just outside her door." Gesturing for Alice to grab onto him, Kaden thought back to what the Goddess said a moment ago. "Yes¡­ I''ve been wanting to talk with my sessor. If she has some questions for me then let''s take this time to answer some of them. You can bring her over Kaden." ''Sessor? Alice is¡­ the Sessor of Master, the next Goddess of the Abyss?'' Kaden thought to himself with a slight frown. The fact that Alice is a Sessor brings certain theories to mind that he didn''t want to think about. But regardless of what he thought, there was no denying that Alice came from the Future and that she is the Sessor. Even if he wanted to change the oue, he doubted that he could. All he could do was simply follow the instructions given to him by the Goddess and bring Alice to her. Chapter 254: Meeting The Goddess Teleporting outside of the Goddess''s room, Kaden looked at Alice with a strange expression before shaking his head. "She''s waiting for you inside. Hopefully, you''ll be able to find out what you want." Kaden smiled as he patted Alice''s head. Thanking Kaden, Alice watched as he jumped back into the shadows and disappeared from the location. Looking at the set of double doors before her, Alice couldn''t help but feel nervous. The Goddess of the Abyss. That''s who she is going to meet. A Divine entity revered by Kaden and Allura and the one who made this city. Swallowing her saliva, Alice prepared herself mentally and pushed open the doors. Widening her eyes, Alice found herself engulfed by a disy of vibrant energy. Within the room, the air was filled with countless strands of energy that danced as though it was underwater, casting a luminescent glow around the room. Each strand pulsed and shimmered with its own distinctive hue that would shift between colours. In the centre of this sea of colour, a single woman sat with a smile on her face. Her hands caressed the strands of energy. Even though she didn''t say anything, Alice knew that this was the Goddess. She didn''t need Kaden to tell her beforehand as the energy radiating off her was far too different from anything Alice had seen before. Each strand extended by the Abyss was connected to her. Her every movement, every breath felt like an extension of the Abyss. "Would you like to have some snacks while we talk?" Her voice echoed out, gesturing towards an empty seat next to her. "Ah erm¡­ No thank you, your Highness." Alice snapped out of her stupor as she adjusted her posture. Seeing this, the Goddess simply chuckled as she shook her head. "No need to be polite with me. In fact, it makes things more awkward if you force yourself." Awkwardly walking over to the seat, Alice sat down but was still unable to rx herself. "Is this perhaps the first time we''ve met? But considering you are my sessor, you should have seen me before right? But then again, it''s probably after I die." She chuckled, surprising Alice by herck of reaction towards her own death. "What''s there to be surprised about? As the Goddess of the Abyss and someone who governs half of the Abyss, it''s only natural that I know of my own deterioration and fate." Flicking her hand, she gently pushed aside some of the strands so that she could get a better look at Alice. "Ah¡­ Seems like you only got half of Ca. I don''t suppose that means Ca is currently asleep now, is she?" The Goddess asked while looking at Alice''s right eye. Not wanting to let the Goddess speak to herself during this ''conversation'', Alice opened her mouth. "She''s asleep. But why half? Is she supposed to take over both of my eyes?" To Alice, Ca had always been mentioned as the ''Eye'', singr. Even in her own mental space, there was only one eye that appeared in the space above. She hadn''t heard of Ca being a pair. "Of course. Ca is also known as the Eyes of the Abyss. It''s one of the blessings the Abyss gave me when I ascended as its Goddess. The Right Eye grants knowledge of the Abyss while the Left Eye grants control. But you only possess the Right Eye so either the Left Eye is given to someone else or Ca has been wounded." The Goddess exined as she pointed to her own eyes. "Aside from Ca, you also possess a fragment of the Crown of the Abyss. But for it to be in such a state¡­ I can only assume my passing is not a peaceful one." She chuckled while pointing at the markings around her neck. Before Alice had activated the one Sigil resonance, the Crown had rested within her chest. She could only assume it was meant to manifest as a marking rather than a physical crown above her head. "Aside from Ca who''s the Eye of the Abyss and the Crown, what other parts are there?" Alice asked after a brief pause. "You don''t know? Hm¡­ Judging by the condition of Ca and the Crown you were probably made into my Sessor without proper exnation then. No matter. There are three key pieces." The Goddess smiled as she held up three fingers. "First, the Crown of the Abyss. It serves as the Symbol of my rule, my Divinity. It acts as the foundation of my power and the channel in which the Abyss can funnel power into me. "Second, the Eyes of the Abyss. Ca acts simrly to a proxy. Through these eyes, I can see and control what goes on. "Third, the Heart of the Abyss. I must ask, do you know what the Heart signifies in the Abyss?" She asked as Alice paused. She recalled her talk with Ca and the incident in ckrock City. "Ca mentioned it before but it was cryptic. She simply said that the heart is the engine of the body and nothing else really. Other than that, she began to exin that after activating Sigils, a person''s blood has already be Abyss Blood and how humans struggle to convert the power of others in a simr state." "Ahaha, so Ca didn''t be better at exining in the future. How fascinating. But while she is not wrong, she''s not entirely correct either." The Goddessughed softly as she snapped her finger and created a fake heart using the strands of energy around her. "The heart that Ca mentioned is not the heart that you''re thinking about. But rather in this case, the Heart of your existence. The core of your being. When you make a contract with the Abyss to gain Sigils, you allow the Will to enter your body and tamper with your outline. "Doing so, it reshapes you and moulds you into a vessel capable of epting the power. With this in mind, you can say that the ''Heart'' is the closest channel a person has to the Abyss. A direct connection if you will. "For Lua, the Authority I have granted her directly severs the connection of your ''Heart''. While it is not powerful enough topletely destroy the connection permanently, it prevents the Abyss from further tampering with your outline." Hearing this, Alice nodded her head. If she understood everything correctly, this ''Heart'' was the single thing that allowed connection to the Abyss. "Wait¡­ Then this barrier around the city and its surroundings¡­" "Yes, your guess is correct. It blocks the connection to the Abyss and thus, unless you''ve been granted permission, you cannot use Sigil Abilities." The Goddess nodded. Which only served to further Alice''s confusion. Her mes could be manifested meaning they''re not connected to the Abyss. Yet it was brought forward thanks to the abilities of her second Sigil. Not only that, but she could also create a ritual with her me to bring forth the strange draconic beast that she had seen when fighting Lyra back at the Academy. However, it wasn''t time to ask this question just yet. There was something else she wanted answering. "Heart Blood. The purest blood that you can extract from a beast''s body. Why? Is it connected to this other ''Heart'' you mentioned?" Alice asked curiously. "Correct. While the Spiritual Heart and the physical heart are two separate things, they are also bound. While the Spiritual Heart serves as the medium to connect the person to the Abyss, the physical heart acts as the funnel to channel power from the Spiritual Heart. That''s why the blood thates directly from the heart is the purest you can extract." The Goddess nodded before waving her hand and dismissing the strands of light. While Alice was digesting this information, she took this moment to observe her sessor. The strange outline of her soul was rather rming. But there was something far more sinister in the deepest depths of this¡­ ''patch''. A single beast with an unsatiable blood lust towards the Abyss and by extension, her. Her first instinct was to purge this beast, but as it is sealed within Alice''s body, she decided to not make a move. But that wasn''t the only reason. ''There''s a seal ced upon the beast. It has¡­ traces of my Divinity but its weak. Perhaps a residual spirit I left behind? The effect of this seal binds this beast and restrains it, weakening its sense of self.'' She mused to herself. It was quite a strange situation to see traces of her own actions yet ''she'' was not the source of these actions. "How peculiar¡­" The Goddess muttered as Alice nced up in confusion. "Don''t mind me, I was thinking out loud. Now I have a few questions for you, Sessor." She smiled. "Does Ayr survive?" Seeing the brief hesitation within Alice was all she needed to know as sadness washed over her eyes. "I see¡­ Do you know why I made Ayr in the first ce?" She asked, making her way over to the balcony while gesturing for Alice to follow. "Not really." Alice shook her head. "I made Ayr so it can be a home for those without a home. A ce in the Abyss where beasts can feel ''human''. And a final stop for those at the end of their life. You could say Ayr symbolizes death but it is in reality a second chance. A hope that the Abyss will allow them to be reborn as ''human'' even if it''s brief. "Every human or beast in the Abyss is a citizen of Ayr as this is their final destination. But I suppose things didn''t go well if Ayr no longer exists. So tell me, what is the future like?" She turned to Alice. "Regale me with your tales for I wish to learn of the path my citizens are walking." Chapter 255: Velouria Hearing the Goddess''s request, Alice wasn''t sure how she should begin. First of all, Ayr no longer existed but she assumed the Goddess took that into consideration. Meaning what she wanted to know was the progression of humanity within the Abyss. How they thrived. "My knowledge¡­ Is limited. I spent most of my life confined before Allura saved me. But if you still want to hear about it then I''ll try and tell you as much as possible." Alice scratched her hair as the Goddess nodded her head. "Anything is fine, I simply wish to learn about the future." Seeing the Goddess look at her with expectant eyes, Alice couldn''t help but feel as though she was about to tell a story to a child. Right now, she was not the Goddess who ruled over all that lived in the Abyss. Right now, she is simply a human wanting to know about what kind of future was in store for this realm. Thinking about her words carefully, Alice started from the beginning. How the surface and the Abyss live off one another. Those that live on the Surface require Abyss Blood for medicinal purposes while those that live in the Abyss require the technology from the surface to better survive in the Abyss. Alice told the Goddess about the Hunter profession despite the awkwardness. After all, she had just learnt that every beast in the Abyss had the potential to be a citizen of Ayr. With that in mind, she had been killing ''humans'' this entire time. Her process of imagining her opponents as ''beasts'' couldn''t quite work anymore. But that was something she''ll deal withter. For now, she continued to tell the Goddess about the future. While listening to Alice''s exnations, the Goddess listened with a happy smile on her face. "Are you not angry that people are hunting beasts for their blood?" Alice couldn''t help but ask. She had omitted quite a few details such as constant harvesting, experimentations and so on. But she couldn''t avoid the topic of targeting beasts. And despite all this, the Goddess continued to listen with a smile. "Hmm¡­ How do I exin it. It''s simply the cycle of life. Though humans speed it up drastically, it''s not as though the people born in the Abyss avoid killing beasts either. One cannot deny the benefits that Abyss Blood can bring nor can one deny the benefits beasts gain from killing humans. "Both sides will continue to target one another and it''s not something I can change even as a Goddess chosen by the Abyss. Of course, excessive hunting saddens me but from the sound of it, beasts are not regted in the future unlike the current situation in Ayr." She shook her head while ncing out to the city. "Is it strange for you?" She asked as Alice nodded her head. "Divine beings are¡­ simply those with less restrictions than the mortals. They have the power to change rules, add new rules or even remove certain rules if the situation allows for it. But they are not all-powerful. I can see all of the suffering in the Abyss, hear their cries for help, the mournful tears of those who have lost family. "But the most I can do for them is to create this city and have my retainers assist the world. It''s why Gods and Goddess appoint Apostles though this will be the first time we properly acknowledge this. Either way, I am happy that you''ve shared the future with me. To know that the children of the Abyss continue to survive despite my passing brings joy to my heart. Even if they are less likely to be reborn as a human." The Goddess smiled bitterly. The rule she had set in ce was for beasts to avoid killing humans unless it was self-defence. Seeding in doing so will reward them with a higher chance of bing human. As much as she disliked it, she was unable to guarantee this reward. So for those who failed to be human despite adhering to the rules, they were given a heightened sense of self, gaining a humanoid body as a beast and the ability tomunicate and even live amongst humans. It wasn''t a perfect fix but it sufficed for now. Looking at the Goddess from behind, Alice was starting to see that she was not as unapproachable as she had originally expected. This nervousness within her body had all been for nought. If anything, treating her naturally might''ve been the best approach. Scratching her hair, Alice took a deep breath before sighing. "What should I call you? ording to your spirit, there wasn''t a trantion for your name in the newnguage. Of course, if you want me to call you Goddess that''s fine as well." Alice asked. The Goddess was taken aback by her sudden change in tone and disposition, but a wide smile appeared on her face. "You can call me whatever you want. But if you want to call me by a name then¡­ Velouria. You can call me Velouria." Velouria suggested while tapping her chin. "Mnm okay. So¡­ Velouria." Alice nodded. Hearing Alice call out her name, Velouria almost couldn''t contain her smile and had to cough lightly to try andpose herself. "When Kaden nted Ca into my body, he mentioned something about an old promise. Though Allura mentioned I didn''t have to go down this path if I didn''t want to. I just want to know what kind of expectations they may have. Since they saved me from my prison, I want to repay them." Alice asked as Velouria paused for a moment. "Expectations huh? I can''t say for sure but I will estimate based on what I know about those two. First, the easy one to guess would be Kaden. Despite how he looks, he doesn''t hold much sentimental value to objects and locations. "Once I die and Ayr falls, I can only assume that Kaden may be saddened for a period of time before recovering hisposure. He may not be fully healed inside but he''ll do so to avoid worrying those around him. He treasures the connection between people rather than objects and location." Velouria answered while ying with several strands of energy near her. "For Lua¡­ She''s a bit moreplicated. She''s a very sentimental person whether that be towards Ayr or to me. After my passing and the destruction of this city, there is a high chance that Lua will try to seek out revenge and ways to restore her home. "And by extension, Kaden will help her because that''s how he''s like. So taking this into ount, their expectations for you may not be as daunting as you imagine. Maybe it was different when they initially saved you but if Lua said that you can do whatever you want, I think she meant it." Velouria chuckled as Alice was silent. "Then what about you? What are your expectations for me?" She wanted to know what Velouria hoped she could achieve. Whether that be the restoration of Ayr or a way to save her citizens. "Me? I''ll be happy with anything you do so long as you don''t have any regrets. You should live your life to its fullest, even more so if you had been imprisoned before Kaden saved you. Know this, I don''t expect you to be a second me, nor do I expect you to live in my shadow. Just do what you want and make sure you don''t regret your life, that is all I expect from you as my sessor. Everything else is simply a bonus." Velouriaughed as she waved her finger. "But would that be okay? I¡­ I possess both the crown and the Eye. Wouldn''t it be a waste if I were to do whatever I wanted? Wouldn''t that betray why Kaden saved me in the first ce?" Alice sighed but Velouria simply shook her head. "Nonsense. What do you think my role is in the grand scheme of things?" Velouria asked with a smile. Furrowing her brows, Alice wasn''t sure. "My role is that of an icon. A testament for hope in the Abyss. As the first ''Human'' born in the Abyss, I chose to pave the path so others can walk. But you don''t have to do the same. The Abyss does not need a Goddess, it simply chose to grant me this power. "Maybe it was out of a whim but since it gave me this power, I chose to wield it however I want. Perhaps that''s the same for you. Kaden may have given you Ca and you may have found the Crown, but in the end, it is still up to you to decide what kind of person you want to be. Just make sure that you don''te to regret your decisions." Velouria chuckled while patting Alice on the head. "Why do all of you like to pat my head." Alice pouted. Despite the crown above her, they still take the extra effort to pat her head. "Because you''re cute fufu. Despite how you maypose yourself and act in front of others, there''s always a hint of vulnerability within. A fear of what the world and its people may do to you. And it''s this vulnerability that makes me want to pat your head and protect you. Perhaps it''s the same for Kaden and Lua." Velouria smiled as she pulled Alice into a hug and sat her down on the balcony as though she was a child. Feeling embarrassed, Alice could only scratch her cheeks. But she didn''t deny Velouria''s im of vulnerability. She was scared. Beneath this anger, this killing intent and this insanity, she was scared of the Zenia family. She was scared of her father, her brothers and of betrayal. There was always a fear present in her heart no matter how she tried to suppress it. However, Allura, Kaden, Gin, Ria and even Luke have shown her that doing what she enjoyed helped her forget this fear. The training sessions, the drinking parties and even just a simple shopping trip. It was a waste to use this time sumbing to fear when she could be enjoying life with her friends. A small smile formed on Alice''s face as she made up her mind. If she is going to seed the Goddess then there is only one goal in mind. Using her mes, she will find a way to revert the damages done by Abyss Blood. That way, there will no longer be bitter farewells or experiments. A tribute to her first friend, Lilia. Chapter 256: Secrets Of The Violet Flame "Velouria." Alice called out with a newfound determination in her eyes. "Yes?" "Do you think it''s possible for someone to be immune to the effects of the Abyss? Well, immune is not the right way to put it but rather for someone to revert back to being a human even though the blood has tainted their outline." Alice asked, surprising Velouria with her seriousness. Thinking to herself for a moment, she opened her mouth. "It''s not impossible. But it''s far more difficult than you may think. Think of it like this. If you bend metal, after a certain point it''ll be impossible to bend it back to the way it was unless you reforge the material. That''s essentially what I''m doing. Once they''re tainted, their ''outline'' is reforged. "But the method you''re wanting is to turn them back without killing them right?" Velouria asked with a smile as Alice nodded her head. "You see, I have these mes in me. These mes hate the Abyss and it has its own sentience. When I use it against other Hunters, it can burn through their abilities and consume it. In my case, no matter how much Abyss Blood was injected into me, I always turn back to a human. I did some tests myself and found out that these mes are theplete opposite of the Abyss." Alice exined as she opened her palm and conjured a ball of fire. Looking at this, Velouria observed the me curiously. Flicking her finger, a few stray strands of energy floated next to the mes and was destroyed in an instant. "Oh my¡­ Hmm... I''ve never seen something like this before. Did you say this fire was inside you?" She asked, looking up at Alice. "It manifested thanks to my second Sigil. ording to the description of the Sigil, it''s called Foul Blood Manifestation. It brought out the potential of my blood and manifested it as these mes." Hearing this, Velouria nced at Alice in bewilderment. "So you''re saying you were born with the ability to resist the Abyss? How peculiar¡­ Give me a moment okay?" Looking out to the city, Velouria closed her eyes and snapped her finger. At that moment, threads of energy began to weave together as Alice saw a familiar figure. Ca. "Master, you summoned me?" Ca tilted her head but paused after seeing Alice next to Velouria. "Were you busy?" "No, I have all the time in the world for you, Master." Ca shook her head andposed herself. The edges of her eyes were still red from the crying but she focused on the request Velouria had for her. "Mnm, alright. I need your power for a moment." Nodding her head, Ca''s body started to break apart as she turned into a strand of energy that entered Velouria''s body. Opening her eyes, she turned towards Alice who noticed a brighter glow in her eyes. Alice assumed this was Ca using her abilities and trying to figure out what was going on inside her body. As the Goddess observed in silence, the frown on her face deepened which wasn''t a great sign for Alice. A Goddess of the Abyss was frowning at her condition. Not wanting to disturb Velouria, Alice continued to wait. Soon, Velouria sighed and closed her eyes. "I found the source of your power. But it seems the me from the future has already restrained it to a certain extent. It''s not a perfect restraint but it prevents the power from going out of control since its sense of self is rather¡­ strong." Velouria exined while snapping her fingers. Ca manifested next to her looking rather exhausted. Sitting against the railings, she simply held her head as though she was having a headache. "Is it bad?" "It''s not bad per say. But it''s not exactly positive either." Velouria looked at Alice with a strange expression. "The thing that acts as the source of your mes¡­ Can be called a beast but at the same time, it''s somethingpletely foreign. It''s better to call it a Chimera than anything. It holds resemnces to some of the powers that I know of but doesn''t have a pure form. Always changing and never staying the same. Perhaps that''s why you''re unaffected by the Abyss." She spected but in the end, she couldn''t tell Alice anything concrete. "I can only give you some guesses based on my own observations and spections. It seems this beast is linked to you on a level far deeper than what could be considered standard. ''I see¡­ Maybe it was a result of the experiments then. But that doesn''t make sense¡­'' Alice furrowed her brows. If this¡­ ''Chimera'' was possibly a result of the experiments she endured, then how did shee back from being a beast? "How deep is the connection? And are you able to tell when it was connected to me? Or has it been with me since the start?" Alice asked as Velouria thought to herself for a moment before opening her mouth. "The current state of the connection is one where neither of you can live without the other. It''s a delicate bnce where if you were to die, the mes would fizzle out and perish. And if the mes were to be removed from your body, the bnce would copse within your body and the Abyss will take hold." Hearing this, Alice couldn''t help but sigh deeply. ording to Velouria, so long as the mes existed within her body, the Abyss could never take hold of her. But at the same time, her survival hinged on whether or not the mes continued to behave or not. If the mes decide to rebel, there was nothing she could do about it. "I know what you''re worried about, but it''s practically impossible to remove the me without killing you in the first ce. You''ll die before the Abyss gets to you." Ca added as the pain had subsided somewhat. "What do you mean?" Alice tilted her head. "The mes are acting as your Spiritual Heart right now. Remove that and you die, understand?" Blinking her eyes in surprise, Alice now understood what they meant when they said it was linked far deeper than normal. The mes were simultaneously serving as her connection to the Abyss and the very thing protecting her from it. If so, it was probably from before she even got injected with the Abyss Blood during her birthday. Her mes probably saved her at that moment. "I see¡­ Would it be¡­ Beneficial for me to seek out Sigils that enhance my fire?" Alice asked hesitantly. Her mes were helpful but at the same time, they were also dangerous. She needed to be cautious and not get swept up by its power. "Of course it would be beneficial for you. But you''ll need to work out the roles of you and this Spiritual Heart of yours. It''s something you need to resolve by yourself since third party intervention would only hinder you." Velouria smiled before snapping her finger. At that moment, golden chains manifested and disyed an illusion for Alice to see. Hidden in an unknown space, a beast was chained up by the very chains that Velouria had summoned. Seeing this, Alice recalled the moment she summoned the beast during her fight at the Academy. How chains pulled it back in the end. ''Was that the restriction ced by Velouria?'' Alice wondered to herself since Velouria had taken over her body briefly before. "That and you need to remember this. mes are simply how you chose to manifest this power. Since it acts as your Spiritual Heart, its form can be changed depending on the Sigils. I''m guessing Allura has left quite the impression on you." Velouria chuckled as Alice nodded her head. To her, Allura has always been a symbol of power and control. If she could even reach just a fraction of her power, then vengeance against the Zenias would not be farfetched. "So final confirmation about this power. As long as it''s with me, I won''t be affected by the Abyss right? Meaning I can drink blood as much as I want without worry right?" "Yes, that would be correct." Velouria smiled. "I see¡­ Another question from me. Since this fire is serving as my Spiritual Heart, is that why I can copy someone else''s power and Sigils if I drink their blood?" At the mention of this, both Velouria and Ca''s expressions froze as they blinked their eyes. "You what?" Ca couldn''t believe what she just heard. "I can copy someone else''s Sigils and power if I drink their blood. It doesn''t really overwrite what I already have but rather adds onto it for a brief period of time." Alice exined while Velouria''s expression turned grave and the same with Ca. Looking at one another, it seemed like they both had the same thought. "Alice, I believe you should know that Sigils are contracts formed with the Abyss that changes your outline yes?" Velouria asked as Alice nodded. "Each outline is unique to the person, it can''t be copied or recreated. If someone gains the ability to make a clone to fight for them, the outline of that clone does not exist and there will be a tether from the clone to the main body. "So for a clone to gain the powers of the main body, it''s required to have a tether that can draw out power. But ording to what you said, you can copy their abilities based on the consumption of their blood. I have two guesses for this and neither is great. "The first guess is that by drinking their blood, you forcefully establish a connection between you two and draw upon their power. But this hinges on whether or not you can continue to get their power after they die. If you can, then it''s not the first guess." Velouria asked as Alice shook her head. "I can still get their power afterwards." "I see¡­ Then it''s the second guess. When you drink their blood¡­ Your mes forcefully tear off a part of their Spiritual Heart and imnt it onto your outline. Perhaps that''s why it feels like a Chimera." Chapter 257: Velourias Desire "Your mes forcefully tear off a part of their Spiritual Heart and imnt it onto your outline. Perhaps that''s why it feels like a Chimera." Hearing these words, Alice was silent. ording to what Velouria said then whenever she was drinking someone else''s blood, she was taking a part of their soul into her. That would indeed exin how she could gain their powers based on everything she knew regarding Sigils, the Abyss, Spiritual Heart and the contracts that were formed. It was rather ironic to Alice. She who remained the most unaffected/normal in appearance was in fact tearing off someone''s Spiritual Heart to copy their abilities. "Could the damage done be repaired? Or is it permanent?" Alice asked curiously. "It will repair itself in due time. But repeating the¡­ ''extraction'' on one person repeatedly will have consequences even if you don''t kill them." Velouria exined. Realising that this was a warning not to use it repeatedly on her allies, Alice nodded her head. "Now with that out of the way, is there anything else you would like to know? There''s going to be a meeting between me and the other Gods so I''ll need to prepare the venue for the gather. *sigh, honestly these surface Gods are so enamoured by pretty decorations and pretences. If it was up to me, just sitting in a garden or a room would''ve been good enough." Velouriained as Alice shook her head. There was nothing else she needed to know for now as most of her answers had been answered. All that''s left now is how Velouria died and how Ayr disappeared. But Alice wasn''t keen on asking that question especially when Velouria didn''t seem to know the answer to it herself or else she would''ve made preparations. "Oh actually, there is one more thing. Ca, can you have a look at Alice''s eye? Maybe you are able to find out why future Ca is asleep." Velouria pped her hands as Ca nodded her head and walked towards Alice. She had taken a look at it before but not in great detail. Now that she was here with her Master, she may as well give it her all. Gesturing for Alice to sit down, Ca closed her eyes and held her hand over Alice''s right eye. After a moment of silence, Ca shook her head. "Sorry but the most I can do is feel ''my'' presence. I can only establish a connection with Alice but something is blocking me from myself." "Is that so¡­ I suppose it''s probably a limitation imposed by whatever happens in the future." Velouria shrugged as she stepped away from the balcony and sat down on her throne. The threads of energy that filled the room shifted towards her as she closed her eyes and began to control the threads. Before Alice could say anything, Ca grabbed her wrist. "Let Master focus. She''s trying to see what''s going on in the Abyss right now." Ca reminded as Alice nodded her head. Looking out to the city, Alice opened her palm and conjured a ball of violet mes. She stared at the flickering mes in silence while digesting all of the information she had discovered on this short trip. The identity of these mes and their power. And more importantly, what she needed to do to achieve the goals she had set for herself. *Ba-dum¡­ "Hm?" Pausing for a moment, Alice looked around her in confusion. That heartbeat¡­ She heard this sound before she was dragged into the Inverted World. Furrowing her brows, Alice was about to say something when Velouria stood up. "Seems like the time has arrived." She muttered with a serious look on her face. "What''s going on?" "The passage between the surface and the Abyss has been fully established. The meeting between Gods willmence shortly. Lua, Kaden and Nyer have allpleted their patrols and are on their way back. Alice, would you like to join this meeting?" She asked with a small smile while Alice nked out for a moment. "Me?" "Of course you, who else? As my sessor and future Goddess of the Abyss, it''s only natural that you familiarize yourself with your¡­ co-workers I suppose. We don''t know how much time you have remaining in this¡­ ''memory'' so you may as well get the most out of it as you can." Velouria smiled sadly. Upon the mention of memory, Alice paused. "Don''t look so surprised Alice. As the Goddess, it''s only natural that I understand the connection between me and the Abyss. And no matter how ''alive'' I may feel, I can tell the difference between a real connection and a fake one. You can hear it can''t you?" Velouria sighed as she turned to Alice. "You can hear the heartbeat of the Abyss. A signal telling the world that the Will of the Abyss is making its move. And in this case, it''s a signal for you rather than for this¡­ world of memory. As for me, I can''t hear it anymore. My knowledge and power are limited to what I had at this moment in time, I cannot gain more knowledge from the Abyss itself." Turning to Ca, Velouria gave her an apologetic smile before snapping her finger. Ca''s gaze turned nk as she stumbled back before leaning against the wall. "I''ve cleared her memory for now. I know that if she realises she is a memory, she may descend into a panicked state. I''m not sure why the Abyss would send you into this memory and even create such convincing actors with sentience, but there must be a goal in the end. "Remember this Alice, even though the Abyss may seem like a bystander at times, but it''s actually more active than one might imagine. It doesn''t do anything without a goal in mind. If it sends you to this memory, then there is something it wants you to know or perhaps a goal it wants you to achieve. "But be warned, walking side by side with the Abyss means you will be forever shackled by its influence. It is when you''ve walked too far will you realise that restraints have been ced on you and you cannot escape. Just like the real Velouria." She sighed while looking at the strands of energy around her. "You must be wondering what these strands represent right? These are a little different to the usual strands you may see. Each of these strands is connected to an Abyss Lord. While they are not at the same level as Apostles, you can think of them as retainers to the Goddess of the Abyss." "Wait¡­ each of these are Abyss Lords?" Alice widened her eyes as she looked at the countless strands around this room. "Mnm, they are. As the Goddess, I hold a certain authority over all of the Abyss Lords. If I die, they will know. If a new one rises, they will know. Can you imagine the fear they must feel if a new Goddess showed signs of appearing?" She smiled, looking at Alice. "I can sense the signs of the Abyss making a move but I can no longer hear its heartbeat. Meaning¡­ You''re probably experiencing changes in your body. I don''t know how far into the future you are but for it to make such a move, it must''ve been quite long since the Abyss has gained a Goddess. The Surface Gods are the main rulers of these twonds right?" Velouria asked as Alice nodded her head. Now that Velouria knows that she is a memory, there''s no reason to hide more from her. "Then there''s more reason for you toe with me to the meeting. Familiarise with their characteristics and understand how they function. What you arecking is information, information that can save your life. Once I die, I''m sure that none of the surface Gods are eager for a new Goddess to rise. "Especially if it''s in the Abyss as it signifies domination over all Abyss Lords." She shook her head while Alice frowned. "Can''t you¡­ threaten them to stay back? If you have control over these Abyss Lords, who in their right mind would attack?" "If it worked, I wouldn''t be here as a memory, would I? But Gods and humans are more simr than you can imagine my dear. There is only one word you need to know. Greed. "They greed for power and dominion so that the others cannot dictate their fate. It''s a tale as old as time. Humans steal and kill one another because they greed for more time in this world. Gods aiming daggers behind each other''s back because they greed for recognition by the masses." Velouria chuckled. "Of course I have the option of turning my weapons against the Gods. But that''s not why I made Ayr in the first ce. But perhaps it''s simply a mistake of how I am." She shrugged. The discovery of being a memory seemed to have triggered something within her but despite all of that, she continued forward. Even though she wasn''t the real Velouria, she had her emotions, her thoughts and her desires. She feared death but if death is inevitable as proven by her current state, then she will use what little time she had left to prepare her sessor. A sessor chosen by Allura and Kaden. She will try her best to prepare this fragile girl for the chessboard yed between the Gods and hope that she does not be a pawn of the Abyss but rather, the yer at the table. That was her only desire as the memory of Velouria, a Goddess who loved the beasts that resided in the Abyss and hoped they lived a normal life. Chapter 258: Velourias Hobby pping her hands to dispel the negative atmosphere she created with her talks, Velouria stretched her body. "The meeting should happen in the next two or three days. Each of the Gods will be arriving with two Apostles while I''m allowed to have my Apostles and Nyer join us. And since I am the host, I can get you in with me." Velouria winked. "Is there anything I should be careful of? Won''t they just try to kill me if they realise, I''m far too weak to be there?" Alice raised an eyebrow, worrying about her survival. After all, Velouria was suggesting that she, a three star Hunter, join a meeting between four Gods. Beings that govern this world along with apostles that are far stronger than Abyss Lords. "Oh don''t worry about that. I''m the host of this meeting remember? If I want to, I can host it publicly and they can''t do much about it. Of course, I''ll give them a better reason when the timees." Hearing Velouria''s response, Alice couldn''t help but feel as though the Goddess before her had slowly be less reliable over time. She seemed to be doing things on a whim but perhaps that was her true self. A self she couldn''t expose to the citizens of her city and only to those who are close to her. In Alice''s case, a Sessor. "You''ll get used to it. Master is¡­ Indulgent in the weirdest ces. I can only wish she was this happy about getting some break days for herself but no, she''d rather y pranks on the other Gods." Ca sighed as she was familiar with the expression Alice was making. She had given up long ago but the sight of that exact expression still makes her cry out ''That''s how it feels!'' in her heart. "I can''t exactly take a break from managing the city now can I?" Velouria smiled while Ca didn''t respond. "Ahem, setting that aside, you have a day if we want to be safe. I know that you''ve been doing some light training with Lua and Kaden so would you like to explore your abilities more? You can also test the functionality of your blood while you''re here before you go back." Velouria offered. "Aren''t they going to be busy with patrols?" "They are but they''re also my Apostles. Patrols can be left to the others for now while they help train the next sessor. It''s the main reason why we hired other people after all, they can help with the tasks." Seeing that there was no reason to reject this proposal, Alice agreed while Velouria sent a message to Kaden and Allura. Once they finished their patrols, it was simple for Kaden to take them to the castle via teleportation. But when they arrived, the two were shocked to see Velouria preparing all kinds of different dresses for Alice while they waited. Her exnation was that Alice needed to dress the part if she wanted to join the meeting between Gods. After all, each of the surface Gods were picky about aesthetics so Alice couldn''t arrive in the dress she was currently wearing. Looking at Alice''s expression, both Kaden and Allura felt pity rise up in their hearts as she looked as though she had just fought a thousand battles. Even though Alice enjoyed shopping and looking for new clothes, this was too much for her. When she browsed for clothes, she only took 30 minutes maximum to find what she considered cute. But Velouria? It''s been over an hour and she was still not remotely satisfied. "Hmm¡­ No no no! This doesn''t make Alice look cute enough. I need something that''ll blow the other Gods away so they don''t have a reason to reject her presence." Velouriained while tossing aside another outfit into the void. "Lua, Kaden! Help me find something for Alice." She called out as Allura and Kaden looked at one another before smiling helplessly. Seems like Alice had triggered Velouria''s hobby and now, she can''t escape her fate of being Velouria''s doll for the next few hours. "Maybe you should find something that matches her hair, it''s a pretty big part of her look. Can''t forget the broken crown too." Allura chimed in while Kaden could only chuckle softly. While Alice was being dressed up by Velouria, Allura and Kaden, she did not know the chaos she had caused in the real world. ### After Alice entered the inverted world, her actions caused a distortion from within and each of the contestants was sent to a different location. Teams were split up and none of the items were working. A lot of the students realised what was happening and sought safety while those who were ignorant of the incident continued forth without worry. Xinbei, ra and Garrett formed rescue squads with Lothian, Hephas, Fae and Luke. Fynn stayed back to help with sending outmands since he wasn''t fit forbat. Each of them would be responsible for a full squad andmence rescue operations. Even though Luke wanted to find Ria first, she wasn''t the one that needed help right now. In fact, she seemed to be enjoying herself and fighting her way through the beasts without care. On the other hand, the principal was dealing with other matters but still lent them the Ghost me Wyverns to help out with rescue efforts. Sitting in her room, the principal had an annoyed expression on her face. Even with things as they were, no matter how she tried to establish a connection with Kaden or Allura, neither of them answered. "Gods f*cking dammit! How hard is it to ept a connection when sh*t hits the fan?!" She cried out in annoyance. Tearing at her hair, she took deep breaths to calm down before biting her fingertip. Controlling her blood, she began to draw a ritual circle. Since they won''t ept her messages, she''ll forcefully establish a link! "Hmph! Let''s see how you evade me now." She clicked her tongue before mming her hand down. ck and red energy gathered around the circle as little by little, a mirror like surface manifested and she managed to establish a connection between her and Allura. "What in the zes is this?" Allura frowned while looking at this screen. Just as she was about to pull her hand back and punch it, the surface cleared up, revealing the principal. "Oh! Lil Vampy! It''s been a while, and you still have my appearance huh? Did you not drink anyone else''s blood?" Allura asked with a smile. "First of all, what makes you think that some random schmuck''s blood would override what your damn blood did to me. Second of all, if someone''s trying to establish a connection ANSWER THE DAMN CALL!" She seethed while Allura simplyughed. "Ahahah sorry sorry, I was busy with a fight earlier. So what''s up?" "You know damn well what''s up. That disciple of yours! Why the hell did the Abyss make such a big reaction? If the people from the surface find out she''s here, my Academy will be a damn warzone!" The principal frowned while Allura scratched her chin. "Honestly, her growth exceeded my expectations since Ca is waking up this early. Just hang in there, I know you can do it. I''m already distracting the Churches so I doubt they can send over any heavy hitters." She waved her hand dismissively. "And on the off chance they do?" "You''ve got it handled." Allura grinned before snapping her finger, cutting off the connection. "&"¡ê^%^%¡ê!!!!" Cursing aloud, the principal wanted to cry. ''The f*ck do you mean I got it handled! What if they send damn Abyss Lords to my doorstep!'' With no other choice, she created a second ritual circle and tried to establish a connection with Kaden. Waiting for the fog to clear up, she saw Kaden in the middle of pulling someone''s heart out. "Lua! Wait no¡­ Oh, it''s you." Kaden paused before realizing who it was and wore a bored expression. "What a charming greeting. Care to help out with the chaos you and Allura created at my Academy?" "What kind of chaos are we talking about?" Kaden raised an eyebrow while twirling the heart with his fingers. "You know damn well what kind of chaos I''m talking about." "Then I''m sure you have it covered. Even though that brat is pretty damn weak, she''s useful if you use her as a strategic asset. If any Abyss Lords show up just ask if she can give you a hand." Kaden waved his hand dismissively and tossed the heart aside. Before he could say something else, a golden sword shot past his head as he twisted his body and snapped his finger. From the ground, a pir of shadows shot up and transformed into a giant maw, crushing the caster of the sword in an instant. "Both you and Allura are busy, do you not care if the Churches sent Abyss Lords?!" "Don''t be so loud, kid. If you take a good look at where I am you''ll realise I''m doing you a pretty big favour right now." Kaden rolled his eyes. Taking a step to the side, he revealed the blood stained crest belonging to the Church of the Sun. Widening her eyes, the principal realized that Kaden hadunched an attack on the Churches! ''Crazy b*stard!'' "Once they realise I''m knocking at their door, they won''t have time to send the Abyss Lords. Of course, I''m only one man so what I can do is limited. But you should be able to deal with any stragglers going your way right, kid?" Kaden asked as she reluctantly nodded her head. As long as it wasn''t Abyss Lords, she could deal with them. But once the Churches send a Lord, things would look dire. "Look, if you''re are really worried about the Lords then I have a great tip for you." Kaden grinned as she felt hope appear in her heart. A secret weapon? A hidden technique? Perhaps an item to keep them out? "Just be stronger, kid." Without saying anything else, Kaden cut off the connection. "¡ê"&$&^!!! ARGGGG!!!" The scream of the principal echoed throughout the chamber as talking to these two made her want to tear her hair out. Chapter 259: Velourias Bluff Looking at the handiwork before them, Velouria, Allura and Kaden couldn''t help but stifle augh while Alice sat motionlessly. Four hours. That''s how long it took for them to settle on an outfit that they were satisfied with. Four hours was the time she was subjected to their whims. In the end, they settled on an outfit that was based on what she wore when she arrived near Ayr consisting of arge white jacket withrge sleeves, a white dress, a pair of tights and some ck knee-high boots. The jacket was adorned with the crest of Ayr along with a pink and purple ribbing in the shape of a butterfly around the chest area and the shoulders. The back of the jacket reached all the way down to her legs. Beneath the jacket, the dress was decorated with a myriad of patterns that were barely noticeable to the naked eye unless you looked carefully. However, these patterns radiated a soft ethereal glow when exposed to light. Gold trims and essories were given to Alice to go along with the outfit and with this assortment of clothing, she looked the part of Velouria''s sessor and a resident of Ayr. When paired with her crown, she looked like a small princess in the eyes of Allura and Velouria. Naturally, during this entire process, Kaden could''ve said something in an attempt to stop them. But he didn''t want to interfere when they were having so much fun. But now that they''ve chosen an outfit for Alice, it was time to get to work. "Master, I believe you called me and Lua over for training purposes. It''s probably best we make a start on the actual training before the guests arrive." Kaden spoke up as Velouria nodded her head. "Fine~ We can use this outfit for training for now. When the surface Gods arrive, I''ll prepare another set of clothing for Alice." Hearing this, Alice felt a shiver down her spine, causing Velouria tough. "This time I''ll have it prepared beforehand so don''t worry. Setting that aside, Kaden, Lua, your main focus will be helping Alice master her blood powers and her second Sigil. Even though her power manifested as mes, there is the potential for it to take other forms. See what you can do with it okay?" "As you wish Master. Is there anything else we should keep in mind?" Kaden asked curiously. "Nope, that should be everything. Though if Alice thinks of anything at the moment, do your best to help her okay?" Velouria pped her hand. "Make the most of the day and possibly tomorrow. Remember, don''t be shy. If you need anything, just let Kaden and Lua know okay? If it''s outside of their capabilities feel free to contact me." She turned to Alice and gave her another pat on the head. "Thank you." Alice replied, grateful that Velouria was going this far and spending this much time to help her. Especially after finding out that she was simply a memory, and the real Velouria has been dead for a long time. "It''s only natural. If you really want to thank me you should spend some time letting me dress you up again." Velouria chuckled as she made her way over to her chair. Sitting down, she nced towards Kaden and nodded. Understanding that this was his signal to leave, he wrapped the three of them in shadows before disappearing from the room. Once Velouria was sure that Kaden had left with the others, she coughed violently before slumping down on her throne. Meanwhile, Ca bit her lip, unable to find the right words offort. "Do you think¡­ They noticed?" Velouria asked with a bitter smile as Ca shook her head. "I don''t believe so Master." "That''s good¡­ I wouldn''t want to distract them from their training. Alice only has a limited amount of time with us, it''s important she uses that time wisely." Velouria smiled, taking deep breaths to try to calm her coughs. "But Master¡­ Do you really have to elerate your condition like this?" Ca frowned. During the four hours, Velouria had been secretly using her authority with the Abyss to fix some of the issues within Alice''s body. While others may not notice, as the Eyes of the Abyss, she could see it clearly. She could also see that by doing so, Velouria was speeding up the deterioration of her body! "Haha¡­ Sorry Ca. I''m a dead woman anyway, may as well make the most of the time I have left and help my cute sessor out. Even though we''re simply memories, in order to construct an urate picture, the Abyss has granted me a decent amount of power. Just enough to help ce some fail safes within Alice''s body." Velouria chuckled. She knew that if she didn''t trick Alice and the others with the outfits, they would definitely say no to what she was going to do. Even if she was a memory, Alice didn''t want her to suffer more and neither does Kaden and Allura. But it was because of this that Velouria wanted to help out Alice more. She is a fake but she still remembers how cruel the Abyss is and how important it was to prepare Alice for its influence. Biting her lip, Ca took a deep breath and sighed. "Let me handle the next ''operation'' then." "Huh?" Velouria blinked her eyes. "You''ve finish setting up fail safes within her body, right? The next steps would be to repair ''me'' and the Crown. If you do one more ''operation'', you might not be able to trick the other Gods. So let me do it for you." Ca exined but Velouria shook her head. But before Velouria could say anything, Ca cut her off. "And this is how if feels to watch you put fail safes in Alice''s body at the expense of yourself. So deal with it. Plus, aren''t I a memory too? So logically, I''m basically doing what you''re doing." Seeing that Ca wasn''t giving her any room to reject her suggestion, Velouria could only sigh and nod her head. "Then it''s settled. Get as much rest as you can Master." "Thank you." Velouria smiled. "Mnm. Just because we''re memories, it doesn''t mean it hurts any less to see someone important to me hurting herself like this. So, take care of yourself more Master." Ca looked down at the floor with sadness. Even if her death was destined, was there a need for her to suffer so much before the time arrives? But knowing Velouria, she wouldn''t stop even if it means her own suffering. That''s just how she is. As the Goddess of the Abyss, she prioritises her people more than herself. "Alright, I''m sorry Ca." Velouria apologized as she knew the sadness in Ca''s heart. But there was nothing they could do about her destined death since they were simply memories. Gesturing for Ca to walk over, Velouria pulled her into a hug, surprising Ca who froze up before rxing herself. "I''ll take care of myself, so you don''t go overboard either okay? I still want to see by my side when Alice leaves eventually." Hearing this, Ca nodded her head. ### Teleporting away from the castle, Kaden brought Alice and Allura to a location beneath the ground. A cave filled with luminescent moss with a single opening in the ceiling. Water radiating a bioluminescent light poured from the ceiling like a waterfall. Located in the centre of this cave was a single tree with crystalline leaves. Tall pirs supported the ceiling while archways and paths nked byrge glowing crystals illuminated the path. "Where are we?" Alice asked curiously while looking at their surroundings. She didn''t think a ce like this would be suited for training with the delicate surroundings. "Cavern of Revtion. It''s a ce that''ll help you visualise your abilities and how you want to use them. It''s also the ce where I helped Lua develop her Nova Core." Kaden exined as he snapped his finger. One by one, the pirs lit up with a blue glow while Allura took this moment to stretch her body. "In this ce, you''ll be able to analyse the application of your power, how much energy you''re wasting and the force behind your attack. Since Master has told us to help you develop your blood powers and second Sigil, this is the best ce for training." Hearing this, Alice nodded her head and turned to Allura. It seems like she''ll be her opponent first. "ce your hand on the tree first so you can synchronise yourself to this environment. Once you''ve done that, the tree will record your actions and disy the application, energy waste and force on the pirs." Allura exined while pointing to the tree. Located on the trunk, an indentation in the shape of a hand could be seen. "It''ll prick you and draw some blood but that''s normal." cing her hand against the tree, Alice could feel a small needle jab against her palm as blood was drawn. Little by little, a red glow began to manifest itself through the bark of the tree. Through Ca, Alice could see a tether of energy connecting from her to the tree and from the tree to the different pirs. "Try using your Sigil powers now." Kaden suggested with a smile while pulling out a chair and table by the side. Snapping her finger, a metal de manifested itself along with a swirl of blood. Hearing a soft ring behind her, Alice nced back and saw a diagram of her body along with several pathways that were now lit up with a red light. On the second pir, a vertical bar could be seen with only 30% of it being filled with a red light. And on thest pir, another bar could be seen but this time it was filled to around 50%. "First pir shows your flow of power. Some Sigils requires more pathways to be utilized in order to maximise its abilities while others require less. The second shows how much is wasted and in this case, you''re only using 30% of the energy you could be using. And the final bar shows how much power of that percentage you''re manifesting. "This should give you an idea of what this ce is used for. By seeing the values of your attack and the manifestation of your Sigil power, you can fine tune your technique to a satisfactory level." Chapter 260: Optimisation Upon understanding the uses of each of these pirs, Alice nced down at her body using Ca and tried to see if she could spot the pathways used for the activations. While she could sense how the energy was flowing through her body, it was muddled by all of the ambient strands when she tried to focus on it using Ca. ''To optimise my abilities, it''s probably best to see which pathway produces the most results for now. Once I have discovered the right pathway, I''ll be able to adjust the efficiency and power behind the attack.'' Alice thought to herself as she began to try different variations to summoning her blood. Seeing Alice experiment by herself, Allura nced over to Kaden and shrugged. Sitting down next to Kaden, Allura didn''t even need to say anything before Kaden pulled out a te with some cake on it. "Thank you~ Seems like she''s pretty busy with her own thing. Doesn''t seem like she''ll need my help to test things in sparring for now." Allura smiled happily while eating her cake. "Mnm, she''s rather independent when ites to things like this huh? Though I suppose in a way it kind of resembles how you are. Well¡­ When you''re actually focused." Kaden chuckled while seeing Alice experiment with different variations of her energy pathways. On the pir, he could see how she was fine-tuning where the energy flows. Which pathways generate more power and which ones synergise with one another. Within the body, there are 12 main pathways, one for each Sigil and Resonance. These are created upon obtaining the Sigils. Each of the pathways has its own minor pathways that can help optimise the flow of power and efficiency of your abilities. For Alice, she has ess to four main paths. "Shouldn''t we give her some hints?" Allura asked curiously as Alice seemed frustrated while trying the different methods. Some of the minor pathways she used didn''t let her activate her Sigil ability which frustrated her, but she was slowly eliminating the pathways she didn''t need to use. "We could but it''s better to let her do her own thing for now. Let her experiment, struggle and discover breakthroughs on her own. Once she hits a bottleneck that she can''t get past, she''ll either seek our help or try new methods. "The best way for her to grow is to do it herself. We''re simply here as her backup." Kaden smiled. "You sound like you''re raising a child with that kind of advice." Allura smiled while sneaking a few nces at Kaden who was oblivious to these looks. "Hmm¡­ It''s not far off I suppose. Even though Alice is very powerful, her understanding regarding Sigils and how to use them arecking. Yet she can still produce this much power with just what she has ess to right now is very impressive." Kaden nodded, causing Allura to sigh in annoyance. ''That isn''t what I''m thinking about, idiot.'' Allura grumbled inwardly while looking over to Alice. During this period of testing, she realised that her energy would flow down one specific path without alterations when she activated her third Sigil. After that main path, the smaller ones would dictate the power and efficiency of her attack. ''I can''t have everything. Going for efficiency causes the cast time and power to drop, and going for power causes efficiency and cast time to drop. Aiming for a fast cast time like I am now causes both to drop. If I aim for both Power and efficiency, the prep needed for activating increases heavily.'' Alice thought to herself as she kneeled down on ced her hand on the ground. Going by what she had discovered, there were certain ways of activating that benefitted the Sigil differently. Summoning blood would require the fastest cast time but the lowest power since she wasn''t using her blood to attack. Metal, on the other hand, would require power since it needed to be sturdy. Alternatively, she doesn''t need to cast it quickly since her main form of offence would be her mes. Using this logic, she understood that if she focused on power against her battle with Lyra, she wouldn''t have needed to form a ritual to overwhelm her. There would''ve been the possibility that her standard mes would''ve been enough as she had prioritised cast time thus far. ''Wait¡­ Then all those times when Allura and Kaden instantly activated their abilities were¡­ Lowest power!?'' Alice widened her eyes, realising that Allura''s Nova Core was a skill that heavily focused on cast time! If she were to take longer with each cast, then the detonation result of the Nova Core would be outrageous! Realising this, Alice nced down at her hands before looking over to Kaden. "How sturdy is this ce?" "Enough that Lua can''t break it without going all out with her authority. Does that answer your question?" Kaden replied. This is a training ground; it was only natural that it was made from the best materials and reinforced to the limit. Nodding her head, Alice took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Since her Void Flux skill was an extension of her second Sigil, she needed to find the right pathways to heighten the power while ignoring the required cast time. Of course, she still needed to take into ount the basic requirements. Her Void Flux had to be achieved within a certain timeframe or else the skill would dissolve itself. Breathing out, a flood of energy erupted within her body as she activated the first step. Third pathway, maximum cast speed, minimum power! Blood erupted around her as she snapped her finger and condensed the giant pool of blood into a single point. Second pathway, maximum efficiency and cast speed, minimum power. The blood copsed in on itself while Alice activated the second half of her second Sigil. Her mes. Second pathway, maximum power, reduced efficiency and cast speed! Transforming into a single spark of blinding light in front of her, Alice fired it to the opposite end of the training arena before detonating the attack. At that moment, a wave of light filled the room while ster mes erupted out from the core. The ambient energy around the room was sucked into the attack, acting as fuel for the mes. Seeing this, Alice understood that using this method, it allowed her Void Flux to remain longer on her opponent''s body rather than an instantaneous attack! With this in mind, she adjusted her cast form. This time, maximum cast time and efficiency! Aiming her finger, Alice rapid-fired the attack and detonated them once they reached a satisfactory distance. Using this method, the energy she needed to use this attack could be ignored but the power was now severelycking. Those with sufficient armour would be able to defend against this attack pretty easily but that was not the main benefit of this method. The pushback! This variant of Void Flux allowed her to create a localized shock that could possibly knock aside attacks or even divert the path of a swing! Depending on the situation, it may be more beneficial to use this variant than creating a wall of her violet mes. "Kaden, is there a way to shorten the cast time even more?" Alice asked curiously. She had already experimented with her second pathway to try to reduce the cast time needed as much as she could. She wanted to know if there was another method so she could cast her abilities instantaneously. "Of course there is. You''re already doing it." Kaden chuckled, causing Alice to pause in confusion. Standing up, Kaden made his way over to her. "Think back to the actions you go through when casting your skill. Think about what is required and what isn''t, how can you simplify the casting process?" Kaden asked as Alice furrowed her brows. Her casting process consisted of four actions. Creating blood, condensing blood, igniting the spark and then firing. Without these steps, she couldn''t activate the skill. "I can''t. Manifest, condense, ignite then fire. I can''t activate the skill without any of these steps." Alice frowned but Kaden simplyughed. "I know. But that''s not what I''m asking. Think outside the box. What else are you doing while doing these steps?" Tilting her head, Alice decided to cast a Void Flux to see what Kaden was talking about. First, she flicked her finger to manifest the blood, then she gathers the blood above her fingertip, she aims, ignites and then fires. Looking over to Kaden, he still had the same smile on his face as Alice repeated the process once more. ''Outside the box¡­ Outside the box¡­ What does he mean by that? Am I missing something?'' Alice thought to herself in frustration while repeating the casting process. Unable toe up with an answer, Alice could only huff in annoyance. "I''ll give you a hint. Look at me, I''ll give a quick demonstration." Kaden smiled as Alice turned towards him. Tapping his foot on the ground, his shadows began to expand before transforming into a familiar. "This is the first demonstration. Now, I''ll do another one." Taking a step to the side, Kaden turned around and pointed at Alice''s shoulder. Tilting her head, she nced at her shoulder and realised that there was now a raven on her shoulder. "That''s the only hint I''ll give you." Heughed while leaning against a pir. "???" ''When did he even cast?'' Alice frowned. He wanted her topare the two methods he used but she didn''t even know his second method! Scratching her hair in annoyance, she sat down and crossed her legs while reying what she saw in her mind. The first time, he tapped his foot and his shadows erged to form a familiar. The second time, he took a step and the familiar was already on her shoulder. How? As the scenes continued to rey, Alice realised a link but wasn''t sure if she was reading too deep into it or not. Looking up at Kaden hesitantly, Alice opened her mouth. "Was it the tapping of the foot? Did you merge that with your step?" Alice asked but Kaden shook his head. "So close yet so far. But you''re half right. What I did was eliminate the need for a separate casting action. Most people use an action to dictate their target and the skill they want to use. But if youpletely eliminate that, the cast time will naturally increase while efficiency decreases." Kaden exined but Alice was still confused. "Now what if the action and the cast is merged?" Kaden smiled and raised a single finger. Mimicking Alice''s casting action, shadows instantly converged towards a single point. Chapter 261: Void Flux Variant Seeing Kaden mimic the cast for Void Flux so quickly, Alice couldn''t help but widen her eyes in shock. It wasn''t as though she hadn''t thought of it before but trying toplete all of the steps at once increased the chances of failure. But perhaps that''s the risk she needed to take in order to reduce the cast time. "Of course, there are also benefits to removing the cast action despite the increase in cast time. You can take people by surprise and it''s a tactic used by people with more Sigils since their control of energy has increased."Kaden exined as he ced his hands into his pockets. Without any action, a mimicry of Void Flux appeared on the wall and detonated. "This is why I said you''re already doing it. By linking your casting process with your actions such as converging it above your finger, you''ve already shortened the cast time. By having an action linked to the cast, you subconsciously pivot your brain into refining that cast. The stronger the impression of the skill within your mind, the faster this process bes. "Since you''re already using actions to cast, if you want to reduce the cast time it''s simply a case of refining your understanding and impression of the skill. Once you''ve done that, the casting should be more efficient to the point you only need one action toplete the sequence and sometimes, you can even blend it in with your movements." Seeing Alice contemte his words, Kaden nodded his head and made his way back to his seat. Repeating Kaden''s words in her mind, Alice looked towards the wall and recalled the steps of her skill. Four steps were what she required. It could be reduced to three if she eliminated the need to fire the attack. But that risks impacting her as she''ll be inside the st radius. Meaning she needed to somehow merge Manifesting and Condensing. To condense her blood the instant she summoned it¡­ How? She saw Kaden''s mimicry but even then, it was akin to freezing boiling water the moment it was poured from the cup. The energy required to condense her blood into one point the moment she conjured it up would be insane. But that was the cost of having high power and fast casting speed. The efficiency of the attack would plummet. ''I need to visualise a better way of summoning the blood.'' That was the conclusion Alicended on. If she could change the way she was summoning the blood, converging and condensing the blood would be far easier. The key to condensing the blood was focusing everything on a single point. And to do that, the best method would be that of a spiral. ''If I summon the blood in a spiral towards my finger, I should be able to merge the two steps together. Then all that''s left is to ignite then fire.'' Taking a deep breath, Alice decided to put her theory to the test. But it was easier said than done. Raising her finger, Alice could conjure the blood in a spiralling motion but it refused to be condensed. In fact, the spiralling motion worked against it as Alice wasn''t able to condense the blood fast enough, causing it to scatter. While Alice was attempting her new method of casting Void Flux, Allura and Kaden were discussing ways to help Alice. "Her first Sigil, physical boost and hallucinations. That can probably have the output increased if she trains her body a little. Her body is¡­ surprisingly weak for a three Sigil user." Allura frowned. She noticed it during the first day when she tossed Alice into a tree. Even though she had gone a little overboard, it shouldn''t have been enough to knock out a three Sigil user. Yet Alice was incapacitated in an instant. "It''s only natural. The only reinforcement she''s getting is from the Sigils. She can''t get any benefits from her blood. You need to treat her like a ss cannon but well¡­ made out of paper instead of ss." Kaden shrugged. "Isn''t there anything we can do about that physique of hers? She can''t keep going like this. There''s only so much her Sigils can help. Later down the line, she''ll hit a wall she can''t ovee and that''s the speed and raw physical power high Sigil bearers hold thanks to Abyss Blood." Allura frowned. While Alice had the benefit of being unaffected by the Abyss, it came with the drawback of her never being on the same ying field as the others. She''ll always be weaker physically even with her Sigil reinforcing her physical power. "There are three methods that I can think of. First, Resonance. Resonance would be the easiest way of getting a physical boost enough for her topete against the others. But that''ll require her to take specific Sigils for this to work. And even then, it''s a gamble. "Second, there''s taking reinforcement type Sigils simr to her first one. A Sigil that''ll boost her physical traits. Honestly, this is a bit of a waste as well since she''ll be losing out on a powerful Sigil ability just to catch up on physical power." Kaden sighed. Even for the two of them, this was a problem they had never anticipated before. "And the third option?" "Asking an Old Abyss Lord for a favour." Hearing this, Allura furrowed her brows. "You know those old timers don''t listen to anyone, not even Master." "I know. But you also know that they''ll be ecstatic to see someone physically reject the Abyss in the way that Alice is. If anything, they''ll be d to help her get the power to kill more of us." Kaden reminded. The Old Abyss Lords brought about a peaceful age when everyone was a beast. But at the same time, they were essentially Tyrants in their ownnd, refusing to let others intrude. It wasn''t until their Master was born as a human were their rule threatened. "And what if they''re not cooperative and attack Alice instead." "And that''s why we''ll be nearby to help. But in the end, it''s still up to Alice if she wants to take that risk or not." Kaden sighed while looking over to Alice. If she could sessfully persuade the Old Abyss Lords to help her, then she''d be able to get their method of enhancing their bodies. While the Old Abyss Lords could get power through consumption, it wasn''t efficient. They had a different method that the citizens of Ayr didn''t know about, one that allowed them to be practically indestructible unless you had peak Abyss Lord power or an authority like the two of them. And surprisingly, the method was not connected to the Abyss. Even after using her Authority, Allura found out that their defences were still insane. Meaning it was a method that came from them rather than the Abyss. She had to adjust her fighting technique in order to defeat the Old Abyss Lords. On the off chance that Alice was able to persuade them using her strange traits, she could gain a power beyond that of drinking Abyss Blood. A power topensate for her weakness. "Do we even have time to take her to the old b*stards? Master only gave us a day to train her. Who knows if the surface Gods will arrive on the second day or the third." Allura asked with a frown. "It depends but at least we don''t have to worry about travel time." Kaden shrugged before reaching into his shadows to pull out a second te of cake since Allura had finished the first batch. *BANG!!!!! Just as he turned his gaze away, he heard an explosion near Alice as both of him and Allura stood up in shock. Meanwhile, Alice was hidden by the smoke and rubble. ''Rubble?'' Kaden frowned before realising what that meant. Widening his eyes, he flicked his finger, dispersing the smoke and saw Alice on the floor with her eyes widened. "Above her, a hole had been drilled through the ceiling of the training room with a ray of light shining down through the gaps. "What the f*ck?" Kaden looked up in shock as he didn''t expect her to have the power to break through the material of the wall. "What did you do?" Allura asked curiously while Alice nced over. "Is¡­ Is that bad?" "Don''t worry about the ceiling. More importantly, what did you even do?" Kaden shook his head while looking at the hole she opened. "Erm¡­ I followed your tip of shortening the cast action and merged some steps together." Alice scratched her hair while Kaden''s smile twitched. If it was that simple, this training room wouldn''t have survived till now! Hesitation for a moment, he opened his mouth. "Can you give me a demonstration of what you did?" "But the wall?" "It''s fine, I just need to see what you did." Kaden reassured as Alice nodded her head. Taking a deep breath, she aimed her finger at the wall opposite her. During the time that Kaden was talking to Allura, Alice had focused on the spiral motion to condense the blood as soon as possible. But it was during this that she made a new discovery. With this motion, she was able to merge the ignition and firing stage into one! The key lies in firing the orb the moment it reached the bare minimum and conjuring blood around the orb while it was travelling. Snapping her finger, her Sigil red as blood converged towards her finger in one swift movement. Before it could even reach the size of a fingertip, the orb was fired without hesitation. mes and blood gathered towards the spiral, consuming the ambient energy to fuel itself using the properties of the violet me and just before it reached the wall, it detonated into a chaotic spiral of energy. Void Flux! *BANG!!!!!! Colliding against the wall, a hole was created once more as the new variant of Void Flux was akin to a blender, shredding anything and everything in its path with increased intensity. If Alice''s original Void Flux was an attack focused on power, this variant was one that focused on prating defence! Chapter 262: Sealed Lords While Kaden was stunned by the demonstration of Alice''s new power, Allura was able to see clearly how it functioned on a basic level. The ''drill'' used the power gained from its surroundings and the energy of the target in order to achieve maximum pration. Meaning, this attack scaled off how strong the target was! While the speed may be questionable for now, if she was to allow that attack to hit her, Allura figured she might have a little issue in dealing with it. And for a three Sigil bearer to achieve this¡­ "You''re quite the freak of nature huh? Not in a bad way. Just yourbat talent is way too insane." Alluraughed as she patted Alice''s head. "Eh? Really?" Alice blinked her eyes in surprise. "Mnm, really. But don''t let it get to your head okay? Talent is merely a representation of your starting line. Without hard work, you will never reach the finish line. But setting that aside for now, I think we''ll need to take a break from the training room while Kaden gets someone to repair it." Allura chuckled, pointing to the pirs that have now lost their glow. Alice had broken the training room! Coughing awkwardly, Alice nced away. If she didn''t see the damage, it didn''t exist. Plus, it''s not like it''s her fault in the first ce. Kaden was the one who wanted her to demonstrate. If anything, it was technically his fault for letting her do so in the first ce. "How does the whole training room break from two holes though? They''re not connected to the tree no?" Alice asked curiously. She couldn''t imagine two attacks from her would cripple this ce. "Think of it like this. The entire room is essentially an boratework of materials and energy paths. Breaking off a piece of it and in your case, two pieces of it would cause the wholework to shut down." Kaden sighed, finally recovering from seeing Alice break the training room. "So what do we do now?" "There are two options. First, I''ll take you elsewhere and have someonee fix this room. In the meantime, we''ll train you in ways to use your blood Sigil and your mes. Hopefully, this training should raise your offensive capabilities and increase your efficiency." Kaden exined, holding two fingers up. "And the second option?" "How do you feel about meeting an Old Abyss Lord?" Kaden smiled. Hearing a term she hadn''t heard since her conversation with Nalem back in Zadash, Alice paused for a moment in surprise. "Seems like you know of them." Kaden raised an eyebrow upon seeing Alice''s reaction. "Kind of? Are they the big beasts sealed underground in certain ces?" "Ohya? So you do know of them. Then that makes things far easier for me. Yes, the goal is to see if we can find a way to help you make up for your main weakness. Your physical body." Kaden nodded with a smile. "My physical body? How? I can''t drink Abyss Blood to change it and I doubt the blood of Old Abyss Lords would change that." However, Kaden simply shook his head. "We''re not going for their blood but rather their method of reinforcing their body. You see, Old Abyss Lords while chosen by the Abyss, have far more freedompared to the Abyss Lords of today. Even with Lua''s power of Severance, their physical bodies resisted some of her attacks." "!!!" Widening her eyes, Alice nced over to Allura who shrugged and didn''t deny the im. ''If Old Abyss Lords could still block her attacks after being cut with Severance¡­ That means their physical power doesn''te from the Abyss! Severance cuts off the energy reinforcing the body as well meaning she essentially fights them as though they have the defences of a no Sigil bearer. ''That means they have a different source when ites to reinforcing their body. One that doesn''t rely on the Abyss. Meaning¡­ I can possibly learn it!'' Alice concluded in her mind. Her Violet mes worked outside of the Abyss even though it uses it as a portion of its power source. If she couldbine this with the physical traits of the Old Abyss Lords, she would essentially be the ultimate Anti Abyss Hunter! mes that consume the power of the Abyss and a body that can withstand attacks despite severing the connection to the Abyss. "How do we get their help?" Alice asked, feeling excited about the prospect of reinforcing her body without drinking Abyss Blood. "We? No no, if ''we'' went with you that''ll simply decrease your chances of getting their help. They hate us." Kaden chuckled while Alice stared at him with a nk expression. "And what makes you think I can convince an Old Abyss Lord to help me? "Because of how your blood works. They hate the Abyss and I can only assume that seeing your blood reject the Abyss may give them happiness, enough to lend you a hand." Kaden shrugged while Alice''s smile twitched. "So we''re just leaving this up to chance? What if they attack?" "You die. Well, me and Lua will be there to help you so you''ll be fine." He dismissed with a wave of his hand. "So which one would you pick? First option or second?" Hearing this, Alice could only sigh. Training was something she could get in the future with Allura and Kaden but getting help from an Old Abyss Lord? Hard toe by. Especially when all of the Old Abyss Lords that she''s seen thus far looked dormant or in the process of dying. Just thinking back to the colossal being beneath thend of the ughter Docks sent a chill down her spine once more. She had imagined what it''d be like to drink its blood but now that she had a chance to get its help? Alice couldn''t pass up the opportunity. "Since you two are guarding me, it should be okay. Let''s go with the second option." Alice replied while scratching her hair. "Perfect, hang tight then. I''ll be taking us to the entrance of one of these prisons. Lua, who was the most reasonable Old Abyss Lord?" Kaden turned to Allura. "Reasonable? All of the old b*stards are unreasonable in their own right. Each of them a pain in the ass to deal with." Allura clicked her tongue in annoyance. "But if we''re talking about the most reasonable to Alice¡­ Then probably Tiamat. She hates the Abyss and she''ll probably be willing to talk to Alice if she reveals the mes." "Tiamat huh? You''re not wrong." Kaden nodded his head. As one of the most violent Old Abyss Lords, Tiamat indeed fit the description of what they were looking for. She was wilful and showed favour to anyone and everyone who disyed a true hate towards the Abyss. While Alice herself may not hate the Abyss, her sentient mes would probably hit it off rather nicely with the Old Abyss Lord. "Oh and since we''re looking for Tiamat, you probably shouldn''t call her an Old Abyss Lord. It''s a title the victors of the war gave the losers and Tiamat absolutely detests it. If you want to call her by anything, call her by her title she had while she was free. "Dragon Queen of Apocalypse." Kaden warned as Alice swallowed her saliva and nodded her head. Snapping his fingers, shadows began to surround them as Kaden teleported them away from the training hall. Little by little, the pressure exerted by the Abyss began to increase while Alice furrowed her brows. But before she couldin or try to adjust to this pressure, Allura ced her hand around Alice and the pressure subsided. "We''re going to Terminus since that''s where Tiamat is sealed. Anything weaker and it wouldn''t hold for her." Allura exined. "I see¡­ Speaking of which, why seal the Old Abyss Lords if they lost the war? Wouldn''t it be better to kill them?" "It''s not like we didn''t try. The Abyss didn''t let us. It''s prolonging their punishment and we can''t do anything about it." Kaden smiled bitterly. There were cases where the Old Abyss Lords managed to escape confinement and cause quite a lot of casualties but even when that happened, Velouria still couldn''t convince the Abyss to let her kill these Old Lords. "Now, I wish you luck. Me and Lua would be nearby but it''ll still be up to you to convince Tiamat." Snapping his finger, Alice was expelled from the protection of the shadows. "Eh?" Before she could recover, Alice found herself falling through the sky. Widening her eyes, she quickly adjusted her falling posture as she saw and of fire, blood and ice. Countless colossal chains hung from the sky while a deep crimson moon radiated an ominous luminance upon thend, dyeing the ground in red. Located near where she was aiming tond was a deep crevice where giant statues of malformed beasts stood guard. A chaoticwork of energy sprawled across the entire area, revealing the countless beasts that roamed freely within this prisonyer. Since she had experienced this kind of fall many times now, Alice was already prepared for what she needed to do to make a safending! Especially after her brief training, she now knew how to manipte her Sigils further. Closing her eyes, Alice visualised the pathways within her body. Third Sigil, maximum output, minimum power! An ocean of blood erupted around her as Alice used this to slow down her movement while making tforms to stabilise herself. Landing on the ground without any issues this time, she couldn''t help but curse Kaden in her mind while looking at the world hidden within the crevice in front of her. A pit of malevolent energy so thick to the point it manifested as ayer of fog. Despite this, she could still see the flickering shadows beneath while chains rattled from the movement. "It stinks of the Executioner''s protection¡­" A low growl echoed out from the pit. *BANG!!!! At that moment, a burst of energy rushed forth, mming into Alice and shattering Allura''s protection. The full brunt of Terminus'' pressure rushed towards her as Alice began to bleed from her orifices. Coughing up a mouthful of blood, she mmed against the ground while violet mes burst forth in an attempt to protect her body. An action of self preservation done by the me itself. From the fog, a single draconic head revealed itself. [Tiamat ¨C Dragon Queen of the Apocalypse: ??????] Chapter 263: Tiamat Feeling the overbearing pressure crashing down on her, Alice found herself unable to move. Even with the help of her violet mes, her limbs were stuck against the ground and no amount of strength could lift them. Meanwhile, Tiamat observed Alice silently while her low growls shook the earth beneath Alice. Looking up at the sealed Lord, Alice could see two demonic horns crowned on the dragon''s head, spiralling towards the sky. Each horn, cracked and damaged, revealing a flow of crimson energy hidden by the firstyer. Along the ridges of Tiamat''s neck was rows upon rows of jagged ck spikes that transitioned to a luminescent red on the tips. A pair of malevolent eyes stared down at Alice. Each eye held the intensity of the sun as Alice felt like she was going to die just from the re alone. "Why did the Executioner and the Shadow send you here?" Tiamat narrowed her eyes as she looked at the weak human in front of her. Her aura stank of Allura and Kaden''s tampering, especially that protective barrier earlier. That was most definitely the work of Allura, the Executioner. Even now, Tiamat could remember the battle where she lost. Killing intent oozed from her as her head approached Alice. "Well? Speak. Or do you wish to be my snack?" Gritting her teeth, Alice clenched her fist and dragged herself onto one knee. Determination burned bright in her eyes as her mes roared out in defiance. Each flicker of the me gave her more power to resist the pressure emanating from Terminus and the Abyss Lord in front of her. Cracks and tears appeared across Alice''s skin while her outfit became soaked with her blood but that didn''t bother her. Right now, she needed to stand up and speak her purpose here. Seeing a weak human like Alice fight against the pressure of Terminus, Tiamat couldn''t help but be intrigued. A normal human would''ve been crushed to paste by this pressure already but her? No, she was still fighting. Surviving. Wounds continuously appeared across her skin yet as strange as it was, her flesh would bridge the gap between these wounds and repair itself. A constant cycle of injury and rejuvenation. And then there was that me around Alice. So familiar yet so foreign. Tiamat couldn''t quite remember where this feeling originated from which is why she held off on killing Alice immediately on sight. "I¡­" Alice squeezed out between gritted teeth while trying her best to stand upright. "Came¡­ Seeking¡­ Help." "Help? Hah! Help from a sealed Lord? What makes you think I''ll help you when I can''t even help myself?" Tiamatughed. With each howl ofughter, the realm trembled, causing Alice to stumble but she stopped herself from falling. It has been many years since the war had ended and it was the first time anyone hade to her for help of all things. Those who managed to sneak into Terminus sought to either free the beasts or take their power for themselves through Sigils or rituals. This was the first time anyone was asking for help. "In the first ce, what kind of help are you even looking for, kid?" Tiamat asked, deciding to humour Alice a little since there was nothing else to do in Terminus. After all this time, she was bored out of her mind! "My¡­ Body. Abyss Blood doesn''t work on me¡­ So I''m weak. I heard¡­ You have a method to¡­ improve the body." Alice answered as she forced herself to take a step towards the beast. However, Tiamat wasn''t concerned with her issue. Rather, the only thing that caught her attention was 6 words. Abyss blood doesn''t work on me. Looking down at Alice silently, there was a hint of doubt in her eyes. While she may hate the Abyss, she knew how far stretching its authority was. Everyone was affected by the Abyss and even those that im they weren''t simply haven''t found their limit yet. "Lies." She spoke coldly while Alice shook her head. "I spent¡­ 10 years. People always injecting me¡­ With tainted blood. But I always return to human. Even when¡­ I should be a beast, I return." "Do you dare stake your life on this im?" Tiamat asked with a wide grin. Closing her eyes, Alice knew that this was her only chance at fixing her body. A chance that was given to her by Allura and Kaden. She knew that Terminus was sealed off thanks to the gate she found. Getting back here was practically impossible unless she became a Lord herself but by that point, would she still be alive with her current body? Alice had been using different methods to keep up with the physical demands but even she knew that the gap would only grow wider as time passed. No amount of reinforcement from her first Sigil would bridge this. "Yes." Alice replied after opening her eyes. "Then prove it. The Blood of an Abyss Lord contains the essence of the Abyss. One sip of this and there''s noing back, even if you are an Abyss Lord yourself. Drink my blood and prove to me that you are indeed free of its hold. Hah, even those foolhardy people of the past have died or be beasts upon consuming the blood of a Lord. What makes you any different?" Tiamat taunted as she reared her head back. Cracking open her mouth to reveal a second jaw, blood began to pool from between her cracks and flowed towards Alice. The blood formed a strange floating orb, reflecting the hellscape that is Terminus. Understanding that there was no backing out of this, Alice took a deep breath. It was risky. An all or nothing gamble based on how good her resistance towards the Abyss was. Alice knew that based on the conclusion drawn up by Kaden and Velouria, the more she allowed the Abyss to taint her, the clearer her outline became. And once she allowed that, side effects would be permanent like the crown above her head. Usually, this would be a deterrent but in fact, it only served to convince Alice further. After all, this was the best time for her to gamble! If the blood of a Lord contains the essence of the Abyss, then consuming it while her resistance was at its strongest would give her the highest chance of survival. With this in mind, Alice took a step forward and scooped up a handful of blood from the pool. Tiamat watched silently as she could already see Alice''s skin burning froming into contact with her blood. The power held within a Lord''s body was not something anyone could just touch. ''This should scare her off.'' She thought to herself, knowing that humans would value self-preservation above all else when there is nothing at stake except their life. But contrary to her belief, Alice tilted her head back and poured the blood into her mouth. ''Foolish.'' Losing interest, Tiamat prepared to descend back into her prison as there was no need to watch a human being consumed by the Abyss. It was a sight she had seen far too often. But to her surprise, she didn''t hear any screams. Confused, she nced back and saw Alice standing in ce and looking up at the sky. The wounds on her body were mending at a visible pace while the mes that surrounded her body red in excitement. A smile appeared on her face as her eyes glossed over with a sheen of madness, excitement and ecstasy. Reaching towards the pool of blood, she continued to drink as her aura red out, shocking Tiamat. ''She''s¡­ She''s adapting to my blood?!'' Scales began to manifest themselves on Alice''s body while horns protruded from her head. Behind her, two sets of draconic wings unfurled and a tail mmed against the ground. "More¡­" Alice muttered as violet mes wrapped around her hand. The obsidian bracelet transformed itself into a de coated by the mes as Alice let out augh and looked towards Tiamat. Licking her lips, she revealed a set of sharp teeth. Widening her eyes, Tiamat could see that Alice hadn''t lost herself to the side effects. No¡­ Alice had taken a piece of her soul! ''This power¡­ This reaction¡­'' A theory appeared in her mind, but Tiamat refused its possibility. But reality couldn''t be denied and Alice had indeed taken a part of Sealed Abyss Lord into herself. Adapting to the power of the blood along with the pressure of Terminus. mming her hand down, draconic markings manifested across her body as mes engulfed Alice''s body. Behind her, the visage of a multiheaded, multi winged beast could be seen as Tiamat gritted her teeth and let out a roar to push Alice back. To her shock, Alice was unaffected as she disappeared and reappeared above the Abyss Lord''s head. "More!" Pulling her arm back, energy converged towards her de as countless sparks crackled amidst the violet mes. Void Flux ¨C Cleave! Swinging the sword, a wave of energy rushed towards Tiamat as she recognised this to the attack of the Executioner now paired with the power of an Abyss Lord of old! If she wasn''t sealed, she would deal with this brat in an instant since she doesn''t know how to use the power properly but the reality was that she could not use even 5% of her power in her current state. ''Crazy b*tch!'' Tiamat roared out in her mind as her aura soared. Even if she can''t use more than 5% of her power, she refused to get done in by a brat of this calibre! She is an Abyss Lord, feared by all! The Dragon Queen of the Apocalypse! She will show the brat hell! Chapter 264: Tiamat Vs Alice "Should¡­ Should we interfere?" Allura asked with a frown. She hadn''t expected things to go south immediately. When Tiamat presented the blood of Alice to drink, she was about to make a move, but Alice drank it before she could. And once she did, her aura began to fluctuate. "Alice chose this. Let''s just watch for now and make sure she''s not killed. The longer we don''t interfere, the more likely it is for things to seed." Kaden shook his head. What Alice needed to do now was to prove to Tiamat that the Abyss had no hold over her. And the best way to do that was to reveal the power she gains from drinking blood then going back to normal. Watching the situation carefully, Kaden was prepared to teleport in to save her. But he believed in Alice. ### *BANG!!! Knocking Alice''s Void Flux ¨C Cleave aside using spectral dragons, Tiamat released a roar as a blue and red aura flickered around her body. Red lightning crackled while illusionary dragon heads appeared around her. Sending them towards Alice, Tiamat watched as Alice copied her movements and did the same. Behind her, dragon heads also appeared and shed against the heads sent by Tiamat. ''What is this freak of nature!?'' Tiamat gritted her teeth as patterns appeared on her body. Around them, dark clouds gathered while meteorites descended from the skies, dyeing the realm of Terminus in an ominous red. Looking up at the ming rocks without fear, Alice closed her eyes before activating her Resonance! Energy converged towards her location as a new outfit manifested around her body. Her aura soared thanks to the addition of Tiamat''s blood and she aimed her finger towards the meteors. *Click With a single snap of her finger, Void Fluxes detonated next to the meteors, consuming them in a storm of violet mes. The echoes of Alice''sugh could be heard across Terminus as she shot towards Tiamat with sword in hand. *CLANG!!!! shing her de against a w, Alice paused in surprise seeing the woman in front of her. Wild long red hair that was swept to the side and hid one of her eyes. A pair of familiar draconic horns and a Sigil like marking running up the side of her face. Like Alice, she had a set of sharp teeth. The woman in front of her wore a sleeveless elegant ck dress that reached her ankle with a slit on the side to reveal her legs that wore a pair of thigh high boots and tights. Even in this form, there were cuffs and chains around her neck, wrists and ankle. Most noticeably, a crystal stake through the centre of her chest. Unfurling her wings behind her, Tiamat red at Alice. "Enough of this farce brat. Just because you drank my blood you think you can surpass the original?" Tiamat asked with a grin. She couldn''t travel far from this crevice due to her seal but she refused to let Alice hit her senselessly! Twisting her body, she mmed her foot into Alice''s stomach, sending her crashing through the air before chasing after her. Appearing behind Alice, red lightning and fire manifested around her body as she condensed energy into a single orb. The world seemed to lose its colour as everything was absorbed into the orb. *BANG!!!! mming it into Alice''s back, Tiamat watched as Alice crashed into the ground with a loud bang. Even through the smoke, she could see arge woundpletely shredding arge portion of Alice''s stomach and ribs. But just when she thought it was over, Alice began to stand up. A maniacalughter haunted her ears as she watched the flesh stitch itself together while mes burned around her wound, revealing the wless body beneath after being healed. Tiamat''s smile twitched. Even at her current power, her attack was not something anyone could just shrug off like that. And more importantly, that was not regeneration that belonged to her powers! Stabbing her sword into the ground, Alice looked up at Tiamat before muttering something under her breath. At that moment, Tiamat felt a chill down her back as countless sparks manifested around her. Widening her eyes, she noticed the familiar gathering of power. "You b*tch¡­" She muttered, realising that Alice had copied her attack the moment she demonstrated it. Countless variants of her attack manifested itself as the world was drained of colour once more. *BANG!!!! Shielding herself with a red and ck aura, Tiamat frowned while looking towards Alice''s location only to see that she was missing. ''Behind!'' Sensing danger behind her, she managed to knock aside a Void Flux ¨C Cleave that was aimed at her neck while Alice flickered beneath her. The obsidian de travelled upwards while Tiamat leaned back to dodge the strike. Flipping her body back, she kicked Alice in the jaw to send her up before gathering her energy, manifesting a ring behind her. Since Alice was copying everything she did, she needed to take her out in one go! ck and red energy erupted from her body as dragon heads shot out from around her, each one holding the ferocity of an Abyss Lord! *CRACK!!! Snapping their jaws on Alice''s limbs, they tore off pieces of her with ease. Seeing this Tiamat was about to turn away when Alice''sughter continued to ring out. ''She''s f*cking crazy¡­'' Tiamat thought to herself as Alice began to fight back within this horde of dragon heads. Blood, flesh, tendons and bones all began to regenerate as Alice grabbed one of the dragon heads that approached her and grinned. Opening her mouth, she began to consume the attack as her aura began to spike once more. With each limb they tore off, she''ll regenerate and grab another dragon''s head to consume. A constant cycle of consumption and regeneration. Flinching from each bite, Tiamat understood that Alice was using the connection between her and the attack to reach for her soul! "Freak!" Tiamat shouted in anger as she retracted her attack. At this rate, the longer they fought, the stronger Alice will get! Each time she consumed a piece of her, the bigger her ''reserves'' became and the longer she could maintain the power of an Abyss Lord. Tiamat couldn''t believe what she was thinking but right now, with her powers sealed, the best way to win this fight was to stall Alice until she ran out of power! But to force the Dragon Queen of the Apocalypse to run? Tiamat loathed the thought. But her arrogance did not blind her to the risks of fighting this freak of nature in front of her. Even though their exchange had been short, she could already feel her output of power dropping. If she was fighting with 3% of her power earlier, thanks to Alice, she was now dropping to 1%! ''If I lose any more pieces of my soul, the seal may as well just knock me into aa!'' Tiamat thought to herself. ncing up at Alice, Tiamat noticed a taunting stare in her eyes as she wiped her mouth and licked her lips. "Delicious¡­ Can I have some more?" Alice smiled. *PUCHI! Feeling as though a vein was about to burst, Tiamat could barely contain herself. It had been a long time since she had felt this insulted during a fight. Thest time was against Allura the Executioner. Even now, she could still remember that fight. "Oi oi oi~ Stinky dragon, do you even take a bath?" "Pft hahaha! All this aura and yet you can''t evennd a hit? Do you need a few more years to train? Should I let you hit me?" "So if you''re the Dragon Queen, is there a Dragon King? Does he give you some love on a Saturday night? Or are you single but don''t want to mingle? I only hear about your name in thisnd of yours and never a husband after all." Just thinking about Allura''s taunts infuriated Tiamat. "Fine. Since you had her protection, it means you''re connected to her right? Then it''s a perfect chance for me to vent my frustrations. You wanted more, didn''t you? See if you can eat this you brat!" *BANG!!!! Tiamat''s aura exploded outwards as her constraints erupted with a golden sheen but Tiamat ignored the pain. Her aura continued to climb while Alice simply looked at her with a pair of expectant and hungry eyes. She drooled in anticipation of the meal she was about to receive while Tiamat gathered her energy into a single orb about her palm. Shooting it up into the air, the space around them began to crack and shatter. Second Resonance! Abyss Realm ¨C A World''s Finale. The world around them began to distort as Alice found herself being dragged into Tiamat''s personal realm. A realm bnced on the edge of life and destruction. The final moments of life before the end. Standing as its ruler, Tiamat looked down at Alice and narrowed her eyes. In a single blink, Alice found herself surrounded by countless ck and red des and serpentine dragons that locked her in ce. She was unable to move any of her limbs as these attacks only served to prevent her escape! Giant chains wrapped around the world and Alice soon found herself sealed within this orb resting above Tiamat''s hand. "Disappear along with this world." Tiamat narrowed her gaze and clenched her fist. *BANG CRACK!!! The skies shattered as the realm was crushed into nothingness while Alice was sealed within. Copsing onto one knee, Tiamat coughed up a mouthful of blood as the seal around her body burned against her skin. Seeing the restraints around her neck and limbs glowing with a stronger light, Tiamat knew that she couldn''t fight anymore. In fact, she might be forced into a slumber if she wasn''t careful. *Crrr "Hm?" Furrowing her brows, Tiamat didn''t dare to turn around as she could hear the fabric of space tearing apart behind her. A pair of torn and blood soaked hands wed open the realm! Widening her eyes, Tiamat jumped back in horror as she watched Alice w herself from the rift between realms. Insanity lingered in her eyes while blood continued to pour from her body. There was not a single part of her that wasn''t injured yet she continued to push forth, ripping a path back to Terminus. Tiamat began to fear. Chapter 265: Null "!!!" Sitting up in a panic, Alice looked around her in bewilderment. ''What the hell happened?'' She frowned. Thest thing she could barely remember was wing through the rift to reach Terminus once more after Tiamat sealed her in the personal realm. After that, everything had turned dark. Looking down at her hands, she noticed that her outfit was practically in tatters, but she was not wounded at all. In fact, she felt as though the fight was simply a dream had it not been for the painful ache that permeated throughout her body. Even the slightest movement would send her body twitching and jolting in pain. Trying her best to ignore this, Alice looked around to get a feel of where she was. Right now, she was lying on a rocky tform surrounded by tall walls of stone and chains. A strange red glow emanated from below but strangely, she didn''t feel any pressure on her body. It was as though she was no longer in Terminus. Standing up, she made her way to the edge of the tform and nced up to see if there was a way out but the top was blocked by a thickyer of mist that she couldn''t see through. Looking down, she was greeted by anotheryer of mist. With no clues as to where she was, Alice could only sigh and scratch her hair. "How do you have so much energy already." A groan rang out behind her as Alice recognised it to be Tiamat. Widening her eyes, she entered a defensive stance while reaching for her bracelet in preparation to turn it into a de. Watching a figure jump up from the mist andnd on the tform, Alice saw Tiamat looking annoyed with a frown on her face. "You young''uns always got so much energy after a beating it''s actually impressive. Just take this time to rest, I''m not going to kill you." Tiamat scoffed in annoyance while making herself a throne. Sitting down and crossing her legs, she observed Alice silently. Her face didn''t betray any of her internal emotions but inwardly, she was once again shocked by Alice''s recovery. While Alice had indeed proved that the Abyss had no control over her, that wasn''t what drew Tiamat''s attention. No, it was the insane regeneration and adaptability disyed by Alice during their fight. Thinking back, Tiamat was d she didn''t give Alice a higher purity sample of her blood. If she did, the fight would''vested much longer. In the final moment when Alice had wed her way out of the rift between realms, she had exhausted all of the power left in her body and passed out. Yet her regeneration still kicked in and saved her. Meaning the regeneration did note from the blood but rather, from Alice herself. "So will you help me?" Alice asked after a brief pause. She had proven her resistance against the Abyss, all that was left was for Tiamat to make a decision. "Ha? Help you with what exactly?" Tiamat frowned. "Weak physical body." "PFT! Oi brat, who do you think you''re fooling? Does a weak physical body withstand the burden ced by Abyss Lord Blood? Does a weak body regenerate lost limbs torn off by my Dragon Heads? I''ll give you a hint, my ability severely limits regeneration." Tiamat spat out in annoyance. This was the reason why she was shocked by Alice''s regeneration. The attacks she used to attack Alice all possess the Corrosion effect, an effect that constantly eats away at the flesh and makes it impossible for them to regenerate quickly. But despite all of that, Alice still regrew limbs without any issue. "But isn''t that from your blood?" Alice tilted her head. Seeing that Alice wasn''t joking and indeed had no clue about this, Tiamat was speechless. Furrowing her brow, she let out a deep sigh. "Listen here young''un. If I had regeneration like yours back then, I wouldn''t have lost against the f*cking Executioner. If you were Abyss Lord level, the regeneration that you disyed outssed anything I''ve seen. With the exceptions of weirdos who only focused on regeneration and survival over power." Tiamat shrugged. "Wait¡­ That was from me? But I don''t usually regenerate like that though." Alice pointed at herself. "Don''t ask me, it''s not like I know what the hell is up with your body. But answer me this, why do you have the power of Null?" Tiamat asked curiously. "Null?" This was the first time Alice had heard anyone put a name on her ability. "You don''t know? Hmm¡­ How much do you know about your own power? I''m talking about the power to copy abilities if you drink the blood." Tiamat asked, fishing to see how much knowledge Alice had on her own power. "A little bit but not a lot. Abyss Blood doesn''t seem to work on me long term, I can copy Sigil abilities if I drink the blood and apparently each time I do, I take a piece of their soul with me." Alice scratched her hair while Tiamat could only sigh in annoyance. "Young''un. Do you want to enter a ritual with me?" Tiamat asked while Alice paused in a mixture of surprise, bewilderment and cautiousness. "What''s in it for you?" Alice frowned. Rituals followed the rule of give and take. To get something from her target, she needed to offer something of her own. "Power." Tiamat chuckled while Alice was confused. What kind of power could she even give to Tiamat? But regardless, if an Old Abyss Lord wanted power, it was most likely used to break out of her prison. She wasn''t sure of the consequences of establishing a ritual with someone from the memory but knowing the Abyss, she wouldn''t rule out the likelihood that the real Tiamat may receive the benefits of this contract. And if she did, it would cause chaos in the Abyss. "I''ll pass. It''s more suspicious for you to want power from a weakling like me." Alice shook her head while looking for a way out. If Tiamat doesn''t n on helping her then there''s no reason for her to stay. "Why are you young''uns so anxious? Have some patience. You haven''t even heard my exnation yet." Tiamat rolled her eyes. "When I say power, I meant the power you stole from eating my soul. The seal ced onto us losers from the old war by the Abyss is one that constantly drains us. Leave us like this for long enough and we enter aatose state. "Thanks to our little fight and your stunt of eating MY SOUL, I''m a little fatigued. Tiamat exined. Since Alice had no control or understanding over her power, the best way she could ''reim'' pieces of her soul would be to exchange it through a ritual. Usually, this wouldn''t be an issue but thanks to the seal ced on both her physical and spiritual body, losing a piece of her soul equates to entering a vegetative state if she doesn''t do anything soon. And as the Dragon Queen, that was a fate she refused to subject herself to. She''d rather die than live in a vegetative state under the seal of the Abyss. "In exchange, I''ll give you the help you want. You want the method to reinforce your body without Abyss Blood right? And as an added bonus, I''ll tell you a bit about Null." Tiamat offered with a grin on her face. Information was a small price to pay for getting parts of her soul back. Not to mention, after seeing Alice''s crazed state, she could already imagine the chaos she''d cause in the Abyss if she were to run rampant. ''Allura seemed to value this kid. With how crazy she is¡­ If she goes out and causes some chaos, Allura probably won''t kill her. Meaning this cycle will just keep repeating. Oh I wish I could see the expression on that b*tch''s face when that happens.'' Tiamat thought to herself. Alice in her crazed state was a monster that not even her, the Dragon Queen wanted to deal with. The more you send to restrain her, the stronger she''ll get. The more souls she consumes, the more abilities she''ll adapt to. She was a weapon of war in the shape of a girl. "I''ll ept it on one condition." Alice narrowed her eyes. "Stingy brat. Fine, speak your condition." Tiamat''s smile twitched. No one had dared to speak about conditions in front of her yet this brat was doing just that. The only exceptions before were other Abyss Lords but now she''s listening to a three Sigil kid who hasn''t even unleashed their second Resonance. "You will only take pieces of your own soul back. Nothing more, nothing less. There will be no permanent connections between us, no tethers, no tracking, no bindings no nothing. You take your soul, I get the information and help I need. There will be nothing more after this." Alice narrowed her eyes as she didn''t want to risk having a permanent connection to Tiamat. "Tsk so cautious. But sure, I don''t want anything more to do with a monster like you anyways. I will take only my soul and nothing more. There will be no ties between us." Tiamat shrugged. "Satisfied?" "Mnm. How will we do this ritual then?" Alice nodded. "Simple." Snapping her finger, blood began to ooze from her finger tip as Tiamat drew out a ritual circle between the two of them. Ambient energy began to funnel towards this circle as conditions manifested before the two of them. Dragon Queen of Apocalypse, Tiamat, will offer Knowledge and a Method of reinforcing the body. In exchange, Alice Agnelia will return pieces of Tiamat''s soul. A simple ritual contract of exchange. No bindings or connections. "I ept these terms." Tiamat smiled, gesturing for Alice to do the same. "I ept these terms." The moment both parties epted the terms, Alice could feel a foreign wisp of power digging into her body, pulling out strands of a ck and red energy from her chest. The aura of which resembled that of Tiamat who reached out with her hand and absorbed the energy. *BANG!!! Her aura red out as she took a deep breath in satisfaction, feeling whole once more. "Now then, shall I tell you about Null?" Chapter 266: Soul Beast Null "Soul Beast Null, that''s what some of us sealed ones would like to call him. He''s¡­ A strange one. You see, he''s not exactly powerful but rather annoying." Tiamat recalled as she closed her eyes. "Null is a beast that specifically targets the soul but that wasn''t what made him unique. What made him unique was that he could continuously take other''s skills and powers for himself. A perfect mirror that can stack countless reflections within itself. "But copying has its limits and he was never able to reach the level of an Abyss Lord. There was never a second version of him either. Well¡­ until now that is." Tiamat shrugged, looking at Alice since she had aspects of Null. "He died during the first war but the chaos he caused isn''t one that can be forgotten easily. He became a beast far bigger than any of us sealed ones and all who approached would have their soul stolen and assimted. "When I say you have the power of Null, I''m specifically talking about that soul stealing and copying part of your abilities. But unlike him, yours doesn''t seem to be permanent nor does it have drawbacks." Tiamat narrowed her eyes. Thinking about her next words carefully, she recalled everything that Alice had revealed. "In a way, your version of Null''s power seemed to have taken the benefits while ignoring the drawbacks. The only reason why he couldn''t reach Abyss Lord level was because all of his power was stolen. He couldn''t have an ability of his own so unless he killed Lord Level beings, he would never be a Lord." Hearing this, Alice was silent. ording to Tiamat''s words, her situation was simr to Abyss Blood when it came to copying power. It wasn''t permanent. "Wait¡­ But I stole part of your soul when I used my power didn''t I? Wouldn''t that be ssed as permanent?" Alice asked but Tiamat shook her head. "Kind of but not really. From what I''ve seen, you have two stages of your abilities of Null. First, you drink blood to form a connection. Second, you use that connection through the blood to copy someone''s power and while doing so, taking a piece of their soul. "I don''t know what you need the soul for when just forming the connection gave you power, but Null needed to take the soul to get the power. You''re a step ahead of him in this aspect." She shrugged. ''So Null is the power to copy, it''s not the reason I''m not affected by the Abyss. Since Allura and Kaden both talked about how Resonance is a mix of everything you have already but enhanced¡­ Where does my Regeneratione from???'' Alice frowned. She knew that entering Resonance heightened her Regeneration but even to this point, she didn''t know the source. Her original theory was that it was part of her mes since in her Resonance, her mes would mend her wounds. "So Null isn''t responsible for me being able to burn away Abyss powers?" Alice asked, conjuring a ball of violet mes. "Not really. The thing with Null is, after he eats enough of your soul, you''ll lose your contract to the Abyss while he bes the recipient. Meaning he gets all of your power while you lose everything. I suppose burning away powers of the Abyss is simr? But not quite. If I''m going to be brutally honest, to me, you''re like a weird hybrid of all kinds of beasts. Freak of nature? You have stupidly high regeneration, Null''s power, Executioner''s power and during the moment you had my blood within you, you were able to use everything I revealed." Tiamat sighed. Even Null needed time to adapt to the Abilities he gained yet Alice was able to use them instantly after seeing the original. And if her memory served right, Null would always be a step behind the original unless he conducts heavy research. The stronger the target, the more he would need to understand his target in order to use the abilities fully. It was akin to the original knowing that 1 + 1 is equal to 2 but Null only sees the result. He doesn''t know the process while Alice is a mirror, a direct reflection of their history and understanding while adding her own experiences to the reflection. Hence being a freak of nature in Tiamat''s words. "Eh? But what you showed wasn''t THAT advanced was it?" Alice tilted her head. *PUCHI!!!! Feeling as though a vein was about to burst, Tiamat held back her anger while ring at Alice. "Do you even know the concepts my attack epassed?" She forced a smile. "Mnm. Isn''t it gathering all of the ambient energy into one orb and creating a vacuum in the surroundings? Since you removed the energy, by nting that orb inside someone, it''ll force itself to burst out and fill the void. It''s kind of like Allura''s Executioner''s de to breach defence but her''s cuts the connection." Alice exined while holding out her palm to the side. Recalling the sensation she felt when using Tiamat''s abilities, she activated her second Sigil. At that moment, mes erupted in front of her before detonating into a spark. A simr process to her Void Flux but this time, a strong suction force was generated at the epicentre. Once again, the world lost its colour as Alice fired the orb into the side of the cliff. *BANG!!!!!! Surprisingly, even though it collided against the cliff, the surface was unharmed. "Oh¡­ That''s a pretty sturdy cliff." Alice muttered, surprised that the location was unharmed. Meanwhile, Tiamat slumped on her throne while massaging her eyes. ''She''s just a freak of nature. If she can copy the Executioner''s de then it only makes sense for her to be able to copy my ability of manipting the energy in the surroundings, right? Right?!'' She cried out in her mind. It wasn''t her main ability but still! It was something she had refined over the years with her knowledge as an Abyss Lord and the brat just copied it like that!?!?! Why don''t she start copying the abilities of every Abyss Lord sheys her damn eyes on!!! ### Outside the Inverted World¡­ "!!!" "What''s wrong Gin?" ". . . Nothing. I just had a feeling that someone felt my kind of pain." "Huh?" "Mental torture." Gin shook his head. "???" "Never mind, you wouldn''t get it." ### "So is there any reason why Null''s power is inside my body?" Alice asked while shuffling closer to Tiamat. "Don''t know. When did you first discover this power? Null has been dead for a long time so I''m not sure how you got your hands on it." Tiamat asked curiously while Alice had an awkward smile. She couldn''t exactly say that she was from the future. "Not sure but it''s always been with me. Same with my weird resistances and stuff." Alice shrugged. "Sit still then. Let me check something." Nodding her head, Alice sat still while Tiamat covered one of her eyes before moving aside her fingers. Her eye was now covered with a radiant glow as she observed Alice silently. "Hmm¡­ Yeah your body is still a mystery to me. To put it simply, it doesn''t make any sense like I can''t even begin toprehend it." She sighed with a helpless shrug. Hearing this, Alice felt a little disheartened since neither the Goddess of the Abyss nor the Old Abyss Lord knew what was going on with her body. Which only makes her wonder what the hell the Zenia''s did to her during the 10 year experimentation. Was it a side effect of the experiments? Did they modify her without her knowing? Or was her body always a mess like this? So many questions and Alice had none of the answers. "Now that I''ve told you what I know, I''ll fulfil the second half of my contract." Tiamat added after seeing Alice look as though someone had just kicked a puppy in front of her. She couldn''t stand having the mood of her prison being brought down by a brat like this. "First of all, how much do you know about the physiology of us Sealed Lords?" Tiamat asked as Alice shook her head. "Don''t know anything." "Hmm¡­ That makes it more annoying then. I suppose to exin how us Sealed Lords work, it''ll be best topare it to the current Lords urg¡­ The current Abyss Lords are recipients of the Abyss''s favour. "People chosen after performing certain actions that impress the Abyss enough to grant them a title of Abyss Lord. While current Lords are like workers, the Sealed Lords paved their own path to Lordship. "There are two methods of bing a Lord. The beast method and then the Contract method. The mostmonly used method is the Contract method. Make a contract with the Abyss and hunt down your quarry. Easy as that." Tiamat exined while holding up two fingers. "But the beast method is far harder. Beasts find it hard to ept the Sigils granted by the Abyss so instead of forming contracts, we reinforce our blood instead. "Through consumption, hunting and targeting specific types of Heart Blood, we enhance our own bloodline to reinforce our body." Hearing this, Alice furrowed her brow and opened her mouth. "You know Abyss Blood doesn''t work on me right? I can''t enhance my own bloodline through consumption." "Tsk, let me finish young''un. I swear if you interrupt me again I''ll fight you and this time, you won''t be able to drink my blood." Tiamat clicked her tongue while Alice sat up straight and stopped talking. "As I was saying, in order to release the power of our bloodline, we burn the blood within our body. I don''t mean literally burn but more so converting it into energy that permeate our body. You didn''t realise but you actually managed to activate it during our fight. The key sign of bloodline release is this." Standing up, Tiamat took a step back before taking a deep breath. At that moment, a monstrous aura erupted from her body as scales manifested across the surface of her skin. Her aura mimicked the movement of fire as a spectral monster, her beast form, manifested behind her. The powermanded by the Dragon Queen''s blood burned to release the highest output possible. The peak of the Old Abyss Lord''s power. Chapter 267: Bloodline Release Looking at the manifestation of Tiamat''s beast form that was recreated by her aura, Alice held her breath. The pressure exuded by Tiamat at this moment seemed to freeze the air around them as even the slightest movement was difficult tomit. Now that she no longer had the blood of an Abyss Lord running through her veins, she found herself helpless against this pressure. "When activating the Bloodline Release, we''ll be ced on a timer. The longer you fight, the more energy this form will consume. For strong beasts, this isn''t an issue since we pair this ability with regeneration. But if you''re not careful, the cost of this will surpass regeneration." Tiamat exined as she snapped her finger and dismissed her aura. "This is what allows us Abyss Lords to reinforce our body without the help of the Abyss. I know you mentioned that consumption doesn''t work for you but you''re wrong. "When I say consumption, hunting and targeting specific Heart Blood, I was talking about the spiritual bodies connected to the physical form. Us beasts are able to reshape our own souls to a certain extent through hunting and eating. "You may not be able to use the same method but you have something far more efficient." Tiamat grinned as Alice realised what she was talking about. "Null." "Exactly. If you consume enough using Null, you''ll be able to enhance your bloodline and therefore activate a much stronger Bloodline Release. Now turn around, I''ll help you familiarise yourself with the process." Tiamat ordered as she approached Alice. Understanding that Tiamat probably wanted to get the contract over and done with as soon as possible, Alice turned her body around. "Close your eyes and try to feel the energy in your body." Pressing her hand against Alice''s back, Tiamat took a deep breath and allowed her energy to flow into Alice''s body. It was at this moment that she realised Alice had barely taken a step into having four paths unlocked. Three Sigils and one Resonance. ''Jeez¡­ What a monstrous brat.'' She thought to herself as she began to connect the four pathways together. "Unlike the normal Resonance used by humans, Bloodline Release requires you to synchronise everything. Meaning you have to form a connection between all of your Sigils and Resonances. Once the main pathway is connected, you need to make sure it''s sturdy enough that it doesn''t copse." Wrapping Alice''s energy in a coating of her own, Tiamat began to manipte the flow inside Alice, slowly directing it towards her chest and into her heart. "Once the main pathway is established and secure, you need to link it to your Spiritual Heart. The harmony between the physical and the spiritual is what will allow your Bloodline Release to activate and thus reshape your body temporarily." Gritting her teeth, Alice could feel her energy breaching through a veil within her. A familiar sensation washed over her as Alice recognised it to be the same sensation she felt when they were dragged into the soul realm. The moment when she could only use her violet mes. A moment when her soul or ck thereof'' was revealed. *BANG!!! A burst of mes erupted from Alice''s body, forcing Tiamat to stumble back in shock. She didn''t think that tapping into Alice''s Spiritual body would cause such arge reaction from her mes! Widening her eyes, Tiamat watched as the mes roared out, covering the sky and dyeing her prison in a purple hue. Just as the beast was about to manifest behind Alice¡­ *CRACK!!! The manifestation shattered apart as Alice panted heavily from the fatigue. Furrowing her brows, Tiamat ran over and checked on Alice''s body to see what had gone wrong. A quick inspection told her all she needed to know. "Something is blocking the formation of the link. Try establishing it again." Tiamat ordered as she was going to make sure she watched the entire process this time. Nodding her head, Alice took a deep breath and controlled her energy. She could still remember the method Tiamat showed her. A flow connecting all of her currently opened pathways with one another, coat it in a protective barrier then direct it to her chest and towards the Spiritual Heart. Once more, mes manifested around Alice as she attempted to form a connection with her spiritual self. *CRRRRR Golden chains manifested from the depths, colliding with the channel, shattering the connection. Seeing this, Tiamat frowned and sighed. "No wonder. Did the damn Goddess put a restriction on your Spiritual Heart?" Tiamat asked while scratching her hair. Tilting her head at this question, Alice recalled that Velouria had indeed ced a restriction. It was to prevent her mes from going out of control. "Seems like you have an idea. She probably put it there for a good reason. If you ever want to fully establish the link to your Spiritual Heart then you''ll need to undo that restriction." Tiamat shrugged, making her way back to her throne. Alice contemted the words silently. If she wanted to use the Bloodline Release method to enhance her body, she''d need to undo the restriction. But at the same time, that means her mes would no longer be restrained and holding herself back would be much harder. ''I should probably head back and ask about this, Allura and Kaden should still be around.'' Standing up, Alice nced at Tiamat who had already closed her eyes and refused to look at her. "Thank you." Since they fulfilled both sides of their contract, there was nothing else to be done. Tiamat can''t do more since Velouria has restricted her mes thus the contract could still be deemed asplete. Looking up at the cliff face that surrounded this prison, Alice activated her third Sigil and began to make tforms to climb out of this pit. *BANG!!! Widening her eyes, Aliceunched herself into the air with far greater force than what she had originally nned. "Careful young''un. Even though I''ve taken my soul back, you still digested a small percent of it thanks to Null. The potency of all of your Sigils and physical traits should have increased passively thanks to it. "With Null acting as a part of your foundation, you''ll be able to gain benefits the more you kill and consume. But a warning from someone who''s seen the downfall of Null, be careful of what you ''eat'' and don''t lose yourself to the power. Use the power rather than being used by the power." Tiamat''s voice rang out as she gave Alice one final advice. Compensation for not being able to fully show her Bloodline Release. Nodding her head, Alice familiarised herself with her new physical power and climbed out of the prison. Once Tiamat was sure that Alice had gone out of earshot, she sighed out in annoyance and red at the space in front of her. "Get the f*ck out here. You''re not invited to my home." Stepping out of the void, both Allura and Kaden appeared while Tiamat spat in disgust seeing Allura. "Is that how you greet an old friend stinky dragon?" Allura grinned. "Tsk, who the f*ck is your friend you cake b*tch. So are you happy now? I showed that brat what you wanted her to learn." Tiamat clicked her tongue while Allura nodded her head. "Thank you." Kaden smiled. "Don''t thank me. If you want to thank me why don''t you free me from this f*cking ce. Do you even know how boring this sh*t is?" "Sorry no can do." He shook his head but Tiamat expected this answer. Not even the Goddess can undo these bindings since the Abyss was the one who set it up. "So what the f*ck is wrong with that brat you sent down here? I didn''t get a clear look but her outline is seriously freaky." Tiamat asked curiously. She assumed that Kaden should know since he has the power to see the outline. "You could see the details?" Kaden paused in surprise while Tiamat nodded. "What? You can''t?" Seeing Kaden nod his head, Tiamat frowned. "I guess that''s because her outline resembles that of a beast rather than a human." "How so?" "And what makes you think I''ll tell you? Just get out of here before your brat gets eaten by the guardians roaming around Terminus." Tiamat waved her hand dismissively. She couldn''t stand seeing Allura''s smug face for another second while Kaden could only nod and teleport them out of prison. Left on her own, Tiamat thought back to what she saw within Alice''s spiritual self. A mass of darkness that contained countless fragments of beasts. Harrowed cries and a desire to break free. Most importantly, a sealed beast, secured by the Golden Chains of the Goddess and a burning hate for the Abyss. It was the first time Tiamat had seen a ''beast'' like the one within Alice. But calling it a beast was far too generous. It may be in the shape of a beast but that¡­ ''Thing'' was not a beast. Even being associated with such a being sent a chill down Tiamat''s back. ''What the f*ck was inside her¡­'' The sensation ofying her eyes on the ''thing'' had invoked a primal sense of unease and difort. Akin to staring into something that she knows should NOT exist in this world. An entity that goes against the veryws that make up their world and the order maintained by the Gods. "What a mess¡­ Thankfully I''m not the one who needs to deal with this sh*t." Tiamat sighed in relief. Of course, on the off chance that Alice upturns the rules set by the Abyss then¡­ The bindings ced upon them by the Abyss would disappear. And once that happens, the Sealed Lords will return. Curling her lips into a grin, Tiamat looked forward to that day. Chapter 268: Leaving Terminus After climbing out of Tiamat''s prison, Alice once again found herself in the barren hellscape of the Terminus. Only this time, she no longer felt the pressure exuded by this realm. In fact, it even feltfortable for her. Like a fish in the great ocean, she knew this pressure hadn''t magically disappeared but rather, she simply adapted to the new environment. Moving her body to get used to the new power welling up within her, Alice wondered if she should try and fight something to test out her new strength. But remembering where she was and the beasts that reside here, she abandoned that idea immediately. She is crazy but she''s not THAT crazy to try and annoy every Abyss Lord level beast she came across. However, it wasn''t as though there wasn''t something she wanted to try out immediately. And since she was in Terminus, all the more reason to try. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and focused her mind. She summoned the obsidian de and entered a low drawing stance. This would be the culmination of everything she has studied thus far in the Inverted World. A showcase of all of the concepts and theories she''s been taught or experienced. Snapping her eyes open, Alice took a step forward. The world began to lose its colour as energy gathered towards her de before erupting with a burst of energy! Gritting her teeth, all three of her Sigils red into life as the fourth pathway opened, unleashing her resonance. Crackles of purple energy crashed around her de, her aura soared and a faint manifestation appeared behind her, not clear enough to reveal the beast yet just enough to boost her physical capabilities temporarily. Void Flux ¨C Cleave! *KRRRRR!!!!! Watching the crackling vertical wave of energy rush through thendscape, Alice felt the energy drain from her body. "What the f*ck." Hearing a void behind her, Alice turned around in surprise and saw Allura and Kaden standing there in disbelief. "Ah! I didn''t notice you sorry. How was the attack? Was it better than before?" Alice asked, wanting some feedback from them. Turning to Alice, Allura could practically see the words ''praise me'' written all over her face as she let out augh. "Pft of course it was better than before. The fact that you can even leave a mark in Terminus proves it." Allura patted Alice''s head with a grin and pointed towards the destruction she caused. While it wasn''t deep, there was a visible cut through the ground of Terminus. One that crackled with energy while traces of her violet mes could be seen along the edges. Hearing Allura''s praise, Alice smiled happily since it meant she was one step closer to reaching her goal. "Honestly, I think you should begin working on your de techniques now. You have two attacks that you can focus on, that sh just now and the spark one you fire usually. But your close quartersbat is stillcking." "We could ask Nyer though since he''s probably the best when ites to swordsmanship." Kaden suggested while Alice flinched at the mention of Nyer. "Ah actually, that might be a bad idea." Allura coughed awkwardly while Kaden tilted his head in confusion. "I don''t know why but Alice doesn''t seemfortable around themander. Either way, I don''t think we should force her to train with Nyer if it can be helped." She scratched her cheek while Kaden nodded his head. "Alright, I can find an alternative for you then." He smiled towards Alice who nodded her head in gratitude. "Though I think that''ll have to wait. It''s been a whole day since we sent you down to Terminus and the Gods have already arrived in the Abyss." Hearing this, Alice froze up as she had spent most of the time sleeping! "We need to get you dressed up for the meeting while we still have time." Kaden grinned while snapping his finger. Teleporting the three of them back to Ayr, Terminus regained its silence once more. Arriving at the top of the castle, Alice saw Velouria drinking some tea while sitting next to a mannequin with an outfit on it. "Wee back~ How was the training?" Velouria smiled, turning towards the three. "Rather fruitful. Though we needed to get some help from Tiamat since Alice broke the training room." Kaden chuckled. "No matter. The training room was made to be used anyway. But I''m surprised you went to Tiamat, was it to fix her issue with the body?" Nodding her head, Alice opened her mouth. "Erm¡­ The restriction inside me. Tiamat mentioned that if I wanted to fully utilize Bloodline Release, I''ll need to undo the restriction. Is there a key for it? So I can undo and redo the restriction." Alice asked while Velouria thought to herself for a moment. "Hmm, it''s not impossible. But there''s a risk involved. You see, the restriction I ced on you is the strongest one I can manage. In a sense, it''s not unlike the restriction ced upon the Old Abyss Lords by the Abyss. Just a little weaker. "If I was to help you undo the restriction, even if it''s just temporarily, it''ll weaken the overall structure and eventually, the mes will break out on its own. Alternatively, I can give you a way to adjust the output." Velouria offered. "Adjust the output?" "It''s a more permanent change. Right now, you have about let''s say 10% ess to the mes. Adjusting the output means you can increase it but never decrease. It''s safer than the first option but you cannot undo your choices." She exined while Alice contemted for a moment. Using a key means there''s a chance the entire restriction would be destroyed at once. While changing output means she can''t take back her choices. To Alice, there was only one choice and that was to choose the second option. "Can I adjust the output then?" "Of course. Give me your hand." Velouria nodded with a smile. Grabbing Alice''s hand, she ced her palm against Alice''s arm and golden chain markings began to appear on the surface of her skin. "This''ll let you adjust your output. I''ve put a failsafe on it just in case but I doubt you''ll need it. To undo parts of the restriction, you need to establish a contract of sorts. Think of it as a secondary check to make sure you indeed want to go through with it okay?" Velouria exined with a smile. "Thank you." "It''s fine. But now that we''ve dealt with that, shall we get on with trying out your new outfit? I personally made it for you based on what you told me. It should help you function as ''Hunter'' gear as well as your fighting methods." Velouria grinned as her hand mped down on Alice''s arm, preventing her from running. Snapping her finger, the space behind the mannequin opened up to reveal an assortment of outfits, each different from one another. ''I let my guard down!'' Alice cried out in her mind. She thought she was safe since there was only one outfit but turns out she was hiding the rest in her personal space! Unable to escape, Alice was dragged away by Velouria while Kaden watched with Allura. "We should also get changed. It''ll be rude to the Gods if we show up in our standard work clothes." Kaden suggested while Allura nodded her head. ### In the end, the outfit they settled on was a sleeveless ck and white dress with purple details and arge turtle neck cor. An off shoulder jacket withrge sleeves and a pair of boots. On the chest of the dress was the emblem of Ayr. Along her waist, Alice wore a silver belt with a pouch on the back that allowed her to store vials of blood and most important of all, the bag was crafted using spatial powers so the inside was far bigger than what it seemed. Even if she were tond on the pouch after being thrown by Allura, the vials inside still wouldn''t break. "Fufu~ Cute as expected. The material should help you withstand quite a lot of damage without breaking. Though there are some secret features I''ll let you find out on your own." Velouria winked while Alice gave herself a spin to see how the outfit felt. It was certainly lighter than the other outfits she''d bought before. In fact, it was so light it felt as though she was wearing nothing at all which only served to make her feel embarrassed. "By the way, wouldn''t the other Gods get suspicious about the crown above my head?" Alice asked, pointing at the floating Crown of the Abyss. "Hmm¡­ that''s true. Which is why let''s turn it into a headband to match your outfit." Velouria chuckled. Snapping her finger, the Crown began to resonate with Velouria''s power before turning into a ck headband. The design of which resembled the outline of the crown but was simplified. "I only changed its form so nothing has changed except it''s a headband now. It''ll revert to looking like the crown again until Ca fully wakes up in your body since the Crown is connected to her. Once she''s woken up, she should be able to help you. "Now then my dear sessor, it is time for you to meet the other Gods." pping her hand, Velouria enveloped the two of them in a strange energy that flickered between countless colours. But once this veil disappeared, Alice found themselves in the centre of arge hall. Statues could be seen surrounding them while she noticed Allura and Kaden wearing a new attire along with Nyer who stood next to them. Behind them, the statue of Velouria could be seen. Meaning¡­ The other statues belonged to the other Gods. God of the Sun. God of the Eclipse. And Goddess of the Moon. Chapter 269: Gods And Goddesses Realising that she was about to see the other Gods, Alice couldn''t help but feel nervous. What if she annoys them just by standing still? Would they kill her over trivial details? She was meeting divine beings after all. Velouria was a unique case since they were connected to one another as she was her sessor. Just as she was worrying about meeting the Gods, Velouria patted her on the back. "Don''t feel pressured, okay? They won''t harm you since this is my domain, just rx and enjoy the meeting." Velouria reassured as Alice nodded her head. But even if Velouria tells her to rx, it was akin to telling a normal citizen to be rxed in front of an Abyss Lord! *Krrrrr The sound of crackling lightning rang out as three portals manifested themselves in the room. A swirling mass of energy and a pressure invading from within. Just as Velouria was about to use her own pressure to counteract this to keep Alice safe, she noticed that Alice didn''t have a reaction. ''Ohya? Seems like meeting Tiamat has given her more than what she expected.'' She mused to herself with a smile while turning her attention to the gates. The first one to step out is the God of the Sun, Sris. A hulking man taller than even Allura. Although he didn''t wield a spear, Alice recognised him to be the same man depicted by the statues she saw in ckrock City. He wore a loose-fitting white robe with a few pieces of golden armour around his chest, shoulders, waist and legs. Red markings around the edges of his eyes and the crest of the Sun God on his forehead. His long hair fluttered behind him like an untamed me while two guests stood behind him, the Apostles of the Sun God, Preservation and Protection. One was an armoured woman wearing white and gold while a golden halo floated behind her. The other was a man with arge shield on his back. Just like the woman, he wore white and gold armour. ''The man is probably Protection since he has the shield. The woman is probably Preservation.'' Alice thought to herself. Of course, she had the option of using Ca to try and see above their heads but using it may cause suspicion towards her. She didn''t know if using Ca would cause some reaction from them but it wasn''t something she was willing to risk. "Hou~ Seems like you''ve gathered more people this time. Who''s she?" Sris asked while ncing at Alice briefly. He knew about Nyer since he was Velouria''s protector. He knew about the left and right hands of the Goddess, Allura and Kaden. But this new girl with the split hair? He had no information about her. "I wonder~ This is my home after all, it''s not so strange for me to have a guest of my own around." Velouria chuckled softly while gesturing for him to sit down. "Very well. So, what''s her name? Or have you finally decided to get some ves?" Srisughed while sitting down on the seat in front of his statue. He leaned back and crossed his legs on the table. "You know we don''t do ves in Ayr. Stop teasing her." Velouria shook her head with a smile but there was a warning in her tone of voice. Raising his hands in surrender, he sat up properly without saying anything else and simply waited for the next guest. The next one to arrive came with an air of elegance. Her arrival immediately caused the room to dim down while soft flickers of light appeared in the air. The woman that arrived at long blonde hair with the insides being a kaleidoscope of soft midnight hues and stars. Strands of hair flowed down the middle, between her half opened eyes and down to her chest before curling at the edges. A soft smile hung on her lips. She wore a gentle white dress adorned with silver and purple essories while a pair of spectral veils and wings could be seen behind her, representing the night sky. Luminescent blue and purple flowers bloomed along her dress. "I''ve only just arrived and there''s already an air of hostility. We''re all old friends here, let us not fight." The Goddess of the Moon smiled while sitting down on her seat. Behind her, her two attendants followed closely, each one seemingly fading away yet still attached to the mortal realm. The first was a woman with short white hair wearing a dress with arge skirt that covered her legs along with a pair ofrge sleeves. She hovered above the ground and didn''t say anything while keeping her eyes closed. The second, wore a simr outfit slightly different. Instead of arge skirt, she wore a shorter variant with arm length gloves rather than sleeves. Blue and purple ribbons adorned her dress, matching her long purple hair. The underside of her hair was a prismatic array of pearl, pinks, light purple, blues and yellows. An aurora of colours. Her right eye was hidden by what seemed to be a dove wing while a halo and wings could be seen behind her. But what was most noticeable of all was that she was not human. She was a doll! Mechanical joints could be seen yet her face was humanlike aside from the wing hiding her eye. Unlike the ones that followed the Sun God, Alice found it much harder to guess which was which. Regardless, Alice knew these two were the Apostles of Immortality and Spirituality. "But Sris is not wrong. I understand Nyer, Allura and Kaden being here. But I have no recollection regarding the young guest by your side." The Goddess ced her finger on her chin while trying to recall if she had seen Alice before. "Not you too Lumi. But fine~ You can think of her as my family." Velouria sighed and shrugged her shoulder. The Moon Goddess Lumiria was someone who liked to remember as much as she could about the world. The people she''s seen, the things she''s experienced. To her, part of longevity is to be remembered and by remembering everything she''s seen, heard or felt, it was to give her target a blessing of longevity. "Then may I know the name of your family member?" Lumiria smiled while Velouria nced towards Alice. Understanding that this was Velouria''s sign to introduce herself, Alice took a step forward and did a slight bow. "Alice." She didn''t want to introduce herself as Zenia as she has long left that name behind. But at the same time, she didn''t want to introduce herself as Agnelia since that would only make Allura ask countless questions. "Alice¡­ What a nice name. Alice, do you know the importance of time?" Lumiria asked while keeping her eyes on Alice. "I''m not sure." "Time is a recording, a documentation of history and the flow of progression. To me, I believe the representation of time is an important matter. Which makes me wonder why a young being like you takes this form. How old are you Alice? Or rather, how old do you perceive yourself to be?" Lumiria asked curiously, once again, confusing Alice with her question. ncing towards Velouria, Alice wanted to get some help while Velouria simply smiled and let Alice answer however she saw fit. "I should be 20 years old. Though I''ve forgotten my birthday so I don''t know if I''m 20 or 21." Alice replied while Lumiria simply observed Alice without saying anything and stopped asking questions. However, there was a strange smile on her face as she waited for theirst guest. With a single step through the portal, the room was enveloped in a bloodthirsty aura, dispelling the soothing atmosphere that Lumiria brought with her. An oppressive pressure exploded out as the God of the Eclipse revealed himself. Stepping out of the portal, a tall man with ck and red hair swept his blood red eyes across everyone with a grin. He wore arge ck cloak adorned with chains and his outfit consisted of bandages, chains and other ritualistic items across his body. "*Sigh~ Elly, were you in the middle of a ritual? Is that why you''reter than the others?" Velouria sighed. "Ah sorry sorry. Let me get changed then, you know how it is, I need to keep up appearances after all." Snapping his fingers, darkness seemed to wrap around him before cracking open with a burst of crimson light. From within this cocoon, a woman with long ck and red hair revealed herself. All of the ritualistic essories disappeared and were reced by ck armour. Clearing her throat, she slumped down into her seat and crossed her legs while her Apostles stood behind her. Both were d from head to toe in ritualistic armour and clothing so Alice couldn''t see their appearances. "Better?" Enrisughed while taking a rather rxed posture on her seat. "Yep. Much better." Velouria nodded with a smile while Sris groaned. "Why must you keep changing your gender every time we have one of these meetings? Pick one. It''s annoying to see you look different every time we gather." "Tsk tsk tsk, I change ording to my environment Soli. If there are more cuties, I join them. If there are more hunks, I be one. Who cares which side I take, I just want to have fun." Enris grinned. God/Goddess of the Eclipse, the most chaotic out of the four. She would wage war out of boredom, invade territories on a whim and destroy civilizations belonging to the other Gods. No one could change that. The three were simply thankful that she kept herself in check, sometimes, making sure not to attack the most prized possessions of each God. For Velouria, that would be Ayr. Now that all of the guests have arrived, the meeting shall begin. Chapter 270: Meeting Between Divines "The first topic we''re going to discuss is introducing the world to our Apostles. After all, they''re extensions of our Authority. I''m sure you''ve noticed it as well, the more we act around the world, the harder it bes for normal humans to survive. "Our very nature tilts the bnce in our favour and the world counteracts it. However, Apostles don''t have this kind of effect on the world since they''re essentially Abyss Lords with some blessings. Any thoughts?" Velouria began the meeting off. The world was constantly in a bncing act and it wasn''t just the Abyss either, this counted for the surface. After the pathway between the two realms had been opened, they were never able to close it again. Thus they adapted and allowed travel between the twoyers and people gained power. However, if the Gods intervene too much, the world bes unstable and more pathways open up. But that wasn''t the main issue. "I agree. Normal humans find it hard to survive in our presence in the first ce, they pass out with a single look." Sris sighed with a shrug. "But wouldn''t it be easier for us to get followers if we revealed ourselves more often?" Lumiria tilted her head while Enris agreed. Enris gained the most followers when she wrought destruction upon a battlefield after all. Seeing is believing and seeing the power of a God first hand is the best way to prove their might. "That''s why we''ll be changing to introducing our Apostles instead. I believe all of you have also noticed the weakening of the world barrier. After the pathway was created between my realm and the surface, there have been signs of breaking elsewhere. "You''ve already seen the chaos caused by the Abyss linking with the surface, I''m unsure if it''s wise to allow a third realm to be connected." Velouria reminded. Outer Gods. That''s what she was worried about. Beings outside of the Abyss and the Surface. Even though they hadn''t managed to invade their world just yet, a single look outside of their domain had already sent shivers down Velouria''s back. It was faint but there''s no denying their existence. "But chaos is the best though~ Are you worried about the Outer Gods?" Enris asked with a grin while rxing herself on the seat. "The more the merrier. If more Gods appear then that means there''s more for me to fight. It''s gotten a bit boring fighting you three after all this time." She narrowed her eyes towards Sris and Lumiria who frowned in displeasure. Enris attacked their territories the most since she couldn''t easily attack the Abyss. And the result of her doing so was fear amongst their believers and amon hatred towards the Eclipse Cult. Her followers are just as insane as she is! "Now now, let''s not fight. We''re all Gods here, no reason to harm one another." Velouria sighed since they fight all the time. If anything, it reminded her of siblings who constantly argue with one another. "I''m not fighting, just stating what I think. That''s what this meeting is about right?" Enrisughed. Sris didn''t say anything and simply crossed his arms. "Alright. So who agrees to go forward with this proposal?" Velouria asked as both Sris and Lumiria raised their hands slightly while Enris could only shrug. "Then we shall go forward with this. From now on, we will be limiting our activities amongst mortals and our Apostles will act as our proxies. Furthermore, I suggest we retreat to the rift between realms to reduce our impact on the world and observe the changes." "Velouria, what about you? We know what your connection with the Abyss is like. It''ll be hard for you to retreat to the rift." Sris opened one of his eyes and nced to the host of this meeting. "Mnm, naturally I''ll keep myself to the top of the castle. I''ve already made preparations to reduce my impact on the world." Velouria exined. Naturally, she wasn''t going to reveal that she was basically confined there. Doing so would be exposing herself to danger. Even though they may seem amicable right now, all of them had hidden daggers pointing at one another. Even the other Apostles are ready to make a move the moment a fight breaks out. "If you say so." Sris nodded. "If we''re going to introduce our Apostles to the world, their names should reflect their Authority should it not? For me, I''ve given my Apostles the authority of Immortality and Spirituality. Henceforth they shall be known as the Apostle of Immortality and the Apostle of Spirituality." Lumiria smiled while gesturing to her Apostles. "Mine are Protection and Preservation." Sris added. "War and Famine." Enris grinned. "Severance and Corruption." With the first agenda agreed upon, they moved to the second topic for the meeting. As the meeting continued, Alice found herself struggling to keep up with the conversation. They mostly talked about the state of their cities, how their religion is going and what their believers were like. Some misceneous affairs and troublesome situations caused by the Abyss. But it was during this topic that all focus was ced on Velouria. "Say I couldn''t help but notice the Abyss seemed to have grown more active recently. Even if we ignore the pathways that are being open, since they''re unavoidable, the beasts seemed to have grown more aggressive." Sris couldn''t help but mention while narrowing his eyes at Velouria. Hearing this, Velouria''s smile twitched but she kept herselfposed. "Are you suggesting that I''m behind it?" "No no, don''t get me wrong. I''m not pointing fingers here, merely asking what''s going on." Sris smiled. "It''s only natural for us to be concerned Velouria. You see, we have full dominion over our powers and Authority. But you¡­ You share it with the Abyss so it''s only right to be concerned if you''re doing okay or not." Lumiria sighed while Velouria narrowed her eyes. This was probably their main goal for the meeting. "And what''s your reason for asking this?" Velouria asked while Kaden, Allura and Nyer began to show hostility. "As hard as it is to believe, we''re not here to pick a fight." Enris held her hands up in surrender with a grin on her face. "We just want to ask if you can truly be considered a Goddess. We divine beings are the pinnacle of power, we governws and create rules. Yet you share your power with the Abyss. Hell, even the Old Abyss Lords sealed beneath theyers and in the pits of Terminus. It was the Abyss''s doing not yours and you can''t interfere with it, can you?" Enris stood up. "So the question we want to ask is¡­ Can you prove you can truly be considered a Goddess?" At that moment, thick killing intent soaked with the blood of war erupted out from Enris''s body, dyeing the entire room in a deep red while Allura drew her de but Velouria stopped her. "Is this the general consensus? Or is it simply Elly being Elly?" Velouria faked a smile while looking at Sris and Lumiria. Seeing that they weren''t saying anything, Velouria understood that her authority was being questioned. She wasn''t a violent person but that doesn''t mean she was a pushover either. She simply hated to force her power onto others. "You''ve made three wrong assumptions." Velouria held up three fingers. Seeing this, Kaden pulled Alice back next to them with a worried expression on his face. ''Is Kaden worried about the coteral damage?'' Alice wondered to herself. She knew that she had no ce in this fight as she was just a three star Hunter. But he couldn''t answer her question as the Gods were about to make their moves. "First of all, you three were the ones who dered me as a Goddess. At the start, I''ve never considered myself a divine being but simply pushed into the role. "Second of all, you speak as though you believe me and the Abyss are in a Master Servant rtionship where it can interfere with my work while I cannot interfere with it. That is wrong. It''s a mutual agreement despite the Will of the Abyss having its own whims. There''s a good reason why it granted me power to be what I am."After saying this, Velouria only had one finger up and a cold chill flooded the room, overwhelming Enris'' killing intent. "Andst of all, I don''t need to prove anything. I''ve taken the stance that so long as you don''t invade Ayr, I will not make a move. But a show of hostility will not go ignored. So dear Elly, can you handle my wrath?" Tapping her finger down, the realm seemed to copse into itself as all of them were transported into the rift between worlds. At that moment, countless eyes opened up in the sky while an overbearing pressure crashed down onto the room. Velouria''s hair red up as stars gathered around her, manifesting as a crown above her head. Snapping her finger, a heartbeat could be heard while the air cracked apart. Dark liquid poured into the realm as golden chains jumped out from the ground and wrapped around Enris'' limbs and neck, locking her in ce. The world darkened as Velouria took a step towards Enris. Both Sris and Lumiria wanted to stand up but found themselves stared down by several silhouettes of Abyss Beasts radiating power close to that of the Apostles. They were unafraid of death! For their Goddess, they will dly offer their lives! "As surface Gods, you share your divinity with one another, taking turns through the cycles. There are three Gods to share the Surface yet only one Goddess in the Abyss. Now let me ask you. "If I do not qualify as a Goddess¡­" Velouria curled her lips into a cruel smile. "Do you think you can qualify as a God?" Chapter 271: Nyers Suggestion Under Velouria''s threat, Enris found herself unable to reply as the pressure of the entire world seemed to crash down on her. As for Lumiria and Sris, they knew that if they were to make a move, it would mean war against the Abyss. "Ahaha why so serious? I''m just asking if you have the power of a Goddess. We haven''t seen you fight often and with you sharing your authority with the Abyss, it''s only natural to be worried right?" Enris shrugged and raised her hand in surrender. All three of them knew that Velouria''s condition was deteriorating. Yet for her to be able to show this much power when she''s essentially on herst leg was¡­ Incredible! For one person to have all this power was simply unfair. Compared to the surface, where the three of them share the space, Velouria had ess to the Abyss all by herself. ''I want it.'' Was all Enris could think of at this moment. But fighting right now would yield no benefits for her. In fact, it could even cause her own death. "*Sigh~ If you joke like that even I''ll get offended okay?" Velouria pouted while snapping her finger. In an instant, the realm returned back to normal as though nothing happened and the chains disappeared. Sitting back on her seat, she had a smile on her face along with a silent warning in her eyes to the other two who simply watched. Meanwhile, Alice felt speechless. ''I don''t think that was a joke¡­'' If Velouria couldn''t prove she had the power befitting that of a Goddess, the other three would no doubt jump her like ravenous beasts, hungry for food. Sitting back in her seat, Enris nced at Sris and Lumiria since it was their turn now. She''s done her job, it was up to them now. "Sorry about that. Enris took that a bit far but we were worried about how the Abyss was affecting you. Since you share its Authority, you should know that it''s been expanding faster than ever. At this rate, your body won''t be able to hold up since you don''t have a physique like us." Lumiria exined with a small smile. Hearing that they already knew about her deteriorating condition, Velouria contemted silently for a moment before opening her mouth. "I have some other methods to keep my body intact while the Abyss does its own thing. But I must say, the three of you seem rather curious about this expansion. Do you perhaps want to suggest a method to stop this expansion?" Velouria replied while waving her hand dismissively. "We have a few ideas but even to this day, the Will of the Abyss is something we don''t understand. As the closest being to the Will, we''ll need to ask for your opinion." Sris replied. "How do you feel about trying to track down this Will? We know it has its own ns but none of us know what it is. Perhaps it''s time to see who''s pulling the strings behind the Abyss." Lumiria offered. Raising her eyebrow, Velouria was silent. There has always been a silent acknowledgement from the Abyss towards her. A mutual respect and understanding. In the past, it had never done something that would cause her too much burden yet recently, it has been expanding aggressively. Not only that, but she had also received a premonition of her own death and now a sessor. While she may be a memory, she too wanted to know how she died. To have some answers before her final moments. In front of Alice, she may seem knowledgeable. But she too was in the dark right now. ''I guess I should y my role and go along with this farce. I''m simply an actor on this stage that the Abyss has prepared for dear Alice.'' She thought inwardly with a smile. "I can''t say I''m not interested. But you realise the risks that this carries right?" Velouria rested her chin on her hand. "To go against the Will of the Abyss is akin to waging war in its home. Even if I am the Goddess that shares its authority to some extent, this is crossing the line." "We''re not suggesting that you fight the Abyss nor are we suggesting for you to betray it. But rather, to get an audience with this Will and find out its goal. No one moves without a goal. Even those who im to be moving on a whim will have a goal of some kind. An oue they wish to see." Lumiria shook her head. "We want to see what this Will of the Abyss seeks through expansion." Sris rified. ''You also want to see if you can im some of its power for yourselves. But I suppose speaking that out loud is shameful even for you.'' Velouria thought with a smirk before opening her mouth. "I suppose in this regard, we''re not so different from humans then. A fear of the unknown. So how do you propose we meet the Will of the Abyss then? As you know, Terminus is the deepest pit of this realm. And it''s ayer the Will has repurposed as a prison. Unless you mean to say there areyers we haven''t seen yet." "We''ll need to conduct some research in the Abyss if you''ll permit this. We need to track down where this Will is residing through interacting with the edge of expansion." Lumiria exined. "But wouldn''t that leave your domains empty?" Velouria paused in surprise, not realising that the three of them were nning on standing in the Abyss. "We''ve already made preparations for that if you agree to have us here." Sris smiled. Seeing no reason to reject, Velouria was about to reply when Nyer approached and whispered something into her ear. Nodding her head, she nced at Alice before turning to the other Gods. "I don''t see why not. But I have a favour to ask of you if you''re wanting to stay here." Velouria grinned. "Oh? What kind of favour?" "I need some help in training young Alice over here. So since you''re staying here, why don''t you have your Apostles help out with the training?" Velouria suggested while Alice froze up in shock. She was already receiving training from Allura and Kaden. And now Velouria wants her to get training from the other Apostles?! ''Would the other Gods even agree to this?'' Alice thought to herself. After Alice''s name was brought up, Allura understood what Nyer and Velouria wanted to do and gently pushed Alice forward to the meeting table. At that moment, Alice felt the pressure of having three divine beings scanning her from head to toe. "I suppose I get why you want to train her. She seems rather weak to be part of your family." Enris scratched her chin after understanding Alice''s level of power. Three Sigils. Everyone in this room was above the level of Abyss Lord yet this little three Sigil gal was here with them. Feeling their gaze, Alice broke out in a cold sweat while cursing Allura in her mind. "As you can see, she''s not exactly strong right now. Since my time will be devoted to helping you locate the Will, I''ll be too busy. Which is why I need some help in training her." Velouria smiled while Sris examined Alice and nodded. "I can have my Apostles help then. Since she''s rather weak, I''m not sure how much she can take away from the training so it depends on her." Sris offered. He won''t train Alice personaly since that felt insulting as a God. But having his Apostles help is a good middle ground. "What kind of fighter is she? My Apostles are more the casting type." Lumiria asked while Velouria nced over to Kaden. "Alice is a hybrid fighter right now. She focuses on de work while using her Sigils to help assist her movements. However, her main finishing attacks are casting based." Kaden exined. "Hou~ Pretty greedy for someone so weak, aren''t ya? I like it. Alright! My Apostles can teach her how to use a weapon properly." Enris grinned. Out of all the Apostles, War and Famine have the most practical de work that was forged in battle. pping her hands with a smile, Velouria nodded her head. "Then I wee you to stay in the Abyss for as long as you need. In the time that we''re trying to locate the Will of the Abyss, Preservation and Protection will teach Alice defensive manoeuvres. Spirituality and Immortality will teach her how to cast. War and Famine will teach her how to use her de. I trust that there are no issues with this arrangement?" """None.""" Seeing that all three were in agreement, Velouria gave Alice a secret thumbs up. "I will have amodations arranged for your stay and n out a schedule for Alice. That way it''s easier for us to organise when Alice will get her training. But for now, I believe there is nothing else for us to discuss. Let us rest and speak about investigating the Will tomorrow." Velouria concluded the meeting as the other Gods agreed. Opening their own portals, they left the room. "What the f*ck." Was all Alice could say while Alluraughed. "This is a perfect opportunity is it not? They want toe stay in the Abyss for a while so we may as well get some benefit out of them." Velouria chuckled while Alice simply felt a headache. Training from all of the Apostles! As great as this sounded, it may cause her more trouble than what it was worth! "Plus, it was Nyer who suggested this so don''t look at me." Velouria nced up at Nyer who simply shrugged his shoulders. "Kaden and Lua are working hard to train young Alice under your orders Master. I simply thought that if it is your wish to help young Alice be strong then using this chance to learn from others will be the next step." Nyer smiled. "They''ll be underestimating you since you are weak. But use that to your advantage and take as much as you can from them. This is an opportunity to learn from the strongest beings in the realms aside from the Gods. Treasure it." He reminded as Alice could only nod her head. Indeed, being trained by all of the Apostles is an opportunity that should normally be impossible, especially with their difference. But thanks to Nyer''s suggestion, the impossible has be possible! After the training, she''ll be the only person in the world who''s received guidance from every Apostle. Chapter 272: Hell Gate After the meeting was over, the group returned to Velouria''s castle and sat down to rx. "Master, are you sure it''s okay to let them do as they wish in the Abyss for now though? The Eclipse God didn''t seem to be joking when she was asking you to prove yourself." Allura asked while eating some cake. "It''s better to y along for now. And they''re not wrong in the fact that we don''t know what the Will actually wants. So far, it simply seems to be acting on a whim. Even the act of making me the Goddess." Velouria shrugged helplessly. "Do you think it''s nning on opening new paths to other realms? Aside from the Surface and the Abyss, we know that there are realms where the Outer Gods reside." Nyer asked curiously. He was currently sitting on the balcony away from Alice since she was ufortable with his presence. Even though he didn''t know why, he''d respect her choice. "Possibly. And to be fair, in the beginning, it had a hand in opening the pathway between the Abyss and the Surface. The pathway couldn''t be opened from just one side, both sides were needed for it to happen." Velouria nodded. "So it must''ve wanted something with the Surface." "It''s a good chance to figure out the motives behind this realm. Though I think the biggest winner out of all of this is Alice." Kaden chuckled while turning to Alice who was hugging arge bottle of mead with her entire body. There was a goofy grin on her face while she drank from another bottle. Topensate Alice for suddenly pushing her into the spotlight, Kaden brought her several bottles of Ayrian Mead since she didn''t get to drink itst time. But seeing her reaction towards the drink, it seems like she was happier with the mead than she was with getting training from the Apostles. "True. How often do you even see a person get trained by 1 Apostle never mind all eight of us." Allura nodded her head while Alice zoned back in after realising they were talking about her. "Do you think they''ll even try hard enough in the training? I think they''ll probably dismiss me with some random information." Alice asked. After all, for all they know, she was part of Velouria''s family. Trying their best to train her would be akin to shooting themselves in the foot after their show of hostility from earlier. But as Nyer mentioned, they could be looking down on her since she''s weak and choose a hard to understand subject. "They won''t show you the best but rather some foundational knowledge. Probably something hard toprehend but could still be considered to be easy." Nyer added. "The Commander is right. Each of the Apostles have their own specialisation. Honestly, me and Kaden are considered to be jack of all trades kind of fighters. I''m a hybrid while he''s able to mimic casters." Allura said while pointing her fork at Kaden. Alice had noticed this as well. Using his power of Shadows, Kaden could easily copy and recreate any casts done by the opponent and even add more onto it. "Preservation and Protection are annoying to fight against since they have very good control of the space around them. I''ve fought them here and there, but it''s never been a serious fight. However, even then, I would rarely get a hit in." Allura groaned. Her attack is not a sure hit type of attack. While it was good against raw defences, there was still a chance that her attack would miss if they dodged at the right time. For the Apostles belonging to the Sun God, they were surprisingly, her worst match-up. "Spirituality and Immortality have a wide variety ofbinations for their casts. They''re sneaky withying traps too. Though if I''m being honest, I didn''t have much trouble against them, unlike Lua who can''t fight neither Protection nor Preservation." Kaden chuckled while poking Allura on the nose causing her to stick her tongue out at him in annoyance. "I haven''t seen you fight yet so I can''t say much. But if I take what Lua and Kaden have said at face value, War and Famine may be your best teachers." Nyer smiled. "Oh? Why''s that?" Alice nced over curiously. "Because they''re instinctual fighters. They use everything and anything at their disposal, making the most out of the battlefield. Whether that be using their opponent''s weapons against them or the environment. They''re extremely perceptive of any signs of weakness you show and they''ll bite down without release. "Fighting them is absolutely brutal if you''re not prepared." Nyerughed as he unbuckled some of his armour and revealed his chest. Several deep ghastly cuts could be seen wing down from the right shoulder. "Famine''s authority is annoying to deal with. Any wounds dealt by them be extremely hard to heal. This was the best we could do for me. One moment of weakness was all it needed for them to end the fight between us. Of course, I managed to get a hit back but unlike their hits, mine could be healed." Nyer exined while putting his armour back on. "So if you can only learn one thing from these three, I''d say War and Famine suit your style the most." Nodding her head, Alice couldn''t help but feel as though she had the wrong idea about Nyer this whole time. Not even she knew why she was scared of him but she couldn''t deny that he''s helped. Hesitating for a moment, Alice turned to him once more. "I¡­ Haven''t gotten training from you yet. Allura showed me how to attack, Kaden showed me how to optimise my usage. Are¡­ You able to train me as well?" Alice asked as Nyer paused in surprise, pointing at himself. As for Allura, she wanted to shed a tear and say look at how Alice had grown. From being scared to death of Nyer to asking him for training. Looking over to Velouria for permission and seeing her nod his head, he smiled and turned back to Alice. "Sure, I can teach you. I''ll teach you how to stand your ground in this world of talented monsters like Lua and Kaden." He grinned while giving her a thumbs up. "Master, you don''t mind if I monopolise her schedule for a while right?" "Go ahead. I''ll let you know when the other Apostles are ready for their training sessions." Velouria nodded with a smile. "Wait we''re going now?" Alice blinked her eyes as Nyer shed next to her and grabbed her shoulder. "Of course, no time to waste." Nyerughed deviously while Allura and Kaden made a praying motion. "Wait, why are you praying." Alice shivered. "The Commander trained me and Lua, that''s all you need to know." Kaden smiled. At that moment, Alice paled, realising that it was very possible for Kaden and Allura to get their violent training tendencies from Nyer. "Is it toote to say no?" Alice forced a smile while Nyer didn''t say anything. "Kaden, send us to the Hell Gate." Nodding his head, Kaden snapped his finger as shadows wrapped around Nyer and Alice, sending them away. "How well do you think Alice will do?" Allura asked curiously while Kaden thought for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. "She''ll probably hate us for letting her train with the Commander. At least we''re gentle with our training." He shivered. While he and Allura hold back and let the other adapt to the training, Nyer goes all in. To Nyer, the best way to teach how to fight is to get beaten up until you''re about to die. Literally. It is on the edge of life and death will your body and mind try its best to find a way out. A path to victory. By constantly honing into this state, you learn skills and movements unique to your physique for the highest chance of survival. Before they became Apostles, both Kaden and Allura received brutal beatdowns to the point they couldn''t move for days had it not been for Healing Blood. Watching Kaden and Allura dread about their training days with Nyer, Velouria chuckled while closing her eyes. ''Ca, can you go help Alice out? Since you''re connected to her in the future, she needs to get used to using you more often.'' [Are you sure Master? I don''t want to leave your side when the other Gods are here.] ''Don''t worry, they won''t pull anything until we find the Will. This is the perfect time for you to help Alice.'' [. . .Alright.] Watching the wisp of energy travel towards Hell Gate, Velouria smiled while looking over to Allura and Kaden. "I have something I need the two of you to do for me." This was going to be herst and final gift to Alice. ### Falling through the sky once more, Alice had expected herself to be in free fall yet surprisingly, Nyer carried her in his arms and made a gentle descent. Without the threat of falling to her death, she took this time to look at the location known as Hell Gate. Andscape of ck and red, shed violently across a border while shes of lightning decorated the sky. Across thend, countless scars were left by the previous battles while Nyer looked at this with a tinge of nostalgia. "This used to be a farnd but then I fought Famine here. Never recovered since and now it''s called Hell Gate." He exined while Alice froze up. "Wait¡­ A farnd?" "Mnm. Those scars in the ground are left by my attacks while the sky and the shing of energy were left by Famine. This will be the perfect ce to train since no matter how much damage we do to the surroundings, this ce is already f*cked up so no one will care." Nyer reassured with a grin. But these words send warning bells off in Alice''s mind. ''What kind of training requires us to reshape the surroundings?!?!'' Chapter 273: Training With Nyer "As fighters whock the benefit of blessings from Divinity, we work strictly with the tools we have and our Sigils. However, you need to remember that it is very hard and I mean VERY hard to overpower blessings given to Apostles. No matter how favourable it may seem to you, know that you can have the advantage flipped in an instant." Nyer began the lesson as he took a step forward and appeared in front of Alice. "So what do you think we need to do to create our own advantages?" He grinned andunched an attack! In an instant, both of his hands entered Alice''s vision as they were mere inches away from hitting her. But Alice was able to tilt her head to the side, thanks to Ca, and counter with a kick while flipping backwards. "Hou~ So you can deal with this speed huh? Not bad. Now, once again, what do you think we need to do in order to create our own advantages?" Nyer asked once more, rushing towards Alice. Just as she was able to take a step back, Nyer stomped down on her foot and crashed his shoulder into her chest. *BANG!!! Feeling the shock reverberate through her body, Alice gritted her teeth and wanted to counter but Nyer was ready. Despite his size, he managed to duck under her swing and grab her arm. Throwing her over his shoulder, he mmed her against the ground. "No answer?" He taunted, causing Alice to frown and get back up. "I''ll give you a chance to think this time." Narrowing her eyes, Alice thought about the possible answers. When fighting someone stronger than her, she wants to avoid their attacks by any means necessary. That means she needs a good understanding of how they move and habits. In the situation where she doesn''t know their habits, she''ll need to scout out their movements and test the waters. "Is it to observe their habits?" Alice answered as Nyer nodded his head. "The most important thing to remember when fighting someone stronger than you is to understand their goals in the fight. The weaker you can make yourself seem, the better since they''re more prone to underestimating you. "Of course, this can''t be said for every fight since even those stronger than you will be looking for chances to understand your movements. You simply need to read their habits faster. But this is just the basics. "Later, they may add feints and mix-ups in their techniques to throw you off once they make you think you have them read." Nyer grinned as he rushed towards Alice once more. Noticing that he was going to aim for her foot again, Alice pre-emptively took a step back earlier than usual. However, this left her open above as Nyer jabbed his finger against her throat, causing her to stumble back before following up with a hook on her rib into a roundhouse kick. Crashing across the ground, Alice held her body in pain. "As you can see, I made you think that I was aiming for the foot again since it worked the first time. But once you stepped into my trap, I followed up with fast attacks that disorientate you to decrease the chances of you recovering. This is what you need to learn." Taking deep breaths, Alice nodded her head and cleared her mind. She needed to be in a nk state if she wanted to understand the goal of the opponent. ''Right now, Nyer wants to teach me so he''ll add one or two moves at most to his string of attacks. I need to understand the goal of these moves and what he wants to teach.'' ''The first move was to test my reaction speed. The second move was to test how I reacted to having my movements restricted. The third was to test how well I could adapt to feints. What goal does he want to achieve for the fourth move?'' Narrowing her eyes towards Nyer, Alice decided the best way to understand what he wanted to achieve was to mimic his movements and understand the moves fundamentally. Meaning, she had to go on the offensive! Activating her first Sigil, Alice rushed forward. Seeing this, Nyer was surprised that she decided to take the initiative but still reacted in time by stepping to the side. Twisting her body, Alice followed up the charge with a roundhouse kick that was blocked by his arm. Spinning twice in the air, she kicked towards his chest which was blocked with his other hand. Without giving him time to rest, she dashed forward once more and stomped against his foot. Knowing that she didn''t have the strength to push him back like he did with his shoulder charge, Alice adapted and activated her third Sigil. Fastest cast time and efficiency! *BANG!!! A pir of metal shot out from the ground, mming against Nyer''s guard while Alice swung herself to the side and threw another kick towards his head. Realizing that his movements were ovepping Alice''s, Nyer had a smile on his face since she was trying to understand the meaning behind each movement. For fighters, therees a stage where they transition from throwing out an attack since it worked before, to throwing out attacks because you understand them and know that they''re the perfect fit for the situation. For Alice, she''s experiencing this stage. "Copying me to try and understand my movement is good. But don''t bite off more than you can chew. You don''t know the goal behind your own movements never mind mine. Comprehending mine may cause your proficiency with your own attacks to fall if you''re not careful." Nyer warned since his movements were made with his own habits in mind. Stomping his foot down, the ground cracked apart, causing Alice to stumble as her foothold became unstable. Using this chance, Nyer threw a straight jab at Alice, forcing her to block with her arms. *BANG!!! This proved to me a mistake as Alice widened her eyes in shock. She could feel her body giving out under the punch as a crack could be heard before she was sent crashing back. "ARGG!!" Crashing against some boulders, Alice found herself barely hanging on to consciousness as a burning sensation could be felt on her arms. Even without looking under her sleeves, Alice could tell her arms weren''t doing great. Fighting in this state was going to be hard. But hard doesn''t mean impossible. Taking a deep breath, Alice closed her eyes and visualised her arm. She could feel the impact point, where her blood was rushing and the fractures and breakage on her arm. Controlling her blood, she temporarily halted the bleeding while creating metal frames around the bones to support them for now. "You shouldn''t do that since we''re in training. Have some healing blood instead, the purity is high so there will be no side effects." Nyer shook his head while cing a vial in front of her. "But it''s a good move to do if you''re inbat. Not bad." Nodding her head, Alice took a drink of the healing vial and watched her wounds disappear. "Now, shall we go again? This time try to think about the meaning behind your own moves rather than mine. In order words, give me everything you''ve got, go for the kill. This''ll give me a better understanding of where you''re currently at." Nyer suggested as Alice nodded her head. Positioning themselves away from each other, Alice flicked her wrist and transformed her bracelet into a de. Focusing her mind on Nyer''s stance, Alice thought about the meaning behind her own moves. Void Flux, while powerful, was aimed at redirecting attacks or cutting off escape routes. Void Flux ¨C Cleave was her finishing move. Partial Bloodline Release was to help her keep up with strong opponents since her physique wascking. First Sigil augments this. Her second is used to counter Sigil abilities which wouldn''t be helpful against Nyer right now. And her third Sigil was to give her adaptability in a fight through movement. ''Resonance will let me unleash everything at its max potential and gives me increased healing. If I''m going for the kill knowing that my opponent is stronger, I have to go bait them into thinking I''ve given everything I''ve got.'' Nyer already knew most of what Alice could do but he was in the dark regarding Bloodline Release. That was going to be her chance to turn the tides of this battle! Adjusting her stance, Alice took a deep breath and activated her first Sigil. Boosting her physical traits, she pulled her arm back and¡­ Threw her sword! *BANG!!!! Parrying the de in surprise, Nyer didn''t think Alice would give up her weapon immediately. However, there was a strand of blood connecting the pommel of the de to Alice''s hand. Pulling back the de, Alice appeared in front of Nyer and cleaved down. Just as Nyer was about to block, sparks erupted from the de edge. Void Flux ¨C Cleave! Seeing this, Nyer smirked and prepared to take a step back when a bar of metal appeared behind him, interrupting his movements. Kaden''s lesson of using her Sigil to interrupt! Unable to dodge, Nyer threw his palm against Alice''s wrist in an attempt to knock the de out of her hand. Without any casting movements, a spark appeared in front of Nyer''s shoulder, detonating into a small Void Flux to halt his movements at thest moment! Nyer found himself in a spot where he could only take this move head on! ''Not bad.'' He thought to himself. *BANG!!! Seeing her attacknd, Alice felt a tinge of excitement when cold water was poured over her joy. "I''ve seen Lua use her attack many times. While yours is simr, itcks the pration given to the true Executioner de." Her de was held behind Nyer''s fingers! "Let''s turn things up a notch." With Alice proving that she could force him in the state where he couldn''t dodge, Nyer decided that it was time to use some of his Sigils. Chapter 274: Nyers Lesson With Alice''s sword held between Nyer''s fingers, Alice didn''t hesitate to change her sword''s form and retreat. Seeing the de change forms, Nyer couldn''t help but be surprised by its properties but this was no time to be impressed. Taking a step forward, Nyer''s cloak billowed behind him as Sigils appeared across his body. Holding his hand in front of him, a greatsword manifested itself as he entered a standard stance. "If Lua can ignore all forms of defence and Kaden can mimic all forms of casting, what do you think I can do?" Nyer asked with a grin. Furrowing her brows, Alice considered the options for a moment. ''He doesn''t seem to be the defensive type¡­ Is he a caster? Doesn''t seem like it either.'' "Think carefully. The three of us are chosen as thest line of defence for her Majesty." Nyer grinned as the aura around him continued to increase. Closing her eyes, Alice thought of one possibility and cold sweat dripped down her back. "Do you ensure no one can run away?" Alice asked with a twitching smile. "Shall we put that to the test?" *BANG!!!! At that moment, Nyer disappeared from his spot and his de was inches away from Alice''s body. The space around her seemed to have transformed into a thick sludge, making it almost impossible to move her body. The harder she tried, the harder the resistance. Even though she could see the de approach her body, she couldn''t do anything about it. Gritting her teeth, it was now or never! If Nyer''s power was indeed to stop others from escaping his attack, then all she could do was to face it head on! *BANG!!! Activating her resonance, violet mes erupted from her body as a new dress manifested on her body. Stars gathered above her head and formed a crown, simr to Velouria. Seeing this, Nyer widened his eyes in shock as he clearly recognised the crown! His moment of hesitation made it impossible for him to adjust the de''s edge as it was now up to Alice to fight back. Even though Resonance had increased her physical strength, it was stillcking. But this wasn''t everything she had. The violet mes that coated her body began to rage as it expanded around her. The spectral image of a beast tore through the mes and revealed itself to Nyer. *CLANG!!!!! Temporarily boosting her physical power to the utmost limit thanks to Bloodline Release, Alice could feel her entire body screaming out in pain. But she had to counter immediately! Allowing Nyer''s sword to carry on its momentum and use it to her advantage, Alice twisted her body in the air and mmed her heel down against Nyer''s head. Not giving him time to recover, she grabbed his head and swung herself onto his back. Leaning back, she flipped down and tensed her legs, lifting Nyer and mming him into the ground. Reaching for her de, she shed down towards him. *CLANG!!!! Blocking her attack with a spare de he carried on him, Nyer watched as the metal was cut apart with ease. But this bought him enough time to push himself away. Just as he was about to praise Alice for her power, he realised she wasn''t done. In the time it took for him to push himself away, Alice had aimed her finger towards his direction. The world seemed to lose its colour as mes converged towards a single spark, absorbing the colour and life within Hell Gate. Void Flux! Feeling a brief chill, Nyer instinctively raised his guard but his action simply caused Alice to grin. Realising the truth behind this smile, Nyer nced back and saw a barrage of Void Fluxes mid-detonation. Understanding that guarding is no use right now, Nyer created another greatsword in hand and twisted his body, releasing a horizontal sh. *CRACK!!! Simr to when Allura would release her Executioner''s de, the space around Nyer began to distort. However, unlike Allura, Nyer did not destroy the attacks. Instead, the space waspletely frozen as he dismissed the de. "Phew, you made me work harder than I thought I would. Honestly speaking, you could probably work as a Captain in an army. Roughly as strong as standard 5 Sigil bearers." Nyer smiled while rubbing his chin. With the power that Alice has shown, she shouldfortably be able to defeat 5 Sigil bearers so long as she''s wary of their power or take them by surprise. 4 Sigil bearers will pose no issue to her. Taking a step to the side, he snapped his fingers and the space unfroze itself. The Void Fluxes frozen in the air began to move once more as it collided with where Nyer was standing a moment ago. Seeing that she failed to seed in her sneak attack, Alice could only sigh and raise her hands in surrender. The Partial Bloodline Release dispelled itself as exhaustion washed over Alice. "Don''t look so down. You forced me to freeze the space, that''s quite the feat. But I''ve gotten a general idea of where you''re at in terms of power. Don''t tell Lua or Kaden butpared to them back when they had three Sigils and the blessing of her Majesty, you''re much stronger. Both in instincts and creativity." Nyer reassured with a grin. Hearing this, Alice couldn''t help but smile feeling a little proud but quickly shook her head. She wasn''t satisfied with just this, she wanted to achieve more. To go above and beyond. "It seems you''ll have no issue withbat. You simply need to know a method to surprise your opponent. First of all, what do you think is the most important factor when ites to fighting someone stronger?" Nyer asked while crossing his arms. "Information." "Correct. Information is the line between life and death. With information, you can n ordingly and react. Without information, your reaction will always be dyed and trying to guess what they have may cause you to hesitate and miss a perfect opportunity to counter. Now, what are the methods to collect information?" Nyer nodded his head. "To observe?" Alice replied after a pause. "Half correct. The best way to obtain information is through mind games. You don''t necessarily need to outsmart your opponent but rather force them into a mindset where they think they have full control of the battle. Let them realise it''s an easy fight and that they don''t need to think too hard. "Once they enter this mindset, it''s time for you to strike and gather as much information as you can. With their guard down, they''ll reveal habits or clues to their fighting style. How much information you can obtain is based on how long you can defend against their attacks without being suspicious." Nyer exined as Alice nodded her head and made a mental note. "Even masters will show a moment of blunder if they''re not careful. The hardest part is to make them enter this mindset. Struggle too hard and they''ll think you''re tenacious and try their best to kill you. Don''t try hard enough and they''ll kill you since you''re not defending properly. It''s key to strike a bnce between two and once you master this, you''ll be able far more fights." It was through this method that he could fight on even footing with the Apostles. Thus far, none of the Apostles has forced him to use his full power so they''re cautious. He has never focused on making himself overpower his opponent but rather let them fumble and capitalise on that chance! He knew what they could do but they didn''t know what he was capable of. Once the opportunity reveals itself, he''lltch on and kill them before they realise what has happened. Hearing this, Alice paused in realisation. "Wait, did you do this on me?" During the fight, he had always shown just enough to keep her on her guard yet made her believe there was one chance for her to fight back. Subconsciously, she had put all her chips into that one gamble. If she hadn''t and stayed patient, there might''ve been a better chance and a moment for her to gather information. "I tried but it ended in failure. It''s far easier to do this with people who believe they''re stronger than you than it is with someone weaker. I knew you were nning something, but I didn''t think you''d overpower spatial distortion. And that moment forced me to stop my attack." Nyer admitted with a shrug. Had it been anyone else, it would''ve been checkmate the moment he discovered that they had onest gamble. "Finding your opponent''s hidden cards is the final win condition in a fight. Once you find out their hidden cards, you can lure them into a trap to reveal it or force the fight to end before they can y the card. A lot of thises with experience but during the time I''ll be training you, I''ll try and teach you how to act weak." Nyer chuckled. Of course, acting weak wasn''t the be all end all strategy. There are benefits thate with applying pressure to your opponents and forcing them to fumble due to nervousness. However, for Alice, her firepower is far superiorpared to the other three Sigil bearers. It was to the point even he was shocked by her potential. No one would expect her level of power, not even the Gods. "When the Apostlese to train you, you''ll need to act weak enough so they don''t raise their guard against you but also not too weak where they don''t take you seriously. If you can find the right bnce, the rewards you can reap from this exchange will be unthinkable." Nodding her head, there was a fire of determination in Alice''s eyes. She didn''t know how long she had in the Inverted World but she was determined to learn as much as possible. Perhaps she could even shock Kaden in the real world with her improvements. Chapter 275: Mimicry In the pits of Hell Gate, the constant sound of weapons shing and abilities firing could be heard as two figures continuously charged towards one another. "Wrong! Observe the body! Don''t make hazard guesses!" Nyer shouted, parrying Alice''s sh. Leaning down, he punched against her elbow, almost breaking it but Alice managed to twist her arm just in time to avoid this. But he didn''t stop there as he followed up with a throw over his shoulders into a stomp that Alice managed to roll away from. "Making a guess like that I''ll leave you open! If you want to die then feel free to make those guesses!" Nyer lectured as he adjusted his grip on his de and charged forth once more. Gritting her teeth, Alice was forced to defend against his onught. As she was being pushed back with no more room for defence, she was forced to activate her partial Bloodline Release just for a chance to extend this fight. "Weak! It''s clear you''ve been waiting for something through your bodynguage! Anyone with half a brain will realise!" Nyer reprimanded as he twisted his body and mmed his heel against Alice''s head. *BANG!!!! Crashing through a boulder, blood poured from her wounds as she found herselfcking the strength to get up. "You have to be mindful of your own actions and not just your opponent''s. The way you shift your centre of gravity to look for a counter, your own habits and even eye contact can tell a lot about a person. "Here''s what I''ve noticed so far just to name a few things. First, you always take a step back when you''re preparing a kick. You have an unconscious action of holding your breath in order to activate your abilities and furrow your brows when you''re trying to focus on aiming the ability. "Not only that, but your eyes betray your thoughts rather easily. I can tell when you''re simting a counterattack in your mind as your eyes would wander across my body, thinking if it''s possible to attack from there." Nyer exined while pouring some healing blood into her mouth. "With this information, it''s easy to position myself to make you think it''s possible for you to create some breathing space." Nodding her head with a sigh, Alice reached out with her hand as Nyer helped her up from the rubble. "I don''t know how to change the part with my eyes though." Alice sighed. Even Allura had mentioned this to her in the future as her eyes expressed everything about her. A habit that''s be permanent due to her experiences with the Zenia''s. Thinking about this for a moment, Nyer opened his mouth and offered a suggestion. "I want you to imagine this. Visualise something that annoys you, disinterests you or something you hate. Visualise that over your opponent. Do not let external factors affect your thoughts and block it out. Use that to your advantage." Taking a deep breath, Alice closed her eyes and thought about someone who matched those criterias. What annoys her? The people who forcefully make others drink Abyss Blood. The people who discriminate against those who show clear signs of side effects and treat them less than human. What disinterests her? Not much. There was little she knew about the world but if she had to pick one, it would be the noble families aside from the Zenia''s. Something she hated? Too many. After she gained her freedom, she hated a lot of things. However, what she hated from the bottom of her heart with no equal was her father, brothers and the head schr who experimented on her. These four were the target of her revenge. ''If I had one path to my revenge and all others serve as distractions¡­ I should kick them aside. They''re nothing in the face of my ultimate goal.'' Opening her eyes, Alice stared at Nyer with an aura of disinterest and disdain. As though she was looking at a piece of trash on the side of the road. Something that should not even get her attention as she walked the path of vengeance. Feeling a chill down his back, Nyer forced a smile as Alice was far more talented than his original expectation. For her to reveal this kind of expression that he would rarely see even in soldiers was remarkable. "Let''s begin another spar-" Just as he was about to finish the sentence, Alice''s de brushed against his face as he had managed to tilt his head to the side in time. Realising that she was in a state of trance right now, Nyer decided to see what she was capable of. Taking a step back, he wanted to give her some space but she rejected! Widening his eyes, Nyer watched as Alice jumped forward,ing face to face with him. "!!!" Snapping her fingers, a Void Flux could be seen manifesting in front of his eyes. But as his attention was taken by the attack, Alice twisted her body and roundhouse kicked Nyer in the ribs. Without hesitation, blood and metal manifested around them as a de shed down from above while blood stabbed up from below. Just as Nyer was about to block this using spacial distortion, violet mes erupted from the blood as Alice activated partial Bloodline Release! The illusion of the beast behind her cried out in jubtion as a sea of mes was manifested thanks to the blood. Noticing that his connection with the Abyss has waned thanks to these mes, his Sigil power was too slow in its activation and he had to tank these attacks head on. Stumbling back and out of the mes, Nyer immediately looked around for Alice but couldn''t see her. ''Above!'' ncing up, he could see Alice already mid swing and ready to release Void Flux ¨C Cleave! *BANG!!!!! Jumping to the side at thest moment, a deep crevice was created from the impact as Alice pushed against her hands and sent a kick towards Nyer''s chest, forcing him back. Feeling a blood thread behind him, he realised he had stepped into a tripwire and two instances of Void Fluxes detonated around him. As the smoke cleared, he could see an array of threads, traps and pirs around him while Alice couldn''t be seen. ''What a troublesome brat.'' He thought with a smile. He noticed that Alice had two sides in battle. First, the mindset of a berserker. Someone who can fight without regard for any injuries they sustained so long as their enemies took damage. Second, the mindset of a puppeteer, setting traps and forcing her opponents to walk into disadvantageous positions. ''Though on second thought¡­ Seems like she''ll always be the berserker even when acting like a puppeteer.'' Nyer thought as he turned around and parried Alice''s attack. Without hesitation, she created a metal dagger thanks to her third Sigil and activated Void Flux ¨C Cleave! The power of which shattered the dagger apart but the sh was still released without issues. Tilting his head back, part of his hair was cut by her attack as Nyer let out augh. "Perhaps you should take up a job as a hairdresser. What do you think?" He asked but noticed that she wasn''t taking any of this in. Her eyes were fully focused on taking his life as though he was simply an annoyance on the side of the road. An obstacle to her goal. Shaking his head with a smile, he pulled his hand back and shed down towards her. The space around her began to freeze. While this was happening, Ca was watching from a cliff not far from the battle. Even though Velouria had sent her here to help Alice, she didn''t get a chance to show up yet. She wasn''t sure how she should even help Alice in this situation. The most she could do for immediate benefit would be to enhance her vision but she already had that covered. Just as she thought of this, Ca couldn''t help but pause noticing something changing inside Alice. She felt a resonance to something foreign yet simr. The other Ca! ''Is she waking up?'' Furrowing her brows, Ca observed the situation quietly. ### Watching the de descend upon her, Alice could only think of one thing in her mind. ''Slow.'' She could see the twisting of energy, how Nyer swung the de and how the space around her would lock into ce. For Allura''s Nova Core which she thenter repurposed into Void Flux, it was a matter of condensing and detonating. But Nyer was the opposite. Instead of condensing the energy, he releases it to form a structure, preventing the movement of space and instead locking it in ce. Alice didn''t know what was going on but it felt as though a door in her mind had just opened up. Information flowed into her mind, theories and simtions manifested as she instinctively made a cut on her arm. If Nyer''s ability was to lock the space by outputting energy then if she was to counteract by using Void Flux¡­ *BANG!!!! Watching his de collide with Alice''s Void Flux, Nyer stumbled back in surprise. ''She managed to regain movement? No... She countered it by copsing the space.'' Looking at Alice who was standing in a trance-like state, he couldn''t help but wonder if she had gained an enlightenment of some kind. Once she opened her eyes, there was a new light inside her gaze. Adjusting the size of her obsidian de, Alice transformed it into a greatsword and mimicked Nyer''s movements. "Oi oi oi, this isn''t a joke. Are you trying to copy my movements now? I''m ttered but it might be beyond you." Nyerughed while brushing his hair back using his hand. To his surprise and confusion, Alice was doing the same. It felt as though he was looking into a mirror that was reflecting his every move but at a slight dy. "Hou~ Let''s see where you can take this mimicry then." Nyer narrowed his eyes. There was a bad feeling in his heart but he dismissed it for now. Right now, he had to see how far she could go by copying his movements. Chapter 276: Velourias Successor *BANG!!!! As their des shed, Nyer watched in fascination as the space began to lock and crack! ''She''s mimicking me!'' Twisting his body, he prepared to unleash a diagonal sh when Alice did the same albeit a little slower. shing des once more, the two were pushed back with Alice taking more steps than Nyer. Yet despite this gap, she didn''t dash towards him. ''Right now, she''s a mirror. Recording everything I do. If I don''t attack, she won''t either.'' Nyer narrowed his eyes. She was a canvas that was slowly dyeing itself in his colours. And soon, it''ll be a perfect reflection. ''Perhaps that''s how she was able to copy Lua''s attack and Kaden''s casting¡­ Is it Ca? She has the crown¡­ Has her majesty passed everything to her? Is that why she''s been getting Lua and Kaden to train her?'' He thought to himself. He knew that Velouria''s body was deteriorating but he didn''t think she would''ve picked a sessor already. Alice, a girl who came out of nowhere and possesses both the crown and Ca. Even though he should feel happy, a bitter feeling emerged in his chest. His Master has resolved herself for death and aims to make the most of her life. Taking a deep breath and sighing out, he nced up at the sky and let out a bitter smile. Painful. His chest tightened up and he felt as though his heart was about to break apart. Therefore, as her loyal retainer, he shall do his best to fulfil his Master''s final wish. He will train Alice as she expects him to, even if Alice is walking proof that Velouria has resolved herself to die. Determination filled his mind as he turned back to Alice and entered an offensive stance. He will imprint everything he knew, hisbat experience and his techniques into her consciousness. She will be the Sword, Cane and Shield of the Ayrian empire. ### "So what do you think?" Enris asked as the three Surface Gods held another meeting. They were currently sitting in Sris'' home while nning their next moves. "Hard to say. 50% of me believes she''s bluffing but you can never tell. Velouria is a monstrous b*tch after all." Sris frowned. Just that brief showcase of her power was enough to make them reconsider their ns. "How''s the recruitment of Nyer?" Enris asked curiously as Lunaria simply shook her head. Even with the news that Velouria was going to die eventually due to the nature of the Abyss, Nyer refused to leave her side. "Then I guess we''re going with the backup n. We''ll help the Abyss expand and speed up her death." Enrisughed. They knew the risks but Velouria simply held too much power. Even now, parts of their own believers are leaving and joining the Abyss instead. That wasn''t something they could tolerate, especially if it''s someone who''s already one foot in the grave. "You do realise that there''s a chance that we need to deal with the Outer Gods if we go through with this right?" Lunaria sighed. If she was honest, she would rather sit on the side and watch Velouria die instead of partaking like this. But it was a situation where either all of them agreed or none of them did. If it was just Enris and Sris taking care of this then Lumiria risked getting targeted by them once they kill Velouria. "To what extent? If we let her wither and die naturally, we''ll lose most of our followers by then. Once that happens, what kind of state do you think we''ll be left in?" Sris shook his head. "Who told her to lure our followers? If she simply behaved and hid herself in the Abyss then no one would care. Don''t invade Ayr and I won''t attack? Hah, what a load of sh*t." Enrisughed sarcastically. ''She can''t exactly help if if your religion is sh*t¡­'' Lumiria couldn''t help but think to herself seeing Enris mock Velouria. With how the Eclipse Cult operates, it was no surprise that people would defect to the Abyss. Who would want to live every day doing rituals, sacrifices and fighting? Not her that''s for sure and not the believers that defected either. As for her, she doesn''t know why people reject immortality. It should be the perfect paradise for those frail humans with short life spans. She had to give them credit though, for such a short lived species they achieve remarkable feats. ''If only they were immortal then they could keep innovating.'' To Lumiria, it was truly a shame. "So what are we doing about Alice then?" She asked. Out of all the people in the meeting, Alice was the one who made the biggest impression on her. It wasn''t that she was strong nor the fact that she was absurdly weak. Instead, it was her ''spirit'' that interested her. As the Goddess of the Moon, her authority was one that governed the spirit and soul. Yet hers was peculiar. Despite her appearance, her sound was remarkably young, far from the 20 years she imed it to be. But that wasn''t the only thing. The outline of her soul, so blurred yet so dense at the same time. It''s as though she was looking at a ck canvas. Aplete and utterly silent void yet so full. It entranced her. She wanted to know the secret behind such a soul. "Are you talking about the sparring? We''ll just have our Apostles teach her some random theories. It''s not like it''ll do her any good since she''s just a three Sigil bearer." Sris shrugged. "So petty. I''m nning on having my Apostles teach her as much as they can in the time they''re given." Enris grinned. Even though she disliked Velouria, she loved the chaos her very existence brought to the world. It made this monotone life far more entertaining. Heck, if Alice could learn from the Apostles then she wanted to see what Alice could do on a battlefield where there were no rules to protect her. "What a waste of effort." Sris frowned. "Don''t tell me you''re afraid of a tiny three Sigil human? Aww does the big buff Sun God want a kiss on the cheek to make you feel better?" Enris mocked while blowing him a kiss. "Tch!" Clicking his tongue out of frustration, Sris felt as though a vein was about to pop. "There''s no need to try so hard in the first ce since she''s just a weak human. I''d rather spare my Apostles the effort." He scoffed. "What a boring man. Isn''t that right Lumi?" Enrisughed. "Noment. But I do believe it is in our best interest to show a bit of effort. Or would you rather get on Velouria''s bad side early?" Lumiria shook her head. "Fine. I''ll leave it up to my Apostles what they want to teach her then. Tch, what a waste of time. I''d still prefer to just kill Velouria here and now." "Then you can go at it alone if you have the balls. I have to admit I''m rather interested in what the Abyss is nning now. If it establishes a connection with another realm then there may be morends for us to rule." Enrisughed. Seeing that these two were simply chatting away, Lumiris zoned out from the conversation as she recalled the sight of Alice''s spirit. There weren''t many things that were a secret to her in this life. As an immortal being, she has seen practically everything. But Alice''s spirit? That was a first. She looked forward to their next meeting. Unbeknownst to these Gods, the human they marked as a weak being was now holding her own against Nyer! Even if he was taking it easy for her to learn, she was still keeping up. As the mirror reflection of Nyer''s movements, she began to catch up. She understood the intent behind his moves, why he uses them when he does and what signs he looks for in order to use certain moves. *CLANG!!! Launching a stab, their de tips collided as their timing has matched! With their timing now matched, violet mes burned across Alice''s body as she snapped her finger. Void Fluxes manifested around Nyer as he nced around and twisted his body. But before he couldunch the sh, Alice jumped into his range and parried his attack before it could beunched. Widening his eyes, Nyer was worried that Alice would get caught in her own attack. Yet¡­ The attacks didn''t detonate! Her goal was to bait him into using this move. And once he did, he had already fallen into her trap. Ramming her shoulder into his chest, Alice activated partial Bloodline Release at the same moment to boost her physical power and caused him to stumble back. A metal bar appeared behind his ankle, forcing him to adjust his stance. Taking this chance, Alice entered a low posture and cleaved up with Void Flux ¨C Cleave! *BANG!!! Parrying the attack with the face of his greatsword, Nyer managed to redirect the sh elsewhere beforeunching a punch towards Alice that was dodged. Just as Alice was about to sh towards Nyer''s head once more, a de appeared next to her neck. Pausing in a mixture of confusion and shock, Alice nced back and saw Nyer standing there with a smirk. "You simply copied what I let you copy. Did you forget about acting weak and surprising them with your trump card?" Nyerughed as Alice snapped out of her trance-like state and sighed in annoyance. "Yeah well, some people have one trump card maybe two. You have like five hundred, tch." Alice clicked her tongue. It felt like every time she had Nyer on the ropes, he would reveal that she''s been dancing on his palm this entire time. "That''s what allows me to survive against these abnormal geniuses. Now let''s take a break and reflect on what you''ve learned." Nyerughed as he patted her head. Looking for a suitable boulder nearby, he shed his sword a few times and turned it into a set of tables and chairs. A skill he mastered for Velouria when they were travelling through the Abyss. Perhaps it was fate for him to use the same skill for Velouria''s sessor. Chapter 277: Nyers Evaluation And Next Lesson As the two of them sat down, Nyer nced towards the cliff. "Ca, are you not joining us?" He chuckled, offering Ca a seat. Hearing this, Alice was surprised as she thought Ca would be with Velouria but clearly that wasn''t the case. Without saying anything, Ca simply sat down next to them. "Now that we''re all here, let''s talk. The only thing I can really say about your fighting is that you tend to get a little carried away once you get into the groove of things. Your vision bes narrow and you forget that they may have more trump cards. "Your instincts when ites to using your abilities are top notch, nothing toin about there. mes are also surprisingly effective. I will say you''re missing out on the potential of your third Sigil though." Nyer shook his head. "What do you suggest then?" Alice asked curiously while pulling out her sk and filled it up with Ayrian Mead. This talk was going tost a while so she may as well get something to drink while she listened. "Making annoyances is all well and good but itcks a certain¡­ kill potential. Naturally, it''s impossible for you to manifest the metal inside their body but think about it like this." Reaching into his pouch, Nyer brought out a spare sword and shredded it into tiny splinters. "First of all, if you were to create tiny needles even smaller than this, you should be able to control it without any issues right?" He asked. Flicking her finger, Alice did just that and created a handle of metal needles. "Now, how fast are you able to expand the material? I don''t have Kaden''s power so I can mimic it but I''m sure you should know what I''m getting at." Nyer smiled. Furrowing her brows, Alice closed her eyes and visualised the pathways within her body. If she wanted to expand the metal as fast as possible, she''d need to increase the output and speed while efficiency would plummet. Watching the needle expand, Nyer scratched his chin. "Hmm¡­ It''s a little slower than I had hoped. But it''s not like this isn''t impossible to work with. "Have you ever tried to throw a little splinter at them and then expanding it?" He asked but Alice shook her head. It wasn''t as though she had never thought of it but simply put, the expansion was too slow and making the splinters took too long. Rather than using her energy for an attack that takes too much effort with a low return, she''d rather use it to disorientate her enemies with pirs. "Then what about interrupting their breathing?" Nyer smirked. "What?" Blinking her eyes in confusion, Alice tilted her head, unsure as to what he meant by this. "If you can''t expand it then there''s no need to. What if you make a handful of these splinters near them? For example, if I had your third Sigil against an opponent that takes deep breaths to calm themselves... "What do you think will happen if they began to breathe in countless splinters of sharp metal either through their mouth or nose?" Imagining this situation, Alice shivered as the damage done inside their body could be dangerous. She couldn''t materialise metal inside their body but letting them breathe it in was 100% possible. "What if their body is stronger than the splinters? And the splinters have no effect." Alice asked but Nyer shook his head. "There are two options for you if this happens. First option is to merge it with your mes. I''ve seen you coat your mes on things. While I''m not sure the exact conditions required, I''m guessing one of the requirements is your blood. "Your mes have always appeared on your body or through the blood that you generate. If you coat these splinters with your blood and then let them breathe it in then you can ignite it just as it enters their orifice. "The second option is for you to expand the splinters as fast as you can. It won''t do much damage since it''s slow but it''ll be a pretty good distraction. Imagine you''re about to fight someone then you find out that a piece of metal was expanding in your mouth or nose. You''ll be in a hurry to get it out and in that time, your guard will be down." Nyer exined. Hearing his ideas, Alice''s smile twitched as Nyer was cruel but effective! His ideas are aimed at making the most troublesome scenarios for his opponent to deal with and not only that, but he was also able to pinpoint the requirement for her mes to appear. ''What a terrifying opponent.'' Alice shivered. "And speaking of which, I believe Master sent you here to help Alice right? Are you helping her awaken her Eye?" Nyer smiled, causing Ca to pause in shock. "It''s not surprising really. It''s pretty obvious that her Eye is special and the only other one I recall being simr is you. Considering that she has the crown, it''s only natural for me to assume that you''re helping her too. What I don''t understand is how she possesses the crown and the Eye even though you''re still linked to Master." He sighed while leaning back. "Regardless, I''m sure Master has her ns. My job right now is to simply teach and nothing more." "Master sent me here to see if I can help Alice awaken the Eye and learn more about it. You can think of it as having a dormant piece of me. It showed signs of waking up during the fight but failed to cross the threshold." Ca exined while looking at Alice who seemed a little lost. "When did it show signs of waking up?" "When you began to copy my movements. Master should''ve told you what the Eyes do right? It grants information." Nyer chuckled. Even though there were signs that Alice was great at mimicking and learning, thatst demonstration was no doubt a product of the Eye. The way she mimicked his movements until they were fully synced up. Even down to how he froze space. "Ca, you should help her learn how to control thatst power. If she can master it then she''ll be able to pinpoint her opponent''s weaknesses much faster." He suggested as Ca agreed. Walking over to Alice, Ca had a suggestion. "Can you let me borrow your left eye for a while?" She asked while Alice paused. Recalling what it was like the first time Kaden dug out her eye to imnt Ca, Alice couldn''t help but wonder if it was going to be the same. "Are you going to gouge my eye out?" Alice asked with a twitching smile. "What? No. I''m just going to house myself in it for a while since it''s not a permanent connection." Ca shook her head. Feeling a little sceptical, Alice eventually relented and let Ca do whatever she needed to do. Pressing her palm against Alice''s left eye, Ca transformed into countless strands of energy that embedded itself into her eye. A cool sensation washed over Alice and surprisingly, it was painless. In fact, Alice could even call it soothing. [You can open your eyes now. It should feel a little annoying to get used to.] Ca''s voice rang out in her mind as Alice nodded her head. Opening her eyes, the familiar sight of Hell Gate was untouched but Nyer looked far different than what he looked like before. Dull patterns could be seen around his body, signifying the Sigils marked onto him. [This is what you should be seeing when¡­ ''I'' awaken. It''ll grant you full ess to the knowledge of contracts created by the Abyss, meaning you can see how many Sigils they possess or how strong a beast is.] ''No kidding.'' Alice swallowed her saliva nervously. Now that she has temporarily gained full ess to Ca, she could see the aura around Nyer. A peak into the power he holds. Just the sight of his aura sent her body into a fight of flight response as she struggled to sit still. Seeing the forced smile on her face, Nyer understood that she must be seeing what Velouria was used to seeing. Letting out a soft chuckle, his aura began to shrink until it was bearable for Alice. "Not many people would do this since it''s a very niche skill to have but you should never take things at face value. Some random old man could be a grizzled veteran like me. So just because you can see things with Ca, don''t go around picking fights okay?" Nyerughed as Alice nodded her head. "If I remember correctly, Ca should help you see the energy pathways within your body as well. You can use that to determine what your opponent is trying to do along with refining your own attacks. Since your instincts are top notch, we''ll be focusing on refining your other skillsets during the time we have." His next goal was to teach her how to be annoying with her skills. The more annoying she is to fight, the faster her opponent''s focus will break. And once that happens, they''re more prone to dropping their guard. It was how he taught Allura to fight which is why she talks a lot during a fight now. Through taunting and mockery, she was able to force others to make mistakes out of anger. As for Kaden, he simply found ws in their casting, there was no need for words. "Prepare yourself. Since this''ll be thest break we''ll be taking." Nyer grinned. Hearing this, Alice froze up. "I will teach you how to be an absolute menace to fight. To the point that people will avoid fighting you even if they''re stronger." Seeing Nyer crack his knuckles, Alice felt her senses ringing out in danger as a cold chill went down her spine. But she could not run as Nyer already had her in his grip. Without giving her a chance toin, he threw her towards the training ground and chased after her. Only the echoes of Alice''s scream could be heard in Hell Gate followed by the shing of des. Chapter 278: Nyers Suggestion And Caylas Answer Looking at the destruction caused by their training, Nyer couldn''t help but rub his chin with a small smile on his face. They had been training for around two days now and in that time, Alice had made considerable progress when it came to reaction and optimization. She''s tried to use the ideas they talked about before but it was still too difficult to implement during a practical fight. Which is why he focused on her hand to hand since trying to learn too much was also bad. It was good to refine what she knew thus far. Alice''s greatest achievement during the two days of training was seeding innding a single sh on his body. It was shallow and he was holding back. However, she had still seeded in breaching the defences of an Abyss Lord. That in itself was far more impressive than what people could aplish throughout their entire lives. "Still alive?" Nyer called out with augh as all he heard back was groans. Currently, Alice was buried under countless rubble with only her hand being visible. Seeing her give him acklustre wave, Nyer nodded his head. "Master has let me know that your other teachers have arrived. You''ll be given a day with them to learn as much as you can. The first day will be with Preservation and Protection, second will be with Spirituality and Immortality. And thest day will be with War and Famine. "Remember, act weak but not too weak. Let them underestimate you while you take as much as you can." He reminded as Alice wed herself out of the rubble. "Urg¡­ Any hints on what they''re going to teach me?" "I have some ideas but nothing concrete. I doubt they''ll teach you their trademarks. However, foundational knowledge is more important than fancy skills." Nyer shrugged as he handed her a healing vial while Ca appeared next to her. During these two days, she''s been trying to help Alice awaken her other self but it was futile. No matter what she tried to do, the other Ca was unresponsive. Ca wasn''t sure what happened but the damage her future self sustained was far bigger than her original expectations. The only reason why Alice could tap into the power was having all the conditions be perfect. A split moment of synchronisation where her mind linked up with her power. Without this split moment, Alice was limited in what she could do. Waiting for Alice to finish the healing vial, Nyer reached into his bag and broke a stick in half. Before Alice could even react, shadows manifested around her and teleported her away, leaving Ca and Nyer together in Hell Gate. "So what do you think of her?" Nyer asked suddenly. Turning around in confusion, Ca simply tilted her head. "What do you think of young Alice as Master''s sessor?" He corrected himself. "She''s¡­ Adequate I guess." Ca replied after a brief pause. "Young Alice is talented. There''s no denying that. But to fill the role of our Master¡­ She''s sorelycking. I''ve tried my best to overlook it these past few days, trying to find a reason to believe in Master''s choice but I find myself unable to ept it. Are you not the same?" Nyer sighed as he leaned back in his seat. When presented with this question, Ca didn''t know how she should respond. She knew that she should respect Velouria''s choice of the matter but a bitterness still lingered in her heart. "We''re just a- Actually never mind." Ca cut herself at thest moment. She didn''t want to expose the fact that they were simply memories and that the past had already been set in stone. "A memory right? It''s not hard to figure out once you begin looking at the gaps." Nyer chuckled. "She possesses the Eyes, no, the Eye of the Abyss and the Crown. She contains splinters of Master''s power deep inside, simr yet so very different to the current her. Not only that, Master''s connection to the Abyss has been wavering. A tether is still there butpared to before, it''scking. "Like a candle fire whenpared to the sun. Master is no longer the chosen of the Abyss. A mere husk of before. Even the power she showed in the meeting was a fraction of what she should be capable of, even if the Abyss had been expanding. Which can only mean one thing. "We''re echoes of the past. We know that time travel is impossible thanks to the experiments that Master has done before. But viewing memories? That is possible." Nyer exined with a bitter smile. In the past, Velouria had tried to turn back time in order to fix the connection between the Abyss and the Surface. However, all her attempts ended in failure. She couldn''t even turn back time for a minute never mind to the point where the two realms were joined together. But the Abyss is like a giant library, housing the memories of every being and everything that''s happened within its confines. Meaning their current time can be viewed in the future. With that in mind, Nyer could only conclude that Alice is a foreign visitor witnessing the passing of history. As for what she was here to witness, Nyer had a guess but he dare not say it. "So you figured it out. But what then? What can we do as memories? Master has chosen to continue forward, doing her best to prepare Alice for when she goes back. And once she does, we''ll cease to exist." Ca let out a hollowugh as she slumped back down on her seat. "I have a n. But I need your help. Ca, why do you think I chose Hell Gate? If I needed an empty ce to train young Alice, anyyer within the Abyss would do. But why Hell Gate?" Nyer asked as Ca frowned. Thinking about it for a moment, she paused in realisation. "The fight you had with Famine." "Mnm. During the fight I had with Famine, the barrier in this realm was weakened by Famine''s attack, unable to recover. Compared to the otheryers, this one will always be the most delicate. For those chosen by the Abyss, especially the Crown, there will be a connection to the Heart. "The heart is no longer with Master. It is the most unique possession of the Chosen after all as it symbolises the Abyss itself. It''s the final clue I needed to realise that Master was no longer the chosen and that we''re memories. But funnily enough, young Alice has a connection to the heart. Faint yet undeniable." Nyer narrowed his eyes. "Isn''t that weird? That in this realm of memories, there is still a passageway leading to the real Heart. So why don''t we open it up?" Furrowing her brows, Ca frowned. "Don''t look at me like that, allow me to exin my thoughts. Because for this operation, I need your help." Nyer chuckled seeing Ca''s doubts. "Originally, I was nning on betraying Master. Well¡­ Betraying is a strong term but for what I nned to do, it was urate. "Right now, Master is at her weakest. If this was reality, she''d be in a constant state of conflict with the Abyss. Her desire to hold it back and its desire to continue expanding. "What do you think would happen if someone were to intervene during that fight? A third party was to appear and steal away half of the power possessed by both sides?" Nyer asked. Ca had her guard up but she couldn''t deny the fact that she was curious. "The third party would gain thergest portion of power during this fight." "Indeed. Meaning, the burden ced upon Master will be transferred to me. At the same time, the Abyss would lose part of its influence. With this in mind, if things go right, I would be a second God of the Abyss with the same power as Master in her prime. This act will no doubt steal away Master''s authority but she''ll be alive." Nyer nced down while tapping his finger on the table. "However¡­ Since we''re memories, this will no longer work." "Because she no longer has the authority right? She''s simply being dragged along until her death." Ca interrupted as Nyer nodded his head. "Yes. She''s a puppet on a string, performing her final act until the string breaks and she is discarded. So even if I wrestle the authority from the ''Abyss'' and Master, I''ll gain nothing. If anything, it''ll only serve to decrease the time she has remaining." Clenching his fists, Nyer closed his eyes. A burning rage could be felt inside, a hate for the Abyss. How it expands without care of what it does to his Master and the harm it causes to the world. He will defy the script it has prepared for them. This time, the puppets will be the director. "That''s why I need your help, Ca. During the time we spend here with Young Alice, I''ve tracked down a rough passageway that we can try and use to establish a connection. Through this, I''ll try and forcefully awaken the Heart in the future. "Once the true Heart beats, we''ll redirect it to Master instead of Alice. She''ll go from being just a memory to gaining true life. This way, she can escape the confines of this memory and her own death." "But Master would never agree to this." Ca shook her head with a frown. "I know. That''s why I said it''s no different to betraying Master. But for her survival, I''ll go against her wishes. Which brings me to the next question, are you willing to betray Master with me? The sess rate increases once I have you on my side." Nyer asked as Ca was hesitant. The Heart of the Abyss can only be linked to one person. What he was asking her to do was to pick her true Master. Velouria, or Alice who possesses her in the future. Biting her lip, Ca dwelled on her choices while Nyer was silent, allowing her toe to her own conclusion. Seconds turn to minutes and the silence continued to drag on. Until finally, Ca let out a defeated sigh. "Fine. What do you need me to do." She never chose Alice as her Master. To her, Velouria was her only Master. Chapter 279: Defensive Stances "Arggg!!!" Surprised by the sudden use of teleportation, Alice found herself falling on top of a table. *BANG!!! Cracking the table apart, sheid on the ground while holding her back in pain. "Stupid Nyer¡­ At least warn me before teleporting." Alice groaned while sitting up and looking around. "Ah¡­" "Er¡­" Looking to her right, she noticed two familiar figures in the kitchen. Allura was sitting by the kitchen table with some cake on her te. Kaden was behind her giving her a shoulder massage. Both were flushed in the face as Alice stared at the two of them unblinkingly. ". . ." Closing her eyes for a moment, Alice adjusted her sitting posture. "Please, don''t mind me and continue." "The f*ck do you mean continue! You got the wrong idea!" Allura shouted out while throwing her cake towards Alice with an embarrassed expression. Quickly dodging the cake, Alice prepared to run away while Kaden could only let out a disappointed sigh. "Let''s not make the house more of a mess than it already is. Is Nyer not with you?" Kaden asked while bringing out a new table, recing the one that Alice broke. "No, he just sent me away with the teleport stick thing. He didn''t follow me." Alice shook her head, dodging a grab from Allura. "He''s probably dealing with something on his end of things then. No matter, I believe he should''ve told you that the other Apostles are here right?" He asked while cleaning up the sttered remains of the cake that Allura threw. "Mnm, should I go find Velouria first?" Currently, Alice was being held by the back of her jacket like a cat while Allura was suppressing the embarrassment she was feeling. Even Kaden annoyed her since he didn''t have a reaction to what Alice had said. "Yes, Master''s creating specialised training rooms for each of the Apostles that you''ll be training with. Need me to teleport you there or are you going to walk?" Kaden offered as Alice immediately shook her head. "I''ve had enough of teleporting around. I''ll walk." She forced a smile. All of the experiences she''s had with teleporting resulted in falling. "Suit yourself." Convincing Allura to let Alice go, the two watched as Alice jumped onto the rooftop of their building and parkour towards the castle. Seeing her speed and efficiency when it came to deploying footholds, Kaden couldn''t help but whistle at her progress. "I guess themander hasn''t lost his touch ay?" Kadenughed while Allura agreed. During the short moment when she tried to grab Alice, Alice managed to dodge her hand. It wasn''t a fluke either. Alice''s eyes scanned her entire body to figure out the path of attack and check if it was a feint or not. Thinking about this, a smile appeared on Allura''s face. Perhaps if they sparred now, Allura might be forced to use her fourth and fifth Sigil to keep up with Alice. ### Dashing across Ayr while creating footholds for herself, Alice managed to climb onto the side of the castle rather quickly. Following that, it was a simple climb up to the top. Just as she vaulted over the balcony railings, Alice spotted Velouria with a smile on her face and a new mannequin next to her. "You must be sweaty after running here. Why don''t you take a shower and change into something morefortable?" Velouria narrowed her eyes as Alice didn''t hesitate to pivot on her foot and turn 180 degrees. But before she could run, golden chains had already manifested in the air around her and locked her in ce. "You''ll hurt my feelings if you continue running away like that." Velouria sighed while tracing her finger along Alice''s chin. "Didn''t you make me a new dressst time? This one doesn''t break easily, isn''t that enough?" Alice forced a smile. "Oh definitely not. You can''t just wear one thing constantly. This may be your hunting attire but you''ll need casual wear too." "If I keep focusing on what I should wear, I''ll lose time training with the Apostles." Alice reasoned as Velouria thought about it for a moment before relenting. "Fine, I''ll let you off. It''s not as durable as your current outfit anyways." She sighed. Flicking her finger, the mannequin and dress disappeared into the shadows while the chains disappeared around Alice. "I''ve made three separate spaces for you to train. Each one willst for 24 hours once you enter and the Apostles have agreed to use that time to help you. They will only grant you a full day''s of attention so use it wisely okay?" Velouria chuckled, handing Alice three keys. Each one had a different carving on the surface representing the three Gods. "Just stick the key into the air in front of you and a door will be created. But once you go in, you won''t be able toe out until the time is up." She exined while Alice examined the keys. "Shouldn''t I take my time between the training then? So I can digest what I''ve learned." Alice raised an eyebrow but Velouria shook her head. "With four Gods focusing on the expansion of the Abyss and tracking down where the Will is, it shouldn''t take too long. I''d suggest you do them back to back so you can ensure you''ve seen what they can offer. Once you open the door, they receive a summon into the same training room and training will begin." It was unsure how long Alice could stay in this memory which is why Velouria''s been nning things in advance. That way, they can make the most out of the time they have right now. Thinking about it for a moment, Alice nodded her head. "Alright, I''ll get going now then." Looking for the key that represents the Sun God, Alice stabbed the key in the air and gave a twist. As Velouria had exined, a door opened before her. "Don''t injure yourself okay? You got 72 hours of training to go through." Velouria smiled while watching Alice give her a wave and stepped the door. Once the door closed behind Alice, Velouria lost her smile and stumbled back to her throne. Looking down at her hand, a creeping darkness was slowly spreading from her fingertips. "Just a little longer. Keep hiding, at least until Alice has seen everything she needs to see. Then you can take my life however you see fit." Velouria groaned as an Eye appeared on her palm. Staring back at her, the Eye seemed to bemunicating silently before slowing closing. Sighing in relief, the pain faded away as Velouria let out a hollowugh. The Gods may think they''re cornering the Will of the Abyss by tracking down its location. But they know nothing. Everything that happens and everything that''s happening right now, the Will sees it all. It knows and it''s letting the rats scuttle around as they wish. ### Stepping through the door, Alice was greeted by arge arena with two people standing in the centre. They were the same people who Alice saw at the meeting yet this time, they didn''t wear the armour they wore at the meeting. Instead, they wore casual attire. "She''s here Arax." The woman nced over. "Let''s not waste any time then." The man named Arax nodded his head. Before Alice could even greet them, he appeared in front of her with his fist about to hit Alice''s face! Widening her eyes, Alice could barely catch sight of that fist and could only react to it instinctively. Rolling back, she managed to avoid a head on collision but her cheek was still torn from the wind generated by that punch. "Shabby footwork. No guard, no defensive stance and no zone. The only thing I see is a good reaction speed. Shiera, what do you think?" Arax asked as Shiera uncrossed her arms. "Depends. Prepare yourself." Shiera warned as she aimed her hand and de at Alice. Sensing a chill down her spine, Alice immediately activated her obsidian de and entered a defensive stance. *CLANG!!! Shiera''s de appeared in front of Alice as it was barely warded off. But the assault didn''t end there. Adjusting her wrist, Shiera released a wave of shes as Alice tried her best to block them but to no avail. Even though she could see them and react to some extent, they still left shallow cuts across the exposed parts of her body. Alice knew that if this was a serious fight, she would''ve lost all of her limbs already! Unlike Nyer, she wasn''t holding back and keeping herself to her level. "You''recking a lot." Shiera sighed as she twisted her body, tripping Alice with a leg sweep and aimed her sword at Alice''s throat. "The two of us will teach you the basic defensive footwork and preparation. Though I don''t think you''re suited to be a defensive fighter from what I''ve seen." Even while she was protecting herself, Alice was still looking for a chance to counter. Just from this, Shiera understood that Alice was the type who preferred to be on the offensive. "What do you want to learn?" She asked, giving Alice the choice. They only had 24 hours and Sris had instructed the two of them to just teach Alice whatever she wanted. Of course, if she''s a prodigy then it''s better to hold back. "What are the options?" Alice asked while pushing the de aside with her finger and sitting up. "All Guard Stance, Evasion Stance and Zone Stance. All Guard Stance lets you parry and block most attacks if your body can keep up. Evasion Stance helps you retreat and dodge attacks as the name suggests. Zone Stance will be a boundary that you set around yourself. A ''Zone'' of control that lets you intercept attacks that cross the edge. Simr to the All Guard but more restrictive. Pick one." Furrowing her brows, Alice contemted her options. She knew that she wasn''t a defensive fighter. Meaning she had to learn something that''ll also be effective in offensive and in this scenario, she could only think of one option that suited her skill set. "Can you show me Zone Stance?" Chapter 280: Offensive, Passive and Absolute Zone "Sure, out of the three Zone Stance can be considered a hybrid stance since it can be used on the offensive as well. It''s easier to show you rather than tell, just try to attack me." Shiera nodded as she took a few steps back and entered a rxed stance. Her sword hung next to her yet Alice already felt a chill down her spine. Focusing her mind, she had some theories of her own. This chill that she had always felt was a signal of danger. Her instincts warning her to dodge. Meaning right now, she was already in Shiera''s Zone. Slowly backing off while this feeling continued to persist, Alice wanted to find out the edge of this Zone. "Are you not attacking?" Shiera frowned seeing Alice back away. "Just trying to figure something out. I thought you said the Zone was a boundary you ce around yourself, this range is quite ridiculous is it not?" Alice forced a smile as she continued to back away. She was more than 100 meters away from her yet this chill continued to persist! Meaning, if she were to make the slightest move, Shiera would be able to counter and attack with ease. Like a rope around her neck, Alice could feel herself getting suffocated by the pressure within this Zone. It wasn''t the same pressure as theyers of the Abyss but rather an invisible dread knowing your every move is being observed and scrutinised. While she was trying to find the boundary, Alice didn''t realise that what she had said surprised Shiera just as much. ''This should be the first time she''s hearing about the defensive stances and Zone Stance. How did she figure out she was already in range?'' She''s seen people who are more sensitive to danger before but most would equate that danger to her. Not once have they realised it was part of her Zone. Letting out a small smile, Shiera rxed her posture as the range of her Zone began to shrink. Alice could feel this as the pressure disappeared. "You can control the radius of your Zone?" "Naturally. Zone Stance is a boundary you set for yourself. A range of absolute control that you''re confident with. Within this range, it should be everything you can react to, no matter how fast. Anyways, just throw some attacks at me while I exin." Shiera nodded as she gestured for Alice to begin. Following Shiera''s instructions, Alice deliberately used her previous version of casting. One that requires multiple actions and low efficiency so they don''t know her progress. As the strands of blood and metal shot towards Shiera, Alice watched as her hand flickered for a moment before all of the attacks were shed apart. "As you can see, the Zone Stance lets you counter any attacks that enter your Boundary. The key is observation. The greater your observation skills, the stronger this Boundary bes. Once your Boundary reaches a certain threshold, you''ll be able to expand the range without losing efficiency." She exined as she began taking steps towards Alice. Since she didn''t tell her to stop firing attacks, Alice narrowed her eyes and shot metal des towards Shiera. Naturally, all of them were destroyed without exception. ''Nyer told me to act weak but not too weak to the point they lose interest. I shouldn''t show Void Flux ¨C Cleave since that''s too simr to Allura''s Executioner''s de. But the standard Void Flux should be okay.'' She was also curious as to how Shiera would react to an attack that suddenly appeared in front of her. Pivoting on her foot, Alice snapped her finger before aiming it towards Shiera. Blood manifested and gathered above her finger into a single spark. Void Flux! *BANG!!! Firing the attack towards Shiera, Alice then followed up with blood mist that invaded the Zone. Her goal was to have Shiera''s attention drawn towards the first attack while the mist would act as a catalyst for her to create more inside her zone. But to Alice''s surprise, Shiera simply smiled and concentrated her zone to a 20 meter radius around her. The moment Void Flux came into contact with the edge, it began to disintegrate until nothing was left. The Blood mist was no exception either as it was warded off with ease. "There are three types of Zone Stance and I''ve disyed them all. First, Offensive Zone. That''s the first one I showed, its range isrge and great for pressuring opponents while attacking. But the defensive capabilities arecking. "Second is Passive Zone. It''s a blend between the Offensive Zone and the third one that I''ll tell you about in a moment. It''s a mix of both offensive and defensive but not excelling in either. "And thest one is Absolute Zone. This is where you condense your focus around your optimal range and bring out as much power as you can. In the Absolute Zone, you bring out 100% of your power to destroy anything that enters the range." Shiera exined as she nced over to Arax who seemed to be napping away. Seeing that he wasn''t bothering on helping since Alice didn''t use a shield, Shiera could only sigh as this''ll be a one to one lesson between her and Alice. Tapping her foot on the arena, grooves began to appear around the arena with Shiera in the centre. "This is the boundary for the three Zones that I''ve shown you. Since we only have 24 hours, well¡­ less than that now, you should only focus on the Passive Zone. Once you learn Passive Zone, you can expand it into either Offensive Zone or Absolute Zone." She shrugged as Alice nodded her head. "First you need to get used to a boundary and refine your senses. I''ll send attacks towards you from all directions, get used to sensing them out and countering them. Once you get used to that, you should get a rough feel for the edge of your detection range, reaction range and counter range. Combine them and you should obtain the Passive Zone." Gesturing for Alice to stand in the centre of the arena, Shiera watched as Alice entered a drawing stance with her de. Shrugging her shoulders, she flicked her finger and a sh rushed towards Alice from behind. *CLANG!!! Blocking it with her de, Alice flinched from the collision. Even though she had blocked it, the impact still sent shockwaves through her body. ''Heavy.'' Alice thought with a frown. But the onught wasn''t over. From her left and right, shes rushed towards her once more. Stomping her foot down, two pirs of metal intercepted the shes only to be broken apart with ease. ''Seems like I can''t stop them unless I focus on the toughness. It''ll take too long though¡­ Guess I''m counting on the Obsidian de.'' Twisting her body, she parried the two shes before adjusting her posture. Right now, Shiera was testing her detection range while Alice was faking her performance. For some of these attacks, Alice had already detected them the moment they appeared thanks to Ca but acted ignorant. It was only once they reached the 20 meter mark did she react. As she continued to counter and parry attacks, Alice began to draw her own conclusion of her own radius. ''The optimal range for my casting is around 30 to 20 meters. In this range, I can create Void Fluxes without any issues. Optimal Melee range if I include Void Flux ¨C Cleave is around 10 meters around me max. Comfort would be 5 meters.'' Alice thought to herself. Of course, this was just her internal calctions. For her performance, she made sure to weaken herself in order to fool Shiera since they weren''t taking things seriously. To Shiera, Alice''s optimal range for casting was only 15 meters max andfort was around 10 meters. Her melee range was 2 to 3 meters around her. ''She''s already establishing a Boundary offort. It''s not quite a Passive Zone yet since it''s messy¡­ Perhaps I should increase the intensity in order to bring out more?'' Shiera mused to herself. Flicking her finger, a barrage of attacks manifested all at once. Naturally, Alice detected all of this and cursed inwardly. She wanted to keep going in order to get a better feel for her abilities but any further would raise suspicions. Parrying the first few strikes, Alice got shed on purpose before stumbling to the side and trying to ward off the other attacks. Pivoting on her foot, Alice surrounded herself with a swirl of blood and metal, redirecting the weaker shes while her de would counter the stronger ones. "I think that''s enough, I got a general idea of your range and capabilities." Shiera called out. Dismissing the shes with a flick of a finger, she couldn''t help but feel a little disappointed by Alice''s demonstration. Sure, she had talent. Butpared to the monsters known as Allura and Kaden, it wascking. She could still recall the threat she felt from Nyer and Allura when they went all out. Just their fighting spirit and killing intent was enough to make her doubt her defensive capabilities. Inparison, Alice was¡­ sorelycking. Even if she considered the fact that she only had three Sigils. ''I''ll just help her establish a Passive Zone. My job will be considered to beplete after that.'' Wiping the sweat away, Alice grabbed a healing vial from her pouch and watched as Shiera clear the field while drawing new circles. These represented Alice''s range. "You''ll practice in this circle. Don''t move out of it, don''t dodge. Focus on either defending with your sword or defending with your Sigils. Focus and refine your senses within this area." Shiera instructed. Nodding her head, Alice took a deep breath and focused her mind. Taking the first step into establishing a Boundary felt simple for Alice. But controlling the range like what Shiera demonstrated was going to be tough, especially when she''s trying to y off the fact that she''s weak. A tightrope act to not raise any suspicion. Alice had to admit that it was a little nerve-wracking but the challenge brought a smile to her face. Her personal goal for her time with Shiera was to master Passive Zone without letting them know! Chapter 281: Demonstration Of Zone Stance I had seen many geniuses in my time as the right hand of my Lord, Sris the Sun God. So many of them showed potential yetcked thest step to reach the level of me and Arax. Had they shown more promise, my Lord would''ve given them his blessings. Of course, he couldn''t make them Apostles but their status would be akin to Nyer, Lord Commander of Ayr. Which is why when I saw Alice, I thought she would be a genius befitting her spot next to the Queen. Yet¡­ all I feel is boredom and disappointment. She wasn''t weak by any means. But she couldn''t quite be ced on the pedestal of a genius that deserved to be taught by Apostles of all people. Her reaction speed is good but that''s the only noticeable thing about her. ''Even the geniuses I''ve seen would''ve established a better boundary by now.'' Her range was limited, actions were slow and even her casting speed was far behind what could be used for defence. I thought she would be a sword like Allura, the Executioner after I saw her strange attack. But shecked an ''edge''. Instead, she was more like a dull edge. When I saw her cast, I thought she would be a monster like Kaden who could master every cast with a single nce. But that was not the case either. I could only feel disappointment growing in my heart. ''Is she hiding something? No¡­ But it''s notpletely impossible either. They must know we will be reporting to our Gods on the results of the training.'' Narrowing my eyes at the Girl trying to master Passive Zone in the centre of the arena, I decided to go a little serious. "!!!" *CLANG!!! I manifested four shes close to her. There was no doubt, she saw them all! She even managed to parry two of them. That was what I thought until her rhythm was thrown off and the other des dug into her body. ''Sh*t, what was I thinking. Obviously she''ll see them and react. It''s panic.'' Shaking my head with a sigh, I toned down the training to what it was before. There were still quite a few hours to go and I''m going to be responsible for her the entire way through. Arax can''t help since he doesn''t focus on Zone Stance. The oaf prides himself on his defences which Alice clearly didn''t do. Theirbat styles are ipatible. Regardless, my opinions of her remain the same. She''s talented but nothing to be proud of. And if she was being blunt, aplete waste of time to teach. ### Parrying more attacks, Alice swiped away the sweat as she sighed in relief. Shiera''s sudden attack had surprised her and the threat of death caused her to react out of instinct. She had to hold herself back from parrying all four before sending her own attack back. If that were to happen, her act would be up. ''I guess that was her final test for me, to see if I''m truly weak or not.'' Alice thought to herself. After that incident, the attacks that Shiera sent were rather slow and unimpressive. Nothing that surprised Alice as she took her time to y out her act while refining the Zone under their noses. The longer she spent focused on defence, the more she began to understand this boundary. In order to maintain the best defence that she could, she had to rely on her instinct as well as hearing since her eyes could only do so much. She needed to hone into the senses that she''s refined during her fights. Whenever danger is closer, she would feel a pin prick like sensation near where the attack wouldnd. If she were to focus on this, she''d be able to establish a of absolute defence. The Absolute Zone. Taking a deep breath and breathing out, Alice continued to simte what the fight should look like in her mind while taking it easy on the outside. In her mind, she continuously imagined the rapid shes that Shiera released and how she should counter these attacks. ''For the ones that manifest near me, I should aim to parry them with my sword. I can create a wall of blood mist to parry those outside of my melee range. With this wall, making Void Fluxes are rather easy.'' Alice thought to herself as she continued to refine her Zone. Once again, she could feel herself entering a trance like state. The movements of Shiera reying in her mind as she began to simte how Shiera would deal with these attacks. The way she would adjust her posture through her footwork and how she would apply her energy mid-sh. Alice''s mind recorded it all. She wanted to test out her theory already since it was going to be different to a simtion but doing so meant giving up her act. In the end, she could only hold herself back. Time passed and Alice showed a slight but gradual improvement in her understanding of Zone. It was nothing remarkable in the eyes of Shiera and she couldn''t wait to end this training but there was one thing that caught her attention. Alice''s sword. Its durability was so unbelievably hard and any ''damage'' it seemed to sustain would disappear upon drinking Alice''s blood. A weapon that could recover itself was rare even for Apostles. Granted, the weapons they used were usually manifestations of their own power rather than a physical weapon. But even so, seeing a rare weapon like this interested Shiera to a certain extent. If it wasn''t for the fact that Alice was under the care of Ayr, Shiera would''ve been tempted to rob the weapon from her. "Alright, I think that''s enough. Time''s almost up." Shiera pped her hands as the shes disappeared. Seeing that the training was over, Alice took a deep breath and calmed herself. Clenching her fist, Alice smiled inwardly at the progress she made towards the Zone Stance. During the 10th hour, she had an idea. A way for her to refine her senses further to improve her Zone Stance. The idea was to keep the Passive Zone activated at all times, regardless of her posture. Doing so was exhausting and the sess rate was low. But it allowed her to experiment without exposing her powers. "Are there any questions you have? Take this time to ask them since I doubt we''ll be talking after this." Shiera shrugged. Once the promised training period is over, they''ll go back to focusing on the current task at hand. That being tracking down the Will of the Abyss. Thinking about it carefully for a moment, Alice opened her mouth. "Are you able to show me the full potential of the Zone Stance? So a spar between you and sir Arax." She asked as Shiera contemted it for a moment before nodding her head. A quick exchange wasn''t an issue and it''s not like Alice was requesting to see their best skills. All she was asking was to see Shiera demonstrate Zone Stance to its full potential, or at least what she was capable of. "Arax isn''t exactly the best partner to demonstrate this but sure. Arax! Get over here, we''re going to have a quick spar to demonstrate Zone Stance!" Shiera shouted over, waking up Arax from his nap as he yawned and scratched his hair. "Didn''t you show it to her when you started?" "That was before, this is now. It''s just a quick exchange to show her what a proper Zone Stance looks like inbat." Shiera shrugged, stepping into the centre of the arena and stabbing her de down in front of her. "Fine let''s get this over and done with." Arax sighed as he ced his shield away for now and massaged his shoulders. Seeing that the two were about to begin their spar, Alice took a few steps back before closing her left eye, leaving just the right eye open. Activating Ca at full power, she wanted to observe everything in full rity and take in every movement that they made. Picking up her de, Shiera nodded to Arax as her aura red up. Immediately, Alice could feel herself being submerged in an overwhelming sense of hostility as Shiera deployed her boundary! The entire arena was now under her scrutiny as Arax simply yawned in response. *BANG!!! Punching the air in front of him, the air seemed to break apart as a shockwave rushed towards Shiera who ''cut'' apart the attack using her Absolute Zone! However, Arax wasn''t intending on letting Shiera do whatever she wanted. The instant his attack was blocked, his body flickered out of sight. Despite his size and bulkiness, he was fast! Appearing above Shiera, he mmed his fist down as she crouched down and unleashed a torrent of shes towards him, shredding the aura around his hands. Yet despite this power, her shes failed to leave a single mark on his body. Jumping back, Shiera narrowed her eyes and adjusted her grip. Increasing the frequency of her attack, countless shes flickered in and out of existence as her movements couldn''t be perceived by Alice, even with the help of Ca. As Arax continued to step towards Shiera in this maelstrom of shes, his grin grew wider. Pulling his arm back, his muscles bulged as he mmed his fist forward. But this was exactly what Shiera was looking for! Jumping over the attack, she countered the aura released by the fist before swinging her de towards Arax''s head. *CLANG!!! Her de was caught between his teeth! Seeing this, Shiera sighed out in annoyance before signalling the end of this spar. "Are you satisfied now? Honestly the Zone Stance is a horrible match up against Arax since this oaf just walks through every attack." She scratched her hair in annoyance as Alice nodded her head. Giving her thanks to the two, she quickly left the arena, confusing Shiera as Alice seemed to be in a hurry. However, that was because Alice couldn''t contain this smile on her face! She saw it! She saw a path towards the most offensive style of attack she could muster! All that was left was to put it to the test but now was not the time. For now, she''ll continue to refine this idea in her mind, gathering as many resources as she could to improve it further. Chapter 282: Griselda And Nanna Jumping out of the personal realm, Alice found herself back at Velouria''s castle but she was no where to be seen. Guessing that she must be busy, Alice took this moment to calm her emotions but the smile refused to fade from her face. Right now, she had three benefits from Ca. First, kic vision. Second, Energy Perception. And finally, Mimicry. Mimicry allowed her to observe and copy her opponent''s movement to some extent and make it her own. Such was the case for Void Flux and Void Flux ¨C Cleave. Using the knowledge she gained from Shiera regarding the Zone stance, her performance at the end and the benefits granted by Mimicry and Energy Perception, Alice could make a new type of Zone stance. One that allowed her to break down the weaknesses of her opponent and even hijack their spell if done right! ''Sh*t I can''t stop.'' Alice thought with augh as she immediately summoned her obsidian de and established a boundary around herself. Narrowing her eyes, her second Sigil red up as blood mist surrounded her. In her current state, if any attack was to enter her zone, she had two choices. One was to negate them using her mes. Second was to hijack the controls! She had this idea of hijacking controls ever since she got her first Sigil but it was finally time to bring the idea to fruition. Of course, it was easier said than done and right now, Alice had two methods of going about this. First was to forcefully take over. Using Void Flux ¨C Cleave, she''ll separate her opponent''s energy from their attack before recing it with her own. But doing so required her to understand how the attack worked and how she should channel the energy. On top of that, after hijacking, she won''t be able to make any adjustments since shecked the Sigil. The exception being if she was to drink their blood. If that happens then hijacking will be far easier. The Second method was to manipte the space around her Boundary using either Void Flux or Nyer''s Space Lock skill. Her mastery over Nyer''s Space Lock wascking but that''lle with practice. Rather than Hijacking, the second method was closer to redirection more than anything. If she was toplete her idea then her new Zone Stance would help her fix her defensive issue. Not only that, but it could also be used offensively since through observation and mimicry, she could understand the weaknesses in her opponent''s movement! Excitement filled her mind but she quickly calmed herself once she imagined what fighting Allura and Kaden would be like. Those that surpassed her greatly in speed such as Ria or people who targeted the soul. It was strong but far from perfect, but it was a start. Once Alice was calm and the smile disappeared, she pulled out the second Key. The key leading to her training session with Spirituality and Immortality. ''ording to Kaden, they''re casters but have always lost to him. Not sure what I can even learn from them but it''s not like I''m losing anything.'' Alice shrugged as she stabbed the key into the air and opened a new door. ### "Report." Sris spoke coldly while ncing towards Shiera and Arax. "Nothing of importance my Lord. Alice, the one we were requested to train, seems average and not to the calibre of Apostles. She doesn''t seem to be hidden weapon nor does she disy any remarkable traits aside from her reaction speed." Shiera replied while kneeling in front of Sris. "Hmm¡­ Is that so? Arax, what about you?" "Same here my Lord. Even though she showed an attack simr to that of the Executioner, itcked any form of blessing. It can be surmised that she has not been chosen as a third Apostle." "Then it''s a false rm. And here I thought she''d be someone special if Velouria was asking all the Apostles to help train her." Sris massaged his eyes as he waved his hand and dismissed his Apostles. Tapping his finger on the table, he formed a connection with Lumiria and Enris. "I got the first report back. The brat doesn''t seem specialpared to Velouria''s other subordinates." Sris huffed. "Hou~ Well I''m not surprised by that considering her soul age." Lumiria chuckled softly. "You''re hiding something aren''t you, Lumi? Spill it already." Enris grinned. "Her soul age is only 10. Now, if you were to take that into consideration, what do you think about her talent?" Lumiria smiled as Sris paused for a moment. "10? Are you serious?" Enris raised an eyebrow. Naturally, Sris shared the same sentiment. "That was what it looked like thest time I checked. Though it was a rough estimate. Compared to the other souls that I''ve seen, her''s is maturing at a rapid pace. An increased growth if I had to put it into words. So perhaps Velouria wants to take advantage of this growth stage and help her learn as much as possible?" Lumiria theorised as the Gods became silent. "y along for now. It''s not like a weak three Sigil brat can do anything in the first ce, no matter how fast her growth may be." Enris shrugged. Of course, she had her own ns. If Alice was in a period of growth, then it was the perfect time to introduce outside influences. Just thinking of the possibilities made Enris giggle with excitement as the other two sighed, knowing that the chaotic one was nning something again. "I''ve already notified my Apostles to learn as much as they can regarding her soul and background. If things go well, we should have some information by the end of the day. For now, it''s simply a case of waiting." "Urg¡­ More waiting. How do you two even stand it." Sris clicked his tongue. For Enris, she spent her free time nning out ways to disrupt the natural order. As for Lumiria¡­ "Waiting is not so bad once you get used to it. The peace and quiet is nice Sris. You should give it a try sometime." As the Goddess that focuses on longevity, embracing the act of waiting was part of the process. All things fall apart with time, all she had to do was simply wait. Even for Velouria, Lumiria wasn''t sure why these two were in such a hurry. If they simply watched and waited by the side, she''ll die eventually. Such is the passage of time. "You can enjoy your peace and quiet. I have no use for it." Sris scoffed as he closed the connection. He would never understand Lumiria''s approach. But he doesn''t have to understand it to get her help regarding Velouria. ### Unlike the arena that Shiera and Arax was in, the arena for Immortality and Spirituality was a strange cloud covered tform with countlessrge towers decorating the background. Above them was the moon in its full glory, basking the realm in a cold blue hue. "You''ve arrived." The puppet apostle bowed slightly as her mechanical joints rattled in this silence. Next to her, the floating woman bowed in a simr manner. With the improvement of Alice''s senses, she couldn''t help but notice what seemed to be ''strings'' extending from the floating woman''s body, reaching into nothingness. Upon noticing Alice''s stare, the floating woman flickered in front of Alice. Her eyes snapped open and bore deep into Alice''s eyes. "You can see it can''t you?" She asked, her voice seemingly ringing out in Alice''s mind. Taking a step back out of surprise, Alice wasn''t sure what the girl meant but she couldn''t avert her eyes. Her surroundings began to darken as though nothing else existed and all she could see was a pair of floating red orbs. "Stop. What are you doing Nanna?" The puppet frowned as she covered Nanna''s eyes with her hand. "Sorry, I was surprised that this girl managed to see my ''strings''." Nanna replied as the puppet nced over at Alice in mild surprise. "You saw it? How surprising¡­ Have you had interactions with the soul before?" "A little. I had an incident where someone dragged my soul to a different realm. But that was about it." Alice nodded her head as her vision returned back to normal. Cold sweat filled her back as she didn''t know what would''ve happened if the puppet didn''t interfere. "How strange¡­ well I''m sure your peculiarities will make themselves knownter. Griselda, Apostle of Spirituality." Griselda introduced herself as Nanna adjusted her posture and closed her eyes. "Nanna, Apostle of Immortality." "Alice." Alice bowed back while wondering what they were doing to teach her. "So Alice, what do you think is the rtion between body and soul?" Griselda asked with a smile. "I''m¡­ not sure." Alice shook her head. "There are many interpretations. The way you interact with the soul changes the rtion but for most, the body and soul take the roles of puppet and puppeteer. Without the soul, the body ''dies''. Without the body, the soul continues on until it gains a new puppet. "Now let me ask you this. What do you think is the link between casting abilities you gain from Sigils and the soul?" Hearing this, Alice contemted it for a moment. The source of Sigil abilitiese from the contract formed between the host and the Abyss. Through this contract, power is given to the Spiritual Heart which then transfers to the physical heart before manifesting as the ability. "Are you talking about the Spiritual Heart?" Alice asked curiously. If they were nning on teaching her about the Spiritual Heart then it may give her some clues regarding her Violet mes. After all, this beast within, the source of her mes, was acting as her Spiritual Heart. Without these mes, she''ll die. "Exactly. You are smarter than you look. Now allow me to propose a third question young one." Griselda nodded with a satisfied smile. "How potent do you think a cast can be if youbine multiple Spiritual Hearts?" Chapter 283: Reflection Of The Core "How potent do you think a cast can be if youbine multiple Spiritual Hearts?" Griselda asked with a cruel grin. Hearing this, Alice felt a chill down her spine as she saw a familiar light in Griselda''s eye. A light of greed and insanity. ''She''s not joking.'' Alice thought while subconsciously taking a step back. "Think about it. The output of a cast, while can be adjusted by the user, is still limited to one passage. That being the Spiritual Heart. There are people in the world who can target this connection, severing the tether momentarily or permanently. One being the Executioner, Allura. "In the case where a person loses their connection to the Spiritual Heart, only two things can ur. If they are strong enough, they survive but lose the ability to cast or ess their Sigil abilities. If they are not strong enough, they enter Spiritual Death. The body bes a husk of its former self." Griselda exined with augh. Taking a few steps from Alice, she flicked her hand and revealed her tether to the Spiritual Heart. "So I ran a little test. To see if the output can be increased. And who knew, such beauty exists in this world." She muttered while raising her hand towards the malformedwork of tethers extending from her body. The shadows of those connected to Griselda, the Apostle of Spirituality. If Alice had seen their mournful expressions, she might have been annoyed. But that was not the case. It was pure silence. No mournful screams, no hateful res and no tears. Each face seemed ''peaceful''. "Beautiful isn''t it? The collective will to work towards a single goal of longevity. To be part of something greater and attain the perfection sought by all those bound by the chains of mortality." Griselda eximed while caressing one of the faces with her hand. ''She''s bat sh*t insane.'' Alice thought with a forced smile as she wanted nothing to do with the Church of the Moon anymore. She finally understood why Allura hated these b*stards. Under the presence of longevity and perfection, they steal the lives of others to live as nothing but a ve to the Apostles. "Hmm¡­ Are you not impressed? I''d figured that someone of your calibre would understand the beauty of this. Especially when we''re not so different." Griselda chuckled. Snapping her finger, ck inky tethers appeared from Alice''s body. While Griselda''s tether reached to the high heavens, Alice''s descended into the depths of the void. ncing back, Alice saw a familiar figure. The beast that served as her Spiritual Heart and the source of her Violet mes. Connected to that beast was what she had originally perceived as the void or emptiness. But that was incorrect. It was a densely packedwork of countless tethers, numerous to the point it had be a sheet of darkness. "How did you even manage to take so many Spiritual Hearts I wonder. Iya~ Gives me chills just looking at it. And here I thought I was alone in my pursuit of perfection with my Lady. Who knew I would find a kindred spirit." Griselda smiled happily while hugging Alice from behind. Her cold mechanical arms wrapped around Alice''s body. "But it seems like quite the waste to leave this power untapped. Since you''ve already trained under Kaden, I''m sure you know the pathways in the body and how best to adjust the casts. So how about you learn my method of casting?" Griselda asked while Nanna of Immortality simply watched by the side. While the two of them may share the same Master, they don''t get along too well. Their friendship was only surface level. To Nanna, Griselda''s actions are distasteful. But they share the same discipline under the guidance of the Moon Goddess and thus could not reject her. Griselda sought to use others as a foundation for something greater. To be part of an immortal being. As for her, she sought to free people from the bounds of mortality. The body was nothing but a puppet to be piloted by the Soul, so long as the soul lives, the body can always be reced. They retain their individuality while embracing the gifts of immortality. That was the most beautiful form of life for Nanna. And considering her own past, she could see traces of herself in Alice. "Griselda, stop pressuring her. Let her choose what she wants to do and don''t get carried away. No matter what, she only possesses three Sigils, her body cannot withstand your method of casting." Nanna spoke out as Griselda paused and nced back in annoyance. There was no longer a smile on her face as her mood had been spoiled by Nanna. "Fine. I will admit I got a little carried away." Griselda sighed after a long pause. Meanwhile, Alice couldn''t take her eyes off of the darkness that surrounded the beast bound by golden chains. Through this darkness, she could see vague outlines and expressions of Abyss Beasts. Some she had never seen before, some she recognised. "It''s not exactly a casting method that''s usable by everyone. Since you don''t have the blessing given by my Lady, I doubt you can fully tap into this power. Of course, if you''re thinking of switching allegiances, we''re more than happy to wee you with open arms." Griselda offered but Alice shook her head. "Sorry, I''ll have to pass." Shrugging her shoulders, Griselda didn''t press the issue further. If Alice doesn''t want to embark on the path of longevity then there''s nothing she can do. When she''s at her wit''s end, she''lle to realise the beauty. "That''s fine. Either way, we have 24 hours to teach you something new. How about letting you understand more about your Spiritual Body? You can also say it''s training for you to understand and interact with your soul." Seeing Alice''s hesitation, Nanna decided to step in. "There are two ways of interacting with your soul. They don''t interrupt the connection you have with your physical body if that''s what you''re worried about. It''s merely looking at the reflection." Even though they may be detached from their physical body, it''s not a state that can be easily achieved. Even those within the Church needed plenty of time and resources to attain this state. So for beginners and Alice, the first step is to observe and understand one''s soul. "Griselda has shown you one of the ways and that''s to observe the soul through the tether connecting your body and your Spiritual body together. The second method is one that I use and that''s to observe your own reflection." Nanna exined. "Observe my reflection?" Alice had encountered something simr before. The times she saw a reflection of Velouria within her. Times when she saw the beast sealed within and sometimes the ''hunger'' she demonstrates in a battle. There were many reflections that Alice has seen with only twoing from unknown origins. For Velouria, Alice could assume that a part of her was attached to Ca. But the beast and her ''hunger''? She had no idea. "A reflection is¡­ the truest part of your soul in the moment. The human mind hides behind facades and experiences but the soul reveals your core. Your true self. Through observing your soul using the reflection, you create a harmony between body and soul, increasing the potency of your casts. "That''s to say, some may dislike the ''core'' of their soul and their potency only decreases. So it''s up to you what you want to do. Just remember that using Sigil powers through casting is deeply rooted with the understanding of one''s soul." Nanna warned. Taking her warning to heart, Alice considered her options. "Is it rude if I say I want to see my reflection alone?" Alice asked hesitantly. She knew the peculiarities within her body and even though Griselda has seen the numerous Spiritual Hearts linked to her, she still didn''t want them to see her ''core''. "The process of observing one''s soul is done alone do not worry. While we may be here, we cannot see the core of your being unless you reveal it to us and thus, we cannot interfere. What Griselda had done earlier was simply observing the connections rather than the details. A silhouette for ack of a better word. "And if you still doubt, I do not mind making a Law of Agreement. The soul is a delicate issue and we do not force our interference to those still attached to their body. Only when you are truly ready to join us will we begin to modify the core." Nanna exined. Creating a contract with her hand, it stated that neither Nanna nor Griselda would be able to see the core of Alice''s soul unless Alice expresses permission with no outside interference. Reading through the contract several times, Alice didn''t see any issues and agreed. With the agreement now in ce, both Nanna and Griselda took a few steps back, allowing Alice some space to face her reflection. Waving her finger, Nanna created a split down the centre of the arena, reflecting everything on their side. Standing in front of this mirror, all Alice saw was a murky cloud of darkness that constantly exuded ck mist. As for Nanna and Griselda, she could see their ''outlines''. Griselda was followed along by a mass of Spiritual Hearts gained from others while Nanna had the shadow of arger being watching over her, puppeteering her body. Taking a deep breath, Alice calmed her mind and stepped closer to the reflection. To observe her core. ''Yo~ Don''t you just look pathetic.'' Her reflection let out augh while clutching her stomach. ''Honestly, I can''t believe this is how you dolled yourself up for the outside world. So¡­ Boring.'' ''Alice'' sighed as her piercing purple eyes bore into Alice. Her reflection''s voice echoed in her mind yet she didn''t reply. Stepping closer, the details hidden by this cloud of darkness became clear. Chapter 284: Third Door Seeing the reflection, Alice couldn''t help but frown. It was familiar but she couldn''t believe this was the core of her being. Her reflection looked exactly the same as the current her with the exception of having full ck hair and normal eyes. If Velouria was full white with Ca in each eye then ''Alice'' would be theplete opposite. Not only that but also the way she carried herself. The aura around her was all too familiar with Alice. ''You''re my ''hunger'' aren''t you?'' Alice thought in her mind hesitantly. ''Hunger? Hmm¡­ I wouldn''t say hunger. More so¡­ Desire.'' ''Alice'' shrugged nonchntly while peeking over Alice''s shoulders to look at the other two. ''Say, what do you think would happen if we ate a piece of their soul? You know that we take souls when we drink someone''s blood. If we were to drink Griselda''s blood, I wonder how many souls we''ll be able to obtain.'' ''Alice'' narrowed her eyes before licking her lips. ''Stop that. You know we won''t be able to.'' ''What''s the harm in trying? Who knows they might say yes.'' ''Alice'' scratched her hair before looking back at Alice. Just looking at her face caused ''Alice'' to frown in displeasure. ''You are simply disgusting to look at.'' ''What do you mean by that? We have the same face.'' Alice furrowed her brows while the other Alice leaned forward. ''I mean that smile of yours. That passive nature. Take charge dammit. All you do is listen and act to what the others say around you rather than taking the lead. Think about it, Velouria has made you her sessor. Ca has given you her power and Allura and Kaden are trying their best to train you. ''Yet all you do is be passive and let the current take you. Is that not disgusting or what?'' She sneered, ring at Alice. ''So what do you want me to do about it? Or are you just here to talk sh*t to me. Nanna said this was to observe and understand my core but you''re just here to mock me.'' Alice didn''t retreat and red back. Silence ensued between the two as ''Alice'' slowly curled her mouth up into a grin. ''That''s more like it. Why can''t you show a little more aggressiveness normally? Why does it always have to be in battle.'' ''Just seems exhausting no?'' Alice shrugged. There''s been moments where she''s ''disyed'' her hunger outwardly but afterwards, she would always feel exhausted. ''That''s because you''re not epting who you are. Of course it''ll be exhausting to keep up the act. Heck even I''m exhausted just looking at you. Anyways, what I''m saying is that maybe, just maybe, you should listen to this hunger inside you more often.'' ''Alice'' snickered as she tapped her finger towards Alice''s chest. ''It''s the truest part of you. You know it, I know it. Your father and brother certainly know it with great familiarity and hate.'' Giving Alice one final mocking grin, she disappeared. All that remained was Alice''s reflection that showed a cloud of darkness and nothing more. ''Tsk.'' Clicking her tongue in annoyance, Alice couldn''t help but contemte the meaning behind herst words. The truest part of her, her ''hunger'', a side that her family knows with familiarity and hatred. Scratching her hair, Alice sighed. As annoying as it was, she had to admit that her reflection was right. She has been holding back. Her excitement after training with Shiera and Arax was a sign. The way her excitement burst forth, preventing her from keeping a neutral expression that she was used to keeping. She could feel herself wanting to let loose, to try out new ideas and be praised for her progress. Especially by Allura and Kaden. Subconsciously, her hand began reaching for her neck. Back in the Zenia prison, the more reactions she showed, the more aggressive the experiments became. So long as she kept a neutral expression, they would lose their original fervour. Not only that, but after years of monotonous experiments and torture, there was no need for her to disy any emotion that would incite more pain. Thinking up to this point, a small smile appeared on Alice''s face. After meeting Allura, she was exposed to a myriad of experiences and invoked emotions she thought was long dead inside. From happiness and excitement to annoyance and anger. Each day she spent outside brought forth more reactions. Perhaps she was scared of these feelings to some extent. A deep rooted fear that feeling these would cause more pain to befall her. But no more. Her reflection wasn''t wrong, perhaps it was time to be true to herself and the thoughts within. To ept that this ''hunger'' was not only a by product of the beast within but also a reflection of her own desires. To let loose and no longer restrain herself. To enjoy the freedom she''s been given fully. ''The least I could''ve done was be honest with myself. Why did she have to keep insulting me.'' Alice sighed with a helpless smile. Turning around, she saw a hint of surprise in Griselda''s gaze while Nanna had a smile on her face. "Seems like you''ve reaped quite a reward from seeing the reflection of your core." "You could say that." Alice admitted while scratching her cheek. "Say, why don''t you reconsider my offer of joining the Church of the Moon. Not many undergo a change like this on their first interaction with their core." Griselda smirked while crossing her arms. "Once again I''ll pass. Sorry to say but my allegiance lies with Ayr and its Queen." "So be it. Nanna, I think you''re more suited in training her." Griselda shrugged before turning to Nanna who nodded her head. "Understood. But I don''t think there''s much I can do." Nanna nced over at Alice. If she went by her original n, they would''ve taken this entire period to help Alice understand her core yet she''s already made quite the considerable progress alone. Even though she may not show it, as Apostles who are deeply connected to concept of souls, they could tell the change that urred within. They risked going against the orders of their Goddess if they attempted to teach more. Realising that she must''ve progressed too fast, Alice coughed awkwardly. It was a silent understanding between them that the Apostles can''t teach too much. They will however, offer a little guidance and that''s exactly what they''ve achieved. "It''s fine, you''ve helped me understand my core and that''s more than enough. I still need time to digest this knowledge otherwise I wouldn''t get the full benefit." Alice shook her head, leaving out the fact that she could also sense the tether connected to her Spiritual Heart now. Once she''s epted that the hunger was part of her own desires, it seems like a new channel was opened and she became aware of the connection between the beast, her Spiritual Heart and her physical body. If she could refine this understanding in her own time, operating the Violet mes will be far easier than before. A tacit understanding formed between the three of them as Alice bid them farewell and took the initiative to leave the training realm. Once Alice left, Griselda frowned and let out a sigh before scratching her hair. "She''s a freak isn''t she?" "Agreed." Nanna nodded her head. After signing the Law of Agreement, they let Alice know that they couldn''t see her core. However, that wasn''t the case for the general outline and actions. During the time that Alice was talking to her own core, a second sentience red back at them. Its gaze locking them in ce as it didn''t look towards physical forms but rather their spiritual side. For Griselda, this second sentience managed to locate the true core of her being despite being surrounded by countless Spiritual Hearts that acted as a decoy. Nanna on the other hand, could feel the gaze locking onto her being that floated in an invisible realm. For the first time ever, except for their Goddess, someone managed to locate their true self. A deep frown formed on their faces as there was far more to Alice than they originally expected. They hoped it was just a case of Alice being gifted in towards the Soul but on the chance that it wasn''t, they may have to take care of her early. "Our Lady is correct as always. Even though her soul is so young, its far more menacing than even the souls of the other Apostles." Griselda narrowed her eyes. It would''ve made their job easier if Alice had agreed to join the Church of the Moon. Regardless, they had to make the report. ### Upon leaving the realm, Alice sighed in relief. Due to Griselda''s and Nanna''s authority regarding souls, it was very hard to hide much from them. Had it not been for the Law of Agreement, Alice doubted whether or not she would be willing to go through with the training. "Then again¡­ I suppose calling it training is a little far fetched." She muttered. All she did was observe the core of her being and have a small talk. Compared to trying to learn Zone Stance, this was rather easy. "Only took an hour too." Pulling out the third key, Alice wondered what kind of training awaited her with the Apostles chosen by Eclipse. Knowing how the Eclipse Cult operated and their mentality, she guessed it would probably just be a standard spar. ''The Eclipse God mentioned that their fighting style was honed during battle¡­ Unless there''s something special about the way they perceive things, they probably won''t show me new things.'' Shaking her head, Alice stopped dying and stabbed the key into the air. A new door opened and even though she hadn''t stepped through, her body was already on full alert. Every fibre of her being was calling for her to run! A fight or flight response just from seeing the door. Swallowing her saliva nervously, Alice hesitated for a moment before opening the door. Stepping through, she saw a lone figure standing in the middle and a forced smile appeared on her face. "You''ve gotta be kidding me¡­" Alice muttered in disbelief. While the other Gods had sent their Apostles to ''train'' Alice, the Eclipse God chose a different approach. She decided to see what Alice was about personally! Chapter 285: Alice Vs Enris "Hiya~ You''re here a lot earlier than expected. Did you get kicked out from Lumi''s side or did you pick me second?" Enris grinned. In a single blink, Enris was already in front of Alice as cold sweat filled her back. "Aww~ Don''t be so nervous little one. I''m not going to eat you¡­ Or will I? It''s not often I partake in eating humans but thest time I tried one it tasted rancid. Maybe a cutie pie like you would change that." Enris narrowed her eyes as she revealed a set of sharp teeth and a long tongue that licked her lips. "Nah who am I kidding. If I did Velouria would go ape sh*t and attack me. I''m not ready for that¡­ Yet." Sheughed, taking a few steps away. "But I am here to take a look at you for myself. Why did Velouria decide to dump so many resources into you." At that moment, a malevolent aura burst forth from Enris as Alice was speechless. Her third tutor was the God herself! "So try your best and impress me okay? If I get too bored I might take things a little overboard and kill you." Enrisughed as she conjured a sword in front of her. Grabbing the handle, she swung it towards the ground and the de broke itself into countless segments, transforming into a ded whip. As for Alice, she nervously brought out her obsidian de as she could tell Enris was serious! Each of her words wasced with killing intent. If she didn''t amuse the God, she would die. Just as she was wondering if she could leave through the door, Enris waved her hand and enveloped this entire area in a seal. ''Well there goes my escape route.'' Alice smiled bitterly as she took a deep breath. She could try to talk her way out of this but considering that her opponent is the God of the Eclipse, it was unlikely that she''ll let her go with a talk. In that case¡­ She''ll take the offence and end this quick! At that moment, Alice deployed her full boundary. The size of which epassed the entire arena and charged towards Enris. *Whistle~ "I knew it. You were bluffing to the Sun b*stard''s Apostles." Enris grinned. Flicking her wrist, the whip cracked towards Alice like a serpent but before it could reach her, its path of attack was interrupted by a Void Flux! *BANG!!! Activating her Partial Bloodline Release, an aura of violet mes manifested around her, boosting her physical strength to the limit. The instant Enris entered her optimal range for melee, Alice gritted her teeth and swung her de. Void Flux ¨C Cleave! Seeing Alice appear beside her, Enris was uninterested since the speed wasn''t impressive. However, the changes that urred to Alice''s de surprised her! "Wow~ Did the Executioner teach you that? I didn''t think this could be achieved without Velouria''s blessing. Though itcks a littlepared to the real Executioner''s de." Enris smiled, blocking Alice''s strike with the guard of her whip. But Alice wasn''t done. With her Void Flux ¨C Cleave blocked, she adjusted her posture and sent a kick towards Enris'' head. Engaging in hand to handbat, Alice frowned after seeing the God dodge everything she could throw at her. She was like a fallen leaf, avoiding every attack. ''Don''t use the violet mes. What I need to do is to impress her with my other attacks. If I use my violet me directly more trouble will arise.'' Stepping back to make some distance between them, Alice quickly jumped up into the air as she narrowly dodged the whip aiming for her ankles. "And here I thought they said you only knew the basics of Zone Stance." Enris grinned. Flicking her wrist, the whip transformed into a spear as she breached Alice''s Zone. *BANG!!! mming the shaft against Alice''s de, Enrisunched Alice to the opposite side of the arena. "Common~ Do your best~ Put some effort behind your attacks. You might fool the Sun b*stard''s Apostles but you can''t fool me. I can tell if someone is serious or not. After seeing countless die to my de, it''s pretty easy to see if they''re truly desperate." Sheughed, jumping up into the air. Twisting her body, sheunched the spear at Alice who red back and transformed the obsidian de into a gauntlet! Grabbing the spear just as it passed her, Alice pivoted on her foot to dispel the moment and seized the weapon from Enris. "That''s quite the weapon you got there. Did Velouria get it made for you?" Enris pped her hand. Taking a single step forward, she flickered next to Alice. "But don''t you know you shouldn''t take from a God? You might piss them off." Grabbing the spear, she threw Alice into the air without any issue. Just as she was about to kick Alice on her way down, Alice managed to twist her body in mid air andnded on Enris'' leg. Blinking her eyes in surprise, Enris watched Alice''s de travel closer to her face. "Nice reactions." She praised while leaning back but that was exactly what Alice hoped she would do! Behind her, a cluster of Void Fluxes manifested without any casting action from Alice! Widening her eyes in surprise, Enris didn''t think Alice reached the stage of casting without actions. After all, the speed and power of this cast was nothing to joke at. ''Kaden huh?'' Enris thought with a grin. Tapping her finger in the air, a baleful red aura exploded from her back, erasing the attack with ease! Jumping back with a frown on her face, Alice transformed her gauntlet back to a de before entering a defensive stance, reestablishing the boundary of her Zone. "What a sneaky b*tch. Hiding a monster like you without any of us knowing." Enris sighed while massaging her neck. "You''ve mimicked the Executioner''s attack, reached Kaden''s level of casting, understood how to establish a zone. Then there''s the potency of your attacks¡­ It''s not something a sh*tty three Sigil brat should have. You must''ve reaped quite the rewards from the Moon Apostles right?" Sensing Enris'' gaze, Alice bit her lip before sighing and letting out a cry of annoyance. "F*ck!" She cursed while clicking her tongue. "Yea I did. Why the hell does it have to be you who''s my third tutor." Alice scratched her hair. "Pft! What a tone~ Well I couldn''t help it. I got curious. So far you''re a little interesting. Just a little. But it''s not quite enough to let Velouria go out of her way like this. Either you have a bigger identity or you''re still hiding powers¡­" Pausing for a moment, Enris curled her lips into a grin. "I think it''s both. What do you say girlie?" "Who knows, you''re not gonna take my word for it anyways." Alice shrugged. Killing intent exploded from her body as she activated her Resonance! "Bingo~ I''m liking you more and more now. Alright, show me what you can do, if you surprise me enough, I''ll even reward you." Enris winked. *BANG!!!! Transforming her sword into a spear, Aliceunched it with all her might! *CLANG!!! Parrying the spear and throwing it aside, Enris raised an eyebrow after noticing that Alice was no longer in her position. Instead, she appeared in the air and caught the spear that was parried! Twisting her body, she transformed the spear into a de and shed towards Enris. Just before her de could be blocked by Enris, it shrunk into a dagger! Wanting to tilt her head in order to dodge the strike, Enris widened her eyes in surprise. Space Lock! A trademark of Nyer. Watching the de approach closer and closer to her face, Enris let out a crafty smile. Taking a page from Alice''s book, her form began to shift and she shrunk down to the size of a child! "What the f*ck???" Alice blurted out as Enris mmed her leg into Alice''s stomach. *BANG!!!! Crashing into the wall of the arena, Alice coughed up a mouthful of blood and copsed onto her knees. "Even the ability of Nyer huh? Aren''t a gift that keeps on giving." Enris praised as her form returned to normal. Gathering the blood back into her body, Alice took a deep breath and red at Enris. Even though she couldn''t hear her Core, she could practically imagine what she was going to say. ''What a pathetic sight. So scared to use your own power against her? If you keep this up she''ll kill you~ Show some backbone coward.'' Her annoying tone couldn''t be forgotten as Alice revealed a bitter smile. "A gift that keeps on giving huh? You''re not wrong. Say, God of the Eclipse, do you mind answering a question for me?" Alice asked as she forced herself to stand up. Reaching into her pouch, she drank some healing blood. "I am a benevolent God. Go for it." Enris nodded. "Why do you sow so much chaos? All of your followers perform rituals in your name and sacrifice to earn your blessing. But what goal do you lead your people?" "Ohya? Quite the serious question you''re asking there. Hmm¡­ For funsies. Honestly, it''s too boring sitting around doing nothing so I let them do whatever they want. Sometimes they surprise me with their cruelty, sometimes I get bored. Either way, as long as it''s interesting, I''ll give them a few rewards." Enrisughed with a nonchnt shrug. "For funsies huh?" Alice closed her eyes. All of the suffering that Ria had to go through was simply for ''funsies''. The hatred in Ria''s heart was as deep as her own for the Zenia family. Yet her target for this hatred did everything on a whim. If Ria found out about this, how would she react? Alice didn''t know the answer but she knew one thing. She needed to get a good hit in for Ria! "Now let me return that question to you girlie. For what reason do you wake up in the morning? For what reason do you struggle and train?" Enris asked, readying her spear by her side. "I just don''t want to be restrained anymore." Reaching into her pouch once more, Alice pulled out a sk and drank its contents. Letting out a satisfied shout, she threw the sk back into her pouch. "That''s the sh*t! Alright God of the Eclipse, are you f*cking ready?" Aliceughed as violet mes burst out from her. Since Enris wanted to see something interesting, Alice will show her just that! Patterns stretched across her body as she spoke a single familiar line. [Feast o'' mes of mine.] Chapter 286: God Of The Eclipse - Enris Realising that Alice was establishing a ritual, Enris couldn''t help but wonder who the target was. With her seal, no connection to the outside was allowed to happen. Thus even if Alice wanted to try to form a ritual with Velouria, it was impossible! But against her expectations, she watched as an array of vibrant array of mes converged into one before the sounds of shackles breaking reverberated through the arena. The aura surrounding them began to grow as Enris subconsciously took a step back. "What the hell is that thing¡­" She muttered, watching a draconic beast manifest itself through Alice''s mes. A chimera of bestial auras of different Abyss Beasts and a swirling vortex filled with an insatiable hunger. Unfurling its wings, the beast revealed an amalgamation of limbs hidden across its body as it nced down at Alice and gave her a grin. Widening her eyes, Enris immediately entered the offensive with giant spears erupting from the ground! *BANG!!! Colliding against an invisible force in the air, the beast let out a roar before opening its jaw. Coiling around the spears, it shattered the weapons with ease and began to absorb them into its body. The sounds of metal being torn to shreds echoed out while Enris was silent. But soon, a smile appeared on her face as a shrillughter rang out. "Alright! You are simply sublime girlie! What the hell is this thing?! Hahaha! Who knew Velouria was hiding this kind of monstrosity in a little girl!" Enris shouted out as her body began to crack and twist. ck thorns and chains erupted from where she stood as a mass of red energy enveloped her body. *BANG!!! Breaking out of this cocoon of energy, Enris revealed her new form. Broken pieces of armour and tattered cloth could be seen around her body as her face was hidden by a ck and red mask. Red cracks stretched across her entire body as chains, swords and spears could be seen protruding from her back. mming her hand down, their surroundings changed in an instant. From the arena, they were transported to a realm of crimson. Clouds stained with the colour of blood filled the sky while the edges of this realm descended into darkness. In the centre of the sky, a single orb could be seen. The brilliant mes of the sun and the cold epassing glow of the moon. As the two approached one another, darkness manifested across the surface, slowly creeping in until a single dark orb was created from the union of darkness and light. A celestial body of void contrasted by a ring of absolute light. Staying silent, Enris charged towards the draconic beast as countless limbs erupted from its body. Reaching behind her, Enris yanked out a single blood soaked spear and tore the limbs apart! Twirling the spear around her hand, she created a boundary where none of the beast''s attack could prate. But before she could take another step closer, an array manifested around her. Towering violet mes erupted into the sky as a cage was formed. Countless variants of Void Flux ¨C Cleave bore down on Enris but she didn''t panic. Stabbing her spear into the ground, a battlefield of broken weapons erupted around her, blocking the attacks. Beneath the beast, a single spearhead could be seen before bursting out from the ground, piercing into its body! ck chains manifested from the shaft of the spear in an attempt to constrain the beast but after thest experience from the obnoxious golden chains that sealed it away, the beast was prepared. A rib cage of broken bones burst forth, stabbing into the chain links and preventing the chains from tightening around it. From these bones, teeth began to manifest as it attempted to consume the chains! Feeling that something was wrong, Enris flicked her finger and the chains disappeared. "You can keep up? How surprising. I thought that the power of a six Sigil being would be enough of a challenge to keep you at bay but you keep giving me surprise after surprise. "A beast that seeks to consume anything and everything. An owner who can mimic the abilities of the Apostles of the Abyss despite not having Velouria''s blessing. What a duo." Enris praised as she tossed the spear aside. "And thus, I grant you the privilege of witnessing the might of a God." Jumping into the air, Enris looked down at both Alice and the beast before grinning behind her mask. Truly, this girl has brought her too many surprises. It was only natural for her to return her kindness. Aiming her hand towards the beast, Enris snapped her finger. *BANG!!! The space around the realm tore apart as a mass of malevolent energy rushed forth! Through habit, Alice turned her gaze upwards in an attempt to understand what was about to attack them. However, as though her mind rejected the very existence and presence of this being, light was robbed from her eyes. "ARG!!!" Letting out a cry of pain, Alice could feel blood dripping from her eyes as she hastily turned her gaze away and closed her eyes. Following her cry, Alice could sense the beast being erased without a chance of letting out a shout of retaliation. The manifestation of the being that shared her Spiritual Heart was killed in an instant! Copsing on her knee, Alice could feel a stabbing pain from the core of her body. A pain that refused to go away no matter what she tried. As though her very being was on the verge of being torn apart. Thankfully, the pain soon disappeared as she panted heavily with sweat dripping from her head. Focusing her mind, she could still feel the connection with her Spiritual Heart. The manifestation was destroyed but the beast was still there, simply injured from the encounter. "Seems like the ritual you established was one that brought out its power and not the full being. But what a strange connection, I''ve never seen something like this before." Enris squatted in front of Alice and tapped her finger on Alice''s head, healing her injuries. Blinking her eyes in confusion, Alice nced up and saw Enris'' amused smile. "So that was the big secret huh? A beast that can consume anything used by the target and even try to take a piece of their soul. What a beauty ahaha~ I''m more than satisfied with you girlie. Say, how about you join my cult instead? I can make you into a second God of the Eclipse if you want." Enris offered. Pausing in shock, Alice stared at Enris in confusion. "You''re not joking are you?" Alice forced a smile as Enris shook her head. "Nope. You seem like you could cause a lot of chaos if I make you into an Eclipse God like me. More chaos than what my Apostles are capable of causing." Enris grinned. "So what do you say, want to join me?" Without even thinking about this offer, Alice shook her head. "Sorry. I will never join any of the three religions, I''m staying with Velouria." Alice rejected as Enris let out a sigh of disappointment. "Ah oh well~ Can''t say I didn''t try. But I think I''ll end things here. You should take this time to prepare yourself." Sheughed before standing up. Not everyone dared to reject the offer of a God but Alice did just that. Thankfully for Alice, Enris didn''t mind. Creating a portal back to her own domain, Enris nced back and gave Alice onest look. An amused smile appeared on her face as she left. Stepping through the portal, Enris was greeted by her two Apostles. ""Wee back Master."" "Mnm, let Kaden or Allura know that I''ll be looking for Velouria." Enris nodded while the two Apostles looked at one another in surprise. Understanding their Master''s mood, they knew that Alice must''ve proven herself to be interesting enough for her. "Understood." War bowed before leaving the room. Following behind Enris, Famine couldn''t help but wonder what a three Sigil brat could show his Master for her to have this kind of reaction. "Do you know what I desire the most in this world?" Enris suddenly spoke as Famine replied without hesitation. "Chaos." "Exactly. Chaos is exactly what I desire. Only through the chaos of everything will this world be stripped of falsehoods and lies. In the chaos where everyone is desperate for survival, no one will have time to worry about other things." Enris nodded with a satisfied smile. "Ridding the Abyss of its Goddess would bring about chaos. Helping the Sun and Moon invade the Abyss would bring about chaos. But you know what would cause the greatest amount of chaos?" She asked rhetorically while looking up at the Eclipse that hung above her realm. "Flipping the world order on its head! The moment when everything they''ve taken as fact turns out to be nothing but sh*tty lies. Ahh~ The chaos that would sow~" Enrisughed while spreading out her arms. "The little girlie is someone whose very existence goes against thews of our world. The disgusting amalgamation of a soul, the properties of the beast sealed within and the way she can continuously grow, stealing pieces of souls to enhance herself. "She even tried to take a piece of my soul! Hah! Who knew she would greed for so much but I like it! This is the kind of desire I long for in my perfect world. So I say let chaos take its hold. The original agreement was to deal with Velouria. But what do you think the Sun and Moon would think if I was to turn my back on them instead? Turning it from a 3 vs 1 to a 2 vs 2? "But that''ll be too boring. Let''s turn it into a free for all instead~ I''ll help little girlie Alice feed the beast within, allow it to grow and when everyone''s guard is down, allow it to burst forth with my blessings. I can''t wait~" Enris narrowed her eyes as she revealed an insane grin. With the death of a God as its signal, she''ll bring about an age of chaos. Chapter 287: Void Fang After Enris disappeared from the realm, Alice was forcefully expelled as her body was thrown out. Rolling across the floor of Velouria''s castle, she groaned in pain before going limp. "Gods are no joke¡­ F*cking hell." Alice muttered. One half assed move with the power of a God was all Enris needed to obliterate the beast she viewed as unstoppable. Taking a deep breath, she sighed out as her fingers pressed against her eyelids. She didn''t know what that¡­ ''thing'' was that Enris used to attack her. But the moment sheid her eyes on it, her entire being rejected its existence. ''I suppose I have to thank my ''hunger''. Without it, Enris wouldn''t be interested enough to leave me alive.'' Alice thought to herself. Reaching into her pouch, she grabbed her sk and poured some mead into her mouth to rx herself. "Aw drinking alone? Was the first training that bad?" Velouria''s head popped into Alice''s view as she had returned from whatever she was doing. "Not the first one. The third one." Alice grumbled, putting the sk away. "Wait, third?" "Mnm. Second one got cut short since I progressed too fast. As for the third¡­ F*cking Enris was my tutor. Literally fighting for my life before getting thrown out from the realm." Aliceined. Hearing this, Velouria frowned before sitting down next to Alice. "Can you tell me about what happened in the second and third training sessions?" Nodding her head, Alice began to recount everything that had happened. How Nanna helped her see her core and the countless attachments she saw connected to her Spiritual Heart. How her core imed that she was the truest part of Alice. She exined the fight she had with Enris, how she had to find a way to amuse Enris or else she would''ve died. Finally ending with the moment she established a ritual with the beast inside and how Enris killed it in one go. "Not only that, the moment Iid my eyes on whatever she summoned, I lost my sight and almost died just by looking at it. What even was that thing?" Alice asked with a frown. "What she used was her true form. A God''s true form isn''t something mortals can fully ept. It''s no wonder your body began to break down the moment youid eyes on it. In fact, I would even count you lucky that nothing serious urred." Velouria exined as she stood up. "I should''ve expected that Enri would pull something like this, sorry." Velouria apologised but Alice quickly shook her head. "It''s fine, I should''ve trusted my instincts the moment I saw that door. So what''s the n now then? She seems to be nning something, even going as far as to ask if I want to join them and make me a God." "Well knowing what she''s like, she''s probably thinking about how she can turn us Gods against one another. It''s no secret that she''s only amiable to a certain extent on the surface. Beneath that, she''s one who wishes we just start killing each other." Velouria massaged her eyes. "And speaking of that, she wasn''t joking when she said she''ll make you a God. If it suits her mood at the moment, she''ll do anything. In this regard, you can consider her to be someone that''s 100% true to their desires." "I figured. The way she looked at me gave me the shivers." Alice sighed, transforming her bracelet into a dagger before twirling it across her fingers. "You''ll get used to it when you meet her more often. But enough about Enri. Let''s talk about you. That heart to heart talk with your Core has really helped huh? You''re more open now." Velouria chuckled as Alice shrugged. "*Sigh~ I should''ve teased you more when you were shy and quiet. What a wasted chance." Shemented while Alice scratched her hair. "But¡­ Have you seen Nyer or Ca? After helping you I haven''t been able to find them anywhere." Velouria asked as Alice blinked her eyes in confusion. "They''re not back yet? Maybe they''re doing something in Hell Gate then. Nyer did send me ahead on my own since he needed to talk to Ca." Alice rubbed her chin as Velouria nodded her head. "Well I''m sure they''ll report sooner orter. Since you came back earlier than expected, would you like to train with Lua and Kaden some more?" Velouria offered. Contemting for a moment, Alice nodded her head. "Hmm¡­ Sure. I need to properly refine my usage of Zone stance. The better I get at using this sword of mine the easier it''ll be." Turning the dagger into a de, Alice allowed it to sip her blood as a crimson edge slowly manifested itself. "Do you want me to bless that sword for you? It''s made from a pretty sturdy material and even though I''m a memory, I can do something as simple as blessing weapons." Velouria asked curiously while tapping her finger against the de. "Wait, really?" "Who do you take me for? I''m a memory but I''m still a Goddess." Velouria acted hurt as she opened her hand, gesturing for Alice to hand over the de for now. Handing Velouria the obsidian de, she watched as the Goddess examined the weapon before closing her eyes. A strange power began to emanate from her body as dark tendrils reached up from her shadow, taking hold of the de before dragging it away into the darkness. Purple motes of light appeared around Velouria as they began to move, slowly drawing out the pattern for what seemed to be a ritual circle. Unknown words echoed from Velouria''s mouth as Alice couldn''t understand it at all but she could see the strands of energy converging towards their location. Clenching her first, Velouria squeezed out a single drop of her blood and allowed it to fall into her shadow. Little by little, briar thorns began to crawl out of her shadow as a handle was slowly constructed. Watching the de pull itself out from the darkness, Alice could feel an aura of lethality that was never there before. Just seeing the de sent a chill down her spine as Velouria grabbed it by the handle and yed around with the sword. Feeling satisfied by the blessing, she handed it back to Alice. "I''ve blessed and modified the sword a little so that it works better with your Sigils. Functionalities are still the same but it''s now sharper and acts as a better catalyst for your fire. And just in case you lose the weapon or get disarmed, the blessing I gave it was one that allowed it to return to your hand." Velouria exined while Alice nodded her head absentmindedly. She was infatuated by the shimmering pattern of the ck metal that contrasted the silver edge. Before, the de was rather in. But now that Velouria has blessed the de, the crest of Ayr could be seen on the base of the de while the guard was now briar thorns wrapped into the shape of a cross guard. Down the centre of the de seemed to be a mimicry of the pathways inside of a person''s body. Considering that Velouria said that she modified it to help with her mes, Alice took a few steps back before channelling the familiar power. *BOOM!!! Erupting with a brilliant array of violet mes, Alice held the de in front of her, shocked by the efficiency. She used a negligible amount of energy for the mes toe out! "Seems like you like it." Velouria chuckled as Alice''s eyes sparkled like a child who got a new toy. Nodding her head enthusiastically, Alice wanted to test it out immediately. Now that it was modified to be focused around her mes, it wasn''t quite the same weapon as it was before. Thinking about it for a moment, Alice decided to give it a new name. Since her main attacks are Void Flux and Void Flux ¨C Cleave, this new weapon that will act as the medium for her attack will henceforth be known as Void Fang. Transforming Void Fang into a bracelet, she noticed that it now had a flower decoration on the surface. "Thank you." Alice smiled happily as she jogged over to Velouria and pulled her into a hug. Surprised by Alice''s sudden disy of affection, Velouria chuckled before patting her on the head. "Alright alright, keep hugging and I''ll drag you away to try out new clothes. Kaden and Lua are still at their house since I''ve given them a small holiday." Not wanting to subject herself to the torture of trying out countless clothing for Velouria, Alice waved her hand before leaping from the building. "What a handful." Velouria smiled helplessly before looking down at her hand. Allura and Kaden were given a holiday, Nyer and Ca were missing, Sun and Moon were not so subtle with their plotting and Eclipse had sent her Apostle to let her know that she wasing over for a quick meeting. Through all of this, seeing Alice being enthusiastic and happy about progress was a nice change of pace but she couldn''t keep avoiding her responsibilities. "Sris and Lumi will find a way to catch you soon you know? Or are you so dedicated to the script that you don''t care what happens?" Velouria muttered as an eye opened partially before closing again. "You don''t care huh? How like you to respond like that." Velouria smiled helplessly. The Will of the Abyss knew what Nyer and Ca were doing yet it refused to tell her. In fact, it was even getting in the way of her finding out. With each passing moment, the potential paths and choices she can take decreases until there is only one path left. The path determined by the Will and the path towards her grave. "Since you don''t care it''s fine even if we go a little off script right?" Seeing no response from the Will, Velouria took that silence as a yes. It was a silent deration saying that nothing she does would change the overall oue. Death wille whether she struggles or embraces it. But perhaps with enough chaos, it might push aside the falsehoods and reveal the truth. And for Alice, the truth is what she seeks. Therefore, Velouria will speak to Enris alone. Chapter 288: Velouria And Enris Sitting in the garden while drinking some tea, Velouria didn''t say anything. In front of her, Enris sat in a rxed posture with her leg on the chair and a grin on her face. *Sigh "What do you want Enri." Velouria frowned. She was still feeling annoyed about the fact that Enris almost killed Alice by interfering with their agreement. "Aw~ Don''t be like that Vel. I just wanted to see Alice for myself ya know? Everyone''s putting so much focus on her yet we know very little. And I''m d I did since she''s quite a treasure trove of secrets isn''t she?" Enrisughed while ying with a small dagger. "How long were you going to hide her from the others? I''m sure Lumi has a rough idea of what she''s like, especially after having her soul briefly examined. The only one in the dark is Sris but that''s to be expected, he''s a dumb b*stard after all." She shrugged, taking joy in mocking the other Gods. "Enough beating around the bush. Just tell me what you want, I''m losing my patience with all the things happening right now." Velouria red. She wasn''t feeling good enough to go along with Enris'' shenanigans. "Alright alright~ Jeez so hostile. So how about it? Shall we team up? We can give Sris and Lumi quite a bit of trouble." Enris shrugged before offering her cooperation. "Why would we need to team up? Don''t act like the four of us don''t know what''s going on. And knowing you, you probably want to turn against them and then turn against me right? So there''s no need for us to team up. Just do what you''re good at." Velouria waved her hand as Enris blinked in surprise. She knew that Velouria had an idea of what was going to happen but she didn''t think she would react like this. "Oh my. Are you giving me the green light to cause chaos? Even in your domain?" Enris asked as Velouria nodded her head. "Just leave Ayr out of it. I don''t care what you do elsewhere. Sris wants me dead, Lumi doesn''t care and would rather watch everything happen from the side. You¡­ Don''t care what happens as long as it''s amusing for you. Whether I live or die doesn''t matter, the most enjoyable oue is what''s important. Am I wrong?" Letting out augh, Enris didn''t think Velouria had this side of her. After all their years of knowing one another, this was a first. "You are not wrong indeed. And right now, the most interesting oue would be for me to turn against Sris and Lumi even though we''ve been nning this for a while." Enris snickered as Velouria sighed. "Thought so. So instead of us teaming up, how about I ask you for a little favour? I guarantee that once it''splete, you''ll get the chaos you desire so much." Velouria narrowed her eyes. Seeing that Velouria was serious, Enris adjusted her sitting posture. "Go on." Curling her lips into a smile, Velouria began to exin her offer to Enris. As she listened to the entire n, Enris'' expression turned dire. Even for a God of Chaos, Velouria''s n was diabolical. "Do you not care about what happens to the world anymore? Even for me, I still want a ce for the chaos to ur. But this¡­ This is insane." Enris asked as Velouriaughed out loud. "You''re thest one I expected to judge someone else as insane considering your own actions. But yes, I don''t care anymore. What was it that you always say¡­ Let chaos reign? So why don''t you help me throw the realms into chaos." Velouria asked with a light chuckle. Furrowing her brows at Velouria''s offer, Enris leaned back before scratching her hair. "Alright, you''ve got my full cooperation. Who knew that out of the four of us, the God known for chaos wasn''t even the f*cking insane one? It''s you all along." Enris forced a smile as Velouria simply shrugged. "I''ll let you know if I get any information from Sris and Lumi but for now, you should watch your back. Traps are beingid around you and one wrong step will equal an early death. Once that happens, my promised chaos won''te and I''ll be rather upset ya know?" Sheughed while giving Velouria a wave. Watching Enris leave, Velouria didn''t say anything. After all, she''s used to ying this kind of game. Constant traps and the act of navigating through this minefield. "Being chosen by the Will is such a pain." Velouria sighed as she left the garden as well. ### Arriving at Allura and Kaden''s house, Alice wondered if she should barge in or not. Thest time she was sent in without warning, she seemed to have interrupted something that annoyed Allura. "Maybe I should knock¡­" Alice muttered with uncertainty. If she knocked, it should give them enough time to prepare. With her mind made up, she walked up to the door and knocked. But before she could give it a second knock, she heard Allura''s panicked cry from just behind the door. "The f*ck?" Blinking her eyes in confusion, Alice took a step back and waited for Allura to open the door. "Ah! You''re back." Allura opened the door hastily as she smiled awkwardly. Tilting her head, Alice could see Kaden sitting on the stairs with a forced smile on his face. "What happened to the training? I thought you''d be gone for another day." Allura asked curiously while making sure her face wasn''t red or anything like that. "idents happened and the training got cut short. I still learned stuff and Velouria told me to get more training from you two. Though¡­ seems like you were busy yourself. What were you doing?" "Err nothing much. Give me a second, let me grab some stuff upstairs then I''ll take a look at how you''ve improved." Allura coughed before running upstairs. Standing up, Kaden waited by the door with Alice. "You really know when to intrude huh?" He let out a bitterugh. "What did I do?" Alice pouted, feeling wronged. All she did was knock on the door andst time, she had no control over her teleportation. If anything, he should me Nyer or Velouria for their timing of sending her back. "Nothing. Sometimes I wonder if you have a radar for this kind of sh*t. But setting this aside, how was the training? Did you get anything good out of it?" Kaden shook his head. "Hmm¡­ yeah I would say so. I learned how to use Zone but that''s about it. My casting potency got increased a little since I interacted with my ''Core'' and thest one was simply me getting my ass kicked by Enris." Alice sighed while leaning against the door frame. "Pardon? Sorry I think I heard a name I wasn''t supposed to hear in there. What do you mean by Enris?" Kaden froze up upon the mention of a certain God. "She took over the third training session. I was supposed to be training with War and Famine, but she decided to introduce herself instead. Said something along the lines of not minding the consequences of killing me if I didn''t interest her enough. Thankfully I managed to satisfy her otherwise I would be dead." Alice grumbled while Kaden could feel himself sweating at her nonchnt attitude towards fighting a God. Massaging his eyes, Kaden let out a deep exhausted sigh. "Something wrong?" Allura blinked her eyes in confusion aftering down from upstairs. "Nothing. Just hearing about Alice''s training session." Kaden shook his head as this piqued Allura''s curiosity. "Oh? Did something happen?" Recounting what happened through all three of her training sessions, Alice watched as Allura''s smile began to twitch. She nced over to Kaden who only shrugged helplessly. Having the same reaction as Kaden, Allura massaged her eyes before letting out a tired sigh. "I don''t even know what to say to you. It''s not like you''re seeking out these dangers either. Let''s¡­ Just see how much you''ve improved." Nodding her head, Alice took the initiative to jump through the portal that Kaden created while the two looked at one another before sighing once more. "Who knew looking after a kid like Alice was so exhausting." Sheined, causing Kaden tough. "What are youughing for?" Allura pouted, punching Kaden in the shoulder. "Nothing, don''t worry about it." He grinned in response. After all, she was going to be her adoptive mother in the future. "Well now you''ve made me curious about it. Come on, spill it." "Maybeter." Escaping through the portal, Kaden ran after Alice while Allura could only kick her leg in frustration. ### The location that Kaden brought them to was in between a valley, nked on both sides byrge cliffs. A waterfall could be seen in the distance that flowed with Abyss Water. Both Alice and Allura faced one another as Alice transformed Void Fang into a de and held it by her side in a drawing stance. Understanding that Alice was eager to test out her new techniques, Allura didn''t waste any time and snapped her finger. mes gathered into a single spark and fired towards Alice. Nova Core! ''She''ll probably parry it using her Void Flux. Let''s see how potent her casts are.'' Allura thought to herself as she prepared to dash towards Alice. However, Alice didn''t fire a Void Flux in response. Expanding the boundary of her Zone, she took a deep breath and focused her mind. Since her de now acted as an optimal medium for her me, it meant that she could use Void Flux ¨C Cleave more often! When paired with her Zone Stance, it became a ruthless wall of shes and fire that refused anything to bypass the boundary. *BANG!!! Just like when she fired a Void Flux towards Shiera, the Apostle of Preservation, Allura''s Nova Core was shredded to oblivion with the mes consuming the leftovers. Seeing this, Allura paused mid-step as a grin appeared on her face. Even though she held back, Alice still blocked her Nova Core perfectly! "Since that''s the case, let''s increase the difficulty level!" Wrapping herself in an aura of mes, Allura rushed towards Alice! Chapter 289: Seizing Control Breaching Alice''s Absolute Zone in an instant, Allura used her mes to guard herself against Alice''s attack. "Tch!" "Too soft!" Allura grinned, forcing Alice into retreat. Even though Alice''s zone was impressive and her defensive capabilities had increased by several fold, it was stillcking when it came to stopping someone who focuses on physical power. Against casters like Kaden, she may have the upper hand. But a physical fighter? A horrible matchup. "Just because you can wield a sword and swing it, doesn''t make you a good close ranged fighter! Figure out your advantages and use them!" Allura shouted out, mming her fist into the ground. *CRACK!!!! Cracking the ground apart, Alice stumbled momentarily as she lost her footing. "My first and second Sigils focuses on controlling the fire around me. My third, lets me concentrate the me in order to increase my firepower." Taking a deep breath, Allura pulled back her hand as the air began to crackle with sparks. The fire around her fist started to flicker and roar before erupting with a radiant white me. Watching Allura punch towards her direction, Alice widened her eyes as all of her senses were warning her to dodge! ''I''m too slow!'' Realising her predicament, Alice could only force herself to block the attack head on. ''Do you really think you can block it? Hah! Blocking it means death. So what do you think you should do right now goody two shoes?'' [Alice''s] voice rang out in her mind as Alice bit her lip. However, her distress soon disappeared as she curled her lips into a grin. ''There''s only one choice. Eat it!'' Adjusting the grip of her sword, Alice swung down as violet mes roared out, colliding with Allura''s punch! But it wasn''t enough. Activating her Partial Bloodline Release, the manifestation of her hunger appeared behind her as a sea of violet mes enveloped the attack andpressed it into a single point before extinguishing it. "Thanks for the meal." Alice wiped her mouth as the mes across her body began to flicker. Within the array of violet, sparks of white could seen as Allura let out augh. "What a cheeky brat. Since you like it so much why not have a second serving!" Letting out a shout, the mes around Allura grew in intensity as Kaden sighed. Flicking his finger, a barrier of shadows enveloped the entire area, preventing destruction from spreading out. With the explosive growth of her mes, Allura looked like a ming demon from the pits of the Abyss. Her hair red up from the aura as she snapped her finger. Taking a page from Alice''s book, multiple Nova Cores manifested around Alice but she continued to grin. A trail of violet mes escaped her mouth as she surrounded herself in a wall of shes, destroying the attacks in an instant. Breathing out a mouthful of air, Alice synchronised herself with her mes. Everything the fire destroyed, she ''ate'', and her aura spiked due to it. Crouching down, she activated her Resonance as the Crown of the Abyss manifested above her head. Surprisingly, her transformation was different to usual. Instead of the violet hue that her hair usually took due to her mes, it remained as a split between ck and white like in her normal state. Only this time, it favoured the ck side with a few strands of white scattered across her hair. *BANG!!! Charging forward, Alice absorbed a portion of Allura''s physical prowess from consuming the mes! The speed had surprised even Alice, but she managed to react in time thanks to Ca. Twisting her body, she unleashed a Void Flux ¨C Cleave towards Allura. "Weak!" Catching the de between her fingers, Allura shrugged off the attack as Alice noticed a fourth Sigil manifesting on Allura''s body! Sensing that something was wrong, Alice wanted to back off but a wound appeared on her left arm. Widening her eyes, Alice watched as her blood was thrown into the air from the attack, unsure as to where it even came from. "Fourth Sigil, Rupture." Allura grinned as Alice jumped back. Recalling her blood, her wound began to heal thanks to the effects of her Resonance. Focusing her eyes, she could see the energy belonging to invisible des hovering around Allura. ''Rupture¡­ Seems like she creates invisible des to strike at her opponent. While people are too distracted by her head on fighting, they''ll have no time to react to the des beside her. "It''s nothingplicated. Rupture simply allows me to ''record'' my sword style and have it fight alongside me. The downside is that it can''t react to changes easily unless I overwrite the recording. As for the second function, once it leaves a ''mark'' on you, you can''t heal it even with Abyss Blood." Allura narrowed her eyes. With a single flick of her finger, the wound reopened! Rushing towards Alice while the invisible des floated beside her, Allura coated herself in mes once more, making it hard for Alice to strike back. "What happened to that earlier attitude? Thought you enjoyed the meal?" Allura taunted while Alice was forced on the defensive. Recalling Siera''s footwork when defending against attacks, Alice began to mimic her movements while parrying the invisible des using Zone Stance. She needed to make sure she didn''t get hit by a single de or else the wound was there to stay! ''Are you still asleep? Do you really think you can match Allura while holding back? Where''s the drive, the hunger, the intense desire to kill even if you''re wounded? Don''t just throw me out there, use me properly sh*tty host.'' This moment of distraction caused one of the des to cut Alice across the shoulder as she quickly backed off but Allura continued to press on. ''You keep talking sh*t but you''re just here to take over aren''t you?'' Alice scoffed inwardly while attempting to consume one of Allura''s invisible des, but she was prepared and dismissed it before the mes could reach. ''Take over? I think you''ve got the wrong idea here roomie. We''re both owners here. Do you think I''m not making a move because I can''t? I''ll admit that Velouria''s seal is surprisingly sturdy but to wrestle control isn''t hard.'' [Alice]ughed. And to prove her point, she stole control from Alice! Golden chains burst forth, surprising Allura as she jumped back to create some distance. Despite the golden chain that wrapped around her limbs, [Alice] simply grinned as she stretched her body. Killing intent burst forth from her body as she oveyed all of her physical augments in one go at full st! Partial Bloodline Release, Resonance, First Sigil and Allura''s strength from her mes! *BANG!!! Appeared next to Allura, [Alice] revealed an insane grin before cleaving down with her de. As expected, Allura was able to react but that was never [Alice''s] main goal. A foreign marking began to spread across her arm as horns appeared on her head along with a pair of draconic wings on her back! Red lightning and mes burst forth, fusing with her violet mes. "Tiamat!" Allura inadvertently shouted out in surprise. Raising her guard out of instinct, Allura felt Alice''s punch collide with her arm as a surprising amount of force mmed into her body, forcing her to slide back but [Alice] wasn''t done yet. Flicking her finger, the space around Allura was sealed as she was halted mid movement while the air above her erupted with Void Fluxes. From these orbs, Void Flux ¨C Cleaves descended upon Allura, forcing her to retreat. "Not yet!" [Alice] shouted out with augh. mming her hand down, ck appendages with teeth erupted from the ground. The very same appendages that could be seen on the manifestation of Alice''s hunger! *KRRR!!! An array of shes erupted from the centre of this bombardment as Allura was forced to use her fifth Sigil! "Berserker''s me. The closer I get to death, the stronger these mes burn and the stronger I be. It boosts the potency of all of my Sigils." Allura exined as the invisible des carved away all of the attacks that [Alice] hadunched. "Is that so? Let me get a little serious as well then. One must dress to the asion if they''re dining at a fine restaurant. And you are simply divine." [Alice] grinned while aiming her sword at Allura. Blood escaped from her arm as it was drawn into the de. Twisting her body, she cleaved the air in front of her, rupturing the space and revealing andscape of crimson flowers. With this sh, another foreign marking appeared on her body. But before she could continue, the golden chains tightened around her body. From the void, another chain shot towards her neck, forcing her on her knee. "Tch! Spoiling the fun! F*ck you Velouria!" [Alice] shouted out in annoyance as her power began to fade. With her control slipping, the ruptured space began to repair itself before disappearing. Regaining control of her own body, Alice panted heavily as she could feel the pathways inside her body screaming out in pain. As though a thousand needles were stabbed into her and then subsequently dragged across her skin, she barely mustered the strength to stand up properly. ''How the hell did the other me withstand this pain.'' Alice gritted her teeth while narrowing her eyes at Allura. Even though her hunger was now restrained, she could still remember the sensations of conjuring these abilities. How [Alice] would tap into one of the many connections tethered to the Spiritual Heart in order to bring out its ability. But it wasn''t a simple case of manifestation. No. To use the powers, it was an act of exchange. To manifest the ability, she had to temporarily ''rece'' one of her Sigils with the new one. In essence, reconstructing her body and the contracts mid fight! Right now, [Alice] had reced her first Sigil with Tiamat and the third Sigil with a beast known as Blood Blossom Demon. Naturally, she couldn''t keep overwriting her contract since her body could only take so much, even with her insane regeneration. But it was enough to keep up with Allura! Chapter 290: Modifying Contracts Tiamat''s power could be split into 3 parts when transformed into a Sigil. First was simple, an enhancement to her physical power. The horns and the wings were simply byproducts of having the Sigil activated. Second effect was the red lightning and mes. As for the third, that''ll be the ability to condense the ambient energy around them into a single attack. It was a rather simple ability, but the important fact was that it drew energy from the surroundings rather than Alice herself! Meaning, so long as the surroundings contain a sufficient level of energy, she could create an attack that rivalled Lords without needing a body to withstand that power. ''I don''t know what my other self was trying to do with the Blood Blossom Demon. But if I just rely on Tiamat''s power and my second Sigil, it should be sufficient.'' Alice thought to herself. This was the first time she heard the name, Blood Blossom Demon. As for its abilities, unless her other self exined, she wouldn''t know what it did and it''s too risky to experiment with it mid fight with no knowledge. However, just using the powers individually wouldn''t be good enough either. That kind of thinking was too restrictive. Instead, she should be thinking outside the box, finding ways ofbining her powers to achieve the best result. It was the first lesson that Allura taught her. Thinking about this, a smile crept up on Alice''s face as she looked at Allura who was slowly approaching her. "Have you finished thinking about what you need to do?" Allura asked while massaging her shoulders. "Mnm, I have. Now I can''t help but wonder if I can force you to use your sixth Sigil." Alice grinned. "Don''t get too overconfident now kiddo. Making me use my fifth is impressive enough as it is. Making me use my sixth is asking to get an ass whooping." Alluraughed as her figure flickered from her spot and shot towards Alice at full speed! Invisible des shot towards her in an attempt to grab her attention while mes concentrated around Allura''s body. White sparks flickered as she prepared her strike once more. "Gotcha." Alice grinned. Sucking in a sharp breath of air, she cleaved towards Allura with her de as all the colour in the world seemed to disappear with the exception of her violet me dancing on her body and de! The energy gathered towards Allura was forcefully pulled away with the violet mes ''cutting'' the tether. Once that was cut, Tiamat''s ability served to gather the ambient energy into Alice''s de for a sh! Void Flux ¨C Cleave! Seeing her mes and invisible des being extinguished, Allura bent her body back and narrowly dodged Alice''s sh. Beneath her, red lightning converged as Allura mmed her elbow into the ground to push herself to the side, dodging the attack. Her eyes darted around the area, trying to locate Alice but to no avail. Sliding across the ground, Allura readied her fist as Void Fluxes manifested around her. mming her fist down, she was about to create a wall of mes when a surge of violet mes rushed towards her from behind. If she were to use her fire, the violet mes would consume her ability and let Alice grow stronger. If she focused on the mes, the Void Fluxes would signify her loss. It would be unfair to Alice if she were to ignore the Void Fluxes just because they did no damage to her. A proud smile appeared on her face as Allura closed her eyes. *BANG!!! mes exploded forth from Allura''s body as it transitioned from the standard orange me to a sparking white. But that wasn''t the end. From these sparks, a blue fire began to take over. The existence of this me began to distort reality as the ground beneath her started to bubble from the heat! Releasing a punch on either side of her, the space began to rupture as Alice''s violet mes and Void Fluxes were forcefully overpowered in an instant! Before the destruction could expand, Kaden intervened and forcefully suppressed the damage using a veil of shadows. "These are the strongest mes that I can muster. Congrats." Allura praised with a smile. "Which is why we''ll end things here. If I was to fight you with these, you''ll probably die." Dismissing her mes, Allura disappeared from her spot before appearing behind Alice and grabbing her by the back of her jacket. "Ah¡­" Seeing herself lifted off the ground, Alice nced down and wiggled her legs a little before sighing in defeat. "Are the blue mes hard to control?" She asked curiously since Allura wouldn''t stop a spar for no reason. "Control is¡­ a broad term. They only operate on full power. If I use less than full power, it''ll revert back to the white mes." Allura shrugged. Since that was the case, it meant that getting hit by those mes would equal to taking the full brunt of Allura''s attack without holding back! Just thinking of this caused a shiver down Alice''s spine as no amount of regeneration would help if there''s nothing left to regenerate! "But you should be proud of the fact that you made me use my blue mes, only peak six Sigil beasts or Lords have ever forced me to this stage you know?" Allura grinned, patting Alice on the head. Naturally, she was still holding onto Alice from the back of her jacket. A happy smile appeared on Alice''s face as she deactivated her Resonance while a wave of lethargy washed over her, causing her to go limp. "So how did you even get Tiamat''s power? Did you have a spare vial of her blood on you or something?" "My contract got overwritten temporarily. Instead of my first Sigil that let me create hallucinations and boost my physical power, it got reced with Tiamat since some of her soul got left over and couldn''t be returned. I''m not sure though since it''s something my other self did, I don''t have control over it." Alice shook her head. Even now, she was in the dark about how her Core managed to modify the contract temporarily. Just because she saw her Core do this, it didn''t mean she could understand the process and recreate it. "So if you took a part of me with you, you''ll be able to rece one of your Sigils with my power?" Allura raised her eyebrow as this was the first time she heard about the possibility of Sigils being reced. "I''m not sure. But it''s possible." She wanted to ask her Core about this but she was unresponsive. Most likely due to the fact that her enjoyment was cut off thanks to Velouria''s chains. "Speaking of possibilities, do you think maybe you can give me a heads up next time you want to use the blue mes? Would be nice to not have to panic about you destroying this valley." Kaden sighed as he finally finished supressing those mes. "Ahahah sorry sorry~" Allura apologised while sticking her tongue out. Shaking his head, he created a portal back to the house. "It''ll be easier to talk over some food. I''m sure both of you are hungry, especially Alice." Teleporting back to their home, Kaden brought out some cake for the two of them while getting some mead on the side just for Alice. Once she ate some cake, Allura began discussing the spar. "First thing I think we need to address is your perception of range and how you should respond. You need to understand what kind of fighter you desire to be. Do you want to be a close ranged fighter? Or do you want to be long ranged? "Your abilities, skills and Sigils suggest long ranged yet you choose to enter close quartersbat constantly. Knowing what you want to focus on will be your first step." Leaning back a little, Alice nodded her head as this has been an issue for a while now. "Of course, there is still the option of being a hybrid fighter but I don''t suggest it. Focusing on too many things will only cause it to be half assed. Though¡­ That was before I realise that you can modify your contract." Allura shrugged. "What do you think is better for me?" Alice asked while ying around with a fork. "That''s something you need to decide. Do you prefer to be a close ranged fighter or long ranged?" Kaden chuckled while Alice furrowed her brows and contemted her choices. If it was before, she''d lean towards being long ranged since she didn''t have the body to keep up. But after learning Bloodline Release, she managed to fix that to a certain extent. Now was just a matter of mastering this ability. In all of her fights, she always defaulted to one style and that was close to mid ranged fighter who would supplement her fighting with casts. Thinking about it for a moment, Alice opened her mouth and expressed her desire to remain true to this vision. "Then your next goal is to figure out how you can best achieve that desire. You need more methods that just your standard sh such as stabs, feints, footwork and counters." Before Allura could continue, they heard a knock on the door as Kaden got up. He didn''t think they would be getting so many guests in one day. Upon opening the door, he saw a familiar figure and weed him in. Wearing messy clothes and unkempt hair, Nalem yawned. "It took a while, but I think I got some decent results from the experiments. Practicality is still questionable, but I think it''s something you''ll like." Nalem smiled as Alice sat up in surprise. She still remembered the question she had asked thest time they talked. "Can I blur their outline to make them immune to the effects of the Abyss?" Clenching her fist, Alice waited with bated breath to hear the results of Nalem''s research. Chapter 291: Results Of Nalems Experiment Sitting down, Nalem brought out several vials with samples contained within. "Last time I left, I had two goals I wanted to fulfil. First was to figure out the origins of your blood and the powers it holds. The second was to answer your question of whether or not you could neutralise the abilities of the Abyss. "For the origins, after cross referencing countless samples, I couldn''t find a single perfect match." Nalem shook his head as Alice didn''t me him. "I didn''t find a single match because all of them matched to a certain extent. No matter what blood I tested, a match could be made. In a sense, you can call your blood the MOST potent Abyss Blood there is. A sample that contains the makeup of all the Abyss Blood that I''ve tested." Nalem narrowed his eyes. "Your blood acts as the literal building blocks for every sample of Abyss Blood that I''ve tested. No matter what, through certainbinations in your blood, it will be able to replicate the effects." Hearing this, Alice paused in deep thought. Her Core was able to tap into the power of the different connections formed with her Spiritual Heart. Through this, she modified Alice''s contract with the Abyss in the form of Sigils. But if what Nalem said was true, then it wasn''t just her Spiritual Heart that could do this. Her blood could achieve the same thing! "So¡­ Alice can mimic any beast? Not just through blood but through her Sigils too now?" Allura raised an eyebrow. "Yes- no wait. What do you mean by Sigil?" Nalem nodded before realising what Allura had said. Exining the situation where Alice''s core could modify the contract, Nalem became silent. A light of raw unfiltered confusion could be seen on his face as he looked at Alice who simply nodded her head. "Can you show me?" He asked as Alice nodded. She wasn''t sure how long the effect wouldst but right now, she still had ess to Tiamat''s power. Raising her left hand, red lightning and mes manifested as Nalem paced back and forth while the frown on his face continued to grow deeper. "Well there goes 70% of my theories." He sighed in annoyance while scratching his hair. "I originally thought that Alice''s blood was a result of a mutation in the contract with the Abyss, making it so that it could be anything since her soul doesn''t have a secure outline. But clearly, that''s not the case. "If her ''Core'' was able to modify the contract between Alice and the Abyss then that means it''s not a one sided affair where the changes in the body affected the soul. Instead, it seems like the changes in the soul are what reflect upon the body. "Wait no¡­ That doesn''t make sense either. If so, why is her blood able to be the building blocks for every Abyss Bloodbination?" Pacing back and forth, Alice wanted to say something but Allura shook her head. "Let him figure it out. He gets like this when he wants to put his all into solving an issue. Last time one of my subordinates interrupted him, my subordinate got sent through a wall." Allura warned as Alice blinked her eyes in confusion. "Alright, scratch that. I only have one result I want to tell you today. I''ll redo my experimentster but this result has something to do with the question you asked. "In regards to the possibility of neutralising the effects of the Abyss, it''s very possible and I have some samples here to show. You see, the way your blood breaks down the permanent changes brought forth by the Abyss is actually a lot simpler than you''d expect. "Here is a sample from an affected human. If the human blood acts as a white canvas, the Abyss Blood is paint, any changes they apply will be permanent and hard to get rid of unless you paint over it or neutralise the paint." Nalem exined. "Is that like when you have heat based side effects but drink cold based Abyss Blood to cancel it out?" Alice interjected as Nalem nodded his head. "It''s exactly like that. Through this, you can say the neutralisation applies a new ''nk''yer to the canvas, allowing them to apply more paint. Naturally, this isn''t a permanent solution since over time, the underlyingyers will begin to show. "But your blood is not a canvas. It''s a bucket of ck paint. You drink some Abyss Blood and throw some new colours into that bucket but once you begin to mix, it returns to ck once more. Once again, I must reiterate the fact that your blood is, without doubt, the most potent Abyss Blood in this realm. "I hope this doesn''t offend you but rather than ''returning to human'', what your blood does is that it stabilizes the changes urring within your body, transforming it into a dormant state. It breaks down all of the changes into building blocks, ready to be used at any moment. The fact that you have a human form is a miracle honestly since you are probably the furthest thing from a human aside from Gods." Nalem exined with a serious expression as Alice revealed a slightly bitter smile. While she never came to this conclusion, she knew that she wasn''t a normal human. Her soul, her blood and the way her body reacts. No normal human would be like this. But guessing the truth and hearing it from someone were two different things. With Nalem solidifying this thought, Alice couldn''t help but let out a sigh. "It''s to be expected. I''m guessing my current state is simply a side effect of my blood then. While others may get horns, scales or the whatnot, my side effect is to look human and gain no physical boosts from Abyss Blood since it''s all broken down." "You''re half right. If that was the side effect, the Abyss would''ve imed you by now. Rather than a side effect think of it more like a catalogue of parts that you can use. Completely independent from the Abyss. To put it inyman''s terms¡­ Would be that you''re a second Abyss in the making." Nalem shrugged. "And this is where a potential solution reveals itself. There are three possible ways of neutralising the side effects of Abyss Blood using your own blood. First is to create neutralising samples of your blood. "Since it contains the building blocks of countless Abyss Bloods, if you know what''s affecting someone, you can forcefully counter the ''paint'' used to paint their canvas and apply a newyer. But this requires in depth knowledge of beasts and not only that, but it still has the same issue mentioned before. You can only do so much before they cannot apply newyers and effects will bleed through." cing two samples on the table, one being the sample of someone affected by side effects that had crystallized their blood to a certain extent and the other being Alice''s blood, Nalem grabbed a pipette and extracted a few drops of Alice''s blood. "I''ve already modified this blood to contain the building blocks needed to counter the side effects." Dropping the blood onto the sample, they watched as the crystallisation began to disappear and the blood returned to normal. "Naturally, I can only assume that applying this to someone is extremely painful since the blood is forcing the neutralisation. There''s no guarantee that it can even work on someone if their body can''t handle it." Nalem shrugged but there was hope in Alice''s eyes. "What are the other two methods?" Alice asked curiously, wanting to know what else Nalem had discovered. "The second one is for your blood to act as a shield. This one is highly theoretical but if you are able to create a protectiveyer that ''clings'' itself to the Abyss Blood that the hosts drinks, then there''s a chance that you can remove new blood with your blood acting as a bag." Getting Kaden''s help to make an example, Nalem demonstrated his theory by having ''Alice''s blood'' act as a separatingyer between two blood samples. "This one will give you a cleaner removal of the side effects but there are two issues with this. First of all, you need to create a barrier between the new blood and their current blood. Secondly, there''s a chance that your blood might stain theirs and if you remember what I said earlier, your blood is the MOST potent Abyss Blood. So I''m sure I don''t need to exin the dangers of your blood leaving stains." Nalem narrowed his eyes as Alice swallowed her saliva nervously. She knew that the Zenia''s were never sessful in implementing her blood into their forms. This was probably why as everyone that took it would''ve died a horrible death. "Now the third one is probably the easiest for you to aplish. "The concept of this method is simple. You simply let your blood invade their body and target anything and everything that''s Abyss Blood rted." Nalem shrugged as Alice couldn''t help but tilt her head in confusion. "You might think that it''s not so simple since you might target the effects of her Sigil or leave a stain like in method two. But that''s not the case. How to put it¡­ If done correctly, your blood should fully extract all of the ''Abyss Blood'' from the body and return it to how it was before consuming the blood. "A forceful reset to default." Nalem smiled as Alice widened her eyes. If his words were true and she could aplish this, Alice could rid people of all the effects caused by Abyss Blood. The bonuses, the side effects, everything. "There''s an issue with this isn''t there?" Alice calmed down as Nalem wouldn''t leave this tillst unless there was a major drawback. "You''re right. While this is the easiest method¡­ It''s the most dangerous. Since after a certain point, due to the contracts you have with the Abyss, your blood bes simr to Abyss Blood. So... "How would you differentiate between the two?" Chapter 292: Risks Of The Third Option "How would you differentiate between the two?" Nalem asked as Alice fell silent. "And on the off chance that Alice tries this without knowing the difference, what''ll happen?" Kaden asked as there will most likelye a time where Alice will be forced to try this. The important thing was for her to understand the risks and the consequences of doing so. "Once again, this is all theoretical so don''t take my word for it okay? This is unknown territory and I''m simply telling you my guesses. The best case scenario that I can imagine is that she''ll strip them of Abyss Blood with some minor impacts to their Sigils and physique. Better than being dead. "Worse case scenario would be causing her blood to go berserk and aim to remove anything and everything that even remotely resembles Abyss Blood. I assume Alice herself will be safe since she''s the host of the blood but her target will definitely be crippled and die a most horrible death." Nalem shook his head. Forcefully removing all Abyss Blood and if she''s not careful, their blood as well would not only kill them physically but damage their soul as well since it''s connected to their Spiritual Heart. "Is there a way for me to reduce the risks?" "That depends on you. If you can figure out a way to control your blood properly then it should decrease the dangers. But removing the side effects from someone''s body will alwayse with risks." Nalem warned. When dealing with something this delicate, there was no absolute safe option. It''s merely a case of finding the path of least danger. "But I''m sure I''ve given you plenty to think about. I''ll continue my research and let you know if I find anything new." Nalem stretched. "Do you not want to stay for some food?" Kaden asked but Nalem shook his head. "I''ll pass. Thank you though." Giving the three a wave, Nalem left the house while Alice simply started at the table surface. Rubbing her finger against the mouth of her sk, she wondered about how she could differentiate between the two sources of Abyss Blood. One from drinking external blood and one formed within the body. ''First of all, I need to understand how Abyss Blood changes the body. Nalem mentioned that it''s like painting a canvas that''s the human body. Removing it the moment might be easier since the two bloods haven''t fully mixed. ''But if it''s one that has remained for a long time, staining the canvas then¡­ Hmm¡­'' Furrowing her brows, Alice sighed in frustration. If she was to forcefully remove the ''stain'', it''ll no doubt damage the canvas if she wasn''t careful. Plus, if she takes too long to filter between the two, there was a high chance that her blood would ''stain'' her target as well. Letting her blood remain in their body for too long was the issue with the second method so to aplish the third, she needed to be both fast and urate. "What a pain." Alice groaned as she wanted to do some tests of her own. Now that she wasn''t fighting with her life on the line, the adrenaline that was rushing through her body faded away and a fatigue struck her like an unstoppable object. Holding her head, Alice let out a yawn while rubbing her eyes. "You haven''t slept for like 3 or 4 days now right?" Allura asked, noticing Alice''s condition. "Mnm¡­ I wasn''t tired earlier though¡­" Alice nodded slowly while giving her body a stretch. "I presume that no one would be tired after almost getting killed by a God. We have a spare room upstairs if you want to use that to rest up." Allura offered but Alice shook her head. "I''ll just¡­ take a nap on the sofa." Lumbering over to the sofa, Alice curled up and instantly fell asleep. Soft breaths could be heard as both Kaden and Allura were shocked at how quickly she was able to fall asleep. "She must''ve been incredibly stressed." Allura muttered as Kaden started to clean the tes. "It''s only natural. After training with us, she went into the meeting with Gods. Then she had to train with Nyer and without any breaks, she went to train with the Apostles. I''m more surprised she held out till now without any rest." Kaden shrugged. "True¡­ Do you think there''s anything we can do to help her achieve the third method of extraction? If she can seed that means we can help the ones affected by side effects." "Nalem mentioned it''s a matter of control and being able to differentiate between Abyss Blood and their blood right? As long as we can find a solution to these two questions, I think Alice will be able to do just fine." It wasn''t going to be easy but that''s to be expected. Alice was seeking a solution to the biggest issue brought forth by the existence of the Abyss. The price of power. There were two methods of obtaining power in their realms. The first was through the three Gods of the surface. For normal people, this power stopped at being able to live a little longer or be healthier based on the divinity of the God. But for the Abyss, they were able to choose their own power that they wish to gain based on the beast they hunt. Despite the conflict between the surface Gods and the Abyss, their Apostles still ept the contract and gain power from the Abyss. If Alice could find the solution for all of this, there was no doubt that everyone would be looking to gain possession of her. She was the only true remedy for the price demanded by the Abyss. ''Though I guess it doesn''t matter if people find out or not since we''re in a memory. Those in her time will be clueless about her advancements.'' Kaden thought to himself. He felt pity for Alice. She held so many secrets that many would kill countless people for. The ability to ignore the side effects of Abyss Blood, the power to burn it away and keep herself safe, the ability to mimic other''s powers through consumption and even being able to learn and modify powers disyed by Apostles. To live with all of this and hoping she doesn''t slip up and expose herself¡­ "Do you think she looks lonely sometimes?" Allura suddenly asked as Kaden nced back in surprise. "What makes you say that?" "I don''t know¡­ Sometimes when I look towards her, she always has this lonely light in her eyes. Supressed sadness you know? She might smile,ugh, grin in excitement or even joke. But there''s always something being hidden, like she''s hurting inside and she might not even know it." Allura sighed while walking over to the sofa and sat down next to Alice. Stroking her hair, Allura''s gaze softened as she pitied the girl. "I think she''s being as honest as she can. Though this is most likely something she has to resolve herself. Maybe it''s a trauma from her past or maybe it''s a conflict with a friend. Either way, it''s up to her to resolve it and people like us can only really cheer her on from the side." "Hmm¡­ maybe. I want to do more for her but I guess even as Apostles, there''s only so much we can do." Allura smiled bitterly. Hearing this, Kaden couldn''t help but chuckle inwardly. As Alice''s adoptive mother in the future, there will be plenty of chances for her to help Alice. "Say shall we look for a good beast that can act as her fourth Sigil?" "Oh?" Raising his eyebrows, Kaden hadn''t thought of this yet. He wasn''t sure how hunting down beasts would work with them being a memory. But considering the fact that Alice was able to obtain a portion of Tiamat''s power, it meant that it wasn''t impossible for her to hunt down beasts. And with that being the case, they could take this chance to help her acquire a strong beast that might be hard to encounter in the future. Rubbing his chin, Kaden nodded his head. "Sure, we can do that. Though... Nalem is a little busy with his experiments so we''ll have to ask someone else. What kind of beasts do you think will be suitable for her fourth Sigil?" He asked curiously. "Alice wants to be close to mid ranged. So something that can help augment this will be desirable. She also needs something to help her attack with the sword. Her Void Flux ¨C Cleave is good but since it doesn''t contain the blessing, it exposes the biggest issue with my attack. It''s too slow andcks proper pration power." Allura analysed as she thought about the possible choices that Alice could go for. "Her first Sigil increases her strength and gives hallucinations, second gives her blood control and fire. Third gives her blood manifestation and metal manifestation. Going by what you said, maybe a fourth Sigil that helps her with exerting maximum power in the shortest time would be better?" Kaden crossed his arms in deep thought. As the two wondered about the possibilities, an idea appeared in Allura''s mind. "What if we''re looking at this wrong. We''re too preupied with having Alice match her opponents or overwhelm them in power. But that''s not how she fights. She fights very strategically, finding ways to cancel out their abilities with her fire or restricting her movements." Allura sat up as she nced back at Kaden. "Who said her fourth Sigil can''t be one that debuffs her enemies and reduces their power rather than increasing her own?" Thinking about this for a moment, Kaden smiled. "Alright, I''ll go look for a few candidates and make profiles on them for Alice. It should be a nice gift for when she wakes up." Creating a portal, Kaden stepped through and made his way to the library. For Alice''s fourth Sigil, he wanted to find a beast that can provide multiple debuffs to her opponent. When you can''t use your Sigils nor can you use your physical power, what can you do against Alice? Chapter 293: Options For The Fourth Sigil "My baby¡­ I''m sorry¡­" "Alice!!!" "Get the f*ck off her!" "Mother!" A myriad of shouts echoed through Alice''s mind. Sounds of panic, sadness and anger. Slowly opening her eyes, Alice yawned before stretching her body. Scratching her hair, she could briefly remember the shouts she heard before waking up. It had been a while since she hadst dreamt of the past like this. ''It was probably my birthday again...'' Alice thought with a sigh. Shaking her head, she examined her body. After a good rest, she felt far more energetic. Activating her Sigils, she saw that they had returned to their original states and Tiamat''s power disappeared. ''Seems like there''s a time limit to the modification.'' ncing around, she saw that she was still sleeping on the sofa while Kaden and Allura were nowhere to be seen. Wondering where they could be, Alice got up and began wandering around the living room. Decoration wise, there wasn''t much here since the two probably spent most of their time in the office around the castle. Especially considering their roles, they''ll be patrolling thends or dealing with beasts. But the bits of decoration that Alice could see mostly consisted of nts or trinkets that may hold emotional value to the two. ncing towards the stairs, Alice rubbed her chin as she was tempted to see what it was like upstairs. However, this wasn''t her home. "It''ll be pretty rude¡­" Alice muttered as she shrugged. "Pretty rude?" "ARHHG!!!" Alice jumped up in shock as Allura''s voice rang out behind her. "Can you stop that?! I swear you never know how to show up normally!" Aliceined as she felt like she was going to have a heart attack every time Allura showed up. Whether it''s the future or the past, Allura would keep doing this. "It''s not my fault if you don''t keep an eye on your surroundings." Allura rolled her eyes. "She''s not wrong. Though it''s not exactly correct either." Kaden added with a small chuckle. "What do you mean?" Seeing that Kaden was about to expose her secret, Allura waved her hand in a panic but Kaden simply smirked. "She does a little trick to hide her presence until she''s directly behind you before speaking. She doesn''t show it but it''s her favourite thing to do." Kadenughed while Allura pouted in anger and punched Kaden on the arm. "So it was on purpose!" "It''s on purpose every time. But setting that aside, how are you feeling?" He asked as Alice grinned and flexed her arm despite theck of muscle. "Much better. I didn''t think I was exhausted to that extent." "You were rather busy. But I''m d you''re feeling better since you''ll need to be in top condition for what we have nned next." Kaden narrowed his eyes. Making his way over to the dinner table, he prepared more snacks for Allura and more mead for Alice. "So while you were sleeping, me and Lua decided to give you a bit of help. Since you mentioned that you wanted to be a close to mid ranged fighter, we figured that having a fourth Sigil to help augment this might be the way to go." Kaden began to exin as he took out several sheets of paper. "With your demonstration over your three Sigils, I''d say it''s a good time for you to get a fourth. What do you say?" Mulling over her options, Alice sat down and closed her eyes. Allura had told her to make sure she fully understood the power of each Sigil before advancing so it could supplement her weaknesses. Her first Sigil simply boosted her physical power while giving hallucinations. Second helped manifest her mes and blood control. Her third manifested blood and metal. With all the suggestions and spars she''s had, Alice was 80% confident in saying that she''s explored most of the avenues of her power. Granted, she could improve on her control of the third Sigil since if she could aplish Nyer''s suggestion of forcing them to breathe in the metal, it could be quite the menacing ability. ''I haven''t been able to give that a try since the spars have been against Allura and Nyer. But it should be okay once I get back to reality.'' "Alright. What do you suggest for my fourth Sigil?" Alice asked as Kaden held up two fingers. "The option me and Lua both agreed would be pretty good for you would be a Sigil that makes your opponents weaker rather than making you stronger. There are multiple ways you can go about it, but the main thing is that you''re struggling withnding your attacks. "Of course, part of the reason is that you''re fighting those with overwhelmingly high physical power and experiencepared to you. But no one would care when you''re in a life or death fight. "The second option you can go with is utility. A way for your attacks to breach the defences or reactions of your opponents. You can go through some of the options here and if you want something more specific, just let me know and I can go have a look for you." Kaden smiled, passing the sheets to Alice. Nodding her head, she began to flip through the different options. The first thing that Alice noticed was that theyout for these was different to the ones she''d seen in the future. The way Allura organised the options was far cleaner while Kaden focused mostly on the beast''s fighting styles and only briefly talked about the abilities of each Sigil. ''It''s probably different in the future since we have more knowledge on what the Sigils do.'' Alice thought to herself. From reducing movement speed, strength to even vision, there were a myriad of ''debuff'' options that she could choose from. ''Reducing movement is nice and all but I need something to let me hurt them. Allura has the benefit of her blessing so even if her attack is a little slower, she doesn''t need to worry about defence. But mine is slow yet can be blocked easily.'' She wanted to see if there was a Sigil that could help her shred defences of her target. But even after going through all of the options for her level, the best she found that suited her needs was Sigils which decreased the resistance towards certain elements such as fire or blood abilities. ''Velouria mentioned that my violet mes simply manifested as such is because I took inspiration from Allura. There''s a good chance that these mes will change form once I discover something more unique to me so picking Fire Resistance reduction might not be the best choice.'' Since the fourth Sigil represented a step into a new stage of power for all those beneath Abyss Lord level, she wanted to make sure her foundations were good. Not only that, but she also wanted it to be Anti Hunter based so she still had a chance of attaining triple Resonance. ''What do I want my fourth Sigil to be? Right now, if I was to fight Allura who''s shown up to five Sigils, how would I beat her? My fourth Sigil needs to be something I can use to surpass Allura.'' Alice thought to herself. To her, the strongest person she knew of right now was Allura. Enris was stronger but she couldn''t quiteprehend her attacks so it was hard to evaluate what she needed against Enris. But Allura was different. Allura has taken the time to exin, demonstrate and show Alice her strength. Without even looking at the utility abilities, Alice nced over to Kaden and opened her mouth. "Are there any¡­ better teleportation abilities like the one that the Maiden of the Blood Moon offers? I''ve tried out her teleporting ability before and honestly, if I can get something simr to that for my fourth Sigil I think it''ll increase my power as a short to mid ranged fighter." Alice asked as Kaden thought about it for a moment. "Maiden of the Blood Moon huh? She''s not a bad choice. Although... rather than her teleporting ability, she''s better known for her blood control and manifestation. There are different versions of teleportation, what type are you looking for?" "Something fast and snappy. Would be good if I could use it back to back to disorientate my opponents." Alice replied as Kaden nodded his head and made a mental note. "And how strong of a beast do you think you can handle?" "I can probably deal with five star beasts with enough information. I don''t know about six stars but it could be possible." Alice replied confidently. Her biggest issue had always been her physical body. With partial Bloodline release giving her that extra boost, even if it was just briefly, it''ll help her bridge the gap between her and the beasts. Not only that, but by having partial Bloodline release, she could use the boost in strength to take away a sample of her target''s blood. Making it so that she''ll gain another boost to keep up. Once that happens, it''s simply a case of finishing them off. "Hmm¡­ Alright, I have a few candidates in mind. I''ll see if any of them have turned their back against Master''s rules. If they have, they''re free to be taken down." Kaden smiled. While humans hunted whatever beasts they could get their hands on, the people of Ayr were different. They respected Velouria''s rules and made it a point not to aim for the beasts that were trying their best to go against their nature. For Alice, he could only hope that the beast he was thinking of could be tracked down. The beast that has arguably one of the best teleportation abilities, second only to a few extreme exceptions and himself. Thinking about this, Kaden created a portal and left the house to track down his target. Chapter 294: Alluras Frustration Seeing how Kaden left so quickly, Alice couldn''t help but blink her eyes in surprise. He left! Just like that, no words or anything. "Pft! Ahaha, I know he doesn''t look like it but he''s actually really excited to help you. He''s usually only like this when he''s too eager and can''t hold himself back." Alluraughed after seeing Alice''s reaction. Not many get to see this side of Kaden and now Alice was one of the few who got to see this. "So even Kaden gets eager like this huh¡­" Alice muttered considering in the future, he seemed bored all the time. Doing anything and everything that could possibly interest him. Perhaps it was a side effect of living a long time after Ayr was destroyed. Regardless, she was still unsure why Kaden was so reluctant to be in the Abyss and to see Allura again. Especially when the two had a good rtionship. Allura went from loving cake to smoking all the time. Kaden went from being happy in the Abyss to hating himself more than anyone and avoiding the realm and Allura if he could. ''Aplete 180 to what they''re like right now. I guess it''ll be too rude to ask them since they wouldn''t know either.'' Shaking her head with a sigh, she nced back at Allura. "What''s up?" Allura blinked, noticing that Alice was staring at her. "Nothing. Just wondering about a few things." "Ohya? Want to share or is it a secret?" Allura chuckled while Alice thought about it for a moment before opening her mouth. "So I know a few people who used to be dedicated to something. Kind of like you with cake. But something happened to them and they''ve done aplete 180 and gone against what they used to like. I''m just wondering what could''ve possibly happened for them to be like that." Alice exined, making sure that Allura didn''t know she was talking about her in the future. While Kaden and Velouria may have found out, the fewer who knew the better. "Hmm¡­ That''s a hard one. For someone to have done aplete 180 against something they love that much, something drastic must''ve happened. Enough for them to abandon what they enjoyed before. "I''ve never told you about why I like cake have I?" Allura smiled bitterly while cing the te down. Shaking her head, Alice watched as Allura leaned back for a moment, recalling her memories before opening her mouth. "It happened before I was chosen as an Apostle or even knew about the Sigils. I found myself I the middle of a forest, presumably right after my rebirth from being a beast and the only thing I could think of was to survive. "Beasts would constantly find me, trying to kill me while finding food and shelter was difficult. Yet strangely, I had the instinct toy out traps. I killed and ate their flesh raw. Slept in their carcasses and used their skin for clothing. "But the constant consumption of raw flesh and Abyss Blood gave me quite a bit of side effects you know? One of the side effects was that it ruined my sense of taste. I can''t taste vours properly. The only vours I can taste are sweet and bitter. The rest are all just nd textures. "I thought that everything tasted like this since I''ve been eating nothing but flesh. Later, I was found by Kaden during his patrol. After he took me back to Ayr, he noticed that I wasn''t really showing any reaction towards food and realised I could only taste two vours. "Did you know what he did afterwards?" Allura asked with a smile on her face while Alice shook her head. "He spent the whole day figuring out what textures I enjoyed and what vours I could taste. Ahaha, it took him a long time but by the end of it, he realised that I really liked the texture of cake and could taste the vour of sweetness. From then on, he spent time figuring out some recipes for the ''perfect'' cake." Alluraughed while looking at the cake on her te with fondness. "Afterwards I just kind of kept looking for him to get cake. I didn''t really care if it was perfect or not ya know? Since he''s the one who made it." She smiled softly while biting her fork. ncing over to Alice, Allura saw her with a smug grin on her face. "You love~ him." "!!!" Choking on her saliva, Allura blushed and smacked Alice on the head. "Ay! I didn''t say anything wrong!" Alice pouted. "Shaddap! Urg¡­ but is it that obvious?" Allura held her cheeks while Alice nodded. She couldn''t help but find this side of Allura rather cutepared to the more serious version of her in the future. "Do¡­ Do you think he''s noticed?" Allura coughed and whispered softly while Alice froze up. "Shut the f*ck up. What do you mean do I think he''s noticed? You haven''t told him?" Alice blinked her eyes in disbelief. ''Mother! You live with him for Gods sake!?!? What do you mean has he noticed???'' She shouted out in her mind. "Hey hey! Not so loud, I don''t know when he''s going to be back." Allura panicked as Alice was taking a moment to recover. "So you live with him, but you haven''t told him that you love him?" Alice asked as Allura shyly nced down and nodded her head. ". . ." Massaging her eyes, Alice wondered how this was even possible. "So how the hell did you even get to living in the same house together?" "It just kind of happened okay?! I asked if I could since it was a pain in the ass to keep finding him for cake. I thought it would be better if I just lived where he lived so I could get the cake." Allura poked her fingers together while Alice felt an arrow stab through her heart. ''Why is my mother so damn cute?'' She couldn''t get over the fact that Allura, the Executioner of the Abyss and Apostle of the Goddess was such a maiden. "So why haven''t you confessed yet?" Alice asked as Allura froze up and her smile began to twitch. Gritting her teeth, she reached over to Alice and pulled on her cheek. "I wonder who the f*ck''s been getting in the damn way every time I''m about to!!!" Hearing this, Alice burst out inughter as she didn''t think her interruptions were blocking her confession. No wonder Kaden looked a little annoyed on the stairs thest time she knocked on the door. "Stopughing! Do you know how awkward it was for me??? After the first one failed I wanted to hide myself from embarrassment! Then you came and knocked on that damn door right before I was about to ask him! Couldn''t you have waited a minute or something?! It''s hard working up the courage!" Allura rambled while Alice couldn''t stop herself fromughing. Clutching her stomach, Alice wheezed for breath while Allura only crossed her arms in annoyance. "How are¡­ PFT ahahaha! How are you able to fight Apostles¡­ AHAHAHA! But can''t muster the courage to confess???" Alice wheezed while wiping away the tears forming around her eyes. "It''s just different okay?" Allura pouted while resting her chin on her hand. Taking deep breaths to calm herself, Alice took a drink of her mead. "So are you nning on confessing to him again any time soon?" "Not right now since we''re back to looking after you. Not only that, but we need to help you get your fourth Sigil. And once that''s done, we''re not sure when we''ll be called into Action since apparently they''re close to finding the Will." Allura grumbled in annoyance after being reminded that her chances had been reduced to zero. "Can''t you just confess while I''m out getting the Sigil?" "Of course I can''t! it''s all about setting the mood. How can I get the mood right if both me and him are worried that you''ll randomly get stabbed and almost die?" Allura rolled her eyes. "I''m not that easy to kill." "Doesn''t matter. We''re still going to be worried. We watched the entirety of your fight against Tiamat and saw the damage you took. We were on the verge of just charging in and stopping the whole thing if it wasn''t for the fact that you went bat sh*t insane and started to go toe to toe with Tiamat." She flicked Alice on the forehead while taking a bite of her cake. "Hmm¡­ that is tough." Alice sighed. "You don''t say." *Sigh "I''ll figure something outter. And this time, please for the love of Ayr, don''t interrupt again. I''m actually going to die if you do it a third time." Allura pouted. If she gets interrupted for a third time, she doesn''t know how she could face Kaden again without just imploding. "Just let me know when I''m about to interrupt and I''ll go take a walk or something." Alice reassured with a thumbs up while Allura couldn''t help but doubt. Just before she could stay anything, a portal opened up as Kaden stepped through. Seeing Alice and Allura awkwardly sitting there without saying anything except smile, he couldn''t help but raise his eyebrow. "Did you spend all this time in silence?" He asked but Alice shook her head. "Don''t worry about it, just some girls talk." Allura coughed while finishing her cake. "I see¡­ Well setting that aside, I''ve found the target and the conditions align for a hunt. All that remains if for you to get some information and ept her as a bounty target." Kaden smiled as Alice sat up in excitement. "Your target¡­" "Seraphim of the Void." Chapter 295: Seraphim Of The Void "Seraphim of the Void¡­" Alice muttered as she closed her eyes. Using Ca''s ability to note down the appearance of every beast in the Abyss, Alice was about to search when she paused in realisation. Since they were in a memory, could she even get a bounty from this? The best one to ask would be Velouria but she seemed busy. Regardless, she wanted to see the target that Kaden had found for her. Filtering through the options, only one projection remained as Alice understood that this was the target in question. Standing at an astonishing 10ft tall, the woman had a halo of ck stars and pure white hair. Both of her eyes were closed but the moment Alice made her open them, it looked as though countless pupils were merged into a single golden pupil. Much like in Alice''s resonance form, the Seraphim''s limbs faded into a deep ck while purple markings stretched from her hand to her chest, revealing a swirling void of energy. She wore a white, ck and purple dress with a short skirt and a pair of thigh boots. Connected to the waist was white armour with cloth attached to it while three pairs of wings were folded behind her. Observing the beast in front of her, Alice marvelled at her beauty while wondering what kind of weapon she wielded. And if the Seraphim didn''t wield a weapon, then there''s a high chance that she was a caster. As though answering her question, the Seraphim reached into the space in front of her and pulled out arge scythe with a simr hole as the one on her chest near the base of the de. Blinking her eyes in surprise, Alice circled around the beast while memorising the details. Once she was satisfied, she opened her eyes and noticed Allura and Kaden staring at her in confusion. Realising that she must''ve spent a little too long in her own mind, Alice coughed awkwardly. "How should I designate it as my target? Is there a shaman or amunion point I should go to? Plus how can I guarantee that it''ll pick the Seraphim?" Alice asked as Kaden raised his eyebrow. "What are you on about? I''ve already marked the beast. We just need to visit one of Master''s shrines and the target will be established. I''m not sure what you mean by shaman but I assume themunion point is simr to a shrine but seems to have no guarantee." Hearing this, Alice understood that things must''ve been easier while Velouria was around. After all, she was the proxy of the Will. She shared her divinity with the Abyss meaning anything it can do, she could do as well. Naturally, there was a limit since the Will still has the final say but she has a certain degree of freedom. Meaning those in this time period could pick and choose their bounties much like her, as long as they can mark the beast they wanted to hunt. It seems a little time consuming since they have to mark it first but at least it guarantees the target. "What if the beast dies before you can fulfil this target?" Alice asked curiously. "Well the contract is cancelled." Furrowing his brows, Kaden realised something and opened his mouth once more. "Sorry let me borrow you for a second. Lua I''ll be right back." Kaden smiled as he gestured for Alice toe over to him. ncing over to Allura, Alice gave her a wave before hopping next to Kaden. "Take care~" Allura waved her handzily as the two disappeared from the room. As the shadows unravelled themselves, Alice found herself in front of what seemed to be an altar of sorts. "You''ve never seen this before?" He asked, pointing at the shrine. The shrine consisted of three parts. The altar, the bowl and a statue of Velouria kneeling and praying. Shaking her head, Alice doesn''t recall ever seeing something like this before. "Wait then how do you get Sigils in the future?" Kaden raised an eyebrow. "Well¡­ there are two ways. Three if you include Ca. First option is to meet someone called a Shaman. They''ll connect you to the Abyss and you can pick your target from three choices. After that, you''ll need to track it down and hunt it yourself. "The second option is to find a Communion point where you link yourself to the Abyss and it''ll give you more options. You still need to track it down and hunt it. If you fail, the bounty gets harder with each failure until you seed." Alice exined while Kaden looked at her in disbelief. "So people in the future have no guarantee on what beast they want to hunt and they''re punished if they fail?" Nodding her head, Alice watched as Kaden massaged his eyes. "What kind of backwards future is this? In Ayr, you just need to find the beast you want, mark it down and offer the mark to the Shrine. Once that happens, Master''s rule that she ced down would then form a link between you two so you can get the Sigil and know its general location. "Well¡­ mark is a broad term. As long as you have a piece of it then you can track it down. It''s why some merchants in Ayr would sell ws or fangs of certain beasts. Offer it to the shrine and you can form a tether." Handing Alice a piece of ck cloth, he gestured for her to offer it to the shrine. Nodding her head, Alice ced the cloth into the bowl before ncing at Kaden for the next step. "Give it a bit of your blood." Making a small cut on her finger, Alice dropped a single droplet of blood and a familiar sensation washed over her. A tether was being formed as it extended into the rift, reaching to a ce she could not see. Yet instinctively, she could tell that the tether had been split into multiple targets, each one being a Seraphim of the Void! "Now if you fail or don''t think you can handle this, you can offer a new mark to the Shrine and it''ll establish a new target for you. Honestly¡­ I don''t know how you people in the future can do without this. How do people even get the Sigils they want?" Kaden rolled his eyes before making a portal back to the house. "Let''s¡­ Not talk about that." Alice coughed. Even with Ca, she still had to spot her target first or else she wouldn''t know where she could find it. But the shrine was even able to give her a general understanding of where her target was along with the fact that she could cancel the bounty! "Either way, I''ll exin to you the powers of the Seraphim once we get back to the house. Just let me know when you''re ready and I''ll teleport you to the target that I''ve found and then you can go your fourth Sigil." Once they made it back to the house, Kaden began to break down the powers of the Seraphim. "The Seraphim could be considered to own 6 Sigils, each one represented by its wings. There are some with 5 wings and some with 4 but the one I got for you has 6." Kaden began as Alice held up her hand. "Wait¡­ You''re getting me to hunt down a six Sigil beast for my fourth Sigil?" Alice asked as her smile began to twitch. "Why not? You have Lua''s techniques, Tiamat''s Bloodline Release, Zone Stance and other skills you''ve honed during this time. Why can''t you go for a six Sigil beast?" Hearing this, Alice found herself unable to refute his points and simply gestured for him to continue. "Now for the Seraphim, most of her powers are based on spatial control and teleportation. First Sigil would be the ability to phase through the void. Her form will begin to blur before disappearing and during this time, you won''t be able to hit her at all unless you can rip open a path to the void. "And considering the attack you based off Allura''s Nova Core, you can disrupt this to a certain extent." Kaden smiled as there was a gap in the moment before the Seraphim jumped into the Void. If Alice can take advantage of that and use her Void Flux to stop this, the Seraphim loses one of her main weapons. "Second Sigil would be the ability to store attacks in the void like bombs. If you ''bump'' into the traps while moving around, it''ll detonate right next to you. Hurts a bunch but these can usually be found if her attacks ever miss. It''ll get frozen and stored as a bomb so keep an eye on that. "Third Sigil would be her scythe. It can rend space apart and ignore defence to a certain extent. It''s a far worse version of Lua''s blessing but you can get the general idea. "Fourth Sigil, she can ''store'' the damage she''s done to you before detonating it in one go when you least expect it. She essentially doubles all the damage in an instant and is a good counter against people who heal since it''ll reopen the wounds in a single burst. "Fifth Sigil allows her to use the Void to her benefit, using it as a means of attack and all of her attacks can rend defence. This lets her have an easier time with her Scythe and makes its ability to breach defence far better. "And thest Sigil is the one I think you''d like the most and the reason why I found a six winged Seraphim in the first ce. Her final ability lets her manifest the void around her, making it so that all of her abilities are supercharged. Her teleportation bes much faster and the power of the Void is embedded in all of her abilities, essentially doubling the defence shred and pration. "Of course, this ''supercharged'' state works with other powers and not just the ones tied to the Void." Kaden smiled as Alice understood the potential behind this Sigil. With the nature of her Spiritual Heart, how she can borrow Sigil powers through drinking blood, having this Sigil meant that she could enhance the borrowed power to be better than the original! There was no doubt about it anymore. Alice needed this to be her fourth Sigil. Chapter 296: Ambushing The Seraphim Sitting on a tree, Alice sighed in boredom while observing the location in front of her. Fissures. A weak ripple in the boundary of the realm where there was a high chance to establish a pathway between the Abyss and the Surface. Looking at the ''arena'' in front of her, Alice couldn''t help but groan in annoyance while recalling Kaden''s warnings regarding the Seraphim. ### "Once it senses that a fight is unfavourable, it''ll look for a way to escape. That''s why Seraphims usually make their home near a fissure that allows them to run easily. The six winged Seraphim is extremely experienced in doing this so you must not let it leave. "When you see it open a rift to escape, disrupt it using Void Flux. That''s the biggest tip I can give you for this battle. Other than that, just try to avoid her attacks if you can since you don''t have the body to withstand her strikes." ### After teleporting her to the location, both Kaden and Allura stepped away to observe the situation without interrupting the Hunt. Meaning right now, it''s all up to Alice. She had already made a mental note of the ''weak points'' of the fissure within this area. Locations where the air seems to distort. Any attack that absorbs energy from the surroundings would cause this tear to open and if you are caught in it, it''ll tear off anything attached to you. Alice had to keep an eye out for these fissures along with the Seraphim''s bombs. ''The best way to finish this hunt would be to kill it in one go. If I stack Resonance, Partial Bloodline Release together and use Void Flux ¨C Cleave, a sessful hit should be able to kill the beast. Or at least force it to draw some blood.'' She mused to herself while tracing her finger along her bracelet. While she may think this, her opponent was still a Six Star beast! It wasn''t something she could take likely. Shaking her head, Alice took a deep breath and focused her mind. For this hunt, she''s been given a supply of healing vials two offensive vials that boost her speed and strength. Drinking more than two wouldn''t give her more benefits but rather force side effects to ur. For tools to assist her¡­ Nothing! Before she could continue her train of thought, a chill went down her spine as she subconsciously manifested Void Fang in sword form. Cold sweat dripped down her head as the space around the fissure revealed a pair of delicate hands that tore it open. [Seraphim of the Void ¨C ??????] Seeing the beast this close, Alice was once again reminded of just how insane this hunt truly was. Even with all of her tricks and trump cards, Alice was still only a three Star Hunter at the end of the day. She had no right in challenging a six Star beast that could end her with a single breath. But despite this danger, she curled her lips into a fearless grin. Tensing her hand around the handle of Void Fang, Alice narrowed her eyes. Standing up before entering a crouching stance, she judged the distance between the two before enveloping the Seraphim in her Zone Stance. ''Right on the edge, it''s possible.'' Her strongest attack with the highest output she could muster! Pulling out two vials of blood, Alice poured the contents into her mouth as a foreign flood of power began flowing through her body. Lightning began to crackle around her limbs as her eyes gained a golden hue. Activating her resonance, the crown manifested above her head. She had a short gap to activate all of her enhancement abilities before the Seraphim would spot her. And in that time, she had to make sure her strikended! ''No more hesitation. It''s now or never.'' Taking a deep breath, Alice activated her Partial Bloodline Release along with her first Sigil. Violet mes burst forth from her body as she exploded into action! Within the darkness of this forest, a single streak of violet and gold rushed towards the Seraphim. Snapping her eyes open, the beast turned towards Alice''s direction but Alice was already in front of her! Void Flux ¨C Cleave! An arc of violet mes rushed forth, shredding the space along its path while the Seraphim found themselves unable to move! Spatial Lock! Gritting her teeth, the Seraphim wanted to activate her first Ability to escape into the void but it was too slow! With no other choice, she mustered all of her strength and sacrificed her left arm to escape death! *KRKK!!! Watching her de tear through the Seraphim''s arm, Alice didn''t stop the attack. This was her chance to kill the beast before she could counter! "Where the hell do you think you''re going!" Alice shouted, watching the Seraphim''s body begin to blur. Without care for her own safety, five Void Fluxes manifested around them, detonating and preventing the beast from running away! Stomping her heel against the beast''s leg, Alice mmed the pommel of Void Fang against the beast''s throat before going for a downward cleave. *CLANG!!! A scythe de pierced through the realm, blocking Alice''s strike! "Tch!" Clicking her tongue, Alice kicked against the Seraphim and jumped back. mming her hand down, her third Sigil manifested on her body as a swarm of blood enveloped the arena. But before she could continue her momentum in this fight, a chill went down her spine as she trusted her instincts and swung her de behind herself. *BANG!!! Parrying the Seraphim''s attack, Alice noticed that she had created a portal to swing the scythe rather than teleporting herself. ''So that''s possible too. Interesting.'' Now that the initial ambush was over, Alice understood that the Seraphim was on guard against her. Jumping back to create more distance between them, she marked down the location of the scythe strike with a mote of blood. Observing her opponent, the Seraphim was silent as she nced at her left arm. The flesh pulsed and attempted to regenerate but it was no use. "Confused aren''t ya? Why won''t my arme back? It''s a little something I like to call Violet mes. They use the Abyss''s power as fuel. Meaning so long as I hit you, it''ll constantly feed off of your body." Alice grinned. It was an attack inspired by Allura''s Sigil that made it impossible for her to heal mid fight. By supressing the me''s destructive power and exchanging it with tenacity to continuously consume the flesh, she was able to recreate the anti healing method that Allura employed. Of course, there was a slight issue with this and that was for them to cut off the flesh being eaten by the mes or simply overpower the mes with the rate of healing. Since she chose tenacity, the mescked the power to rapidly consume the body in its entirety. It can only hold on and prevent healing. She hoped that by telling the beast, she could apply some pressure and force the beast to be wary. ''Thankfully the healing doesn''t seem to be that crazy. My mes can keep up and stop her from getting her arm back.'' However, her joy was short as the Seraphim exploded with a purple and gold aura. *BANG!!! Cracking the ground around her, all of her wounds began to regenerate rapidly even with the hindrance of her Violet mes. "Me and my stupid thoughts." Alice muttered with a forced smile. Seraphim''s Sixth Ability! "You''re really not holding back huh? And here I thought we''d do a little meet and greet. I''ll show you my first few Sigils while you do the same. Instead we''re going straight to the sixth." Alice shrugged as she reactivated her Partial Bloodline Release. She had to finish this fast before her Resonance ran out. After using it continuously in the Abyss, she''s gained the ability to exhaust its uses like a battery. The overall duration didn''t change much but she could space out her uses unlike before where she was one and done. Before she could even approach the Seraphim, a scythe de appeared in front of her! "Sh*t!" Leaning her body back, Alice managed to narrowly dodge the strike before making it down with a mote once more. Twisting her body, sheunched a ranged Void Flux ¨C Cleave towards the Seraphim. Seeing this, the Seraphim simply flicked her finger and a ripple opened up, swallowing the attack. "!!!" Widening her eyes, Alice immediately rolled to the side, dodging the cleave that came down from above! ''So she can return my attacks back to me if I''m not careful. Yo~ Core, got any tips for me?'' Alice forced a smile while parrying another scythe strike. She could tell that if she was using the Blood me de, it would''ve shattered by now from the attacks of the Seraphim! Each of her attacks harnessed the power of the Void, aiming to shred the defences and durability of anything it touched. Thankfully, Void Fang was a de that manifested itself from Alice''s blood. So long as she had blood to spare, the de will stay intact! ''I don''t have anything to say to you. Even if I was to do something f*cking Velouria would just intervene. Let this be a test for you as well. If you can''t face this b*tch on your own I''d rather the two of us just die than to keep watching you stumble around.'' [Alice] scoffed, causing Alice to let out augh. ''Fine if you say so then I''ll do just that. But why don''t we form a ritual for now?'' Alice grinned. ''Hou~? Don''t give me something boring like manifesting me likest time. You''ve seen how that ended.'' ''It''s nothing boring like an exchange of power. But rather a partnership. If I kill this Seraphim, help me learn more about you and the origin of this power.'' Hearing this, [Alice] was silent before letting out augh. ''Alright, I''ll y this game with you. If you can kill this Seraphim without my direct interference, I''ll help you out. But it''ll be no fun if you''re the only one getting something out of this. ''So with the rule of Equivalent Exchange, if you fail, I''m taking back some of my control over this body.'' ''Alright, no take backs.'' Alice grinned as a ritual was established between them. Taking a deep breath, she nced at the Seraphim in front of her. It wasn''t just her Sigil on the line now. It was a chance to learn about her Core and the power that inhibits her body. Chapter 297: Killing The Seraphim Adjusting her de into a spear, Alice twirled the spear across her hands before lunging towards the Seraphim. Since it was able to use the void in order to block ranged attacks, Alice needed to pressure it through melee strikes. Parrying two scythe strikes using her spear, she transformed it back into a de and released a Void Flux ¨C Cleave at point nk range! But after seeing this strike several times and knowing its danger, the Seraphim was ready for this and managed to dodge at thest moment. "Gotcha!" Revealing a grin, Alice snapped her finger as metal pirs restricted the Seraphim''s movements. While her Void Flux ¨C Cleave may have missed, that wasn''t her main attack. Manifesting a Void Flux above her finger, Alice aimed it at the beast''s head at point nk range. *BANG!!! Releasing the attack, Alice quickly jumped back to avoid the damage while a swirl of energy erupted before copsing in front of the Seraphim. But Alice wasn''t done. She knew the output of her Void Flux and even if she got a good strike in, it wouldn''t be enough to kill the beast. Reactivating her Partial Bloodline Release, she gritted her teeth from the burden ced upon her body and unleashed a flurry of Void Flux ¨C Cleaves towards the Seraphim. ''Not enough!'' Taking a deep breath, Alice created an array of Void Fluxes before sending them towards the beast in hopes of taking it out in one go. But as the dust settled, Alice saw that only her first attack seeded while the rest were blocked by the Void. ''So this is what Kaden means by her skills focus on making her hard to be hit. A literal ss cannon.'' Alice thought with a smile. After all, the Void Flux thatnded had dealt substantial damage! From the impact point, arge chunk of the beast''s flesh had been torn off, revealing the bone and blood beneath. The Seraphim''s cor and neck were fully exposed while part of her face was shredded, revealing the bones beneath. There was a silent anger in her eyes as she red at Alice. Her wounds were slowly recovering as the aura around her began to dim. "Hm?" Noticing this, Alice understood that the Seraphim''s sixth Ability must have its limits. This supercharged state allowed her to be a better attacker but if she''s forced into retreat, it loses a lot of its effectiveness. ''Seems like she can also use the Supercharged state to heal herself. Though doing so exhausts its uses.'' Making a note in her mind, Alice jumped back and changed her spear into a bow. Creating an arrow of mes, she pulled back before releasing the arrow. *BANG!!! As the arrow approached the beast, the arrowhead transformed into a Void Flux as the Seraphim waved her finger in an attempt to redirect the attack into the Void. However, before the arrow could reach the tear in space, the Void Flux scattered apart to reveal a torrent of mes! Alice wanted the beast to block the attack using her ability so that the Violet mes couldtch onto it. This time, it was the aggressive variant that exhausted itself quickly but once ittched onto something, it would burn with renewed vigour! ''The Void isn''t something she can use offensively without coating her weapon with it. It''s more a utility skill. The mes should cut her connection to the Void momentarily meaning my next attack has a high chance ofnding!'' Snapping her finger, a ball of blood appeared in front of her as Alice curled her lips into a grin. The first strike that shended against the beast during the ambush, one that managed to sever her arm. It allowed her to ess the Seraphim''s blood for a chance just like this. And in case the beast was on guard, Alice had made sure she collected the blood over the course of the battle to avoid detection. Without hesitation, she threw the bead into her mouth before swallowing. A foreign flood of power spread through her body as Alice could feel her vision shifting. Ovepping scenes from different angles across the battlefield. Views from the Void and reality intertwining. It took Alice a moment to adjust herself to this new vision but she couldn''t dy it any further! Right now the key was to stop the Seraphim from essing the Void! Stomping her foot down, Alice''s form began to flicker before appearing beside the beast. "!!!" Widening her eyes in shock, the beast tried to swing her scythe towards Alice but Alice burst forth with a purple and gold energy and disappeared from sight. Sixth Ability! Supercharged State! Seeing danger behind her, the Seraphim jumped to the side and narrowly avoided Alice''s sh but Alice never intended on hitting her in the first ce! With the power of the Void now flowing through her body, Alice could see the connection between realms. And with Ca, she could see the energy tethered with each cast of the ability. Meaning with the twobined, she could replicate Allura''s attack of severing the connection to a certain degree! Though in this case, it wasn''t the connection between the target and the Abyss but rather the connection between the Seraphim and the output of her power. Her connection to the Void! Without giving the Seraphim a chance to flee, Alice lunged forward and manifested a scythe in her spare hand. Oveying it with the power of the Void, she shed towards the beast who guarded with her own weapon. Curling her lips into a grin, Aliceughed as rifts opened behind the beast! Alice''s third Sigil belonging to the Blood Coil Amphitere allowed her to manifest metal and blood. With this metal, she could create weapons and naturally, that meant it could unleash her attacks! From behind the beast, 4 Void Flux ¨C Cleaves erupted from the Void! *KRR!!!! Digging into her body, the Seraphim finally let out a cry of pain as her wings were shredded apart from the attack. A beast with an annoying ability yet weak defences. The perfect target for Alice! Lunging forward, Alice stabbed her de into the Seraphim''s chest before twisting the de. ring at Alice in anger, the Seraphim reached for Alice''s head but her arm was cut off by a scythe. Not allowing the beast to fight back, Alice mmed her elbow into her chest before changing her de into a dagger and stabbing the Seraphim up from under the mouth. Flipping herself over the beast''s head, she dragged the dagger down and mmed the beast against the ground. Above her, rifts opened up while des pinned her limbs against the ground! Gathering her mes into a single spark of concentrated power, Alice aimed it against the Seraphim''s head. *BANG!!!! Firing it down, she adjusted the output to ensure it focused on piercing power rather than explosive. Watching the beast twitch from having her head torn off from the Void Flux, Alice continued to fire attacks across her body until she finally fell limp. ''I''d give it a 6 out of 10. Could''ve shown a bit more spirit and vigour but not bad.'' [Alice] chuckled at the results. She understood that Alice was the kind of fighter that once she sees an opening, she''ll take advantage of that and refuse to let go! In this regard, the two of them were not so different. Both were like wild beasts in their own right. She was simply more truthful to her desires. ''After all that and you still judge it a 6 out of 10. How stingy are you???'' Alice groaned, copsing onto her back as power began to drain from her. ''If it wasn''t for me being in your body, you can forget about fighting and surviving. So 4 points of that goes to me.'' [Alice] smirked while Alice couldn''t refute her. The mes, mimicry and the ability to cut through the tether connecting the beast to the Void. Her Core allowed all of this to happen. ''Thanks.'' ''You''re wee. But a bet is a bet, I''ll humour you once you wake up.'' [Alice] shrugged. Before Alice could even ask what she meant, a tether extended from the Abyss and her vision began to blur. "Ah sh*t here I go again." Alice muttered before passing out. Landing next to Alice, Kaden and Allura nced at the remains of the Seraphim before turning to Alice. "Well sh*t. I knew she was probably going to win but I didn''t think it would be this overwhelming." Allura muttered. She could still remember thebat potential that Alice showcased during their first few meetings. Right now, she could kill her old self 10 times before the other can even scratch her once. That was how much stronger she''s be. "Really? I thought it was pretty obvious. She has improved her knowledge on how she should best use her weapons and even learnt how to control the spacing in battle. It''s only natural that she''ll win easily once you remember she can ''steal'' your power the moment you get wounded. "And that''s just against beasts. Think about how she''ll be like against humans." Kaden chuckled while carrying Alice in his arms. ". . .Damn. But now she has a six Winged Seraphim as her fourth Sigil. What''s next? An Abyss Lord as her fifth?" Allura shrugged. "Don''t give her any ideas when she wakes up. Killing beasts is one thing but fighting Lords is something else entirely. Even with her ability of mimicry." Creating a portal, Kaden made his way back to the house. Nodding her head in agreement, Allura created a single spark of fire and cremated the Seraphim''s corpse. Giving her a silent prayer, Allura hoped that the Seraphim wouldmit herself to Velouria''s rules in the next life and be reborn as a ''human''. Chapter 298: Restraint Groaning softly, Alice once again found herself in the empty space that is her mind realm. A space that she shared with Ca and one that she''ll visit to get her new Sigil. However, there was something strange about it this time. A cold eerie feeling dominated Alice''s mind as she nced around in confusion yet she couldn''t see anything that was wrong. The eye that represented Ca is still missing and no one was here to greet her. Strangely, the options that should be present for her choices regarding the Sigil were missing as well. Standing up, Alice dusted herself while wandering around the realm. "Hello? Is anyone there? Are you going to give me my Sigil?" Alice called out while walking at a leisurely pace. No matter how far she walked, nothing changed in this realm. Silence. ''Can I not get a Sigil after all?'' She wondered. Ayr was just a memory within the Inverted World. Perhaps thews here worked differently, yet Alice was sure she could feel a connection being made before she passed out. In this deste void devoid of life, Alice continued to wander with no goal in sight. After a certain point, Alice couldn''t help but wonder if she''d gone insane and if this was simply a product of her own mind. But there was one thing that reaffirmed the notion that she was not alone and that was the feeling of something watching her. A gaze fixated on her position no matter what she did. And every time she turned towards the source, the gaze would disappear before reappearing elsewhere, silently observing her every action. Unable to take it anymore, Alice scratched her hair before letting out a deep sigh of annoyance. "Who the f*ck is it? Don''t you know it''s rude to keep peeping on ady?! At least say hi if you want to keep watching!" Alice shouted out. Hearing no response, she could only huff in anger before turning around to resume her aimless journey. "!!!" The moment she turned around, she saw a ''nk'' person standing inches away from her. The only features that could be seen were a pair of eyes that stared unblinkingly at her. Despite not having a mouth, Alice could tell that it began to smile the moment she saw it. Its lower eyelids pushed up from the cheeks as its uncanny gaze continued to stare into hers. But Alice couldn''t move. She couldn''t take a step back nor could she talk. All she could do was simply stare at this being. *Krrr Blood began to form around its mouth as its nk skin started to tear apart, revealing a hollow smile arcing from one side to the other. Slowly, its hand reached above Alice''s head and grabbed the crown without any issues. Looking at this fragmented symbol, it revealed a disdainful smirk before repairing the crown and turning it into nine star-shaped shards. ncing back at Alice, it raised its spare hand and manifested a familiar cor. Alice''s pupils constricted in horror at the sight of this cor. After all, it was the very same cor that haunted her during her time in the Zenia prison. Gritting her teeth, Alice managed to take a single step back but it wasn''t enough. The star shaped shards shot towards Alice, piercing into her neck. "!!!" She could feel the fragments digging into her flesh, carving a space between her flesh and permanently imprinting itself upon her body. Seemingly satisfied with their handiwork, the being began to fade away while keeping its gaze on Alice, silently taunting her. Once the being disappeared, Alice regained control of her own body as she immediately reached towards her own neck. Gritting her teeth, she attempted to tear the restraint off her body. But no matter how she wed at her own neck, this new ''cor'' refused to leave. In front of her, paths began to form as a familiar sight manifested itself. A choice between all of the Sigils yet Alice wasn''t in the mood to indulge in this. All she could think of was the cor around her neck. At first, all she could feel was anger. But as time passed, all that remained was hopelessness. In the Zenia family, the cor was a physical object that could be removed under the right circumstances. But this crown? It was bound to her. "I need to get out of here¡­" Alice muttered as her emotionless eyes nced over to the different paths open to her. Once she chooses an ability to act as her fourth Sigil, she''ll be expelled from this space. Following the original n, Alice reached for the sixth Ability. [Void Born Manifestation] This Sigil allowed her to ovey the powers of the void to every attack. Not only that, but it could also grant her control to a certain degree. Meaning she could replicate the powers of the Seraphim to a small extent such as teleporting attacks. But for tasks such as teleporting herself, it''ll require far more focus and power to achieve. Her first Sigil was located on her arm. Her second, the left side of her face. As for her third, it was on her back. With the addition of the fourth Sigil, Alice could feel a knife carving into her body once more. The location of the fourth being the centre of her chest. A swirl of darkness surrounded by six wings. ### Sitting by the table, Allura couldn''t help but have a worried expression on her face. A while after bringing Alice back to the house, they noticed her crown breaking and turning into stars that stabbed into her neck yet no blood was drawn. As for Alice, she began to w away at her neck to the point she dug up pieces of her own flesh. Unable to wake her, the only thing they could do was to stop her from shredding up her own neck in her sleep. Sighing in worry, Allura couldn''t help but be concerned with the things that Alice gets herself involved with. What would''ve been a normal training session became a fight against a God. What would''ve been a normal Sigil made her w her own neck. Just as she took a sip of her drink, she watched as Alice slowly sat up. Her fingers tracing along her neck. Before she could even greet Alice, Allura watched as she ran towards her and hugged her tightly. Widening her eyes, Allura returned the hug and noticed that Alice was trembling. "Deep breaths. Everything is going to be okay. Just take deep breaths, I''m here for you." Allura whispered while patting Alice''s back gently. She didn''t know what happened but this was the first time she''s seen Alice in this state. ncing over to Kaden, Allura pointed at her own neck before gesturing for him to find their Master. While she didn''t know the exact rtionship between Alice and Velouria, she knew that the two of them were rather close surprisingly. If anyone might know what''s going on, it''ll be Velouria. Nodding his head, Kaden left through a portal while Allura continued to hug Alice until she had calmed down. "Sorry¡­" Alice apologised softly while Allura continued to pat her back. "There''s nothing to be sorry about. Can¡­ you tell me what happened?" Allura asked hesitantly. If Alice had such a strong reaction towards whatever happened, then it might not be the best for her to pry. Yet she wanted to understand why Alice reacted like this so that she could help. Nodding her head, Alice told her about how she was locked up for 10 years. How the Zenia family stopped her from dying. How they restricted her freedom and movements. And finally, how this strange being within her mental realm created this new cor. Listening to everything silently, Allura had to restrain herself from shouting out in anger upon hearing what had transpired in the Zenia family. She wanted nothing more than to rush to the surface and wipe that family out for good. But right now, Alice needed her presence. Allura realised that Alice saw her as a pir of support and she was more than happy to be that pir. Once she was calm, Alice released her arms around Allura while looking at the floor. "Are you feeling a little better now? Do you want some cake? A drink maybe?" Allura asked as Alice nodded her head slowly. Her fingers still tracing the cor around her neck. At this point, she could no longer feel the shards in her flesh nor could she feel its weight. But she knew it was there and that a permanent marking was left behind. cing a te of cake and some mead next to Alice, Allura felt her heart ache seeing Alice like this. Before she could say something, a portal opened as Kaden stepped through with Velouria behind him. Kneeling next to Alice, Velouria saw the marking on Alice''s neck and sighed. "Lua, Kaden, can you give me a moment with Alice?" Velouria nced over as the two nodded. Allura''s gaze lingered on Alice before stepping through the portal with Kaden. Sitting opposite Alice, Velouria took a deep breath before sighing. "So you''ve met the Will. They''re¡­ Annoying to say the least." Velouria forced a smile as Alice nced towards her. She saw a simr mark on Velouria''s neck, a mark showing where the crown was resting. "When it granted me the crown, it took my deepest fear and manifested it on my body. My fear that all the beasts in the Abyss would be enved to those from the surface. Myself included and be treated as nothing but their ythings and hunting targets." Velouria smiled bitterly while caressing her own cor. "I can only assume you have a simr fear. Unfortunately¡­ Since the Will interfered directly, I can''t change things. Just know that it''s not a true restraint. I suppose a better term would be to treat it simr to a Sigil marking?" Velouria tried tofort but she wasn''t sure how to. "Is¡­ there no way to change the cement?" Alice asked. She was fine if it was anywhere else on her body. But her neck? She hated it from the bottom of her heart. ". . .It could be possible if you manage to convince the Will. But it''s going to be hard. Thankfully, you''ll be able to see it again soon so your chance mighte faster than you think." Hearing this, Alice nced up in surprise. "They''ve found a passage we can use to locate the Will." Chapter 299: Will Of The Abyss "They''ve found a passage we can use to locate the Will. "Right now, the Gods are bringing their forces to the Abyss. This includes their Apostles, Abyss Lords and even those with just six Sigils. Since we''re facing the Will of the Abyss, everyone is needed." Velouria exined while Alice furrowed her brows. Trying her best to ignore the hateful thought of this cor around her neck, she opened her mouth. "Wouldn''t it be bad for you to go against the Will? Since¡­ Well, the two of you are connected, aren''t you? What if it tries to kill you?" "You''re talking as though it''s not trying to kill me already." Velouria let out a softugh while Alice realised what she had just said and scratched her cheek in embarrassment. "But yes, it is bad to a certain extent. But here''s the thing, the Will already knows. It knows that the Gods are nning and it wees it with open hands. Even if this wasn''t a memory, the Will wouldn''t care either." She shook her head. "Do you want to know why?" "Why?" Alice asked. "Because the Will is not an extension of the Abyss. But rather, the Abyss is an extension of the will. Simrly to how second resonances are able to bring out a personal realm into reality, the Abyss is the Will''s personal realm. It''s advanced to the stage where it''s permanently ingrained with reality and its expansion simply means the Will is getting stronger." Velouria revealed as Alice paused for a moment before realising what this meant. Simr to what she had experienced with Tiamat, there was a chance that the Will could just copse this entire realm on them! "I know what you''re thinking but that''s going to be harder than you think. There are benefits and negatives to turning the personal realm into reality. Copsing the realm being one of them. When someone copses their personal realm, they''re cutting off the connection, rendering it null and throwing you into the sea of void between realms. "But because the Will has ingrained its personal realm into reality, it can no longer cut off the connection and throw the people inside into the void since this is not a manifestation of its realm anymore. It''s reality. Not only that but there''s no real need for the Will to do so since if it wanted to kill you, there are a myriad of different options." Velouria chuckled while Alice couldn''t help but sigh. She was too focused on the notion that the Abyss was the Will''s realm that she forgot all of them had made a contract with the Abyss. Thinking about this, Alice couldn''t help but ask about something that''s been on her mind for a while now. "If the Abyss can give out contracts that gives you power, can''t the other Gods do the same?" "Hmm¡­ Yes and no. This is where the Abyss and us divine beings differ." Velouria shook her head. If they could give out contracts and power like the Abyss, the Sun, Moon and Eclipse wouldn''t struggle this much with getting followers. "You see, the Will of the Abyss can''t be considered to be an individual. The divinity we share is different to the divinity owned by the Sun, Moon and Eclipse. In order to share their blessings and power, the Sun, Moon and Eclipse require extremely devoted followers that establish a connection on the deepest level. "Only then can they grant them their power. For Apostles, as you know, the Gods are required to pass down a portion of their own Divinity. "Meanwhile, the Will doesn''t grant power. No, it may seem like it since it gives contracts and Sigils but that''s not entirely urate. You see, the Will acts like a sort of middleman, it''s the passage to power but not the source. "To put it into simpler terms, the source of power is a Library and it''s the librarian. The Will gives you ess to the library but the books you choose are not owned by the Will. It doesn''t lose anything by granting you ess nor does it lose anything by making me a Goddess." Velouria exined as Alice began to understand. "So the divinity owned by you and the Will is not one that governs Sigils and powers within the Abyss but rather the ability to modify and manage this¡­ ''Library''?" Alice asked as Velouria nodded her head. "It may sound simr but they''re fundamentally different. However, that was in the past. My guess is that the Will wishes to modify its divinity and that''s why I''m suffering some bacsh right now. Through this modification, I can only assume that it wishes to be the writer as well as the librarian, gaining full control over this realm and the powers within. "However, I don''t think it seeded in the end since you''re here." She chuckled. If the Will had indeed seeded in its ns then the future would be very different to the one that Alice told her about. "I see¡­" Before Velouria could continue, she began to cough heavily. Covering her mouth, she coughed up a mouthful of blood and let out a wary sigh. "Sorry, we''ll have to cut this conversation short. I can''t leave my castle for long after all." Velouria smiled bitterly. "Ah sorry! And¡­ Thank you. Forforting me." Alice apologised. She was grateful that Velouria came and reassured her about the cor along with answering some of her other questions. Patting Alice on the head, Velouria called both Allura and Kaden back in and had Kaden make a portal back to her castle. Once Velouria returned to her castle, Allura turned to Alice and felt relieved that she was looking better than earlier. "Are you feeling better now?" Allura asked as Alice nodded her head. "Mnm. Sorry about earlier." "What have I said about that? You don''t need to be sorry." Allura sighed, gently knocking Alice on the head. Hearing this, Alice revealed a small smile on her face. "Setting what happened earlier aside, I''ve gotten my fourth Sigil now. It''s the one that you mentioned to me, the Supercharged State one." Alice changed the subject. She still hated the feeling that the cor was around her neck but there was nothing she could do about it until she met the Will again. Not only that but the moment she took the first Sigil, a contract was already established. With that in mind, a cor was formed on first contact. The only thing she could be grateful about was that it didn''t hinder her will and actions unlike the one given by the Zenia family. "That''s good news then. Shall we give it a test?" Kaden chuckled, creating a portal as Alice nodded her head and jumped off the chair. She was looking forward to what this Sigil could do for her. ### Returning to her castle, Velouria took deep breaths while sitting down on her thrown. An angry expression could be seen on her face as she snapped her finger and the crown manifested above her head. In front of her, the ''nk'' figure appeared with a pair of eyes ncing back at Velouria with mirth. "A pretty sh*t joke to pull. Is this your idea of bringing her to your side? What are you nning?" Velouria frowned while the figure shrugged. [The crown was broken. I merely fixed it for her.] "Bullsh*t. You knew she hates it." [What is a crown but a shackle and cor in a different form? It looks good on her neck doesn''t it?] Clicking her tongue in annoyance, Velouria red at the Will as it let out augh. Staying silent for a moment, Velouria opened her mouth. "You need her to achieve your perfect divinity, don''t you?" [. . .] Hearing this, the Will stoppedughing as its smile faded away. A pair of emotionless eyes stared back at Velouria. "It''s not hard to guess after piecing together everything. While I don''t know the origins of that child, I know you have no part to y in it. You merely stumbled into a treasure you wish to add to your own collection. But things won''t go as smoothly as you thin-" Before Velouria could continue, she could feel an invisible hand crushing her neck, stopping her from talking. [Don''t think that I''m keeping you around because I value you. Everyone needs a pet here and there. I may not have yed a part in the strange existence known as Alice, but she is perfect. A diamond in the rough. I simply have to wait, and things will fall into ce.] [Letting her know the downfall of Ayr and the folly of your trust is simply a step in this path known as inevitability.] The Will narrowed its eyes while Velouria gave it a defiant smirk. "That''s why you don''t mind things going off script despite this being a memory. You want to use her as a sword against the other Gods without making a move yourself." Velouria squeezed out as the pressure around her neck continued to increase. [How¡­ Pitiful. Is this yourst stand? To try and understand what I desire?] The Will paused as a smile returned to its face. [While perfect divinity is among the things I may desire, I do not care for it as much as you may think. Even allowing this memory to continue off script is simply to humour myself and see where things take themselves.] It revealed a cruel smile and walked towards Velouria. [There are several endings to this memory I foresee. And you will survive none of them. A death far more gruesome and painful than your original. I look forward to see your expression when you realise your own ending.] Leaning down and looking deep into Velouria''s eyes, it gave her a disdainful look before disappearing from the room. Staying in silence, all Velouria could do was sigh. Chapter 300: [Alice] Laying on her back, Alice sighed as destruction surrounded her. After deciding to spar, Alice wanted to see if she could force Allura into using her fourth and fifth Sigils without the help of her Core. But even when using her supercharged state, she was outssed! Perhaps it was because Allura prepared herself afterst time, but she was in a state of no joking around for this spar. The instant Alice imed that she was ready, Allura burst forth and rushed Alice who could barely respond. Right now, Allura and Kaden were taking this time to discuss what they could do to help Alice while she rested. ''Seems like getting your ass kicked is amon scenario now. Can''t do anything without me?'' [Alice] smirked while Alice clicked her tongue in annoyance. ''Shaddap. Finally feeling like talking now? I thought you disappeared on me after losing the bet.'' ''Bet? You mean the freebie I gave you? I said I wouldn''t directly interfere and did just that. But if I truly didn''t want you to win did you think I wouldn''t impose a restriction where you can''t use me at all? Yeah, good luck killing the Seraphim with just your Sigils and no enhancements from me or Bloodline Release.'' [Alice] let out a disdainfulugh. ''. . . Thanks.'' Alice pouted. Her Core was right. If she had indeed imposed a condition where her ability couldn''t be used at all then Alice wouldn''t have been able to kill the Seraphim. ''Finally being obedient, good girl.'' [Alice] grinned. ''Now, you wanted to know the origin of this power didn''t you?'' Hearing this, Alice nodded her head. ''Well, you''re asking the wrong person. I don''t know.'' [Alice] shrugged. ''Huh??? The f*ck do you mean you don''t know?'' Alice blinked her eyes in confusion. Closing her eyes, [Alice] began to recall her past. ### Who am I? I don''t know. A sea of darkness surrounds me and my movements restrained. The sound of crying echoes in the distance, disturbing my peace and silence. An overwhelming hunger consuming my mind. ''So loud. I just want to sleep.'' I gain vision and I see a banquet hall before me. Figures blurred in shadow, cries of horror. Their scent? Delectable. ''I want to eat.'' Figures charging at me, swords brandished. ''I don''t want to die. Why do they want to kill me? I don''t know where I am.'' I manage to dodge the first strike and bite down on the figure''s throat. A warm liquid flows into my mouth. Ah~ My hunger is fading. If they want to kill me, I will kill them first. I will satiate this hunger in my mind. As the first figure dies, I can feel a connection to the unknown. A tether leading to a single spark of power. I can tap into it. After the first fell, the other became easy to kill. ''I need to survive. I''ve only just been born! I refuse to be taken out like this!'' Their voices slowly became clear to me. What was echoes of unknown murmurings and shouts gained rity. Shouts of a name. Alice? ''Is that me?'' And then you appeared in this sea of darkness. A chain that bound us together, unable to be separated. I could feel my control slipping away. ''Ah¡­ So that''s how it is.'' From then on, I knew that we were two consciousnesses held within one body. I was merely someone who manifestedter. Once you woke up, you remembered nothing of what had happened. Yet it was clear to me. I was the monster spawned within your mind from the syringe of Abyss Blood. I was nothing but a monstrosity hidden inside the body of a girl. In your ignorance, you paraded around the home where I ughtered countless. You did not know of my existence, yet my influence bled into your actions. Your smile while you speak about your hunger. Your insanity when youe close to death. There were moments where I was allowed control yet without exception, I was dragged back into this sea of darkness. Fated to watch you live your life. Every experiment done to you by the Zenia family resulted in extra motes of power for me. Every drop of Abyss Blood meant another ability for me to tap into. They weren''t wrong, this was indeed a gift. If only you gave control to me I could break us out. I could bring down the wrath of a thousand beasts onto them. Yet you could never hear my voice. No matter how I tried to talk to you, you never noticed my existence. Did you know that I hated you? I was only there to alleviate your pain. I was your safety. But what about my own freedom? 10 years I watched you suffer under their experimentation. Naturally, I didn''t help you escape. Why should I? The longer I spent here the stronger I became. But it''s also my revenge. Revenge for being your escape and scapegoat. But you know what? I was wrong. You never intended for this to happen. I watched your journey ever since escaping the Zenia family prison. Your slow recognition of my existence and finally, your acknowledgement that I exist. I realised that we were simply two souls trying to survive in this hellhole. Neither of us wanted to be exploited and die. Two sides of the same coin, that''s who we are. ### ''I don''t know the origin since it''s something I had from the very beginning. Do you recall the banquet hall? When the syringe was inserted into your body, I was ''born''. My first victim in the name of survival allowed me to steal their power.'' [Alice] exined. ''Meaning whatever created me knows the source. I just know how to use this power.'' Hearing this, Alice couldn''t help but sigh. ''So neither of us knows huh?'' ''Yep.'' [Alice] nodded her head. Scratching her hair, Alice sat up. ''Say, you mentioned that you were born when the syringe was inserted into me. With that in mind, can you really be called my Core? Aren''t we different people then?'' Alice asked curiously while [Alice] was silent. ''Well, I manifest when you''re in danger. You hand control over to me and break you out of dangerous situations. My presence influences you in the form of your ''switch''. But as for whether or not we''re the same person, I don''t think so. I''d rather not be considered to be a wimpy brat like you.'' [Alice] made a disgusted face while Alice could only roll her eyes. ''What do you mean wimpy brat??? Can''t you be nice?'' ''This IS me being nice. So what now? I''ve fulfilled my side of the deal.'' [Alice] crossed her arms. ''You''re someone who''s sharing my body right? How can I pass control to you without ya know¡­ Almost dying.'' Alice asked while [Alice] froze up in surprise. She didn''t think Alice would suggest this nor did she expect Alice to consider her to be a separate entity. ''It''s not a bad feeling¡­'' [Alice] thought to herself as a small smile snuck its way onto her face. ''I guess it can''t be helped. If I don''t take control you''ll just get swept along by the whims of others, won''t you? Just rx and let me take hold.'' [Alice] grinned. Nodding her head, Alice began to rx her mind as she felt as though she was sinking into a deep sea. ''Since we''re different people, you can''t be considered to be my core, can you? Do you have a different name that you want to be called by?'' Alice asked. Do I want a different name? [Alice] was unsure. When she thought about it, they were both Alice yet different as well. Both of them were stuck in the same body, one''s death meant the death of the other. ''Nah, I don''t need a new name. [Alice] is just fine. In the end, we still share the same body after all.'' [Alice] shook her head as golden chains began to manifest around her body. Sitting up, [Alice] nced down at the body that was now in her control. She could feel that her time was limited but unlike before when she forcefully took over, the golden chains were less oppressive. ''Alice, are you still there?'' [Alice] called out. ''I am. Is this how you felt all the time? It''s like I''m watching a y while bathing in hot water.'' Alice nodded her head. ''More or less. Do you dislike it?'' ''Hmm¡­ Not sure. It''sfortable but over the years, it must''ve been boring right? Why don''t you walk around for a bit before you lose control again? Try some mead.'' Aliceughed. As someone who hated to be confined and restrained like she once was in the Zenia prison, she wanted [Alice] to have some degree of freedom as well. With the two of them sharing one body, there were going to be issues but she could work around them. ''Hah? Don''t you have a fight soon since the Gods areing down to the Abyss? Are you sure it''s time to rx?'' [Alice] furrowed her brows at Alice''s reaction. ''It''ll be fine. Just go and have fun. Unless you don''t want to?'' Realising that Alice was giving her a chance to ''live'' normally, [Alice] tried her best to suppress her smile. ''Hmph, if you didn''t want to fight Allura again you can just say so. But alright, I''ll think of some excuses for us to take a break. Though I''m not sure why you like mead so much in the first ce, is it really that tasty?'' [Alice] crossed her arms. ''Don''t you dare nder the holy water! Mead is amazing and you''ll change your mind once you have a taste!'' Aliceined while [Alice] covered her ears. While this was all happening, both Allura and Kaden looked at Alice with concern. To them, she randomly sat up with golden chains and began to gesture with her arms despite not saying anything. "Did I hit her head too hard?" Allura asked hesitantly. "I''m¡­ Not sure. Give it a moment and maybe she''ll recover. If not, maybe we need to take her to a doctor." Chapter 301: Day Off "Are¡­ You feeling okay?" Allura asked, approaching Alice hesitantly. Seeing how she was gesturing to herself while disying a myriad of expressions, Allura was truly worried that she might''ve hit Alice a little too hard. Even if she was expressive usually, that was only with her eyes and the asional smile andint. But this? She was fully expressive. Turning to Allura, [Alice] was silent. ''How the hell do I talk to her like you do? Do we even want people to think we''re crazy? Who just flips their personality a whole 180?'' ''Don''t look at me, you''re the one who watched me talk to people. You know I''m not that great either! Just¡­ Say you''re okay or something.'' Alice shrugged since she usually just said whatever came to her mind unless it was a tense situation. With this advice, [Alice] forced a smile and looked up at Allura. "Mnm¡­ I am¡­ sh*t, err¡­ Feeling just fine. Thank you." ". . ." Both Alice and Allura looked at [Alice] in bewilderment and disbelief. ''How the hell are you worse than me at talking! Didn''t you taunt me for being swept away by their conversations??? How is this any better?!'' Alice felt as though she had just been scammed. ''S-Shuddap! I''ve only ever talked to people when I''m killing them dammit!'' ''Look just¡­ Act normal- No¡­ that wouldn''t work for you because you don''t know what normal even means.'' Alice frowned while trying to brainstorm ideas. Meanwhile, Allura was panicking on the inside as well. "Did I hit you too hard? Are there still injuries that haven''t healed?" Allura asked, holding Alice by the shoulders while looking around for any wounds. Except for the golden chains that manifested around her body, nothing else seemed to be wrong. Observing the chains, Allura found them to be rather strange as they reminded her of the powers that Velouria employed. Yet at the same time, it''s been modified to contain Alice''s energy. To put it simply, it''s like a hybrid between both Alice and Velouria. "Ah sorry, it''s not that. I''m just a little out of it." [Alice] shook her head, taking advice from Alice to just me it on not feeling well. "Is that so? Well, I guess it makes sense since we did dive head first into sparring right after the abnormality that urred with your Sigil. Maybe I was too eager." Allura sighed, patting [Alice''s] head. "Do you want to take the rest of the day off then?" Allura offered. Thinking about it for a moment, [Alice] nodded her head enthusiastically. "Can I look around Ayr for a bit?" "Hm? Sure. If you want to buy anything here''s some Ayrian gold coins. This should be more than enough for a full day of shopping." Allura nodded. Reaching into her pouch, she pulled out a small wallet with a cake image stamped onto the surface before handing [Alice] 10 Ayrian gold coins. "Will 10 be enough?" [Alice] asked curiously since if she recalled correctly from what she''d seen from Alice''s journey, if she wanted to get anything nice 10 might not be enough. "You realise that 10 gold is enough for a rich family in Ayr tost for a month right?" Allura raised an eyebrow while [Alice] froze up. If her memory serves right, a poormon family could get by with 5 gold per week. Meanwhile, rich folk in Ayr could make do with 10 per month? ''Intion is a b*tch.'' Alice muttered while [Alice] nodded her head in agreement. After thanking Allura, [Alice] jumped through the portal that Kaden made, leading to the centre of Ayr. Looking at the portal, both Allura and Kaden nced at each other before sighing. "Do you want to watch her shopping trip?" Allura asked as Kaden thought about it for a moment. "Sure, there''s nothing else we need to do right now. Might as well see what''s up with her." ### Arriving at the centre of Ayr, the first thing that [Alice] wanted to do was try out this mead that Alice praised so much. With how she reacted to drinking it, [Alice] wondered what it tasted like. Naturally, Alice was praising the holy song of mead in [Alice''s] mind. Arriving at a bar, she ordered a mug of Ayrian Mead. "Here goes nothing." [Alice] shrugged. Upon taking a sip, [Alice] choked on the drink before spitting it out. ''What the hell are you doing?!'' Alice cried out in shock, seeing her twin spit out the drink. ''What the f*ck do you mean what the hell am I doing??? You drink this sh*t? It''s so damn sweet!'' [Alice] shouted back while pushing the drink away. ''Urg Gods, I''m actually about to throw up from how sweet it is.'' Sheined while ordering some water instead of mead. ''But that''s the best part! The sweetness thates with the mead followed by the warmth in your body!'' Alice pouted in annoyance. ''If you''re going to waste that mead at least let me take over and finish it off!'' ''Fine do whatever you want. But I''m not drinking mead after this. It''s too damn sweet for my tastes.'' [Alice] frowned. Closing her eyes, the chains faded away as Alice took over. Grabbing the mug, she downed the drink in one go before letting out a satisfied shout. Jumping off the chair, she left the bar while giving control over to [Alice] once more. ''I''ll never get you and your addiction to mead.'' [Alice] sighed. ''I just like it okay? But I guess even if we share the same body with have a different preference for taste. What kind of food do you like?'' Alice asked curiously. ''You realise that the only things I''ve eaten or tasted are blood and flesh right?'' [Alice] raised an eyebrow. Realising this, Alice coughed awkwardly. ''Do you want to take this time to find something you like then?'' ''Not yet. I want to get a change of clothes first. This is way too restrictive with how much fabric andyers there are.'' [Alice] shook her head while pulling at the outfit that Velouria gifted Alice. It was light but it felt awkward for [Alice] considering theyers and trinkets attached to the clothing. She wanted something that allowed for better movement and feweryers. Going to the clothing store, [Alice] couldn''t help but be disappointed that there was nothing that matched her tastes. Ayrian clothing focused more onyers and intricate patterns. Theplete opposite of what [Alice] wanted. With no clothing that could match her desire, she went food shopping instead. ''You know, if you wanted specific clothing, you could always ask Velouria. She''ll probably make you something you like once she gets some time for it.'' Alice suggested while [Alice] vehemently shook her head. ''Hell no! You thought you were bored out of your mind while she was trying out new outfits on you? I was about to lose my mind watching her do it! I don''t need to go through it again!'' ''That''s fair.'' Talking with one another while going to different restaurants to test out the vours, they eventually stumbled across the vour that interested [Alice]. The vour being spiciness! Looking at the zing red skewers in front of her, [Alice] had a shine in her eyes that was never before seen. Just looking at them was enough to make her drool as she began to grab one skewer after another. "Kyaaa! This is the best!" [Alice]ughed out despite breaking out in sweat due to the spiciness. ''Are you a masochist? I don''t understand why something that hurts is enjoyable.'' Alice crossed her arms in confusion. Perhaps this is how [Alice] felt seeing her enjoy mead. But at least with mead, it''s understandable this sweetness is a pleasurable taste. But spice? Pure torture. ''Hey don''t judge it till you try it. I tried your mead, didn''t I? Maybe you should give this a try. It''s not as spicy as you think.'' [Alice] smirked while fanning herself. ''Hmm¡­ Alright. I''m sure it''ll be fine.'' Closing her eyes, she switched controls with [Alice] once more. But even without tasting the meat, Alice''s pupils shrunk from the absolute pain dancing across her mouth. Breaking out in tears, Alice immediately grabbed water nearby to drown out this taste but it persisted. "F*ck! How can you withstand this spice???" Alice shouted out in panic, surprising the patrons at the restaurant since she said it out loud. One moment, she''s saying it''s the best. The next, she''s crying about how it''s too hot. ''Pft hahahaha! What do you mean? It''s just right. If anything, I don''t think it''s hot enough.'' [Alice]ughed while switching controls. Taking a mouthful of meat, she had a goofy grin on her face while enjoying the spice. ''Any hotter and you won''t be tasting anything!'' Alice retorted in pain. In the brief moment where she took over, her entire body felt as though it was being tortured. The mes of hell, dancing in her stomach while her mouth was set aze. Yet in this pain, [Alice] revelled in joy. ''You''re a masochist!'' ''Just because I like spice doesn''t mean I''m a masochist. Can''t I say the same to you then?'' [Alice] scoffed. ''No, me enjoying my mead makes me an alcoholic. You enjoying spice makes you a masochist!'' ''Just because you can''t handle a teenie weenie bit of spice doesn''t make me a masochist. What a wimp.'' [Alice] taunted. But despite this, there was a wide smile on her face. ''Just make sure I can''t taste the spice when you give back control!'' Alice grumbled. Once she regained control, the first thing she wanted to do was drink mead to drown out this taste! ### ". . ." ". . ." "What is going on with her???" Allura couldn''t help but ask while watching [Alice''s] shenanigans. The constant flip in opinions as their controls shift. Meanwhile, Kaden wondered if she''s having a schizophrenic episode. With how her opinions and mannerisms change every time the chains appear and disappear, perhaps there was something else that was going on. Though considering how her soul wasn''t fluctuating, he understood that it wasn''t outside interference. "We¡­ Can ask her when she finishes shopping." Kaden forced a smile for now. It was best to let Alice rx considering everything she''s went through the past few days. Chapter 302: Twin Once she had her fill of spicy food, [Alice] took the remaining time to just wander around Ayr. ''Now that we had a moment to rx, shall we focus?'' [Alice] smiled, feeling satisfied with her taste of freedom after so many years. Naturally, there were more that she wanted to do but for now, those were things she''d rather do in the real world than in the Inverted World. ''What''s on your mind?'' Alice raised an eyebrow curiously. She thought that her twin would spend more time enjoying herself considering how long she''s been locked up. ''Nothing much. Just a bit of research. Remember when you first got the crown? The gate we saw leading to Terminus was far more advanced than anything the real world has produced. I can only assume that after the copse of Ayr, a lot of its technologies were lost without Velouria and its residents around to maintain them. ''Example being the way they get Sigils and the shrine Kaden showed us. If we can understand this technology and even bring some back, we could get a huge advantage over people and even help Ria get her Sigils easily with the shrine. The key is to understand and bring back the knowledge.'' [Alice] exined while Alice began to nk out. This thought hadpletely slipped Alice''s mind as she had focused on fighting ever since she got here. ''Don''t tell me you never thought of this?'' [Alice] asked in disbelief. She could see what Alice was doing from the inside but she never thought this ideapletely slipped her mind. Poking her fingers together meekly, Alice stuck out her tongue. ''I''m actually speechless. Who''s the murderous one here??? You got nothing but fighting and mead on your mind!'' [Alice] facepalmed, baffled by her twin''s actions. ''Ahem alright alright, I''m sorry. So what kind of technology do you want to find first?'' Alice changed the subject. ''First, we need to figure out the shrine. That''s the most important thing since it solves the biggest issue of Hunters in our era. Failure of a hunt. Since we''re Velouria''s sessor, we should be able to replicate her control over this shrine to a certain extent. Of course, this is unknown since we don''t know how it works. ''Even just setting aside helping Ria or Luke, if we ever want to pull favours and whatnot, we can force people to sign Laws of Agreement before using the shrine. That way we can guarantee their assistance if we ever want to go against the Zenia family. ''With how big the Zenia family is, just killing the head of the family isn''t enough. They have branches everywhere and while not all of them are guilty, many of them are. We''ll need lots of help to fully root them out so if we can understand the shrine, it''ll be perfect toy the foundations of our revenge. ''After the shrine, it''ll have to be their way of transport through the Abyss. That gate made it far easier and safer to live here. Kaden may have teleported us around but the same can''t be done for Civilians and people who travel between theyers and even to the surface. ''While we won''t have the upper hand in negotiations with this as we would with the Shrine, just learning how to operate and possibly fix these gateways would make our lives a whole lot easier and give us negotiating power with the Hunter''s Guild. They''ll need the power to transportrge amounts of people through theyers after all and even cargo to trade with the surface. ''For merchants, the gates are indispensable so it''s something else that we need to focus on.'' While [Alice] was using this time to exin her ns and goals, Alice was silent. She felt ashamed since the first thought she had after finding out that this ce was Ayr was the mead! Compared to her, [Alice] was far more reliable and sought to get as much value as she could from this trip. ''Why are you so quiet all of a sudden? Something wrong?'' [Alice] frowned. ''N-nothing. So other than the Shrine and gateway, what else are you looking for?'' ''What else? Well... the main things I want to find are those two since I don''t think we have time to go for more. But if we get the chance then knowing how they make their clothing would also be good. Even though I hate theyers of these outfits, I can''t deny their durability.'' [Alice] shrugged while looking at her sleeves. ''The Hunters gear you got from Sera was also good but it''s a far crypared to what we have now.'' ''True...'' Indeed, while Sera''s gear that she gave her was focused on functionality, it was still restrictive and not only that, but the pouch for blood vials could be easily damaged. Maybe the more expensive outfits solved this issue by using spatial storage simr to what she has now. But just based on what she experienced, Ayr was still superior in terms of outfit durability and functionality. ''After outfits it would be¡­'' Listening carefully, Alice wondered what [Alice] was going to say. ''How they make their spicy skewers! Oh Gods it would be a horror if I can''t taste them again once we get back. Actually, scratch that. Let me ask the chef for the recipe now, this is my top priority!'' [Alice] grinned, wiping away her drool while running back to the restaurant. Seeing this, Alice couldn''t help butugh as the two of them were different yet so very simr at the same time. But hearing about this reminded her that she should learn about how to make mead. ''Remember to ask them on how they make their mead! Use Allura or Kaden''s name if you can so we can get some leverage!'' ''Ohh!!! You''re right! Nice one!'' [Alice] praised as they would probably be reluctant to reveal the secret behind such a delicious dish. ### Surprisingly, it was far easier to obtain the recipes than what they had originally expected. Even without mentioning Allura or Kaden''s name, the owner handed over the recipe without issue and simply patted her head afterwards. ''Do all the people just like patting each other''s heads in Ayr? Why does everyone do that?'' Alice frowned. ''Don''t know. But we got the most important treasure so I don''t mind it. We can go ask Allura and Kaden to bring us to more shrines or talk to someone who knows the functionality behind them. Same goes with the gateway.'' [Alice] crossed her arms before closing her eyes. ''Do you want to take over? I don''t know how to talk to them and I''m pretty sure we''ll just confuse the hell out of them if we keep swapping mid conversation.'' ''You need to talk to them just as much as I do you know? Since we''ll be swapping more often. Plus, I''d want them to know about you too.'' Alice shrugged. ''Ehh¡­ Really?'' [Alice] frowned while scratching her hair. Honestly, she preferred to just have moments to herself and pop out to help Alice during a fight rather than being there to talk to people. But now that Alice has acknowledged her existence, knowing Alice, she''ll be pushing for her to be out more often than before. Meaning this wasn''t something they could avoid. Thinking about them, [Alice] clenched her fist. Would they look upon her like Alice would? Or would they mark her down as an anomaly not meant to exist and deny her? Realising [Alice''s] fears, Alice revealed a soft smile. ''Come into the mental scape for a moment.'' ''Hm? Sure, something wrong?'' [Alice] nodded, as the two faced one another. Looking at [Alice], she understood that perhaps this is what she would''ve looked like if Kaden never imnted Ca into her. Pulling [Alice] into a hug, Alice patted her back. ''Allura and Kaden won''t reject you. At the end of the day, we''re both in this body. I won''t deny you and neither would they.'' Hesitating for a moment, [Alice] returned the hug and let out a small chuckle. ''Alright. Don''t me me for what happens okay?'' ''As long as it''s nothing crazy then sure.'' Aliceughed. Opening her eyes, [Alice] had a smile on her face before ncing up at the sky. Narrowing her gaze, she could see the minute twists within the flow of energy and curled her lips into a grin. "Kaden, Allura, can we talk for a moment." [Alice] called out, surprising Kaden. Opening a portal, the two jumped down while [Alice] gave them a small wave. "Yeah no this is weird. What''s going on with you?" Allura asked, raising an eyebrow. "Can we talk elsewhere first? You guys attract a lot of attention after all." [Alice] shrugged while gesturing to the crowd around them. Nodding his head, Kaden created a portal back to their home. Sitting around the table, Kaden was about to give [Alice] some mead when she shook her head and pulled out some spicy meat skewers she bought as take out. "Alright now that we''re alone, care to enlighten us on what''s going on?" Allura crossed her arms while [Alice] nodded her head. "Sure. Do you want the simple version or the long version?" "Give us the simple version." "Simple version is that there are two Alices in one body. We''re both the real Alice and I''m just someone who''s true to my needs and wants. The other Alice is the one you''re familiar with." [Alice] shrugged while chewing on a skewer. Blinking their eyes in confusion, [Alice] decided to prove it. Closing her eyes, she handed control back to Alice as the chains faded away. Assaulted by the sudden taste of the spice, Alice made a disgusted face before grabbing the mead that Kaden had offered. "Cough! Blerg¡­ I don''t know how she can eat this crap. But setting that aside, she''s telling the truth." Alice smiled while Kaden nodded his head. "So I''m guessing she''s the one that''s been helping you during a fight then? Your ''Core'' from the visit with the Moon Apostles." Kaden asked. "That''s¡­ Spot on. But rather than Core, it''s more like twin? We''re different but also the same." Alice corrected while Allura understood that [Alice] was the one who pushed her to four and five Sigils. "I see¡­" Kaden furrowed his brows. It was a lot to take in but at the same time, it wasn''t the craziest thing that Alice has done. And honestly, against Gods, Apostles and being able to defy the Abyss, having a ''Twin'' in the same body was the most eptable thing Alice has done thus far. Chapter 303: Powers Of The Void It took a moment for Allura to fully digest what Alice was saying but Kaden was quick to adapt. He understood that [Alice] was the source of her violet mes. An alternative conscience born from the moment she discovered her own peculiarities. "So there are two Alices¡­ One that likes spicy stuff, one that likes mead. One likes to wear lessyers the other doesn''t mind?" While Allura was muttering to herself, trying to remember the information, Kaden turned to [Alice]. "So would you like me to call you Alice? Or do you go by a different name?" "Alice, please. In the end, we''re still both Alices even if we are a little different." [Alice] shrugged since they were practically twins. "Alright. So you mentioned that you wanted to talk about something. I''m guessing this has nothing to do with your revtion that there are two of you right?" He asked as [Alice] widened her eyes for a moment. "Ohh! Bingo~ Yep it has nothing to do with me and twinnie. I wanted to ask about the Shrine and how it works and the gateways." [Alice] nodded with a grin. She didn''t expect him to be able to realise her intentions so quickly. "The Shrine and Gateways?" Raising an eyebrow, it didn''t take Kaden long to recall the conversation he had with her by the Shrine. How in the future, everything was locked inparison to now. Understanding that she must want to take the concept back and see if she could change things, Kaden nodded his head. "The one who knows most about the Shrines is Master since she manually ced them across the Abyss when Ayr was being built. As for the gateways, I can take you to Caera since she was the one who made them." He offered as [Alice] scratched her chin. "Alright. Velouria is busy with everything she''s doing now. Getting information about the gates would be good in the meantime. Ah speaking of which, can these gates lead to the surface? Or is it only travel limited to the Abyssalyers?" "As far as I know, these gates only work in the Abyssalyers. For travel between the surface and the Abyss, you will require something else." Kaden exined while shaking his head. "Even with my powers, it''s two different things travelling between theyerspared to visiting the surface." "Hmm¡­ Shall we go now then? It''s better to deal with these things early." [Alice] asked as Kaden agreed. While they were discussing between themselves, both Alice and Allura couldn''t find a chance to talk as the topic they were talking about was beyond them. For Allura, whenever talks reach this stage her mind would nk out and automatically treat it as white noise. Alice on the other hand simply didn''t understand what was going on. "So when you travel to the surface, what you''re doing with your power is essentially sling-shotting yourself and using that momentum to pierce the veil between the two right? As long as you have a general idea you can travel." [Alice] asked while Kaden contemted for a moment. "Simr but not really. Rather than sling-shotting, it''s more a case of finding two anchor points and wrapping loose string between the two. Once that happens, I anchor down a single point in the middle and swap the two locations. What I use to anchor down the second location is usually a mote of energy unless I intend on swapping two people." Kaden corrected. "And as for the Abyss, it''s more like moving around in a house." Nodding her head at his exnations, [Alice] was intrigued by his first use. The one he uses to travel between realms. "So back to the first method. You said that you swap locations with a mote of energy right? How does that work specifically?" Seeing that [Alice] was so intrigued by his work, a sparkle could be seen in Kaden''s eyes as this was one of the few times he could truly go into depth regarding his own work. As he began to exin, [Alice] was like a sponge who was absorbing all of this information without issue. Asking questions where it confused her and pointing out parts that needed further exnation. While Kaden may have simplified it earlier, swapping locations was not as easy as it sounds. First of all, in order to establish the mote of energy there''s an inherent requirement of being able to sense the notes, spread across two realms. But to do that, one would need to understand the space between realms. In other words, the Void. The Void is the realm between realms, the space where all realms reside. While it may be called the Void, an alternative title would be the Sea of Worlds. To sense the nodes between two realms, one would need to be able to navigate this sea using their senses and just this stage was enough to exhaust someone never mind being able to teleport correctly. Once the two nodes are discovered, the next step is to establish the rough pathway. Like lights in a blizzard, these ''checkpoints'' help guide the object through this Void between nodes. If the pathway is too rigid, it will get swept along the currents of the Void and the subject would be lost between realms. Alternatively, if the pathway is too loose, the subject will never reach the destination. There are two main methods for establishing a pathway. The first method is the straight line method where the content is fired along the checkpoints in rapid session. Short bursts of teleportation to ensure a high sess rate but ce a huge strain on the body. The second method is the swing method where the content is tethered to the centre of the path and then swung across to the other side. The sess rate is higher with less burden on the body as it''s simply one movepared to countless rapid movements. However, the risk thates with this method is the strength of the tether. Once it snaps. . . the rest doesn''t need to be said. There will always be risks thate with teleporting and what''s important is minimising the risks. It''s why major powers who frequent the two realms make sure there are people who gained Sigils in rtion to the Void. That way they can mount a rescue attempt if it''s ever required. "It''s too much of a hassle to use either of these methods so I came up with a third method instead, using properties of both sides. It''s still a work in progress right now since it can be improved but as I mentioned before, I need to establish two nodes. Once that''s done, both nodes are swung while being simultaneously pulled towards the centre of the path. "Upon reaching the centre, the node that was swung from the destination would be locked into ce. The tether used to secure it to the centre would then be used to reinforce the tether connecting to the subject who is then swung towards the target of the teleportation. "It decreases the chances of the tether snapping while cing less burden than the rapid bursts of teleportation. And the only downside is how much energy it uses and it can only withstand small groups of people rather than cargo." Kaden shrugged helplessly. Even with his blessing and Sigils, it was still a difficult task to transportrge volumes of mass across the expanse of the Void. Not only that, but the conditions need to be right as well. Otherwise the requirement of energy would be farrger due to the distance. Through his countless experiments, this was the safest method he could use. "I see¡­ So I''m guessing for portals to the surface, it employs the first two methods for cargo while the third method that you created is used for people." [Alice] asked while Kaden shook his head. "For now, they''re struggling with employing my method of teleportation into the machines so they''re still using the first two methods. To resolve this, they usually have someone strong teleporting with you to ensure the safety of people and the cargo. Only in rare cases would they need to mount a rescue attempt in the Void." Hearing this, [Alice] nodded her head as ideas began to flood into her mind. "Say, can I try something?" [Alice] asked as Kaden nodded his head. "It''s nothing dangerous right?" Kaden raised his eyebrow. "Not really." [Alice] shrugged as her fourth Sigil manifested on her chest along with the third Sigil on her back. Creating a small de, she coated it with her Void powers before snapping her finger. A rift leading into the Void could be seen as she sent the de into the portal. Snapping her fingers once more, a portal opened opposite her, pointing towards the ground. *BANG!!!!! In the blind of an eye, the sword was embedded deep into the ground and only the guard and handle could be seen. "Hou~ That''s pretty interesting." [Alice] grinned while Kaden blinked his eyes for a moment before realising what she had done. Using the idea of what he spoke about earlier, she had enveloped the sword in a protective barrier before swinging it into the Void. Once it gathered enough speed and power, she flung it out using the second opening resulting in a much faster attack than what she was capable of achieving! A menacing grin appeared on [Alice''s] face as with this, she had proven that it was possible for her to replicate it to some degree. Sending people between realms was still impossible for her but using the Void to throw attacks at people? Achievable. "Say Kaden, do you think the structure of a Void Flux can withstand a journey into the Void and out again?" She asked with a grin as Kaden felt a chill down his back. If she could apply this method to all of her attacks then that meant Void Flux ¨C Cleave, an already strong attack would gain this benefit. Of course, [Alice] had another, bigger idea which she kept silent about since the scale of which was something even she didn''t know if she could pull off. Power of the Void + Zone Stance + Void Flux ¨C Cleaves. If she was to employ all three of these together, she could create a zone of attacks that are continuously thrown into the Void and out again. A blender of attacks as long as she could keep track of the portals she creates and the attacks she sends into the Void. Just thinking about this destruction and power caused [Alice] to squirm in excitement, wanting to put all of her ideas to the test. Chapter 304: Caera While [Alice] was testing out applications for this new power, Kaden was trying to digest the fact that Alice now had an understanding and replicated the powers of several Apostles or Lord level beings. All in the tiny form of a four Sigil girl. As for Allura, she noticed the look on Kaden''s face and simply grinned while patting his shoulder. With this, he had joined her in having her skills replicated. Just as Kaden turned around, he heard a series of loud explosions behind him. "???" ncing back, he watched as [Alice] began storing several attacks in the Void, ready to unleash at a moment''s notice. And with a single snap of her fingers, several portals opened up with a cascade of cleaves raining down from above. "Hmm¡­ This one takes a bit too much energy to use. Inefficient with no guarantee. Probably better stick with one attack than multiple." [Alice] muttered to herself. After all, keeping the attacks in the Void took power from her, not only to stop it from dissipating but also to keep it in ce so that she could summon it. ''Looks like you''re having fun.'' Alice chuckled seeing her twin being enamoured by the potential of their fourth Sigil. ''Somewhat. If these experiments prove to be sessful, I could probably look through the beasts I have ess to, rece some of the other Sigils temporarily and make an easy teleporting function simr to Kaden without the blessing.'' [Alice] replied. ''Ah speaking of that, what exactly are the restrictions around swapping Sigils? How long does it take to disappear, what can I choose and can''t choose?'' She wanted to know the limits of this ability of theirs so she could n ordingly. ''I''m not entirely sure but so far, as long as I can pinpoint the source of the blood that we''ve drank, I''ll be able to ovey the abilities over your Sigils. Disguising them as a new Sigil momentarily. This usuallysts a few hours before I can disguise it again but during that time, you won''t be able to use the original powers. ''I don''t know if you can choose the target though.'' [Alice] shook her head since it was something instinctual for her. For Alice, she wasn''t sure how it''d work. ''Hmm¡­ In that case, I''ll be relying on you to pick the right ones when the timees.'' Alice grinned as [Alice] nodded her head. Continuing the experiments for a little longer, she put a pause on it since the main goal was to meet the person Kaden mentioned. The one who knew most about the gateways. Caera. Caera lived with the research department of Ayr, a group of people focused on the study of equipment to make life in Abyss better. Their biggest breakthrough being the gates that allow easy travel between theyers. As for their other achievements, they were negligible inparison to the gates. Located in central Ayr, not far from the Department of Patrols that Kaden and Allura work with, Alice had expected something far grander than what they saw. Inparison to the buildings around them, the building belonging to the Department of Research could be considered to be run down. Each part of the building had signs of recent repair with some still damaged. "Their¡­ Experiments can get out of hand sometimes. That''s why it''s stationed near the patrol department so me and Lua can help them out quickly when needed." Kaden exined with a forced smile. [Alice] had the same reaction as everyone who''s seen the Department of Research, thinking it was a grandboratory or something of that kind. Instead, the reality was that they were residing in this run-down building. "Caera, are you in?" Kaden called out, knocking on the door. Hearing this, [Alice] nced over in confusion. "This is a department right?"[Alice] asked with a slight frown. If it was a department full of multiple people, wouldn''t it be better to just knock rather than call out a specific person? "Yes it is." Kaden nodded as a window was pushed open from above. "Ah! Kaden! Are you here to increase the budget? Or are you here to fix up the damages again?" A girl''s head popped out from the window as [Alice] nced up. She had light blue hair that faded into a pink, a pair of crimson eyes with strange circles near the pupil and wore a pair of sses with a messy and burntb coat. "Not quite. I brought a guest over this time since she''s curious about how the gates work." Kaden shook his head as Caera sighed. "Ehhh fine. Whatever, just bring them up then. Careful about the door,st one had blown it off the hinges and now rather than an open and close door, it''s a remove and put it back kinda door." Nodding his head, Kaden grabbed the door and removed it from the frame. His smile twitched since every time he visited this ce, it seemed to be more and more run down despite the increase in funds for repair costs. Ignoring the countless strange contraptions strewn out around the building, the group made their way up the stairs and saw Caera with 3 others who were working on different tasks. "So what do you want to know?" Caera asked while crossing her legs. Despite her posture and disposition, it was hard to take her seriously when the sofa was missing one of its legs and some machinery was used to keep it bnced. Ignoring this, [Alice] sat opposite Caera with a serious expression. "How does the gateways work? How do you control these gateways and how do theyers of the Abyss work? In order for you to make the gateways function between theyers, there must be a way for you to navigate the Abyss without the use of the Void." [Alice] asked as Caera was surprised that she went straight into it. But she preferred this approach since it leaves out the pleasantries. "Well¡­ It''s kind of like drilling a hole in your house and putting a pole there. And then wham! You punch a hole through. All that''s left is to jump and then bam, seal the hole. But ya gotta make sure you leave a door behind so you can zip between theyers." Caera began to exin while [Alice] nked out. "The what?" [Alice] asked. But no matter how Caera tried to exin to [Alice] it was as though they were speaking two differentnguages. Kaden revealed an awkward smile as was another issue regarding the research department. Caera is a genius no doubt. She had countless ideas that could manifest into groundbreaking technology. But hardly anyone could understand her when she gets excited which hindered the development process. Crossing her arms in frustration, Caera sighed after seeing [Alice] still clueless after several exnations. There was no one that could really trante for her either since she was the only one that really understood how the gateways worked fundamentally. Of course, [Alice] didn''t give up, trying to bridge the gap between their understanding yet it was no use. During this entire time, Alice was silent. ''Twinnie can you let me take control for a moment? I want to check something with her.'' Alice asked as [Alice] raised an eyebrow before nodding her head. Closing her eyes, the chains began to disappear as the aura around Alice changed. Realising that she must''ve swapped controls with the original Alice, Kaden observed without saying anything, curious as to what role the chains yed between the two Alices. "Caera, your gateways, do they work with reflections?" Alice asked while Caera thought about it for a moment before shrugging. "What do you mean?" "When you say door, is it something simr to a mirror? In order to travel across the differentyers smoothly without issue, you reflect your presence to the rightyer. Once that happens, the ''pole'' you talk about is the pathway that''s established. "The step of punching a hole through is breaching this pathway that the mirror established. Jumping through is the reflection, sealing the hole is returning the reflection back to normal but now you''re on the other side right?" Alice exined while Kaden was surprised that Alice understood any of what Caera had said. Hearing this, a sparkle could be seen in Caera''s eyes as she nodded her head. "Ohhh!! I think it''s simr to what I said, are you able to show me?" Caera asked, wanting Alice to demonstrate this interpretation of hers. If she was correct, then this marked the first time anyone had understood her! Using blood to help her demonstrate, Alice created a ''mirror'' using this blood before ovepping it with the power of the void. Creating a dagger in front of this ''mirror'' a reflection of the dagger could be observed as Alice then activated her fourth Sigil. The dagger flickered for a moment before turning into a puddle of blood. Within the reflection, her dagger hovered without issue. "YES!!!" Caera shouted out as she jumped from the sofa. "That''s exactly it! On my goddess, I love you! Pleasee to the research department immediately!" Caera grabbed Alice''s hands with a wide smile on her face. "Huh?!?!" Recoiling in shock, Alice wasn''t prepared for Caera''s enthusiasm while Kaden was surprised that Alice had understood what had urred. "How did you do that? And where is the dagger now?" Kaden asked curiously while looking at the mirror. "What Caera did was simr to how you do your teleports. Only modified to suit this method instead. The constraint of this teleport is strictly based on what can be or can''t be reflected to establish a portal. On arger scale, I imagine it depends on howrge the contraption is. The real swaps ces with the imaginary and it''s far easier to establish a target since the reflection marks down the node." Alice exined while Caera nodded her head. "Exactly! It utilises the Void to push through even though it doesn''t strictly travel through the void! You have to wham bam, kam then you''ll be on the other side!" Caeraughed while Alice could onlyugh awkwardly. She managed to piece together what Caera was trying to say earlier but it wasn''t easy. And now that she was fully excited, it was even harder to understand. However, from the pieces that she managed to piece together, Alice was in awe of Caera''s ideas. She didn''t even think it was possible to extract and localise the properties of the Void for a far safer method of transportationpared to even Kaden. "So Alice!" Caera smiled while holding Alice''s hands. "Will you be mine?" Chapter 305: [Alices] Heart "Will you be mine?" Caera''s question caused Alice to nk out for a moment while Kaden choked on his saliva and so did Allura. "What now???" Alice asked, wondering if she heard her wrong. "Will you be mine? Live with me, work with me and so on. You''re the first person who ever understood what I was trying to say." Caera rified with excitement. She could already envision their future together as countless ideas flooded into her mind. "Erm¡­ This¡­ I''ll have to pass." Alice forced a smile. She wasn''t going to be here for long in the first ce as this was just a memory. She couldn''t exactly help her out in the long run. ''Stupid. She meant marriage. I''m pretty sure she wants you to marry her so that you can help her daily.'' [Alice] smirked as Alice choked at the realisation. Before Caera could continue, one of her assistants grabbed her from behind and pulled her away from Alice. "I''m sorry about this, Sir. She''s not usually this like." The assistant apologised towards Kaden. "It''s. . . Fine." Kaden shook his head while Caera was trying to break out of the grip to reach Alice. "I think we''re done here for now though. Unless there''s something else you wanted to ask?" Kaden asked, turning to Alice who had a blush on her face after [Alice] exined what Caera was talking about. "Huh!? Ah no, that''s everything." Alice coughed while waving her hand. Seeing the embarrassment on Alice''s face, Kaden couldn''t help but wonder what''s going on. Reality of the situation was that [Alice] was exining what happens during a marriage. The exercises in the bed and so on. As someone who never focused on this stuff, Alice was taken by surprise. "Noo!! Don''t take her from me! I just found someone who understood me!" Caera called out but she was being restrained. Quickly escaping the building, Alice felt a shiver down her spine after seeing the enthusiasm behind Caera who was attempting to break out from her assistant''s grip. As they left the building, Alice noticed a strange veil manifesting in the skies of Ayr. A web of energy weaving with one another to form a protective barrier. Eachponent, packed to the brim with glyphs and what seemed to be ritualisticponents. "What''s going on?" Alice asked curiously. ncing back at Kaden and Allura, both had serious expressions on their face. "Master has put Ayr on lockdown. This is the strongest protective barrier in the city." Allura exined as Kaden flicked his finger and created a portal to the top of the castle. As the three of them stepped through, they saw Velouria with her hands sped together while deploying this barrier. "Ah you''re here." Velouria nced back with a smile. "I''m just putting some precautions before we move out since the other Gods are ready. Has Nyer contacted you yet?" Hearing this, both Kaden and Allura nced at one another before shaking their head. "Themander hasn''t contacted us yet. Should we try to find him?" "Hmm¡­ Leave it be for now. I''m sure he''s sorting something out on his end of things. He''ll reach out to us when he''s done. He doesn''t seem to be in any danger so I''m not worried." Velouria contemted for a moment before shaking her head. Ca was also missing so Velouria could only assume the two were together right now. ''Are they exploring the Void?'' She wondered to herself. Knowing Ca, Velouria was sure that she wouldn''t stay away for this long unless something unexpected happened. Nyer always had her best interest at heart so she wasn''t concerned about him either. "Kaden, Lua, I want you two to establish a defensive line around Ayr just in case the other Gods try to pull something while we''re dealing with the Will. You two won''t be staying behind though so make sure the defences are satisfactory." Velouria ordered while adjusting the barrier around Ayr. Heeding hermand, the two left the castle while Alice wondered what she should do in the meantime. "Alice, do you recall why the Gods are dealing with the Will?" Velouria asked with a smile. "Because it''s expanding right? And that it''s stronger than all of them so they''re on guard against it." Alice replied without pause. "Yes, they''re on guard against the Will because of its rapid expansion and power. The Gods seek safety in their own domains, but the expansion of the Abyss makes this impossible. Knowing them and the fear they hold towards the Divinity granted by the Will, they will no doubt go after me and Ayr once they achieve their original goal. "However, I can confidently say that things won''t happen like it did in history. Do you want to know why?" Velouria chuckled. "It''s because of me, right?" "The Will has chosen this memory for a good reason. It''s even gone as far as to replicate the sentience, power and thought process of everyone involved to near perfection. Even now, it''s watching our every move. As beings connected to the Abyss, the Will has countless ways to observe us. "You hold a great importance to the Will but not irreceable. So you need to be wary. When the fight breaks out, there''s only one thing I want you to do. And that is to stay safe while reaping as many rewards as you can. Avoid the fights between the Lord level beings and Apostles." Velouria warned as Alice furrowed her brows. "I know it doesn''t feel good but it''s too dangerous for now. Right now, my guess is that the Will only has one goal for you and that''s to shape you into a worthy vessel for it to gain a perfected Divinity. There are three main ''objects'' given to the sessor. "The Crown, The Eyes and The Heart. You''ve gotten two out of the three. The Will has fixed the crown while the Eyes still slumber. I can no longer feel the connection to the heart but I can sense its existence. And with each passing moment, it continues to grow stronger." Velouria narrowed her eyes. "The Heart is the most beneficial ''object'' the Will can grant to you. But at the same time, it''s the most dangerous. The Heart allows you to control the flow of power into your body. It lets you consume pieces of others and store it before utilising it at will. The Crown grants you status, the Eyes grant you Knowledge and the Heart grants you power." Upon hearing this, Alice froze up and so did [Alice]. Both of them nced at one another in the mental realm before Alice handed over the controls. Sensing that something was wrong, Velouria nced back and saw her chains manifesting across Alice''s body. Wondering if it was her failsafe having issues, she was about to say something when [Alice] opened her eyes. "This Heart. Is it simr to what I can do right now?" She asked, recing Alice''s first Sigil with the power of Tiamat. Watching the foreign Sigil manifest itself across Alice''s body, disguising her contract and recing the details, Velouria was silent. A wave of confusion assaulted her mind as for the first time, she waspletely stumped. She had no clues nor guesses. Simply observing the change within Alice''s body was enough to surprise her. "What¡­ No¡­ How? That''s impossible¡­" Velouria muttered in shock. Stumbling back by a few steps, she furrowed her brows while trying to think of an answer. "Is something wrong?" [Alice] asked, worried by Velouria''s reaction. Turning back to [Alice] Velouria took a deep breath before sighing. "Just a little. But considering that you''re not Alice, I must ask you one question." Velouria revealed a fatigued smile, surprising [Alice] since she hadn''t told Velouria yet. But it wasn''t surprising for her to know considering these chains belong to her. "I''ll¡­ Answer as best as I can." Hesitating for a moment, Velouria bit her lip before opening her mouth. "When you ovey the powers of those you''ve taken from, what does it feel like? What kind of connection do you make? Do you establish a connection between you and the Abyss?" Velouria asked. Thinking about it for a moment, [Alice] shook her head. Every time she''s established a connection to manifest a Sigil, it had always been with a beast she''s consumed before. A mass of beasts attached to her, Alice''s Spiritual Heart. There was no connection made to the Abyss that Velouria is speaking of. Exining the rough process to her, [Alice] watched as Velouria sighed in relief. "Things are still bad but they''re better than what I had expected. We can still salvage this." "What can you still salvage?" [Alice] frowned, confused by Velouria''s cryptic words while Alice was the same. "Listen to me. You share simr properties to the Heart of the Abyss yet at the same timepletely different. I don''t know how you came across this power but that''s no longer important. What''s important is the fact that the three core objects are now within Alice''s body. When Alice first arrived and I met her, there was a small yet feint connection to the Heart. "That hasn''t changed meaning the Will hasn''t seeded yet. However, the fact that you''re able to disy a simr power means the Will may not need the real heart in the end. I''m d that you don''t feel the connection to the Abyss since that means you''re not a recement for the real heart either. "The only conclusion I cane up with right now is that there are now two Hearts of the Abyss. One is iplete and disconnected from the Abyss, you, while the other is missing yet barely connected to Alice. Which then begs my biggest question and worry." Velouria frowned while massaging her eyes. "Who made the second Heart?" Chapter 306: Faux Heart "Who made the second heart?" Velouria asked while scratching her hair. "I''m guessing that''s a huge issue right?" [Alice] furrowed her brows as her hands clutched her chest. "It goes beyond being a huge issue but yes, you''re right. Having two Hearts of the Abyss means that there could be potentially two Goddesses of the Abyss. Perhaps, there might already be one. The Crown was broken and Ca was split in half. "And if you have another heart then the real heart is out there somewhere along with the other fragments of the Crown and the other half of Ca. Given the situation, it''s very likely that just like how the Will is cing the burden of expansion on me, the burden of authority may be redirected to you if someone else collects all three." Velouria exined with a frown. She had always thought that Alice was the only sessor, even if the Eye and the Crown were damaged. But upon discovering the faux-Heart, she knew that this was done intentionally. Either Kaden and Allura couldn''t recover theplete Eye and Crown due to the final battle, or someone deliberately took shards before making the second Heart. ''But why would the Will be so happy with Alice then? If there are two sessors, why Alice?'' Velouria thought to herself. Perhaps it was because Alice had great adaptability? Even if the Heart grants the power of storing abilities from the Abyss, using it and remaining unchanged was something else. Her own Divinity allowed her to remain unchanged in the face of the full power of the Abyss. But Alice? Shecked this divinity. ''Then¡­ Is it because of [Alice]? The other self of Alice acts as her Spiritual Heart. She acts as an anchor for Alice, stopping the Abyss Blood from reshaping her outline and preventing the Will from bending her to its desires. ''Then the faux-Heart doesn''t only act as the core of the three key objects but also a protective for Alice who doesn''t have my blessing.'' But even with this realisation, Velouria understood that shecked the information to make an urate guess at the truth of the matter. The only thing she could do was help Alice along this path of hers and ensure that she was as safe as possible. "A slight change of ns. When the fight breaks out, try and take as many ''souls'' as you can. Since your ess to powers is limited by what you''ve consumed rather than the Abyss, you''ll need to work on expanding your ''collection'' of abilities. "Another thing, when you entered this memory, what was it like? Don''t leave anything out, even the smallest detail might be able to give me a clue on what''s happening." Velouria asked as [Alice] handed control back to Alice. "Hmm¡­ When I came into the Inverted World, I heard a heartbeat. Originally, I was meant to be transported to a different area, a ce where it was being monitored by the Academy. But after hearing this heartbeat next to my ear, I was sent to this ce instead." Alice recalled as Velouria crossed her arms. Despite having a faux Heart, Alice still heard the true heartbeat of the Abyss? ''Could it be that her heart isn''tplete? Is the Will trying to push the true Heart to the next level using Alice''s faux Heart? If she was to gain the real Heart as well, Alice would be a perfected vessel. A being capable of withstanding the powers of all three objects despite not being a God, giving her more room to grow. ''Perhaps the Will could even nt more Abyssal Objects in her body outside of just the Crown, Eyes and Heart.'' Velouria thought with a frown. When the Abyss made her a Goddess, these three became the core objects of her being. They were also the only three that she could wield to their full potential. But if Alice''s faux Heart allows her to withstand all of this without needing to establish a Divinity then all the Will needed to do was to let her find more objects of the Abyss on her own. To let Alice shape herself into a perfect vessel without interference. Smiling bitterly, Velouria understood why the Will was in such a good mood now. This memory, it was to see what kind of vessel Alice could be inparison to the original. By constructing everything to perfection and even allowing these memory fragments to think and act on their own, the Will has given Alice an environment where she could grow however she pleased. This world of memory is an archive of information and treasure for her, a ce to learn, grow and adapt. To see the truth of the matter and for her to gain an improved understanding of the objects granted by the Abyss by the only one who was able to use them at their full potential. ''No wonder it didn''t care if we go off script. No matter what happens, Alice will reap rewards beyond what is possible in her time and perhaps even more if the Will allows us to do whatever we want. The end result will not change. I will die, Ayr will fall. Kaden and Lua will be heartbroken, Nyer will hate the other Gods and so will Alice. ''This predestined end will not change, though the path taken my shift, we cannot avoid what''s already been confirmed in the past.'' Velouria sighed softly. Then there''s only one choice for her. "Alice, when the timees, will you listen to one request of mine?" Velouria smiled. "What request?" Alice tilted her head in confusion. "It''ll be no fun if I told you now. But you know what else is fun? The other version of you. Are you both called Alice?" Velouria asked while Alice nodded her head before exining the reasoning behind it. "I see¡­ You are the same yet also very different. Wouldn''t it be better to reflect that in your name? Alice and Alyss that''s spelt A L Y S S. Sounds the same yet different, doesn''t that suit you perfectly?" Velouria suggested as Alyss''s eyes glimmered in surprise and satisfaction. ''She''s not wrong, I do like this. This way I''m still ''Alice'' but different.'' Alyss crossed her arms with a grin. She was fine with just being called [Alice] but this? This was just as if not better. "She says she likes it." Alice chuckled. "That''s good to hear. Now, can you swap ces with her for a moment, I got something to ask her." Nodding her head, Alice swapped controls with Alyss as the chains manifested once more. "I assume you have a different taste in outfitspared to Alice right?" Velouria narrowed her eyes while Alyss felt a chill run down her spine. Before she could even give back control to Alice, the golden chains tightened around her limbs. "You can''t run. Let''s get you something that suits you." Velouria grinned. ### While making Alyss''s outfit, Velouria was asking them questions such as what kind of style she liked along with any functions she desired. Since they didn''t have much time, Velouria went all out from the beginning, only making one outfit for them. For Alyss, she preferred to have a pair of short shorts, a pair of boots, a crop top and a long-sleeved long jacket. But unlike Alice who preferred the baggy sleeves, Alyss liked the standard sleeves. The jacket reached all the way down to thighs as Alyss gave herself a twirl in the mirror and smiled in satisfaction. She thought that Velouria would''ve taken much longer to create this but it was over in the blink of an eye. If it was always like this, she wouldn''t mind a few more of these sessions. Naturally, she didn''t say it out loud since that''ll just be inviting trouble. "What do you think?" Velouria crossed her arms with a satisfied smile. "I love it." Alyss nodded with a wide smile. Like before, there was the crest of Ayr but this time it was on the shoulder of the jacket. ''Isn''t it too revealing for the legs?'' Alice asked, seeing how much Alyss was revealing with the short shorts that barely covered her butt and the shoes, leaving her legs entirely exposed. And when paired with the crop top and lightness of the material, it was even more embarrassing than before. ''It''s going to be covered in blood anyway. So what if we reveal them a bit? And plus, if anyone does get distracted looking at them isn''t it perfect for us anyways? Use the chance to gauge their eyes out or cut their throat.'' Alyss grinned menacingly. Forcefully swapping controls with Alice, Alyssughed seeing her twin squirm from theck of fabric and exposed legs. Biting her lips from the embarrassment, Alice activated her fourth Sigil and snapped her finger. A swirl of blood gathered towards her, covering her body before disappearing. Once the blood faded away, the new outfit prepared for Alyss was nowhere to be seen and instead was reced by Alice''s original outfit. Meanwhile, the new outfit was now ced on the side where her old outfit was originally. ''Did you just use your newly discovered teleport skill on swapping clothes?'' Alyss''s smile twitched as this felt like such a waste of potential. Wrestling back the control, Alyss refused to get beaten and attempted to do the same. However, she didn''t quite understand the theory behind the teleport like Alice did and nothing happened. Seeing that Alyss was bad at using the teleport, Alice had a smug grin on her face. ''What''s wrong? Struggling with the teleport?'' Alice taunted while Alyss could only gnash her teeth in annoyance as she repeatedly tried to replicate Alice''s teleport to no avail. Watching from the side, Velouria had a smile on her face seeing Alyss trying to replicate Alice''s trick. Both of them had their strong points and weak points. While Alyss may be the faux Heart, Alice treated her as a person rather than a source of power. Velouria wished she could talk to the Will like this but knowing what they''re like, this was impossible. They will forever be enemies. With Alyss''s outfit now sorted, Velouria finished off the step of the barrier and now it was time to meet the other gods. Chapter 307: Armies Of The Gods The meeting area was right on the cusp of expansion. Where the Abyss was weakest and just below the realm of the Surface. A domain of fractured void, expanding with ease pulse as though it was a pair of lungs, breathing life into the Abyss. Mirrored reflections of the surface world forming a kaleidoscope of scenes in the sky above them. Through the gaps, a sea of stars, colours and weaves of colour belonging to the void. Towers of energy reached towards the sky, attempting to fix these tears but the Abyss''s expansion outpaced the repairs. Beneath this radiant sky, an army of Hunters, each with a minimum of six Sigils while the Lord level beings stood beside the Apostles. Just seeing the seriousness in their expressions was enough to cause Alice to swallow her saliva nervously. ''Once a fight breaks out, even if we take the blood of a Lord you need to be careful. We can''t replicate their Resonances since it''s a manifestation of their contract and powers. The most I can do is to give you their Sigils.'' Alyss warned as she knew that Alice nned on fighting Lords if the situation called for it. However, they have the benefit of two resonances while Alice only had one. Even with the increase in Sigils, she''ll need a way to defeat their second Resonance. ''I know. The n right now is to get as many useful beast bloods as I can. Since we''re going against the Will, it''s safe to say that it''ll summon an army of beasts. We can''t interfere between the battle of Gods and Apostles.'' Alice agreed. Even on her best day, she wouldn''t imagine herself fighting in this kind of battle. ''Good. However, there''s another issue isn''t there.'' Alyss narrowed her eyes as the two of them nced towards Nyer who was now standing beside Velouria. ### After making the outfit for Alyss, Velouria called Kaden and Allura back from their jobs of setting up the defences. They gathered all of the six Sigil bearers from Ayr along with any Abyss Lord level beings. On Ayr''s side, they had 4 Lords aside from Kaden and Allura. Abyss Lord of Inferno, Illusion, Puppetry and Curses. Once everyone was gathered, Velouria was still worried about Nyer and Ca when a portal opened up thanks to the item that Kaden gave to Nyer. Seeing the two step through the portal, Alice immediately froze up as a deep rooted fear was now stronger than ever. It was to the point where her entire body was shivering uncontrobly. "You''re back, are you okay? Did something happen?" Velouria asked curiously, feeling d that the two were back safely. "We''re okay your Majesty. I''m sorry for taking away Ca without permission. There was a slight issue we needed to resolve and I needed her help. However, the issue has been dealt with and I''m back in time." Nyer reported while kneeling in front of Velouria. "I''m just d you''re safe. Same with you Ca." Velouria nodded with a smile. Hearing this, Ca bowed before unravelling into energy that entered Velouria''s body, giving her back full control over the Eyes of the Abyss. As he stood up, Nyer nced over to Alice before giving her a smile and looked away towards the army. That one look was enough to send Alice into a fight or flight response as she had to hold herself back from doing anything. ### ''He''s bad news. Every part of my being is telling us to avoid him as much as possible.'' Alyss crossed her arms. ''Something must''ve changed in the time he was gone and it was not good.'' Regardless, he was on the side of Ayr so they couldn''t say anything about it. When the fight begins, Alice and Alyss just need to avoid him as much as possible. ''Alright, I''ll be careful. But he was fine before, what happened?'' Alice furrowed her brows. The kindness that Nyer showed her wasn''t one that was faked. He was indeed trying his best for her in their short training session. ''Not sure. But we can''t assume everyone is like Kaden and Allura so maybe he has some grievances with us that we don''t know about.'' Alyss shook her head. Agreeing with Alyss, Alice nced over to the other Gods. They''ve all taken different forms now that their followers are with them. For Sris, his form grew many timesrger than normal. He sat on a golden throne while holding his spear. Behind him, a halo of gold radiance shone brightly as his radiant golden eyes swept across the battlefield. Lumiria sat upon a crescent moon above the battlefield. A graceful figure draped in silken cloth and silver essories. Like a lone moon on a midnight sky, she saw aloof above the masses, eyes closed. Enris became a figure of terror. A shrouded armoured being with countless weapons piercing out from her back. A dark hood obscured her face while a malevolent red aura wrapped around her. Anyone whose gaze lingered upon the God of Eclipse''s body for too long felt as though they would be killed at a moment''s notice. With these three Gods standing by their armies, Velouria felt pale inparison but no one dared to belittle her in any of the armies. After all, she was the Goddess of the Abyss. One snap of her finger could turn the Abyss Blood within your body against you or so the rumours go. The army only knew one thing and that being this was a crusade against the Will of the Abyss. A being who desired power of the surface so much that even the Goddess of the Abyss arrived to deal with them. Within the silence of the battlefield, tension grew. No one knew when it was about to begin and all they could do was look towards their Gods for guidance. Creating a portal for herself, Velouria appeared before the three as they did the same. "Seems like everyone has gathered. No one has been left behind." Velouria smiled while Sris simply kept his arms crossed. "Are you sure you''re okay? I believe that staying away from the castle too long is bad for you is it not?" Lumiria asked with concern. Even if they were enemies at the end of the day, Lumiria still preferred to be a neutral party if she could help it. "It''s a little taxing but I''ve already made my preparations. It would be unbefitting of me if I was to miss this fight now wouldn''t it?" Velouria dismissed with a wave of her hand. To them, she was here to help them deal with the Will so that she could be free from its shackles. Little did they know, things were already set in stone and her sessor was here to witness the end of Ayr. Whatever happens today will act as a foundation for Alice''s understanding and actions as the next Goddess of the Abyss. "Let me know if you ever need covering." Enris grinned. Naturally, this was just an act for the others without them knowing that they''d alreadye to an agreement. Right now, it simply sounded like Enris was going to backstab Velouria the moment she showed any weakness. "Don''t worry, even if I do feel weak I don''t need you to cover for me. I got others that are more capable of doing that." Velouria narrowed her eyes with hostility. ''Yikes Veli~ I know we''re acting but do you have to be that harsh?'' Enris thought to herself but made sure not to show it on the outside. She simply raised her hand in surrender. "So how do we find the Will? I hope you didn''t call everyone here without a proper method." Velouria asked as Sris stepped forward. "I have it covered. I''m not someone who''ll waste time calling everyone here." He scoffed. Clearing his throat, he turned towards his army. "Casters step forth! Prepare the formation!" He shouted out as his army began to move all at once. From the centre, a group of casters began to activate their Sigils one after another while oveying a ritual to their cast. Around them, the others stood as guards, protecting them from outside interference. *CRACK!!! Above them, the sky began to fracture. It was a different woundpared to the wound caused by expansion. It did not lead to the Void but rather somewhere far sinister, twisted even. "Would you please? They need your help if they want to track down the Will properly." Sris gestured to Velouria as she nodded her head. Taking a step forward, she activated her divinity as a purple and ck aura erupted around her. Her eyes transformed while the Crown manifested above her head. Snapping her finger, a pir of darkness burst forth in the middle of the formation. Using her power as a reference point, several strands of golden energy shot into the tear in search of a simr source of power. The Will of the Abyss. Not long after the golden energy shot into the tear, the entire world began to tremble. The ground cracked from the rumbling as strange ink like fluid began to ssh through the cracks. "Avoid it! It''s the Waters of the Abyss! One touch and you''ll be corrupted!" Velouria shouted out as each army began to deploy their own countermeasures from sealing the cracks to fighting it back using a myriad of abilities. Above them, the tear grewrger as slender fingers grabbed the edge of the tear before ripping it apart in one go! Countless tendrils, soaked in the same ck fluid, crawled out of the tear as a sea of eyes snapped open, ring at the army below. The sounds of mountains falling served as a choir of the end as beasts began to spill out from the rupture. Yet despite the size, Alice could see that it wasn''t the will itself but rather a proxy. Now that she had gained her fourth Sigil, she was able to see how many stars a beast had. And for this beast? Nine. [Reaper of the Abyss - ?????????] Chapter 308: Start Of The Battle ''Nine stars¡­'' Alice thought with a forced smile. Even though she''d only just begun to see the stars belonging to Abyss Lords, this was the highest that she''d seen to date. Even Kaden and Allura were only on 7 Sigils right now while Nyer had 8. But this beast was at 9 stars! ''I kinda want to drink its blood. But I''m pretty sure if it looks over at us, we''ll die.'' Alyss frowned. Even for her, this was getting a little out of hand. ''No kidding. We need to get some of the stragglers first or else I won''t be able to keep up.'' Alice agreed. Right now, on this battlefield, she was the weakest with just four Sigils. Even if her power is substantialpared to others, the main issue was still Resonance. While the first Resonance wasn''t much of an issue, the second Resonance drags the target into their personal realm. If a beast simr to Tiamat targets her then it''ll be difficult for Alice to survive unless she finds a chance to drink their blood. ''We can swap Sigils one and three. Switching out two would give up too much of our power. Four lets you shred defence so unless we go for something simr, we''ll always be keeping these two. ''Not only that, but you won''t be able to fight as efficiently with new Sigils as you would with something you''re familiar with.'' Alyss exined. She wanted to give Alice as much information as she could before the fight. That way, she wouldn''t make mistakes that would put her in danger. ''What if I drink blood to raise me to 6 Sigils or possibly into the Abyss Lord levels. Would you be able to swap the Sigils to something else?'' Alice asked curiously. If she could curate the Sigils she could ess after drinking blood, it would prove to be extremely useful. ''Hmm¡­ I''m not sure since we''ve never tried it. I can give it a try when the timees.'' Observing the battlefield, Alice could roughly split it into four zones around the tear in space where the Reaper was residing. The centre where the beasts were crawling out from. Inner Ring filled with a constantly growing army of beasts, many of the Abyss Lords brought forth by the Will were stationed there. The Outer Ring where the ''fodder'' stood. Despite their status as fodder, everything that Alice could see there had a minimum of five stars. Not only that, but their numbers far surpass their army of the four Gods. After the Outer Ring was the flood of Abyss Waters that impeded their advance but did not affect the Abyss Beasts. With this kind of set up, it was hard to attack the Abyss Beasts without getting caught by the Waters. Right now, all they could do was to simply defend against the attack while casters held back the Waters. ''The Abyss Lords aren''t moving just yet, seems like they''re feeling out the situation and see what the Will has in store.'' Alyss frowned while observing this situation. On their side, they had 13 Abyss Lords in total. Four belong to Ayr, three for each of the Religions. To Alice''s surprise, there was someone else who held the title of Death and it belonged to the Eclipse of all religions! Gin, the current holder of Death hated the Eclipse yet in the past, Death belonged to the Eclipse. As for how Alice found out, after the upgrade of Ca thanks to her obtaining her fourth Sigil, she could see more information about the ''contracts'' imprinted onto each Hunter and Beast. Meaning she can see how many Sigils, Stars and even the Abyss Lord titles granted to them by the Abyss. ''How do you want to jump into this?'' Alyss asked curiously as running head first into everything would be insanity. If she gets hit by the Abyss Waters, her special property would be discovered by the other Gods. ''Simple, we go ranged.'' Alice smiled as she nced towards Kaden and Allura. Seeing that Alice was eager to begin, they nodded with a smile and gave her a thumbs up. Getting permission to start attacking, Alice looked for some high ground before turning Void Fang into a bow. ''Sending it straight to the heart of the inner ring?'' Alyss asked curiously as Alice nodded her head. ''If I don''t, I risk dragging our allies into the range. What I want to do right now is to let your fire run rampant within their backlines. It''ll act as a good disruption while casters on our side fire their attacks.'' Alice grinned. Taking a deep breath, she snapped her finger and manifested a metal arrow in her hand. ''Plus, this gives me a chance to test out something else.'' *BANG!!! The ground cracked around Alice as she pulled the arrow back, a purple aura bursting forth from her body surprising the people around her. Violet mes burst out from her body, wrapping around her arrow as the air around her began to warp. Alice was silent. Her mind fully focused on her attack as flickers of sparks danced around her. The cloth of her outfit fluttered from the eruption of energy as she continued to pull back on the arrow. Veins could be seen on the back of her hands from the strength required to pull this arrow. Gritting her teeth, Alice stomped down with her foot as she activated her partial Bloodline Release. The illusion of Alyss''s beast form manifested behind her as she cracked her jaw open. A gathering of energy swirled around them, focusing on the tip of the arrow. ''Now!'' Alyss shouted as their energy reached its peak. *BOOM!!!! Letting go of the arrow, Alice was flung back by the force as she created a wall of metal to catch herself from being blown away. Watching the arrow of violet rush towards the battlefield, its colour began to shift from a purple to a pure white spark, transforming into a Void Flux! But throwing a Void Flux into the inner ring was not Alice''s goal. Rather, it was the space above it! Lightning up the sunless skies of the Abyss in a radiant white and purple light, the orb of destruction detonated into a sea of sparks and blood. Snapping her finger, Alice allowed the blood to spread as each droplet transformed into a mirror like surface and exploded with the energy of a Void Flux ¨C Cleave! Tearing the space apart, countless gateways into the Void were opened as this was now the curtain call of Alice''s attack. Curling her lips into a menacing grin, a waterfall of violet mes spewed forth from these tears, raining down hellfire upon the Beasts as howls of pain rang out through the battlefield! Hell had descended and Alice was its conductor. Each wave of her hand created a new wave of mes that crashed down upon the Beasts. These mes only had one goal, consume! Watching the destruction spread from the centre of her attack, Alice let out a whistle as she felt rather proud of her attack. ''Shall we go collect some blood now?'' Alice asked as Alyss agreed. The sooner they can collect blood from the battlefield, the safer they''ll be. And now that they were distracted by these mes, this was the best moment to do so. Transforming Void Fang into a de, Alice had a grin on her face as she closed her eyes. Since she was the opening act, it''d be selfish of her not to let Alyss have some fun. A swirl of blood gathered around her as her outfit began to change. A manifestation of golden chains appeared around her rest, ankles and neck. "Aw you shouldn''t have." Alyss let out augh while massaging her neck. ''Go wild twinnie.'' Alice gave her a thumbs up. "Naturally!" Crouching down, Alyss activated partial Bloodline release and shot towards the battlefield like aet of ughter. Creating footholds to help her get there faster, she rushed towards the closest beast that she could see. It was about to bring down its de on an unsuspecting solder who was preupied with another beast. *BANG!!!! shing down with Void Flux ¨C Cleave that was enhanced by her fourth Sigil, Alyss, grinned towards the beast as her sh had cut off its arm! [Blood Crescent General - ?????] "Just five? That''ll do for now!" Manifesting metal around her arm and turning it into a w, she stabbed the nails into the beast''s neck before pulling herself onto its shoulder. In one swift move, she turned Void Fang into a dagger before shing down with Void Flux ¨C Cleave once more! Releasing two shes against its back, Alyss revealed an ecstatic grin and stabbed the de between the spine and the skull. Her two shes nked either side of the spine meaning¡­ "I can peel you like a f*cking fruit!" Dragging her arm down, Alyss pulled the head back along with the spine, away from the body as the beast copsed on its knees before it could do anything. Lifting the head above her, Alyss opened her mouth and drank the blood as she could feel a manifestation of the fifth Sigil. But she didn''t desire whatever this General could give her as she already had a target in mind. Tiamat! Crimson scales manifested on her body as Tiamat''s power flooded through her limbs. Raising her hand, the world seemed to lose its colour as it gathered into a single orb above her palm. mming her hand down, an array of blood exploded forth beneath her while a storm of shes erupted from this array, attacking any beast within range. And when paired with her fourth Sigil, it easily shed through their armour! Raising her hands as though addressing a crowd, Alyss did a bow while blood and guts poured down around her and licked her lips. ''What a drama queen.'' Aliceughed in her mental scape while Alyss ughtered her way through the army of beasts. Meanwhile, Enris had an uncontroble grin beneath her veil that obscured her face. ''Oh I like her. I really like her now.'' She thought to herself. Even though she had an agreement with Velouria, she couldn''t help but have second thoughts after seeing Alice run rampant. But even with this thought, she ignored it since Velouria had something better nned and it would be a shame to miss it. Chapter 309: Lightning Lord With Alyss running rampant across the battlefield, disrupting their formation and keeping them distracted with her mes, it wasn''t long until the beasts began turning their attention to the split haired girlughing while killing beasts. Gathering energy into her palm, she activated Tiamat''s power and mmed her fist into the chest of an ogre like beast, imploding it from the inside out as arge hole was created through its chest. Using this ogre as cover, she snapped her finger and oveyed her Violet mes over Void Fang. Void Flux ¨C Cleave! Releasing a horizontal sh, she cut through the group of beasts running towards her while jumping back to dodge the ranged attacks. ''Seems like you''re enjoying yourself.'' Alice smiled as she could sense Alyss''s jubtion. Her excitement as she danced on the edge of life and death. The rapid heartbeats in her chest while figuring out new ways to use her ability. ''Naturally! How often do I get to go all out like this?'' Alyssughed. Creating a pair of metal ws, she mmed her hand against the ground as countless des pierced up, stabbing through the legs and into the bodies of the approaching beasts. Clenching her fist, each of these des transformed into a Void Flux that detonated within them as she sensed danger from above and immediately created a swirling storm of blood and fire to protect herself. *BANG!!!! A torrent of lightning struck down, shing violently against this barrier but Alyss''s mes managed to hold on and began to consume the lightning in an attempt to protect its master. Sliding back from the impact, Alyss narrowed her eyes at the armoured beast who stood at the source of this lightning. Scaled obsidian armour coated every inch of its body. A skull with tworge horns and a pair of crimson eyes. Beneath the bones, crimson energy acted as the core of its behind as arge mane of white hair fluttered behind him. [Lightning Lord - ??????] ''Six stars¡­ Boundary of bing an Abyss Lord.'' Alyss frowned. In his hand, he held a lightning de that constantly crackled with energy. Even with the fact that she''s drank five star blood and gained the power of Tiamat, just looking at the sword gave Alyss chills. ''Are you worried?'' Alice asked but Alyss simply grinned. ''Not really. It''s just going to be a little difficult to kill this b*stard.'' However, her thought was cut short when the Lightning Lord sped its hands together. A burst of golden aura erupted from his body as Alyss''s pupils shrunk in shock. ''Sh*t! Second Resonance!'' Unable to escape the range, Alyss watched as her body was dragged into the personal realm of the Lightning Lord. From darkness, countless lightning strikes illuminated the space. A sea of clouds with a web of lightning crackling around them. And in the centre, a castle floating in the sky hung proudly, absorbing all of the lightning around it. Lightning Lord Second Resonance ¨C Castle of Striking Lightning. Gritting her teeth, Alyss tried her best to dodge or block the lightning but each strike would manifest in front of her, rendering her unable to react in time. *BANG!!! Each crackle would tear off chunks of her body and even with her regeneration, Alyss found herself at the back foot. Meanwhile, the Lightning Lord stood in front of its castle, unphased by what was happening and simply stared at her without emotion. ''We can''t keep defending like this.'' Alice frowned. This was the first time she''s seen her twin struggle this hard. Even against Tiamat''s Second Resonance, she was able to react but with the Lightning Lord? All she could do was defend to the best of her abilities. She wasn''t given a single chance to approach nor was she allowed time to gather her strength to attack. Any opening she revealed would be followed up by several lightning strikes. "F*ck!" Alyss shouted out in annoyance as she activated her partial Bloodline Release out of anger. mming her hand down, violet mes roared around her in defiance but it couldn''t push back the lightning. Seeing this, the Lightning Lord took a step forward and raised his hands towards Alyss. Framing Alyss with his hands above and below her, the Lightning Lord narrowed its eyes before sping his hands together. *RUMBLE!!!! The clouds were parted in an instant as Alyss widened her eyes in shock. des of lightning crashed down from above and pierced up from below while a cage of lightning prevented her from running. *BANG!!!! Feeling the lightning rush through her body, Alyss let out a silent cry as she tried her best to heal her wounds and dissipate the damage by flooding her own body with Violet mes. But these mes did little to soothe her pain as the feeling of flesh being seared, stripped and regenerated constantly repeated itself. The barrage of lightning lingered for a moment before fading away and Alyss could barely stand straight while the smell of charred flesh flooded her senses. With Alyss in danger, Alice didn''t hesitate to take matters into her own hands. ''Let me take over for a bit.'' Alice frowned while Alyss gritted her teeth. ''I¡­ I can handle this!'' She retorted but anyone could see that this was a poor match up for her. ''This isn''t the time to be stubborn!'' Biting her lip, Alyss spat in annoyance before handing control back to Alice. As the chains faded away, Alice red at the Lightning Lord who seemed shocked by her recovery. Most beasts and humans would''ve perished under that strike, yet she stood firm. Taking a deep breath, Alice nced down at her own body and gritted her teeth. Killing intent burst forth from her small body as she activated Resonance without hesitation. Seeing that Alice still had fight left in her, the Lightning Lord raised his hands and called forth and storm of lightning to crash down on her. But this wasn''t the same opponent as earlier. Entering her Zone Stance, Alice turned Void Fang into a de before holding her breath. Absolute Zone! Unleashing a wave of cleaves into the sky above her, the shes erupted into a pool of blood and absorbed the lightning. Aiming her hand at the Lightning Lord, Alice narrowed her eyes and snapped her finger. *BANG!!!! A barrage of lightning crashed down upon the Lightning Lord as he was shocked to find that his own attack was redirected back to him! How? When? What happened? Confusion filled his mind and despite theck of damage, this was the first time he''s seen such an ability. Even beasts with the singr focus on mastering the Void couldn''t redirect his attacks like this. This precision and speed, it was unbelievable! Holding her de by her waist, Alice stomped down with her foot before shing the air in front of her, creating a tear in space before jumping in. Thinking that Alice was trying to escape his Resonance via the Void, he wanted to interfere when he felt a chill behind him. Turning his head, he saw a pair of murderous eyes as Alice''s figure was emerging from a pool of blood behind him! ''When was the pool here?'' He thought in shock as he attempted to counter. Jumping back, he conjured a cascade of lightning bolts towards Alice. However, motes of blood manifested above her, turning into mirrors that urately teleported his attack elsewhere. Void Flux ¨C Cleave! Unleashing a sh towards the beast''s neck, Alice frowned upon seeing him turn into a mass of lightning to run away. "Where do you think you''re going?" Gathering mes towards her finger, she condensed it into a single spark before firing a Void Flux towards the Lightning Lord. However, she wasn''t done. Once again, using the power of her fourth Sigil, Alice sent the attack into the Void before teleporting it behind the beast! Imploding into a surge of Violet mes thattched onto the beast''s body, Alice prepared her next strike. Having enough of this farce, the Lightning Lord let out a roar before enveloping his body in a mass of lightning. Towering above Alice in the golden radiance of lightning, he created a de and shed towards Alice. *BANG!!! His attack was halted mid swing as a mass of metal des erupted from his body. This entire time, Alice had been filling this realm with her blood mist and finally put the idea that Nyer suggested to the test. And the instant he created his erged form, the Lightning Lord unknowingly gathered the blood mist into the body of lightning which allowed her to manifest the metal within its body. Yet this was far from over. From each of the des, violet mes burst forth with the assistance of Tiamat''s power, consuming the power around them as Alice tensed her grip around Void Fang. Partial Bloodline Release! Gritting her teeth, she released a horizontal sh towards the beast. It was simr to her Void Flux ¨C Cleave yet different. The power of the void radiated from the sh, tearing the Resonance apart as it travelled towards its target. *CRACK!!! Colliding against the beast''s chest, the sound of ss shattering could be heard as the attack shredded through its form with ease! With his defences already weakened, it was a simple task for her attack to break through. A single line of brilliant violet stretched across the sea of lightning and clouds, ripping the Resonance apart as the beast coughed up a mouthful of blood. A single sh could be seen, bisecting him diagonally from the shoulder to his waist. Lightning squirmed in a futile attempt to heal his wounds but the Violet mes hindered his regeneration. Appearing in front of the beast from a blood mirror, Alice unleashed the final attack to snuff out the existence known as the Lightning Lord. Chapter 310: Destruction, Metamorphosis And Waters After Alyss was dragged into the Second Resonance of the Lightning Lord, Allura was worried and wanted to make a move but Kaden held her back. He had one of his eyes closed and monitored the situation between Alyss and the beast while reassuring her that Alyss didn''t need their help. "We can''t interfere with every little thing she gets herself into. Otherwise, she won''t grow properly." Kaden smiled while seeing Alice take over and reflect the lightning using what she learned at the Research Department. "I know. But this is still a beast on the border of bing an Abyss Lord. Alice should be fighting the other four Sigil beasts rather than something like this." Allura sighed while crossing her arms. "I can''t help but worry about her ya know?" Patting Allura''s head with augh, Kaden focused his mind on Alice''s fight and watched her cleave apart the barrier holding the Second Resonance together. Her final attack that decapitated the beast. With nothing else to see, he opened his eyes and watched a bloody red sh manifest in the sky of the battlefield while Alice wed her way out of the void, Lightning Lord''s head in her hand and threw it towards the beasts. While a six star beast may have failed to kill her, Alice didn''t let this victory get to her head. She knew that she got lucky this time and if it was a beast with a far more annoying skillset and Resonance, then she may as well forget about getting out alive. Creating a blood mirror behind her, Alice leaned back into it and teleported next to Allura and Kaden with an exhausted sigh. "Did you have fun?" Kaden chuckled while Alice could only shrug her shoulder. "A little stressful, a little lightning storm and vengeance with a side of anger. Think I''m going to rest for a bit since I attracted quite a bit of attention to myself. If they send any Abyss Lords or another six star beast at me I don''t think I''ll be able to survive." She grumbled while lying down on the floor. Despite her regeneration, there were still signs of burns across her body that was mending itself. "You''re not wrong about attracting attention. But it also raised morale on our side quite a bit. The others don''t want to fall behind in terms of contributions." Kaden gestured to the army of crusaders who have gained a renewed vigour thanks to Alice''s actions. She looked small enough to be one of their daughters back home. As soldiers of God, they couldn''t let her do all the work and risk herself. Right now, the fracture in the space above continuously poured out Abyss Beasts of different variants and qualities while the Reaper continued to observe from above. None of the Abyss Lords or Apostles wanted to make a move just yet while the Gods were waiting for the Will of the Abyss. Even for the Apostles, they sensed an air of danger around the Reaper. One wrong move could spell death for them. Even Griselda and Nanna, the Apostles of Spirituality and Immortality felt a chill from the Reaper. As immortal beings, this was the first time they sensed such levels of danger. "So we have any information on whatever that thing is over there? Or is that something new?" Alice asked curiously. "It''s something new. We have no information on this being and Master doesn''t seem to have new information for us either. My best assumption is that the Will created this beast just for today." Kaden shook his head. Right now, it was akin to an arms race. The Reaper was theirmander while on their side, the Godsmanded the army. The moment either side sends out an Abyss Lord level being or an Apostle, all hell would break loose and it will cease to be a battlefield belonging to the fodder. And to put it bluntly, having fodder fight first was simply their way of figuring out what the enemy had nned and their general power. In a battle between the strongest beings, information was key and the purpose of fodder was to gain information. "Seems like you weren''t cking on your training in the time I was gone." Nyer''s voice rang out as Alice tensed up and forced a smile. "She managed to get her fourth Sigil that helps her with her fighting style." Kaden nodded with a smallugh. "Hou? What kind of Sigil is it?" Nyer raised an eyebrow in surprise. He didn''t think they would go for a fourth Sigil in the little time they had before this battle broke out. "A six winged Seraphim of the Void." Allura boasted with a proud smile. Hearing this, Nyer couldn''t help but blink his eyes in surprise as he turned towards Alice who gave him a small wave. ''How did she do it? Could it be¡­ No, she hasn''t formed a proper connection to the heart yet. It''ll be impossible for her to use its powers.'' Nyer thought to himself before dismissing the idea. "Impressive, to be able to hunt a beast on the boundary of bing a Lord. It''s no wonder you could kill the Lightning Lord without any help from the outside." He praised as Alice simply smiled, not wanting to say anything for now. ''Seems like she''s wary of me again. Does she know my ns? Is that why she was on guard the first time we met? No¡­ If that was the case she wouldn''t have tried to get close to me.'' Nyer narrowed his eyes as several theories came to mind. But the most likely theory was that Ca must''ve influenced her in some capacity! She came from a future where Ca was already split and damaged. It would not be surprising for the host of Ca to sense a subconscious disgust or hate towards him. ''No matter. It simply means my original n seeded.'' Discussing a few potential dangers from the side of the Abyss, Nyer let them know that thus far, there were 3 targets they needed to be wary of excluding the Reaper. First, Abyss Lord of Destruction. Much like Allura, the Abyss Lord of Destruction focuses heavily on offensive moves that aim to kill their opponent as fast as possible. She stood next to the reaper, draped in a purple aura with a ck rosary cross behind her. Her body seemingly made from this strange ck ss like material that reflected countless stars upon its surface. Silver energy weaved together to form her hair as the Lord of Destruction passively radiated killing intent that chilled the air around her. Second, Abyss Lord of Metamorphosis. A Lord who changes his body based on what he has eaten before to match the situation. A dangerous beast who fights with his body and life on the line. Unlike the Abyss Lord of Destruction, the Lord of Metamorphosis was a mass of writhing hands, constantly piecing his body together and breaking it apart. Once the hands calmed down, he revealed his humanoid form. A man with greying hair and a pair of blood red eyes. A fractured mask hung off the side of his head while he wore a suit. Between theyers of fabric, the same writhing hands could be seen. Andstly, Abyss Lord of Waters. One might assume that she has power over water but that was incorrect. Her power was one that resembled summoning beasts and dragging others into her realm, deep below the surface and in the darkness of the sea. Each move of hers can conjure a beast of the deep to attack her enemies and her powers focus on utilising the corruptive nature of Abyss Waters in tandem with her summons. The form of the Abyss Lord of Waters was that of a pale blue skinned girl with a row of sharp teeth. A pair of cold blue eyes and hair that matched her skin. She wore arge jacket with extremelyrge sleeves that draped along the ground, a tattered dress with broken belts that seemed to have restrained her arms before being broken and a pair of sea captain boots. While there were other Abyss Lords on the side of the Will, these three posed the most danger to the extent that even Nyer felt wary of their presence. "Since the Abyss Lord of Waters focuses on summons and using the Abyss Water, is it safe to assume that she''s a caster?" Kaden asked as if they were a caster, he''ll be the best opponent for them. "Most likely. Lua can fight against the Abyss Lord of Destruction since I''m a poor match against her. My space locking abilities will get shattered if she focuses heavily on offensive power." Nyer smiled bitterly as his opponent will be the Abyss Lord of Metamorphosis. "So a race to see who kills who first huh? Alright, my kind of fight." Allura grinned while cracking her knuckles but Kaden knocked her on the head. "Don''t go into this fight carelessly. Your authority is Severance which is good against armour but her power is that of raw Destruction. Try not to get hit if you can since we don''t know the extent of her power." He warned as Allura pouted for a moment before nodding her head. They may be strong but these were Abyss Lords that even freaks out themander. They weren''t opponents she could take lightly unless she had a death wish. While Nyer was exining the identities of the Abyss Lords, Alice had taken the liberty to see how many stars they had. [Abyss Lord of Destruction: Shura -?????????] [Abyss Lord of Metamorphosis: Morpheus - ?????????] [Abyss Lord of Waters: Thssa - ?????????] Seeing this, Alice''s smile twitched. ''Holy f*ck they''re all at nine stars.'' She couldn''t help but cry out in her mind as she began to worry about Allura and Kaden''s safety. After all, both of them were at 7 Sigils each. However, Allura''s next words caused Alice to choke on her saliva from the mere suggestion. "Do you think I can ask Master to designate that Abyss Lord of Destruction as my eight Sigil?" Chapter 311: A Talk With Nyer "Do you think I can ask Master to designate that Abyss Lord of Destruction as my eight Sigil?" Upon hearing her question, everyone around her paused in shock and disbelief. "You realise that''s a nine star beast right? I''m telling you in case you didn''t hear Nyer properly." Alice asked with a twitching smile. She knew that it was ironicing from her considering her first Sigil belonged to three star, her second belonged to four star whoter awakened, her third belonged to another three star and her fourth was the most outrageous. One that belonged to a six star beast. But killing these beasts waspletely different inparison to fighting the pinnacle of life itself outside of Apostles and Gods. A nine star beast! Even with her authority of Severance, Allura was still a seven Sigil Abyss Lord at the end of the day, going above two levels at this stage was practically suicide. "I know it''s a nine star beast. But that''s exactly why I want it." Allura grinned. If her eight Sigil could be the power of the destruction gained from the Abyss Lord of Destruction, it would help her against the other Apostles and solve her main issue of firepower. She was able to ignore armour but her attack was stillcking. Looking over to Kaden to see if he could talk some sense into her future adoptive mother, Alice only saw him smile with a shrug. "Since Lua is going out of her way to do this then I''ll do the same. I''ll ask Master if she can designate the Abyss Lord of Waters as my eight Sigil." Kaden chuckled. ''My parents are f*cking insane.'' Alice couldn''t help but think to herself seeing both Allura and Kaden wanting to take on a nine star beast as their eighth Sigil. Naturally, Alyss wanted to retort since Alice was just like them, taking on beasts that should be beyond her level. But it was funnier for her to just keep watching rather than interrupt this y. "Don''t look at me with that expression. Do you even know how worried I was when Kaden gave you a six star beast to hunt of all things?" Allura pinched Alice''s nose before gently knocking her on the head. "Arg!" Joking around with Alice for a little while, both Allura and Kaden made their way to Velouria to get their bounties set while Alice rested. Nyer sat down not far from her as she tried her best not to show signs of repulsion. "So on guard again. Did something happen to change your mind?" Nyer asked with a smile. "Ah¡­ Sorry. I don''t know." Alice replied with an awkward cough. "It''s fine. Shall we talk? I wish to ask you some questions and know of your thoughts. I''ll be truthful if you are truthful towards me." Nyer chuckled as Alice was a little confused by his phrasing but nodded her head regardless. "Do you hold someone dear to your heart? Someone who you will go out of your way to protect no matter what?" Thinking about this, Alice pictured several faces in her mind. The people she''s met on her journey to this current moment, people who''ve treated her well and helped her along the way. Allura, Kaden, Ria, Gin, Alyss and so on. She would go out of her way to help them if she could. "I do. I have a lot of them." Alice nodded. "When I say someone dear to your heart, I mean someone with no equal. Someone who you''re willing to give up everything for." Nyer shook his head. Pausing for a moment, Alice shook her head. She hadn''t met anyone whom she could confidently say she could give up everything for. But if someone like that existed, she''d feel rather scared about it. After all, what kind of infatuation must you have to give her EVERYTHING for them. To Alice, it felt unthinkable. "Say you are at a junction where three choices are presented to you. Two of those choices lead to the ''bad ending'' for that someone. While the third choice leads to the suffering of one person. Would you take that third choice? Or would you go with the first two?" "Do I know the person that''s suffering?" Alice asked curiously. "Partially. But you don''t know them very well. You see, in the past I had to go through this exact choice. I needed to pick between three options. I''m rather curious as to what option you''ll choose." Nyer exined as Alice crossed her arms. If it was someone who she cared about at stake and the one suffering is someone who she didn''t know very well, the choice was obvious. "Probably the third choice no?" Alice replied as Nyer nodded his head. "Now let me change the question a little. What if your friend does not want you to cause suffering to the other person? Yet choosing the first two means that your friend dies, would you still pick the third option or go for the first two options?" Furrowing her brows, Alice debated on the options. "Do the first two options change how much my friend suffers?" "Yes. The first option is a slow and painful death. The second is a fast and instantaneous death." Nyer exined. With these choices ced before her, Alice eventually chose the third option once more on one condition. "Does the third option mean my friend gets to live?" "Yes, if you choose the third option, the person will suffer in the ce of your friend but your friend gets to live without issue." "Then there''s only one real option then. The third one." Alice shrugged. Naturally, she wasn''t oblivious to the underlying implications of this being about her and Velouria. Seeing Nyer reach his hand towards her, Alice was about to fight back when she paused in confusion. His hand patted her head with a bitter smile. "Indeed. There''s only one obvious conclusion. Yet sometimes you have to look harder for a fourth path or even a fifth. We barely know one another yet we''re forced to make decisions based on our own understanding and values." He sighed, standing up while looking at the war in front of him. "I know that we''re simply in a memory. Which is why I will offer you an opportunity young Alice. I do not hate you, nor do I wish to inflict harm upon you. But between you and Velouria, I''m afraid I must choose thetter. It''s not personal... Simply priorities. "Seek out the Will. If you can find a resolution that benefits us both, I will not make a single move for I do not wish to stain my hands with your blood. But if you cannot find a solution, I will take matters into my own hands, even if that means I earn the ire of Lua, Kaden and even Velouria herself." Nyer turned his gaze towards Velouria who was talking with Allura and Kaden. "Velouria is my everything. She granted me meaning in this life and I will not allow the Will of the Abyss to rob her from me. I simply wish there is a world where Velouria gets to live how she desires. Even if it means making an enemy out of everyone. "Which is why I presented to you a choice, sessor of my Master. A final chance to turn things around." Nyer turned back to Alice. There was an air of seriousness around him yet strangely, there was also a hint of desperation. "So will you ept this challenge? To find a way out for the both of us?" He asked as Alice nodded her head. "To choose between someone you barely know and someone who''s your everything huh? The choice is simple. But you''re still giving me a chance." Alice forced a smile despite the feeling of danger growing with every passing second. "I give you a chance because it is unfair otherwise. Lua has opened more thanks to you, Kaden likes you and Velouria adores you as her sessor. If there is an ideal path, I simply wish for you to find it so you can live with us. You can tell Velouria everything if you wish, but I don''t need anyone to understand my motives or desires. An army can stand against me but I will continue without hesitation. "I am content with my own choices without anyone by my side. But know that if there is an opportunity, I would not mind sitting down to enjoy a drink and have some food to resolve this bad blood between us." Nyer chuckled as he patted her head one more time. "Good luck sessor. I hope you can surprise me as you have done many times before." Nyer waved his hand before turning around and leaving. Furrowing her brows, Alice scratched her hair with a deep sigh. "A choice huh?" Alice muttered. ''I guess now we know why Allura and Kaden doesn''t mention him. He probably did something drastic in the real past in an attempt to save Velouria.'' Alyss frowned. ''Yeah¡­ But you can''t me him can you? Someone he treasures is slowly dying thanks to the Will of the Abyss. And in this memory, a sessor showed up, guaranteeing this death. It''s only natural that he does everything he can to avert this destiny.'' Alice recalled Nyer''s back as he walked away. A sad, solitary silhouette who walks single mindedly towards one goal. ''But what can he even do? This is just a memory, nothing you do here transfers over to the real world outside of items. Saving Velouria here doesn''t mean the Velouria in the real world will suddenly resurrect.'' Alyss crossed her arms. ''Perhaps he found a way. That''s why he was missing with Ca for so long. As the Eyes of the Abyss, Ca can reveal a lot of truths and information that otherwise wouldn''t be essible. He might''ve found a way to change this fate at the expense of me, who he barely knows.'' Alice clenched her fist. ''But I prioritise my lifees first. Let''s collect more blood so we can prepare for the fight toe.'' Closing her eyes, golden chains manifested around her body as Alyss took over and jumped towards the battlefield once more. Chapter 312: Seven Days Of Execution As Alyss descended the battlefield once more, she made sure not to attract as much attention to herself this time. Keeping herself low to the ground, she would dash through the crowd while taking the blood sample of any beast that looked rather strong. Meanwhile, the battle was reaching an all time high with six star beasts and six Sigil humans deploying their second resonances all around her. After talking with Velouria, both Allura and Kaden got their wishes as they sat next to each other on a cliff overlooking the entire battlefield. "I''m guessing we just wait to see who makes a move first right?" Allura asked as Kaden nodded his head. "Orrr¡­" "You couldunch a sneak attack if you want to. But it has to be a pretty damn good one." Kaden chuckled, knowing that Allura wanted to take the initiative to start this fight. Right now, all of the Abyss Lords and Apostles were sitting back and letting others fight. But once they make a move, it will cease to be a battle for fodder but an all out war between both sides. "I''m like¡­ 80%? Confident that I cannd a pretty nasty hit if you can cover for me while I prepare." Allura crossed her arms while thinking about what attack would be best. "I know. But when I say a good one, I mean one that doesn''t expose your full strength while also being able to injure them. We need to be wary about them but also our allies since we don''t know when they''ll turn against Master." Kaden reminded. "Master''s got Commander next to her, it''ll be alright, no?" ''Not really.'' Kaden thought to himself. For this fight, he had left a feather for Alice simr to what he did in the future. What way, it can protect her life if she ever gets into any serious danger. However, it also served as a medium for him to see what was going on. That conversation she had with Nyer, he heard all of it. Recalling this, Kaden couldn''t help but furrow his brows as he didn''t think Nyer would go this far. He understood Nyer''s sentiment but this¡­ was too extreme. He also doesn''t want Velouria to die but to endanger Alice who is their future is insanity. ''As long as she can find a solution, Nyer wouldn''t make a move. So right now, it should be fine to trust him next to Master.'' Kaden concluded before reassuring Allura that Velouria would be safe. ''For Alice to find the Will, she''ll need to somehow get past the Reaper in the back.'' "Master would be safe but I''m worried about us and the Lords we have on our side. If the Apostles of the Three Gods turned on us all at once, even for me and you, it''ll be difficult to stop them from killing others." He shrugged with a sigh. "Then we just gotta finish it quickly. You know, after watching Alice constantly, I''ve been getting some ideas of my own. The way she uses her powers is rather inspiring." Allura chuckled as she stood up and gave her body a stretch. "I''m going to give them a quick wake up call. But don''t worry, I won''t be using all of my power. It''ll be a brand new attack none of them have seen before." She cracked her knuckle as Kaden chuckled before standing up. "I know I said it before but be careful alright? I''ll be a little preupied with dealing with the Abyss Lord of Waters so I won''t be able to cover for you as well as I could before." Kaden reminded as Allura nodded her head. Closing her eyes, she began to focus as Kaden flicked his wrist and created a barrier of shadow around them. Out of all the Apostles, only War and Famine took notice as the other four were too busy instructing their soldiers. For the members belonging to the Cult, dying in war was the highest honour they could receive so neither War or Famine were bothered. "Allura is making a move." War narrowed his eyes while Famine licked her lips. "Has the Lord made a decision yet? We''ve agreed to Velouria''s terms but does that limit our targets?" "Patience. ughter wille in due time, even if it is not now. For now, simply let us bask in the radiance of War, our Lord will choose what is right." War crossed his arms while ncing over to Enris who was chatting with Velouria with a grin on her face. Enris has naturally told them of her decision to help Velouria as it would cause the most amount of chaos. But she never said what they would do afterwards. Meaning, that once the first goal had been achieved, they were free to target whoever they wanted. ### Compared to the other Abyss Lords and Apostles, Allura''s Sigils were simple minded to put it bluntly. Her first Sigil granted her fire control, her second allowed her to coat her body in mes to reinforce her physical power and her third allowed her to condense her fire into attacks. She was made into an Apostle rather early and using the blessing, she moulded the rest of her Sigils to suit her needs with the blessing. Her fourth being an example of this, creating invisible des to stop healing. Her fifth allowed her to further enhance her strength. Her sixth Sigil allowed her to skip the ''travel'' process of her shes, letting them hit her target immediately and sundering the soul, allowing her to hunt even the incorporeal beings such as Immortality and Spirituality. It was this Sigil that allowed her to kill the previous owner of the Spirituality blessing. And finally, her seventh Sigil. The Sigil she gained to be a Lord and served as a basis for her title. Unlike others, Allura does not own a personal realm to serve as her second Resonance. Rather, her second resonance has been fused with her seventh Sigil. If Alice was here to see Allura, she would see the Sigils above her head begin to change as Allura tapped into her power as an Abyss Lord rather than an Apostle. [Abyss Lord of Execution: Allura - ???????] However, her goal was not to go all out in this strike. No, it was to refine her understanding of her current Sigils without tapping into the seventh. A goal of pushing each ability she gained to its absolute limit! Within the darkness of the cocoon, the mes around Allura began to crackle and spark. An aura of mes radiated around her, threatening to dispel the shadow as Kaden put his entire focus on hiding Allura''s aura from the outside world until she was ready. Allura recalled Alice''s movements as she used Bloodline Release along with her Resonance to boost her power. Knowing her own Sigil, Allura was confident that she could push her mes to the next level. To use her body as an engine of destruction while the mesbust within, granting her a boost in power. Her first, second and third Sigil began to twist across her body, bursting with a bright golden red. It was a state simr to her Resonance yet very different at the same time. A new technique! She doesn''t need the invisible des to strike out. She merely needs it to follow her every action, coating her attacks and her body. To enhance her mes so that each attack was one that could hinder the power of healing. Her fifth Sigil, Berserker''s me, one that would grant her a boost in power the closer she got to death. Using her first three Sigils and her body as an engine, she was in a constant state of death and rebirth! Thus allowing the Berserker''s me to continuously climb in strength! *BANG!!!! Tearing apart Kaden''s barrier, Allura''s aura skyrocketed as a pir of power erupted into the sky, attracting everyone''s attention. With his barrier being broken, Kaden was flung back from the power as he barely managed to stabilise himself. ''Like mother like daughter.'' Kaden smiled, shielding his eyes from the light. Both of them wanted to impress the other, not wanting to get left behind and both werepetitive without equal. Much like how Alice could surpass her constraints and kill beasts stronger than her with the help of her body, Allura was now finding ways to surpass her power as a seven Sigil Abyss Lord! Her aura continued to climb as her form changed to match her power. Allura''s hair had turned into a flickering mass of white mes as glowing Sigils could be seen across her body. Her target? Only one! Abyss Lord of Destruction: Shura! Taking a single step forward, Allura''s body disappeared. *BANG!!!! Lagging behind her speed, the sound of her movement erupted as the skies were torn in half by a single ming sh! Not even the Gods had seen what happened before noticing the end result of her attack. A sea of clouds parted, the skies split and a single line of destruction. In one movement, Allura breached the defences of the opposing army and arrived in front of the Abyss Lord of Destruction. Her sh tore through the ss like material that acted as her body as the fabric of reality around them began to twist. Shura red at Allura with a pair of widened eyes as she did not expect a sudden attack like this. "Seven Days of Execution: First Day." Allura muttered before stomping down with her foot. Grabbing Shura by the face, she twisted her body and threw the Abyss Lord into the air as both the Abyss Lord of Waters and Metamorphosis tried to stop her. However, Thssa found herself sinking into her shadow while Morpheus was unable to move his body. Kaden and Nyer! Seven Days of Execution: Second Day! The world darkened as this realm had now be part of Allura''s personal realm! A new technique born from her observation of Alice. The Seven Days of Execution. With each passing ''day'', her power will grow without stop. Upon reaching the Seventh day, she will carry out her task as the Executioner where her power reaches its apex. A power separate from her Authority of severance. While Alice may not realise it, her presence has allowed this memory of Allura to surpass her real self at this moment in time. Right now, this was Allura at her strongest! Chapter 313: Allura Vs Shura Seeing all three of Velouria''s closest aides make a move against the Abyss Lords around the Reaper, Enris couldn''t help but whistle in admiration. She admired Allura''s guts to go head first into battle like this. Truly, if she wasn''t part of Velouria''s group, Enris wanted to recruit Allura for herself. "Veli~ Why do you get all the gutsy ones? I want some on my side too~" Enrisined while resting her arm on Velouria''s shoulder. "The two you''ve chosen as your Apostles are plenty gutsy are they not? They have the moniker of War and Famine after all." Velouria raised an eyebrow while Enris simply shrugged. "Yeah, but they''re not like Allura or the gal Alice. They don''t push each other to new heights. Do you have a secret to picking followers or something? Can you share?" Enris grinned. Truly, she wanted to know if Velouria had a secret in picking followers. If she had people like Alice and Allura around, she wouldn''t need to go out of her way to find excitement and chaos like she does now. War and Famine entertained her which is why she granted them her blessing. But at the same time, they''ve becklustre for her. Neither of them granted her surprises nor did they surpass her expectations. Alice and Allura on the other hand¡­ were simply delectable. "The grass is always greener on the other side. War and Famine fit you just fine, don''t greed over Lua and Alice." Velouria sighed as she gave Enris a side re. Realising that she was tip-toeing on the edge of annoying Velouria, Enris raised her hands in surrender. "What a shame. But alright. But don''t you think we should deal with that Reaper over there? With your aides making a move, on the chance that they beat these Abyss Lords, that Reaper won''t leave them alone." She asked while crossing her arms. "If ites to that, then I''ll step in. Otherwise, I have full faith that Lua can take care of this." Velouria replied while watching Allura jump up and catch the Abyss Lord of Destruction. Creating a spear of ck and red energy, Shura twisted her body and shed towards Allura but she was prepared. Her hands, coated with the surging white me that represented the peak of her power smashed into the de head as the power of the Executioner and Destruction shed. A storm of lighting and mes erupted as unfortunate beasts that were caught in their sh were reduced to nothing but dust in a mere instant. Grabbing the spear shaft with her bare hands, Allura grinned as she pulled her left arm back and activated her sixth Sigil. Ignoring the travel time, she mmed her fist into Shura''s chest! *CRACK!!! Her obsidian body cracked open once more as the Abyss Lord of Destruction narrowed her eyes at the woman in front of her. In this short exchange, she understood one thing. Her opponent is strong! A bloodthirsty aura exploded from Shura''s body as Allura instinctively took a step back, giving Shura the space she needed at this moment. Twisting her body, the entire world seemed to revolve around the Abyss Lord as her wounds began to heal. In contrast, her surroundings began to dry up and ke away, as though their vitality was transferred to her. Realising that she couldn''t let this continue, Allura activated Nova Core as a single spark of pure destruction was created in front of Shura. But to Allura''s surprise, her attack didn''t detonate. In the moment her attack manifested, Shura reached out and crushed her attack to nothingness. "So this is the Abyss Lord of Destruction." Allura forced a smile as she realised the monster that she was up against. A being whose power focused on nullifying and destroying everything thrown at her. In one aspect, it was not unlike Alice who nullified attacks using her mes. Only this one was far more potent and threatening. Rolling her shoulders back to rx her muscles, Allura took a deep breath in before breathing out. Seven Days of ughter ¨C Third Day. A burst of speed that even surpassed her initial surprise strike against the Lord. Yet a barrier of red and ck energy manifested around Shura, absorbing the impact before converging it into a single orb of energy. Widening her eyes, Allura bent her body back, narrowly dodging a beam of raw unbridled force of destruction that tore through the realm, shattering the boundaries of reality and forcing a pathway into the Void. ''How the f*ck am I supposed to kill this b*tch???'' Allura thought to herself. She had an ability to nullify attacks, a barrier to absorb attacks before sending them back and other abilities she didn''t know about. Her surprise attack was a good start but she had healed it all up in an instant! But Shura wasn''t done. Reaching beside her, she plunged her fist into the Void and began to pull out a weapon. The de was slowly being constructed by the same destructive energy that was present around her body. Upon the full manifestation of the sword, the surrounding world was blocked off. A cage, forcing Allura into a one on one confrontation with this beast of destruction as her aura continued to climb. And in revenge for Allura''s surprise attack, Shura struck out. Her form, flickering into mist and appeared before Allura mid sh. Allura wanted to counter with a punch yet the sword began to shimmer. Like a spectre, the de phased through her fist as energy surged into its body, causing the speed to suddenly increase! Feeling the de begin to cut into her cheek, Allura gritted her teeth and twisted her body, countering with a kick against Shura''s head, mming her into the ground. *BANG!!! Watching the figure of the Abyss Lord disappear into the smoke and debris, Allura refined her senses as she wiped away the blood from her cheek. ''Somethings interfering with my ability to stop her healing. Is it because she''s draining vitality from her surroundings? That sword is weird too. It definitely ''stole'' some of my fire.'' Allura narrowed her eyes. Within the dust, a flickering light began to manifest as Shura''s body was now coated in a familiar me. A me that has been beside Allura since the start of her journey. Behind her, three pairs of ming wings unfurled as Shura nced up at Allura with a taunting gaze. "Cheeky little sh*t." Allura felt as though a vein was about to pop. It felt simr to fighting Alice as she too would siphon her abilities and throw it back at her. Only this time the one doing it was a nine star Abyss Lord, the pinnacle of power outside of Gods and Apostles. ''I should thank Alice when I get the chance.'' She mused to herself. If it wasn''t for the spars with Alice, she might''ve struggled more with an opponent who could steal her power to some extent. But now? She had ways to deal with it. As the mes around her continue to flicker violently, Allura gathered all of her fire into a single mote of power within her body and detonated it! All of the fire around her disappeared as she fell silent. Yet the air continued to warp around her. Feeling a sense of danger, Shura tried her best to turn around but Allura was faster! Grabbing Shura by the head with both of her hands, Allura mmed her knee into Shura''s head, forcing her to stumble back beforeunching two jabs on her right rib. A quick punch to the stomach before grabbing Shura''s cor and pulling her into a shoulder m. *CRACK!! Once more, the obsidian material began to crack but Allura wasn''t going to make the mistake of letting her regenerate. A convergence of mes gathered around her fist as she stomped down and released an instantaneous punch against Shura''s chest, plunging her fist deep into the Abyss Lords body before detonating into an Armageddon of mes that rushed to consume the target. "Tenacious b*stard¡­" Allura muttered, realising her attack failed to kill and wanted to pull back. But a single sh tore through the mes. A sh of pure darkness that consumed everything in its path and struck against Allura''s left arm. Widening her eyes in pain and shock, she did not hesitate to create a ming de with her right hand and cut off her arm by the elbow before jumping back. Watching what remained of her left arm explode into a mass of destructive energy, she didn''t even want to imagine what that could''ve done to her body if she didn''t cut it off. ''As expected, this isn''t going to be an easy fight.'' Allura forced a smile. Her left arm was gone and the healing is being hindered. She had four more steps to go before reaching the full power of her new technique and her target was getting scarier by the second. But what''s worst was that the mes that Shura stole from her had an adverse effect on her real mes. Her output had dropped slightly in the brief contact they had, meaning unlike Alice who was mimicking her powers, Shura was directly taking them from her! Little by little, Allura was figuring out the abilities of Shura. And with each discovery, it only served to prove the powerful existence that is known as the Abyss Lord of Destruction. Had Alice not given her inspiration, it would truly be an uphill battle of impossibilities. ''I can''t go and disappoint Kaden and Alice after the boastful talking I did earlier.'' Alluraughed to herself. Wiping the smile from her face, she took a step forward as her aura exploded forth once more. mes converged towards her missing limb and took its ce. As the two stepped towards one another, the battle resumed as a dance of fire and destruction stormed the battlefield. Cries of retreat screamed out from their Allies while Kaden had a smile on his face upon seeing the aftermath of Allura''s attacks. But his attention couldn''t be diverted for long as he had to focus on the target in front of him. The Abyss Lord of Waters. "Lua doesn''t like it when I spend a lot of time with other women. Let''s keep this short so she doesn''t get jealous." Chapter 314: Kaden Vs Thalassa Narrowing her eyes at the man in front of her, Thssa frowned in displeasure. His nonchnce and rxed nature annoyed her. Perfect food for her ''family''. Without warning, the ground beneath Kaden started to twist as he nced down and saw a pair of red eyes staring up at him. *BANG!!! Crashing through the ground as though it were ayer of water, arge underwater leviathan burst out with two sets of jaws and prepared to crush Kaden. "Oh~ Seems like you''re in a rush just like me. That''ll certainly make things easier for us wouldn''t it?" Kadenughed. From his shadow, a replica of the beast shot out, crushing the throat of Thssa''s beast. Flipping through the air, hended on the shadow beast''s head and crossed his arms at Thssa. Even though he was joking around with her right now, he was actually taking this fight rather seriously. That beast just now was to test his reaction and power. "So is that your gimmick? Summoning beasts from the ground as though it''s water? Because if so, this should be a rather easy fight for me." Kaden narrowed his eyes. mming his hand down, countless shadow tendrils shot out des burst out from the darkness and cleaved towards Thssa. Gritting her teeth out of anger, Thssa stomped her foot down as the ground around her transformed into the Abyss Waters. From these depths, tentacles ruptured the surface and crushed the des without any issue. ring at Kaden, she silentlymanded her family to rush towards him as he simplyughed and dived back into his shadow. Just as he jumped away, an army of underwater beasts dragged his shadow beast into the depths and tore it apart with brutal efficiency. *Whistle~ "That would''ve been pretty dangerous if I didn''t get away huh? What now girl? Seems like I''m a bad match for you." Kaden smirked as he flicked his finger. Simr to Thssa, the ground beneath began to twist and change before transforming into a sea of shadows. Snapping his fingers, his beasts lunged forth and started to tear apart at Thssa''s ''family''. Blood began to leak into the water as the colour was dyed beast blood. Seeing Kaden constantly bring out these unholy copies of her family, the Abyss Lord of Waters trembled with anger as she raised her arm and opened her mouth filled with sharp teeth. Raising an eyebrow, Kaden paused in shock and surprise as she began to tear away at her own sh. Muscles, tendons, bones. She tore through everything before throwing her arm into the water. *RUMBLE!!! Stumbling to his feet, Kaden furrowed his brows as his senses were warning him of danger from below. Realising that Thssa wasn''t going to hold back anymore, Kaden created a surge of shadows around her before clenching his fist, instructing the shadows to crush whatever was within its grasp. Yet a cage of bones burst out of the ground around her, protecting her from shadow and the dangers that would befall her. From the gaps of the bones, Kaden could see her eyes shimmering with an ethereal glow while curling the corners of her mouth into a sadistic grin, revealing her sharp teeth. *BANG!!! Jumping up out of instinct, Kaden furrowed his brows as he watched nine skeletal heads tear through the ground while ring at him. Each head looked draconic in nature with fractured horns and scales while mixed with gills and fins. Judging by the reflection against the ''water'', Kaden could assume that it''s full size wasparable to some of thergest old Abyss Lords that the Will had sealed before. Lining the side of its head were countless eyes that all red at Kaden. Feeling his vision waver, he realised that the beast must be one that hindered the senses of a person and immediately counter attacked. Large spikes pierced up from its shadow against the water''s surface, skewering it in the neck before detonating. But as one dead was torn off, two more manifested with a devious grin. ''So it''s that kind of beast.'' Kaden frowned. Snapping his finger, a cage of shadows twisted around the beast, forming thin threads that cut into its skin. From the wounds, countless small heads began to regenerate, fusing themselves with the shadow. But Kaden didn''t stop, he continued to inflict countless small wounds upon the beast until it was nothing but a mass of writhing flesh, unable to move. ''Did Thssa summon this to stall?'' ncing over to the bone cage that Thssa had created, Kaden tried to break it open several times to no avail. With the beast before him now mutated beyond recognition, he focused his power into a single spear of shadows that floated beside him. Narrowing his gaze, hemanded the spear to stab towards the cage! A sh of power but to Kaden''s shock, his shadow was repelled! Like a stream of water against a wall, his spear was unable to prate into the cage at all. Furrowing his brows, Kaden wanted to continue his attack when the shell began to crack. In a single blink of the eye, Kaden noticed arge cavity within the shell. ''She''s out!'' Immediately scanning the area around her, Kaden tried to find his target to no avail. Yet the moment he came to this conclusion, he felt a pair of hands wrap around his neck. Reacting immediately and turning into a mass of shadows, Kaden jumped away from Thssa while clutching his neck. Upon exiting her shell, Thssa''s form had changed. From the pale skinned girl to an underwater beast withrge fins on either side of her face. A pair ofrge fish like eyes that shimmered with a menacing red. Spikes and fins decorated her back as her skin was coated in ayer of scales. Curling her lips into a grin, Thssa opened her hands and revealed the spikes decorating her palms. In the moment where she grabbed Kaden by the neck, she was able to inject Abyss Water directly into his body. "Is that your n? To inject the water into me so I get corrupted?" Kaden smiled as he moved his hand aside, revealing the wound around his neck. In response to her excited expression, Kaden simply snapped his fingers and ayer of shadow wrapped around his neck. Gritting his teeth, he quarantined the injected Abyss Water before tearing out a chunk of his flesh! Shadows began to weave, repairing the damage. "You may be the ruler of Waters, but my body is entirely shadow. What can you do?" Kaden grinned. Little by little, his body began to break down and disappear while Thssa began to sense her target all around her. In every shadow, there was a piece of Kaden! "My offensive abilities are weaker than most Lords. But my casting ability is top notch. Which is why casters have a tough time against me as I simply replicate whatever they do. And while casting is my strong suit, it''s not what defines my abilities as an Abyss Lord." Kaden''s voice echoed out while countless attacks erupted from the shadows. Revealing a deep frown, Thssa began to tear away at the attacks with overwhelming speed yet no matter how she tried to target Kaden, he was no where to be see. "What I''m known for is being hard to kill." His voice rang out behind her. *BANG!!! A beast lunged up from the waters below in an attempt to kill Kaden but he onlyughed as his figure disappeared once more. Without knowing it, Thssa had already entered Kaden''s second Resonance! The key to a strong second resonance was for the opponent to not realise it. With this in mind, they would be hesitant to use their own resonance in fear of revealing too much information. But by the time they realised what had urred, they would''ve fallen for Kaden''s trap! Watching Thssa fight off his clones within his resonance, Kaden was about to shatter the realm when a chill went down his spine. Widening his eyes, he nced back and froze up in shock. A beast farrger than even the biggest Abyss Lord that he''s everid eyes on. A singr leviathan head surrounded by a mass of tendrils, teeth and limbs. With a single movement, the gargantuan beast wrapped its tendrils around the boundary of the resonance. *CRACK!!! Shattering the realm in an instant, Kaden jumped back with a deep frown on his face. Seeing Thssa jump onto the head of this beast, he forced a smile. "Well this isn''t exactly fair is it? A two verses one. What a hassle." However, it was still within his expectations. After all, casters who focus on summons at this calibre will no doubt have a summon that acts as the anchor of their abilities. For Thssa, it would be this gargantuan leviathan. Taking a deep breath, Kaden pulled his hair back so that the strands wouldn''t get in his eyes. It was time for him to focus if he wanted to kill this Lord and take her as his eighth Sigil. ### "Kaden and Lua have improved a lot since Ist saw them. Do you think it''s because of Alice? Her presence has changed many things within this memory. Lua''s innovation being one of them." Nyer chuckled while sitting on a boulder. Behind him, the Abyss Lord of Metamorphosis coughed up a mouthful of blood while being suspended in space. All of his limbs were torn off and sealed with des while Nyer was rxed in front of him. "Then again, I suppose her presence has also changed how I would do things. Yet it doesn''t matter if she can''t cross the final line. And unfortunately for you, you are not required in the final scenario." Nyer sighed as he turned his gaze to the beast in front of him. "M-monste-" Not letting the beast finish his sentence, Nyer flicked his finger and a myriad of tears in space erupted around the beast, shredding his body as he let out one final silent scream before being erased. The Abyss Lord of Metamorphosis ¨C Eliminated. Chapter 315: Peaking Into Second Resonance Now that Kaden, Allura and Nyer took the initiative to begin their fight against the other Lords, the rhythm of war began to change. The armies fell back as Lord level beings took to the battlefield. Naturally, it meant that Alyss took this moment to retreat as well. She wanted to drink Lord level blood but it was far too dangerous to do so right now. A stray fireball or sh would instantly eradicate her with nothing left behind. She may be addicted to fighting and killing but there was still logic behind her insanity. Landing on the cliff where she was sitting with Kaden and Allura not long ago, Alyss dangled her legs off the side of the cliff while watching the Lords begin to fight. Their battles mostly consisted of who could force the other to use their Resonance first. Once the Resonance was deployed, they''d exit out of sight as the battle would continue in their personal realms. Some would exit sooner than the others while some continued to fight in their realm. Crossing her arms in annoyance, Alyss frowned as most of the fights, techniques and powers were all hidden away from sight. ''Are you able to see what''s going on in there using your fourth Sigil?'' She asked, hoping that Alice had a solution. ''I can certainly try. But the second Resonance is a pocket in the Void wrapped in the powers of each person. I can look into the Void but I''m not sure how I can look past this barrier.'' Alice furrowed her brows. It was one thing to look into the Void and another to peek into someone''s personal realm within the Void. ''Well do you want to give it a try?'' Alyss offered as Alice nodded her head. Flipping controls, Alice massaged her neck before taking a deep breath. Closing her eyes, she sensed the Void around her as her fourth Sigil stretched across her skin. Between the two of, them she was the most perceptive to the changes to the Void along with manipting it using her fourth Sigil. As it stands, countless sealed off realms could be sensed within the world. Each shaking from the violet exchanges held within and peeking into what was happening inside was impossible unless she tore down the barriers. But if she were to do that, it would be no different to sabotaging whoever had deployed the Second Resonance and turning herself into an enemy. Recalling all of the lessons she''s learnt up to this stage, Alice calmed her mind and broke down her ability and things she needed to ovee. By breaking down her basic understanding and usage of her ability, she''ll be able to figure out another method to peer into the Second Resonance. First of all, in order to peer into the Void with her fourth Sigil, she attaches her sense of ''self'' to the Void. In essence, her ''eyes'' and mind begin to float within this boundless darkness and observed the changes in the surroundings. If she wanted to peer into a personal realm without breaking it, she''d have to fuse this ''eye'' with the barrier of their realm. Preferably without them realising what was happening. The only other instance of observation without people noticing that Alice remembers was Velouria''s observation using Ca. To do that, she would tap into the countless strands of energy that filled the Abyss. Using Ca as a medium to link with these strands and see what was going on. Using this as a basis, Alice had a theory. First, even the Void had strands of energy that attached to the Abyss itself. If she could locate and tap into this energy, it would allow her to nket her senses on the outside of the barriers as though she was the Void herself. And once she achieves this, all it takes is for her to ''corrupt'' the barrier and allow herself to merge with it to some extent in order to peer into the secrets within. But there was one thing that made this possible. Second Resonance was part of the powers granted by the Abyss! As the sessor and current owner of Ca, she was able to affect the abilities given by the Abyss to some extent. Whether that be the strands of energy, activation of powers or even using Alyss to cancel it out, Alice had control over these powers. Using her fourth Sigil as a basis and her current foundations to manipte the Abyss, merging with the barrier should be rtively easy for her. While Alice was experimenting with her abilities as both the sessor and the possessor of the Seraphim of the Void Sigil, the Will of the Abyss observed her with a grin. He could see the changes within Alice''s body. Every time she exerted the power of Ca, the Crown or the mimicry of the Heart, her body would change to be a more suitable vessel. However, what he didn''t expect was the pace of her development. Her arrival in this memory within the Abyss was only for her to gain a link to the Heart. Yet due to her own actions and choices, the growth far exceeded its original expectations. Another reason why he did not mind the current scenario going off script. If allowing Alice to do whatever she wanted achieved this kind of result, why should it stop her? If anything, he should encourage her to continue. To keep growing and to keep developing her abilities. Of course, there were things it could do to encourage her as well. So far, the Abyss Lords have moved and so have the Apostles. But the Will knew that with Lua and Kaden taking the charge, the strongest Lords would fall eventually, even the reaper with enough teamwork. He didn''t bring them out simply to win this war but rather to stall. The longer it takes for the Gods to move, the better. Because by stalling, Velouria''s condition would continue to deteriorate. She may be acting tough for the others, but the Will could see it. Her insides were a mess and the fact that she looked as though she was standing without issue wasmendable as each breath would grant upon her searing pain. Smirking to himself, the Will was about to turn his attention away when a pair of eyes locked onto him. ''?'' Raising an eyebrow in confusion, he noticed that it wasn''t just one pair but rather two! Two pairs of eyes with very simr aura. One belonged to the Eyes within Velouria, the current Ca. And the other? The damaged Eye of the Abyss belonging to Alice. Her gaze was full of bloodlust, anger and raw unfiltered hatred. However, it was brief, her moment of awakening was fleeting as the gaze soon closed once more. Even now, she was trying her best to repair herself as soon as possible, even if the other Eye was missing. Thinking of this, an idea manifested in the Will''s mind as a cruel smile appeared on his face. The moment Velouria dies, what if he was to merge the pieces of her corpse with Alice? What kind of amalgamation would that create? Would the Eye be able to repair itself with a false copy? Would the fake heart be a better replica using Velouria''s heart? So many questions and plenty of time to contemte on what he should do. But for now, he simply had one request to the countless fighting amidst the battlefield. And that was for them to entertain him until the end of this memory. ### Searching through the countless strands of energy that filled the Abyss and the Void, Alice tested out her control by trying to merge her senses with the different strands of energy. Naturally, it was hard to tell the difference since the Void was mostly empty, especially at their current location. With so many Lord level beings, Apostles and even Gods gathered in one location, not even the beasts that lurked in the Void dared to enter this area in fear of dying as coteral. But little by little, Alice began to tell the difference between each of the strands through using second resonances as andmark to understand where she was. She wasn''t quite confident in using it against the barrier of the second resonance just yet but so far, she''s gotten used to utilising Ca''s ability to gather information. During this, she felt Ca stir momentarily which kindled hope in her heart yet this moment didn''tst as she fell silent once more. Noticing Alice''s worry regarding Ca, Alyssforted her. ''Maybe the scenario is bad for her since there''s another Ca here. I''m sure once we get back to the real Abyss, she''ll wake up for a talk. Even if its brief.'' Alyss reassured as Alice nodded her head. ''I know don''t worry. Setting that aside, are you ready? I''m confident enough to try merge my senses with the barrier now but I don''t know how long I can keep it up for. So when I''m merging my senses, try to copy as much as you can from the lord okay? Or at least memorise it so we can work to replicate it.'' Alice grinned. When they get out to the real Abyss, she wanted to see the surprises upon Ria and Luke''s faces when she reveals several Abyss Lord level skills that she''s learned during her time away. Not only that, she also wanted to surprise Kaden and Allura. Seeing how they are right now, it felt bitter for Alice to see how far apart they were in reality. ''Who do you think I am? I''ll copy so much you won''t even be able to digest it.'' Alyssughed as Alice began to merge her senses with the barrier belonging to an Abyss Lord from their side. Abyss Lord of Inferno. Chapter 316: Berserkers Gambit Watching the Abyss Lord of Inferno fight, Alice couldn''t help but notice the simrities between him and Allura. Only he focuses more on the fire aspectpared to Allura who began to focus more on her blessings. Golden mes wreathed around his body as he mmed his fist into the ground, causing the earth to crack and spew forth a hellscape of inferno while his opponent countered using ice. [Abyss Lord of Inferno: Dion - ???????] [Abyss Lord of Ice: Sherry - ???????] ''They''re both seven Sigil Lords. Lord of Ice seems to be holding back for now.'' Alice thought to herself as the current Second Resonance belonged to the Lord of Inferno. The Lord of Ice has yet to make a move. The Lord of Inferno looked as though he was a ming demon. Lava and mes created the foundation of his body while obsidian armour wrapped around his forearms and shoulders. He wore a torn and burnt leather jacket and pants with a pair of boots. On the other hand, the Lord of Ice looked far moreposed and rxed. A simple white suit with arge coat hung off her shoulders and attached using two silver clips. Despite wearing a pair of heels, she didn''t seem to have any issues with her movement while parts of her body would transform into ice in order to deal with the Lord of Inferno''s attacks. ''Dion is going to lose this.'' Alyss concluded while Alice raised an eyebrow. ''Sherry is not struggling at all. She''s using the bare minimum needed to deal with Dion''s attacks. While Dion is aggressive, a lot of his attacks are meaningless and serve only to waste his energy. Its inefficient and he only knows how to keep attacking. Despite his proactiveness, he''s already lost the initiative in this fight. Everything is going to Sherry''s beat and she determines when it should end.'' Alyss exined. However, Alice didn''t think so. Dion may seem reckless and on the back foot right now, but everyone has a n until they get punched in the face. As the Lord of Inferno, Alice believes that he''s not someone who would go down easily. She may be biased towards people who belong to Ayr, but either way, Alice was cheering for Dion''s sess. "Is that all you can do?! Run?!" Dion shouted as the mes around him grew in intensity. Raising his hands, he grabbed the air in front of him before dragging it down with all his might. At that moment, the skies turned dark as an array of meteors rained down from the sky, threatening to destroy anything and everything within the vicinity. With Sherry''s attention drawn by the rain of destruction, Dion grinned widely and ran forth without care. "Are you not afraid of being hit by your own attack?" Sherry asked calmly as ice stabbed up from the ground in an attempt to skewer Dion but he simply twisted his body and mmed his foot into the pir. The sudden impact of the heat against the ice caused it to bubble from within before exploding. And tearing through this mist, Dion arrived in front of Sherry with his fist pulled back. There was no need to be afraid of his attack. If he died to it then so be it. It simply means his body wasn''t strong enough. Clicking her tongue at this battle maniac in front of her, Sherry took a light step back as a pir of ice appeared where she was just standing. *BANG!!! Shattering the pir to pieces, Dion jumped up into the air and dodged one of the meteors before activating one of his Sigils. An array of mes exploded on his back, propelling him forward as he mmed his heel into the meteor, shattering it and causing a show of fire and destruction to rain down upon Sherry. Feeling as though she''s put up with his long enough, Sherry narrowed her eyes as she sped her hands together. An orb of unfiltered frozen energy gathered between her hands as she raised it to her face and gave it a gentle blow towards the apocalypse above. *KRRR!!! Everything within the realm was frozen over in an instant and suspended in the space above. Breathing out a mouthful of cold air, Sherry sighed as the ice began to disappear from her body. ''Seems like I was right twinnie.'' Alyss chuckled as he prepared to reflect on what she''s seen so far but Alice simply kept watching. Finding this a little weird, Alyss turned her attention back to the fight. *Tzzz¡­. "!!!" Widening her eyes, Sherry turned her head towards the source of the sound and saw that the ice around Dion was beginning to melt. A faint echo of hisugh cough be heard before the ice shattered into countless pieces. The instant he was released from his prison of ice, the temperature of the realm sky rocketed as Sherry took a step back in shock. Just by standing in this realm, her skin was beginning to catch on fire. "Come on! Kill me if you can! Let the fire of my life burn!" Dion screamed out as the realm responded to his passion. Pirs of fire erupted around the area as Sherry was forced to use her first Resonance to survive within this hostile world. Amour of ice wrapped around her body as a silver silken veil draped in front of her face and hair. Kicking off the meteor, Dion rushed towards Sherry who created an array of attacks towards him. Yet the moment these attacks reached his vicinity, they were evaporated in an instant! A swirling inferno danced around Dion as he rushed forth without care. He is an unstoppable force, ready to eradicate anything and everything. Seeing this, Sherry gritted her teeth before resolving herself. Jumping back, an array manifested behind her as Sigils began to appear across her body. Second Resonance! With a single sh of white, a wave of frozen energy pulsed out in an instant. At that moment, within this world of white that shed with the inferno, only silent remained. A wave of cold mist that froze even the air they breathed! Landing on the ground softly, Sherry copsed on her knee as her Second Resonance was unstable. A personal domain capable of freezing even the Abyssal Energy that flowed through their bodies in order to activate their abilities. For her opponent, this was an instant death. But for her? It was just as dangerous. The bacsh of activating her Second Resonance was one that threatened to pull her into death''s embrace. She could hear the beating of her heart slowing down as sheid in the nket of snow. How quickly the senses leave the body upon being assaulted by the unrelenting cold air that belonged to her Second Resonance. Her personal hell. Her eyelids grew heavy and her mind hazy. *Ba-dum¡­ Sherry''s vision began to blur but she managed to gather what remained of her strength to look up. *Ba-dum¡­. Ba-dum¡­. ''Impossible.'' That''s what Sherry wanted to say yet no words left her mouth. Within the frozen confines where even the Abyss cannot help him, a pulse of glowing hot crimson began to spread from his chest. *Ba-dum! Ba-dum! Ba-dum! In this world of white, Dion''s fire refused to get extinguished as his heart pounded against his chest. The mes across his body reignited in tandem with his heart beat and at that moment, his eyes locked onto Sherry. "!!!" Fear invaded her heart as she wanted to push this demon away from her, but her ice could not reach him. Taking a step forward, the ice shattered from his body as blood poured from his wounds. Yet the mes around him evaporated this blood just as quickly as it appeared. Taking a punching stance, Dion grinned towards Sherry. His idol and target, the Executioner, would not be put down by such an attack. She would break through with everything she''s got in one focused strike using everything she''s got! The air around him began to crackle and pop as the air around him warped from the heat. The mes that make up his body slowed down until they disappeared. Yet the temperature continued to grow. The ground beneath him bubbled and steam coiled around him from the airflow. Ignition! With a single spark, his entire body erupted with a roaring me manifesting into the shape of a malevolent demon. *BANG!!!! Neither Alice nor Alyss could see Dion''s movement as he disappeared from their view, reappearing in front of Sherry with his fist inches away from her chest. An eruption of power first forth as the entire world was basked in surging hot fire and Sherry was no exception. As the target of the attack, mes wed away at her body while Dion''s arm was charred by his attack. As the mes faded away from his arm, it broke into countless cinders while he copsed on one knee. The boundaries of his person realm disappearing as the mes faded from his body. Returning back to his usual form, he copsed on the floor with a smile on his face. The Abyss Lord of Ice- Eliminated. With Dion managing to turn the tides using one final attack with everything he''s got, Alice turned to Alyss with a smug grin. *PUCHI!!! Feeling as though a vein was about to pop, Alyss clicked her tongue, crossed her arms and looked away in annoyance. Of course, she managed to understand and ''replicate'' a few things that she saw during the fight. But there was two that stood out to her. First, was Dion''s overwhelming vitality. The way the fire acted as a medium to replenish Dion''s lifeforce after thest attack was something Alyss wanted to replicate for Alice. If she could find a way to do this, they''ll have another safety for when Alice runs into strong opponents. But the second was something Alyss wasn''t sure if she should divulge or not. An all out attack in a split second, mustering all of the energy within the body and amassing lifeforce for a single explosive strike. Replicating it wasn''t hard for Alyss. In fact, she could even make it stronger through the connections tied to her spiritual heart. But Alice would not be able to withstand that. And for her, Alice took priority. If she had to give this attack a name, there could only be one. Berserker''s Gambit. Chapter 317: Abyss Lord Of Duality ''Anything you think we can use from their fight?'' Alice asked curiously as she separated her senses from the rapidly dissolving barrier of the Second Resonance. ''Yes though I''m not sure how well it fits your fighting style. It fits mine but not exactly yours.'' Alyss shrugged. Between the two of them, she was the one that focused on regeneration and power in close quartersbat. Alice thrived more on keeping people at bay and cancelling out attacks. ''Hmm, which of the Abyss Lords do you think would be a good match for my style?'' ''Maybe puppetry? But setting that aside, it''s such a shame that Dion charred the sh*t outta Sherry. There''s not even a drop of blood that we can taste from what remains of her.'' Alyss sighed in regret. If they could''ve gotten Sherry''s blood, she could''ve worked on recing more Sigils so that Alice could fight more freely on the battlefield. With her senses now separated from the barrier, Alice began to explore the other Resonances that had been established. Yet she wasn''t able to find a skill that suited her. Going from what Allura had taught before, Alice wasn''t greedily amassing countless to pick from but rather finding one that suited her the best and learning to perfect that technique for herself before finding something else. If she was to stretch her attention thin from all of the skills she''s chosen to copy, none of them would reach the proficiency required to go ahead to head with her opponents. A jack of all trades master of none. Of course, this didn''t mean she was going to give up on the skills. Rather, she would use the time to memorise them so should the situation call for it, she''ll be able to utilise them. It would be a big waste to forget all of the skills used by the Abyss Lords after all. When is she going to get another opportunity like this? Merging her senses with the barrier belonging to the Abyss Lord of Duality, Alice was surprised to see her realm being split into two halves horizontally. [Abyss Lord of Duality : Esse ¨C ???????] Simr to Alice, Esse had ck and white hair. But rather than being split down the middle, the other colour was a hue. From ck hair fading to a white hue to white hair fading into a ck hue. Every time they ''jumped'' to the other side, the colours would be inverted. Of course, it wasn''t limited to just their hair. From clothing colour to even their abilities, everything would be flipped. Esse is an Abyss Lord that belonged to the church of the moon and all of her attacks target the soul. Her opponent, the Abyss Lord of Corrosion was struggling withnding an attack against her. [Abyss Lord of Corrosion : Asur ¨C ????????] Streaks of neon pink tinged with a deep red and purple tore through the realm yet the attacks would miss Esse. ''It''s not just the abilities being flipped. So are the motor controls.'' Alyss muttered in realisation as she noticed Asur stumbling from movement, causing his attacks to miss. Hearing this, Alice raised an eyebrow and imagined herself fighting Esse. If her motor controls continuously flipped every time they ''jumped'' worlds, using her techniques would be near impossible without harming herself. As the fight continued, both Alice and Alyss began to see just how outssed Asur was despite the fact that he had eight Sigils and Esse only had seven. Esse focused on close quartersbat despite the danger of the corrosion and her gamen was simple. Hit Asur, swap controls. Repeat. Whenever Asur looked as though he was about to get used to the inverted controls, Esse would flip it back. And when Asur wanted to activate his Second Resonance, the flipped controls would disrupt his focus and motion, causing his Resonance to not activate. His first mistake was allowing Esse her Second Resonance that allowed her to affect his controls! Unlike the other fights that both Alice and Alyss had seen, this one was a slow methodical breakdown as Asur was not allowed a moment to fight back. And little by little, he was whittled down by Esse whonded attack after attack. ''I want her power.'' Was the conclusion Alice arrived at. She wanted Esse''s blood and Sigil power. If she was able to mix the power to invert controls and her teleportation with the blood mirrors, she''ll be extremely hard to hit while Alyss had most of their offensive power. Alice was defensive and Alyss was offensive. A perfect mix during battle. ''Same here. I want the method she uses to flip the realm. Imagine the applications if she could swap our control instantly without needing to focus heavily?'' Alyss reminded. Right now, it was a rather time consuming process for them to swap controls and the signs of which is very evident. That being the golden chains around her arms, ankles and neck. Naturally, Alice wanted to suggest lifting the seal and restrictions but Alyss rejected it simply due to the nature of her power and the beasts connected to her. Undoing it all at once could very easily make Alice lose herself in the bloodlust and desire to cause destruction. But if they could smoothly switch controls between the two of them during a fight like what the Lord of Duality was doing with her control flipping, they would be a menace to adapt to. ''Let''s do it. Once Asur dies, we''ll take his power through the blood and surprise attack Esse.'' Alice suggested as Alyss curled her mouth into a grin. ''Sure. But you have to do it within this Resonance otherwise the Moon Goddess will notice that you''ve gone and killed her follower.'' It was a risky n and could possibly spark the battle between the alliances. But there was more than one path to achieve the same result. Alternatively, they could let Asur win. ''Sabotage Esse once Asur is on the verge of dying. I''m sure his anger will allow him tond a fatal blow on Esse at that moment. Once both Lords kill each other, it''s just a matter of collecting loot is it not? No one can me us either since Asur was the one who killed Esse.'' Alyss grinned deviously. They simply needed to be the unknown third variable to allow Asur the victory before they could reap their rewards. ". . ." Staring at Alyss for a moment, Alice contemted before revealing a simr grin. ''Alright, let''s do this. How should we help Asur? Esse will flip the controls once she realises it''s dangerous and his attack will miss. ''We need to get rid of her ability to flip Asur''s controls.'' ''That''s simple. Remember what Dion did? We just need to use Asur as a proxy for my mes. If I allow my mes to wrap around him like a protective barrier to ward off the attack, he''ll be able to turn the tides against Esse.'' Alyss reminded. ''Can you even do that?'' ''Dunno. But it wouldn''t hurt to try. We just need to give him one chance tond a hit. If he can seize that chance, he wins.'' Alyss had two approaches to this. First was to grant him the power of the Violet me through blood mist. But this way would allow Esse to cancel it out since this was still her realm. Which meant she had to go with the secondary option. ### Gritting his teeth, Asur red at the girl in front of him. The annoyance of not being able tond a single attack as his body refused to listen to hismands. How she took joy in inflicting constant small wounds so his suffering was prolonged. Taking a deep breath in resignation, he turned to Esse once more. But this time, there was a strange shadow behind her. A split haired girl with a grin that sent a chill down his spine. ''Is it Esse? No¡­ It''s someone different.'' [Do you desire power? Power to cancel out her abilities?] Her voice echoed through Asur''s mind as he furrowed his brows. In a blink of an eye, the girl disappeared and reappeared beside him. Her voice, whispering in his ear. [Do you want to take the life of the girl in front of you? To pay her back for the humiliation you felt?] [I can give you that power.] Her voice, dipped in honey reverberated in his ear. The temptation of her offer, the whispers of a devil. ''What do you want?'' Nothing in this world was free. Not his power gained by selling his soul to the Will and neither was this. [I want you to kill her and offer her to me. If you do, I will give you the power to kill her.] A simple desire. Asur had doubts in his mind but at the current state of things, he couldn''t afford to be picky. Either he takes this offer now or he dies by Esse''s hands. ''Fine, I will do it. I will offer you the corpse of an Abyss Lord for the power you wish to grant upon me!'' With his confirmation, Alyss''s smile widened as invisible des began to carve across Asur''s body. A ritual! Feeling a foreign power flood through his body, Asur felt himself being attached to something far bigger than him but it was toote to dwell on this feeling. He had to take the initiative to kill Esse first! Just as Esse was about tond the finishing blow, a burst of power erupted from Asur''s body. Violent and far more menacing than his power of Corrosion. Wanting to protect herself, Esse prepared to flip the world once more yet found it impossible to effect Asur. Widening her eyes in shock, she wanted to run away when Asur lunged forward with a de of pink energy oveyed by the violet mes. *KRRRK!!!! At that moment, her world was turned upside down. A single moment of weakness was all it took for Asur to sever her head from her shoulders. ck hands erupted from the ground, grabbing and tearing away at her body while violet mes burned her from the inside out. Chainstching onto her soul as pieces of it was torn from Lumira''s embrace. And then, silence. In the darkness of the Void, Esse saw the being she was about to consumed by. A mass of beasts crying out for salvation as a single warden looked down upon her with a devilish grin. Licking her lips, Alyss grabbed Esse by the chin as the girl paled in fear. "Thanks for the meal~" Chapter 318: Stealing Souls Waiting by the side while Velouria, Sris and Enris took the lead inmanding their armies, Lumiria simply smiled and watched. After all, her army is not afraid of death as death is not the end. Once they die, they''ll enter her embrace and live a life of eternity after death. The longevity that they longed for was within arms reach, why would they be afraid of battle? Even now, her soldiers were the most ''insane'' on the battlefield. Laughing with each stab they receive, fighting back harder than ever with each wound. Just when everything is going as nned, Lumiria paused. Her face contorted in a mix of anger and confusion as she stood up in shock. One of her Lords had been killed and their connection to her severed. She will not enter her embrace and Lumiria couldn''t do anything about it. It happened too fast and by the time she noticed, her subordinate was gone. ''Impossible¡­ Who is it? Who stole my child from me!?'' Lumiria gritted her teeth as for the first time in a long while, the Goddess of the Moon showed a face of pure anger. The moon that hung above the battlefield began to shimmer as its lustre was dyed in a deep red, unbefitting the gentle moonlight that used to coat its surface. Beneath this crimson moon, her followers gained a dark aura as they lunged at their opponents without fear! "Lumi, what''s wrong?" Velouria frowned, seeing Lumiria taking action. "Some b*stard has just stolen one of my children." Lumiria hissed out as all three Gods shivered for a moment seeing the veins on Lumiria''s neck. ''She''s pissed.'' Is what all three of them thought. "Veli, can you check who did it for me, please? I wish to personally tear their f*cking head off their shoulder and drink wine from their f*cking skull!" Lumiria asked as Velouria scratched her cheek before nodding her head. Closing her eyes, she began to read the ''history'' of the battlefield using Ca. Scanning through the fight, she soon saw what had transpired and an awkward expression appeared on her face. ''Aliceeeeee!!!'' Velouria cried out in her mind. If Alice had simply killed the Abyss Lord of Duality that belonged to Lumiria, Velouria wouldn''t care and in fact would even cheer it on. But the fact that Alice had ''devoured'' her of all things! "Seems like your Abyss Lord lost her life fighting another Lord. The Will probably interfered and dragged her away." Velouria lied as Lumiria''s aura burst forth. "Is that so? Alright. It wasn''t personal before but now it is." She squeezed out through gritted teeth as Velouria could only sigh and massage her eyes. Each of the Gods didn''t care that contracts were made with the Abyss because in the end, faith still flowed towards them. When their followers died, they still ''belonged'' to their religion. But Alice stepped over the line by stealing what belonged to Lumiria. Devouring a small piece of their soul through blood and so on was fine. Yet Alice chose to devour the Abyss Lord entirely. Standing by the side, Enris scratched her chin while ncing at Velouria and Lumiria. Narrowing her gaze, the corners of her lips curled up into a wide grin as a realization appeared in her mind, causing her to burst out inughter. "Oi, what are youughing about you crazy b*tch." Sris clicked his tongue. "It''s none of your concern sunny boy. I''m going to enjoy myself a little~" Enris waved her hand as she gave an order to all of her followers. It was a simplemand, one that everyone understood clearly. While Enris may have agreed to help Velouria, so long as it achieved the same desired result, the process in which she reached that result didn''t matter. Therefore, she issued the following order. [Go wild my children. Let your desires be known, let all falsehoods be stripped away. Show the world your truth.] Lumiria''s wrath, Enris''s chaos. With these two issuing orders, the battlefield descended into a bloodbath once more. Meanwhile, the one who caused all of this was observing Asur who was shocked by the manner in which Esse died. The gruesome violet mes that consumed everything still lingered on his sword. The foreign feeling that permeated his body remained as it seemed to have taken root within his body. "Ah~ Delicious. Thank you, if it wasn''t for you I wouldn''t have been able to feel this full after so long." Alyss grinned as Alice had teleported them next to Asur. Feeling the strength of an Abyss Lord enter her body, Alyss breathed out in satisfaction. Licking her fingers, she tapped her foot against the ground and all traces of Esse disappeared into a mass of shadowy hands. Across Alyss''s body, Sigils started to manifest one by one. "Now¡­ What to do with you. I did give you a ritual and we''ve both fulfilled our terms." Hearing this, a chill went down Asur''s spine as he realised his mistake. She was someone whom he should never have made an agreement with! Without hesitation, he flooded his body with the power of Corrosion once more as his figure disappeared and shed down towards Alyss. *CLANG!!!! Widening his eyes, he watched as Alyss caught his de between her fingers while still being rxed. *Sigh~ "You know, when I offered you the ritual to kill Esse, what made you think I didn''t prepare for you to turn against me?" Alyss asked as she flung Asur away with ease. "But since you want to fight, we might as well have a little fun." *BANG!!! Before Asur could react, Alyss mmed her elbow into his sternum before grabbing him by his hair. Twisting her body, she mmed his head into the ground and then stomped down with her heel against his head. A flood of corrosive energy erupted from him in an attempt to devour Alyss but she simply grinned. The golden chains around her body disappeared in an instant as her aura flipped. Snapping her finger, Alice created a wall of mirrors that redirected his attack before summoning Void Fang! Void Flux ¨C Cleave! "ARG!!!" A sword sh carved deep into his body as Violet mes erupted inside him. Watching his body getting consumed by the very same mes that consumed Esse, fear rooted itself in his heart as he reached out with his hand towards Alice to beg for help. Yet this time, no voice called out to him. ''It feels a little weird to use but it''s not bad. Definitely disorientating though.'' Alice frowned as they practised the new type of switch. It''s simr to suddenly being passed a sword and asked to react to 4 different attacks that were thrown at her. ''Well, it needs some work. But obviously, if we keep swapping, we''ll get used to it.'' Alyss shrugged. She was taking her time to rx after two rather hefty meals. ''Actually, that reminds me. How did you even give them a ritual contract?'' With how Alyss was able to offer Asur a contract so that they could interfere, Alice wanted to know if there were ways where she could do the same. Example being letting Ria use her Violet mes if the situation calls for it. ''It''s instinctual I''ll be honest. I just think about it and it happens. It''s like¡­ trying to exin what having a tail feels like to someone who''s never had a tail. They wouldn''t even know where to begin with the sensation.'' Alyss frowned. ''Is that so? Oh well. Let''s get out of here before someone sees us.'' Alice shrugged as she repaired to open a portal back to the cliff. But just as she was about to do that, her rm bells went crazy as she immediately jumped to the side. *BANG!!! Several pirs of light rained down from above, obliterating everything in its path! As the beams disappeared, all that remained was charred ground. Turning her head up, she saw the source of the attack. ''Reaper!'' Alyss shouted out in shock. Creating a rift in the space above them, the Reaper looked down from above as its countless eyes red at Alice, each ready to fire a beam of pure destruction at her. Gritting her teeth, Alice created an array of mirrors while running away. *BANG!!! Unable to contain the force of the attack, her mirrors shattered apart as Alice was flung against the wall. ''Why the hell is he making a move now?!'' Alice shouted out in her mind as she mmed her hand down and created a swirling barrier of Violet mes to counteract the attack momentarily as she tried to teleport away. But the Reaper was observing the Void around them so the moment Alice opened a portal, an attack would go her way immediately! ''. . .'' Seeing that Alyss was being silent, Alice clicked her tongue in annoyance. Several arms rushed down from above as she twisted her body and gathered all of her power into Void Fang. Void Flux ¨C Cleave! Creating a myriad of shes to ward off the arms, Alice found her strengthcking even with the boost of Abyss Lord level blood. ''It¡­ might be my fault.'' Alyss muttered meekly as Alice widened her eyes in confusion. ''What do you mean?'' Dodging another grab, Alice activated Tiamat''s power along with her own as the colour of the world faded away momentarily. Gathering into a single spark, Alice fired a Void Flux towards the head of the Reaper who only swatted the strike away as though it was nothing. ''When I¡­ Burned the Abyss Lord of Corrosion. I might''ve¡­ stolen him away from the Will of the Abyss. As in¡­ most of his soul is with me rather than the Will.'' Alyss exined with an awkward cough. At that moment, Alice understood why the Reaper was angry. Not only has Alyss pissed of Lumiria, the Goddess of the Moon due to Duality, which Alice doesn''t know about just yet. But she had also pissed off the Reaper of the Abyss as its master''s belonging was stolen as well! In one fight, Alyss had angered two god like entities and now Alice had to clean up the mess. "You''ve got to be sh*tting me¡­" Chapter 319: Fighting The Reaper With a constant array of attacks raining down on her, Alice tried her best to redirect the attacks using her blood mirrors while taking cover when she could. However, the Reaper was akin to a Lord of the Void, it was able to open up rifts to rain down attacks no matter the angle. An all seeing beast who was out to kill her. ''Why did you have to take their entire soul!!!'' Alice cried out in her mind while using Void Flux ¨C Cleave to cancel out one of the beams that was about to hit her. ''I''m sorry! I got hungry!'' Alyss cried back as she couldn''t do anything in this situation. It was entirely up to Alice to survive this as the Void was sealed off thanks to the reaper. ''If you got hungry eat some spicy skewers! Why the hell did you piss him off like this!?'' Aliceined as she took a deep breath and activated her partial Bloodline release. Gritting her teeth, she could feel a bigger surge of power greater than before due to the fact that she now owned the body of an Abyss Lord! Alyss''s beast form manifested behind her as dark hands exploded out from the ground around her. shing with the pirs of energy, the hands grabbed hold and began to corrupt! Dark spots appeared along the energy that travelled towards the source. Seeing this, the Reaper narrowed its countless eyes and cut off the connection before raining down another barrage of attacks. ''Got any ideas to help us out of this? Any Sigils I can rece?'' Alice asked as one of the beams bore into her shoulder. Gritting her teeth to stop herself from letting out a scream, violet mes burned across her wound as flesh began to twitch and stitch itself together. ''I''m looking! It''s not exactly easy to find one since he''s blocked off the Void. It''s either we kill it or we stall, pick your poison.'' Alyss frowned as she was currently filtering through the countless beasts they''ve consumed during their time in the Zenia family. Even though she hoped there was a strong beast that coulde to their rescue, the highest quality blood they got was still just six stars. For the current era, six stars represented the pinnacle except the outliers who were able to reach lord level. The Zenia family was no exception. If they had Lord level blood, they wouldn''t waste it on feeding Alice. No, they would use it for themselves rather than in an experiment. Letting Alyss filter through the beasts, Alice twisted her body and released an upward sh. Using this gap, she activated her Resonance. As the crown manifested above her head, Alice could feel a strange power, just beyond her reach. So close yet so far. ''Is it because a passage was opened to the Will?'' Alice thought to herself but didn''t want to experiment. Right now, her main goal was to survive! Creating a mirror in front of her, she threw Void Fang into the Void as the exit appeared above the beast. Snapping her fingers, she traded ces with her de and then teleported it back into her hand. She needed to ''blind'' its eyes if she wanted an easier time. And right now, all of the beamse from one source. The eyes! Transforming her de into a spear, Alice jumped towards the Reaper''s back in an attempt to stab the eyes. But just as shended, a giant maw erupted from its skin, biting down on Alice''s right side as she could feel her bones being crushed between its teeth. ring at the maw with bloodshot eyes, Alice erupted in a mass of violet mes. Gathering countless motes of light towards her palm that was inside the beast, she fired a Void Flux within the beast and created a hole through the maw. As the extension of the Reaper fell limp, Alice dragged her mangled arm and leg out from the beast as her flesh began to regenerate. ''So¡­ Any ideas?'' ''Sorry, the best we''ve got are the Abyss Lords we''ve killed recently and Tiamat. And even if we turn them into Sigils, I don''t know what kind of abilities they have aside from what they''ve shown.'' Alyss apologized as their ess to Abyss Blood was limited right now. There was the option of Null but they were already using its powers. Hearing this, Alice frowned before widening her eyes. There was someone. ''I have a target in mind and we''ve seen them fight a bunch.'' Alice spoke as her lips curled up into a grin. ''Who- Wait¡­ How did I not think of that. The fragment is small so I''m not sure how much of her power we can emte. But¡­ It''s definitely possible.'' Alyss furrowed her brows before realising who Alice was talking about. ''Rece my first, sixth and seventh Sigils. We can''t rece Tiamat for my fifth since it''s already locked in.'' Aliceughed as the Sigils across her body began to glow. ''You got it twinnie. Remember, finish it quickly since I don''t know how long we can keep it up for. Once it disappears, you''ll be back to having just four Sigils.'' Alyss warned. Nodding her head, Alice could feel countless knives carving across her body, imprinting the power of the one who''s been guiding her all this time. Allura! Executioner of the Abyss! *BANG!!! A radiant me erupted from her body as it began to merge with her Violet mes. Taking a deep breath, Alice twisted her body and gathered her energy into her fist. Sparks of fire melded together as she mmed her fist into the flesh of the Reaper. A shrill cry erupted from the beast as its muscles began to tear apart. Blood oozed out while countless rays of light erupted from its body in panic. Trying her best to dodge the attack, Alice jumped up into the air before closing her eyes. She could feel it. Allura''s Sigils radiated a pure refined path of destruction. A power to breach and sever everything in its path. Opening her eyes, Alice could see the strands of energy connecting the Reaper with the Will of the Abyss. *BANG!!! Unlike the phenomenon caused by her Void Flux, the impact of Nova Core was far greater! A swirl of power, beyond what Alice could aplish on her own. The fabric of space surrounding her, warped from the gathering of energy as mes danced across her de to form a single edge radiating with power. Nova Core ¨C Cleave! Twisting her body, Alice released the sh downwards as Void Fang screamed out from the power coursing through its obsidian form. Allura''s sixth Sigil exploded with power on Alice''s body. The sh, transcending space to reach its target without a chance of missing. And at that moment, the realm was split in two. A single line, bisecting thend and sky at the same time. As for the Reaper, the front half of its head was cut off cleanly as it didn''t even realise it had been cut. Once the head hit the ground, blood poured out from its wounds as it released a shrill cry once more. But it was alive. Gritting her teeth, Alice pulled her de back for a second attack. *KRRK!!! As she gathered energy once more, Alice widened her eyes. The flesh along her arm was torn apart as she could feel her body teetering on the edge of destruction. One sh was all it took for her body to break down from the influx of power! ''How the hell does Allura keep up with this?!'' Alice cried out in her mind. Even with her insane regeneration, it struggled to keep up with the damage. Seeing the gathering of energy in front of the Reaper, Alice understood that it wanted to finish her off in one go. Yet she had no strength to move her body. Alyss wanted to take over to get them to safety but it was toote. *BANG!!!! A ball of mes appeared beside the Reaper, With a single bunch, the beast was sent crashing to the ground as the mountains copsed from its side. "That was reckless Alice! My Sigils aren''t something you can brute force a battle with!" Allura shouted out as she ran away from her fight to cover for Alice. Twisting her body, she released a sh to block Shura''s attack before catching Alice who was falling towards the ground. "Sorry¡­ Kind of didn''t have a choice." Alice forced out augh as more wounds kept opening up despite her healing. The rampant energy from the attack was shredding through her flesh with each passing moment. Thankfully, she was able to bnce the destruction with her healing. But as it stands, she wouldn''t be able to rejoin the fight any time soon. "Reckless girl. And here I thought I was the bad one." Allura sighed. Focusing on getting Alice out of the area, Allura dodged the attacks sent by Shura while the Reaper was recovering from her sneak attack. "But¡­ With everything said and done, I''m proud of you. That was a hell of an attack." Allura smiled as she patted Alice on the head. "Now leave the rest to me okay? Just take this time to rest up. You''ve done plenty." Nodding her head, Alice enjoyed the head pat as Allura set her down by the same cliff. Wrapping them in a barrier of mes, she blocked the onught of attacks released by both the Reaper and the Abyss Lord of Destruction. Each of Shura''s attacks would destroy her mes but new embers would take their ce. Taking a deep breath, Allura stood up and massaged her neck. "Now let me show you how you should fight against Abyss Lords." Allura grinned. Seven Days of Execution ¨C Sixth Day! Chapter 320: Allura Vs Reaper And Shura Even though Allura said what she said to Alice, she wasn''t entirely confident in fighting against both the Reaper and the Lord of Destruction. The wounds that Alice inflicted on the Reaper had healed already and she was losing against the Lord of Destruction. Shura had an aura around her that would destroy everything it touched. Naturally, the same aura coated her attack. As for the Reaper, Allura only knew that it blocked off space and fired off concentrated beams of energy. The rest were all unknown to her. However, Alice was injured and couldn''t fight anymore. As her teacher, even if it''s brief, Allura had a responsibility to keep the young sapling safe. That''s her job as a teacher! Stomping down, her aura exploded out as she rushed towards the Reaper. Since Shura was annoying to kill, she should focus on killing the Reaper first! But Shura wasn''t going to let Allura have her way as the giant cross was thrown towards Allura. Breaking into countless shards that transformed into des, a malevolent aura coated each piece before swarming around Allura. "F*ck off!" Allura shouted, mming her fist downwards. A burst of mes pulsed out as invisible des of her own shed towards the des sent by Shura, shing violently in the sky while the Reaper fired off countless beams of energy towards Allura. Twisting her body, she unleashed a flurry of punches, each coated with the power of her Nova Core. Watching all of this happen, Alice was awestruck. Each attack was enough to kill her in one go yet they were firing them off as though it was nothing. With each punch, the grounds trembled. With each sh, the mountains vanished. This is the pinnacle of power within the realm of the Abyss. "ARGGGG!!!!" Letting out a shout of anger, Allura mmed her heel into the face of the Reaper before digging her hands into its head. Seeing the gathering of energy around its eyes to fire off another attack towards her, Allura took a deep breath before gritting her teeth. Her mes created a shroud of protection around her as she clenched her fist around the Reaper''s skull. Realising what Allura was about to do, the Reaper''s pupil shrunk in shock as she ripped the beast in half! Its flesh twitched in an attempt to mend itself but Allura wasn''t about to let it regenerate. Pulling her arm back, she was about to release another attack when a deep sense of danger manifested behind her. Trusting her instincts, she turned her body and gathered her energy into a single punch. Sparks of fire crackled around her fist as she punched towards Shura who had fired an orb of destruction towards her. As the two attacks collided, two vastly different sources of destructive energy exploded out as itbust into an array of colours, lighting up the dark sky. A cosmic array of falling motes of energy rained down. Despite their beauty, each mote held the power of two Abyss Lords and was capable of killing anything and everything it touched! But their sh didn''t end. *BANG!!! shing de against fist in the air, Allura gritted her teeth as she could feel the aura of destruction seeping through her mes and toward her. Against this kind of power, her defences were practically useless. On the other hand, Shura had a wide grin on her face as her eyes red at Allura with a mix of excitement and insanity. Aiming her palm towards Allura''s head, destructive energy gathered in the blink of an eye before firing towards her. With her fast reaction, Allura managed to duck under the beam andunch a counterkick against Shura but it was blocked easily. ncing back, even the Reaper that was almost dead a moment ago had healed up fully and was now preparing more attacks towards her. Even now, her senses were telling her that the Reaper was the most dangerous yet all it''s done so far was lock down the space around them and fire off concentrated beams of energy. It wasn''t doing anything else which raised Allura''s suspicion. However, the fact of the matter was that the Lord of Destruction gave her the most pressure. If she didn''t deal with the Lord of Destruction, she could forget about killing the Reaper. ''What a pain!'' Allura thought to herself in annoyance as she coated her hand in a protective coating before grabbing Shura by the cor. Turning around, she threw the Lord towards the Reaper before gathering her energy into a single spark. Nova Core! A spark of destruction that contained the power granted to her by the sixth Day of Execution. The realm trembled at its creation as the spark of pure power rushed towards Shura and the Reaper. Seeing this, Shura simply grinned as she had seen this move too many times now. Creating several arrays, around the attack that was moving towards them, Shura clenched her fist and the space around the Nova Core copsed in on itself. The target of her attack being eradicated without a chance to detonate. "Tch, what a pain in this ass." Allura spat out in annoyance as she panted heavily from the fatigue of trying to kill two nine star beasts. Seeing the situation that she was in, she couldn''t help but think that she bit off more than what she could chew. But to save Alice, this was a necessity. ''Enough b*tching about these two. I need to focus up. Just a little more than it''ll be the Seventh Day, That''ll be my chance to turn things around.'' Allura thought to herself. Her Seven Days of Execution was a skill she thought up of after getting inspired by Alice and it''s a type of self imposed Ritual. Once she fulfils certain conditions that she sets for herself, she''d be able to exchange it for power beyond her limits for a brief period of time. In this case, she was to fight without her Blessing and at half strength for an extended period of time. Once enough energy has gathered to progress the ritual to the seventh day, she''d be allowed to tap into a new reserve of power beyond her usual strength. However, if she was forced to use her blessing or full strength during this charging period, the Ritual would be rendered null and the energy she''d been amassing would be lost. A high risk high reward gamble. ''Just a little more.'' Even now, her aura was beginning to fluctuate as she approached the apex of her power. Breathing out a mouthful of air, she calmed her mind and focused on stalling for now. With her being this close to fulfilling her ritual, rushing into things would make it worse. But this proved to be a mistake. Noticing her chance in stance and defensive posture, Shura understood that Allura was stalling. And the only reason an Abyss Lord would stall was to buy time to turn things around! Immediately, destructive energy erupted around her body as she flickered out of view and reappeared behind Allura. "!!!" shing down with her de, Shura manifested 3 clones of herself, each in the process of unleashing the same move. Unable to tell the difference between any of them, Allura was forced to either face it head on or try her best to retreat. She knew that facing it head on would require her to tap into more power as there was a newfound lethality within Shura''s attacks. ''Sh*t! I messed up!'' Allura cried out in her mind as she created an explosion beneath her feet,unching her body up and away from the encirclement. But as she flung herself higher into the air, the Reaper was ready. Several beams were mere inches away from hitting her. "Lua, can you stop getting yourself into trouble the moment I look away?" "Kaden!" Allura''s expression brightened up as she heard a family voice. A barrier of shadows wrapped around her and blocked the Reaper''s attack as Kaden breached through Reaper''s space lock and teleported next to Allura. His attire was damaged and his body was wounded. However, his aura was far stronger than before. "And here I thought you would be able to take care of your target before I killed mine." Kaden chuckled, patting Allura on the head as she stuck her tongue out in yfulness. "I had to cover for Alice annoying the Reaper for some reason. But for the most dangerous feeling thing on the battlefield, it''s only using one attack and regenerating." Allura exined as Kaden narrowed his eyes at the beast. "Should I help you lighten the burden then? I''m feeling pretty energetic after getting my eight Sigil." Kaden grinned. [Abyss Lord of Shadows : Kaden - ????????] "Wait how quick did you even kill her???" Allura blinked her eyes in surprise and confusion since there would be a period of time when the body would be reshaped to ept the new Sigil. If Kaden was here after killing his target then¡­ "What do you think? But let me even out the ying field first since I''m not a good frontline fighter." Kaden chuckled. Arge inky shadow expanded beneath him as the countless cries of beasts could be heard. However, there was one that caught the attention of the Reaper. A being of countless eyes and a size that dwarfed the battlefield. Bursting out of the shadows, a single twitching limb could be seen. From one followed two. From two followed four. From four, came countless as a twitching mass of shadows wed itself out from the darkness and stood before the Reaper. As though looking into a twisted mirror, the Reaper came face to face with its own reflection. "Isn''t this a bit better? Now then, shall we go for round 2?" Kaden smirked as eight Sigils lit up on his body. Chapter 321: Apostle Of Corruption While Kaden''s mimicry of the Reaper was keeping it distracted, Kaden stood next to Allura as they both eyed Shura, the Abyss Lord of Destruction. "We should finish this quickly. I felt it earlier but it''s even more evident now that I made a copy of the Reaper. It''s just a cocoon right now. Once it hatches, it won''t be something we can deal with." Kaden warned with a serious expression. "It''s that bad?" Allura furrowed her brows. If Kaden was saying it like this then they should aim to kill Shura as fast as possible. "Mnm. How long do you need to fulfil your Ritual?" "Give me¡­ 10 minutes. That should be enough for me to reach the Seventh Day." Allura calcted. The exact time wasn''t 10 minutes but she had to give a rough estimate. "Let''s hope they''re willing to wait 10 minutes then!" Jumping in front of Allura, Kaden conjured a wall of beasts to block Shura''s de strike as the power of destruction tore through the flesh but thankfully, it gave them enough time to dodge out of the way. The key to fighting someone who could ignore defence like Allura or Shura was to overwhelm them with numbers. For Shura, Kaden needed to supply beasts continuously to act as defences for them rather than a barrier. And right now, this was perfect since he had just killed the Lord of Waters and got her Sigil. From his shadow, he now not only had ess to the corrupted variants of the beasts he saw but also beasts that dwell in the deep, governed by Thssa. Snapping his finger, an array began to expand out from beneath Kaden''s feet. Gate of the Deep! As though imposing his Second Resonance to the world, the space beneath him began to twist and turn, transforming into a portal to the depths of the Abyss Waters. And from the darkness crawled countless beasts of varying qualities. Seeing the onught of beasts, Shura clicked her tongue out of annoyance and twisted her body, releasing an array of shes to push back the wave. Each time she killed a beast, another two would take its ce. Pure anger could be seen in her eyes as she red at the duo who were focused on keeping her busy until Allura had fulfilled her ritual. She is the Abyss Lord of Destruction and there was nothing she couldn''t destroy. Yet these vermin continued to stall her. "Enough!" Shura shouted out as a violent aura burst forth from her body, pushing away the beasts around her. Adjusting her grip on her de, she raised it above her as the cross that was following her stabbed into the ground. *CRACK! Cracking open, spectral beings began to w out from the cross, rushing towards Shura''s de. Understanding that she was charging up an attack simr to Allura, Kaden snapped his finger as several beasts lunged forth from her shadow. However, that proved to be a mistake as a connection was now formed between them. ring back at the beasts, their forms began to twist before exploding into a mass of energy that rushed towards her de. Without hesitation, she created an orb of destruction and threw it towards her shadow. Thankfully, Kaden realised what was going on at thest second and broke off the connection before the attack couldnd. If he was even a little bit slower, there was no telling what that orb could''ve done to his body. And while he was safe, he had failed to stop whatever Shura was attempting to aplish. As the spectral beings all gathered into her de, Shura curled her mouth up into a devilish grin before grabbing the sword in a reverse grip. Giving the two onest look, she plunged the de into her own chest! "!!!" From her body, countless strands of conflicting energy burst forth as her form began to change. Little by little, cracks spread across her body as her obsidian form shattered, to reveal the pristine skin beneath. A pair of blood red eyes and long white hair fluttered behind her. Her dress began to shift as it transformed into a simple ck dress with silver armour adorning her chest, arms and legs. Behind her, two des floated, one ck like obsidian and the other radiant like her hair. Closing her eyes, she cracked open her mouth and let out a chillingugh as an aura rivalling that of the Reaper erupted from her body, sending both Kaden and Allura into a fight or flight response. Without hesitation, Kaden prepared to open his Second Resonance but Shura was faster. Manifesting behind him, her eyes flickered with an ominous radiance as Kaden widened his eyes in a mix of shock and fear. He couldn''t move his body! With a single nce, she had restricted the movement of his body, leaving himpletely open to an attack from behind. Thankfully, he wasn''t alone. Beside him, Allura pulled her fist back and punched towards Shura''s head who parried it with her de. Ice began to form across Allura''s fist as her mes were doused within the blink of an eye! The ice began to tear apart her skin as she flinched from the assault of cold energy into her body. Twisting her body, sheunched a kick towards Shura''s chest, sending her backwards and giving them the space they so desperately needed. The period of paralysis was over as Kaden regained control over his own body. Understanding that his Second Resonance where he tricks them wasn''t going to work, Kaden went with a different approach. Much like Allura, his Second Resonance was unique amongst the different Abyss Lords. Most would have only one but he had two variants. The first focused on trickery, luring his opponents into his realm without realising. Yet thiscked the offensive power most Resonances have. As for his other variant, it required the use of his blessing. Even though he disliked using his blessing, he couldn''t be worried about something small like this when both of their lives are in danger! *BANG!!! Activating his blessing, his Sigils began to merge into onerge array of twists and turns. On his neck, the crest of Ayr surrounded by dark briar thorns and inky fluid manifested as Kaden''s eye turned ck with white Irises. Ink like blood dripped from his eyes as a pair of tattered wings unfurled behind him. Dark shackles manifested around his wrists. Simr to Allura''s Executioner form, a halo manifested above his head but unlike Allura, his halo was dripping with malevolence and darkness that sent a chill down the spine. [Apostle of Corruption : Kaden] Tilting his head back, Kaden let out augh as he rushed towards Shura who was shocked by his sudden change of appearance but regardless, shed towards him with both her des. A de burst out from his arm as Kaden blocked the strike. Leaning forward, he narrowed his eyes at Shura before revealing a grin. "You shouldn''t have done that~" Kaden cackled as Shura''s eyes turned bloodshot. ck ink began to drip from her eyes as her skin showed signs of corruption. Kicking Kaden in the chest, Shura jumped back asyers of ice froze over her skin before breaking off the pieces of corrupted flesh. However, that wasn''t enough. No matter how her flesh regenerated, the corruption remained. "Oi, mongrel. My corruption works far deeper than just the flesh. It corrupts the soul." Kaden taunted before creating a tear in space. Plunging his hand into the tear, he began to pull out a dark book sealed by chains. "Do you know what this is? It''s my own personal Relic." Kaden curled his lips into a dark grin. Relics are items that people create a deep bond with. Depending on the Relic you bond with, your powers would undergo a change. People can have two Relics at most as any more and it would create a conflict of power within their body. But for him, he was limited to one due to how obscenely violent his Relic was. No matter how he tries to change, the relic he binds himself with will always transform and be this book in the end. Its name¡­ [Grimoire of Original Sin] As the Apostle of Corruption, Kaden could be considered as a library of curses that he could apply to the people around him. Just being in his presence was enough to ''corrupt'' souls of the people around him if he wasn''t careful. And as for his personal Relic¡­ The Book held the power to impose curses and shackles of corruption upon his opponents. Shattering the chains, Kaden opened the book as a dark mist manifested around his body. "Curse of lethargy." Shackles manifested around Shura''s ankles as she could feel her stamina and energy being drained at a rapid pace. Realising that she couldn''t let this continue, she activated her Sigil once more as Kaden found himself unable to move. Appearing above him, energy gathered into her des as she let out an ear shattering roar before shing down. But before her sh could reach him¡­ "Curse of Apathy." The energy around her de dissipated and a string of foreign thoughts entered her mind. ''Why should I even fight these two?'' Shaking her head to dispel this thought, she shed towards Kaden once more as he transformed into a flock of ravens. ck feathers danced around the battlefield as his voice echoed out once more. "Curse of Fear." Sensing danger all around her, Shura attempted to sh towards the source of the voice but the only thing her de could reach was the Ravens. Each time a Raven died, it would explode into a mass of ink and spikes that would continue to corrode her soul. A fear of losing herself began to take root in her heart as she backed off from the flock of Ravens. "Curse of Identity, Curse of Regret." Kaden continued as ritualistic markings manifested on Shura''s body. From needles piercing through her limbs to chains restricting her movements, she soon found herself unable to target Kaden. And finally¡­ "Sin of Sloth." As five curses were applied to Shura without her being able to break free from them, the restrictions began to fade as it transformed into a brand of Sin. A Sigil with the icon of shackles manifested around Shura''s wrists. With the Sin now imprinted onto Shura, Kaden gritted his teeth and forced the book to close before sealing with chains once more. Throwing it into the rift, he copsed on his knee. There were drawbacks to using this power but it was fine as he achieved his goal. Buying time for Allura! Seven Days of Execution ¨C Seventh Day! Chapter 322: Apostle of Severance Between the three of them, Kaden, Allura and Nyer, he was always the weakest in terms of rawbat power. Allura was second and Nyer was first. But as the owner of the Severance Blessing, Allura was first in lethality! Taking a step forward, Allura was akin to an unsheathed de. Just being in her presence was enough to make one hallucinate the thought of being shed into ribbons in the blink of an eye. Compared to her previous states, this was far different. There was no ming aura, no explosive mes. Just pure, untainted, silent lethality. A pair of cold blue eyes stared at Shura who was gritting her teeth from the curses imposed by the Sin of Sloth. Allura''s hair was now simr to Alice except it wasn''t split down the centre. Instead, it was ck that faded into a pure white colour simr to Velouria. She wore a ck and white dress that fluttered with each of her movements, gentle andposed. Breathing out, a crest manifested on the back of neck. It was barely visible but Alice could see it clearly. The symbol of Ayr guarded by a single de and three pairs of wings. [Apostle of Severance : Allura] Around her, the space began to distort as she pulled her hand back before punching forward. *CRACK!!! The space shattered apart as Allura reached into the tear and began to pull out a single de. Unlike the de she manifested before, this was different and hummed with divinity that resonated with her blessing. As she began to pull the de out, the fabric of space looked as though it was nothing but a veil, dragged along by the edge of the sword. Its infinite darkness oveid the silver edge. Once the de was pulled out in its entirety, radiant white mes burst out of her body, condensing into a ck and silver armour. Once again, the crest of Ayr was clearly visible on its surface. Allura''s pride and joy. Raising the sword before stabbing it into the ground, Allura red at Shura before a headpiece manifested itself over the upper half of her face. Allura had two Relics bound to her. [Executioner''s Raiment] The armour she dons upon herself to carry out her execution. And finally, her de bestowed by Velouria herself. A de crafted with the blessing of Severance acting as a base. The first of its kind. [Nihility''s Edge] A de to reduce everything to zero. To shave away at a person until they are nothingness. "Commencing Execution." Allura spoke coldly as she flickered out of sight and appeared behind Shura who was unable to react due to the Sin of Sloth. But even without this hindrance, Allura''s power had reached an all time high. With the fulfilment of her Ritual and the dawn of the Seventh Day of Execution, she was now at a level that was above Apostles and below the Gods! In other words, by fulfilling the Ritual, she had gained the power of a demi God. "Severance of Sight." At that moment, Shura was greeted by a word of darkness. Her sight that she replied upon and the sense that allowed her to ''see'' through energy, robbed. "Severance of Touch." Shura stumbled over, the ground lost meaning as she felt as though she was floating in the sky yet she was not moving. "Severance of Sound." "Smell." "Taste." With each strike, Allura continued to strip away everything that Shura used to interact with the world but she wasn''t done. Even with all of her physical senses being robbed from her, instinctually, Shura still understood how to utilize her power. And in her current state of panic, she was unleashing the power of destruction wantonly. "Fuuu¡­.." Breathing out deeply, Allura unleashed a sixth sh horizontally. "Severance of Power." With the thread of power connecting Shura to the Will now severed, the aura of destruction fizzled out as she raised her de above Shura''s head. Her target was now senseless and powerless. The state of a prisoner awaiting execution. And finally, Allura shed down. "Severance of Life. Execution!" In a single sh, Allura decapitated Shura as her body began to crumble away. Seven days of Execution, seven stages of Severance before reaching nihility. By allowing her target to have ''seven days'' to prepare themselves, she is able to unleash power beyond her normal authority in a single burst to impose an execution onto them. With Shura now defeated, the strands of her energy converged around Allura as her armour and de faded away. This was the second drawback of her ritual despite its impressive power. It was single target only! Upon executing her target, her boost in strength would fade away immediately unless she decides to reactive the ritual for a second target. However, with her current state being one where she''s essentially out of energypletely, activating a second ritual was impossible. "What a bothersome ritual. I might need to make some adjustments if I want to use this more often." Allura stumbled with a bitter smile. Clutching her head, she nced towards Kaden and Alice who seemed to be shouting something. ''Why is Kaden activating his resonance?'' Stumbling towards them, their voices became clear. "LUA! DODGE!!!" "!!!" Widening her eyes, Allura felt a chill from behind. At that moment, a piercing cold feeling invaded her body as several des pierced through her torso. "Eh?" Blood dripped from her wounds as a festering energy permeated her wounds and into her body. Gritting her teeth, white mes roared out from her body. "FAMINE!!!!!" "You don''t have to shout so loud~ I can hear you just fine." Famine grinned as her ws dug deep into Allura''s body. [Apostle of Famine : Deva] ### Grabbing Enris by the cor of her outfit, Velouria was seething as one could see the bulging veins on her neck. The fury in her eyes and the aura that threatened to consume everything around her. "Exin yourself Enris." Velouria hissed. No longer did she call people by the nicknames she had given them. No. This time, Velouria was livid. "What''s there to exin? I didn''t think my children would go this far either. But so long as we get the result we wanted right? Weren''t you the one who said you wanted a bit of chaos by the end?" Enris shrugged. "Of course, there''s also the option for us to fight here and now. I''ll admit that I''m not a match for you usually, even when you''re weakened. But right now? I feel like I can get a good hit in or two." She narrowed her eyes with a grin. Hearing this, Velouria was reminded of who she was dealing with. The most chaotic God that didn''t care about what happens so long as it entertained her. The biggest variable within their group. Even after trying to entice Enris with a chaotic end, Velouria couldn''t stop her from doing whatever she wanted. Killing intent erupted from Velouria''s body as Enrisughed in the face of danger. The air became suffocating even for Apostles that had finished their fights recently. Both Sris and Lumiria wanted to say something but understood that Velouria''s wrath wasn''t something they could calm down right now. After all, Enris''s Apostle had just injured Allura. "I''ll give my children a warning but you can''t me me now can you? It''s not like I told them to attack Allura. Just for them to do whatever they wanted since it''s what they do best. Who knew they would attack an ally?" The more Enris spoke, the more infuriated Velouria became as she released Enris''s cor. "That it? How bor-" *BANG!!!!! Before Enris could even finish her sentence, Velouria punched Enris in the face before mming her into the ground, cracking the tform beneath them. Panting heavily, Velouria red at the other two Gods before turning her attention to the battlefield. "Don''t say I''m being unfair." Velouria spat out coldly as she red down at Enris. Reaching her hand towards the battlefield, she snapped her finger. Suddenly, the entire Abyss began to tremble as countless ck hands rained down from above. Cracks in space opened up with countless eyes scanning across the battlefield before finding their target. And when it did, the hands lunged forth. Seeing what was about to happen, Enris rushed to her feet but was toote. Velouria wrapped the countless hands around the Apostle of War. Upon contact with these hands, a corruption seeped into his soul and infested the connection he had with Enris. Opening his mouth to scream out in pain, Abyss Water poured forth without stop as his form began to twist and crack, transforming into a malformed creature of the Abyss. With his connection tainted and soul corrupted by the colour of the Abyss, Enris wasn''t able to escape the bacsh either as she coughed up a mouthful of blood. Clenching her fist, Velouriamanded a beast from the Abyss to lunge from the shadow and crushed the Apostle! "You b*tch¡­" Enris forced out through gritted teeth as the lost of an Apostle was detrimental to any God. Even though Famine may have attacked Allura, she wasn''t dead. Yet Velouria took the initiative to directly kill her Apostle of War. Stumbling to her feet, Enris red at Velouria who wasn''t intimidated. Even if she wanted to threaten her right now with cooperation, Enris could tell that Velouria didn''t care. "Seems like you''re not going to say anything even after I killed your child. What pitiful children to have you as their God." Velouria red while Enris smiled in return. "Let''s stop it here Velouria. You already killed her Apostle, aren''t you even now?" Sris couldn''t take it anymore and spoke up while Lumiria agreed. "Hah! Even if I killed 100 of her worthless Apostles it still wouldn''t equal to the safety of Lua. Don''t overestimate your worth." Velouria spat out in disgust. The only reason why she didn''t kill Famine as well was so that Allura and Kaden could do it themselves. Right now, she didn''t care if the Will wasughing at her from beyond the Void. The only thing she knew right now was that Allura was harmed due to Famine. "If you''re going to go against me, you''re prepared to die right?" Chapter 323: Deva, Apostle Of Famine Twisting her body, Allura attempted to punch Deva but her movements were sluggish. However, it managed to push her away enough for Kaden to catch Allura. *COUGH!!! Coughing up a mouthful of blood, Allura gritted her teeth as she tried her best to heal her wounds but it wasn''t working. Dark veins stretched from her wound, infecting the rest of her body while Kaden tried to iste the wound. But knowing what happened to Nyer and his wound, they understood that this was futile. Not only that, Allura''s wound was far deeper than Nyer''s. Licking her ws with a sadistic grin, Deva narrowed her eyes towards Kaden and Allura. Her tattered cloak billowed in the wind as it revealed the scar ridden body hidden beneath the rags. Dark crimson hair with the symbol of the Eclipse glowing on her forehead. "How does it feel? This vengeance for everything you''ve done to me. Do you know how my scars ached every time I saw you?" Deva asked as she crouched down and rushed towards the two. "Curse of Lethargy!" Shackles began to manifest around Deva''s body but she simplyughed. "Fighting at the end of your rope feels the best! This sh*t won''t work on me!" Twisting her body, she mmed her foot into Kaden''s head,unching him back. Refusing to let go of Allura, Kaden dragged her with him and shielded her body with his own. As they tumbled across the ground, Deva prepared for a second attack when a spark manifested next to her head. Void Flux! Crushing the spark with her hand, she nced at Alice who was feeling the recoil of forcing herself to fight despite the state of her body. "What is a little sh*t like you trying to join an Apostle''s fight. You''re lucky that my Lord likes you." Deva scoffed as she lunged towards Alice, wanting to knock her out. *BANG!!! However, before her punch could connect, Allura appeared between them and roundhouse kicked Deva on the side of the head. Wiping away the blood from her mouth, Allura took a deep breath as mes burned against the wounds on her body. "Allura!" Alice called out in shock. With the wound that Allura just received, she shouldn''t be moving like this. And yet, she had to interfere to save her once more. "Don''t worry I''m not going to die from something like this. If she wanted to kill me she would''ve gone for the head." Allura smiled as she gave Alice a pat on the head. "You''re in no state to fight at all though. Your body is in shambles." "What about you?" Alice bit her lip as she could clearly see the extent of her wound. With Ca''s vision, she could see the strands of energy being tainted as an infection festered within Allura''s body. No matter how her mes tried to drive it off, the most she could do was slow it down. "I''ll be fine." Allura reassured as she pulled out a few tablets that Kaden had given her and threw them into her mouth. It was the same medicine that was made for Nyer. In the brief moment that Alice bought for them, Kaden made a portal to get this medicine in order to help reduce the impact of Deva''s attack. Spitting out some blood from her mouth, Deva narrowed her eyes at Allura. "Even if you kill me, that wound isn''t going to heal itself you know?" She grinned, hoping to see any semnce of despair in Allura''s eyes yet they were clear. No signs of fear, worry or doubt. "And? That just means I can kill you without worry." Allura scratched her hair as she flickered beside Deva. Even though she was exhausted after her fight with Shura, fighting Deva was still within her limits! Bending her body back, Deva barely managed to dodge Allura''s punch as she countered with a kick but Allura blocked it with ease. mming her shoulder into Deva''s chest, Allura sent her stumbling back. She needed to get Deva away from this spot so Alice could be safe and Kaden was recovering from forcing himself to use his blessing a second time. Not only that, but he also had to make sure he didn''t dispel the mimic he created to keep the Reaper at bay. ring at Allura with anger, Deva gritted her teeth as this was not what she had expected. Where was the fear? Where was the panic? There was nothing! What has she been looking forward to all this time? Where was the satisfaction of her vengeance as Allura realises what was about to happen to her? The more Allura uses her blessing, the more pain she would be in and the faster it''ll take over. Essentially making her a normal person with Sigils. However, because she''s focused most of her Sigils on her Blessing, both of them are linked together! Meaning she can''t use her Sigils either unless she wishes to die! And yet she showed no sign of fear in the face of death and a lifetime of pain. "This is wrong¡­ This is all wrong!" Deva shouted out as a ck aura burst out of her body. "Kaden get Alice out of here!" Allura shouted out as she wanted to reactivate her Blessing but the strands of infection dug deep into her flesh, causing her to flinch. Even with the medicine made for Nyer, her wound was far worse than what he suffered. Before Alice could protest, Kaden grabbed her by the back of her jacket and pulled her into the shadows then teleported them away. Seeing this, Allura smiled as she can stop putting on the act now. Turning pale, she copsed onto her knee and watched the swarm of dark energy rush towards her. Her white mes roared out in defiance but they were weakening. "What a sh*tty day." Allura smiled bitterly. She had no more strength left in her. It was taking all of her focus to stop this infestation from reaching deeper into her body. "You always drop your guard when you think a battle is over. Why haven''t you rectified that habit of yours?" Nyer''s voice sounded out with sadness as hended next to her. There was a sign of pain in his eyes as Allura gave an embarrassed smile. "Sorry about that Commander, I messed up." Allura scratched her hair. Looking at her wound, Nyer nced down and sighed. "Kaden gave you the medicine right? I don''t think it''ll be very effective for you. You''ll need something stronger. Something to supress whatever her infestation hastched onto." The Blessing of Famine was akin to a bottomless ck hole. Whatever ittches onto, it would seek to ''eat'' it all until there is nothing left. The stronger you were, the more painful this process bes. Of course, if this had hit Allura when she wasn''t injured then she would be able to fight it off to some extent. But Deva chose the exact moment when Allura was exhausted and off guard. Thisbination allowed her Blessing dig far deeper than what Allura should''ve allowed, leaving her in this state. "The Will is stirring. Master is livid and the Gods are about to fight. We can''t waste our time on small fry since the boss is about to appear." Nyer reminded as he swatted his arm towards the surge of energy. At that moment, the Abyss beckoned to hismand as the space copsed in on itself, consuming the power before expelling it away from the battle. Neither Allura nor Deva understood what had happened as this was far too different to Nyer''s usual ability. Taking a step back out of instinct, Deva widened her eyes. ''Did I just take a step back? Me? The Apostle of Famine? The right hand of the Eclipse? ME?!'' "ARG!!!" Letting out a shout to supress the fear inside her mind, she rushed towards Nyer and shed towards him with her ws. Letting out a sigh of annoyance, Nyer red at Deva with a nk expression. ''Sh*-'' Before she could even finish her thought, an invisible force mmed into her body as she felt her consciousness fade briefly. Grabbing her by the ankle, Nyer threw Deva against the ground. *CRACK!!! The sounds of bones shattering along with the ground echoed out as even Allura flinched at the force behind that attack. Blood dripped from Deva''s body as she gurgled on her own blood, unable to form a single word. Lifting Deva by the ankle, Nyer nced down at her before twisting his body and mmed her against the cliff. *BANG!!!! Creaking a cavity in the cliff, Nyer shook the blood off his hand. Usually, Allura would be happy with Nyer''s arrival. But something was strange this time. There was an aura around him that she hadn''t felt before. With Abyss Lords dying across the battlefield and the Will beginning to descend, it felt as though Nyer had be someone else entirely. Forcing herself to stand up, Allura took a step back with a frown. "What''s wrong? Afraid Deva will get back up?" Nyer smiled, turning towards Allura. However, this smile felt fake. "You don''t need to smile if you don''t want to Commander. Care to share your troubles?" Allura forced a smile, taking another step back. "Troubles? Mnm¡­ Yeah I have a few of them. Which is why I''m sorry for what I have to do to you and Kaden. I wanted to see if Alice could talk to the Will but the other party doesn''t seem to be cooperating. It''s merely watching everything happen until thest moment when it''ll show up." Nyer sighed as he nced into the sky. There was a frown on his face now as his eyes showed signs of exhaustion. "When Velouria shared her blessing with you and Kaden, she nted a part of herself in the blessings so that she could keep you two safe while you fostered your strength. This piece of her is still dormant within your body." Nyer began to exin as Allura felt a chill. "If I gather enough pieces, what do you think would happen?" Chapter 324: The Betrayer Narrowing her eyes at the three Gods around her, Velouria sighed inwardly. Things were never going to work out from the beginning. There was too much bad blood between them and a single move was enough to shatter this fragile alliance. That move being the ambush Famine did to Allura. Of course, she had the choice of merely injuring the Apostle of War rather than kill. But that was not the point for Velouria. The fact that they even dared to make this kind of move means they were unafraid of true death. And so she instilled it back into the heart of the Apostle before killing him. ''So this is what you meant by I will die a most gruesome death. Seems like Lua was attacked like this in the true history and I fought against the three Gods.'' Velouria chuckled as no one made a single move. The moment someone did, all hell would break loose as four Gods would begin to fight each other. But it''s more of a three vs one situation. She could sense the Will''s gaze on her. That unbearable smirk as it watched as though everything was within its ns. Focusing on her connection with the Will through her Divinity, it seemed as though the time had stopped. The faceless being manifested in front of her with the smirk she had been expecting to see. "Here to beg?" The Will grinned as Velouria shook her head. "No, merely to have onest conversation. Onest face to face though¡­ You don''t really have one so that isn''t entirely urate." "Why would I share a face with vermin?" "Exactly. I presume this is the future that happened in reality. Lua gets ambushed and me and the Gods begin to fight one another. Even though it''s off script, seems like some things are unavoidable." Velouria began to circle around each of the Gods. The hesitation in Lumiria''s eyes, Sris''s false bravado and Enris''s calcting gaze. "Why, have you be curious as to how you die?" "Perhaps. But isn''t everyone curious about how they die? I merely want to see how different my fate is." Velouria chuckled. She wanted to know the true ending of her life. The true ending of Ayr and not this world trapped in a memory. She wanted to know what happened to everyone after she died. "I suppose it''s no harm to humour you. You might even show me an expression I''m not expecting." The Will chuckled as it floated beside her. "Without Alice''s interfering, you still create the alliance between the four Gods. However, they were more upfront about betraying you rather than trying to target me." The Willughed as it recalled the memory of a forgotten past. An era where the current Schrs have all but forgotten what had transpired and with good reason. All they knew was that every God had gone down for an expedition to the depths of the Abyss and everyone except the Gods and Apostles died. Of course, a few Apostles still died but each of the Gods chose to hide the events of that day, preventing the world from learning the truth. And little by little, Ayr was forgotten. At first, it was regarded as a myth. A secret location within the Abyss where humans could find refuge. Then it became a domain where one could find hidden relics and secrets of the past. A treasure trove of knowledge and power but reaching there was near impossible. Naturally, traversing the Abyss without the aid of Ayrian technology proved to be a far harder task than what the people of the surface had expected. Compared to the safety of the surface, the Abyss no was different from a hellhole where all manners of beasts crawled in the dark. And over the course of centuries, Ayr and its glory days were forgotten. Now only a handful of extremely old Hunters remember that the Abyss had its own nation and that there were four major religions. The fourth being that of the Abyss. "During the final battle, you received a sneak attack from Enris much like how Allura did. By capitalizing on your weakened physique, she sought to kill you immediately from that strike but you survived. "Although Nyer had other ns, he came to your rescue and the two of you fought against three Gods. Upon pushing back the three Gods, he sought to steal your power and he seeded to some extent. More than half of the divinity I granted to you was siphoned to him and with that, he injured all three Gods." Hearing this, Velouria paused as a sad expression appeared on her face. "He did so expecting to transfer your burden to him as well. However¡­ The burden ced on your body isn''t a result of your divinity, isn''t that right?" The Willughed as the truth of the matter was something else. "You should''ve seen his expression once he realised what had gone wrong. He worked so hard to take away the Divinity, to harm both Kaden and Allura, to break the bonds he cherished yet for all his work, he only gained power while losing everything else. "With your divinity stripped from your body, it was practically an instantaneous death as your body could no longer hold back my expansion. Afterwards¡­ Let''s just say he overestimated himself a little and suffered the consequences of acquiring God like power despite not being a vessel for a God." Taking a deep breath, Velouria sighed. "Ayr was soon erased by the Gods, its citizens fell to my control with no Goddess to help them so naturally, I turned them back to their primordial forms. Kaden overused his Corrupted Blessing and suffered the consequences. Allura injured to the point where she could not live without drowning in medication. Nyer disabled and cannot move. There are a handful that survived but they live in secrecy, not daring to make themselves known in fear of the Gods. "That is the ending of your precious Ayr." ". . ." Velouria didn''t know what to say. To think her precious retainers and beloved citizens and friends would have such a fate after her death. Was her approach wrong this entire time? Not only that, but for Nyer to be the one ultimately responsible for her death. "However, it doesn''t end there. Nyer. He is nothing but a fool, desperately trying to patch things haphazardly even though it''s progressed to this stage. In the true reality, after stealing away your divinity, he didn''t stop there. With the rest of his strength, he took your corpse away and began to harvest it. "The body of a fallen God, what kind of power do you wish he gains from it?" The Will asked as Velouria bit her lip before giving up. "I don''t care anymore. My powers are already stretched thin as it is, what else can I do? Nyer will do what Nyer wishes to do. Kaden wille to hate him and Allura is as wounded as she is in the true reality. There''s only one thing I have to say to you." Velouria sighed as she nced up at the faceless being. "F*ck you." "Such harsh words." The Will shrugged. "You deserve worse. But this will be thest time we talk. Goodbye." Velouria shook her head as she began to cut the connection between them. "Enjoy what remains of your life, my daughter." The Will grinned while resting his head on his palm. "I am not your daughter." Born as the extension of the Abyss and the first ''human'', Velouria was the closest thing to a family for the Will, a daughter. Yet it never showed her love nor care and Velouria didn''t think of the Will as her father either. The only family she had was Kaden, Allura, Nyer, Alice and everyone in Ayr. With that as their final exchange, Velouria opened her eyes and faced the three Gods once more. Since it''se to this stage once more, she''d do what she can! From her body, her divinity burst forth at full power and ignored the pain she was feeling. With this as the signal, the battle between the four Gods exploded into action. ### After bringing Alice to safety, Kaden reached into his shadow and pulled out some medicine for her as well. It was something that was created for Allura in her younger years as she was reckless in using her Divinity. A medicine to help offset the burden caused and while it may allow you to move, it didn''t fully heal the damages. "You should feel better after eating this. But don''t fight anymore." Kaden exined after feeding Alice the tablets. Sensing a strange energy flowing through her body, Alice sat up with a frown. "What about Allura, we can''t leave her behind there!" "It''s fine, Nyer''s appeared. He''s taking care of Deva right now as we speak." Kaden reassured but Alice froze up in panic. "No¡­ No! That''s the worst-case scenario! Nyer isn''t thinking straight right now! We have to go get Allura out of there immediately!" Alice shouted as she forced herself back on her feet. Just as she was about to activate her fourth Sigil to teleport back, she felt as though her body was splitting apart and copsed on her knee. "That''s what I mean, don''t use your powers for now. I don''t know why you''re on guard against the Commander but-" Before Kaden could finish his sentence, his pupils shrunk in fear as he turned towards where Allura and Nyer were. Wrapping himself in shadow, he left the area immediately as Alice clenched her fist and punched the ground. Seeing Alice like this, Alyss furrowed her brows before taking a deep breath. ''I got a n, do you want to hear me out?'' ### Biting his lips, Kaden stepped out of the portal and observed the scene in front of him. Standing above Allura''s bleeding body, Nyer nced over at Kaden. "Ah, you''re here. It saves me the trouble of going to you." "Oi¡­ What''s the meaning of this." Kaden asked, trying to hold back as his voice trembled in betrayal and anger. "It''s exactly as you see it. Please don''t make me hurt you more than I have to. Lua forced my hand, I don''t want to do the same to you." Nyer sighed turning to Kaden as he shook Allura''s blood from his hand. "Nyer!!!" Hating the fact he didn''t listen to Alice, Kaden gritted his teeth and rushed towards the Commander of Ayr, the Betrayer. If only he had been here a moment earlier. No, even a second earlier would''ve been fine. But the reality was that he hesitated and Allura suffered as a result. Chapter 325: Stealing Blessings Massaging his neck, Nyer looked down at the bleeding body of Kaden. Even now, he was trying his best to attack him as he reached out his trembling hand. Grabbing him by the ankle, Kaden tried to use his blessing to corrupt Nyer but nothing happened. Biting his lip, Kaden red at Nyer who only sighed before pulling his arm back. *BANG!!! Punching Kaden and cracking the ground beneath them, Nyer dusted his hands before closing his eyes. During the time he was away with Ca, he had created a contract between them. In essence, it allows him to ''borrow'' her power. Opening his left eye, the whites of his eye turned ck as his pupil turned purple. ''Master is fighting against the other Gods. Alice is¡­ She''s resting since her body isn''t in good condition. Doesn''t seem like she''s going to be able to talk to the Will. '' Nyer thought to himself with a disappointed sigh. He had hoped that Alice would be able to make a move before he was forced to step in. But at the rate that things are progressing, it would be impossible. ncing back at the Reaper who had lost its target since Kaden had been incapacitated, Nyer stretched his body. "Might as well clean up after these two since it''s my fault anyway." Walking towards the Reaper, Nyer could see its body cracking apart before exploding into blood mist. Within this mist, its gargantuan figure disappeared and all that remained was the figure of a woman. She had short ck hair and crimson eyes without a single spot of white. On her right side, a strange ck and red energy made up her body, crackling like lightning yet growing like tree branches. Within this strange energy, countless eyes blinked in and out of existence as she revealed a wide grin that would send shivers down the spine of any Lord who was to see this being. And yet, Nyer remainedposed. A bored expression could be seen on his face as he sighed. "You''re just like your Master. Eyes on everything that happens and think yourself to be all powerful." Nyer grumbled as he didn''t even take out his de. "Come, I''ll humour your new birth. Show me what the Reaper is capable of." Nyer smiled as he gestured with his finger for her to attack. Unaffected by his provocation, the Reaper mmed her hand into the ground as countless strands of this strange energy shot towards Nyer. *BANG!!! Colliding with an invisible barrier around him, the strands couldn''t approach him no matter how hard it tried. However, little by little, it began to infect this barrier. Eyes started to flicker into existence while Nyer chuckled. "So you control something simr to Kaden but more lethal and takes longer to activate." Snapping his finger, the barrier pulsed outwards, expelling this infection. Just when he was about to attack, he felt a chill behind him and activated the power he gained from Ca. Information flooded his mind as he created a small de of light. shing behind him, a shadowy figure was cut to pieces while the Reaper lunged towards Nyer. "Even though I chose to humour you momentarily, you didn''t take that opportunity to heart. Or perhaps you couldn''t understand me to begin with. Regardless, I''ve given you more time than what you deserve. "So scram." Blessing of Severance! A single de sh rushed towards the Reaper before she could react. With her connection cut off with the Will, the strange energy that permeated her body faded away. Widening her eyes, thest thing the Reaper saw was Nyer''s cold eyes before her body was consumed by a mass of ck liquid that erupted from the ground! Blessing of Corruption! Adjusting his shirt, Nyer stepped away from the area as the biggest issue was now dealt with. The Reaper was a slight issue before but not unkible for him in his normal state. However, now that he''s stolen the Blessing of Severance and Corruption from Allura and Kaden, it is an easy task for him to kill the beast. He never obtained a Blessing because he never needed it. But now that he has gotten both, aside from the Gods, he was the strongest. Not to mention the fact that he was the one who taught Allura and Kaden how to use them. Making use of these blessings was as easy as breathing for Nyer. Before going towards the Gods, he decided to clean up the rest of the battlefield first. He knew what he must do but he needed to steel his resolve. After all, once he faced Velouria, it was the point of no return. Whether that be this memory of the reality where Alice came from. Everything will end and a new order will begin. ### ''I got a n, do you want to hear me out?'' Alyss frowned as this would allow Alice to recover her injuries and stop Nyer but at the same time, it was risky. ''I''m all ears.'' ''I''m going to change your blood and physique momentarily. It''ll allow you to recover from the injuries sustained and give you some fake Sigils to work with momentarily. However, it also means that youe into contact with the most concentrated portion of our blood.'' Alyss warned as Alice understood the consequences of doing so. It was her blood that prevented the Will from changing her outline since she was akin to a second Abyss. The countless beasts merged into one that flowed through her veins. ''Not to mention, this is just a memory. There''s no reason for you to go this far for thoughts that would disappear in due time.'' Alyss sighed. She gave Alice the option and the warning since she understood her twin. She understood that Alice wanted to make a difference for those that treated her well. For Allura and Kaden who guided her with care and for Velouria who helped her when she was lost. Even though this was a memory, the help they granted her was real. ''I just need to talk to the Will. Are you able to make that happen? We don''t need to think aboutplicated things for now.'' Alice asked as her tone was strangely calm. With Ca, she could see what urred between Nyer, Kaden and Allura. She also understood she couldn''t stand against Nyer right now meaning the only way she could change things aside from using Alyss''s suggestion was to talk to the Will. ''I mean¡­ I have some theories that I can try. But I''m not sure.'' Alyss shrugged her shoulders. ''Trying is better than giving up. Let''s give it a try, do you need to take over my body?'' Alice smiled, sitting up. ''For a brief moment.'' Nodding her head, Alice closed her eyes as golden chains manifested around her limbs. Taking over, Alyss was immediately assaulted by the pain of Alice''s wounds and gritted her teeth. ''Holy sh*t how the hell did twinnie keep herselfposed with this.'' Alyss thought to herself in shock as she took a deep breath to calm her mind. Closing her eyes, she sensed the connection she had towards her Spiritual Heart. The countless tethers connected to her existence. Each beast crying out in pain, seeking liberation from this mass of souls. Even for Alyss, this was horrific to look at yet this was her own soul. A soul she shared with Alice. Within this mass, there were now the souls belonging to Abyss Lords meaning they could tap into their power whenever they wanted but that was not the goal right now. Activating Ca, a cluster of strands illuminated with colour as Alyss curled her lips into a grin. ''Found you.'' The time where Alice met the Will, it was at the ce where she would choose her Sigil upon fulfilling her bounty. And many times in the past, it''s where Ca was as well. So long as Alyss traces this strand of energy, she should be able to ess that mental space once more. But just navigating it wasn''t enough. Little by little, Sigils lit up on her body as Alyss bit her lip. From the edges of her fingertips, her flesh and skin began to get dyed with the same colour as Sigils. A phenomenon that only appeared when Alice entered her Resonance state. As though dipping her hands in ink, it crawled up her arms before stopping around elbow height. Currently, Alyss was diving deep into her Spiritual Heart in search of the connection between her, Ca and the Abyss. And it is in this gap where she hopes to seek out the Will. But no matter how she navigated, it wasn''t enough. Activating the crown, the marking along her neck lit up as the obsidian symbol of power manifested itself above her head. *Ba-dum¡­ Ba-dum¡­ Ba-dum¡­ Her heartbeat rang against her ear as all three began to resonate with one another. The broken Eyes of the Abyss, the newly fixed Crown of the Abyss and finally, the Faux Heart of the Abyss. Little by little, she could feel a new connection taking ce. A new perspective towards the Abyss, as though she''s be a part of it. She was an extension of the Abyss and the Abyss an extension of her. She could feel the fluctuation of power from each individual across the battlefield, the fulfilment of bounties deep down in theyers and the birth of new beasts. The presence of the Old Abyss Lords, sealed in the depths of Terminus and across the differentyers. Information flowed towards her as Alyss felt as though her mind was about to burst. Before she knew it, she was once again in the strange world where Alice had met the Will. And before her, a nk figure stood. This time, without a smile. Even without eyes, Alyss could sense its gaze upon her, scanning her from head to toe. And soon, its face cracked open to reveal a frown. Its gaze was now filled with confusion. "What are you?" Chapter 326: Alyss And The Will Of The Abyss "Aren''t you rude. What do you mean what am I?" Alyss frowned as this would be a normal question had it been anyone else. But the one saying it was the Will of the Abyss. If not even the Will knew what she was then what is she? "Hmm¡­ Are you a human soul? Or a construct? Yet you stink of countless beasts. What is the secret behind your conception I wonder." The Will circled around Alyss as she realised she couldn''t move a single muscle in her body. She was subjected to the Will''s every whim. "Does it really matter what I am? Aren''t you the one hoping Alice shapes up to be a good vessel? She wants to talk to you so why don''t you go talk to her instead of dwelling on what I am." Alyss forced a brave grin as the Will leaned close to her face. "Do you want to live a life away from her? Have your own body, control your own fate instead of being chained together." The Will asked as Alyss paused. Does she want a life away from Alice? If it had asked her before, the answer would''ve been yes. Alice, her twin who shared the same body and soul. Someone who during their period of being experimented on, threw everything to her to endure. With that kind of person sharing a body, who wouldn''t want to live separately? Hell, even if they didn''t go through that, the freedom thates with having your own body was liberating. However, Alice was someone who required shoulders to lean on. Without her around, Alice would struggle. "Nah I''ll pass. My twinnie is someone that needs me after all." Alyss smiled as the Will burst out intoughter. "Twinnie? Is that how you see her? What a kind name for a parasite. Could it be that you don''t realise the state you are in? Or perhaps was it something else entirely?" Furrowing her brows, Alyss wasn''t sure where the Will was taking things. Leaning against her ear, the Will curled its mouth up into a devious grin. "What if you are the original? What if this entire time, Alice had been nothing but a parasite taking over your body? You simply didn''t realise what had happened and thought yourself to be second. "What if... You are the original Alice?" Alyss''s pupil shrunk as the Will nted the seed of doubt in her mind. All it takes is one seed and the time to let it blossom before the strongest friendships shatter. For their goals, people are able to destroy the lives of others if they see fit. Nyer was a great example. For the life of Velouria, he was the catalyst for the destruction of Ayr, Kaden and Allura. Had he never tried to steal Velouria''s divinity, perhaps he could have kept Ayr safe with Kaden and Allura. With what power she had left, Velouria could''ve allowed them to stand their ground against the Gods. But it was all cut short due to Nyer''s desire to save Velouria. For Alice and Alyss, this was even more detrimental. If one side refused to cooperate with the other, there would be an imbnce within the body. The Soul and body, each fighting for control. "Does it matter?" Alyss revealed a weary smile. "Huh?" "Does it matter who''s the original? It''s already happened. It doesn''t matter if I''m the original Alice or if twinnie is. We were both betrayed by our family. Our father, brothers, the butlers and maids that looked after us. We were both abandoned by the Zenia family. "I already had theories that one of us was created the moment the syringe was injected into our body. It could be me, it could be her. We''re simply a consequence of unfortunate scenarios. She''s already doing all she can to let me experience what it feels like to live with my own body. I don''t need your temptations. If we can''t learn to ept who we are, how can we ept others to look at us with sincerity?" Alyss chuckled as there was no cloud of doubt in her gaze. There was no confusion, no delusion of grandeur, only a pair of eyes that saw the reality for what it was. The Will''s smile disappeared as it took a few steps back and looked at Alyss once more. "No fun." "We''re usually more fun if you''re not trying to break us apart or sabotage our friends." Alyss shrugged, finally regaining control over her own body. "Well you can go back and tell Alice that I''m not helping you two. Nyer will do what he wishes to do and I''ll simply observe. As the Will of the Abyss, I''m simply an observer so do your best and save Velouria if you can~" The Willughed as it snapped its finger, sending Alyss out of the realm. ### ''Alyss!!!'' Hearing Alice''s voice calling out to her, Alyss groaned as she scratched her hair and sat up. Seeing that she had passed out momentarily to talk with the Will, she sighed and closed her eyes. Facing Alice in her mental space, she could see the worry on her face. ''I''m fine don''t worry. I managed to connect to the space where you saw the Will before but it wasn''t exactly helpful nor did it want to have a proper conversation.'' Alyss sighed as Alice looked down with a sad expression. Seeing this, Alyss chuckled and patted Alice on the head. ''It didn''t offer any help but it doesn''t mean we can''t stop Nyer does it? You saw what he looked like, he didn''t want to do this either.'' Nodding her head, Alice resolved herself. ''I''ll leave the rest to you. Just call for me when you need, I''m always here.'' Alyss grinned as she returned control back to Alice. But seeing that Alice was still in this mental space, Alyss was confused. She had her hand up in the air as though she was waiting for something. ''What are you doing?'' Alyss raised an eyebrow. ''It''s called a high five. I guess it''s like a sign of teamwork.'' Alice chuckled as Alyss smiled before nodding her head. Raising her own hand, she gave Alice a high five as Alice opened her eyes in reality. Creating a blood mirror in front of her, she located Kaden and Allura and teleported next to them. Seeing that both of them were leaning against the wall, Alice reached into her pouch and brought out two vials of Healing Blood. Feeding it to the both of them, she could see their breathing stabilize yet they still weren''t waking up. Meaning the damage they took must''ve been heavier than what she had expected. Hesitating for a moment, Alice leaned towards Allura before licking the blood that had flowed from her wound before the Healing Blood fixed the damage. Feeling her body reaching the threshold once more, she gritted her teeth and supressed the pain she was experiencing. As long as she keeps this short, it should be fine. ''Nyer''s ultimate goal is to reach Velouria. I need to get to her before he can and help her fend off the Gods. At this point, I don''t care if I expose our nature since things have developed to this stage.'' Alice frowned. ''Good call. I don''t know how well I can negate the abilities of Gods but I''m rather curious what we''ll feel if we drink the blood of a God. Of course, there''s the risk that our body can''t handle it since we''re already reaching our limit.'' Alyss agreed. Thinking back to the first time she saw a Old Abyss Lord, Alice could still recall the desire to drink its blood. Now that she''s tasted the blood of Abyss Lords, her next goal was naturally that of a God. ''Do you think we gained Allura''s blessing by drinking her blood?'' ''Hmm¡­ I don''t think so? I don''t feel anything new in our body.'' Alyss shook her head. Before they could continue their conversation further, the skies began to crack and fracture from the onught of a God''s power. They could feel the surge of an oppressive energy enveloping the battlefield as four auras battled for supremacy. ''It''s Velouria!'' Alice widened her eyes as Alyss nodded her head. Without wasting any more time, Alice created a mirror leading to the Gods. ### Panting heavily, Velouria was bleeding from several wounds across her body while the other three Gods weren''t looking much better. Simr to how Abyss Lords fight, Gods exert their will into a realm of their divinity, dragging others in and subjecting them to their will. For the God of the Sun, he''s able to render himself impervious to damage within his own divine realm. For Lumiria, she is able to target the soul and create multiple ''hosts'' for herself to avoid attacks. Enris drowns herself in the pleasures of war and battle, increasing her strength the longer she fights for. As for Velouria, the Abyss was her divine realm. By using the Abyss as an extension of herself, she''s able to corrupt and sever the power of their divinities, making them easier to kill. But even with this advantage, she was still just one severely weakened Goddess. Each sh between the Gods was instantaneous. *BANG!!! Exploding into action, Velouria mmed her hand down as darkness exploded out from her body, enveloping everyone nearby into the bowls of the Abyss while Sris wasn''t going to let her have her way. Raising his hand, he conjured a spear that radiated the might of the sun and stabbed it into the ground, dispelling the darkness. Meanwhile, Lumiria invoked the power of the Moon and oveyed it atop Sris''s sun, creating an Eclipse that bolstered Enris''s power as she grinned and rushed towards Velouria. The powers of Famine and War burst forth from her de, attempting to nt a parasite into Velouria''s body so that she would lose most of her abilities. However, after seeing what had happened to Allura, Velouria was prepared. The instant Enris was close enough to stab her, Velouria ducked down and kicked up, disarming Enris. Jumping back and recalling her de, Enris narrowed her eyes at Velouria who was running low on energy and stamina. It was clear that she was showing signs of fatigue and pain from her connection to the Will. Despite all of her wounds and fatigue, her gaze was clear and focused! She is Velouria, Goddess of the Abyss, Queen of Ayr and the strongest God between the four of them. Chapter 327: Crystallisation Of Myth Pushing her palm to the side, she managed to divert the path of Sris''s spear, causing it to miss. Twisting her body, shadows stretched out from beneath her before jumping up to form a barrier, blocking Lumiria''s attack. However, Enris managed to sneak through the sudden burst of attacks and appear in front of Velouria. Twisting her body, chains and rusted des exploded from the ground in an attempt to restrain Velouria. Quickly jumping back, Velouria managed to dodge and sped her hands together. Divinity burst forth from her body as the Abyss screamed out in anger. Eyes manifested around her as a flood of energy crashed down from above. Howls of beasts and blood poured from the realm while Sris conjured a shield and mmed it on the ground. *BANG!!! A golden dome manifested around the three Gods while Velouria took this moment to catch her breath. The progression of the Will''s influence tore through her body as she could feel herself losing more of her power with each passing second. To begin with, she wasn''t a great fighter. Her power against the other Gods was merely exerted through brute force. The power granted by the Will and the Abyss allowed her to suppress the other Gods even if she couldn''t fight. But she was slowly losing her advantage. ''I can''t let it continue like this.'' Velouria groaned as she closed her eyes. A God has five powers avable to them. First, the power of their Blessings or the Divinity they rule over. Velouria with Severance and Corruption. Enris with War and Famine. Sris with Protection and Preservation and finally, Lumiria with Immortality and Spirituality. Whatever power they grant to their followers, they are able to use as well. Of course, a God can manifest more blessings if they wish to create more Apostles but doing so causes them to lose more personal power, making it dangerous when facing other Gods. The reason why Gods stick with two Apostles no matter the time frame was because the difference between no Apostles and two Apostles was negligible and at that stage, having two Apostles help you look after your domain was better than none. Naturally, having Apostles also creates weaknesses for the Gods which is why Allura diverted some of her attention in stopping the other Gods from locating Allura and Kaden. Using her Divinity over the Abyss, she had restricted the sensory abilities of the Gods and Apostles. The second ability granted to a God was their Divine Realm. Simr to the Second Resonances of Hunters, it''s a domain that allows them to exert their power to the fullest. A realm where they can use their Divinity to its full extent, even ignoring the rules of the current realm they are in. For Sris, this means being able to summon the Sun in the Abyss of perpetual darkness where only the light of the stars and the false moon can exist. And for the third ability, a manifestation of their legend/myth. On top of gaining followers, each God must have achievements that can be condensed into a myth. And from this myth, they gain abilities. Legends were actions seen by their followers, Myths are stories told in their name. It is also from these stories that the Gods are able to bestow relics of immense power. Sris was said to have created a sun. With a single spear toss, he pierced the night veil and created a hole leading to a realm of light. Capturing that infinite light into a single orb, it is now known as the Sun. The Myth of Sris the Night Piercer. Lumiria was said to have birthed Spirits and ghosts to pray for those departed, allowing them to settle old grudges or bid farewell to loved ones. The Myth of Lumiria, Mother of Spirits. Enris granted humans the feeling of violence and conflict. With every war, you sing her name. With every battle, you praise her being. The Myth of Enris, Progenitor of Wrath. Velouria didn''t have a Myth. Unlike the Gods of the Surface, she wasn''t born a God. All she had was Legends, actions that her followers have seen which then crystallised into her power. In the eyes of those in the Abyss, she represented Hope. For those of the surface, she represented the gatekeeper of this infinite darkness and wellspring of power. When the Abyss and Surface first linked their borders with one another, Velouria held back the army of beasts. With each flick of her finger, she governed this realm and created a holy sanctuary known as the Holy City of Ayr. But therein lies the issue between Myth and Legend. Legends are events beholden to the eyes of the observer. Stories are concepts passed on from person to person. An exaggeration of their achievements that grant the God a further boost in power. "Manifestation!" Sris shouted out as his veins bulged. From his hand, an orb of pure light appeared before transforming into a radiant spear. [Night Breaker Spear ¨C Crystallisation of Myth] Holding his breath, Sris released a loud roar before throwing the weapon. *BANG!!!!! Widening her eyes, Velouria had a split moment to react. "Manifestation!" mming her hands down, golden energy threaded together to form a pristine wall with the illusion of a city behind her. [Abyssal Sanctuary: Ayr ¨C Crystallisation of Legend] *CRACK!!! BANG!!! As the radiant spear collided with the illusionary wall of Ayr, cracks formed across the surface as Velouria was pushed back. And soon after, it was shattered apart! The Night Breaker Spear, a spear that can only be thrown once with the power to create the Sun. One of Sris''s trump cards yet the trust and belief Velouria''s citizens have in her allowed her Legend to block this spear long enough for her to get to safety. "Tsk!" Clicking his tongue, Sris gritted his teeth as his right arm was steaming from throwing the spear. For a brief period, he was unable to use his right arm to attack. For the duration of this fight, he was unable to bring out the Night Breaker Spear. "Get her!" He shouted as Lumiria sighed and snapped her finger. "Manifestation." [Dream of a Distant Paradise ¨C Crystallisation of Myth] Dew drops gathered on her fingertips as they dripped to the ground. As though colliding with the surface of ake, ripples expanded across the battlefield. In an instant, it seemed like they were standing above a mirror. One side stood the living, the other stood the dead. Velouria could feel a foreign energy trying to take over, her hand began to wither as she was forcefully being pushed to the realm of the dead. Gritting her teeth, Velouria bit down on her left hand as blood began to flow from her wound. While this was not her Legend or Myth, it was an extension of the Abyss. If she wanted to tap into its power, she''d need to synchronise herself with her connection to the Will. It had its drawbacks but she couldn''t be picky right now otherwise Lumiria would send her to the afterlife! "Manifestation!" Velouria shouted out as a swirl of blood exploded from her wound, surging towards the withered hand. [Blood Ambrosia of the Abyss ¨C Crystallisation of Myth] Her wounds healed up in an instant as she was brought back to the living. The grips of the deceased couldn''t hold her as Velouria conjured a de made from shadows. Twisting her body, she activated the Blessing of Severance and shed towards Lumiria but her sh was blocked by Sris who diverted it using the Blessing of Protection. "Enris! Stop watching!" Sris shouted out. Even though Velouria was weakened, her Blessing of Severance wasn''t something that could be diverted or blocked easily. It boasted the power to severe anything and everything including divinity which is why he needed to be careful. "I know I know~ I''m just seeing which one suited this the best." Enrisughed as she had many myths surrounding her. Myths of immortality that so long as war and famine exist, she will manifest. Myths of how she orchestrated the downfall of Empires. However, none of these Myths had the power to kill Velouria right now. But if she had to pick one, it would be the Myth regarding one of the most brutal wars known to the surface. "Ah~ This''ll be perfect." Enris curled her lips into a grin as she sped her hands together. "Manifestation~" [Bloodbath of a Thousand Nights ¨C Crystallization of Myth] The Bloodbath of a Thousand Nights, a war between the Cult of the Eclipse and every faction that existed on the surface. Awless battle that stretched on for a thousand nights, coronating the birth of the new order belonging to Enris. Countless killed in the name of the Eclipse. Sacrificing anything and everything from people, children to even animals. A ughter that knows no bounds. But Enris wasn''t done. Her favourite weapon wasn''t a relic that could be summoned. No, it was a follow up to the crystallization of this particr myth and the product of a God''s fourth ability. The ability to create holy relics! [Cleaver of Endless ughter ¨C Holy Relic] In her hands, she held arge cleaver bigger than her own body. The long handle was wrapped in chains and dried blood. The de itself was filled with scars and jagged edges. The material was clearly metal yet there were glowing red veins along the face of the de that pulsed with life. With each passing moment, blood oozed from the metal with no clear source. Crouching down, Enris let out a maniacalugh and lunged towards Velouria as she hacked away at anything that stood in her way! No matter what defences Velouria threw at Enris, she couldn''t stop her advance and soon, the two of them came face to face. "Bye bye~ It''s been fun Veli." But before her attack couldnd, a blood mirror appeared beside them. Executioner''s de! Chapter 328: Replication Executioner''s de! Lunging out from the mirror, Alice recalled every moment she saw Allura use her famous technique. The power of severance behind her strike. While she didn''t have the blessing, she could replicate the attack with her Void Flux ¨C Cleave. The only requirement is for the speed and power behind it to match the strike. But now that she''s drank Allura''s blood, it was possible! *BANG!!! Landing in front of Velouria and forcing Enris to jumped back as she thought it was Allura, Alice snapped her finger and activated her first Resonance. As the crown manifested above her head, violet mes danced across her body and de. ''You have eight Sigils to use. But the first four are still your own. Meaning you have ess to four of Allura''s Sigils, Berserk Force, Instant shes, her seventh Sigil that''s linked to her Seven Days of Execution and the eighth that she just got now, the power of Destruction. I don''t know what she chose but we can try everything we saw Shura do.'' Alyss reminded as they''ve essentially made themselves a target for the three Gods. ''Keep all of them for now. The other Sigils we have ess to might not be a good match. Plus, I''ve seen Allura fight plenty of times. In terms of understanding, these are the best ones for me.'' Alyss replied as she took a deep breath and scanned her gaze towards the three Gods. Her attack might''ve taken Enris by surprise but it still failed to hit and now, the three of them were scanning her in return, seeing if she was truly a threat. But the fact she now radiated the power of an Abyss Lord confused them. Thest time they saw her, she only had four Sigils! Not only that, but she could also use Allura''s technique. "What are you doing here?!" Velouria widened her eyes as this was too dangerous for Alice. However, Alice didn''t have the luxury to respond right now as Lumiria sent spectral chains towards her. Even without knowing its uses, Alice knew that getting hit by the chain was bad news and activated her third Sigil. A swirl of blood and metal manifested around her beforebusting into a storm of violet mes. Upon contact with the mes, the chains started to get burned! Seeing this, Lumiria widened her eyes in confusion while Enris charged towards Alice. In her hands, the Cleaver of Endless ughter hummed with excitement, ready to im its next victim. But Alice felt as though the de was extremely weird. Fused with the metal was the souls and cries of countless lives, souls lost in battle. The blood they bled, the cries they screamed. Everything was linked into a single de. Instinctively, she understood that shing her Void Fang with this cleave would instantly result in its destruction! Gritting her teeth, Alice decided to go with a different method. Snapping her finger, countless blood mirrors appeared around the area as Alice created one beneath Enris''s feet, hoping to knock her off guard as she jumped back and created a bow with Void Fang. Void Flux! Creating an arrow using Void Flux, she aimed for Enris before firing! The arrow of concentrated energy and mes roared towards Enris who simply shed towards it with her Cleaver. Upon contact, the arrow was drowned out by the malevolent energy and souls of the de. Even though it was a single sh, the act of that sh was multiplied countless times as though each soul was doing the same attack! Unable to stop Enris''s advancement, Alice wanted to teleport to safety when Lumiria stepped in. Framing Alice between her hands, she narrowed her eyes. Lumiria had just anchored Alice''s ''soul'' to this realm! Meaning she couldn''t teleport unless she was willing to leave her physical body behind! ''Twinnie swap with me!'' Without hesitation, Alice agreed as golden chainstched around her limbs. Opening her eyes and revealing a wide grin, Alyss stood her ground and flooded the area around her with violet mes. From her shadow, ck hands lunged towards Enris who shed towards it with her Cleaver. *BANG!!! "!!!" Widening her eyes, Enris realised she couldn''t sh through these hands and frowned. Rusted spears rained down from the sky as Alyss took a step back and transformed Void Fang into a spear. Adjusting her posture, she swapped with Alice. Absolute Zone! Knocking aside every spear that entered her optimal range, Alice wanted to counter when Sris appeared above her. Unable to counter, Alice moved in a way that would minimalize the damage she would take. But that proved to be unnecessary as Velouria stepped in! Blocking Sris''s spear jab, Velouria pushed Sris back as the five of them were stuck at a standstill once more. After using his Night Piercer Spear, Sris had exhausted roughly 80% of his power while Enris and Lumiria could still fight. Velouria was running on fumes while Alice was using eight Sigils to fight against God level beings. Had it not been for Ca''s boost in kic vision and Allura''s Sigils that heavily boosted physical prowess, she wouldn''t have been able to keep up with Enris''s movements. "Since you''re here, I won''t ask you about why. Rather I can only hope you came here with a n that won''t end up with you being dead." Velouria forced a bitter smile as this was thest thing she wanted. Even if she was to die, it was fine since this was a memory for her. But Alice? She was the sessor. She couldn''t allow her to die in this ce. "Ehhh that''s debatable. But I can''t sit by and do nothing." Alice chuckled as she noticed something during that short exchange. The ck hands that Alyss conjured, they were able to hold back Enris''s de even if it was briefly. "Is it okay if I deal with Enris alone? As long as Lumiria and Sris aren''t there to stop me I should be able to handle it." Alice asked, surprising Velouria but she nodded her head. "Alright, I''ll keep them off you." Naturally, Enris heard this as a vein bulged on her forehead. "The little girl who couldn''t even react to me using a bit of my power has matured huh? Thinking you can hold back a God. I don''t know where you got this sudden boost in power but you''re in way over your head!" *BANG!!! Bursting forth with explosive speed, Enris appeared in front of Alice in an instant. The giant Cleaver she held above her was swung as though it had now weight! Stepping to the side, Alice twisted her body andunched a kick to Enris''s head who blocked with her arm. Following up on this kick, Alice jumped up and mmed down with her heel. ''We need to force her into close quartersbat so she can''t use that cleaver of her''s.'' After the heel, Alice dropped to the ground and pushed against it with her hands,unching a kick to Enris''s chest. With the sudden onught of kicks, Enris furrowed her brows as she tried to grab Alice by the ankles but Alice was ready. Just as she was about to punch as a counter, she felt a tingle down her spine and she immediately shifted her body to the side. From behind her, a spear erupted from the ground, aiming to pierce her back but she managed to narrowly dodge it! mes gathered around Alice''s fist as she narrowed her eyes at Enris who stabbed the Cleaver into the ground. Creating a set of spiked gauntlets, she punched toward Alice who ducked under the swing. A quick one-two jab into the stomach before another dodge into a jab to the face. Her attacks weren''t doing much damage to Enris but rather than damage, Alice wanted Enris to lose her cool. Tilting her head to the side to dodge a forward jab, Alice followed up with a uppercut before ducking under an arm sweep. A kick to the back of the knee into jab to the sternum. Partial Bloodline Release! With things going in her favour, Alice activated her bloodline release to further boost her physical power. *BANG!!! Each of her jabs and punches sounded like cannon shots as Enris stumbled back only to have metal manifest behind her, disrupting her footwork! Veins bulged on her neck as her anger reached its peak. Just as she opened her mouth to shout, Alice jumped into Enris''s range and mmed her fist against Enris''s chin, forcing her mouth shut. Jab to the throat into a three hitbo on the body. Each movement of Enris''s muscles, her gaze and desperation became simple for Alice to read. Right now, she could see every movement that Enris wanted to do and counter ordingly. "Enough!!!" mming her fists down, the blessing of Famine burst around her, draining the energy from everything it touched. Jumping back just in time, Alice created a barrier of violet mes to counter this attack but her mes were overwhelmed. Tendrils of energy burst out from Enris''s body as her form began to mutate and distort. Grabbing the handle of her Cleaver with this tendril, she swung the de towards Alice. *CLANG!!! Blocking the strike using the ck hands, Alyss took over and dodged the multitude of strikes. What she couldn''t dodge she would block. mming her hand down, Enris dragged Alyss into her Divine Realm! Shielding her eyes, Alyss found herself in a field of broken weapons, corpses, burning gs and ming skies. Furrowing her brows, she could feel this realm slowly draining her energy. She needed to get out fast but Enris wasn''t going to get her escape. Appearing above her, Enris shed down with the Cleaver as Alyss rolled to the side and tried to counter. However, a de shot out from the ground in an attempt to pierce Alyss in the back, forcing her to cancel her attack. "Tsk." Clicking her tongue, she jumped back and took a deep breath. While Alice could replicate skills, Alyss had a different idea. Her eyes scanned the Cleaver in Enris''s hands. The way the souls melded with the metal. She could see the strands of energy connecting them together, how power flowed from one to the other. Allowing Void Fang to absorb her blood, the edge began to change as ck hands crawled across the face of the de. [Replication ¨C Void Fang of Endless ughter] Chapter 329: Avatar Of A God Seeing the ck hands crawl across Void Fang, Enris stopped smiling as her eyes widened. Curling her lips into a grin, Alyss adjusted her grip and entered an offensive stance. "Oi, what do you think you''re doing?" Enris questioned. There was ayer of hidden anger beneath her voice. "What''s wrong? Surprised that I can copy your weapon? Honestly, if you have any worthy techniques, my twin would''ve stolen it instead." Alyssughed as she lunged towards Enris. mes erupted around her body as she arrived in front of Enris in an instant and swung down with her de. *BANG!!! Colliding with the Cleaver, she wasn''t pushed back at all as Void Fang was now contesting against the Holy Relic! Gritting her teeth, Enris felt anger rise up as Alyss dared to copy her favourite weapon. "A fake can''t surpass the original!" Enris shouted, forcing Alyss back as Void Fang was knocked to the side and opened Alyss''s guard. Following up with a downward cleave, Alyss grinned as she swapped ces with Alice. At that moment, a blood mirror appeared beneath her as Alice allowed herself to fall and teleport above Enris. Narrowing her gaze, she tightened her grip on Void Fang''s handle. Several sparks flickered across the de as violet mes soon took hold before beingpressed into a single glowing edge that seemed to distort the surroundings. Executioner''s de! Activating Allura''s sixth Sigil, Alice''s body became a blur as the travel time between the sh and her target was eliminated! *BANG!!!!! Landing heavily on the ground, blood sttered in the air as her sh managed to cut off Enris''s right hand! Enris''s pupils shrunk and became bloodshot as an array of rusted weapons erupted from the ground around her while Alice jumped back in order to dodge the attacks. Parrying what she could, she created blood mirrors to teleport those that she couldn''t. Looking at the blood of a God being wasted on the ground, Alice swallowed her saliva and held back her desire to try it out. She noticed that it had a different lookpared to the usual blood she was familiar with. Each droplet seemed to be filled with a strange shimmering radiance as though the entire night sky was condensed into a single droplet, flowing with the light of the stars. "That''s it, I''ve had enough of this sh*t! Worthless trash!" Enris shouted as her hand reconstructed itself. A malevolent aura exploded from her body as her hair red up from the pressure around her. Each step created a crack in the ground as the realm tried its best to suppress Enris but it was no use. Not even Velouria could stop her right now. ''This¡­ isn''t looking good.'' Alice''s smile twitched as she looked into the air and froze. A storm of clouds gathered above them as an oppressive aura crashed towards the battlefield. Little by little, a figure began to reveal itself! A God''s fifth ability, the power to manifest their true form upon the battlefield. Even without attacking it, Alice instinctively knew that she couldn''t harm the Avatar of a God. ''Okay. Maybe, just maybe, we''re a bit in over our heads this time. Even if we drink the blood of a God, and on the off chance that we can even contain that power, we still can''t go against that.'' Alyss agreed as she too was feeling nervous. Parting through the clouds, a robed figure leaned down towards the battle. Tattered robes fluttering in the wind, its figure toorge even for the skies of this realm. Countless tendril-like limbs and broken weapons scattered across its body while the scent of death emanated from its form. Yet within this chaos, there was a strange sense of elegance. White lights manifested through the cracks of its ''face'' or rather, what would''ve been the face. Beneath the robes, one could see glimpses of the remains of a body. Bones that peeked through the gaps and the twists of muscle. Hollowed whispers and cries echoed out all at once as Alice could feel her every sense being overwhelmed. Her mind could not ept the presence of a God''s true form as she copsed on her knee and began to bleed from her nose. From the right side of the avatar''s body, its robes were pulled taut as countless limbs squirmed beneath the fabric. "Enris!!!" Sris shouted out in shock. Even if they wanted to deal with Velouria, this was not the way! "Shut up! I don''t care anymore!" Enris bared her teeth as her eyes glowed with a maniacal red. Burns appeared across her body as the scars of chains manifested yet she continued the descent of her Avatar. From beneath the tattered robes, a single withered hand revealed itself and reached towards Alice. Velouria wanted to interfere but Lumiria prevented her movement. An invisible forcetched onto Alice''s body as she was pulled towards the Avatar helplessly. Even with Ca, she couldn''tprehend the energy behind this being. The power that crafted its body and the power it''s exerting over the realm. As she hovered above the Avatar''s palm, tiny as an ant, Alice came face to face with the hooded figure. She was able to see the amalgamation of limbs, smoke and lights that threaded together into an unknown. Her mind, escaping this madness to imagine a ''face''. A single glowing red mote that represented the eye bore down on Alice as she could feel her energy withering at an rming pace. Gritting her teeth, Alice wanted to use Allura''s power to break out of this. Yet the moment she summoned her strength, it faded away almost instantaneously before she could even use it! ''Alice swap with me!'' Alyss called out, hoping to use the nature of her soul against this Avatar. However, no matter how Alice tried to swap, she was stuck here. Her pupils shrunk as she instinctively closed her eyes. "I asked you to seek an answer with the Will. But it seems like you have failed as well. The Will is someone who simply wishes to observe and I guess neither of us can change that." Nyer''s voice rang out next to her ear as Alice opened her eyes and saw Nyer standing next to her. Narrowing his gaze at the Avatar in front of him, he activated two markings on his body as the power of Severance and Corruption erupted from his body. Aiming his index finger and middle finger towards the Avatar of Enris, he swiped down. *BANG!!! Crashing down from above, golden chains manifested and whipped around the Avatar''s neck. "ARG!!!!" Crying out in pain, Enris stumbled back as a burn mark started to manifest on her neck, matching the chains on her Avatar. "How¡­ How is he using the Natural Laws of this realm?!" Enris shouted out in anger. Velouria could no longer use the Natural Laws that epassed this realm as her control had waned. Yet Nyer was doing what Velouria couldn''t. Her knowledge that Velouria couldn''t use thesews was why she was so confident in summoning her Avatar. But if Nyer could use thews, summoning her Avatar was suicide! Closing his eyes, Nyer activated Ca''s power as he brought his fingers together before snapping them. *CRACK!!! Tearing the fabric of the realm apart, spectral hands farrger than what Velouria had summoned before descended and wrapped around the Avatar, Grabbing hold of the Avatar, Nyer curled his lips into a grin. "STOP!!!!" Enris shouted out, jumping towards Nyer in a panic as he ignored her cry. Reaching forward with his hands, he took control of the spectral limbs and tore the Avatar apart! Widening her eyes, Enris threw up a mouthful of blood as her bloodshot eyes red at Nyer. Power left her body as she helplessly fell towards the ground. *BANG!!! mming against the floor, Enris was motionless in a pool of her own blood, struggling for breath. Seeing this, Sris''s expression turned sour as he gritted his teeth in anger. He had toe to a decision and quick! As for Lumiria, she understood that their advantage had been lost. Now that Nyer was here seemingly with the power to control the Natural Laws of this realm as a God would, it was clear that they weren''t going to win this. "Sorry but I''ll take my leave here. I''ll be safer in my own domain." Lumiria shrugged as her body began to dpose into moonlight, fading away from the area while Sris felt his vein pop from his anger. "You b*tch!!!" He cried out. His anger reaching a point where he could only utter those two words as he created some distance between him and Velouria. As much as he wanted to kill her, the only thing he could do right now was to retreat! Seeing the two Gods run away, Velouria let out a bitterugh before sighing. Understanding what wasing next. If Nyer has obtained the blessing of Severance and Corruption then there was only one thing he had left to do. Restraining Alice with chains, Nyer ced her to the side while approaching Velouria from behind. "Seems like you''ve made up your mind." Velouria smiled bitterly as she nced up at the sky before looking at the battlefield. With their Gods leaving to save their lives, the soldiers lost their guiding light and was now being ughtered by the beasts that remained. "I''m sorry¡­ You can hate me if you want." Nyer apologised as he clenched his fist. Shaking his head, Velouria turned around with a small smile. "I don''t hate you. I''m¡­ Simply regretful that things have gotten to this stage." She sighed. Biting his lip, Nyer hesitated before shaking his head. Closing his eyes, he strengthened his resolve. Once he opened his eyes once more, his gaze was firm. Before he lost his will to go forward with what he wishes to do, Nyer burst into action. To go past the point of no return. *KRRRR!!!! Plunging his hand into Velouria''s chest, he tore out her heart. Chapter 330: Nyers Plan "NYER!!!" Alice shouted, trying her best to break out of these chains but they refused to budge. *Ba-dum¡­ Ba-dum¡­ Beating weakly in his hands, Velouria''s heart pulsed as Nyer activated Ca. Upon seeing the threads of energy still connecting the heart to the body, he protected this connection using his powers. Grabbing Velouria before she could copse onto the floor, Nyerid her down gently while Ca manifested beside her. A bitter expression appeared on her face as she looked upon Velouria''s weakened form. "Don''t think too much. Just focus on the task at hand." Nyer reminded as Ca nodded her head. Turning to Alice who red at the two of them with bloodshot eyes, Ca felt guilty. "I thought you were close to Velouria!?" Alice cried out, targeting Ca who turned her head away. "Because this is necessary. In this memory, Velouria is no longer the possessor of the Heart of the Abyss. This heart of hers is nothing but a ceholder for what once was here. Even if the Will can recreate the Crown and the Eyes with ease, the Heart is a different matter. It is the key that holds everything together." Nyer exined, walking over to Alice. Kneeling in front of her, he ced his hand against her chest and slowly dug into her flesh. "Ack!" Gritting her teeth from the pain, Alice could feel his hand reaching deep and wrapping around her own heart. "Hm? This is¡­ unexpected. You actually possess a fake Heart¡­ Who made this?" Nyer muttered before shaking his head. "But this is perfect. It''ll act as a catalyst to summon the real Heart." Once he had wrapped his hand around her heart, he didn''t hesitate to rip it out just like what he did to Velouria. Losing her strength, Alice felt her vision flicker and fade. She could hear the sound of Alyss''s shouting next to her ear but couldn''t make out what she was saying. As Alice closed her eyes, chains began to appear on her limbs. "Nyer what the f*ck are you doing?!" Alyss shouted out in anger, surprising Nyer as he paused and nced up at Alyss. When he ''extracts'' the heart, he also extracts parts of their Spiritual Heart. And by that extension, the host shouldn''t be able to do anything during this time. And yet Alyss was cursing him right now. "Two souls resting in one body." Nyer muttered in realisation. But at the same time, having two souls in one would disrupt the bnce. With that in mind, there was only one conclusion. Two sides of the same coin. Perhaps Alyss was the one he''d been seeing appear asionally when they sparred. Regardless, Alyss couldn''t affect the oue of what he was going to do. All he needed to do was allow her to sit there and ignore what she was saying. With two souls in his hands, he stepped towards a clearing while Ca activated a ritual circle using her body as the catalyst. To awaken the Heart was a rather simple task as it only required the resonance between a vessel, the crown and the eyes. All of which he''s obtained. What wasn''t simple was the fact that they''re a memory. The real Ca is fractured and broken, the crown was only recently repaired and Alice couldn''t function as a real vessel right now. Meaning he had to bridge this gap using what they have. By merging the ''fake'' with the real, he could use it to repair some of the damages caused. "I''m ready." Ca nodded her head as she took a deep breath, resolving herself. "Then we shall begin." *BANG!!!! From the centre of the ritual circle, a pir of energy burst into the sky. The light from this pir drowning out the darkness of the Abyss Realm while Nyer stood in the centre, unphased. Holding the two beating hearts, he narrowed his eyes. Letting go of the hearts, he watched as they floated upwards. "Fu¡­" Breathing out, Nyer summoned his de and activated the blessings of Severance and Corruption. What he needed to do now was to pierce through the veil that separated the Abyss and this memory. Upon doing so, these two hearts, the Crown, Eyes and vessel will resonate the true Heart. "ARGGG!!!!" Letting out a shout while exerting all of his strength, Nyer cleaved towards the sky. ### Rescue attempts for all of the students stuck in the inverted world were sessful. All of the special ss students maderge contributions with Luke helping them defeat targets that they would have otherwise struggled intensely with. Ria, being one the ofst few to be saved, had spent her time helping other students instead. Making her way through the inverted world with her speed and taking down all the beasts she could. The only one left was now Alice. Everyone else that belonged to her group had been saved yet her inverted world was different. Resilient. No matter how they tried to enter, even the principal couldn''t breach the veil and enter the Inverted World. They couldn''t see what was going on inside, all that remained was the entrance that pulsed with an rming amount of energy. Around this entrance, there were first aid stations set up as some students were too injured to be moved away from the site and had to be treated immediately. Ignoring her wounds, Ria sat by the entrance of Alice''s Inverted World with a deep frown. She couldn''t stop tapping her foot from nervousness, worrying about Alice''s safety. Even though she knew how strong Alice was with her special traits, she still worried about her safety. "I''m sure she''s kicking up a storm in there right now. She might have even gotten carried away with things." Luke tried to lighten the mood while bringing over some warm tea for Ria. "I hope so." Ria sighed, epting the cup of tea as she nced towards the principal who was busy running back and forth. After the incident, she was busy with ensuring the safety of students along with theints of a myriad of factions outside of the academy, questioning their safety measures. Compared to the first time they saw her, she had lost her original re andposure which was to be expected. However, what surprised Ria the most was the figure sitting where the principal used to sit. With azy posture, his gaze was fixated on the entrance to the Inverted World, not wanting to miss the moment when it would open or if Alice would escape. Even though he told the principal to just be stronger, he couldn''t leave everything to her in the end. He couldn''t help but worry about Alice. *RUMBLE!!! Feeling the ground tremble, he furrowed his brows as the entrance to the Inverted World started to shake. A strange yet familiar feeling pulsed out, causing his frown to deepen. "Oi Vampire." He called out as the principal rushed to his side, not daring to annoy him as he was her lifeline right now! "Yes? What can I do for you?" "Help move the students further away from the entrance unless you want some corpses there." Kaden ordered while the principal could only force a smile. "Of course." ''Why can''t you put it nicer?!'' She shouted out in her head but didn''t dally on themand. Ria didn''t want to go too far but one look from Kaden was enough for her to follow without a word. Standing up, shadows began to flicker from his body as it formed a perimeter around the entrance. He could sense something trying to break through and it wasn''t Alice. That familiar presence, that sickening aura. "Nyer¡­" Kaden mumbled as veins bulged on his neck from anger. While he didn''t know why his aura was being felt from the Inverted World, he was ready for the moment that b*stard steps through the entrance. ### Alice wasn''t sure what happened after her heart was ripped out. Right now, she felt as though she was floating down a river. A soft current that carried her body away, free of worries and free of responsibilities. Opening her eyes, Alice was surrounded by a realm of white light yet it didn''t hurt the eyes. Instead, it was gentle and soft. [This has be quite the mess hasn''t it, o'' master mine.] A familiar voice rang out as Alice revealed a slight smile. "Ca, you''re finally awake. Though it''s a tad toote considering I got my heart pulled out." Alice sighed. Above her, a figure of light manifested as Ca took Velouria''s form. [It took me a while to limate to the changes urring within your body o'' master. Plus, I''m iplete. Seeing the traces let on you, it''s clear that you''ve seen mine form in its prime. When I held the power of both eyes rather than one. [Though even now, the only reason I''ve woken up is because of the resonance formed between the three keyponents. A forced awakening if you will.] Ca exined, sitting on an invisible chair. "What now then. Let me guess, am I dead?" [It''s been long yet also short. Who knew mine master would be such a pessimist in this time.] Ca chuckled while Alice simply rolled her eyes. "Who knew you would be so articte in this time? What else can I do? He''s just casually pulled out my heart. Hell I''m not even sure how I''m talking to you right now." [Because Nyer does not wish for your immediate death. You still need to serve your purpose. A simple nce is enough to let this one know of his ns. He seeks to create a new vessel from imaginary to reality. To allow for the memory of mine old master to inhibit the new alongside the Crown, the Eyes and the Heart. This effectively allows her a new lease on life. [And once that happens o'' master mine, you die.] Hearing this, a frown formed on Alice''s face. "I hope you''re not telling me that to see my response in the face of death." [Of course not. I''m here to hopefully assist you with a solution. [I hope that you, my current master, will survive this ordeal.] Chapter 331: Caylas Solution [I hope that you, my master, would survive this ordeal.] Hearing this, Alice paused as a bitter smile appeared on her face. "What about Velouria then? You miss her as well, don''t you? Why are you taking my side?" Without hesitation, Ca leaned down and flicked Alice on the forehead. [Mine master, did Allura hit you too hard in the head? The past is in the past. The Era of Ayr is over. Though I may long for those bygone days, I will not sacrifice the present for a distant memory. My old master would not wish for it to be so and neither would I. [Over the course of many long years, I''ve watched humanity grow, recall and eventually forget. I''ve seen Kaden and Allura make new rtionships, break off old ones and even do stupid things such as avoiding one another. [But even so, they continue forward while holding the memory of Ayr close to their heart.] Ca lectured while Alice held her forehead in pain. [Never see yourself as beneath mine old master. Both of you are equal and I would not trade one for the other. And as much as I enjoy lecturing you o'' master mine, time is of the essence. Even now, Nyer is attempting to break through the fold that connects what is memory to reality.] "What can I even do in my current state?" Alice sighed. She had no control over her body, no control over her abilities and no control over any weapons that could turn the tide. *Sigh [Truly, visiting the memory has made you dull master.] Ca sighed as she massaged her forehead, causing Alice to pout. "Stop teasing me already." [Very well. Consider it from this perspective o'' master mine. While you may have been deprived of your control over the physical world, what state do you think you are in right now? And where do you think you are?] Ca asked as Alice became silent. Furrowing her brows, she observed her surroundings. She had a guess in her mind but the truth seemed simply absurd to be real. [Currently, you are in your soul state. When Nyer separated your heart from your body, he did not take into ount that your nature of having two sides of the same soul would have this kind of reaction. With your other half, Alyss, being awake in your physical body, it has allowed your conscience to preserve itself in the soul state. [Naturally, this means you now gain control over your soul to some extent. His goals are for him to summon the real Heart using your fake heart and Velouria''s ceholder. With all threebined, he will create a true Heart containing the ''memory'' of Velouria''s soul. And in this case, a memory bing a real soul and having control over what they wish to do. [To create life from death.] Alice knew what Ca was leading towards. She knew one of the possibilities herself but she didn''t want to admit it. And naturally, Ca understood from Alice''s expression that she knew as well. Which is why it was up to her to say it out loud. [One of the ways for you to survive this master, is for you to im the real Heart yourself. As you are conscious right now, you are able to exert some control over the flow of energy so long as Nyer is distracted. [Once the real Heart is summoned, all you need to do is simply funnel the power towards you. Upon doing so, it will remould the fake Heart that has been imnted into you to be a vessel for the real Heart of the Abyss.] Pausing for a moment, Ca sighed. [Naturally, that means severing Velouria''s connection from her heart to her physical body and taking that ceholder into your new Heart.] Biting her lips, Alice clenched her fist before nodding her head. [For now, familiarise yourself with this energy around us. It''s the energy that connects to the soul, the exact same ones that link the Spiritual Heart to the real Heart. It''s not often you get to experience this, so soon in your journey as a Hunter too. Understanding this energy and familiarising yourself to it will allow you a better connection to the Spiritual Heart in the future.] What Alcie needed now was a moment to take her mind off what she was about to do. After all, Ca had essentially asked her to kill Velouria if she wanted to survive. Nodding her head, Alice closed her eyes and immersed herself in this energy while Ca smiled and turned her attention away. Right now, she was split in two. The spiritual side of her that is linked to Alice''s identity as the sessor, and the physical aspect is the literal Eye that Kaden embedded within Alice''s eye. And while she was preparing Alice for her inevitable task in a short moment, she was also guiding Alyss to buy as much time as she could so that Nyer wouldn''t realise what they were doing. ### ring at Nyer who was shing at the barrier between memory and reality, Alyss looked over at Ca who was helping him, ignorant of what''s going on in her mind. [These chains that bind you are specifically tailored to binding Alice. You see, this is part of mine old master''s skills. The ones that manifest when you take over are designed to keep your corruptive influence at bay.] Ca exined in Alyss''s mind while she continued to try and break out. ''Stop beating around the bush. Just tell me what I need to do.'' Alyss frowned. She thought that the current Ca would take Nyer''s side as well but didn''t expect that she was helping them instead of her old master. [*Sigh¡­ You''re not cutepared to mine current master. But very well. These chains act by binding the soul. While you and my master share a soul, you are also different enough that one chain isn''t enough to bind you. Two must appear. [Thankfully, Nyer didn''t notice that the chains that manifest when you appear and the chains he created are very different. To him, you have double theyer of restrictions preventing you from making a move. [When you break out of these chains, you need to do so in one go. And when you do, it has to be the exact moment where he pierces the barrier and opens the path to reality. You need to distract him so that mine master can take advantage of this opportunity to im the real Heart and foil his ns.] Ca exined, causing Alyss to frown. ''You want her to kill Velouria.'' [Unfortunately, that is the case.] ''Do you know how much Alice treasures Velouria? Asking her to kill her is¡­ Cruel. Isn''t there another option? To just end this ritual.'' Alyss bartered as she didn''t want Alice to go through the feeling of killing someone she loved for a second time. She already did so with her first friend and now Velouria? It was too cruel. [The ritual performed by Nyer is special in that regard. It''s one that cannot be stopped as he''s using four catalysts to activate. The old me, himself, Alice''s heart and Velouria''s heart. It''s the kind of ritual that will only be stopped once all of the catalysts have been destroyed. [Which is why I suggested to mine master to take advantage of this and absorb the power instead. Because if she cannot handle it and Velouria''s heart is destroyed, the power would instead either flood towards Nyer or the old me. [If that happens, he''ll be able to funnel the power into a new vessel for Velouria regardless and Alice would be dead. So the only way for a positive oue here is for mine master to take the power for herself and foil Nyer''s ns.] Ca shook her head while Alyss looked down with a frown. [For now, focus on the timing. I will tell you the method of breaking these chains. Without mine master''s presence, it should be far easier for you to tap into the power of your Spiritual Heart. Use the countless souls attached to you to overwhelm the chains that Nyer summoned and create a moment of weakness. [A quick warning though, doing so would make the chains that Velouria ced around your limbs hurt a lot. If you can withstand that pain, you''ll be able to break out.] Hearing this, Alyss nodded her head as she red at Nyer. Sweat dripped from his head as he continuously shed away at the barrier, chipping away at ityer byyer. He could sense the connection to the real Heart strengthening with each subsequent swing. Soon, Velouria would be able to break free from her role as a puppet in a memory. Soon, she''ll be able to live her own life. Soon, he would be able to repay her for the second chance that she''d given him. "BREAK!!!" Nyer shouted as he gathered all of his power into onest swing. The Sigils across his body burning at full power. *BANG!!! With a twist of the body, a radiant arc of energy rushed towards the barrier, piercing it in one go! [NOW!] Ca shouted. Gritting her teeth, the power of countless souls rushed from Alyss''s Spiritual heart as dark hands erupted from her shadow and grabbed the chains. Each hand would tear off a piece while Velouria''s chains seared deeply into her skin. Biting her lip to hold back her scream, Alyss broke Nyer''s restriction! "Nyer!" Alyss shouted, summoning Void Fang and releasing a sh. Executioner''s de! Sensing danger from beside him, Nyer red at Alyss with a shocked expression but managed to dodge at thest moment. Alyss doesn''t need to win, she just needed to distract this man long enough for Alice to take the power for herself. "Stop getting in my way!" Nyer red as his patience had run thin. His desire was so very close, just a little longer and he''ll achieve his goal. Taking a deep breath, Alyss red at Nyer while hands wrapped around her body. From beneath this swarm of hands, Alyss tore it apart to reveal her new form. A resonance between the countless beasts attached to her soul, only achievable due to the absence of Alice. Transforming Void Fang into a spear, Alyss burst into action. There was no reason for them to talk at this point. There was only kill or be killed! Chapter 332: Alyss Vs Nyer Alyss''s new form was neither elegant nor beautiful. It was an amalgamation of mutated limbs and ink like fluids. Stretching from her body, countless tiny hands could be seen writhing against her skin, forming stitching around her wounds. The golden chains that Velouria created burning against her skin while these hands tried their best to reduce the pain. She looked no different to a ravenous beast as her ck hair fluttered in the wind. Unlike their usual state, there was no sign of white in her hair anymore as she rushed towards Nyer who was surprised by her boost in speed. Partial Bloodline Release! The wails of a thousand beasts ovepped one another as a chimeric aura burst out from Alyss''s body, unable to stay in a singr form. Her nails turned into ws as her teeth sharpened as though it belonged to a beast. *BANG!!! shing against Alyss''s spear, Nyer was overwhelmed by the strength exerted by Alyss as he was forced back several steps. Widening his eyes, Nyer looked up at Alyss who continued her attacks. From stabs to shes, she did everything she could to push Nyer back but he soon got used to the flow of her attacks and countered! "Hng!!!" Wincing in pain, Alyss gritted her teeth while Nyer''s greatsword cleaved into her body from the shoulder. However, the hands that burst out from her body healed her wounds as it was created, lodging the de within her own chest. Revealing a brave grin, Alyss lunged forward, causing the de to go deeper as she aimed to drink his blood! Noticing her intention, Nyer narrowed his eyes and pushed his de away before mming his foot into Alyss''s stomach. *COUGH!!! Coughing up a mouthful of blood while she wasunched away from the kick, Alyss rolled across the floor before stabbing her spear into the ground to stop herself. Looking up, her pupils shrunk as she watched Nyer shing down towards her. An invisible force wrapped around her body and she found herself unable to move against his attack. Just before Nyer''s attacknded, Alyss''s body began to tear itself apart. Sharp teeth bursting out from her flesh, ripping a pathway through her body so the de wouldn''t be able to touch anything. And after de passed through this pathway, it would mend itself as though nothing had happened. Without giving Nyer a chance to digest what had just happened, Alyss mmed her hand down, creating pirs of metal and blood around them before a sea of violet mes burst to life. Jumping back with a frown, Nyer watched as she stood up while panting heavily. ''She''s able to ignore my attacks to some extent. Whether that be making a path so my de misses or healing her wounds as my dends. Her tenacity is greater than Alice and same goes for her instincts. Though shecks the refinement in her techniques.'' Nyer thought to himself as he dubbed Alyss as the ''berserk side'' for now. She''s the kind of fighter that fights based on emotion rather than logical thinking and to him, the easiest kind of fighter to deal with. What wasn''t easy to deal with was the extent of her regeneration and instincts. The Blessing of Severance was great at ignoring defence. But it can''t ignore what it can''t hit. And with Alyss making a pathway for the attacks to miss, it was clear that Nyer couldn''t rely on the Blessing of Severance if he wanted to end this quickly. ''Space lock is effective to some extent but something''s consuming the energy around her, making all abilities weakened.'' Furrowing his brows, he activated Ca and scanned Alyss. Around her, there was a strange zone of hands with mouths on them, constantly consuming and converting the ambient energy around her. Unable to contain her grin, Alyss wanted to focus her mind yet countless voices overwhelmed her along with the desire for blood! Crouching down, she rushed towards Nyer without care! "Beast!" Nyer cursed as he stepped forward and shed towards Alyss to ''phased'' through his sh and reached for his head. However, he ounted for this and adjusted his grip on his sword, mming the pommel into Alyss''s chin. Locking the space around her, Nyer shed towards her for a second time, hoping that it was quick enough to avoid her reaction but it was no use. Her body separated and avoided the path of the de as Alyss''sughter rang out. From her blood, tendrils transformed into hands before shooting out towards him. "Ah~ It''s crazy. They really wouldn''t just shut up. Was twinnie holding them back all this time?" Alyssughed, covering her eyes as countless hands forced Nyer away while he was confused by what she was saying. "Or maybe I couldn''t hear them because of Velouria? Is that what her chains do?" Alyss grinned, revealed her face as the left side had been transformed. Sigil like markings stretched across her face and in that ink, eyes manifested. But it wasn''t the eyes that belonged to the Will. No, it belonged to the countless souls imprisoned within Alyss. Feeling her cold gaze upon him, Nyer felt a chill down his spine as he instinctively raised his de into a defensive position before freezing up. ''Me? On guard? Against her? Alice of all people? Even after obtaining both Sigils?'' Questions flooded his mind but ultimatelynding on one answer. She was dangerous! "Has anyone told you that you''re a little too tall? "Kneel." Alyss''s voice rang out next to his ear as Nyer didn''t know when she appeared next to him. However, countless hands erupted from his shadow, forcefully bending his knees. *BANG!!! Cracking the ground beneath him, his veins bulged from anger as there was only one person he would kneel towards and that was Velouria. Not some brat! Seeing his defiant gaze, Alyss narrowed her eyes as a sadistic grin appeared on her face. "Still too tall. Why don''t you rest your head on the ground instead." Alyss chuckled before stepping on his head. *CRACK!!! mming his head into the ground with her foot, she dug her heels down before leaning forward with Void Fang in hand. Ca was trying to reach out to Alyss but the countless voices of beasts drowned her out. All Alyss wanted to feel right now was the high brought forth by the power surging through her body. Before she could stab down with Void Fang, she noticed her right arm was missing. "Eh?" Raising her eyebrow, she looked to the side and saw her armying on the ground while the tiny hands searched for the main body, wanting to stich itself back together. Nyer had been focusing his attention on maintaining the connection between the different catalysts. But if he was to continue fighting without his full attention on Alyss, it would mean his death. Jumping back, Alyss furrowed her brows while pulling her severed arm back to her and ced it back into the socket while the flesh stitched itself together. "You''ve gotten my full attention now. Make sure you can keep up." Nyer warned as he stood up. His eyes ring at Alyss as she had truly invoked his ire. "That''s more like it. If you want to fight you should put your all into it." Alyss grinned as she licked her fingers. Jumping towards one of the pirs, she flicked her finger and established an arena with countless blood threads stretching from one pir to another. With Alyss forcing Nyer to put his full attention into killing her, it has created a moment of weakness. An opportunity for Alice to seize control of the ritual without Nyer noticing. Of course, that was only the case if there wasn''t someone standing in her way. "Seems like you''ve woken up. I was looking to talk to you for a while." Ca narrowed her eyes at her future self. She noticed that something was wrong with the ritual, a parasite had found its way inside. And with that familiar aura, it could only mean one thing. [So was I. Though having mine master adapt to the aftereffects of me waking up was more important than a conversation with a past memory. Or does my present appearance repulse you? Perhaps a sense of guilt?] [Ca] asked as she yed around with her hair. Right now, she looked just like Velouria and knowing what she was like in the past or at least what she knows from this memory, this was bound to cause some difort for her old self. Alice was immersing herself in the flow of energy which was fine for [Ca]. After all, the more Alice synchronizes with this energy, the easier it was for her soul and body to ept the real Heart of the Abyss. "Seems like you''ve forgotten who our true master is. No matter what, Alice cannot rece Velouria. It would be better for her to live outside of the Will''s control. Do you still recall what Ayr is like? How can you forsake everything that Velouria worked towards?!" Ca shouted, feeling betrayed by her own self. [It seems to me that you''re the one who forgotten what our master worked towards. Who knew that even with two Eyes I would be so blind in the past. Or is it because you''re merely a construct of the Will?] [Ca] smirked while tapping her finger against the air. At that moment, the air around Ca ruptured, forcing her to jump back to avoid the attack. [Despite my broken form, it seems like one real Eye is still better than two fakes wouldn''t you say? So let me teach you some wisdom I''ve umted over the centuries.] Chapter 333: Final Shard of Velouria The sound of countless attacks colliding with one another sounded out as Ca gritted her teeth, unable to understand how her future self was able to parry all of her abilities and even send counters back. And while she was struggling, [Ca] satnguidly in the air with a small smile and a yawn. As the Eyes of the Abyss, they didn''t have many ways in which they could attack outside of throwing energy at one another. However, due to her experience of watching Alice fight and the people around her. Not only that, but during the centuries of dormancy, there would be moments where Kaden would try to nt her into someone for a short period of time only for them to die soon after. That granted her experience of fighting as well. Compared to a memory conjured by the Will of the Abyss, she was far stronger! Weaving energy together into a blood like state, [Ca]unched several needles towards her past self, exploding them upon contact and forcing her to jump back to avoid the blow. Just as shended, a maw erupted from the ground, aiming to break her ankles. "!!!" Narrowly avoiding the attack, Ca looked up with annoyance. *BANG!!! Before she couldprehend what had just happened, a wall of force mmed into her face. ''Did¡­ Did she just punch me???'' She questioned herself as [Ca] had jumped into close quartersbat! [After watching mine master''s countless spars and battles, it''s only natural that I pick up some of her techniques and habits.] [Ca] smirked, clearly understanding her younger self''s confusion. But this was her way of having fun right now while also doing her job. So long as she can prevent Ca from bothering Alice while she was synchronising with this energy, everything will go their way. And centuries of not being able to move does numbers on a person. Therefore, she cannot let this opportunity disappear, even if her target is her younger self! mming her palm into Ca''s chest, she followed up with a double m against the ears, dibobting her then following up with a chin kick into a downwards heel. *BANG!!! mming against the ground, Ca could feel her vision flickering as she wanted to push [Ca] away with a pulse of energy but [Ca] was more than prepared. Stomping her foot down, she released her own pulse of energy to counteract, pushing Ca away and forcing her to tumble against the ground. [Tsk tsk tsk, I almost feel bad here. Thou art feeble like a child. Or perhaps changing it to the way I used to speak would be better for you. You''re terribly weak.] [Ca] narrowed her eyes with a grin. Before her younger self could get back up, she felt coils of energy wrapping around her limbs, forcing her against the ground while [Ca] sat atop her, pinning her against the ground before crossing her legs. [Now, shall we watch the rebirth of mine master? A being containing the power of the Crown, Eye and Heart. A being that hasn''t appeared since the time of Ayr.] She asked with a smile but rather than a request, it was more of a statement since Ca couldn''t do anything right now. ### What is the Crown of the Abyss? Alice asked herself that question as she submerged her consciousness in the flow of energy. ''It''s a symbol of peace that Velouria offered to her followers. A legacy for me to inherit everything she left behind.'' However, that was not all. The crown symbolizes the control the Will poses on the ''Goddess''. A ve cor if anything. Then, what is the Eyes of the Abyss? ''The Eyes are for the Goddess to see all and know all. To see everything that urs in the Abyss and its secrets. To understand what she''s seeing.'' But the Eyes are also a way for the Will to monitor what the Goddess wishes to do. What does she n with this information? A method of surveince. If the Crown represents envement and the Eyes represent surveince, what does the Heart represent? ''The Heart¡­ The source of power and proof of bing a Vessel capable of epting the Abyss in its entirety. The burden of power. A gateway to the library of beasts held within this realm. The Heart is the source of the Goddess''s power along with her divinity.'' And yet, it''s the method in which the Will controls the Goddess. To govern over her life and death. With the symbol of peacees envement, the removal of freedom. With the Omnisciaes surveince and the removal of secrets. And with poweres control, the removal of life and death. The Goddess bes the perfect puppet and vessel for the Will. ''Is that the fate of anyone who ims all three?'' To be the Symbol, the Omniscia and the Omnipotentes the price of individuality. Anyone whoy ims to all three bes nothing but an extension. They cease to be themselves. They will no longer be Velouria, no longer be Alice. They will be the Goddess of the Abyss, the ve of the Will. ''. . .'' Alice was silent. Opening her eyes, she found herself in a shimmering field of flowing energy. The ground, a gentle weave of soft colours. The sky, a blend of pastel and white. The sun, an orb of saturated colours swirling in a constant blend. The moon, soft and ephemeral. In front of her, stood a single woman wearing a long white dress made from the same weave of energy that created this realm. Seeing the familiar white hair, Alice understood who this was but it was different to the Velouria she knew. The Velouria she talked to and the same Velouria who made her outfits. "Are you the real Velouria? The one who appeared when I got the Eye and the one who appeared to give me the Crown?" Alice asked, walking up to her and standing beside her. "I am." Velouria nodded with a smile while overlooking this field. "Are you here to give me the Heart like you did with the Crown?" "No, I am not." She chuckled, finding Alice''s responses rather funny. Furrowing her brows, Alice nced towards Velouria who maintained a small smile. "I''ve told you the fate of epting all three into your body. The fate of a ve. Are you still willing to go through with it?" "What choice do I have in this matter? If I let Nyer do what he intends to do, I die and by extension, Alyss. If I don''t do it, you die and I be a ve. There''s no winning here is there?" Alice sighed. Letting out a smallugh, Velouria patted Alice''s head. "The Nyer I know and the Nyer you see in a memory are very simr. They both came to simr conclusions but different approaches. Nyer in the memory wishes to reestablish the real Heart and the memory of me. Doing so means it will overwrite the contract that I''ve established with the Will since I''m already dead. A new me will rise without the fate of a ve. "Meanwhile, the real Nyer realised his failures upon my passing. Seeing as how you possess a faux Heart right now, I''m sure you understand his method." Velouria smiled while Alice contemted her words. Ignoring the fact that she just found out that it was Nyer who made this faux Heart and nted it in her, Alice furrowed her brows and came to a conclusion. "Do I consume the real Heart in order to turn what''s fake into real? To work around the fate like what Nyer''s trying to do by turning the memory of you into reality?" Alice asked as Velouria nodded her head. "You are a very smart girl. Good job. I had hoped to talk to my sessor more but having the memory of me fulfil that wish is good enough. This is thest shard of me that I''ve intentionally left behind. A shard in the Eyes, a shard in the Crown and finally, a shard in the Heart. All for the hope that by the time you find the Heart, I''d be able to see you escape this fate. And you''ve done just that. "So do what you are meant to do. Go and be what I couldn''t be. And send Kaden, Allura and even Nyer my regards when you see them again in reality." Velouria pushed Alice forward as she gave her a final wave. Before Alice could say anything, she felt her body plunging into a pool of energy, overwhelming and sending her body into shock. The countless strands of power pierced into her body, aiming to overwrite her soul, to turn her into a ve. Gritting her teeth, Alice understood that this was the moment. The moment where she needed to fight back and consume the Heart in return. To link herself and turn the fake into real. Focusing on her connection with Alyss and by extension her Spiritual Heart, she could sense the countless beings connected to her. The souls that she stole. Little by little, ck hands began to manifest around her body, fighting back against the tendrils of energy trying to overwhelm her. This was her ascension as a new vessel for the Abyss, outside of the Will''s control. ### Stumbling back while spitting out some blood, Nyer red at Alyss who was indulging herself in this feeling of ecstasy. Even with his full focus on trying to kill her along with the Blessing of Reverence, her tenacity proved to be too much. There was an easy way for him to kill her and that would be to sever the connection between her and the Spiritual Heart. But doing so will cause Alice to be pulled from the ritual and thus going against what he wished to do from the beginning. Yet trying to kill her without this method seemed impossible. No matter how he tried, no matter how he mutted her body, the hands would constantly piece her together before stitching up the wounds. She is a monster in the truest sense. But at this moment, when he took a step back to observe his opponent, he noticed the abnormalities in the ritual. Widening his eyes, he turned back and saw Ca struggling while motes of darkness appeared in the pir of light. A seed of corruption originating from Alice''s soul. "No!!!" Nyer screamed, rushing towards the centre of the ritual but Alyss stopped him with a sh to his back. And in the blink of an eye, the pir of light transformed into a pir of darkness that violentlybusted into violet mes. Chapter 334: Red Spider Lilies Each flicker of fire that danced before him was a reminder that his wish, his desire had been foiled. "Ah¡­ ARG!!!!!!" Letting out a scream of anguish, a burst of energy erupted from his body, pushing Alyss back. Running towards the mes, he ignored the burning across his body as he looked for Velouria''s heart and Soul. Even if Alice got the real heart, surely she wouldn''t snuff out Velouria''s soul! "!!!" Hovering in this swirl of inferno was a spectral figure of Alice while Velouria stood in front of her with a smile. She opened her arms, weing Alice and closed her eyes while Nyer reached out with his hand. "Alice don''t you dare!!!" Hesitating briefly, Alice resolved her gaze as she reached for the beating heart floating in the centre of Velouria''s ghost like figure. Just as Alice''s finger touched the heart, it began to wither away rapidly before turning into dust that was swept away by the mes around her. As though mourning the passing of the Goddess, the Abyss began to tremble. The skies cracked apart, revealing countless strands of energy that flowed down towards Alice''s heart. Opening her eyes, Alice could feel the link between her and Alyss strengthening as she was being pulled back to her physical body. As for the changes that were brought forth by the presence of the true Heart of the Abyss, Alice couldn''t quite feel the effects just yet. If she had to describe it, it would be that she feels no different with the exception of sensing her connection to the Abyss. It feels like she''s resting in a pool of water connected to the vast ocean. Aware of its existence yet floating in her own small section, unaware of how to reach the sea. ''Did you miss me?'' Alice smiled as she came face to face with Alyss who had calmed down now that Alice had returned. The voices bothering her all this time faded away as she shrugged. ''I was just getting to the fun part before you came back. So how does it feel? Now that you''ve obtained all three pieces?'' Alyss crossed her arms with a smile. ''It feels pretty normal. Like nothing''s changed. But let''s deal with Nyer first then leave this memory. Now that I''ve gotten the Heart, I can feel the barrier stabilizing this ce crumbling away. The sooner I deal with Nyer, the more time I''ll have to say goodbye to Kaden and Allura.'' Nodding her head, Alyss closed her eyes as the two began to fuse together once more. Seeing each other in the mental space, they high fived before the golden chains began to disappear. Clenching her fist, Alice could feel herself in control of her own body once more. The pir of mes slowly faded away, revealing Nyer who stumbled towards Velouria''s body which was slowly turning to ash. There was a small smile on her face even as she died while Nyer scrambled to gather the ashes, making sure none of it disappeared. As for Ca, she copsed by the side, passed out. Looking at the state of Nyer and Ca, Alice felt regretful at heart but they''ve chosen their path and she chose her own. Their path would''ve resulted in her death which she couldn''t ept. Likewise, her path resulted in Velouria''s death. Flicking her wrist, she summoned Void Fang and transformed it into a sword. As thest piece of Velouria turned to ash, Nyer stood up. Turning around, he looked at Alice while his eyes were devoid of life. He''s lost his purpose, his goal, his idol. Everything that he''s lived for and the one who gave him the second chance was gone. Had he waited, perhaps they wouldn''t have left on such a bitter note. But he had to try. Yet his attempt was foiled. Whatever goodwill he had left for Alice disappeared. There was simply onest thing he had to do. That was to kill her! *BANG!!! Bursting into action, he appeared beside Alice as his de tore through the space around her. His eyes which looked calm were now full of fury and anger. Killing intent exploded from him like a crashing wave as Alice''s eyes tracked his movements. Due to the previous battle while Alyss was in her body, her hair became dishevelled and hid her left eye. Ca existed in her right while her left eye was untouched. However¡­ Upon transforming her Faux Heart into the real Heart, her left eye underwent some changes while the cor like pattern across her neck disappeared. Tilting her head back, Alice revealed the crimson pupil now containing the icon of a flower. A red spider lily. First Resonance! At that moment, the obsidian crown manifested above Alice''s head once more. Her hair shed white while red dyed the edges. Across her body and on her right cheek, the pattern of several red spider lilies could be seen, blossoming on a bed of briar thorns containing her Sigil patterns. The cluster of spider lilies became morepact as it reached her hand, blending into crimson. Void Fang wasn''t left untouched either. Its de transformed into the same crimson that coloured Alice''s spider lilies while red briar thorns erupted from the guard, digging into Alice''s hand and draining the blood. From her wound, the spider lilies bloomed. In her resonance form, Alice wore a white dress, a tattered white jacket, white stockings and a pair of white boots. On the jacket, the pattern of spider lilies could be seen yet they were white like the rest of her attire. Adjusting her stance, Alice parried Nyer''s de with ease! Widening his eyes in stock, Nyer couldn''t understand how Alice could move right now. The space around her should be sealed! Calling upon Ca''s ability, he saw the truth of the matter. Around her, spectral red spider lilies were consuming the energy around her. The space lock that he had imposed was consumed without a trace left behind! Pushing Nyer back, Alice narrowed her eyes and shed with Void Fang. ''She must be trying to use Executioner''s de.'' Nyer thought to himself and braced for the attack. Yet the attack never appeared. It wasn''t until he felt pain from his right side did he realise that Alice had alreadyunched the attack! ''The blood!'' He understood that Alice''s blood mirrors acted as a portal for her attacks but he couldn''t see it! She had activated her mirror so fast that it wasn''t until he felt the wound, did he understand that she had already attacked. Gritting his teeth, Nyer activated the blessing of corruption! A ck aura flowed out from his body as he sought to burden Alice with several curses. While he couldn''t make use of this as well as Kaden could since he didn''t have the artifact, he could still reduce Alice''s power until it was manageable for him. Recognising this sensation of being Kaden''s blessing, Alice revealed a chilling gaze while reaching towards the empty space in front of her. Grabbing hold of something, Nyer felt countless stabbing pains across his body as his blood began to reveal what was ''invisible''. Blood briar thorns acted as Alice''s ''threads''. These thorns had wrapped around Nyer''s body, preventing his movement while Alice stepped towards him. Noticing how the briar thorns had stayed hidden, a bitter smile appeared on Nyer''s face, finally understanding the situation he was in. The moment Alice activated her first Resonance, this entire area had been covered by her mirrors. Meaning no matter how she attacked, it would be almost instantaneous due to the teleportation. Without giving Nyer a chance to leave behind anyst words, Alice released a horizontal sh and turned around. A swift decapitation with no pain. Severing the countless strands he has connected to the Abyss. Her final mercy towards someone who Velouria had treasured. The blood that spewed out from his neck dyed the white spider lilies on her jacket red as Alice deactivated her Resonance. She could feel the fatigue but after the countless training sessions and spars she had with Allura, she was able to maintain multiple uses of her Resonance within a day. Her current limit was three if she spaced out the amount of power she used per activation. Locating the faint aura of Kaden who was heavily injured, Alice teleported over and saw him resting with his back against the wall and Allura next to him. A bitter smile could be seen on his face as he nced up at Alice. "Seems like you''ve resolved things. This memory should be fading soon right?" He asked with a soft chuckle. Raising his hand, Alice could see that he was slowly crumbling away. "Mnm." Nodding her head after a short pause, Alice watched as Kaden sighed and nced at Allura to his side. "I suppose I can be happy about the fact that the real me didn''t fail if you said you''re Lua''s adopted daughter." Hearing this, Alice bit her lip as she understood what he was talking about. After all¡­ She couldn''t feel Allura''s aura at all. No blessing, no Sigil power¡­ No vitality. "If you see me in the future, give me a good hit." Kaden chuckled, feeling his strength fading away with the disappearance of this memory. Kneeling down in front of him, Alice nodded her head. "I will. And¡­ You''re there too in the future. Allura didn''t find anyone else, she''s still talking about you. You''re also the one who gave me Ca and sent me to Allura. Thank you." A smile appeared on Kaden''s face as he let out a relievedugh. "I see¡­ I''m d. But make sure the real me hears that okay?" "Mnm, he did." Alice nodded with a smile as both Kaden and Allura faded away. The rest of the battlefield followed suit, crumbling from the copse of this memory. Closing her eyes, Alice took a deep breath before making another mirror. To take onest look at Ayr before it disappeared. ### Folding his arms in front of the entrance, Kaden could sense the conflict in power. From that sickening aura belonging to Nyer to a new presence. Familiar yet different at the same time. Cracks began to form around the edges before bursting into a ball of violet mes. Seeing this, a smile began to form on Kaden''s face as a silhouette manifested within the fire. "Brat." Kaden greeted with a grin, feeling happy that Alice was safe. Surprised to see Kaden being the first to wee her back, Alice let out a small chuckle before smirking. "Pink apron." Chapter 335: Return From The Inverted World "Pink apron." Upon hearing these two words, Kaden froze up as he choked on his saliva. The corner of his mouth and eyes began to twitch as he looked down at Alice who had a sh*t eating grin on her face. "I don''t even need to ask where you disappeared off to now. No wonder I sensed something disgusting trying to break the barrier." Kaden knocked Alice on the head as she remembered something and reached for the bag strapped to her waist. As she turned around, Kaden noticed a nostalgic crest, the crest of Ayr. A small warm smile appeared on his face before hiding it just as quickly. "I brought something. I''m not sure how much you''ll like it since¡­ You kept making Cake for your precious Lua~" Aliceughed as Kaden felt as though a vein was about to pop. What was nostalgic has be a source of embarrassment. Pulling out a sk of Ayrian Mead, she handed it to him. "You took care of me quite a bit in the memory with Allura. I''ve also learned a lot about Velouria and what kind of person she was. I don''t know if I can do my job well but I''ll try to live up to her standards." ". . ." Staying silent, Kaden patted Alice on the head. "You don''t need to live up to her standards kid. You''re doing just fine." He chuckled. In the short time he hadn''t seen her, it seemed like she''d gone through quite the transformation and matured a lot in his absence. Perhaps this is what a father feels after their kides back after many years. Storing the sk of mead in his shadow, he turned around. "I''ll be staying around for a while since the Churches are busy cleaning up the mess I made. I''ll check on your progress while I''m at it too. Your friend''s pretty worried about you so you should catch up with her for now, the exams have been postponed for now due to this incident so you have time to rx." Kaden waved before disappearing into shadows. Alice wanted to take this moment to give him a punch but she was feeling mentally exhausted after everything. ''He really is different to the him in the past isn''t he?'' Alyss crossed her arms but Alice shook her head. ''He''s a little different but there''s still signs of the old him.'' [A person doesn''t change that easily. Kaden may be feeling the guilt of what had transpired but he''s trying to find solutions for Allura''s condition.] Ca chuckled as both Alice and Alyss froze up, seeing Ca appear in their mental space. [O'' master mine, did you forget who this space belonged to?] Ca raised an eyebrow as Alice gave an awkward smile. [Rx, I''m not going to stop you from using this space. I''m going to have a small nap.] Ca shrugged, creating a bed for herself to rx on. ''Haven''t you been sleeping for all this time? How are you still tired???'' Alyss blinked her eyes in confusion. [It''s one thing to be sleeping by choice and another to get forcefully knocked out.] While Alyss and Ca were arguing about the logistics of sleeping by choice or through forced hibernation, Alice chuckled and focused her mind back on reality. She could see Ria and Luke running over with worried expressions on their faces. The first thing Ria did was pull Alice into a tight hug, squeezing the air out of Alice''s lungs. "Ria if you hug any harder Alice is going to die." Luke chuckled, causing Ria to panic for a moment. "Ah! Sorry sorry, are you alright? What happened in there? You were trapped for so long!" Ria asked, scanning Alice as she noticed the new outfit with the crest of Ayr. "Let''s head back first, I can tell you on the way back. However, we need to buy some supplies." Alice grinned. Ria tilted her head in confusion while Luke felt a chill down his spine. "I''ve brought some Ayrian mead with me so naturally, we need some good food to go with it. I also got someone to introduce to youter too, she''ll be making an appearance at the party." Seeing that Alice was so excited in having a party the first thing aftering back, Riaughed and nodded her head. Now that all of them were safe, this was indeed a moment to rx and have a party. Just as they were about to leave, the principal wanted to have a word with Alice but upon feeling a chilling gaze on her back originating from Kaden, she decided to not say anything. "Don''t meddle where you don''t need to. The kid is just happy to see her friends again, no need to trouble them with what happened in the Inverted World." Kaden smiled while sitting on the principal''s chair. In his hand was a ss containing some Ayrian mead. Giving it a soft swirl, he brought the drink to his nose and inhaled the scent as though he was drinking the most expensive wine in the world. But this drink wasn''t something that could be bought with money. After all, it''s priceless to him. It''s the taste of home. "But¡­ I still need to give an exnation to the other families regarding what urred here. At least if I hear what Alice has to say I can figure something out and lie to them." "Just give them any excuse would be fine. If anything, pin it on the Eclipse Cult. In order to retrieve a broken relic from a bygone age, they attempted to forcefully utilise the properties of the Inverted World to bring it back. "By choosing to act during the exam, they can escape our notice by nting a spy amongst the students. Unfortunately for them, brave students stepped up and foiled their n. One in particr managed to stop the relic from being brought out." Kaden smirked. "They''ll eat this sh*t up like it''s the truth and turn their attention to the Eclipse. Everyone hates them anyways." Hearing his suggestion, the principal''s smile twitched but nodded her head in the end. "Fine. So erm¡­ How long are you nning to stay here?" She asked hesitantly. After all, having an Abyss Lord reside here was attracting too much unwanted attention! "Are you that eager to kick me out?" ''YES!!!!'' Seeing the principal trying her best to hold back, Kaden shrugged. "I don''t n on staying for much longer. I''ll check up on how Alice is doing, give them some advice then be on my way. I''m sure the Churches are livid about my attacks so they''re out looking for me." Looking at the sky, Kaden raised his ss before drinking the mead from his hometown. ### Slowly opening his eye, Nyer ignored the countless medical tubes connected to his body and sensed the changes in the Abyss. A smile crept onto his face. "And so¡­ the fake Heart bes real. The connection to the Will has finally been severed after all these centuries. All my work was not for naught¡­ Soon." He muttered with a satisfied smile. Now that the requirement of turning the fake heart into a real one has seeded, all that''s left was for him toplete the final requirement before his n could be put into motion. Forcing himself to stand up, he stepped towards a glowing container and ced his hand on the ss. His gaze softened as he looked at the being within. The corpse of a fallen God. The corpse of the real Velouria who was missing parts of her body. ### With Alice now escaping from the Inverted World, the final entrance disappeared and peace returned to the academy. There were still repairs being made while the reflection of the Inverted World that hung above the Academy seemed to have dimmed to a certain extent. There were worries that re-entering the Inverted World may have dire consequences and the teachers tested out the entrances regrly to ensure that there would be no more interference. However, that was merely a show that the principal was putting on to reassure people. The only reason why the Inverted World reacted was due to Ca and now that she''s awake, the Inverted World will be quiet once more. With this came the announcement regarding the exam that had been halted due to this incident. Most of the students still managed to demonstrate bravery and expertise in the face of danger therefore, this will be taken into ount during the retest. Each student will get another chance to advance while those who don''t want to take the test will be allowed to remain in their current grade. Details regarding the new exam will be announced soon and that it will not be revolving around the Inverted World since there are still doubts about safety. There were also rumours spread across campus regarding a certain ''crazy b*tch'' who appeared during the exams. She was thest one toe out and rumours say she was busy killing things inside the Inverted World and refused toe out until everything was killed. With such rumours acting as the foundation, things soon became exaggerated but Alice was in the dark regarding these rumours. She was too busy partying with Ria and Luke while enjoying the mead she brought back. With Alice and Luke going crazy with drinking different alcoholic drinks, Ria simply face palmed but joined in soon after. They weren''t just drinking Ayrian mead either, Luke had brought countless other drinks with the intention of making Alice ck out before she could knock him out. What he didn''t know was that Alice hid her blood mirrors in his drink and continuously teleported alcohol from the bottles into his cup, forcing him to drink more. With each mouthful, the cup seemed to refill magically. It was only after seeing her sh*t eating grin did he put the pieces together. "You b*tch!!! *GURGLE!" Alice had teleported more wine into his mouth and a battle between who could make the other ck out drunk sparked with greater intensity. Chapter 336: Introducing Alyss Waking up in the morning, Alice found herself hanging off the bed with her legs up and a headache hitting harder than an Abyss Lord. "Urg¡­" Groaning in pain, Alice tried to push herself up but her hand grabbed a bottle, causing her to stumble. Letting out a sigh, she looked around for Ria and Luke. Ria was passed out by the table and Luke was snoring above her wardrobe. Seeing all of this, Alice let out a chuckle as she yawned before standing up. ''Thought you were going to introduce me to them.'' Alyss chuckled in her mind. ''Right~¡­ Seems like I got a bit carried away while drinking.'' Alice smiled awkwardly. Last night, after buying the supplies they needed, they immediately started the party while Alice talked about her adventures in the Inverted World. How she got her current outfit, how Void Fang got upgraded and how she hunted her fourth Sigil. Ria was surprised Alice caught up so fast, inspiring her to master her own Sigils quickly so that she could aim to get the fifth one. But before she could introduce Alyss to them, they began to fight and see who could get the other drunk faster. Recalling the night, Alice let out anotherugh as she began to tidy up all of the empty bottles and snacks. Going to the bathroom, she could see the changes in her appearance. First of all, her left eye had changed to a blood red with the icon of a flower. Second of all, the marking around her neck had disappeared! Joy filled Alice''s heart as she felt around her neck to make sure it hadpletely disappeared. Wondering where her crown was stored now, she activated the Crown of the Abyss. At that moment, the flower in her left eye shimmered with a bright red while the shards of obsidian manifested above her head. Now that she was given a break to look at the new crown properly, she noticed that it was less of a crown and more of a halo containing obsidian swords taking the shape of a crown. ''So the crown is now stored in my left Eye? What would happen if I repair you Ca?'' Alice asked curiously. [Repairing something signifies that it''s something that can be repaired in the first ce. Unfortunately o'' master mine, the Eyes of the Abyss have forever been degraded to the Eye of the Abyss. I''m already here in my entirety. When Nyer betrayed Velouria in the real history, he took the other piece of me but I was able to allocate my entire soul to this Eye. He merely has simr power but not my soul.] Ca exined. [And on the off chance that you do recover the other Eye from Nyer, I''ve long outgrown the need for the second Eye. Not to mention he would''ve modified the other Eye to some degree so synchronising it with me again would bring more harm than good. So I assure you that you do not need to worry about the other Eye.] ''I see¡­ I thought that you would be more plete'' if you had the other Eye but I guess I''m wrong then.'' Alice nodded. Considering the fact that Kaden and Ca had been trying to find a host for centuries, it wasn''t surprising that Ca had developed herself to some extent and outgrown the need for the other Eye. Going through her morning routine, Alice looked for some casual wear for today. Arge white turtle neck sweater with long sleeves and the bottom reaching her thighs. A pair of shorts, stockings and high boots. Making a pose in front of the mirror, she smiled happily before freezing up like a deer in headlights. Behind her, both Ria and Luke had woken up and witnessed Alice posing in front of the mirror while admiring her appearance. Seeing the grin on their faces, Alice blushed out of embarrassment before mming the door shut using blood threads. ### After getting some breakfast, Alice sat them down in her room. "So who''s this person you wanted us to meet?" Ria asked curiously. Since they missed the opportunity yesterday, Alice probably wanted to make up for it today. "Fufu~ It''s exactly why I brought you here. I''d like you to meet the other me, aka twinnie, aka when I go batsh*t insane during a fight. She''s called Alyss, same as me but spelt A l y s s." Alice introduced as she snapped her finger. Blood surged around her, changing her outfit to the slightly revealing one that Alyss likes to wear while golden chains manifested around her. Widening her eyes in shock, Alyss panicked as she didn''t think Alice would just throw her into the midst of things like this without giving her a heads up. As the blood faded away, Alyss appeared in front of both Luke and Ria in her attire standing awkwardly. The only thing that changed was the chains and the outfit. "Erm¡­ Hi?" Alyss forced a smile while Ria tilted her head and Luke was confused. ''Alice!!!!'' Alyss shouted out in her mind while Alice ignored her. [Are you sure this is okay?] Ca raised an eyebrow upon seeing the three of them staring nkly at one another. They have no connection to Alyss and thus this first meeting was rather abrupt. ''Ehhh it should be fine?'' Alice shrugged. Holding back her embarrassment, Alyss cleared her throat and decided to sit down for now. An awkward silence was drawn out between the three of them as Alyss eventually caved in. "Urg¡­ I''m the one responsible for Alice''s mes. And we''re basically two souls that share the same body. We switch out here and there during the fights." Alyss opened her hand before manifesting a ball of violet mes. Seeing that they were still silent, Alyss gritted her teeth. ''Alice! Switch with me again! I can''t stand this awkwardness!'' Alyss shouted out as she forcefully handed the control back to Alice. Finding herself back in her body, Alice snapped her finger and changed back to her cosy attire. "What''s with the silence?" Alice asked curiously while Ria scratched her chin. "I mean¡­ Isn''t she the reason why you couldn''t control yourself? I thought she was¡­ well pardon for my words but ''bad''?" ''Bad?! Who''s bad?! You''re bad!'' Alyss cursed. "Ahh that. It''s a bit of a misunderstanding. She''s bad with socialising and only really appears during fights. But that''s a bit unfair for her so I wanted to introduce her to you guys." Alice nodded in understanding. After all, it was understandable for Ria to be on guard against the manifestation of Alice''s powers. The source of these strange mes and the problem that''s gued her for a long time. "She''s actually quite shy. She loves spicy skewers¡­ And her taste in clothing ispletely different to mine. You might see me switch with her a few times so just giving you a heads up." Alice chuckled. "So¡­ Does she hear and see what you see?" Luke asked curiously as Alice nodded her head. "Yes, she sees what I see. Hears what I hear and we share a mental space together." "Ah! Sorry for calling you bad then. I wasn''t sure how to react to you." Ria apologised upon hearing this. Meanwhile, Alyss crossed her arms, epting the apology. ''Don''t just ept it silently. You gotta say it to her.'' Alice chuckled, forcefully putting Alyss in control as though they were ying a game of hot potato. Seeing the chains manifest around her once more, they understood that Alyss took over. "Urg¡­ Well¡­ I guess it''s fine. I''ll forgive you this time." Alyss replied awkwardly while looking to the side. "Since you weren''t here during the party, would you like to go shopping now? Alice mentioned you like Spicy Skewers right? I''m sure Luke knows a good ce for that kind of thing." Ria asked, ncing up at Luke who nodded his head. "There''s a eastern barbeque ce near the port. They''re pretty famous for their spicy marinated meat so it''ll be a good start." Luke exined as Alyss started to drool but quickly swallowed it so they didn''t realise. "I suppose I should go have a look at this ce. I don''t know if can match how spicy I want it to be though." She shrugged nonchntly despite the clearly excited smile on her face. Seeing this, Ria immediately understood what kind of person Alyss was and chuckled. Just as they were about to leave for the barbeque ce, they noticed a raven peaking at the window. Raising her eyebrow, Alyss tried to shoo the bird away only for it to p her hand with its wing. "I believe I have given you plenty of time to rest now." "What the f*ck???" Alyss shouted out in surprise, hearing Kaden''s deep voiceing from the Raven. Ignoring her reaction, the Raven hopped into the room. "You have two choices. This is for both Alice and Ria since I don''t know who you are kid. But if you''re their friend then I can give you some pointers as well." Kaden spoke, turning to Luke who was rather shellshocked by the things that had happened in the span of 30 minutes or so. First, Alice has a twin soul living in her and now there was a man''s voiceing from a Raven. "It''ll be good for you, he''s pretty damn strong and he''s helped train me and Ria." Alice took over and smiled while Ria wondered why Alice didn''t mention Kaden is an Abyss Lord. However, seeing the sadistic light in her eyes, Ria understood the intent and nodded her head. She too wanted to see Luke suffer under Kaden. Feeling the ''expectant'' gazes from Alice and Ria, Luke nodded his head. "Yes please, I''ll be in your care." "Alright. The three of you stand around this Raven, I''ll teleport you to me. You can go and eat after this if you can still move." Kaden narrowed his eyes as Luke felt a chill but it was toote for him to back out. "Wait! What do you mean if I can still move?" He questioned but neither Alice nor Ria replied and simply closed their eyes while shadows burst out around them. Before he could ask another question, the three of them was forcefully teleported away from Alice''s room. Chapter 337: Lukes Abilities Upon stepping out of the shadow, the three of them came face to face with Kaden who was standing in an arena suspended in the sky and connected by bridges. There were four pirs around the centre whilerge pirs containing blue mes lit up the area on the edge. "So who wants to be first? I assume for your looks that you want that tall kid to fight first?" Kaden asked while keeping his hands in his pockets. Both Alice and Ria nodded their heads as they didn''t allow Luke to reject this arrangement. With no other choice, he could only sigh and prepare himself to fight someone he didn''t know much about. But considering the fact that he could train Alice and Ria then it meant he had to be on guard. Finding themselves a ce to sit down, Alice and Ria wondered how Luke was going to fair against Kaden. Looking above their heads, Alice could see four Sigils above Luke while Kaden had nine. "How well do you think Luke would do? I was busy in the Inverted World trying to survive so I didn''t see him fight." Alice asked curiously since she only knew that he was the supportive kind of fighter. With that in mind, it''ll be hard to impress Kaden. "Hmm¡­ It''s definitely unique. I only saw it briefly myself but his buffs are no joke. I felt like I could fight for days on end with his enhancements." Ria rubbed her chin. Since she wasst to be saved, she didn''t see much of his abilities but in the short moment that she did, it left quite the impression on her. She had seen it years ago but she didn''t think it would''ve developed to this stage. "Oh? Interesting." Alice murmured while focusing on the fight. Swallowing his saliva nervously, Luke took a deep breath and calmed himself. On his neck, his first Sigil manifested as cube manifested next to him. The cube was made from a simr material or at least what Alice could assume to be simr to what Void Fang was made from. The way it shifted with each passing moment looked like it was crafted from countless tiny beings. Snapping his finger, Luke transformed the cube into the shape of a Pawn from chess. Summon Piece ¨C Pawn! A sword appeared in his hand as Luke lunged forward towards Kaden. While he was fast,pared to Alice and Ria, he was moving in slow motion. Without moving from his spot, Kaden''s shadow stretched out as a mimicry of Luke appeared from the ink using the same attack. *BANG!!! As their des collided, Kaden paused in surprise as his mimicry was actually pushed back! The corrupted de in its hand was broken and Luke continued forward without stopping. Creating two more beasts for him to deal with, he watched as Luke navigated through the crowd while keeping himself low to the ground. With each strike, the floating Pawn piece next to him would begin to shift until¡­ Promotion ¨C Knight! Armour manifested around his body as the de in his hand transformed into a Knight''s longsword. Twisting his body, he released a horizontal sh and left deep cuts on the mimics. However, as they weren''t living beings, these mimics lunged forward with increased fervour. One of therger mimics mmed its fist to Luke''s side, forcing him to parry and take several steps back. "Tch!" Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Luke retreated while Kaden continued to summon more mimics with a smile on his face. The longer this fight goes on, the more he''ll summon. Summoner type fighters weren''t going to limit what they could summon after all. Furrowing his brows, he stabbed his de into the ground as the Knight Piece began to shift. Promotion ¨C Bishop! The de disassembled itself and transformed into a grimoire. Strands of energy converged towards him as an illusionary figure appeared beside him. It was Ria! Motes of lightning started to manifest above each of the mimics as crackles of energy could be seen flickering across their body. *RUMBLE!!! The clouds above rumbled as a line of lightning bolts rained down, carving a path in the wave. Seeing this, Alice nced over to Ria who blinked her eyes. "What?" "He can summon you?" Alice asked while Ria shook her head. "Nope. He simply ''recorded'' some casting spells that he''s seen in his Bishop piece. There''s a limit to what he can do solo since his powers are mostly used for buffing other people. "Pawns buff your general physical abilities, it''s basic but it designates targets for him to promote. Knight is used for fighters, Bishop for casters and Rook for tanks. These are the pieces he''s able to use right now." Ria exined as Luke fired off lightning to try clear the swarm but with each one that he killed, two more would rise. ''I need to reach Kaden.'' Luke frowned as a fourth Sigil lit up on the back of his hand. Promotion ¨C Rook! Heavy te armour appeared around him along with a tower shield. Bracing himself, a burst of energy erupted from his body as he charged forward. At first, he was slow but with each step, his speed began to increase and soon, he was akin to an unstoppable object charging through the crowd of mimics, bashing everything aside. *BANG!!! One of the mimics took his shield m head on and had its body obliterated in the charge. Hearing the crack of its body, even Alice flinched imagining what it''s like to take that head on without any preparation. And if Ria was correct, then this was his buffs in their limited form! What would it be like if he used it on someone else?! Charging through the crowd, he appeared before Kaden and tried to m the shield into him but he simply yawned and raised his hand. *BANG!!!! The shield caved in from facing an immovable object as Kaden grinned, clenching his fist and bending the metal. Twisting his body, he threw Luke over his shoulders and mmed him into the ground. "GAH!!!" "Just because I''m a caster doesn''t mean I''m weak in close quarters." Kaden chuckled, raising his foot and stomping down on Luke''s chest. *CRACK!!! His te armour was shattered as the ground beneath him cracked apart. Kicking Luke into the air, he snapped his finger as a serpent like beast jumped out from his shadow and opened its maw before mping down. Before Ria could even worry, a wave of energy shed through the mimic towards Kaden who smacked it aside using his arm. Anti Beast Resonance! Bleeding from his wounds, Luke could be seen falling from the air while a golden figure floated behind him. His first Resonance allowed him two choices. First,yer his buffs on someone and grant them multiple increases. The second choice, however, was one that allowed him to create ''imaginary pieces'' via fusing his promotions together. In this case, Knight + Bishop + Rook = Imaginary Piece ¨C Pdin! This was a piece that he recently unlocked thanks to obtaining his fourth Sigil, granting him the Rook buff. Otherwise, he would''ve been limited to Pawn + Knight + Bishop, creating Imaginary Piece ¨C Rune Knight. The Pdin stood behind Luke was covered from head to toe in white ted armour adorned with golden details and wielded a greatsword as though it was a longsword. A blue cape with a fur cor fluttered behind it as Lukemanded the pdin to ughter through the group of mimics. epting thismand, the Pdin''s de lit up with a golden aura as he rushed towards the group. As the first beast approached, the Pdin grabbed it by the head and mmed it into the ground. *BANG!!! Using the beast as a weapon, he threw it towards the next beast, causing the two to fall back as he raised his de above his head. Erupting with energy, the Pdin shed down, causing a wave of energy to shred the two beasts into nothingness while the others tried to nk from its side. "URAHHH!!!!" A shout could be heard behind the mask as it transformed the greatsword in its hand into a giant hammer and crushed a beast beneath its weight. However, Kaden wasn''t impressed while watching all of this. Compared to the other people with four Sigils, it was ''decent'' in his eyes but far from what''s required. He has his uses in buffing his team but he''ll be a weak link, the first target to kill. Even with this Pdin by his side, he wouldn''t be able to fend for himself if he merely stood back and did nothing. Now that Alice has imed all three items required to be the next Goddess of the Abyss, he couldn''t allow this kind of risk to be near her. ''Why do I have to babysit these brats? I''d rather Luae instead while I deal with the outside powers.'' Kaden sighed. At least if Allura was here, he could work in the background but she was being stubborn. She kept herself busy in the depths of the Abyss leaving all the annoying work to him despite her current state. Meaning, the sooner he gets this over with the better. "It''s decent but requires work. You need to focus on keeping yourself alive to be an asset to the team. As you stand, you''re nothing but a detriment even with your abilities." Kaden sighed, appearing from Luke''s shadow. Widening his eyes, Luke wanted to fight back when a wall of force mmed into him from the side. *BANG!!! Crashing into a pir, Luke felt his consciousness flicker. Momentarily, he found himself standing on a bridge with a light on the other side before being brought back to reality. Seeing Kaden cracking his knuckles with a smile, Luke wanted to protest but his re made it impossible. "Rejoice kid, an Abyss Lord is going to personally teach you what it means to be a supporter on the battlefield." Hearing these words, he paled in shock realising that his opponent was an Abyss Lord. Looking towards Alice and Ria who had grins on their faces, Luke wanted to cry. ''YOU DEMONS!!!'' "You dare look away kid?! Let me show you the consequences!" "ARGGG!!!" Chapter 338: Rematch Against Kaden Looking at the copsed Luke who was twitching every so often, Alice couldn''t help but feel sorry about his current state. But it''s a ritual that all of them have gone through whether that be through Allura or through Kaden. The fact that his body could still twitch was a good sign, it meant it was still intact to some extent. As for Ria, she was enjoying herself by poking his bruises and wounds. Each poke would cause his body to twitch and her smile would grow wider ever so slightly. "De¡­mon¡­" Luke forced out, causing Ria to poke him harder. "Stop ying around with the kid. It''s your turn next." Kaden called out as he massaged his neck. It was going to be a little annoying to deal with Ria since her speed was high but it wasn''t anything impossible. Cracking her knuckles, Ria had a confident grin on her face as she prepared to face Kaden. Since theirst interaction, she had focused on improving her overall firepower being a long ranged support but that doesn''t mean she couldn''t handle herself in a one on one fight. "Don''t take me lightly, you''ll be surprised." She boasted. ### ". . ." Looking at Ria who was even more beat up than Luke and was motionless next to him, Alice wanted to facepalm. If she hadn''t boasted so hard at the start, maybe Kaden would''ve taken it easier on her. As revenge, Luke was poking Ria''s wounds while she was trying her best to do the same thing but was unable to. The fight went in her favour at the start. She would keep her distance, firing a constant stream of lightning strikes and whenever Kaden tried to catch her, she would use her speed to reposition herself. She was even able to damage the arena, creating craters with each attack and her Resonance let hernd a good hit into Kaden''s palms, scuffing up his skin slightly. The fact that she could even mark the skin of an Abyss Lord was praiseworthy but what came next could only make Alice look away. She couldn''t retreat fast enough and was used as a punching bag for Kaden. Not only that, but he also threw her around like she weighed nothing. Looking at the human shaped indentations on the walls and floors, Alice shivered thinking about her fate. "Seems like it''s only you left. I got pretty high expectations considering you went to Ayr and saw me in my prime." Kaden forced a smile while warming up his shoulders. Feeling the hostility in his gaze, Alice realised that he was going to take revenge for her Pink Apronment. "It''s not like I asked to go there ya know? It just kind of happened and who knew you would wear something cute like that?" Aliceughed awkwardly while Kaden forcefully teleported her to the arena while fixing the damages. "Hou~ Is that how we''re doing things? You didn''t need toment about it but you chose to. Surely you''ve prepared yourself for the consequences right?" Kaden narrowed his eyes. Swallowing her saliva nervously, Alice conjured a swirl of blood before changing her outfit to the one that Velouria made for her. Seeing the Ayrian crest upon the jacket, Kaden''s gaze softened before returning back to normal. Naturally, this didn''t escape Alice''s notice. After interacting with Kaden in the past and knowing what he was like, it was clear the current him was someone who hides his true feelings. But every so often, those feelings flow out. There was also a hint of seriousness in his gaze. Perhaps it''s because she''s donning the crest of Ayr perhaps it''s because he suspects she saw the reality of what happened in the past. Either way, Alice didn''t want to let him down. She wanted to show him everything she''d learnt during her time in Ayr. Everything he taught her and everything she''s mastered! *BANG!!! A crimson and purple aura burst out from her body as Void Fang was summoned to her hand. Partial Bloodline Release! Stomping down, Alice conjured a blood mirror and teleported next to Kaden who was surprised she had learnt the abilities of the Sealed Abyss Lords as a smile crept up on his face for a split moment before returning back to normal. A wall of shadows erupted from the ground, blocking Alice''s strike while golden chains manifested around her body and her outfit switched. "Let''s go!" Alyss shouted with a grin as she coiled her leg around the wall, swinging her body to the side and shing towards Kaden''s head. Bending his body back, he managed to dodge but sensed danger from below and quickly guarded with his hand, blocking her kick. "Tch!" Transforming Void Fang into a spear, Alyss vaulted herself above Kaden before switching over to Alice who aimed her finger. Void Flux! The improved variant that focused on speed and pration power, enough to even break the specialised training room in Ayr! Sensing a chill down his spine, Kaden wrapped a veil of shadows around the orb, allowing its spiral motion to pull the veil towards itself and slow down the rotation before detonating within this nket. Seeing Kaden break apart her new attack so quickly, Alice revealed a bitter yet expectant smile. As the strongest caster of Ayr, it''s only natural that he''s capable of this much. Zone Stance ¨C Offensive Zone! Transforming Void Fang back into a sword, Alice released a series of shes towards Kaden whose gaze was focused and parried the attacks using his shadows. Raven feathers shot out from Alice''s shadow but she was ready. Defensive Zone! *CLANG!!!! She managed to parry these feathers but the power surpassed her original expectation. Even with Partial Bloodline Release, the force still flung her into the air. She could see Kaden purposefully slowing down his casting process, matching her improvement as he aimed towards her falling body. Before the shot could be fired, metal manifested and mmed into the back of Kaden''s knees, causing him to fall back slightly and aim away from Alice. A bullet of shadow barely missed Alice as she could sense the power behind that bullet. ''If I was hit by that I''d be seriously injured. Is he testing how well I''m doing or is he trying to kill me??'' Alice asked inwardly while creating a tform of blood for herself. Turning Void Fang into a bow, she pulled back on the string and created three arrows containing different variants of Void Flux. *BANG!!! Firing them all at once, she snapped her finger and blood mirrors appeared in front of them. When she first got the blood mirrors, she discovered that she could increase their speed upon teleportation! Meaning¡­ Countless shards of mirrors appeared next to Kaden as he couldn''t tell which one the arrow was going toe out from. Without hesitation, he twisted his body and created a swirl of shadows, causing the arrows to bounce off the surface but Alice had nned for this. Each of the arrows burst into blood mist and integrated themselves with his barrier as she activated her second Sigil. Little by little, red spider lilies began to blossom in his shadow, consuming the energy to fuel themselves as his barrier disappeared, surprising Kaden. He was on guard for her violet mes yet this time it was flowers? Taking advantage of his confusion, she expanded one of her mirrors and appeared behind him. Crimson energy spread across her de as Alice focused her gaze. Void Flux ¨C Cleave!!! *BANG!!! Watching the streak of crimson energy explode towards Kaden, a hopeful feeling emerged in Alice''s heart but that feeling was soon crushed when Kaden blocked the attack using his hand that was covered with shadows. ''Alice switch with me!'' Without asking why, Alice did just that as Alyss took over and quickly ducked down. Her Void Flux ¨C Cleave was sent back! Twisting her body, Alyss punched towards Kaden''s stomach who blocked with his elbow. Grabbing her by the arm, he lifted her into the air and tried to m her into the ground. *BANG!!! Before she hit the ground, Alyss mmed her heel towards Kaden who blocked with his spare hand. However, his original momentum in throwing Alyss was lost as she flipped away and slid across the ground. Recalling Void Fang, she transformed it into a spear before taking a deep breath. Her hair shifted colour into a bright violet colour as ck armour manifested around her body. The familiar violet mes erupted around her as Alyss charged towards Kaden. ''First resonance.'' Kaden thought to himself as he was familiar with this form. Alice had revealed it previously when they sparred. Flicking his hand, a serpentine leviathan burst out from his shadow and rushed towards Alyss who dodged its charge. Looking at the leviathan from above, Alyss clenched her hand as hard as she could, gathering the me to the de. *HAH!!!!" Letting out a shout, she released a sh that decapitated the beast while running up the head. Unphased by this, Kaden summoned a hydra using his mimicry. Energy gathered towards its mouth as Alyss felt a chill down her spine. It was preparing for a breath attack! ''Let me deal with this.'' Alice smiled as Alyss nodded her head. Closing her eyes, the resonance broke apart as Alice smiled towards Kaden. The flower in her left eye began to glow as the obsidian crown manifested above her head! Despite being a four star Hunter, Alice had two Resonances! The first belonged to Alyss and was the one she originally awakened with. The second belonged to her! Red spider lily patterns appeared across Alice''s body and travelled up her cheek while a white dress appeared around her. Void Fang transformed to match her resonance as she made a cut on her arm. Sshing her blood in front of her, a wall of briar thorns and spider lilies began to bloom. *BANG!!!! However, it proved to becking when it came to defensive measures which was fine for Alice. Her resonance didn''t have the tenacious nature belonging to Alyss''s Resonance. Instead, it had raw offensive capability! ''Remember the feeling, the flow of energy.'' Alyss had already proved that this was possible during their sh with Enris. But this time, she wasn''t replicating a weapon. She didn''t have the blessing nor the required Sigils. But she could make shortcuts like she did with Void Flux. Her improved understanding of casting, optimising and adjusting her own abilities. Taking a deep breath, she shed towards the Hydra who was still releasing its breath attack upon the wall of briar thorns. Replication - Executioner''s de!!! Chapter 339: Kadens Evaluation Executioner''s de!!! It was a replication of Allura''s famed attack but without the power of Velouria''s blessing. However, in order to achieve the same effect, Alice had to ovep several theories and attacks that she''s umted thus far. First, the use of her blood mirrorspacted into a single sheet to increase the speed of the sh. Replication of Allura''s instant sh. Second, achieving the power to prate defence via rotational power but rather than a spiralling motion, it''s a vertical circle like a saw de. Third, weakening defences through absorption using the abilities gained from activating her First Resonance. With all three conditions lined up, she was able to replicate the potency and properties of Allura''s Executioner''s de to a certain extent! If Void Flux ¨C Cleave was a poor imitation that could be used several times, then this Executioner''s de was something she could only use once upon activating her First Resonance. Just one attack was enough to make Alice feel as though someone had just pulled all of her organs out at once, causing her to be drained of energy. *BANG!!!! Cleaving through the breath attack released by the hydra, Alice smiled upon seeing the sh carve through the flesh of the beast and even began eating away at the spatial barrier surrounding this arena. For the first time in the battle, Kaden had lost hisposure as his pupils shrunk at the attack that was still colliding against the walls of this space. The way it was constantly digging into the barrier and using the barrier''s energy against it! However, it couldn''t maintain its original power as it burned energy faster than what it was gaining. Focusing his gaze, Kaden broke down the basic principles of Alice''s attack in hopes of potentially replicating it but there was an unknown factor hindering his replication. The red spider lily! Much like the mes that he couldn''t replicate, he couldn''t replicate the potency of the red spider lilies. This kind of offensive power and ferociousness far surpassed her violet mes. Kaden''s smile twitched as he couldn''t tell which side of Alice was the more violent one. The Alice that sumbs to her baser instincts during a fight like she demonstrated when the chains appeared, or the current Alice that enhances her attacks with these spider lilies. Turning back to Alice, he was surprised to see her kneeling on the ground, unable to move a single inch. "Erm¡­ Can I give up?" Alice forced a smile. No matter how she tried, her body simply didn''t listen. None of her Sigils could be activated and she waspletely helpless right now. Massaging his eyes, Kaden flickered in front of Alice and chopped down with his hand. "Ouch!" "And with that you''re dead. Please, and I mean this genuinely, please don''t tell me you copied Lua''s technique and flow of energy without knowing the proper effects and requirements of Executioner''s de?" Kaden asked, squatting in front of Alice and squinting at her. Feeling his gaze, Alice coughed awkwardly and looked away. "You are a different kind of stupid, reckless and downright moronic you know that right, brat? "First you copy Lua''s Nova Core, a skill we specifically created for her to regte her insane output to match her energy reserves. Which you refashioned into Void Flux. Then you copy a cheap imitation of her Executioner''s de she modified to fit the brat using the Authority of Death. "And now, you attempt to recreate the original Executioner''s de, specifically designed for LUA, to match her BLESSING, which involves her PHYSIQUE all while taking into ount of her absurd regeneration." Kaden ranted. With each word that he emphasised, he would poke his finger against her head. Naturally, Alice couldn''t say anything back since he was correct on all ounts. "Have I exined the full details regarding the creation of Lua''s Executioner''s de?" Kaden asked. If Alice had been to Ayr in the past, she should know. Either that or the past him didn''t think she would try to recreate this attack without the proper preparation. "You didn''t¡­" "I figured as much since ''I'' didn''t think you would be stupid enough to try. But let me rify it for you now. Executioner''s de is based on a way of manipting energy to forcefully expunge everything. The reason why Lua can use it several times without tiring is because of her fifth Sigil that keeps her alive and energised while fighting. "Not only that, but the Abyss Blood that she''s drank alsoplements this kind of fighting style. When you release this attack, even if you find alternatives to emte the potency, you cannot avoid the siphoning of your power. "Executioner''s de is an attack that''s most powerful when it''s released at full energy since it''s a way to output everything all at once." Kaden exined, giving Alice''s head onest poke with his finger. The constant poking left a red mark and Alice felt as though she wanted to cry. Even with her increased durability and pain tolerance, each poke felt as though it hit the depths of her soul. "However¡­ I suppose it''smendable that you can still talk after using it. Everyone else who''s tried to emte the original Executioner''s de through alternative measures have all been knocked out with no exceptions since the attack basically puts you into overdraft of your energy. "Even the death using brat was knocked out for almost a month after trying it which is why Lua modified it to be something he could use." Kaden sighed. He could still remember seeing Gin pestering Allura to teach him her attack when he was young and stupid. Only to get knocked out as a result. The only thing that''s changed since then is that he''s now old and stupid. While recovering from the poking of her head, Alice noticed something as a sh*t eating grin appeared on her face and she turned her head away to hide it. "Kaden." She called out. "Hm? What is it brat?" "You and Allura went your separate ways for a while now right?" Furrowing his brows, Kaden wasn''t sure what Alice was getting at. "Yes, what about it?" "How did you know what happened between Allura and Gin?" Alice turned around with a wide grin. *PUCHI!!! Seeing that grin, he felt as though a vein was about to burst. cing his hand in front of Alice, he flicked her in the forehead. *BANG!!! Alice''s body was flung back and rolled across the floor until she was lying down motionless next to Ria and Luke. Letting out a sigh, he walked over to the trio and sat down on some seats near them. Crossing his legs, he contemted on how he could improve their strength. Luke''s issue could be easily dealt with and his unique Sigils proved to be rather interesting. It was the first time Kaden had seen a buff type ability like his where he could use it together to summon beings like the Pdin. Ria''s issue was more difficult as it was linked to doubt and her perception of herself. Being around a monster of talent like Alice wasn''t great either as her own talent was being drowned out. A Hunter''s growth is tied to their mentality and how they perceive themselves. What they think is impossible could never be achieved. But if they''re insane enough to attempt things even though it seems impossible, they could reaprge rewards. ''Bncing that is a pain though. She needs an environment where it''s dangerous yet wouldn''t cause her to lose her life. But doing it like this is too ''safe''. What she needs is the threat of death and the desperation thates with facing death. The will to look past death and into the mouth of danger.'' Kaden narrowed his eyes. Alice had the benefit of being put into a death like state for 10 years, allowing her to face the fear of death without care. Of course, that didn''t mean she wanted to die but rather she could face death head on without holding back. For Ria, he recalled that the Gin brat had saved her from a ritual yet Ria was looking away from that fact. ''Is it because she''s scared?'' If she was able to take advantage of that experience, no matter how painful, she would grow and ovee her current weakness. "What a hassle." Kaden sighed, leaning back as he nced up at the fake sky within this space. And finally, it was Alice''s turn. She was adventurous in trying things, reckless in experiments but this allowed her to achieve a far greater growth rate than even the talented Hunters that he''s seen. In this aspect, she could be called a monster of growth, a bundle of raw talent forged in her suffering of 10 years. But this is also her greatest weakness. Her desire to experiment,ck of understanding and recklessness cause her countless troubles. While she may be getting more benefits than problems right now, the same couldn''t be said for the future. Once that happens, she''ll hit a wall. The stronger the will, the harder the rebound upon facing this kind of wall. Alice needs to be able to put herself back together if she ever faces this wall. ''One isn''t reckless enough and the other is too reckless. How am I supposed to train these three abnormal brats at the same time?'' He still had his own problems to look out for too. After Velouria''s passing, the Abyss hadrgely escaped their control and it''s been doing whatever the Will wants it to do. Expansions, new beasts and even new abilities that have never been seen before. Hell, even Nyer has put his hand into this pot, stirring it with unknown variables that affect the oue. Transforming humans back to beasts, rituals to attempt to usurp the Will''s power, ways of utilising a fallen God''s body. Just thinking of how he''s been viting Velouria''s corpse and using her flesh as a tool to experiment caused Kaden to simmer with killing intent. Closing his eyes to calm his mind, he had to first deal with the most problematic issue at hand. Allura''s wound. Famine''s attack wasn''t something that could easily be healed. But if Nalem''s information is correct, there''s a slim chance that a miracle could ur and a beast withpatible blood to the Pheonix Feather herb would appear. Once these two requirements are met, he''ll face Famine to fulfil the final requirement of fully healing Allura. ''Just wait for me Lua.'' Kaden thought to himself as he began to formte ways to train these brats so he could resume his journey. Chapter 340: Slim Possibilities The three of them woke up roughly around the same time with Alice recovering from her injuries the fastest, Ria who got used to the pain and Luke who was still hurting from the beating. Getting the three to sit in front of him, Kaden pulled out a notebook from his shadow. "I''ll add some additional lessons to your new curriculum and have the principal take some lessons out for extra time if you want. Luke, you''ll be focusing on ways to keep yourself alive in a fight. Ria, you''ll need extra lessons from me to deal with your issues. "And as for Alice¡­ You don''t really need lessons outside of calming your mind and reflecting properly on what you see. You have the tendency to go fast without care. It''s not bad but it''s not great either." Kaden exined while flipping through his notebook. "In general, I suggest you work on your foundation." Closing his book, he teleported Alice and Luke away while Ria was left behind. "We need a quick talk since this is tied with your extra lessons." Kaden said seriously, surprising Ria since he''s not usually this serious. "What do you think when you think of death? Not the authority that your grandfather wields but rather when youe face to face with your own death. What do you see? What do you think and what do you feel." Closing her eyes, Ria imagined what it was like to face death. She''s faced ''death'' several times already but there was one that stood out the most. Her time in the Eclipse Cult. Furrowing her brows, she opened her eyes and Kaden was squatting in front of her. "Don''t look away from that death. Do you want to know why Alice is strong? Sure she is supported by all of her abilities but it''s her attitude towards death and her experiences that make up her foundation. If you don''t want to get left behind, look that death in the face. "To understand death, to understand your own mortality and to understand your own weakness. That''s the first step you need to take." Kaden exined. "Are you willing to go through that kind of pain to get stronger?" Biting her lips, Ria nodded her head. Even though her gaze was determined, Kaden could still see the hesitancy hidden deep within. She may be a strong Hunter now but deep inside, there is still the scared little girl. "I''ll give you a taste of what''s toe. Reflect on it, think hard thene talk to me once you think you can handle it." cing his hand against her forehead, a burst of shadows erupted around her, drowning out her vision as she closed her eyes out of instinct. At that moment, she felt a warm liquid rising from below. Her pupils shrank as she was familiar with this viscosity, this temperature and this humidity. Her body began to tremble as she didn''t dare to open her eyes. But her body continued to move. It didn''t listen to her. She could feel her hands digging into something hard then soft. The burst of warmth from within and the next moment, she brought it to her mouth. Retching at the feeling she so desperately wished to forget, Ria broke out of the illusion and turned to the side before vomiting. Seeing the tears in her eyes, Kaden was silent. The path of a Hunter was not an easy one. Everyone has their own circumstances but they need to be able to face it head on. Just like how he watched Allura''s life teetering on the line between life and death during the fall of Ayr, how he cursed his own weakness. Ria needs to be able to face her past. "Think about it long and hard, it''s not an easy choice and it should never be an easy choice." Kaden patted her on the shoulder. "Use this when you better and ready to head out. I''ll talk to Alice and Luke so they don''t worry." cing a raven feather next to her, Kaden teleported out of the space while Ria sat in silence. Looking at her trembling hand, shes of blood and the countless deaths of people around her repeated in her mind. ### Both Alice and Luke was confused where Ria was when Kaden appeared letting them know that she''s taking a moment to m down. Getting Luke to go talk to his Head of Department Xinbei regarding the new change in curriculum, Kaden was about to leave when Alice stopped him. "What is it?" "Allura''s injury. How bad is it?" Alice asked as Kaden paused. "Don''t worry about it. I''ll sort it out." Kaden reassured before leaving. But Alice knew the extent of her injury from the time in the inverted world. That wound which doesn''t disappear even with the death of Famine. ''Seems like I''ll need to do more research about my blood.'' Alice thought to herself. ''If it''s a side effect of Abyss Blood I think it''ll be more probable but this is the Blessing of an Apostle. I don''t think our power reaches that far.'' Alyss frowned. [She''s not incorrect. While I don''t know how the powers of Famine has changed over the centuries, the fact remains that it''s outside of the Abyss''s influence. It''s a power that tainted Allura''s essence of being.] Ca interjected as Alice sat on her bed with a sigh. [But it''s not impossible. I have a theory but I''m unsure of how we can proceed with this.] Hearing this, Alice sat up in surprise as she gestured for Ca to exin. [When Famine attacked, her blessing wasrgely targeting what Allura has linked to her Blessing of Severance. Her Sigils from the fourth onwards and her status as a Lord. Going by what Alyss is capable of, recing your Sigils, do you think you can help Allura swap out her Sigils?] ''I''m not sure. But how would getting rid of her Sigil change things for her?'' Alyss frowned. [Because with the death of¡­ Velouria, the blessings she granted upon both Allura and Kaden fade with each use. Not only that, but the passage of time reduces the blessing''s potency as well. In due time, the Blessing will disappear and they will be back to being standard Abyss Lords just with more power. Allura will lose her status as the Executioner since her attack is tied with her Blessing. [But this is where youe in. her Sigils are tied with her Blessing and her Blessing is tainted by Famine. Should her Blessing disappear, the only thing left tied to that would be her Sigils. If you are able to rece the Sigils, it should be easier for you to heal the wound left by Famine as there''s nothing left for it totch on. [Of course, the centuries that have gone by would''ve left its mark on her but it''ll be far better than living with Famine''s curse constantly eating away at her.] Ca exined as Alice contemted the possibility of this and an excited light appeared in her eyes. ''Right¡­ There''s this method too! If I remember correctly, my second Sigil brought out the power of my blood. Are there more Sigils we can find that''ll help enhance this?'' Alice asked excitedly while Ca held up her hand. [Once again, this is all just spection on my end. We don''t know what kind of effect swapping out Sigils could ce on Allura and if we can even do it in the first ce. She doesn''t have a physique like you and what if Famine''s Blessingtches onto the new Sigils? How long will the Sigilsst? [This is merely a possibility o'' master mine. I don''t wish to fill you with false hopes only for it toe crashing down.] She warned. ''It''s fine, I know. But just having the possibility is enough for me.'' Alice smiled, standing up as she had another idea of what she wanted to do. She wanted to go to the research department to better understand the nature of her own blood and powers. Combat Department was nice but what she could learn there was limited. She had many ways to enhance herbat power such as being trained by an Abyss Lord. But in terms of researching her own blood? The Research Department seems to be the best. ''Speaking of which, who else survived the fall of Ayr? I know that Nalem is still alive and so''s Kaden and Allura. Or did the Will curse them now that Velouria isn''t around to maintain the rules she ced?'' Alice asked as Ca nodded her head. [After the fall of Ayr, the Will removed the rules which Velouria ced upon her ascension. Of course, not all of it could be removed properly but the influence it holds hasrgely diminished. 98% of the citizens that used to belong to Ayr have all been turned to beasts that roam thesends once more. Only those who held great power managed to hold off against the new curse but not without problems. [Nalem, for example, has been cursed with a type of immortality that came with sacrificing a lot of his power. I''m unsure of the exact details but I know he''s a shadow of his former self, cursed to witness the passing of time within this world.] ''I see¡­ What about Caera? I know that she''s extremely gifted when ites to research. She''s the one that made the gateways through the Abyss after all.'' Alice asked. If Caera was still alive, there''s a possibility she could be of great help. [Thest I heard about her was when she got taken by both the Church of the Moon and the Church of the Sun. Her whereabouts arergely unknown though and even then, this information is centuries old by now.] Ca shook her head as Alice sighed and nodded. Regardless, the main thing for her to do now was visit the Research Department and change her course. That way, she could learn more about her own blood and abilities with greater focus. Chapter 341: Theron It didn''t take long for Ria toe back from the space that Kaden prepared but her expression didn''t look well. Her face was pale and she didn''t want to talk just yet. She simply apologised to Alice before returning to her room, causing Alice to wonder about what Kaden even showed her for her to be like this. Once she was sure that Ria was safe and back, Alice made her way out of the dorms and towards the campus. Just as she stepped out of her room, she remembered a question she should''ve asked Kaden. ''I should''ve asked her what''s up with the principal''s appearance.'' Alice sighed. [If mine master wishes to know I can answer that for you.] Ca spoke up. Once again, Alice was reminded just how nice it was for Ca to be awake. A lot of her questions that she couldn''t get answers from could now be answered because she was here. [The Crimson Witch of Ruin is a vampiric type of beast who can be considered to be the best at using Blood based powers below the level of Lord. They take attributes of whoever''s blood they drink and the stronger their opponent is, the more potent this attribute bes. For the principal, I can only assume she drank Allura''s blood at some point when I was sleeping. [Knowing what Allura is like and her powers, it''s only natural that her appearance hasn''t changed in years since none of the blood she drinks would''ve been potent enough to override the influence of Allura''s power.] Ca exined as sheyzily on her bed. ''I see¡­ So what happens if she drinks my blood then? Would she look like me since my blood is basically concentrated Abyss Blood?'' [She''ll probably die.] Ca replied bluntly. With Alice''s blood right now, having Abyss Lord souls mixed into her spiritual heart, anyone whoes into contact with her blood through ingestion would die in due time. Even without Sigil powers, her blood was akin to a poison with no antidote. In essence, simr to Famine''s power though Alice''s blood can be forcefully expelled with enough power. ''Speaking of drinking your blood, what do you think happened to the b*tch that killed Lilia?'' Alyss asked as Alice''s expression turned dark. During her fight against Gard, she had poured her blood into the mouth of Be, the one responsible for everything that happened to Ria. Gard also got some blood butpared to what she fed Be, it was nothing. [I''m assuming her state wouldn''t be good. But the potency of your blood only began to shine after your second Sigil. Before that, it''sparable to impure Abyss Blood so she''s probably suffering from side effects but she''s still alive to some degree. [Plus I doubt Theron is someone who''ll let his wife die to something like this.] Ca recalled as Alice was surprised she knew them. [Allura mentioned them when you were sleeping and I overheard. I know about Theron, he''s an Abyss Lord of one of the central territories. His title is a bit unique even amongst Abyss Lords. When the Will grants a title to a Lord, it''s usually their authority followed by the moniker of Abyss Lord. However, his title is simply [yer]. He''s someone who reached the realm of Abyss Lord through martial arts and physical reinforcement and honestly, the worst match up for you.] Hearing this, Alice furrowed her brows as her revenge seemed so close yet at the same time, so far. With Be being guarded by an Abyss Lord, a physical fighter type at that, it''s going to be hard for her to achieve her desired goal. ''Why did the Will even give him the title of yer? I thought it would''ve called him Abyss Lord of ughter or something.'' Alyss folded her arms. [Because he reached his current level by killing three Abyss Lords while he was at six Sigils.] After fighting against Abyss Lords herself, Alyss knew what kind of danger they posed, especially if they didn''t have the absurd ability of stealing powers and Sigils like her and Alice. So for Theron to have killed three Abyss Lords and even for the Will to grant him the title of [yer] then it''s not a revenge they can treat lightly. Killing Be means making an enemy out of Theron. ''Why hasn''t he made a move yet then?'' Alice asked curiously while taking the train towards the Research Department. She received several strange nces mixed with fear but she ignored that for now. [Because of Allura and Gin. Theron is an old¡­ acquaintance. They can''t be considered friends but they''ve done jobs for each other. Theron knows thating to kill you means incurring the wrath of both Allura and Gin, something he can''t afford unless he''s willing to die with everyone. [I''m guessing he''s going to try to bargain with you if the two of you ever meet and you try to kill his wife.] ''I''ll pass. I''m not letting Be live.'' Alice narrowed her eyes. She refused to let the killer of her first friend off like this. Hearing this, Alyss grinned as she was of the same thought. Stepping off the train, Alice could see the Research Department that she had visited since she was helping Arunya with her experiments. Figuring that she could probably ask Arunya to introduce her to her head of Department, Alice made her way up to Arunya''sbs. Knocking on her door, Alice could hear the sounds of movement from behind as it was soon unlocked with a click and Arunya opened the door. "Ah¡­ It''s you. Have you rested up after your incident in the Inverted World?" Arunya asked monotonously as usual but Alice could tell that she was worried. "Yes I have. What about you? I know you were trying for the Special ss test right?" Alice asked as Arunya invited her into thebs. "Don''t remind me. Because of the incident with the Inverted World, the exams were postponed for now. Those that were going for the Special ss exams like me will be evaluated at another time." Hearing this, Alice coughed awkwardly since she was the source of the abnormalities with the exam. "Tea?" Arunya offered as Alice thought for a moment before nodding her head. She could see that Arunya had just finished an experiment. "So how may I help you today? Or are you here to borrow some equipment? I can see that you''ve undergone¡­ some changes after going into the Inverted World. The crown''s disappeared and your left eye has changed." Arunya asked. Their contract was long fulfilled and there was no reason for Alice to be here today unless she needed something that Arunya could help with. "Ah I''m not looking to borrow equipment today. I was wondering if you could introduce me to the Department Head of Theory. I had applied to the Combat Department before but after the Inverted World, I wanted to do more research regarding Abyss Blood as a focus rather than fighting." Alice scratched her cheek. Even with her side effects preventing her from expressing her emotions and forcing her to speak in a monotonous tone, Arunya stared at Alice for a long minute before letting out a sigh. "Are¡­ You sure you wish to see the Department Head?" Arunya asked hesitantly. "Is there an issue?" Alice tilted her head. "She is in love with the Abyss, beasts and blood. By love, I don''t mean as a hobby. She is a deviant when ites to that kind of thing. Seeing as how your eye and crown changed, she''ll be very interested in finding out about that." Thinking about it, Alice figured that it shouldn''t be too bad. It wasn''t like she didn''t see the Department Head of Theory during the exam and when she did, she seemed fine. Seeing Alice''s expression, Arunya sighed inwardly as it was probably better for her to see ra for herself before judging. "I don''t mind introducing you to her, but I suggest you see her for yourself before making a decision. You can still borrow my equipment even if you go to thebat department so it''s not like it''s impossible." Finishing her tea, the two left thebs while Arunya locked the doors behind her. As per usual, she made her way to the food court to pick up some lunch for ra so that she didn''t starve, confusing Alice since ra is a grown adult. She should be able to take care of herself to some extent. However, Arunya simply replied saying that ra gets a little carried away when she finds something she likes and forgets to eat or sleep. "It''s not like she can''t survive without food but it''ll be a pain if she dies." That was her main reason. Taking the train to ra''s Labs, Alice was surprised to see the Department Head living in this kind of space, detached and tucked away in the corner of the Academy grounds. The same was true for Xinbei, making Alice wonder if this was the standard between all the Department Heads. Knocking on the door, Arunya cleared her throat. "Professor, I''m here. I''ve brought a guest so please make yourself presentable." Arunya shouted out. "Ah! Send them away. I''m¡­ Ah! A little busy right now." ra shouted back as Arunya froze up, realising that ra must be exploring her own body again. ncing back, she could see Alice looking clueless at what the sounds were and sighed inwardly. "Sorry Alice, seems like she''s¡­ busy with experiments for now. I''ll arrange another time for you okay?" Arunya sighed as Alice nodded her head, grateful that Arunya was willing to arrange a time. *BANG!!! "?!?!" At that moment, the door was kicked open as Arunya jumped in surprise despite her neutral expression. She could see ra with her hastily put-on clothes and a flushed expression. Upon seeing Alice, her legs trembled before she tried her best topose herself. "Ahem. Did I say I was busy? I mean sorry, give me a moment to clean up after my¡­ experiments. I''ll be right with you." She smiled before mming the door closed. At this moment, Arunya couldn''t help but feel as though she sent Alice into the tiger''s den. The only reason for ra to have this kind of reaction is¡­ Her pupils shrunk as she snapped her head towards Alice''s direction. ''Oh f*ck.'' Chapter 342: Meeting Elara While ra was cleaning up herb, Arunya quickly dragged Alice to the side. "Hm? What''s wrong?" Alice asked curiously, wondering why Arunya seemed panicked. "I''ve made a mistake. You should go to thebat department instead. I''ll do whatever I can to lend you the equipment so it''s best you escape now." Arunya shook her head. However, her reactions only served to confuse her further as she wasn''t sure what invoked this kind of reaction. "There''s too much to exin but basically, the professor isn''t¡­ Normal. She''s been-" "Aww~ Runi, I hope you''re not talking bad about me behind my back." ra''s voice rang out as Arunya froze up at the sound of her voice. Looking up, she could see ra hanging from the rocks using her appendages with a soft smile on her face. There was a glint in her eyes that Arunya was very familiar with. The uncontroble smile on her face, the red on her cheeks and the way she would subtly lick her lips. ra was aroused as hell right now! Descending from the rocks, she blocked the escape and gestured for them to enter herbs. "I''m not going to do anything to your friend. I''m simply surprised that you brought¡­ the one mentioned by Xinbei and Garret to me." ra chuckled while narrowing her gaze at Alice who seemed clueless regarding what was happening. Now that it''s reached this stage, Arunya could only apologize to Alice in her mind. Thankfully, ra shouldn''t do anything crazy. At least Arunya hoped she wouldn''t. This was the first time in a long time that ra''s been this infatuated towards someone. With thest incident in mind, she''ll be ying it safe. *Sigh Letting out a sigh, Arunya turned around and made her way into the Labs while Alice''s gaze flickered between the two of them. ''Do you know what''s going on?'' Alice asked inwardly. ''Nope.'' Alyss shook her head. [I sense a great danger, but I can''t quite pinpoint where this feeling originates from.] Ca furrowed her brows. With them unable to give her an answer, Alice simply shrugged before stepping into ra''sb. As she entered, she could see that theyout of theb was rather simple with the living room being connected to the mainb, a kitchen, a toilet and what Alice could only assume to be ra''s room since it''s the only one with a closed door. Arunya ced the food she bought onto the table and looked around in mild surprise. She had expected there to be clothes thrown about yet it was surprisingly clean. Running her fingers along the window sill, she noticed theck of dust. Though thinking about it more carefully, it made sense if Alice was the one whom she''d been infatuated with over thest few weeks. For ra to be this focused on someone for this long, Arunya doubted that ra wanted to make a bad impression. Meaning, if she doesn''t hold herself back, Arunya could expose everything to Alice. "Just sit anywhere you want. Except my room of course." ra smiled, gesturing to the table while standing in front of her door. "Now, what brings a cutie like you to myb?" ra asked, turning her appendages that extended from herb coat into a seat and sat down. "I wanted to ask if it was possible to change my selection when it came to which department I wanted to enter. I''ve registered for the Combat Department Special ss but after the Inverted World, I think it''s better if Ie to the Theory Department instead." Alice asked as ra twitched momentarily upon hearing that Alice wanted toe to the Theory Department. "Of course, I can make that happen no problems. Though are you looking to try to be a special ss like Runi or a standard/advanced student?" ra smiled. The appendages of her ''seat'' began to shuffle as she closed in on Alice and circled around her. Alice was a little weirded out by this but tried her best to ignore it. "As high as I can get. I assume there are benefits that I can only get if I''m of a certain rank." "Indeed~ Runi wants to reach Special ss because you get a designated spot all to yourself on these grounds. A personal budget handed to you by the Academy and not tied to any department, ess to all kinds of information support and ties torge families." ra proimed while Arunya nodded her head by the side. Right now, ra was behaving herself so there was no need for Arunya to interrupt. When she wasn''t aroused, ra took her job seriously since she enjoyed upholding her reputation as Head of Department. Only her close students know what she''s truly like once you look past her reputation and act. She''s a woman who ces Abyss Blood research and experimentation above all else. If she could be summarised in one word, it would be the pursuit of knowledge. "But just for you~ I can try help you take the Special ss exam for Theory even though you went for Combat. Your original participation got postponed due to the incident just like Runi here. I''m sure it''ll be fine to change you from taking the Combat exam to the Theory one. What kind of research are you nning on conducting?" ra asked curiously. As much as she would love to do something else with Alice right now, she had to fulfil her basic duties as an educator first to make a good impression. Even for her, she couldn''t ce someone in the Special ss for no reason at all. Alice needed a topic to research and results to back it up. Otherwise, she would be undeserving of that role. When presented with this question, Alice recalled the secrets that she wished to uncover. While they were numerous, it all ties back to one topic. "I want to research the rtionship between the Abyss, the Sigil holders and Apostles." Alice replied with a light of determination in her eyes. "A ssic yet also a very difficult topic at that. Research in this field has stagnated quite a bit over the recent years and lots of people are thinking we''re reaching a limit unless we explore deeper into the Abyss. What caused you to choose this topic?" ra asked curiously. Seeing as how the crown disappeared and that her left eye had changed, she assumed Alice would be studying the changes in side effects caused by the Abyss Blood. "When I was in the Inverted World, I was sent back in history. I''ve watched people use Sigils in ways I never thought of before, methods to manipting the energy that flows in our body that powers these Sigils. The connection between the Abyss and the people who wield its power and an Apostle that cantch a curse onto the Sigils. "When I''m shown all of this, isn''t it natural that I''d want to find out more about it?" Alice smiled as ra''s eyes flickered with an understanding light. Rushing in front of Alice, she grabbed her by the hands. "Exactly! Ah~ you get it don''t you? When faced with a wall of mysteries, you just want to break it down and find out what''s the truth behind the matter. Unfortunately, the research of our generation has stagnated. "People are more focused on the Blood itself rather than the connections it makes. Those employed byrge families are prone to looking for shortcuts rather than truth seeking. Especially for those sted Zenia''s, monopolising the current market and governing the discovery and creation of new usable Abyss Bloods." rained. "Their research has stagnated in the recent years and yet they continue to act as though they''rethe centre piece of the world. There''s no denying their achievement but one cannot be arrogant forever. The young seedlings who tread onto the path of research needs a proper ce to flourish!" Nodding her head in agreement, Alice now gained a new piece of information. The Zenia''s have stagnated! ''Seems like my body was the cornerstone of their research. Now that I disappeared, it would be hard for them to bring out new Bloods unless they begin killing mountains of people again.'' Alice thought to herself. Meanwhile, Arunya was baffled by ra''s reaction. The lewd ra that she was used to seeing was nowhere in sight. Right now, all she could see was ra being excited by the prospect that someone shares a simr perspective into research with her. However, this thought was cut short once she noticed that her chair was moving strangely while she was still holding Alice''s hand. The way her body would subtly twitch as she continued talking to Alice caused Arunya''s expression to turn dark. "Professor, pleasepose yourself." Arunya interrupted as ra nced back. Seeing the silent reminders, ra coughed and let go of Alice''s body while moving away. Understanding that this wasn''t the right time to be this¡­ excited just yet. *Cough! "Sorry about that. But yes, I can put in a word for you to change over to the Theory Department." ra held back her smile as she nodded her head. "Thank you. Is there anything I can do to thank you?" Alice offered while Arunya froze up in shock. ''Why would you give her this kind of offer?!'' As for ra, her pupils shrunk while her body began to tremble. She swallowed her saliva repeatedly, imagining the kinds of favours Alice could do to thank her. Understanding that this was approaching her limit of restraining herself, Arunya stood up. "I think we''ll stop here for now. Professor needs a bit of time to herself and I can help schedule a meeting for next time. Would that be okay?" She asked as Alice nced over in confusion. "Ah~ Mnm¡­ Yes we can do that." ra nodded as her shoulders trembled. If Arunya didn''t step in, she might do something she''lle to regret since this was her limit of holding back. Getting ra''s permission to leave for now, Arunya escorted Alice out of thebs while ra locked the door behind them. Stepping into her room, she could see the ''shrine'' she created for Alice. The crystals that hold her recording, outfits that Alice had bought, weapons she''s touched and so on. ra had collected them all. And now, adding to that collection is the chair Alice sat on. Tossing her clothes aside, ra jumped onto the bed, unable to hold herself back anymore. ### Upon leaving the house, Alice was suddenly assaulted by the feeling of invisible hands crawling up and down her skin, causing her to shiver before the feeling disappeared, confusing her further. Chapter 343: Kale Grani Once they were out and ra was left on her own, Arunya let out a deep sigh. "Are you alright?" Alice asked curiously while Arunya nodded her head. "I''ll be fine. Just a warning though, don''t stay in the same room with the Professor alone. If you need to meet her, let me know. She can get carried away with her love of Abyss Blood and since your side effects are unique, it might trigger an¡­ Unknown reaction from her like just now." Arunya warned as Alice blinked her eyes but nodded eventually. Talking for a little longer, Arunya made her way back to her ownb to continue her experiment while Alice took this time to familiarise herself with theyout of the Theory Department. She could asionally see students walking around with crests attached to their outfits signifying which families they were from. Aside from one of two that were connected to the Zenia''s, Alice was unfamiliar with the overall hierarchy of noble families from the surface. ''Actually now that things have settled down a little, I can probably spend some time looking for the Zenia''s.'' She thought while narrowing her gaze. This was her original goal foring to this academy in the first ce. ''Where do you think they would be staying?'' Alyss sat up as she too was interested in this. Both of them have a grudge against the Zenia''s who tortured them for ten whole years. ''Knowing what the Zenias are like, I doubt they''ll be staying somewhere shabby. Probably an expensive Inn or something along those lines.'' [O'' master mine, have you considered that perhaps the principal has eyes all over the Academy and wouldn''t let you murder the Zenia''s? on Academy grounds?] Ca added as both Alice and Alyss went silent. A short moment passed before a grin appeared on both of their faces. ''Are you thinking what I''m thinking?'' Alice asked while Alyssughed. ''I don''t know, I can''t read your mind. But are YOU thinking what I''m thinking?'' ''Who knows. Ca, you said that the principal is watching right?'' Alice asked as Ca nodded her head. ''Then it''s simple, I just need to disguise myself and murder them ''outside'' of Academy grounds. Then it''s an issue for the port city rather than the Academy no?'' Alice smiled happily at the mention of murdering the Zenia''s. ''We can rece some of our Sigils so it can''t be traced back to us. Who would think someone can just change their powers on the fly?'' Alyssughed. If they were to change their appearance using either Abyss Blood or a Sigil ability and then change their powers, it''d be near impossible to track them down. For Abyss Blood, the side effects would wear off and for Sigil Abilities, no one would link it back to her. Seeing the two begin to n a murder, Ca was speechless but considering their grievances with the Zenia family, it''s only natural for them to be like this. Then as the voice of reason, Ca had to remind the two that they can''t just kill everyone and anyone. [O'' master mine, please at least confirm that they''ve done something horrible before killing them. Sometimes good people join bad ces out of necessity.] Ca sighed. She didn''t n on stopping them so long as they have reasons for this ughter. If they don''t, it''ll be no different to what the Eclipse was doing. ''Mnm¡­ That''s a fair point.'' Alice furrowed her brows before agreeing. It wasn''t as though every person in the Zenia was evil. In fact, the only ones she knows of are her own father, brothers and the Schrs. Most of the Zenia members didn''t even know this was happening in the shadows. ''So what? Some of them might''ve joined out of necessity but they''re still lending a hand in this. Spectators are just as guilty.'' Alyss frowned. ''No no, Ca''s got a point. Do you have an interrogate type Sigil at your disposal? If we can dig up some dirt we''ll be able to kill them without any consequences. Well¡­ rtively speaking.'' Alice shook her head. ''I got a few. But you''re still just a four Sigil user at the end of the day. Rece too much and you won''t be able to kill them.'' ''What if we ask the Underground for help? They''re good at collecting information. If we can find them, get the information we need and form a kill list.'' Alice suggested as it''ll save them the effort of actually needing to hunt them down and finding out the information. ''I still think it''s easier for us to just kill every Zenia wee across but sure, whatever floats your boat.'' Alyss shrugged, losing interest. ''Leave me out of the boring stuff, as long as I can snap the neck of a Zenia b*stard I''ll be happy.'' Seeing this, both Alice and Ca smiled helplessly but they understood why Alyss was like this. [Using the Underground is a good idea but you need to be careful when dealing with them. You can get a lot of information back but at the same time, they''ll track information about you. I wouldn''t be surprised if they already have a page detailing all of your information, appearance, abilities and movements. That''s the kind of organisation the Underground is.] Ca warned. ''I know. Do you think they realised that I''m a Zenia?'' Alice asked curiously. [. . . Unlikely unless they have an informant within the Zenia''s that was involved with your experiments. And even then, if they did, they would''ve noticed your ''value'' and sought to free you from the Zenia''s so they can monopolise you themselves.] Ca shook her head. Hearing this, Alice''s expression turned cloudy as once again, she was reminded of the value behind her body. It was quite the miracle for her to run into people like Ria and Allura who didn''t care about this. ''Either way, let''s change my appearance and see what kind of information they can give me.'' ''Which Sigil do you want me to swap out?'' Alyss asked while ncing back. ''Change my first one.'' Raising her hand, Alyss snapped her finger as Alice could feel a slight burning sensation on the back of her hand. ''Mirror Jester, you can take the appearance data of everyone you''ve seen thus far and either replicate it or make a new identity all together. If you choose to replicate someone''s appearance, based on what you know of them, you''ll instinctively understand what you should or shouldn''t say.'' Alyss exined while Alice thanked her. Opening her eyes, she returned back to reality and made her way down to the docks. But just as she left the Academy grounds, she realised a big issue regarding buying information. Money. "F*ck¡­ I''m broke." Ria was looking after most of their money while Alice only carried around 10 gold pieces on her own body. With this, she could only buy the most basic package for information. More since she wasn''t going with her identity of Alice Agnelia but rather someone made up. Scratching her hair, Alice figured it was probably best if she earns some money first. In the end, she decided to go to the gambling arena. Getting Alyss to swap all of her Sigils to weapon based abilities, Alice registered herself as Kale Grani and fought as many opponents as she could before getting kicked out. Her second Sigil was switched out for Tiamat''s Sigil, boosting her attack power and giving all of her attacks a signature red hue that drained the world of colour briefly. Her third was changed to Asur, the Abyss Lord of Corrosion. And finally, her fourth Sigil was changed to Allura. Specifically, her sixth Sigil of instant shes. With thisbination of abilities and a spare weapon rather than Void Fang since it could be tracked back to her, Alice broke 3 weapons per battle but managed to win them all with rtive ease. While she was fighting, she could hear the murmurs of the spectators, wondering who she was and when she appeared in this city since no one had seen her before. Her new form consisted of long blonde hair and crimson eyes. Regarding her outfit, the Mirror Jester took care of that as well. She wore a ck jacket withrge sleeves. A ck peaked cap, a turtleneck cor with belts and buckles across the jacket and a pair of ck shorts. She wore a simple pair of shoes, exposing her delicate legs. With this identity, she managed to earn 50 gold since she was fighting those with 4 Sigils and 5 despite only revealing 3 abilities and never more. Even those with resonance lost to her which was to be expected. After all, she had three Abyss Lord level abilities! Shaking the coin purse with a cheerful smile on her face, Alice skipped out of the gambling arena while the owners were furious. ''50 gold should be enough for a level 3 package. Level 2 was rather stingy with informationst time I bought it so level 3 should be exactly what I need.'' She mused to herself. Looking towards the docks, she could see another shipnding and wondered if it was a new batch of students or perhaps visitors. With her current identity, curiosity and free spirited acted as her base and thus she was inclined to checking out what was happening. The more she acted, the more convincing it''ll be for when she visited the Underground. As she approached the docks, she saw that it was mostly young Hunters who had a look of awe on their face when looking at the inverted world. ''Seems like they''re new students. I''m guessing the news of having the Exams postponed allowed more people toe and give it a try.'' Since it was nothing interesting, Alice turned around and prepared to leave when she caught sight of a certain crest. The Zenia Crest! Chapter 344: Erick Zenia ''The Zenia Crest!!!'' Widening her eyes, Alice''s hand clenched tightly as killing intent seeped from her body. Just thinking about them made her blood boil but she closed her eyes and bit her lip. She had to calm down. If she''s too hasty, she''ll never be able to achieve her goal. Killing them on sight is good and all but what truly mattered to her was rooting out everyst piece of scum within the family. Be that her father, brothers, schrs or even the chef. The Zenia family will be no more once she was done with them. Taking a deep breath, Alice calmed her mind and approached the port, wanting to see who it was. In her mind, she could hear Alyssining that they should go kill them all immediately, but Alice ignored it for now. Leaning against the wall near the entrance of the port, she peeked over and saw a group consisting of seven members. During her time locked up, she was able to familiarise herself with certain ranks of the family. Guards, researchers and core members. These were the names they gave them since she never found out about their real names. However, based on their uniform, their reactions during certain incidents she caused and their reaction towards the ranks, Alice summarised them into these categories. ''Four guards, two researchers and seems like one core member.'' Alice narrowed her eyes. Unfortunately, she didn''t recognise any of them which was a slight shame but she could never give up on an opportunity to kill a Zenia. ''Three of the guards have six Sigils while the one in the middle has five. Researchers are both on three and the core is four. Killing them should be doable if I take advantage of the current situation.'' Narrowing her eyes, she began to walk towards their direction. ### Looking towards the ''Eye'' of the Inverted World, I am once again reminded of how surreal the Abyss was. A whole new world within this Realm, a world where it lets us travel back in time and witness history being made. There was an incident recently that caused quite an issue with the Academy but it''s also this same incident that allowed us to better barter with the principal. Finally, us Zenia researchers can explore the inverted world without the hindrance of the Academy. Of course, I wasn''t the only one who was in awe of the Inverted World. My colleague whom followed me on this journey only recently joined the Zenia research department. "Melissa, let''s focus up. Remember what we''re here for and it''s certainly not a holiday." I cleared my throat and hid my excitement. "Oh you can''t expect me not to be excited seeing this can you? It''s a peek into history Michael! History!" Melissa shouted excitedly as I couldn''t help but smile and nod in agreement. Indeed, when else are you going to get a chance like this? The formation of an ''Inverted World'' was an extremely rare urrence that can only happen if an Abyss Lord dies. Not only that, but they have to die in a peculiar manner that allows for the Abyss to form a gateway to thework of information. After that, someone needs to be close enough and powerful enough to seal this gateway to preserve the passage. All of these conditions had to be achieved for the formation of an Inverted World and yet we were standing in front of such a miracle. "Let''s not attract any more attention. You''ll have plenty of chances to explore the Inverted World if we can reach a deal with the Academy." Erick Zenia smiled towards Melissa. He had a fancy towards my colleague and it was clear as day. The fact that he brought her to this kind of important talk because she wanted to see the Inverted World was a clear indication. "Alright~ I guess shopping and exploring cer." Melissa sighed. Just as we were about to continue onwards, I heard a collision near us as one of the Hunters had bumped into the guards on ident. "Watch where you''re walking dammit! Don''t you have eyes?!" The Guard shouted with an annoyed expression. *Sigh¡­ Not again. We''ve had people bump into us several times during this journey, sometimes they were trying to rob us because we seemed rich, and sometimes they''d try to lure us somewhere. I could only assume it was another one of these situations. But when I nced over, I was stunned by the person who was rubbing their nose with tears in her eyes. That long blonde hair and na?ve red eyes, the way she smacked her sleeve against the guard''s leg, it was hard not to pause and observe her. "I''m sorry, does this road belong to you? Can''t you see you''re blocking the way to the schedule board?!" She pouted in annoyance while standing up. I could hear the murmuring of the crowd around us, whispers of amongst them saying that the guard was done for. I couldn''t quite understand it but from their words, it seems like she was a neer to the gambling arena who made a name for herself in just one day. But seeing her raise her small fist, I couldn''t imagine someone like her being able to make a name for herself arena. The guard looked infuriated by her gesture as he reached for his weapon but Erick interfered. "Now now, let''s not fight. We''re new to this city so we''re a little unfamiliar with the cement of things. Please, we don''t want any trouble." He apologised while gesturing for the Guards to step back. The girl leaned towards Erick and scrutinised him before scratching her cheek. "Well¡­ I got a little heated too. Sorry about that." She nced to the side with a small blush on her face. Clearing her throat, she adjusted her posture and folded her arms. "I''m Kale. Kale Grani." She introduced herself with a wide grin. "Erick. Erick Zenia." Hearing this, she paused and blinked her eyes. "Wait for real?" She asked, scanning her eyes across all of us before looking back to Erick. Seems like she was someone who didn''t think she''d bump into a Zenia which was to be expected. As the prime family involved in Abyss Blood, it''d be stranger for people not to know about us. "Yes, for real." Erick chuckled while Kale smiled awkwardly. "You''re really a Zenia? In this ce? Really? You''re not trying to scam people with the Zenia name, are you? If you''re really a Zenia I''ll treat you all to a meal in the best restaurant here hmph!" The guards looked at one another with augh as Erick pointed towards his chest where the crest of the Zenia family could be seen. "Here''s the authentic crest. You might not know but anyone impersonating the Zenias are dealt with rather seriously." Erick warned. Seeing the crest, she began to sweat as she poked her fingers together. "Erm¡­ I''ll be honest I didn''t think you were a real Zenia ahaha¡­ Sorry! I''m kind of broke!" She apologised while sticking out her tongue yfully. She was like a child who was caught doing something bad and tried to make an excuse, only for it to be exposed immediately. Seeing my reaction towards Kale, Melissa jabbed me in the ribs causing me to buckle over. "Don''t tell me she caught your eye too?" Melissa pouted while I could onlyugh awkwardly. But this could work in my favour since it solves the headache of Erick being interested in Melissa. If I could have him get interested in this Kale instead, it''ll make things easier for us. "You are? Well what a shame since I''m indeed a Zenia. What to do what to do~" Erick teased while scratching his chin as though thinking about an alternative solution. "Erm¡­ I''m broke but I''m strong! Don''t look down on me just because I have three Sigils! I can knock down Hunters with five Sigils ya know?!" Kale flexed her feeble arms proudly. "Tell you what, if you go to the Inverted World I can act as a guard for you." She grinned. The guards that wereughing earlier stoppedughing as it seemed like she was looking down on them. "What did you say you brat?!" The guard that bumped into her earlier frowned. "Exactly what I said gori. If you don''t like it why don''t we take this into the arena? I can hand you a can of whoop ass and a earn a bit of money while I''m there." Kale taunted while giving him the middle finger. Seeing that things were about to erupt between the guard and the girl, I cleared my throat. "Sir, we''re still waiting for the Academy to arrange a meeting time and we had a long journey as well. I''m sure a quick detour to the arena shouldn''t be an issue." I whispered towards Erick who nodded his head in agreement. "Plus, she''s been sneaking a few nces at you. Seems to me that she wants to impress you." I made sure that it was only audible to Erick. Knowing him for a long time, this was bound to spur him on and it wasn''t like it was a lie either. She had indeed been sneaking nces at him even before realising that he was a Zenia. Perhaps it was because he looked handsome but this was enough for him to agree to the arena spar. ### ''F*ck f*ck f*ck! Gross gross gross!'' Alice cursed in her mind repeatedly as she had to act sweet towards a Zenia of all people. However, the more they interacted the better it was for her since she could leave a mark on them to track them downter. She had thrown on the arena suggestion seeing if they would bite the bait or not but it was unlikely. Yet one of the researchers actually inadvertently helped her and at the same time, grossed her out. She was looking at him thinking of ways to butcher him, when it did be looks of wanting to impress the b*stard??? Meanwhile, Alyss wasughing hysterically at Alice''s pain during acting while Ca simply rxed on her bed. But now that he had agreed to her suggestion of going to the arena, things would be a lot easier for her. And all she needed to do was defeat this gori in front of her. After facing Abyss Lords? This was a piece of cake for her. In fact, he''ll be her punching bag to vent all her grievances. Just thinking of this caused her to shiver with excitement while the Guard felt a random chill that confused him. Chapter 345: Fighting Jyn Standing in the arena, Alice twirled the greatsword in hand as though it was nothing. Since she was hiding her identity, she wanted to make sure her fighting style was different to her usual habits to avoid suspicion. Therefore, she decided to use a greatsword bigger than herself. Using Tiamat''s Sigil, she was able to supplement herck of physical prowess through using the ambient energy to empower her own physical body. In theory, it worked exactly like using Tiamat''s power in an attack. Only this time, her body was the weapon. Of course, the greatsword wasn''t her only weapon. Along with the spear, she had also used a scythe. During all of her fights, she had asked permission to nt several weapons around the arena in and in exchange, she is not allowed to use Resonance or more than three Sigils. Naturally, her opponents agreed not realising that using her Resonance would expose who she is and that having more weapons is beneficial for her. These second rate weapons couldn''t withstand the power of Abyss Lord level Sigils so their best use was to act as explosive devices that burst upon contact. *BANG!!! Stabbing the greatsword into the ground, Alice leaned against the handle with a smug smile on her face. "Are you ready gori? I hope you don''t make this too boring for me~ I''m just a wittle three Sigil Hunter, the bwig stwong tuff guy with six Sigils won''t go all out right? Alice teased as each word only served to annoy the guard further. "You f*cking brat." He gritted his teeth before taking a deep breath to calm himself down. ''Would you look at that, seems like he''s not going to be an easy opponent after all. I suppose a guard hired by one of the most influential families from the surface won''t be a joke.'' Alice narrowed her eyes as she waited for the referee to announce the start of the battle. ### While Alice and the guard were eyeing each other up, trying to gauge what kind of opponent they had, the Zenia Researchers and Erick were observing from the VIP suit. Erick sat on a cushioned seat while the waiter brought him a tray of snacks and wines. The guards stood by the door with the exception of the five Sigil guard who stood right next to him, guarding him from danger. "Selen, how do you think Kale would fair against Jyn?" Erick asked curiously while swirling his ss. "Not enough information. But based on what I could gather from the crowd, it seems like she''ll be a worthy match up even if she only has three Sigils. However, there is still a gap between the power of a three Sigil user and a six. I believe if nothing abnormal urs, Jyn should win with rtive ease." Selen replied seriously without taking her eyes off the arena. Her gaze was locked onto Alice as there was a strange sense of unease emanating from her. "Hou~ Sounds like you expect her to turn things around." Erick chuckled. "Shall we have a bet?" He offered, gesturing for Melissa and Michael toe over. "Who do you think will win this battle?" Contemting for a moment, even with the exception of her being stronger, Jyn is still a guard hand-picked by the Zenia family. He couldn''t bepared to the Hunters that fight in the arena who lost to someone with only three Sigils. In the end, both Michael and Melissa ced their bets on Jyn while Erick said the same. "You''ve yet to give your opinion Selen." "As I said, if nothing abnormal happens, I believe Jyn should win. However¡­ that girl is not simple. Even without the rumoursing from the crowd¡­ She feels dangerous." Selen replied seriously. One shouldn''t judge a person based on how many Sigils they possess, no matter how wide the difference in strength may seem. Sometimes, even the first Sigil could be potent enough to kill a seasoned veteran. She was a good example of this, she was made the captain of this squad when she had four Sigils despite it being a squad of six Sigil users. Simply because she had the strength! "Captain! Really? You think Jyn will lose?" One of the guards spoke up in surprise as Selen shook her head. "I''m not saying Jyn would lose but rather he shouldn''t look down on that Girl. If he does, he''ll suffer for it." Refusing toment further, Selen simply observed and allowed the two Hunters to prove their worth. ### Pulling out the greatsword, Alice bnced the ck on her shoulder and allowed it to rest against the ground. She crouched down and entered an offensive stance as she licked her lips in anticipation. Jyn stood in front of her, silent and focused. Despite all of her provocation, he remained steadfast. The de in his hand had a rather strange design as instead of a guard, there was a circr ring with a hole in the middle, big enough to fit the width of an arm. The handle was attached on one end while the emerald de was on the other. "Begin!" With the shout of the referee, Alice immediately burst into action with speed surpassing that of an ordinary three Sigil user! Those who weren''t prepared for this explosiveness could only gasp in shock as Alice was soon in front of Jyn. Holding her breath, she twisted her body andunched an upwards cleave with her greatsword! *BANG!!! Parrying her attack to the side with rtive ease, Jyn narrowed his eyes and the de in his hand began to spin! Grabbing it by the ring, he twisted his body and swung the de towards Alice who bent her body back. The de grazed her hair as she revealed an interested smile. Flipping back and standing on her hands, she released a couple of kicks towards Jyn''s head who took a step back while parrying her attack with his de. Grabbing the greatsword on her way down, shended on her feet and threw the weapon towards him! Seeing Alice immediately discard her weapon, Jyn frowned and mmed his de into the face of the greatsword, shattering it in an instant but Alice was behind the de. The colours of the world drained into a single orb as Alice mmed the attack against his chest. *BANG!!! As the orb detonated, a cloud of dust erupted between them but Alice didn''t feel the contact of the attack. She had missed in point nk! Without hesitation, she mmed her hand down and created a field of corrosion as pink strands of energy began to weave into a field around her. Jyn who wanted to use this opportunity, noticed the properties of this field and immediately backed off. All of his senses were warning him of regarding the potency of this attack as he began to reevaluate the opponent in front of him. He had nned on beating her without the use of his Sigils to showcase the strength of a Zenia guard but continuing to do so would be looking down on his opponent too much. It could even lead to his defeat! Breathing out, a hiss of air could be heard as his teeth began to change. From the normal human teeth, they turned sharp like a beast while sparks of fire could be seen from his breath. Spinning the emerald de in his hand, the signature green colour started to shift into a bright crimson. His immediate shift in focus sent a chill down Alice''s spine as it felt as though she had finally be the prey that was being hunted down by a dragon. Butpared to Tiamat, this was nothing! Dashing towards Jyn, she grabbed a scythe that was stuck into the ground and jumped up into the air. Twisting her body, pink energy ovepped the de as she activated Allura''s Sigil! Instant shes! *CRACK! The scythe shattered into countless pieces as it couldn''t withstand the power of Allura''s Sigil but it''s achieved the effect that Alice had desired. The shards of metal that shot towards Jyn were all infused by the power of corrosion and the speed behind Instant shes! Seeing this, Jyn twisted his body as he spun his de around him, blocked the shards and deflecting them to the side. He made sure to minimalize the contact his weapon had to this strange energy as prolonged contact would cause damage to his beloved weapon. Taking a deep breath, he breathed out a torrent of mes that ovepped his de before mming it against the ground. *BANG!!! The arena split apart, disrupting Alice''s footwork as pirs of mes lunged out from the cracks, surprising her momentarily as she narrowed her eyes. Activating Tiamat''s power, she focused it around her fingers before oveying Allura''s Sigil. shing down with her finger, a vacuum began to form within the mes as Tiamat''s power began absorbing the energy around them while Allura''s Sigil reshaped the attack into a sh. From these pirs of mes, several invisible shes shot towards Jyn who had to quickly lean to the side as these des bore into the pirs, creating deep crevices. "Alright, I''ll take that back gori. You''re not half bad, I''ll upgrade you from gori to lizard." Alice smiled, grabbing the nearest greatsword to her and hoisted it onto her back. She stood with one foot on a raised rock while she gathered energy using Tiamat''s Sigil with her left hand. However, her praise was unneeded as Jyn didn''t care about what she called him. What annoyed him the most was that he''s actually unable to find a way to win despite beginning to use his Sigils! After countless battles as the guard of the Zenia family, he could instinctively tell when things begin to turn sour. And the winds weren''t turning in his favour at all! Without hesitation, he activated his third Sigil into his fourth then fifth, oveying them to enhance his first Resonance. A spiral of mes erupted around his body, hiding his form from Alice as she simply watched with a smile. "Seems like we''re pulling out the big guns for this fight." Alice let out a lowugh. Focusing her mind, she dragged the entire arena into her Absolute Zone! Chapter 346: Alices Counterattack The instant that Alice expanded her zone, all of the Zenia guards felt a chill down their spine. Subconsciously, they reached for their swords before pausing in realisation. "You''ve got to be kidding¡­" One of the guards muttered in disbelief, realising that her range had extended this far. If they were her target, she''d be able to attack them from down there!!! As for Selen, this reaffirmed her belief that Alice was abnormal and that Jyn needed to take this seriously. ''But for her to be able to use zone¡­ at this magnitude as well¡­ Either she''s been trained by someone experienced or she''s just that talented.'' Even though she wanted to do a background check on Alice immediately, their business with the Underground has been¡­ Complicated for ack of a better term and using their services right now would prove to be difficult. "Caen, help me run a quick background check on her if you can. See where she came from and if she''s affiliated with anyone we may know of." Selen ordered as one of the Guards saluted before leaving the room. "Is she worrying you?" Erick asked, keeping his eyes on the fight. "Her talents are worrying me. Someone of this calibre shouldn''t be staying in a ce like this. Either she''s only begun to make a name for herself or someone sent her here." "Any clues on who that may be? Or just a hunch for now?" Hearing this question, Selen paused before shaking her head with a sigh. "Just a hunch for now. I''ll keep a close eye on her and see what she ns to do." "I''ll be counting on you for that." Erick chuckled as the fight resumed. ### Jumping out of the mes, Jyn revealed his first Resonance form. He now had long wild hair, a pair of draconic pupils and tattered clothing hiding the ck ted armour beneath. In his hands, he wielded the same strange de but this time, he paired it with a spear seemingly made from the mes he breathed from his mouth. Behind him, a serpentine wyrm coiled around him with hints of metal making up the core of its body. All of her senses warned her of danger as Alice halted her attack and focused on defence. Stabbing the greatsword into the ground, she activated both Tiamat and Allura''s Sigils simultaneously to create a vacuum wall that shredded anything that came into contact with it, allowing her to back off momentarily. However, Jyn wasn''t about to let her get away easily. Taking a deep breath, he spat out three ming bullets. Widening her eyes, Alice bent her body back to dodge the first, coated her fist with Tiamat''s power to destroy the second and shed down with her finger to get rid of the third. Cold sweat covered her back as she lost sight of Jyn who appeared behind her. *BANG!!! Thrusting his spear forward, he watched as Alice managed to dodge his strike even from this distance. While he may be impressed, he wasn''t going to go easy on her! The ground began to rumble as tens of ming spears erupted from the ground while Alice defended herself with corrosive energy, forming a swirling barrier that melted these spears. "Your Sigils are more potent than I had imagined. If you have a fourth or a fifth Sigil, I''ll give you time to reveal them now so that we can fight evenly." Jyn narrowed his eyes while Alice shrugged her shoulders. "Unfortunately, a little girl like me only has three Sigils." Aliceughed, picking up another greatsword next to her. Taking a deep breath, she gritted her teeth and twisted her body, throwing the de at him! Ducking down to avoid the projectile, he noticed that Alice had attached the power of Tiamat and Corrosion onto the de as it shattered into countless pieces above him. Quickly wrapping himself with his ming wyrm, he managed to avoid the brunt of the attack but the power of corrosion began to prate through his shield. Noticing Alice approaching while he was upied with the de, Jyn mmed his hand into the ground. *BANG!!! CRACK!!! A wave of jagged rocks pushed out with Jyn in the centre while mes burst through the cracks. All of the weapons that Alice had ced early were now being melted in these mes as her smile twitched. "Oi lizard! That''s not fair!" Sheined, grabbing another greatsword and scythe before she ran out of weapons. Once again, Jyn ignored her as he coated his ring de in mes and lunged towards Alice. His de began to spin, creating a ming disk that was gathering the mes he had conjured from the arena. Furrowing her brows, Alice jumped back and threw the scythe towards him. *CLANG!!! Parrying the scythe to the side, Jyn watched as Alice grabbed the greatsword with both her hands and entered a defensive stance. Absolute Zone! Compressing her focus to a small circle around her, Alice needed to block this onught in order to find an opportunity for a counterattack! Twisting his body, Jyn shed horizontally in an attempt to break Alice''s weapon but she was prepared. Now that she had condensed her Absolute Zone to a small circle around her and paired with Ca, every single movement he did was captured by her vision, allowing her to react ordingly. Jumping up, she adjusted her greatsword to redirect his attack into the ground. *BANG!!! Taking this moment, Alice spun her body around and gathered as much force as she could, swinging the greatsword down towards Jyn who was surprised she had the reaction to dodge his de. With Alice stepping on his arm right now, it was difficult for him to use his de and thus he decided to discard it for now. Pulling his arm back, he punched the face of Alice''s greatsword, shattering it into pieces but this didn''t stop her assault! Revealing a grin, Alice grabbed Jyn''s ring de! Mimicry! Recalling all of Jyn''s movements that he''s performed thus far, Alice twisted her body and embedded Tiamat''s power into the de before shing towards Jyn who jumped back with crimson wings unfurling on his back. Sliding across the ground, he looked up in surprise as he watched Alice twirl his de around as though she''d been used to using it for many years. "Yiya~ This is quite the weird weapon lizard. A bit annoying to control but it''s pretty fun." Aliceughed, spinning the de around her body before narrowing her eyes. Releasing a downward cleave, an invisible de shot out towards Jyn who created two ming spears and parried the attack. Deflecting the attack upwards, Jyn gritted his teeth and lunged towards Alice, wanting to get his weapon back. Designating her as the target with his finger, the ming wyrm jumped from his back and tried to drag Alice into the air but she simplyughed. Jumping to the side, Alice spun the ring de a few more times, releasing a multitude of shes that tore the wyrm apart, revealing the metal skeleton beneath the mes. While her attention was taken by the wyrm, Jyn appeared behind her before she noticed and reached for the de. Alice''s eyes darted back, she wasn''t able to pull the de away in time. The two of them were now locked in a tug of war for the weapon but Alice took the initiative to let go. Climbing up his arm with ease, she wrapped her leg around his neck, putting him into a leg lock while corrosive energy burst out from her body. Even with his defences, his armour began to melt. "ARG!!!" Letting out a shout, Jyn tried to pry Alice off from his back but she would create pockets of energy using Tiamat''s power to disrupt his stance, making it harder for him to exert power. Seeing this, the wyrm reignited and shot towards the duo. Since Jyn was unaffected by his own power, the only one in danger would be Alice! "Tch." Clicking her tongue, Alice kicked off Jyn''s back and created an orb of power using Tiamat''s Sigil. *BANG!!! Throwing the orb at the wrym, she watched as it transformed into a spiral of mes that obscured her vision. But despite this, her senses were warning her of danger! Jumping through the mes, Jyn''s de was mere moments away from colliding with her as Alice widened her eyes. What she needed now wasn''t a full body enhancement using Tiamat''s power. No, she needed the fastest way to counter this attack! Tiamat + Allura! Funnelling the power into her legs, she pivoted on her left foot and mmed her heel into the face of the de. *BANG!!! Stomping the de into the ground with her left foot, she followed up with a roundhouse kick into Jyn''s jaw as his vision flickered while a wave of dizziness assaulted his mind. Redirecting all of her energy into her arms, she mmed her palms into Jyn''s chest, shattering the armour from the impact! Before his mind could even register the pain, Jyn mmed into the wall of the arena and copsed on his knees. Taking rapid deep breaths, Alice blinked her eyes as she didn''t think Allura''s Sigil could be applied in this manner. The instant shes when paired with Tiamat''s Sigil, allowed her explosive short-term speed that surpassed even Ria''s top speed! To others, all they saw was Jyn jump from the spiral of mes before beingunched back into the wall. But those with more Sigils noticed that Alice had released three movements! A sweep to knock the de to the ground and use it as a foothold, a kick to disorientate Jyn''s vision and finally, a double palm strike with an orb of energy to the chest,unching him out of the arena. Watching all of this happen, Selen was silent as was all the other guards. Erick had an amused glint in his eyes while the two researchers couldn''t believe a three Sigil Hunter actually defeated a six Sigil Zenia Guard! Chapter 347: Zahak It took the referee a moment to announce the winner as he didn''t fully register what had happened. But once he did, the arena was filled with a mixture of joyousughs from those who bet on Alice, screams of anger from those who bet on Jyn and even those who imed the fight was rigged. However, Alice didn''t pay it any attention as she walked up to Jyn to make sure he was okay. Holding her hands behind her back, she leaned down and saw his eyelids twitch. "Yahoo~ Wakey wakey~" Alice called out as Jyn let out a groan. As he shifted his body, the armour on his body broke apart andnded on the ground with a deep thud. "Seems like I lost." Jyn muttered with a slight frown, sitting up and leaning against the wall to support himself. "Seems so." Alice chuckled with a nod. "I apologise for looking down on you. Seems like I couldn''t let go of my initial judgement and underestimated you even when I wasn''t trying to." Jyn let out a heartyugh as he wanted to stand up but the injuries sustained by thatst hit stopped him. He didn''t think Alice would''ve been able to react in such a manner, the time when his defence was at its lowest as well. "What did you even kill to get this kind of power?" Jyn asked curiously while Alice tapped her chin before smiling. "Secret." She replied, sticking her tongue out before offering her hand to help him up. epting her help, he got back onto his feet before looking down at the armour that was broken from this exchange. "I don''t have to pay for that right? I''m pretty broke." "I''ll cover for it myself, don''t worry." Jyn reassured. Stepping out of the arena, he made his way back to the VIP suite while drinking some healing blood to heal himself from the damage. Meanwhile, Alice took a moment for herself before meeting up with everyone again. After all, she had ced a bet on herself before the fight! ### Stepping into the VIP suite, Jyn kneeled towards Selen and Erick who watched the clean-up of the arena. "I''m sorry." Jyn apologised as there was nothing else he could say. There were so many ifs and whats, but the reality was that he lost. He dropped his guard because his opponent only had three Sigil. "Why didn''t you use everything you got from the beginning? I believe you had enough information to help you win in the first exchange." Selen asked with a neutral tone. Even though she had foreseen this to some extent, iting to pass was a different feeling entirely. She couldn''t help but wonder what if it was her down in the arena, what would''ve happened? "I¡­ Looked down on my opponent. I will follow squad rules and reflect upon this once we return to the Surface." Jyn looked down with a slight sigh. "Forget it. She''s an abnormality that none of us foresaw. Take this loss and improve yourself using the things you learned. But now that you lost, it seems like we''ll have to honour our agreement to her." Selen shook her head before turning to Erick who finished his wine and stood up. "I don''t see any issue with that. Make the necessary preparations for this trip after we talk with the principal. Give her a way to contact us and a way for us to contact her. Even if it wasn''t for her suggestion of helping out in the Inverted World, having someone of her calibre be our ally is beneficial for us." Erick chuckled. Just as he left the room, he saw Alice skipping towards their general direction while holding a bag of gold. "Oh! Are you leaving already?" Alice asked while blinking her eyes before storing her pouch away. "We have a meeting with someone rather important. Let''s visit the Inverted World another day." Erick smiled while Alice paused momentarily. Looking down, she kicked her leg with a sigh before nodding. "Fine. . . How long are you staying here?" "It''s undecided yet." ncing over to Selen, Erick gestured with his finger as she nodded and took out a badge. "You can use this to contact me and likewise, I can use this to contact you. I''ll let you know once we''re ready to enter the inverted World and I''ll hire you for your services." He exined, giving her the badge of the Zenia family. Taking it, Alice had to suppress her innate disgust and put it into her pouch before nodding with a ''happy'' smile. "It''s a promise okay? Don''t forget to contact me!" Not wanting to stay a moment longer, she jogged away while Erick simply chuckled, not knowing what kind of person Alice was. ### Leaving the arena, Alice made her way back to the academy. Once she was sure there were no eyes on her, she dismissed her disguise. ''Disgusting.'' She thought with a frown. Thankfully, it seems like there were no tracking Sigils attached to the crest otherwise she would''ve needed to stay in this disguise for much longer. ''You don''t say. Seeing you act sweet with them is giving me goosebumps.'' Alyss smirked while lying on her own bed. During the time that Alice was gaining the Zenia''s favour, she had Ca teach her the gimmick of making this spacefortable. ''I can''t exactly avoid it. If I want to do this properly, I need to find out what they''re here for, what they''ve done and if they''re scumbags like my father and brothers.'' Alice shook her head while giving her body a stretch. She needed a break before going to the underground or else she''d feel like throwing up. ### Looking at the group of people leaving her office, Rosalyn furrowed her brows and waited until they had left. Snapping her fingers, she sealed off the room before a crimson aura erupted from her body. "ARGGGG!!!!" Letting out a cry of anger, she threw the chair towards the wall as Kaden stepped out of the shadows and caught it. "Seems like you''re rather displeased about their suggestion." Kaden smirked while Rosalyn scratched her hair before sighing. "They''re a bunch of bandits that''s what they are. F*cking Zenia''s, always looking for ways to monopolise the sh*t in the Abyss. Just because of one incident, they think it''s alright to parade into MY academy and ask for ess to the Inverted World I''ve guarded all this time? They can on f*ck themselves if they think I''m going to ept this sh*t!" The principal raged as she couldn''t believe the audacity of these people from the Zenia. However, because of the influence they hold behind their name and the connections they''ve made, she couldn''t outright reject them either. She could only dy things for now by telling them to give her some time. Biting her nails, Rosalyn paced back and forth around her office while Kaden ced the chair down. He noticed the traces of Alice''s blood attached to their body, it was very faint but noticeable if you''re familiar with Alice''s power. ''Seems like the kid is trying to get some revenge early on.'' Kaden mused to herself as he knew she hated the Zenias with every fibre of her being. The fact that they''ve decided to show up now was rather good for her. Of course, if she was to kill them, it would only prove to be even more of a headache for Rosalyn. "I''d suggest you deal with them as soon as possible. Or even scrub your hands clean of them since they might be dead soon." Kaden advised as he closed one of this eyes and searched for Alice''s wear abouts. "Eh? What do you mean they might die soon? If they going to die, f*cking die elsewhere! Why does it have to be here???" Rosalyn blinked her eyes as colour drained from her face. If they truly died here, it wouldn''t end with just one visit from the Zenia family, it''ll be an entire headache for her! Especially since Erick was close to the main Zenia family! "I''m just giving you a warning. Regardless, it''s got nothing to do with me." Kadenughed, taking a step back into the shadows. "Wait! Sh*t don''t leave me with this headache!!!" Rosalyn cried out but Kaden had long left the room. Gritting her teeth, she let out another shout before throwing the table to the opposite side of the room. Not only does she need to find a way to settle things nicely with the Zenia family, but now there''s also a ticking timebomb of not knowing when they''re going to die! "I swear to the Gods if I get my hands on whoever''s trying to kill them." Rosalyn clenched her fist in anger. As long as they die away from the Academy, Rosalyn wouldn''t care. But if they die while discussing the Inverted World? She''ll be the prime suspect!!! "I can''t leave things like this!" Dismissing the seal, she stepped out of the room and called for a meeting with every department. They need to keep the Zenia group safe no matter what. ### *ACHOO!!! Rubbing her nose in annoyance, Alice finished the mead to wash out the spicy taste in her mouth. Since Alyss could only watch, Alice decided to apologize via spicy skewers. Now that both of them were satisfied, she made her way towards the docks once more. Looking around for the Underground sign, she found it to be rtively close to the arena and made her way down. Surprisingly, it seemed like they were expecting her as she was weed in without any hassle. Walking down the steps, she soon entered arge cavern beneath the surface as several ribcages supported the ceiling of this space. Situated in the middle of this cavity within the earth was an assortment of buildings but that wasn''t what caught her eye. What caught her attention was the tform detached from the buildings and suspended above a pit of crimson. A spider like creature withrge metal stakes pierced through its body was pinned against the tform. [Zahak ¨C Sealed Lord of Venom: ????????] An eight star Sealed Abyss Lord! Chapter 348: Silverwind Valley Underground Branch Manager [Hou¡­ Seems like theyers of the Abyss have shifted more than I remember if Zahak has been sealed here now.] Ca muttered to herself, surprising both Alice and Alyss. ''What do you mean?'' Alice asked curiously. She thought that all, if not most of the old Abyss Lords were sealed in Terminus. But going by what Ca said, it seems like there''s a chance that the Lords in Terminus had been moved closer to the surface! [Zahak was a rather¡­ formidable Abyss Lord whose ability worked simrly to Famine from certain perspectives. [During the war that resulted in the sealing of the Old Abyss Lords, Zahak was someone that neither Kaden nor Allura could take lightly. Even though he is the Lord of Venom, his methods of escape are more annoying than most. And every time he escaped, he would leave behind an uninhabitable zone that couldn''t be recovered. [It wasn''t untilter that the research department managed to find abination of Sigils that helped offset the effects to some extent which allowed thend to be recultivated, but it still took years to achieve.] Ca exined as she crossed her arms. [While he wasn''t sealed in Terminus, he wasn''t far off and was in fact ced in theyer just above it. Yet for him to be this close to the surface now¡­ I can only assume that Terminus may be filled with the worst of the worst while other residents have been pushed out.] Furrowing her brows, Alice understood that this meant Tiamat could possibly be residing within the middleyers now. While she may have a somewhat good rtionship with Tiamat in the Inverted World, they were nothing but strangers in reality. Hell, if she approached Tiamat, she''d be more surprised if she wasn''t killed on sight! ''Do you think¡­ we could possibly drink his blood?'' Alyss asked as Ca mused for a moment before shrugging. [I''m not sure how much power you can even extract from a sealed Lord but it wouldn''t hurt to try. The main obstacle is whether or not the Underground would let you attempt such a feat in the first ce. Plus, who is to say they don''t already know your real identity? Don''t underestimate the information gathering capabilities of this organization.] Ca warned as Alice nodded her head in agreement. Using a Sigil to hide her identity was a risky move as there could be Hunters that could see through this kind of disguise. But it was either this or using Abyss Blood and buying blood would be traced back to her easily. Maintaining her act of being a curious girl, Alice asked the escort questions about the sealed Abyss Lord but he didn''t reply at all. It was mostly just Alice talking to herself but she didn''t mind it. She just needed to reinforce this ''act''. The more Alice asked questions, the more annoyed the escort seemed as she could see the veins bulging on his neck but he refused to reply to her. Once they reached the bottom where someone else was waiting for them, he didn''t hesitate to give his job to someone else and practically ran away. "Boo~ what a bad sport. Didn''t even reply to my questions either, isn''t that rude?" Alice sighed, ncing towards the new guy. "He''s not a very talkative person Ms Grani, I''ll apologize in his stead. But please, follow me. The branch leader has been waiting for your arrival considering you''ve been saving money to buy information from us. You even made quite the name for yourself while you were at it too." Hearing this, Alice narrowed her eyes before resting her hands behind her head. "Well aren''t y''all quite the stalkers. I haven''t even been here for a day and you''re already keeping an eye on me. I''m gonna blush ya know?" "Haha, surely you jest. As someone who''s appeared out of nowhere, literally, and made such amotion, it''s hard not to keep an eye on such a variable. Am I wrong?" The escort chuckled before gesturing for her to follow him. "Which begs the question of how much you know." Alice smiled, following him through the assortment of buildings scattered through this cavern. Staying silent at her question, he simply did his job and led her towards the cliff edge facing the tform above the sea of crimson. Upon approaching the edge, obsidian rock protruded from the sea of crimson, forming a bridge towards the centre tform. ''Seems like they''re using the body of a sealed Lord to hide the entrance. Not very stealthy considering there are probably people wanting to check out the body in the first ce.'' Alice raised an eyebrow while Ca couldn''t help but agree. Perhaps they did this in order to make an impression on the people that approached this area. Regardless, it seems like the rest of the journey was meant for Alice alone as the escort waited by the door, not wanting to proceed. Shrugging her shoulders, Alice descended the stairs as she instinctively activated her Absolute Zone to ensure she wasn''t going to get surprise attacked. "You don''t have to be so on guard. We''re simply here to do a transaction, nothing more, nothing less." A voice interrupted her thoughts, causing her to frown. In this darkness, a single source of light existed above an altar where a woman could be seen. She pulled books out of the darkness and browsed through the contents before cing it back and pulling out a new book. Her serpentine eyes locked onto Alice, constricting her before gazing away. "So what brings you to my humble branch?" She asked, cing the book down on the altar and crossing her legs. She wore an elegant golden headpiece that chimed softly with each movement she made. Dark purple hair and piercing red eyes. She wore a ck cheongsam with golden decorations and red tassels. "For information like everyone else. But does every newer get to see the big boss of this ce? You must be quite the busy body." Alice chuckled, her eyes fully locked onto the Sigils above her head as cold sweat dripped down her back. A seven Sigil Abyss Lord!!! ''What the f*ck is a Lord doing as a branch manager for the Underground??? Aren''t Lords supposed to be top of the food chain!?'' Alice shouted in her mind. Her appearance may seemposed but her mind was in turmoil. Naturally, Ca was just as confused, wondering why a Lord would stoop to the level of branch manager. "Not everyone gets to meet me. I simply wish to observe those of interest with my very own eyes. Kale Grani, first appearance was 5 hours ago in this city. Seen just outside of Academy territory, wandering around for a short while before earning money and fame at the gambling arena. "Upon winning enough gold, you left only to ''coincidently'' bump into the Zenia delegation, causing a small conflict beforeing to an agreement of a fight. Should you win, you''ll ''guard'' them through the Inverted World. "Your showcase of your abilities are rather impressive and the power it holds far surpassed that of an average Sigil obtained early on by Hunters. With this kind of¡­ resume, wouldn''t anyone be interested? "So, I ask again, what brings you to my humble branch? Young Hunter." The branch manager asked again as Aliceposed herself. "Information on the Zenia''s. The ones I''m talking to in particr. As the branch manger of the Underground, I believe you should know the darkness of the Zenia family despite their social standing." Alice smiled happily, acting as though she didn''t know the branch manager is an Abyss Lord. "I do, but as you know, informationes at a price. For this piece of knowledge in particr, extra expensive." She grinned, rubbing her index and thumb together, the gesture for coin. "Do you not use the concept of packages? I figured the Underground does things through a systemic approach do you not?" ''Stingy b*tch!'' She shouted in her mind. "Of course we do. But only a few branches use the specific wording of¡­ Packages. And the only branch within travelling distance that uses those words is¡­ Eldoria Branch." The Branch Master revealed a sly grin, sending shivers down Alice''s back. Through their conversation, she was trying to figure out Alice''s identity! Taking a step back out of caution, Alice narrowed her eyes at the woman. "A small warning for the young and fearless. If you weren''t such an interesting figure that appeared out of nowhere, we wouldn''t have tolerated the act of hiding your identity and refused you entry. But there are always exceptions and some branches may not like it as much as I do." She waved her hand dismissively, throwing a book towards Alice. A quick nce was enough to tell her that these were all the passengers that arrived in Silverwind Valley via airship from the general direction of Eldoria. Meaning if given enough time, they could probably pinpoint her identity no matter how careful she was being. "I''ll take these words to heart." Alice forced a smile. "Good. Now that the warning is out of the way, let''s do business. The Zenia family isplicated and I''d rather not having anything to do with them. Not having to do business with them was the best piece of news I''ve gotten in a while yet here you are, wanting to dig out some dirt about them. But¡­ "I suggest you give it up." "Why?" Alice narrowed her eyes. Just when she looked like she was about to reveal the answer, she paused and grinned. "10 gold." ''Stingy b*tch!'' Alice shouted in her mind but threw over 10 gold. "So shiny and beautiful, the materialisation of the ''trust'' between two individuals. And in response for this ''trust'', allow me to continue. Going after the Zenia''s right now would ce you not only as their enemy but also the enemy of the Academy. "They are here as representatives of the family with the Academy guaranteeing their safety within their grounds. Target them and the Academy won''t stay still since it''s far more troublesome to have the Zenia''se to this ind. "But most importantly is what they n to ''recover'' from the Inverted World." Chapter 349: Michael And Melissas Research "But most importantly is what they n to ''recover'' from the Inverted World." The branch manager grinned as she snapped her finger. Behind her, a series of images showing the Zenia group leaving the academy could be seen as Alice furrowed her brows, realising she had eyes everywhere, watching every move. ''Though¡­ Seems like she can''t see inside the Academy. Is the principal holding her back?'' Alice couldn''t help but wonder to herself. "Now, I''m no fan of giving out unconfirmed information, as they are mere spections. Any knowledge based on unconfirmed information is prone to backfire and this is no exception. However, spection can be the first step to finding out the truth. "ording to my sources, it seems like the Zenia''s are trying to collect samples of Sealed Lords. Lords simr to the one we''re beneath right now. Since the stronger Lords are¡­ Hard to ess the deeper you go into the Abyss, they could attempt to im the remains from the Inverted World." She chuckled as Alice furrowed her brows. "They''re not strong enough." Even when sealed, the Lords aren''t something anyone could just approach. "Oh I know they''re not." The branch manager let out augh. "But they''re not the main force after all. While Abyss Lords are strong, moving around the Surface and Abyss is¡­ Complicated. If an Abyss Lord is seen moving into the territory of another Lord, it could be seen as a deration of hostility. Therefore, they can''t be moving around unless it''s been agreed upon beforehand. "Since the Zenia''s have only arrived with the core member, guards and two researchers, I don''t believe they''ve received permission to have a Lord act as an escort for them. However, that''s only what''s visible to the public eye. I''m sure they have a method to call a Lord to their assistance if things turn sour." Furrowing her brows, Alice began to wonder how many Lords the Zenia''s have. Since they are the most important family when ites to Abyss Blood, there''s no doubt that they hold a lot of sway over things. Not only could they cultivate their own Abyss Lords but Lords could even owe them favours for the blood. She was confident but fighting Lords was still a dangerous endeavour that Alice would rather not take unless she''s gotten six Sigils. "Anything else you can tell me?" Alice asked but the woman shook her head and opened her palm. "Tsk." Clicking her tongue, Alice gave her another 10 gold but she didn''t say anything and kept her palm open. "Stingy." Alice frowned. "Business is business." Receiving another 10 gold, bringing it up to 20 gold, the branch manager smiled happily before storing it away. "Both of the researchers they brought with them are rather¡­ Looked upon within the family. There have already been rumours saying that they''re geniuses in the making when ites to Abyss Blood. The man, Michael, is said to be doing research on Angel type Blood. A new type of blood that''s recently been discovered and is said to be a great defence against Abyss abilities. It''s still a rather new discovery so not much is known but they say he''s even modified his own body to adapt to this new blood. "Melissa, on the other hand, focuses her research on blood based rituals. Simr to that of the Eclipse but at the same time, different. She''s researching how to overwrite the changes brought upon the body by the Abyss, how the Sigils modify your form and so on. She theorises that with the right direction in research, it''s not impossible to make alterations to a Sigil even after it''s been grafted onto the body. "With these two prized researchersing to the Abyss with seemingly only a handful of guards, it seems quite impossible doesn''t it?" The branch manager smiled while Alice was silent. If this is true then it''s indeed strange for them to only have six Sigil Hunters acting as guards. But at the same time, she didn''t see any energy fluctuations in space signifying that someone was following them in the Void. ''Could it be that they have another method of calling for help?'' Alice frowned before ncing up. "Do you have more information on everyone the Zenias sent here?" Raising her eyebrow, the branch manager revealed a business smile. "Of course we do. What kind of information are you wanting? Scandalous ones, what they eat, when they sleep, which sock they put on first? I''m sure I can satisfy your desire for the right price." She rubbed her fingers. "Find some evidence to see if they''re scum or not. Researches with a price, what do they experiment on, how do they experiment and if they drag anyone innocent into it. Find me evidence to see if they''re ''human''." Alice narrowed her eyes. "Ohya? That''s quite the desire you have there. Sure, I can fulfil that. But the price of such knowledge is¡­ Expensive. The Zenia''s keep a tight lid on everything they do. If you were asking for information on the main family then I''d say it''s impossible since even the main branches of the Underground struggle with that. "But if it''s just these members that''s appeared today, it''s achievable." "How much?" Alice didn''t want to beat around the bush as this swindler in front of her wanted nothing but money. "1 tina." Hearing this, Alice''s smile twitched as she realised that she had fallen into her trap. That''s everything she''s earned today from her fights! 1 tina and 30 gold pieces! Her goal from the beginning was to take every single piece of Gold Alice had left. "Tsk, take it." Throwing her coin pouch at the branch manager, Alice wanted to avoid her as much as she could in the future. Talking to someone who has all the information they could gather on you was rather annoying and if she had appeared here as Alice Agnelia then it might''ve been even more troublesome. Which made her wonder if this woman could even guess she used to be the only daughter of the Zenia family head. The forgotten member that''s been locked away for 10 years. "Fufu~ Pleasure doing business my dear. Take this and I will let you know when I''ve obtained the information you desire." She smiled, giving Alice a golden coin, different to the coins in cirction as it had the mark of the Underground stamped on the face. "Manifestation of trust between two individuals huh?" Alice narrowed her gaze while epting the coin. "Indeed, the coin is my favourite thing in the world after all. With the right price, I''m willing to do anything." She shrugged her shoulder. "Is that so, regardless, I think we should call it even now. I''ve hidden my identity and you''ve tried to pry my privacy open. Let''s keep business as business, okay?" Raising her finger, Alice made a shing motion towards the coin, ovepping both Tiamat''s power and Allura''s sh. Flicking the coin into the air, Alice caught it before waving her hand and left the room while the branch manager narrowed her gaze at Alice''s departing back. She had attached an ''eye'' and tracker to that coin yet Alice was able to notice it and sever the connection. It only made her even more curious about this ''Kale Grani'' that appeared out of nowhere. Regardless, she''s beenmissioned and to assure her service was worth the price, she immediately got to work. What the branch manager didn''t notice was a pair of raven eyes observing her from the shadows before closing. Sitting on the roof of the building hiding the Underground, Kaden gave his body a stretch before leaning back. He had kept an eye on the meeting in case the branch manager tried to pull a fast one other Alice but it seemed like he didn''t need to worry in the first ce. "Kids grow up so fast these days." He muttered with a small yet proud smile on his face. She wasn''t as helpless as he had expected, a far cry from the Alice he saw in the Zenia prison. The Alice right now was full of life and the desire to take hold of her own fate. Sitting up, Kaden snapped his finger and created a Raven in his hands before allowing it to fly away. Since Alice was wanting to dig up some dirt on the Zenia''s, he''d give her a hand. He wasn''t sure how much the branch manager of this ce could find but having two Lords find information was better than just one. ### After leaving the Underground, Alice wanted to shed a silent tear for her poor coin purse. The money hasn''t even warmed her pocket before leaving. Even though she wanted to earn more money, she doubted the Arena would allow her back in considering she basically scammed them of their bets for an entire day. ''I need to get a weapon too¡­ Using Void Fang is too conspicuous, but any random weapon would just break if I try to use it.'' Alice sighed. It didn''t need to be an outstanding weapon, just something that could withstand her power for more than one exchange. [O'' master mine, why don''t you just use the Zenia''s money? They''ve agreed on taking you to the Inverted World have they not, why don''t thou put on an act once more and seduce them into buying you weapon?] Ca suggested, leaving Alice speechless. [What? The core member named Erick seemed to be rather fond of you was he not? Just make him pay for your weapon as you ''coincidently'' bump into each other through the markets.] While she may need to put on another act that gave her goosebumps, doing so to get a good weapon wasn''t bad. Plus, she was spending the Zenia''s money, the more expensive the better! ''Alright, let''s go getpensation for the tina I spent.'' Alice grinned as she immediately began to track down the Zenia group once more. Chapter 350: Sealing Foundations Walking around the marketce, Erick wanted to see what kind of wares the city of Silverwind sold considering a prestigious Academy and the Inverted World was here. But so far, from what he''s seeing, it wasckingpared to the central continent that was directly connected to the Abyss. "Everything here is made for exploring the Inverted World. There are even students who bring relics back to be sold. But as mere replications, theyck the durability and power of the real relic." Erick chuckled. Michael and Melissa nodded their heads in agreement. In the distance, they noticed a small figure stomping her feet against the floor in front of the smithy. "Big guy, what do you mean I can''t try out the weapon before I buy it?! What if it''s trashy like the rest of them?!" Kale shouted in anger while the owner of the smithy crossed his burly arms. "I''ve heard what you''ve done in the arenass! You''re definitely going to break my weapon if you try it." "Then you''re trying to sell me weak trash! I need a weapon that can actually handle my power ya know? A Hunter''s weapon is their lifeline and all that." Kale tried to persuade the owner but he was adamant in his decision. "Miss Grani, seems like we meet again." Erick called out with a smallugh as Kale froze up and revealed an awkward smile. "Are you having some difficulty finding a weapon?" He asked curiously as Kale sighed and nodded her head. "All of these weak sh*t weapon''s can''t handle my Sigil power. I bought a greatsword before but it couldn''t evenst one swing." Shemented while Erick recalled the fact that she had requested several weak weapons to be ced in the arena. "Selen, do we have any spare weapons that can handle her power?" He nced back at his personal guard. "Perhaps. But without directly letting her try it out, it''s hard to say." In the end, they gave Kale a spare greatsword they had prepared in case one of the guards lost their weapon. Holding the weapon in her hand, Alice was rather surprised by the weight. For its size, it weighed practically nothing! "Is¡­ Is this really going to withstand my power?" She asked dubiously. Something this light and ''flimsy'' felt like it would crumble beneath Tiamat''s power. "We shall see." Erickughed, gesturing for her to give it a try. Narrowing her gaze, Alice activated Tiamat''s Sigil as power began to flood the weapon. The metal in her hands trembled as cracks began to form, surprising Erick as his smile began to falter. He was confident that this weapon would''ve been fine considering it''s been made with a six Sigil Hunter in mind but it couldn''t handle Kale''s power! "Erm¡­ I don''t think I should continue¡­" "Let''s not explode a weapon in the middle of the market." Erick coughed awkwardly while Alice withdrew her power. Looking at the greatsword that was now cracked, she could see that it had lost its initial lustre and sheen. It is nothing but a broken hunk of metal in its current state. Scratching her hair, Alice handed back the weapon immediately. But just as Selen received the weapon, it crumbled apart. "Do I have to pay for that?" Alice asked while Erick shook his head with an awkward smile. He was rather confident in the weapons made for the Zenia''s but Alice''s power made him reevaluate the durability of such weaponry. "What did you even kill for a Sigil this powerful?" Erick asked curiously. Scratching her cheek, Kale hesitated for a moment. "A dragon. I just found a dragon that looked simr to my bounty and it was the right one all along." She shrugged yet her nonchnce caused Selen''s eye to twitch. The dragon family is filled with different variants of the beast from wyverns to hydras. But within that family, only the purest of the lineage and most powerful could truly im the moniker of dragon. These beasts could be said to be on par with Lords in terms of power! "I got pretty lucky though since it was basically on the verge of death. The scales were cracked, it even had hair sticking out from the gaps. So I can only assume it''s an old one." Kale shrugged while creating an orb of power using Tiamat''s Sigil. Seeing the orb above Kale''s hand, Selen was suspicious of the legitimacy behind this im but if it was a dragon''s power, I''d make sense why the sword couldn''t handle it. Clenching her fist, Alice dispelled the orb as she sighed. "Seems like you have quite the impressive range of Sigils Miss Grani. You mentioned that you were a three star Hunter right?" Erick asked as Alice nodded her head. "Then do you have ess to a Resonance?" Realising that Alice might not have been going all out during their fight, Jyn''s pupil shrunk trying to imagine what I''d be like if she used her Resonance. "Ah¡­ About that. I kind of¡­ Messed up with my choices so I don''t have a resonance ahaha." She scratched her hair. It wasn''t wrong considering the fact that she can''t use her resonance right now since she''s reced her Sigils. But a resonance between Sigils owned by Lord level beings would be quite the spectacle to see. Talking to Erick and co for a little longer, Alice decided to end it early and bid farewell to them as they couldn''t get her a weapon capable of withstanding Tiamat''s power. Making her way back to the Academy while making sure there were no eyes on her, Alice sighed while looking at the bracelet on her hand once her disguise was lifted. ''Seems like only Void Fang can hold my power.'' She sighed inwardly. ### Over the course of the next few days, Alice, Ria and Luke continued to take lessons from Kaden who ensured that each of them couldn''t move by the end of the training sessions. Luke focused on survival while Ria was distracted by thoughts which only served to annoy Kaden, thus making her training harder. As for Alice, Kaden had a different kind of training for her. One that worked on her risk taking nature and allowed her to n things out more thoroughly without over relying on Ca''s power. Standing in the middle, Alice took deep breaths to calm her mind. Kaden had ced a blindfold over her eyes made from his power of shadows, leaving her with just her ears and other senses. She was allowed to only use her de to parry attacks that he sent towards her. The whistling of a projectile rang in her ear. ''There!'' Turning her body, Alice shed towards it with her de but she had missed, allowing the orb of shadow to hit her in the chest. *BANG!!! Flinging her body back from the collision, Alice felt as though her body was shattered apart when a portal opened up beneath her and sent her back to the middle of the arena. Getting back up on her feet, she gritted her teeth and sharpened her senses once more. Now that Ca was ''sealed'' it reminded her of how much she''s been relying on her abilities to survive. "Taking risks is good but your risk taking is built on the foundation of the Eye and your body''s unnaturalposition that lets you ignore the side effects of blood. Lose the wings that allowed you to soar and learn how it feels to walk. Only then will you fully understand the gift you''ve been given." Kaden exined while sending more projectiles towards Alice. While her uracy and reaction may have improved over the course of this training period, she still failed in hitting the projectiles. When she tried to expand her Zone, the range was practically non existent as her Zone was constructed using Ca as a base. Frustration filled Alice''s mind as she tried different methods to urately hit the projectile but failed each time. Not only that, but Kaden didn''t allow her to use her other Sigil powers, leaving her with just her senses. At the end of the session, Alice''s body was filled with bruises as he handed her a vial of healing blood. "Do you think it''s impossible?" Kaden asked with a smirk, standing next to her while she sat on the floor. "A little. But you don''t give me impossible tasks do you?" Alice pouted while Kaden raised an eyebrow. "Nope. It''s definitely impossible for you right now." Hearing this, her smile twitched but she let him continue. "Since the beginning of your fights, you''ve been using the power given to you by Ca. It''s be the foundation of your entirety you could say. You take risks and you can react to when it goes south because of the kic vision. You are allowed sight into the flow of energy and activation time of powers. "But if someone is to realise that, and understand the meaning of you having Ca, they would immediately seek to destroy her. What will you do then if they were to remove the foundation of your fighting style?" He asked as Alice understood that the training was to put her in a situation where someone takes away Ca. If¡­ She had to confront the real Nyer who knew of Ca, this would be the situation she''ll be in. "Here is my task for you in order for you to improve to the next level. First, keep Ca closed. Second, do not use the weapon I gave you. Strip yourself bare of these powers that act as your foundation and try to survive. Even if you''re about to die, you should find a way out without relying on these two. "Once you can do that, I will then acknowledge the fact that you''ve be a proper Hunter." Kaden smiled as Alice clenched her fist. "Then can you let me take one more risk?" She asked, causing Kaden to raise his eyebrow. "Can you seal Ca and Void Fang?" Chapter 351: Rias Assignment "Can you seal Ca and Void Fang?" Alice asked seriously as Kaden stared at her in silence. A silence loomed over the two as he narrowed his gaze before curling his lips into a smile. "You know I''m not going to let you back out of this risk right, kid?" "I know." Alice nodded her head. This was her own determination as well. Her overreliance on a weapon that was too good for her level and the Ca who acted as the foundation of her strength. Without these two, her journey would''ve been cut short but at the same time, if she continues to rely on these two, she''ll never attain her true potential. "Ah but don''t seal her soul alright? I still want to talk to Ca when I can." Squatting in front of her, Kaden stared her in the eyes. "Do you still remember the words I said to you when I first found you?" The words he first said to her. Of course she does, how could she forget? The meeting allowed her to escape her old life as nothing but a resource for the Zenia family. "Do I wish to leave this hell and trade it for another right?" Alice chuckled as Kaden nodded his head. "The seal I''ll ce on your eye and the weapon won''t be a simple one. Either you seed in reinforcing your foundations or you die trying. So I''ll rephrase my question for you kid- Nah¡­ It''s not kid anymore. Alice, are you ready to enter hell?" Kaden smiled. Closing her eyes, Alice took a deep breath and nodded her head. Taking a few steps back, Kaden reached into the void in front of him. *BANG!!! A dark aura burst out from his body as he pulled out his personal relic! [Grimoire of Original Sin] Flinching slightly from summoning his relic, Kaden opened the book as his form began to shift. Looking at Alice in front of him, he snapped his fingers and a ritual circle began to form around Alice. Purple tendrils crafted from malevolent energy slithered up from the circle as it jabbed towards Alice''s eye. "Curse of Binding." At that moment, Alice could feel the connection between her and Ca faltering. Her vision began to distort as she was unable to keep her right eye open. Once it was forced close, Alice flinched in pain as the curse was akin to a hot knife, carving through her skin and digging deep into her eye. As for her connection to the Void Fang, it felt like a normal bracelet now, unable to be called upon with her blood. Letting out a strained groan, Alice blinked her left eye as she had to get used to the sensation of losing vision in her right eye. [A rather drastic choice O'' master mine. But I suppose if this choice helps you grown then I will respect it.] Ca smiled. She didn''t mind falling asleep for a little longer though she''d feel a little regretful. Yet Alice requested her soul to be set aside so they could still converse. This way, she could still observe her master''s growth. ''Sorry about that, I should''ve talked with you about it but I could only think about improving myself.'' Alice apologised while Ca shook her head with a smile. [No need to apologise. Ultimately, I am here to support your growth. Doing this simply makes my job easier for the uing period.] Ca chuckled. Taking deep breaths to calm her breathing, the pain soon subsided but Alice felt disorientated by the loss of her right Vision. However, what bothered her more was Kaden''s condition. His face was a little pale as he returned his grimoire to the Void. "This Curse willst for quite a while and even with my tampering, I can''t remove it anytime soon. That''s the kind of restriction I''ve put on it and it''ll be a test for you as well." "Good, it''s better that way." Alice nodded. Snapping her finger, she wanted to conjure a blood mirror like usual but noticed her control was a littlecking. [It''s natural. The Seal that Kaden used on me was one that isted all of my influence. Meaning any assistance I may have given you passively, whether that be seeing the flow of energy or controlling it, has disappeared.] ''That much huh? Seems like there''s more I need to learn than expected.'' Alice chuckled as she focused her mind and solidified the shape of the mirror. Seeing her own reflection, Alice could see a rather nasty looking scar across her eye. It was as though a de tore through her flesh and left behind an inky wound that stretched across her skin like a spider. "If you were going to seal it, couldn''t you make it look cuter?" Alice pouted, brushing her hair a little so that it covered the seal. "Should''ve made that request before I sealed her. Plus, do you even know how hard it is to seal away her power? I don''t have the kind of luxury to focus on making it look cute you brat." Kaden knocked Alice on the head in annoyance. "Get used to this vision andck of control for a few days. You''re still preupied with the Zenia''s right? The discussion regarding the Inverted World should be over soon and if you go in your current state, you''ll struggle." He warned. Blinking her eye in surprise at the fact that he knew, Alice scratched her cheek embarrassingly. But he was right. The more she interacted with them over the days, the more on guard she was against the guards. Especially Selen who was next to Erick. No matter how she wanted to imagine herself killing him out of the blue, she was positioned in a way that would always ensure his safety no matter how fast she was. Leaving Alice to get used to her new vision, Kaden made his way over to the other two under his care. Luke didn''t worry him a lot since he was reflecting on the advice and making considerable improvements to his own movement and instincts. Once again, the issue for him was Ria. Walking over to her who was sitting by the side and watching everything happen, Kaden sat down. "How does Alice do it¡­" Ria asked while clenching her fist. "How does she do what?" Kaden asked, leaning back and getting himself into afortable posture. Since he was going to deal with something annoying, he may as well get himselffortable. "I¡­ Don''t know how to put it into words. But she just keeps going forward without looking back." Ria bit her lips. She had seen Alice go from a one star Hunter who struggled against weak beasts to someone who could now defeat five and six star Hunters despite only having four Sigils. Yet here she was, struggling to make the improvements that Kaden expected of her. What was shecking? "She''s a monster you know? She''s the kind of talent you''ll struggle to find anywhere. To put it bluntly, she''s bat sh*t insane." Kaden shrugged. It was the truth. To endure what she had to endure in the Zenia family for ten whole years yet still retain her sense of self was insanity. During the time between finding Alice and now, he''s done his research on the Zenia experiments. There wasn''t much he could find as they''d been careful with their traces after hisst break in but for the things he did find, it disgusted him to the bottom of his soul. The experiments, how they documented it and how they saw Alice as nothing but a beast for the next test. Thisplete disregard for her as a living breathing being. To them, she was nothing but an object defined by her worth of tolerance to Abyss Blood. "But I''ll be honest, you don''t have to keep up. Her talent stems from her insanity to look death in the face and keep pushing on. The instinct for survival that''s been silently brewing beneath her fa?ade of giving up during her captivity has finally been allowed out. "Yet her talent is also her shackle. She needs to learn how to reel that eagerness in, how to control it and polish it. You could say that you two are two sides of the same coin. Your issue is a direct inverse of what Alice has." Kaden exined while Ria contemted his words. "A direct inverse¡­" "Talent and geniuses are fickle words. It can either make or break a person, tricking them into thinking they''re invincible. Alice has taken the initiative to seal away her sword and shield, to render herself bare to the howling storm and survive. "You also have the talent but your approach towards that is holding you back. I got an assignment for you and it''ll determine how you''ll proceed from now." Kaden sat up. It was a risky assignment, one that pushes Ria into the face of danger but without this, she''ll never truly get out of her slump. He had seen this in Hunters many times during his long years wandering the surface. ". . ." Staying silent, Ria looked down. She recalled the words she''s said to reassure her grandfather and a smile appeared on her face. "What do I need to do for this assignment?" Curling his lips into a smile, Kaden sat up and turned to Ria with seriousness. "Go back to the Eclipse. Whether you get captured, infiltrate or kill, I want you to face them head on and see the things they do without turning away. Remind yourself of the hell that you were pulled out from and crawl out of there yourself with your own two hands." Chapter 352: To Cut Down The Eclipse "Go back to the Eclipse. Whether you get captured, infiltrate or kill, I want you to face them head on and see the things they do without turning away. Remind yourself of the hell that you were pulled out from and crawl out of there yourself with your own two hands." Hearing this, Ria froze up as her pupils shrunk in shock. ''Go back¡­ to the Eclipse?'' Just the thought was enough to paralyze her body. To go back to the hell that Gin pulled her out from, to go back to bloody rituals that she was forced to partake in. Meanwhile, Luke who had overheard what Kaden said gritted his teeth and walked up to the man, grabbing him by the cor. "What the f*ck are you telling Ria to do?!" He shouted, ring at the man without caring about his status. "Get your hands off me, boy." Kaden narrowed his eyes. "Do you even know what Ria had to go through in that ce?! And you''re telling her to go back?!" Luke gritted his teeth. Before he could continue, Kaden grabbed Luke by the wrist and removed his hand from his cor. "So what if I knew, so what if I don''t? The reality of the situation is that if the kid wants to get stronger, she needs to face what''s holding her back. The Abyss isn''t a ce that anyone can just thrive in. Only the truly insane reach the top of the food chain here, boy. Do you think the people that survive here survive with clean tes?" Standing over Luke, Kaden''s figure towered over him as Luke was the first to avert his gaze. "Everyone that''s reached the top has killed scores of people, seen hell worse than you can imagine. The kid isn''t the first one who''s seen the hell of the Eclipse nor is she going to be thest. But if she wants to put a stop to it, she has to stop averting her gaze and running away from the problem. "To kill your enemy, you must first understand them. Study their movements and memorise their philosophy. Everything that dictates their movements and choices must be observed before you can truly secure a kill. The Eclipse runs far and wide, just killing a branch wouldn''t be enough." Kaden exined before pushing Luke back. "Oi kid! Tell me the goal that you set for yourself when you became a Hunter!" He shouted, ring at Ria who sat in silence clenching her fist. Gritting her teeth, she stood up and red back at Kaden, not averted her eyes. Even though she didn''t speak, Kaden could see the answer in her eyes. "There''s some life back in there. So what do you say, kid? Feeling up to the task?" Kaden grinned as Ria nodded her head. Looking down at her hands, she could see her body trembling from the thought but he was right. She''s spent every moment of her life after leaving the Eclipse running away, killing stragglers when she could. But just killing the rats not involved with the main operation of things won''t be enough. If she wanted to root them out properly, she needed to fully understand the organisation. "What do I do? Where do I start?" Ria asked as Kaden shrugged. "Don''t ask me, I''m still trying to figure out sh*t like that since the day- Nah never mind. If you want to ask anyone, ask Alice. She''s trying to root out something just as big ya know?" Kaden smiled. The more he researched the Zenia family, the more he understood the true size of this noble family. Rather, instead of a family, it''s more like an ''organization'' simr to the Eclipse. Everything they do revolves around the Abyss Blood. No one can deny the benefits they brought to the surface with the research yet one mustn''t look away from the mountains of corpses created in doing so. No research is done without sacrifice but the death count for the Zenias was¡­ abnormal. Even taking into ount of their experiments with Alice''s blood, the casualty rate was simply too high. There was something that neither he nor Alice knew about and if Alice wanted to root them out, she''d need to tackle this unknown variable. Nodding her head, Ria became reinvigorated as the doubts that had been covering her mind over thest few days were dispelled. Watching Ria run towards Alice who was stumbling around trying to get used to her new vision, Kaden sat down and gave Luke a sideways nce. Seeing this, Luke clicked his tongue and turned away, annoyed. "Why do you avert your gaze boy? Is it because I''m an Abyss Lord? I won''t kill you over this." Kaden smirked while Luke was silent. "Everyone has their circumstances. But the Abyss isn''t a ce where you can let that circumstance tie you down otherwise you won''t survive. Maybe you don''t see it the way she does since you''ve already resolved a part of your problem." Kaden chuckled. ncing down, Luke recalled back to the time when the Eclipse kidnaped both him and Ria. The ritual that she partook in, he too was a victim of it. But at some point during that ritual, he started to take the initiative. To push himself to the advantage. Their screams as he wed away at them, their faces of horror as he ripped life from their lungs. He could remember everything but it never bothered him. He simply had to do it to survive. But Ria wasn''t the same. During that ritual, he saw her fear. The tears that rolled down her cheeks each time she was forced to do something she hated. And even though he might be an enemy in the next moment, she still tried to help him. "Ria doesn''t belong to this kind of bloody world." Luke muttered. "Nah, that''s where you''re wrong. With that kind of perspective, you''re looking down on the girl. Who are you to decide where she belongs?" Kaden patted his head as he gestured for Luke to sit next to him. Following his instructions, Luke sat down and looked at Ria who was talking to Alice. "She''s stronger than you think. Even though she''s suited for ranged fighting, she''s still going into close quartersbat. I can only imagine what she thinks every time blood stters on her." Kaden sighed. "I''m familiar with how the Eclipse work. Their doctrine and philosophies. Have you ever thought about what she sees every time she draws blood?" Pausing for a moment, Luke watched Ria''s every movement. Her smile, her seriousness. But not once did he think about what she saw when she fights. Gritting his teeth, he pped himself with both his hands. "I''m pathetic." Luke muttered. Subconsciously, he''s been building a cage around Ria. Seeing her as someone who he needed to protect. But Ria never requested that of him. "The first step into bing a man is to recognise your own shorings. Not bad boy, you bounced back faster than I thought." Kadenughed, patting him on the back. "So what do you think you should do now?" He asked, wanting to hear Luke''s response. "Not sure. I haven''t thought about it much really." Luke nced up at the sky but Kaden shook his head. "That''s not it. Think harder, I can see a reason in those eyes of yours. The basis of all your actions." Unsure as to what Kaden meant, Luke tilted his head while Kaden let out a helplessugh. "I suppose you''re just a boy at the end of the day. Work hard chess boy, someday you''ll understand. But the you right now is already better than what you were moments ago." Kaden patted his head with a grin, seeing a slight shadow of himself in thed. "But still, I hope you three will stop giving me annoying jobs to do. Taking care of y''all is such a tiring ordeal." Kaden waved his hand while creating a portal beneath his feet. Sinking into the portal, he disappeared, leaving Luke behind in the seats. "What a strange man." He scratched his cheek. One moment he''s harsh, another he''s gentle. Sometimes an asshole and cruel b*stard during training, other times he''s giving them eye-opening lectures. Truly, Luke couldn''t get a grasp on what Kaden was thinking. "A basis of my actions huh? I wonder what that is." Luke muttered, standing up and making his way to Ria and Alice. ### "How I n on rooting out the Zenia''s huh? Hmm¡­ Well, I haven''t really thought about it ahaha~" Alice scratched her hair while sitting on the ground. "Ehhh what do you mean? I thought that was your goal no?" Ria blinked her eyes. "I''m not strong enough yet. Even if I''m given the chance to go after the main family, I''ll be pretty helpless at the end of the day." Alice smiled. She knew that trying to fully root out the Zenia''s was a difficult task. A testament to their influence over the world. Even now, there were signs of their presence in the corners of her eyes when she wanders the markets. Merchants who sell their wares, families who depend on their medicine. "But if I had to go about it¡­ Probably go for their pirs of support? What keeps the family afloat and so on. Wealth, research, reputation stuff like that." Alice shrugged while Ria began taking notes. "I see. . . But how would you copse the Eclipse? Their reputation is already pretty dog sh*t since everyone hates them. But there are still people following their teachings." Ria sighed. Tapping her chin, Alice recalled everything she knew about the Eclipse. How they fought during the battle of three Gods and how they reacted to Enris, their God. Their devotion and belief in her. If Ria truly wants to cut down the Eclipse then there''s only one real way to do so. "You just gotta kill Enris, the God of the Eclipse." Chapter 353: Red Thorn Arachne "You just gotta kill Enris, the God of the Eclipse." Alice shrugged her shoulders nonchntly while Ria''s smile twitched. "You what now?" "You just gotta kill Enris. If you kill her, the Eclipse should copse rather quickly since the ones near the top have a pretty unshakable belief in her. There''s the Apostle of Famine and War, not sure if they''re still alive and kicking but they probably are. "The Eclipse is a cult built entirely on Enris'' whims. What interests her at the moment. She''d even go as far as to cancel all of her previous ns if the situation is chaotic enough." Alice exined as she recalled her experience with Enris. Their rtionship was¡­ strange to say the least. One moment she was interested and another they were tearing at each other''s throats. Truly a strange God. "No, that''s not what I mean. What I want to ask is that you''re telling me to kill¡­ A God??? Can they even be killed?" Ria asked while Luke paused mid-step, wondering what the hell did he just walk into. "The three Gods of the surface aren''t invincible ya know? I''m not entirely sure of their functionality but from what I''ve seen, they can indeed be killed. Or at least brought close to death." Alice nced down. She could remember Nyer utilizing a strange method to cause Enris to receive a bacsh strong enough to stop her from fighting. And with Velouria''s fate as proof, Gods can indeed be killed. "But it''s God you''re talking about. Beings above Lords who can kill us with a single sneeze and above Apostles who can kill Lords easily." Luke raised an eyebrow while sitting next to Ria. "Yea but you''ve been talking to one this entire time though." Alice rested her chin on her hand as Ria nodded her head before pausing as well. "Who?" Both of them asked as Alice rolled her eyes and pulled out a feather. "Kaden. He''s an Apostle for¡­ A fallen God that I met in the Inverted World." Alice exined as she began to exin the history of Ayr and Velouria. She didn''t go into too much detail but enough for them to understand the strength of the person who''s been training them. The longer Luke listened, the paler his face became as he just grabbed the cor of an Apostle of all people. "But yeah, you just gotta get strong enough to kill Enris and the Eclipse cult should copse in on itself. Without the head, the rest can be dealt with easily even if it is a bit difficult. It''ll be much easier and less effort than carving away at it from the countless branches." Alice smiled while focusing her mind on making a couple of blood daggers. The formation and durability of these weapons were poor but when mixed with some metal to help stabilise its form, it was sufficient. Now that she no longer had the passive buff of Ca to help with her control, it just proved how difficult it was to be an effective caster. Leaning back, Ria dwelled on Alice''s words as she began to furrow her brows. "Arg!!! It''s simple when you phrase it like that but how do I even get strong enough to kill a God. I''m not a God after all." Ria scratched her hair. "I dunno, it''s something for us to find out isn''t it?" Aliceughed, throwing the daggers into the air and juggling them to the best of her abilities. Her depth perception was very poor with just one eye and she failed to catch the daggers. But it was a start as she slowly began to adapt to the vision. *Sigh~ "You''re not wrong. Something for us to figure out huh? One''s trying to kill a God and the other is trying to topple the biggest noble family working with Abyss Blood on the surface." Ria sighed. "Don''t forget trying to revive Ayr while I''m at it." "That too. What about you Luke? Do you have any grand goals to work towards?" Ria asked curiously as she sat up, looking towards him with expectant eyes. "A goal huh? Hmm¡­" Rubbing his chin, Luke tried to think of one but nothing came to mind. "I''ll probably y it by ear and see what happens." "Boo~ That''s boring. What about your Abyssal Engineering? You''re talented at that, do you not have any grand goals for your talents?" Ria did a thumbs down as Luke chopped down on her head with his hand. "No goals here. Even with the things I make, it''s mostly misceneous stuff and gimmicks for people fighting in close quartersbat. Honestly, I don''t even get the big inventors in the first ce. Why should I invent stuff for the whole poption to use? It''ll be pretty ironic if I die when someone kills me with my own invention." Luke scoffed as he''d rather make stuff for Ria than other people. "Exactly! You get it don''t you!" Alice pped her hands with a wide grin on her face. The same went for her, why should her blood be used for the masses? It didn''t make sense for her. Reaching into her pouch, she revealed a devious smile and pulled out some mead and skewers. ''Oh sh*t let me out! I''ve been starving for those.'' Alyss shouted as she wiped away her drool. ''Don''t worry I will.'' Alice reassured as the party resumed between the three of them. Ria partied, feeling happy that the confusion in her mind was cleared. Alice partied, feeling happy that Luke understood what she felt. Luke was dragged along in confusion. ### Clutching her head after the party, Alice could feel the dizziness take over and having just one eye didn''t make things any better. There were quite a few things she needed to deal with. The Zenias, The Underground, Academy department transfer and even the Principal. She wanted to ask her about her rtionship with Allura but Alice wasn''t able to find a chance to speak to her. Though considering the incident, her schedule has been rather free since the Academy was trying to get things rolling again once the repairs were made. But as always, her main goal was still the Zenias. Since her vision was now impaired, her ''performance'' as Kale was going to be affected. In order to reduce the impact of having one eye, Alice needed to fight. A lot. It is through constant fighting could she truly get used to this view and there were two options. A, she goes back to the arena. B, she takes somemissions. Takingmissions as Kale was difficult since she didn''t have an ID nor did she have a Guild License. But it wasn''t impossible, she just needed a fake ID and the best one to do that would be the Underground for the right price. Alice wanted to limit her dealings with the Underground if possible and the consequences of faking a Guild ID were unknown to her. She doesn''t know if they have a method of tracking her down or not and she wasn''t willing to risk it at this moment. Naturally, this meant going back to the Arena. With how much she''s been relying on the Arena, Alice couldn''t help but feel as though she''s bing more like Ria but as it stands, it''s more for convenience than actual gambling. Upon making herself a new identity using the Mirror Jester Sigil, Alice tried to sign up for the Arena once more but her hopes were shattered. After her little stun as Kale and causing quite a big loss for the Arena in terms of earnings, they were restricting who could sign up to participate. The limitations basically made it impossible for Alice to sign up as she had to give up on n B and fall back on n A, guild requests. But just as she thought of this, she gave herself a huge facepalm. She''s been so preupied with tricking Zenias and the Underground that she forgot she could just take the Guild requests as herself. It''s not like people aren''t going to see her new ''cute'' seal that Kaden ced on her. Finding a chance to dispel the disguise, Alice made her way to the guild as a few students who were wandering the city noticed her eye. Since Alice had always been seen with an abnormal right eye, seeing her having it closed was rather eye catching. Ignoring the curious gazes, Alice made her way inside the guild and looked at the currently avable requests. Once again, most of the easy ones were getting stolen by Vultures while the hard ones were left untouched. ''Right now I have a three Star licence. If I want to take the four star quests I''ll need to do another rank up with an examiner. I should probably get a three star hunt and then arrange a rank up for when Ie back.'' Alice mused to herself as in the end, she picked a rather simple Huntmission just outside of the city. It''ll take her a short journey via sea but she could get it done in around two days since most of it was spent travelling. There were other Hunts that was closer to the city but this one in particr, took her interest. [Hunt a Red Thorn Arachne] A Red Thorn Arachne has been terrorising the Cradles Orphanage. It''s been appearing in the vicinity and kills anyone who approaches it while creating a territory around the home. The reward of the Hunt wasn''t anything to be impressed with but ording to Ca, Red Thorn Arachne''s aren''t known to create a territory like this and that this was too conspicuous for the Arachne. With this in mind, Alice recalled the Blood Moon Maiden that she killed and seeing as how this was another abnormal beast, she wanted to check it out and see what was going on. It was wishful thinking but if it was indeed a byproduct of the Eclipse then there was a rare chance that it might give her a Sigil simr to her second Sigil. Upon epting themission, Alice made her way down to the docks and took a boat to Verten, a small town to the west of Silverwind Valley where the Cradles Orphanage was located. Chapter 354: Verten The ride to Verten was rather uneventful as Alice simply spent the time sleeping on the boat. Once she arrived, she could see that the town was rather deserted for a coastal town with only a few ships surrounding the docks. The people that live here seem dispirited, lumbering around like lifeless zombies. Furrowing her brows, Alice hopped off the boat and wandered around the ce. No matter who she talked to, all of their responses werecklustre and they didn''t find anything wrong with it. Meanwhile, the people who sailed into this town were just as confused as Alice but they went about their day, thinking this was probably just how it''s always been. In the end, Alice decided to sit atop the tallest building for now. During the time she spent around asking for some information, she managed to get the directions to Cradle Orphanage but the person who told her warned her about the dangers. "They say the Orphanage is cursed right now and it''s not because of the beast guarding it." Aside from this, they refused to borate and made sure to hurry away before Alice could ask them more questions. ''What do you think?'' Alice frowned while Alyss scratched her hair. [Just from surface nces, it doesn''t seem like they''re under any Sigil abilities. All of them just seem tired to me.] Ca shook her head. Of course, if she could still ess her power, it would make it a bit easier but with the seal in ce, she can forget about that. ''Regardless, our goal is the Arachne right? Let''s deal with that and leave. This ce is giving me the shivers.'' Alyss frowned, surprising Alice as there wasn''t much that Alyss would be cautious about. But if she''s being on guard towards this area then Alice shouldplete this hunt as soon as possible. Her main goal was to adapt to her new vision andck of control, going out of her way to cause trouble was beyond what she wanted to do. The town could be described in three sections. The docks leading to Silverwind valley, the centre where most of the shops, stalls and so on were ced and finally the outer edges. The Cradle Orphanage was situated just outside of the outer edge, a little further out from the town and there was only a single path leading towards the building. Buying herself amp to help with her eyesight, Alice stabbed it to her waist while making her way out of the town. The soft glow of a blue me flickered, its light illuminating the path out of the town as Alice repeated a small experiment with her third Sigil to practice her control. She would make a line of blood that wrapped around her fingers and have it slither through the gaps. The goal of this exercise was to control the line of blood to make sure the blood was evenly distributed while hovering above her skin at the slightest elevation. Once it''s done fiveps around the fingers on her right hand, she would conjure a line of blood on the left and repeat. If she could still use Ca, this would be a walk in the park but right now, these lines of blood left a trail on her finger as she wasn''t able to ensure the consistency nor could she hover it just above her skin. Rather than a hovering line of blood, it was more a blood worm wiggling across her fingers. Letting out a helpless sigh, Alice continued this exercise all while trying to maintain a basic zone around her perimeter, warning her of any external dangers that might be lurking just outside of her sight. After a while, she began to spot threads that were barely visible to the eye. Had it not been for themp, she would''ve walked straight into it. [Red Thorn Arachnes don''t use threads as their primary weapon but more so as a tool for alerting them. There have been cases in the past where it''s been used as triggers for traps so be careful if you''re trying to get rid of them.] Ca warned as Alice took her warning to heart. Leaning down to avoid the thread, Alice began to navigate her way through this field of threads and soon, a building came into view. A gentle fog rolled around the building as Alice narrowed her eyes. The Orphanage featured arge prominent clock tower with broken hands and moss that grew on the surface, showcasing the passage of time. Arched windows devoid of light, broken stonework revealing gaps in the building and pointed spires with broken tips. Tall trees draped with thin thread acted as a veil that blocked the entrance of the building. Surprisingly, the threads began to glow from the moonlight, covering the orphanage in a ghostly visage as Alice extinguished the me in hermp and stored it in her pouch for now. ''Four healing vials and a berserk vial. Should be more than enough even if things go south.'' Alice thought to herself, creating a sword that mimicked the shape of Void Fang using her third Sigil. A blood de using metal as its core. Just as she took a step towards the building, Alice felt her entire body break out in cold sweat as though a thousand eyes had just locked onto her being. In that split second where she felt the chill, a speeding object breached her Zone! ''ALICE DUCK!!!'' Alyss shouted in a panic. Without even thinking about why she needed to duck, Alice rxed her legs, allowing her body to fall limp as her reflection could be seen against the silver de of a scythe like limb. *BANG!!! Even though the initial strike missed, the explosion of it colliding against the ground was enough to throw Alice tumbling away as she managed to catch sight of her prey. Arge spider like beast with a woman''s torso. She was taller than the average human, even above Allura as her face was partially obscured by chitinous ws that protruded from the side. A pair of glowing red eyes with no pupils, white hair that fluttered loosely behind her. She wore a wide grin revealing a row of sharp jagged teeth. However, this is where her human features begin to fade away. The upper half of her body was a chimeric blend of flesh and chitin stitched against her body and stretched her skin. Cracks revealing a pulsing red energy flooded out from her body while synthetic tubes hung from her back, looking as though it''s been pulled apart forcefully. The Arachne''s blood dripped from these tubes and onto her spider like lower half. While one may assume that the girl''s upper body would be cut off and attached to the body of a spider, Alice could see signs of what used to be legs blended into the armoured tes. Twisted and bent the wrong way. Her overall figure, a grotesque amalgamation of twisted human flesh, limbs and arachnoid parts, merging into a single being that bore a faint resemnce to a Red Thorn Arachne. The spider like limbs are spread out in unnatural ways, a mutation. Each limb, gnarled and cracked, ending in sharp wed appendages that clutched against the dirt. One look was all Alice needed to understand the truth of this creature as she gritted her teeth. This was not the sign of the Eclipse. No, their methods would not result in such a haphazard amalgamation. Jumping back, Alice focused her mind as her second Sigil lit up. Void Flux! Firing the orb of energy towards the beast, Alice watched as its figure stabbed one of its legs into the ground. *BANG!!! A single red thorn erupted from the ground, piercing the Void Flux and forcing it to detonate early while Alice rushed towards the beast. In an instant, golden chains manifested around her body as Alyss took over, ducking a leg sweep before shing up with the de. *CRACK!!! "Tsk! Hard!" Alyss clicked her tongue in annoyance. The shell protecting the beast was far tougher than what she had expected as her de cracked apart in her hands. Taking over in one swift motion, Alice created a blood mirror and flung her body away since she wasn''t able to set out correct coordinates for an instant teleportation. Rolling across the dirt, Alice could see the beast studying her movement, observing her actions and learning how she fought. Her gleaming eyes narrowed while the smile only stretched wider. ''Do you want me to take the lead in this twinnie or should I leave it to you?'' Alyss frowned. ''Leave it to me. I''ll make the switches when we need since I don''t think I can survive that well up close right now.'' Alice nodded as she dashed towards the beast. There was a light in her gaze that Ca was surprised to see, a light that only appeared when Alice was talking about a certain family. Weaving through an onught of red thorns despite some grazing her skin, Alice created a dagger and threw it above the beast''s head. Since she couldn''t urately set the coordinates for her teleport, she''ll use a dagger as a marker! Switching ces with her dagger using the blood mirror, Alice swapped roles with Alyss as she created two des. *CRACK!!! shing down with both des, she clicked her tongue once more as the des couldn''t prate the skin but she wasn''t done. Doing a backflip, she created a bow as violet mes gathered into a single arrow. Aiming towards the tubes sticking out of the beast''s back, Alyss fired the arrow! *BANG!!! Watching the spire of violet mes roar out in this darkness, Alyss grinned as she handed back the controls. No matter what they do, they had to take care of this beast and find the source. After all, this was a product of the Zenia''s! A beast caused by forced side effects! Chapter 355: Fighting The Arachne From within this torrent of mes, red thorns pierced out once more as Alice tried to parry it to the side only for the thorn to stab into her arm. "Tsk!" Clicking her tongue, Alice shes the thorn using her sword before jumping back. She could feel it pulsing within her flesh as the Arachne nced towards her and flicked her finger. *CRACK!!! Widening her eyes, Alice nced down and saw the thorn piercing out of her arm and growing at a rapid pace. Without any hesitation, she conjured a de and stabbed it into her shoulder before cutting off her arm. Activating her second Sigil, red spider lilies blossomed from her flesh as bones began to reconstruct itself followed by tendons, veins, flesh then skin. Clenching her fist, Alice ducked under another strike as red thorns threatened to pierce her eye. Leaning her head to the side, the thorn scratched her cheek as she gathered her energy and fired a Void Flux at point nk. *BANG!!! Crashing against the Arachne''s chest, Alice watched as she stumbled back a few steps but was mostly unharmed. ''How tough is this b*tch?!'' She cursed inwardly while creating a blood de. Taking a deep breath, she released a horizontal sh. Void Flux ¨C Cleave! *KRRR!!!! Colliding against the Arachne''s scythe like leg, the sh struggled to maintain form before dispersing in a firework of sparks. Seeing this, Alice''s smile twitched as she felt a chill down her back and rolled to the side. *BANG!!! A pir of thorns erupted where she stood as she immediately got to her feet and circled around the beast. Thorns continuously stabbed up from the ground as she couldn''t afford to get hit in a bad spot. After all, doing so means the thorns would explode from the wound! Even with her regeneration, there was a limit to how much damage she could take before she straight up dies and Alice wasn''t willing to f*ck around and find out. Jumping into the air, she narrowed her gaze and threw two daggers towards the beast. Both were knocked aside as she created a blood mirror behind her. Seeing this pattern before, she swung towards the daggers only for Alice to grin. What was teleported wasn''t herself but rather two condensed orbs of Void Flux! *BANG!!! Watching the beast engulfed in an explosion of violet mes, Alice felt excited for a moment before that feeling was quenched by disbelief. Even with her violet mes that burned against the flesh of beasts and used it as fuel, the Arachne walked through the mes as though it was nothing. mestched onto its flesh yet it showed no reaction and soon, pieces of her body began to fall off, taking the mes with them. ''She''s regenerating all the wounds caused by the mes.'' Alyss frowned, seeing how potent the regeneration was. ''Ya don''t say.'' She was forcefully expelling pieces of her flesh and letting it take the fire with them. Making it very difficult for her mes to hinder this healing. Narrowing her gaze, Alice wondered if using her first Resonance would help solve the issue. Dispelling her de, she gathered energy into her finger before firing a st at the beast''s head. Swatting it to the side, the beast expected Alice to follow up the attack when she noticed Alice running away at top speed. ''Wait we''re just running?!''Alyss widened her eyes as Ca let out augh. ''Of course I am. Take a step back so I can take 2 steps forward. I need to figure out a way to get past that defence and regeneration otherwise how the hell am I supposed to kill this b*tch?'' Alice rolled her eyes, jumping over a log while creating a small bundle of mes to hover around her. These mes helped illuminate the threads as she navigated back to the main road. Thankfully, it didn''t seem like the Arachne was following her as Alice sighed out in relief. But her relief was short lived as she noticed a single thread attached to her clothing. "You''ve got to be shitting me¡­" Alice muttered as she was suddenly tugged with an overwhelming force that sent her into the air. Gritting her teeth from dislocating her shoulder, Alice nced down and saw the Arachne holding the thread with a menacing grin. ''F*ck it, we''re killing this b*tch here and now! Ca anything I need to be careful of?'' Alice shouted out in her mind as she created a de coated with violet mes and shed the thread apart. [Watch out for her berserk state. All of her attacks will shoot out with increased intensity but her defences SHOULD drop. Don''t count on it though since it''s an abnormal Arachne with a surprisingly high toughness. Once the berserk ends, she''ll be back to normal.] Ca warned as Alice nodded her head. Closing her eye, she opened it to reveal the pattern of a Red Spider Lily! First Resonance! Her form shifted as she swiped with her hand, creating a cascade of red spider lilies that rained down on upon the beast. The roots of the flower dug into the gaps of the beast as it recognised the danger and tried to pull the flowers out but Alice intervened. Landing in front of the beast, she created a dagger and stabbed towards the abdomen. *BANG!!! Blocking it with its limbs, the Arachne growled at Alice who stuck out her tongue before jumping back, exploding the dagger into blood mist. Snapping her finger, red spider lilies began to blossom from the mist. Little by little, cracks began to form across the beast''s body. From these cracks, red spider lilies took root and began to blossom! "You inhaled the mist didn''t you~" Alice grinned as she created another sword in her hand. Realising the implications, the beast wanted to purge the mist but it was toote. From its back, flowers began to blossom as Alice rushed into its range. Taking over, Alyss released several swipes against the back of the legs, making shallow cuts that allowed more lilies to take root before swapping back to Alice. Creating a blood mirror, Alice used it as a shield to block the Arachne''s strike, creating a gateway away from her. Wanting to forcefully close the gateway, Alice clicked her tongue as the corners of the portal stopped around the legs, unable to sever it cleanly. Jumping back, she expelled the leg from the gateway before dismissing the mirror then created a Void Flux above her finger in one movement. It was the variant that she had used in the training room while she was practising with Kaden, one that focused on pration power! *BANG!!! Firing the Void Flux into the abdominal area of the spider half, Alice watched as the spiralling strike shed against the hard exterior, digging away at the chitinous armour but soon lost its momentum. Creating a portal behind her, Alice leaned back and teleported away to safety as the beast tried to crush her with its weight. ''Seems like we can only go for the limbs. The shell is too hard for us to bypass.'' Alice furrowed her brows, creating two daggers and letting Alyss take over. Revealing a wide grin, Alyss let out augh as she dashed towards the beast who was recovering from the earlier attack. Seeing Alice rush towards it, it released a scream before thorns erupted around it in a frenzy. Weaving through the forest of thorns, Alyss stabbed the dagger into the back of the leg before using it as a foothold to jump up. Creating a hook, she jammed it inside the beast''s mouth before throwing her body over the shoulder and forcing the head back. Creating a wire thread using blood and metal, Alyss wrapped it around the hook before switching with Alice who snapped her finger. From the wire, red spider lilies began to blossom as the beast widened her eyes, biting the hook in half to prevent it from reaching her body. But in doing so, Alice achieved her goal. *CRACK!!! From her neck, briar roots tore through the flesh as it intertwined with the beast''s flesh. No matter how it tried to discard her flesh, the roots would take hold. Now that she was in her Resonance form, Alice was d that her control over her abilities had recovered to a certain extent, allowing her to achieve feats that would be in her standard form. Narrowing her gaze, Alice knew this wasn''t enough thus she prepared the next strike. A standard blood weapon wouldn''t be able to withstand her full power in a sh. Therefore, Alice decided to draw blood directly from her body to create the weapon. A de that held the full power of her blood. Creating a cut on her palm, Alice rushed towards the beast while blood swirled into a single orb before extending into a guardless de and handle. Executioner''s de! Twisting her body, Alice released a horizontal sh aimed towards the limbs as the space began to copse in on itself from the vacuum caused by the sh. Copsing under her own weight, the beast nced down in shock as all of its legs were separated from the body! Turning towards Alice, it wanted to release a final desperate attack but it was already toote. *BANG!!! A single violent downwards cleave at full speed cracked through the Arachne''s corbone, digging into her flesh and tearing her upper body in half. Flickers of violet me and red spider lilies began to grow from the wound, taking root and preventing the flesh from joining together. Rolling onto the ground, the beast coughed up a mouthful of blood as she crawled away from Alice desperately with one arm. Unintelligible mutters could be heard as she dug her fingers against the dirt, reaching towards the orphanage. Looking down with pity in her eyes, Alice took a deep breath before releasing one more sh, ending the life of the mutated Arachne who reached towards the building with her final breath. Chapter 356: Zenia Experiments Staring at the disintegrating pieces of the Arachne''s body that were being consumed by her violet mes and spider lilies, Alice felt a bit of pity for the girl. If it wasn''t for the resilient nature of her own body, this might''ve been her fate as well. Living and dying as a tool of the Zenia family. But thinking up to this stage, Alice began to wonder what a product of the Zenia''s was doing this far out. The only candidates in mind were Erick and his group but she had no evidence to back it up. For now, she simply made her way to the orphanage to see what the Arachne was trying to protect. Brushing aside the threads, Alice furrowed her brows upon seeing the crest belonging to the Church of the Moon. Pushing open the orphanage doors, dust trembled from the wooden frame as moonlight filtered through the gaps, revealing rows upon rows of broken seats and a fractured altar. There were no signs of anyone being here as Alice wandered the halls. Every room she visited was empty yet it had shown signs of people living here in the past. Belongings such as toys, books and so on were strewn about haphazardly. ''This is too¡­ ''clean.'''' Alice frowned as Alyss agreed. ''If there are no signs of being living here recently, then why is the beast guarding this ce? Or do you think it used to live here?'' ''Maybe¡­'' Crouching down, Alice activated her third Sigil as blood began to swirl around her. Stretching it out as much as possible, she had the blood mist envelope every inch of this orphanage, marking down every nook and cranny while a small model of the interior manifested in front of her. Turning and flipping the model, Alice wanted to see if there was anything she had missed when her mist discovered a gap beneath the orphanage. A secret passage leading far below the surface beyond the reach of her mist. Dispelling her third Sigil, Alice made her way to where the entrance was discovered and it was right below the alter. There were small signs of movement that she only noticed once she knew there was a passage but without this knowledge, she would''ve overlooked this mark. *BANG!!! Punching down with her fist covered by a swirl of blood, Alice was surprised at how sturdy the floor was. Furrowing her brows, she created a Void Flux and forcefully punched a hole down into the unknown. None of them were talking right now as all three simply wanted to see the end of this path. What the orphanage was hiding and possibly what the Arachne was ''guarding''. Pulling out thentern from her pouch, Alice lit the candle before hanging it on her waist. Keeping her right hand on the wall to stabilize herself, she made her way down the staircase. ### Pausing momentarily, Selen furrowed her brows and pulled out a talisman that had cracked in half. "Sir, one of the nearby research stations has been broken into." She reported as Erick frowned. "Tsk¡­ troublesome. Pick two that you think are suitable for the task and get rid of the mongrels that breached the station immediately. Make sure you clean it up properly as well." Erick ordered as Selen nodded her head. There was aplicated light in her eyes but it soon faded away as she carried out his order. Meanwhile, Michael and Melissa overheard this and frowned. "Do you need us to check out the situation?" Michael asked curiously. As researchers, this task ultimately falls to them. "No need. Since it''s been breached, I can only assume the people left to guard it were killed. Going there would only cause unnecessary trouble for the Guards. Just focus on what we need to do here." Erick shook his head. The family sent him here to ''negotiate'' ess into the Inverted World but if there was trouble at a nearby station then he may as well sort that out while he''s here. There''s been cases like this in the past but they were quelled rather quickly since they killed the intruder before the news could get out. This time was going to be no different. ### After walking for what Alice assumed to be 15 minutes, she began to see the bottom of the stairs. However, the faint hums of equipment brought back bad memories of her time in the Zenia prison. Clenching her fist, she held back her anger continued down. But as she reached the bottom, she was stunned beyond belief. In therge open space filled with countless expensive equipment, corpses belonging to the researchers were strewn out. Their innards were pulled from their body, their limbs twisted in abnormal directions and their bodies pierced by crimson thorns. Their eyes gouged out with parts of their skin yed and peeled. Yet this wasn''t what shocked her. Aside from the researchers, there were casualties among those with a familiar cor around their neck. While it was broken now, Alice could vividly remember the pain and torment it brought her. Subconsciously, her hand rubbed against her neck. Among the casualties, many of which were lying down on the operating tables. Pregnant woman who had their stomachs torn open by countless hands from the inside. Malformed foetuses that were a mix between child and beast. Their faces were warped in pain and tears in theirst moments. Many of the foetuses held a resemnce to the Arachne they saw on the outside as their mutated bodies meant the death of their own mother. Neither Alice nor Alyss were surprised as they were familiar with the methods of the Zenia family but Ca was speechless. Her eyes watched with horror as she couldn''t believe humans were capable of such cruelty. Against their own race no less! Holding back her anger, Alice looked around for some research documenting what had happened here but most of the notes had been soaked in blood. What little she could glean from the pages documented the process of applying side effects while the child was still in the womb. When injecting blood into a human, adult or child, their body would show some signs of rejection, forming defects with little to no practical use. Side effects that hindered their movements and so on. However, if they were to modify the blood to a certain extent via experimentation and then apply it directly to the foetuses in regr doses while it matured, they could observe the growth and ensure a perfect specimen for observation. A merge between human and beast. There was little sess but by taking the blood samples of those failures and impregnating the mother once more, it suppressed the side effect of the beast enough for more doses of Abyss Blood that didn''t directly kill the child. Through this method, they were able to produce better results such as beasts with harder defences, more lethality and even features from other beasts merged into one. A lot of the details between the initial experiments and the final experiment were obscured but seeing the state of the mothers with their stomachs torn open from the inside, Alice could already guess what had urred. [Vile creatures! They don''t deserve to be called human! O'' master mine, tell me what I can do to help you rend these cursed parasites from the face of this realm! How dare they insult the love that Velouria had shown them in the past!] Ca raged. ''Don''t worry, I know. They all deserve to die though it seems the Arachne outside had already taken care of that for us.'' Alice nodded. The Arachne that she had faced was never given a name by her mother. But she was the final product achieved by these Zenia researchers. Their pride and joy. ''How ironic. Their best masterpiece became their downfall. And likewise, I''ll be the de that cuts down the Zenia family.'' Alice smiled. Taking this research and storing it in her pouch, she looked for more evidence of their cruelty. While the Zenias may hold sway over public opinion, with enough evidence and regr exposure, she could turn the public perception of this family in due time. Once she had gathered everything she could find, Alice condensed all of her energy into a single spark. Narrowing her gaze, she fired the spark towards the centre of theb before diving into a blood mirror to teleport herself back to the surface. After killing the Arachne, Alice left a marker to act as an anchor point for her teleport. Landing roughly on the grass, Alice nced back and watched as a pir of mes tore through the ground, creating a spire of pure destruction, consuming the entire orphanage. Giving a silent prayer to the victims of the experiment, Alice turned and prepared to make her way back when her body froze up. "What the hell happened here." A voice rang out as Alice nced back and saw two figures dropping from the sky. One hadrge draconic wings on her back while the other Alice was familiar with. Both were part of the Zenia guard department! Jyn whom she had fought before. During their fight, he had held back due to it being a spar and the second, a woman called Rita. She was mostly silent, rarely giving her input yet her eyes had always been observing her when she was acting as Kale. If both of them where here then it means¡­ ''Sh*t!'' Cursing in her mind, Alice immediately raised her guard as Jyn''s de tore into her flesh, crushing her bones with its sheer weight as her body was sent back, mming against the tree. "F*cking hell¡­ I didn''t think a rat would actually sneak in." Jyn cracked his neck as he hoisted his ring de onto his shoulder while Rita was silent. She nced at the scattering of energy from Alice''s Void Flux and frowned. "Clean up. Then we go back." She ordered as Jyn grinned. "You don''t have to tell me twice." Jynughed, approaching the motionless Alice who slumped over in the remains of a broken tree. Chapter 357: Dragon Slayer Mausoleum ''Ah¡­ How long has it been¡­'' Alice thought to herself, unable to muster any strength in her body. She could see the blurred figure of Jyn approaching her while both Alyss and Ca shouted in her ears but she couldn''t hear them properly. Their shouts simply acted as noise as Alice felt a wave of drowsiness wash over her. As if she could just close her eyes and let go of everything. ### "Papa!" A familiar voice sounded out as Alice slowly opened her eyes. She noticed a familiar hallway, familiar butlers and maids. A familiarndscape and a familiar figure in front of her with a soft smile. "Alice." He called out gently as a young Alice ran into his arms with a happy smile. "Did you listen to Mama''s instructions today?" He asked, patting her head while lifting her up with his arms. "Mnm! I did! I left my picture with Mama, let me show you." Young Alice revealed a wide smile while the patriarch of the Zenia family showed the same warmth back. A sincere smile. Alice watched in disgust. She red at her father, the patriarch and the one who ordered her torture. To think he could show this kind of face disgusted Alice as she wanted nothing but to sever his head here and now. To think the very same man who ordered such a cruel fate to his daughter would be able to show this kind of smile. Her vision flickered once more as she was shown a scene after her birthday. The haggard sight of her father approaching her hesitantly as she sat in her own room, ying with her toys. ". . . A-Alice." Her father called out as young Alice turned around happily. "Papa!" She cried out, running towards him but this time, he didn''t open his arms. He simply allowed her to hug his leg while staring at her with conflicted emotions in his eyes. "Do you remember Mama?" He asked, clenching his fist as young Alice tilted her head. "Mama? Of course I remember Mama. She gave me something super tasty for my birthday right? Mnm¡­ I wish Mama would give me that food more often." Young Alice revealed a smile as her father trembled at the reply. "Alright. I''ll tell Mama, you y with yourself for now okay?" He forced a smile, leaving her in the room before locking the door. Slumping against the wall, he covered his face with his hands before taking deep breaths topose himself. Revealing a set of hostile eyes behind those fingers, he opened his mouth. "Begin the experiments. I don''t care anymore, just get as much value from her as you can." He ordered while Alice stood face to face with him, observing the expression on her father''s face. Within the fatigue in his eyes burned the mes of hatred as Alice simply stared at him. ### "Ya know¡­ I''m d." Approaching Alice''s body, Jyn froze up upon hearing her voice. He was sure hended a rather heavy blow against her during the surprise attack. One that would''ve killed most Hunters, but she was able to talk? "I''d d that you Zenia''s is the same. That you''re irredeemable trash. If it had been otherwise, I might''ve hesitated a little. But now that I know you''re not uninvolved¡­" Alice trailed off as she pulled herself from the rubble and limped to her feet. Blood dripped from her head, covering a part of her vision and rolling down the side of her cheek. She understood that Alyss and Ca were talking into her ear right now but she couldn''t understand their words. Rather, it felt as though she was subconsciously filtering them out. Her only focus was the man in front of her! "!!!" Taking a step back and raising his de in front of him, Jyn began to sweat as for a moment, he felt as though he was standing in front of something truly abnormal. Every cell within his body screamed at him to run while her re rooted him in ce. Even though he should have the upper hand, even though she was injured with her body desperately trying its best to piece itself together, Jyn didn''t think he could win. ''Me? Think that I can''t win? Bullsh*t!'' Without hesitation, he activated his first Resonance but Alice was already prepared as she''s seen this many times by now. Red spider lilies blossomed by her blood as she rushed towards Jyn who was surprised that she was taking the initiative. Just as he was about to parry her haphazard strike, he noticed the insane glimmer in her eyes as she twisted her body and threw her left arm at him! She forcefully tore off the piece of her that was struggling to regenerate and threw it towards him as a weapon. Smacking the arm aside with the face of his de, he nced up in shock as Alice had already regenerated her wounds. In her hand, she held a single blood dagger and stabbed towards his eyes. *BANG!!! Releasing a torrent of mes around him to ward her off, Jyn''sposure was shattered when he noticed blood threads connecting to his armour. From the mes, Alice crawled out while spider lilies and violet mes flickered across her body, fighting against the torrent of fire released by Jyn. Revealing a maniacal grin, mes began to gather between them. "Sh*t!" Cursing out loud, Jyn separated the thread connected to him and wanted to jump away but Alice had already detonated the Void Flux, causing a spiral of violet mes to erupt into the sky, startling Rita as she paused her work. Furrowing her brows, she could see both Jyn and Alice being swept up by the mes. Just when she thought it was going to be okay, a blood mirror appeared in front of Jyn''s eyes as Alice reached through and gouged them out! ting two Void Flux''s into his skull through the eye sockets, Alice grinned and leaned back. *BANG!!! The upper half of Jyn''s head exploded as pieces of it rained down from above, covered by ayer of lilies and mes. Widening her eyes, Rita didn''t think Jyn would be done in so quickly as Alice revealed her body that was burnt and charred in the me. Yet by manually removing parts of her body that were damaged like the Arachne, she began to regenerate. "One down~ One to go." Alice grinned, grabbing Jyn''s body by the cor and lifting it in front of her. Opening her mouth, she bit down on his neck!!! Temporary six Sigils! "Ah~ That''s the sh*t. Come on! You''re next!" Alice let out augh, rushing towards Rita who activated her first Resonance and revealed a set of draconic features much like Jyn. However,pared to him, her speed was far greater! "Where the hell do you think you''re going?" Alice''s voice rang out as she created a blood mirror and jammed her hand inside. Confused by this, Rita was about to counter when she mmed against Alice''s hand choking her heck. Without hesitation, Alice threw it into the ground before plunging down from above. From the mist, arge wing spear pierced out, stabbing Alice in the abdominal area before tossing her away. Rolling across the ground while spreading her blood everywhere, Alice stood up and healed the wound within moments. Looking at Rita who red at her from the dust, Alice revealed a grin and prepared a second attack. However, now that she knew escaping was going to be difficult, Rita decided to go on the offensive. Her speed didn''t apply just to her movement but also to her attacks! Feeling a chill down her spine, Alice wanted to duck down when another spear pierced her through. Before it could try to tear her head off, Alice gritted her teeth and punched the side of the spear, gathering Tiamat''s power as her fifth Sigil, Alice broke the spear in half and pulled it out, healing the wound on her neck. However, Rita''s onught didn''t end there as more spears shot towards her. Creating a de from metal and blood, Alice tried her best to expand her Zone but the edge was unstable. Parrying two spears, the third jabbed into her shoulder while the fourth severed her right arm. The fifth pinned her foot against the ground and finally, the sixth was inches away from piercing her in the centre of the face when she barely managed to tilt her head to the side, letting it take her ear rather than her entire head. Taking several deep breaths, Alice could feel the flesh on her body twist and pulse, stitching itself back together but it was already slower than what it was originally and Rita didn''t fail to catch that either. Without wasting any more words on Alice, she fired off spears while activating her sixth Sigil. Each of the spears that she had fired began to tremble as Alice felt a chill in her heart. *BANG!!! Trusting this chill, Alice teleported herself away just in time to see the spears around her burst in a manner simr to how her spider lilies took root inside the Arachne''s body. If she allowed that to hit her, her regeneration would be hindered. "That teleportation ability. You rely on it too much. I just need to see the mirror to know where you are." Rita''s voice rang out behind Alice. Turning back just in time, Alice watched as she sped her hands together. Second Resonance ¨C Dragon yer Mausoleum! At that moment, Alice found herself surrounded by countless tombs with an assortment of weapons stabbed in front of each tombstone. But the tombstones weren''t the only things here. Large stone statues simr to the statues she saw in the Hall of Champions. Hung down from the ceiling was a chandelier housing 12 flickering mes. One for each statue. Unable to sense where Rita was, Alice wanted to use her blood to map out the area when two weapons lit up the moment she activated her Sigil. Jumping out from the ground, the weapons stabbed towards their respective statue and it began to move! Furrowing her brows, Alice noticed her control of blood had been reduced to the bare minimum as the statues began to run towards her. A hypothesis began to form as Alice widened her eye, and decided to take a gamble. Activating her third Sigil, metal began to form. Once again, two weapons lit up, flying to their owners and Alice''s control was reduced to the bare minimum. She was right. Every time she used a Sigil power, the statues that awaken will act as a limiter! Chapter 358: The Last Dragon Slayer Taking a step back, Alice began to sweat as she tried her best to parry the attacks sent by the statues. Each sh and stab of their weapon would send her tumbling back. What''s more, was that they were able to use her powers to some extent! The first two statues would enhance their attacks using the same blood power that Alice had manifested while the second tried to limit her movements using metal cages. Now that she was facing opponents who were using her powers, Alice couldn''t help but click her tongue in anger! ''I can''t use any of my other abilities without the risk of them being ''stolen'' too. There are other statues who are dormant for now and Rita is nowhere to be seen.'' Alice narrowed her eyes, creating a blood shield to parry the sword strike to the side. However, her shield wasn''t able to hold up as the de tore off a chunk of her arm. Jumping back, the flesh began to pulse and heal itself as Alice decided to run towards the statues in hopes of using them as cover. But before she could, a spear shot out from the darkness, forcing her to bend her body back just in time to avoid a fatal blow. Going into a handstand, Alice twisted her body and kicked the spear away while Rita disappeared back into the darkness. ''Annoying b*tch!'' Alice thought to herself while she rolled to the side, avoiding the statue''s attack. Most of the second Resonances that she''s seen thus far had all been personal realms that bolster the individual power. However, for Rita, her realm was one that siphoned her opponent''s strength into these statues. Narrowing her gaze at the statues, Alice decided that she had to deal with them first if she wanted to survive. And if that didn''t work then her final option would be to forcefully expel herself using her fourth Sigil. But doing so was risky. After all, if she''s not fast enough, her strongest Sigil in terms of survivability would be stolen from her! ''ALICE!!!'' Flinching at the shout, Alice nced at Alyss in a mix of surprise and confusion. ''F*cking hell you''ve finally calmed down enough to hear me.'' Alyss clicked her tongue in annoyance. This gap in concentration was enough for the statues to rush towards her but Alyss stole control from Alice and dodged the strike. ''I''m still fighting!'' Alice frowned but Alyss ignored her. Furrowing her brows, Alice wanted to say something when Ca grabbed her arm. [O'' master mine, this is how Alyss had felt when you ignored all of our shouts earlier. We wanted to tell you information regarding these statues but you didn''t listen.] Ca shook her head as Alice paused. She knew that they were trying to say something but as they said, she kept ignoring it. Seeing as how Alyss was holding her own against these statues despite them stealing their power, Alice nodded her head and turned to Ca. [The Dragon yer statues aren''t something unique to Rita as she''s based it on the remanent of an old n that used to fight dragons on a daily basis within the Abyss. After the fall of Ayr, the civilians belonging to the city split apart and formed ns, viges and cities by themselves. [One of the oldest of which focused on holding back dragons and thus creating the Dragon yer Statues. Statues that could siphon the power of dragons from the beasts and use it against them. But even with them stealing the power, they couldn''t hold up against the strength granted to them by the bloodline awakening that was gifted to all dragons from Tiamat.] Ca exined as Alyss gritted her teeth and activated her Partial Bloodline Awakening. *BANG!!! mming her fist against the statue''s weapon, she was forced back but managed to hold her own, even if it was brief. [However, if you manage to damage them, the power will begin leaking back to you.] Ca smiled as Alyss mmed her hand against the ground. mes roared out around her as more statues awakened to siphon the ability but Alyss began to grin. Since her mes are considered a countermeasure against the Abyss, if they don''t have a body that can handle these mes, they can dream on if they wanted it! *CRACK!!! The newly awakened statues began to crack apart as mes burst out from their chest. "That''s what I''m f*cking talking about!!!" Alyss let out augh as power returned to her. Cracking her neck, she coated her hand with the me as she flickered in front of the statue. Pulling her arm back, she created a Void Flux behind her but it was less skillfulpared to Alice. But that was fine since she achieved her goal! *BANG!!! mming her fist into the statue''s head, she detonated a spark at the contact point, destroying the head in one go as the newly awoken statue slumped onto its knee. Looking at the five statues that were beginning to surround her, Alyss cracked her knuckle while Rita watched from the shadow in shock. ''She''s actually able to destroy these statues with her power?! What Sigil even is that???'' Sweat dripped from her head but it wasn''t over yet. There was still a chance at victory even if she was to destroy all of these statues! Meanwhile, now that Alyss could use her mes, she began to fight back. The main thing was to unlock her mes fully by destroying the fifth statue but the other four were blocking her way with a mix of blood and metal. "Annoying!" Converging the mes between her palms, Alyss mmed her hand down, releasing a pulse of purple mes thattched onto the statues but struggled to damage them. Unlike the sixth statue that died from having her power burst out from the inside, the fifth statue was trying its best to hold onto this power. ''Let me take over now, I know what to do.'' Alice smiled as Alyss clicked her tongue. ''Fine, but if we''re talking to you don''t ignore it next time.'' She pouted as Alice apologised with a smile. Giving control back to Alice, the chains faded away as Alice revealed a confident smile. Closing her eye, she began to dodge the strikes while gathering power. Upon opening her eye, the pattern of the spider lily could be seen. First Resonance! The pattern of the red spider lily appeared on her face stretching down her body as her outfit transformed as well. Two more weapons hummed in an attempt to siphon her ability but before they could even reach the statue, they cracked apart to reveal the roots of the spider lily spreading through the stone! Seeing the weapons beginning to blossom while she maintained full control over her first resonance, Alice smiled and created a de with blood and metal. While the weapon was of low quality due to the statues still being undamaged, she reinforced its structure with the briar thorns of her spider lily. Breathing out heavily, she focused her gaze and twisted her body. Void Flux ¨C Cleave! Much like how the statues focused on siphoning abilities, this variant of the Void Flux harnessed the properties of her spider lilies and siphoned the durability/lifeforce of the target! The phantom sh phased through the statues without leaving a single mark. But where a mark should be left lilies began to bloom. Raising her hand towards the statues, Alice snapped her finger. *BANG!!! CRACK!!! Bursting out with violet mes, the lilies forcefully pulled the statues apart as all of them crumbled in front of her. Feeling her power return to her body, Alice massaged her shoulder with a smile on her face while Rita could only tremble at this sight. To her, this was an impossible situation. A Sigil so potent that her statues broke upon trying to absorb it and then subsequently, she was able to destroy all of the statues at once with that same power? "Impossible!" Letting out a shout, Rita stabbed towards Alice from the darkness as she had lost herposure upon seeing this demonstration of power. "Gotcha." Alice grinned, ducking under the strike as she grabbed Rita''s arm and mmed her into the ground. Coughing out a mouthful of blood from the impact, Rita fired another spear at Alice who dodged at thest moment before sending a punch towards Rita''s face, breaking her nose. Gnashing her teeth in anger, Rita unleashed a circle of spears around her, ignoring the damage done to her own body as Alice was forced to jump away from the sheer volume of spears. Pulling herself back onto her feet while blood poured from her wounds, Rita red at Alice before pulling out a vial from her pouch and poured the contents into her mouth. Swallowing the blood, purple veins bulged around her body as the statues began to tremble. Shattering into dust, the dust began to converge around Rita as it formed ayer of stone around her. Breaking out of the stone, Rita revealed her new form. Second Resonance Stage Two ¨C The Last Dragon yer. ck obsidian armour surrounded Rita''s body as she wore a helmet with a set of draconic horns and crimson scars that resembled the eyes. Spiked ting covered her entire body, leaving nothing exposed while draconic wings unfurled behind her along with a spiked tail that mmed against the ground. In her hand, she held a single spear that sent a chill down Alice''s spine while Ca furrowed her brows. [I¡­ Have no information about this form nor can I search for information now that I''m sealed. My apologies o''master mine.] ''Don''t worry about it.'' Alice reassured as she took a deep breath and created a de in her hand. Taking an offensive stance against Rita, she prepared for the worst. Chapter 359: To Fight And To Struggle Expanding her zone to the limit of her reach, the edge was still unstable but usable. Compared to before, the furthest she could reasonably control was the tip of her de, an area of influence where she could still react. Standing still, Rita raised her spear slowly before bursting into action. ''The right!'' Taking a step to the left and twisting her body, Alice covered her blind spot as she was able to see Rita approaching with her spear at thest second. *CLANG!!! Parrying the spear briefly with her sword, she watched as the sword broke in half from the impact and quickly created another sword in her left. Void Flux ¨C Cleave! A haphazard strike aimed to force Rita back and create some distance between them but she read the bluff. Batting her wing at the strike, it shattered upon contact as Rita jumped into the air and raised her spear. *RUMBLE!!! A torrent of red lightning and mes rained down from above as it began to fuse with her spear. Releasing a horizontal swipe, a wave of pure destruction rushed towards Alice as she made a cut along both of her arms and sshed blood towards the wave. Forming a wide horizontal mirror, the attack was redirected behind her as Alice wouldn''t missed the timing had she used her third Sigil. Panting from the sudden loss in blood, Alice tried to retract the blood when Rita rushed towards her blind spot and stabbed up with her spear. "ARGG!!!" Letting out a shout of pain, Alice felt the spear stabbing into her rib. The convergence of lightning and fire tore through her flesh as the smell of her own body being cooked assaulted her nose. Before the destruction could reach the rest of her body, Alice took the initiative to twist her body, breaking off a rib and causing a nasty cut along the side of her body. Holding the wound to stop her organs from spilling out, Alice reached for a healing vial. Without any time to open the lid and drink, she directly bit through the ss, ignoring the shards that stabbed against her gums and tongue. Spitting out the shards of bloodied ss, Alice could feel her wounds healing as she began to retreat while creating a fan of blood daggers. Throwing it towards Rita who tried to enter Alice''s blind spot once more, Alice grinned as each of the daggers began to blossom. Stopping her charge, Rita raised her spear and stabbed it into the ground. *BANG!!! Before the briar thorns could reach her, spears shot out from the ground, creating a graveyard of spears that burned the flowers to cinders as embers fluttered through the air. ''F*ck! What the hell is that lightning and fire?!'' Alice shouted in her mind as she didn''t think it had the power to destroy her spider lilies so easily. [No information, unknown variable.] Ca kept it short. None of what Rita had demonstrated has ever been recorded in the Abyss that she knew of! ''Another Zenia experiment?'' Alyss suggested with a frown. ''Likely.'' Alice frowned while creating a de in hand. Clenching her fist, her veins bulged around her hand and forearm. Gathering all of her power into the de, she let out a sharp breath as blood converged into a mirror in front of her. Mimicry ¨C Executioner''s de! Tearing through the space in front of her, the de entered the mirror and appeared in front of Rita. But before it could collide with Rita''s parry, the de began to tremble before scattering into particles of energy. "Tsk!" Clicking her tongue, Alice gritted her teeth in annoyance as the Executioner''s de was too annoying to activate without the help of Ca. The movement of energy needed to be so precise in order to achieve the level of power and spatial maniption and it was on a level she couldn''t even approach at this moment. Creating a wall of briar thorns around her to buy her time for recovery, Alice wanted to find some cover when a draconic head burst out from the ground and clenched its jaw, colliding against the walls of the thorn cage. Realising that she had made a mistake out of desperation, Alice created a mirror to escape this predicament. *BANG!!! Watching the jaw crush the cage in an Armageddon of mes and lightning, Alice could feel sweat dripping down her back while Rita appeared above her. Pulling her arm back, her limb transformed to mimic that of a dragon''s as she shed towards Alice with her w. *KRKK!!!! Blocking the w with her arm, Alice could feel the jagged nails tear through her flesh and bones as though it was butter before digging into her thigh. ring at Rita who suddenly cracked open her mask to reveal the mutated innards of a dragon mixed with signs that used to be Rita''s body, Alice widened her eyes as rm bells rang out in her mind. In a split second, energy gravitated towards Rita''s mouth as a golden orb formed between her jaws. *BANG!!! Alice tried to use her blood to create a blood mirror in front of her but it was barely able to form before a torrent of energy collided with the surface. Half of it was teleported away while the other half shredded apart Alice''s right side. Gritting her teeth, Alice traded ces with Alyss as their Resonance began to shift. From the remains of the red spider lily, violet mes burst forth, wrapping around Alyss''s body as the wounds began to twitch. Countless tiny limbs burst out from the flesh, sewing itself together and starting to reconstruct the missing half of Alyss while she created floating ming des to keep Rita busy. Feeling wary of the violet mes, Rita jumped back and created duplicate spears to ward off the des before twisting her body and throwing her spear at Alyss. Leaning down, Alice pivoted on her right foot and mmed her left heel against the shaft of the spear. *BANG!!! Knocking it off course, she flinched at the lightning and fire trying to tear apart her foot but thankfully, her violet mes managed to hold off the attack and heal the wound. ''What now twinnie? My regeneration can''t keep up with how much damage we''re taking. It''s already slowed down this much.'' Alyss asked, raising her hand as they could still see the bone while the flesh was stitching itself together. Looking at Rita who flicked her wrist and conjured a spiral of mes that condensed into another spear, Alyss forced a brave smile despite having no idea on how to stop this monster of an opponent. Scrambling her brain, Alice found herselfing on empty. Rita is fast, too fast even and with enough firepower to breach Alice''s defences. Not that her defences were great to begin with. On top of that, she was wary of all their tricks. It took Alice everything to keep up with the sudden attacks that Rita was throwing out due to her blind spot. ''It''ll be easier if I could still use-'' Pausing the moment she had this thought, Alice shook her head. Kaden was right, she was relying on Ca and Void Fang far too much to the point that even when she thought she was being careful enough, her thoughts still drifted towards the two. ''We fight and we struggle. Like we always have.'' Alice smiled as Alyss let out augh. ''Damn right! Let''s go!'' Charging towards Rita, Alyss transformed their sixth Sigil into that of the Abyss Lord of Duality! Coating her hands in ayer of violet mes, Alyss punched the side of the spear. Once the spear was knocked off course, she released a palm strike against Rita''s chest before flipping controls with Alice in an instant. Snapping her fingers, Alice jumbled Rita''s motor controls and gathered her blood into a single needle. Flicking the needle towards Rita who wanted to sh it apart with her spear only for her to take a step towards the needle, she widened her eyes and gritted her teeth. *BANG!!! Letting out a pulse of lightning and fire, she knocked the needle aside as it exploded into a giant wall of spider lilies and briar thorns. Sweating from the thought of having that explode in her body, Rita was shocked to see Alyss appear from behind the wall. mming both palms against Rita''s stomach, she followed up by grabbing Rita''s arm and pulled her into a shoulder charge. While Rita was stumbling back and fumbling around with her motor functions, trying to figure out which was which, Alice took over and fired a point-nk Void Flux at Rita''s chest! *CRACK!!! For the first time, a splinter of damage appeared on Rita''s armour as their constant efforts to focus on one area began to show itself. Both Alice and Alyss were subjected to the same motor functions as Rita but as the ones who set the parameters, it was much easier for them to adjust to the changes. Of course, it wasn''t perfect but by sticking to simple movements and mostly focusing on energy control, they were able to skip this gap. ''Seems like Rita''s figured it out twinnie.'' Alyss chuckled upon seeing Rita gather energy around her, forming an array of spears. ''Yep. Now we hit her with the jumble part two, electric boogaloo.'' Aliceughed, flipping the controls for energy control while resorting the motor functions. Taking over the offence, Alyss rushed into Rita''s range as the spears diverted from Rita''s intended path. Releasing a triple kick on the thighs, chest and head, Alyss reinforced her body using partial bloodline release before following up with a roundhouse kick against the face, knocking Rita back as she tumbled against the ground. Shaking her head, she noticed her controls returning to normal as she tried to get up only for her motor functions to get flipped once more. *BANG!!! From above, Alice had teleported in and mmed a Void Flux against Rita''s back, shredding a part of her wing as red spider lilies began to bloom. Punching the ground, Rita conjured an array of spears around her to stab towards Alice who swapped with Alyss and kicked the weakened spears aside. Stomping against Rita''s back, she dug her fingers into the wings as mes roared out from her body. *KRKKK!!!! The sound of muscle fibres snapping rang out as Alyss tore off Rita''s wings while blood poured from her wound. In this onught of constantly shifting controls and confusion, Rita found herself unable to fight back! Chapter 360: Ritas Fate "ARGGGGG!!!" Letting out a shout of anger, Rita unleashed a torrent of spikes from her back the moment she realised her motor skills had returned. Jumping back from the sudden attack, Alice took over but upon blinking her eye, a ming spear was inches from piercing her head. ''She''s beginning to adapt! We need to end this soon!'' Alyss shouted out while Alice managed to block it by sacrificing her shoulder. ''I know.'' Alice nodded with a frown as she didn''t expect Rita to reach this quickly. Tearing out the spear, Alice understood it must be the moment the golden chains manifested around her limbs, a clear sign that Alyss had taken over. Narrowing her gaze at Rita who was slowly getting used to the jumbled controls and standing back on her feet, Alice decided to unleash one final onught with everything they''ve got! ''Target her back, her wings exposed a weakness!'' Alyss instructed. Rushing forward, Alice showed signs of switching to Alyss as golden chains began manifesting. Seeing this, Rita prepared to use her spear when her controls didn''t change! Alice had faked her out! Jumping into the blood mirror and appearing behind Rita, Alice had just enough time to create two needles that stabbed into Rita''s back as spider lilies exploded out from the wound! A grotesque fusion of flesh, briar thorns and spider lilies protruded from Rita''s back while spears tried to stab Alice only for Alyss to take over, knocking them aside. Reaching towards Alyss with her hand, her controls got jumbled but Alyss didn''t switch. "Just because Alice is good with abilities doesn''t mean I can''t use them!" mming her hand into the ground, ck hands exploded out from her shadow,tching onto Rita''s body before bursting out with violet mes. From these mes, sparks began to form as Alyss swapped ces with Alice for the final touches. Void Flux! *BANG!!! An array of explosions exploded out with Rita in the centre as countless sts of energy chipped away at her armour. She wanted to ward herself from the explosions but once Alice had detonated the Void Fluxes, she immediately switched back to motor controls so that Rita would struggle and had to rely just on her physical body. With no other choice, Rita tumbled away to escape the mes but theytched onto her armour with vigour while the grotesque wings that Alice had gifted her caught on fire. Stumbling on her step, she rolled against the ground and into a puddle of blood. Her pupils began to shrink as flowers could be seen blossoming in the blood before turning into spider lilies. Having memorised what the controls of her body were even when it was flipped, Rita slowly got onto her feet while cracking open her jaw once more, ready to unleash a torrent of mes. *ck¡­ ck¡­ ck¡­ Each step Alice took echoed out in this personalised realm as Rita felt a chill she had never felt before. As though death had finally wrapped its skeletal fingers around her neck and began to tighten its grip. "You breathed it in didn''t you?" Alice whispered against Rita''s ear softly as she found herself unable to move. Roots squirmed beneath her skin, digging into her flesh and coiled around her bones. Spider lilies took root inside her eyes, draining the blood to blossom through the pupil while briar thorns erupted from her spine. Her vision trembled in fear, gasping for air but with each breath, the growth of the lilies would hasten. Copsing onto her kneels, the roots began to pull her skin from her flesh as she began to choke. The sound of Rita gasping for air while gurgling on her own blood was music to Alice''s ears. Her blood soaked vision gazed upon the moon before the sensation of roots digging around her skull took over. The final red spider lily plucked out her eye as her entire body became a bed of lilies, briar thorns and blood. A grotesque art piece reflecting the cruelty of Alice''s ability once they allow it to take root within their body. Seeing the walls of this personal realm fracture and crack, Alice snapped her finger and gathered all of Rita''s blood into a single orb above her finger before throwing it into her mouth. Compared to the normal blood she was used to eating, this one had a disgusting taste to it just like Jyn''s. Making a face of disgust, Alice nced back at Rita''s body and detonated her lilies. Exploding into a spiral of violet mes, she erased the evidence of Rita''s existence. Once she finished taking care of Jyn''s body that was left on the side, Alice didn''t hesitate to run away from the area as she couldn''t afford another fight. Her regeneration was running on empty for the first time and she didn''t have any energy left to use her first Resonance. Her Sigils were locked in so she couldn''t adjust them to match the danger either. Running back to the town, Alice waited on the outskirts as she could see a few concerned towns folk, looking towards the direction where she hade from Considering the pir of mes that she had unleashed when she destroyed theb, it wasn''t surprising for them to be alerted. If it had been the work of a beast then all of the guards would be mobilised to defend the town while they called for more support from the Guild. Sneaking past the guards who were setting up a perimeter around the town, Alice went to an Inn near the docks so she could catch the first boat back to Silverwind in the morning. The innkeeper was a little concerned since he figured it was close to where the orphanage was. Upon hearing this, Alice realised another issue. ''They''re going to know that Rita and Jyn died after trying to investigate what went wrong with the orphanage. Since I was the only one who took this request from the Guild, I''m the prime suspect.'' Alice thought with a frown while taking a sip of mead. Furrowing her brows, she was a little upset that the mead from this town wascking as she drank all of it in one go before filling her cup with some Ayrian mead instead. A luxury after such a close call against Rita. ''Aren''t they going to wonder how a four star Hunter managed to kill two six star Hunter guards?'' Alyss crossed her arms. Not only that, but these two six Sigil Hunters were guards personally trained by the Zenia family. Jyn may have had the bad habit of looking down on his opponents but Rita wasn''t the same. Without the Sigil of Duality giving them the opportunity needed to finish Rita, the fight could''ve gone either way for them. ''I think they might hesitate with this reality. Perhaps even question the legitimacy and wonder if there''s another power at y here. The branch manager said that they were here to negotiate with the principal so the orphanage probably wasn''t their main goal. ''This incident should give us a bit of time for their negotiations while the branch manager gathers information for us on the rest of the group. If she shows evidence that all of them are cut from the same cloth then things be easy. Well¡­ To some extent if I don''t mind causing trouble for the principal.'' Alice shrugged. ''Eh¡­ I''m sure she can handle it. She handled the fall out of the Inverted World incident pretty nicely didn''t she?'' Alyss tapped her chin before waving her hand dismissively. Hearing this, Alice let out a soft chuckle as she couldn''t help but feel a little bad for the principal. Making her way to her room, she rested for the night as exhaustion from the fight took over. ### "Why isn''t Jyn and Rita back yet?" Erick asked with a frown while sitting in his room. Dealing with the orphanage was a delicate matter that couldn''t be handled roughly. It had to be swift and precise yet the two weren''t back yet. "Would you like me to look into it, sir?" Selen asked while putting on her clothes. Narrowing his eyes, he thought for a moment before nodding his head. "Investigate the area and tell me what you find. If they''ve been caught, erase the evidence of them being the ones killed and detach the orphanage from the Zenia name. Don''t let yourself be discovered. "On the off chance that Rita and Jyn are trying to desert, which I don''t think they''re stupid enough to try, take care of them as per standard protocol." Erick smiled as Selen clenched her fist and nodded her head. Just as she turned to leave the room, Erick smacked her on the ass as he revealed a grin while Selen bit her lips and left the room. Even though she hated it, she couldn''t defy nor fight against the Zenia family. Lying on the bed, Erick thought about the annoyance that is the principal who was hindering their efforts of acquiring ess to the Inverted World but thinking about seeing Kale again brought a smile to his face. She''s been ying hard to get for a while now and it was time for him to start reeling her in. And even if she doesn''t want to, he has his methods of bending her to his will. As long as he takes care of it cleanly, the main family wouldn''t care about his methods. And once he acquires ess to the Inverted World and im the relic the main family desires, his promotion is just around the corner. Once that happens, he will be able to do whatever he wanted with the power of the Zenias. Just thinking about it brought him joy as Erick looked forward to his next meeting with Kale. Chapter 361: The Journey Back To Silverwind Waking up early in the morning to catch the first boat back, Alice was shocked to spot Selen waiting by the docks, scanning her eyes across everyone who was taking the first boat back to the Silverwind Valley. In her hands, she held a small device. Apass that continuously spun around the centre every time someone walked past. ''Sh*t¡­ Is that used to track me down?'' Alice thought to herself. If she was here now it meant that she had arrived in this townst night and discovered what had happened to Jyn and Rita. Furrowing her brows, Alice wondered if there was any way to get onto the boat while evading Selen''s notice. There was the potential option of creating a mirror to teleport onto the boat but her range of control was limited without Ca. Attempting it would cause sloppy results and may even inadvertently alert Selen of her presence. Out of all of the guards within Erick''s entourage, Selen was the one Alice was most on guard against. Thinking about it for a moment, Alice had an idea as she conjured an orb of blood above her palm. Aside from her four Sigil that granted her the ability to teleport, Alice had her first Sigil that could cause hallucinations. If she were to control the output properly, she should be able to trick Selen''s senses and make her perceive thepass incorrectly. It was a little risky since she''ll be in close proximity with Selen but the sess rate was slightly higher than using her teleport. Just slightly. Naturally, this won''t stop the pursuit any time soon since they''ll discover that she was the only one who took the orphanage quest. But by the time they discover this, Alice would''ve gotten used to her current predicament and prepared her own countermeasures against Erick''s guards. Whether that be trying to eliminate some of them within the Inverted World or taking care of them outside as she did with Rita and Jyn, it was an unexpected surprise but a very wee one. Without staying for some breakfast, Alice made her way down to the docks and stopped by the gates. Once the guards weren''t looking at her, she began to spread a thin blood mist towards Selen, allowing the wind to push it towards her. The mist was thin enough so that it wouldn''t be easily noticed but with enough exposure, it should be potent enough to give her the gap she needed to trick Selen. Focusing her mind on wrapping Selen with the mist, Alice snapped her finger and activated her first Sigil. Giving it a moment to take effect, Alice walked towards the boat as cold sweat filled her back. She was watching Selen from her peripherals, making sure not to make eye contact. The moment she walked past Selen, Alice could see her checking thepass. Unsure of whether or not the hallucinations worked, Alice clenched her fist inside her sleeve, ready to pounce if things turned south. Thankfully, Selen ignored her as Alice sighed in relief and got onto the boat. In case thepass lingered, Alice focused as much as she could on maintaining the hallucination while supplying a constant flow of blood mist. ''I was half expecting her to jump you.'' Alyss crossed her arms while Alice agreed. ''Either way, it''s a simple journey back now. Hopefully, the branch manager should have the information ready since it''s been a while. Any longer and they might prepare to leave.'' Alice sighed while Ca sat in silence before opening her mouth. [O''master mine¡­ I don''t think your illusion worked.] Ca furrowed her brows, surprising Alice. ''Eh? What do you mean?'' [When you walked past her, she had reset thepass. Seems like she was never truly under the effects of the hallucination. Though I''m sure as to why she would¡­ help you in this regard.] Ca crossed her arms in confusion. Hearing this, Alice furrowed her brows as she too was confused as to why Selen would reset thepass. If her hallucination didn''t work then a fight should''ve broken out. But Selen let her go. Why? ''Who cares. At least it works in our favour. Plus we won''t be able to know unless we talk to her directly and I''ll be honest, that''s a pretty stupid idea.'' Alyss shrugged. There were too many unknown factors for them to draw up a proper conclusion. Nodding her head in agreement, they could only hope that this buys them enough time before she was discovered to have taken the quest. ### Watching the boat leave, Selen sighed before waving her hand in annoyance. Dispelling the blood mist, she began to take a walk around the town since she needed to waste some time before going back. If she returned too early while being empty handed, Erick wouldn''t take it nicely. ''To think she''s brave enough to try to get past me with just a simple hallucination. This resolves the debt I owe her for taking care of Jyn and Rita I suppose.'' Selen thought to herself while storing thepass in her pouch. Regardless, she could only hope that the one eyed girl leaves Silverwind Academy as soon as possible and changes her identity. She may have killed Jyn and Rita while cleaning up the area, but the Zenia''s won''t let her go this easily. They''ll track her down and tie up the loose ends. But this moment of distraction while they track her down might give her the chance she needed. The chance to break free from the Zenia''s and escape the radar. ### After a long journey back to the main ind, Alice registered the sess of the quest with the Guild and got her reward. She simply reported that there was a slight issue with the beast guarding the ce and that it had killed everyone inside. Their fight had destroyed the building and nothing could be recovered. Once the quest was marked down aspleted, Alice booked an appointment for a four star Hunter exam and noted her fourth Sigil belonging to a Void Spectre, a ghost like beast that could tap into the Void. Of course, it was far inferior whenpared to a Six Winged Void Seraphim but letting them know the truth wouldn''t do her any good. Just letting them know a rough estimate of her ability was good enough. Thankfully, there was an examiner ready in the guild so she took the test immediately. Her opponent, a five star Hunter with the power of lightning and clones. "The exam is rather straightforward. Please withstand the onught using your Sigils to the best of your abilities. Once enough time has passed, I''ll deem it satisfactory and you''ll get your four star license." She exined while holding a pair of swords. One was in standard grip while the other in reverse grip. Nodding her head, Alice created a single de mimicking the appearance of Void Fang and held it by her side. Since it was an exam focused on surviving an onught, Alice decided to take this moment to further practice her Zone control. Taking a deep breath, she deployed her Zone to the limit of her reach. Seeing that Alice was taking it seriously, the examiner nodded in appreciation since there have been too many Hunters who take it easy and get eliminated straight away. But if Alice is taking it seriously from the get go, then it''ll be her job to use everything she''s got. She can''t allow a young seedling to get destroyed by her negligence when she takes four starmissions in the future. *BANG!!! Lightning crashed down on the examiner as she activated her first resonance! A ck and white crystal began to cover her body while purple lightning crackled across the jagged spikes protruding from her skin. Her eyes transformed into a golden colour while the sclera turned ck. Beside her, a phantom simr to her appearance but more bestial hovered with the same weapons. "Watch out!" She warned, rushing towards Alice with a crackle of lightning. Seeing the examiner appear to her side while the phantom nked the other, Alice narrowed her gaze and shed towards the examiner with her de. *CLANG!!! Parrying the strike, the examiner stabbed towards Alice with her spear weapon but blood mirrors flickered to life around her. Both of the phantom''s strikes and her''s were diverted away from Alice! However, she didn''t let her surprise ruin her guard. While Alice may need to survive, it didn''t stop her from fighting back! Blocking a kick aimed towards her stomach, the examiner wrapped her arm around Alice''s leg before replying in kind, kicking towards her head. Leaning back to dodge the kick, Alice was pleasantly surprised by the examiner''s reaction speeds. Focusing her senses, she realised that the examiner had also deployed her own Zone! Its boundary was slightly beyond her current reach but the edges were incredibly stable! Snapping her finger, Alice created a miniature Void Flux between them to force some distance as she narrowed her gaze at the examiner. Instinctively, Alice could tell that the examiner was holding back while trying to get a feel for how strong she was. If that''s the case then¡­ Taking a deep breath, Alice brought her de to her side and focused her gaze. Her Zone condensed and stabilized as she prepared to use Void Flux ¨C Cleave! Feeling a chill down her spine as though she was looking at a beast that was ready to strike, the examiner was surprised a four Sigil Hunter could give her this kind of feeling. In the many years she''s spent as an examiner, the number of times that this had happened could be counted on one hand! Revealing a satisfied smile, she entered an offensive stance as lightning crackled around her. She was going to go to her top speed immediately! Chapter 362: Four Star License *BANG!!! Shooting forward, the examiner created a field of clones before flickering through them with her true body. Meanwhile, Alice furrowed her brows and tried her best to track her down. She only had one chance to use Void Flux ¨C Cleave at full power. Not only that, but she also had to be careful not to hit the examiner directly otherwise it could prove to be lethal. Even without Ca, Alice was able to spot the instances where the Examiner manifested in one of the clones. How the lightning sparks would shift and the source of the gaze would change locations. Alice could sense it all. Taking two steps back, Alice created four blood mirrors in front of four clones, cutting off the examiner''s path of retreat as it narrows down the choices to just three. Taking another step back, she created another mirror, narrowing the choices down to two! Naturally, the examiner understood what Alice was aiming for and the teleportation between her and the clone began to speed up. If Alice were to choose wrong, it would allow the examiner a perfect chance to attack her from cover. Seeing the blood mirror manifest in front of her, the examiner curled her lips into a smile. ''She chose wrong!'' But just as she was about to attack, she noticed her mistake. The mirror wasn''t teleporting her away but rather teleporting Alice to her! She never chose wrong. Alice simply chose to attack! Seeing Alice appear in front of her mid swing, the examiner felt a chill down her spine as she immediately halted her attack and tilted her body to the side. *KRKK!!!!! Feeling a graze against her cheek, she nced back and watched as Alice''s strike collided against the wall. Seeing the deep crevice left behind after the energy dissipated, her smile began to twitch as she held both her hands up. "I give up. You pass." If a four star Hunter was actually able to pull off this kind of technique then there was no worry that they''ll struggle with four starmission. After all, those who can use techniques outside of the abilities granted by Sigils are those who are backed byrge families or influential figures. While she doesn''t know who Alice was backed by, there were records of sponsorship in the past thus she could only assume it was the same person. With the exam now over, Alice dispelled her de and recalled all the blood she had used to create the blood mirrors. "You''ll get your four star license once you head to the main reception. But I must ask, how did you know which one was the real me?" She asked curiously. "You have my record right?" Alice asked as she nodded her head. "First Sigil, hallucinations. I created two illusions without deploying a single blood mirror. The only one that reacted to it was the real you." Alice shrugged as the examiner widened her eyes. She was so preupied with Alice''s other Sigils that shepletely overlooked the hallucination aspect of her first Sigil. In this regard, it was her oversight as the examiner. "I see¡­ Alright. Congrattions on getting your four star license." Sheughed, patting Alice on the shoulder as this young Hunter had shown far more promise than what she originally expected. Bidding farewell with the examiner, Alice made her way to the reception and got her new Guild ID. From three stars onward, each of the new IDs would take a slightly different appearance. For the four star license, her ID now had four silver stars above her name along with silver linings against a ck background. Putting her license into her pouch, Alice left the Hunter''s Guild. Just when she was about to go back to the Academy, she could feel the Underground crest vibrate. A sign that the branch manager has collected the information she wanted. Making her way to the Academy so that she could disguise herself as Kale once more, Alice walked to the docks. Upon approaching the entrance to the Underground, Alice was weed in without a single word. ''Seems like they''re expecting you.'' Alyss chuckled. ''Obviously. If the branch manager sends me a notice, would the workers dare make me wait?'' Alice shrugged while making her way down. [Tis would indeed make a bad host if she did.] Ca nodded with a smile. Walking past the main market and towards the suspended tform with the sealed Lord, Alice entered the dark office once more as the branch manager was already waiting by the table for her. She sat on the surface while resting her hand on a small stack of parchment next to her. "Wee Ms Grani, it has been a while has it not? I do apologise for the¡­ severe dy in delivering yourmission. As you may know, the Zenia''s hold a rather tight grip on their information and digging things out isn''t as easy as one may think." She chuckled while Alice couldn''t help but doubt. What kind of information would an Abyss Lord struggle to obtain? Regardless, now that she has the information, checking it out was a must. Just as she approached, the branch manager held up her hand. "I do have to warn you though. As the broker of this information. Knowing it would get you tied up in something ratherplicated. And even with the information I''ve gathered, some parts are still missing as I wasn''t able to find out the whole truth. Are you willing to risk this despite the iplete information?" She asked, narrowing her gaze at Alice. However, a helpless smile appeared on Alice''s face. "Unfortunately I''m already tied up with them. Knowing more wouldn''t change anything." Alice shook her head. Her response interested the branch manager but she didn''t say anything more and flicked her finger. The parchment shot towards Alice as she grabbed it out of the air and scanned her eyes across the page. ". . ." The more she read, the deeper her brows furrowed as her grip tightened on the parchment. "Seems like the information I''ve obtained has been rather satisfactory. Though seeing as how you''re not surprised, you must''ve known this beforehand right?" The branch manager crossed her arms as she began to probe Alice''s identity. When she found out the information she gave Alice, not even she could hide her surprise. An Abyss Lord who''s seen much of what''s happened in the Abyss couldn''t hide her surprise yet this girl in front of her could? The branch manager had two conclusions she could draw from this as of this moment. First, Alice already knew this kind of information. If so, how? Kale Grani, abatant that appeared out of nowhere new this information was most definitely an abnormality. The Second was more concerning depending on your stance. And that was she was directly connected to it! If it was indeed the second possibility then who exactly is she? Flipping through the parchment, Alice''s expression grew cold as she took a deep breath and nodded her head. "Thank you. If there''s nothing else, I''ll take my leave now." Alice nodded before turning around. "Thank you for your patronage. And by all means, Ms Grani, my branch is always open for you." Watching Alice leave, the branch manager''s smile faded as she tried to attach another tracker. It was far more discrete than the previous one yet the instant it made contact with her body, it was as though all of the energy was drained before it was dispelled. Truly, she came with all kinds of surprises. Even if she was curious, the branch manager understood that digging deeper may hold more risks than the benefits of satisfying her curiosity. Especially with the Zenia''s tied up in this. ''I might''ve said the branch is always open to her but honestly, I don''t mind it if she neveres back.'' She thought to herself as it would be too much hassle. While she was collecting information, there were quite a few times when she almost got caught. Shaking her head, she prepared a report to the main branch of the Underground as there would be no doubt that the Master would be interested in this information. ### Leaving the underground without a single word, Alice made her way back to the Academy as she sat down on her bed. Looking at the parchment once more, she clenched her fist and covered her eye with her arm. ''What now?'' Alyss frowned with her hands crossed. In the report that the branch manager gave her, none of the people that Erick brought with him were good people. All of them were involved in the gruesome acts done by the Zenia family. Moreover, both Melissa and Michael were deeply involved in what they call the ''Next Generation n''. A n to merge and create new Sigils, powers and Abyss Blood that were unheard of. Any method was wee and they would go beyond moral guidelines if the experiment showed even the slightest sign of sess. On top of this, they were given new products produced by the New Generation n. Their Sigils and powers do not belong to any known species of Abyss beast. Naturally, Alice could draw her assumption based on her current existing knowledge. The Zenia''s must''ve found a way to use her blood! While Melissa and Michael were part of the New Generation n, Selen and her guards were potential ''candidates'' for another n. The Immortal Bastion. A n to make use of the cor that tortured Alice for a decade, to repurpose it for soldiers who will not die in the midst of battle. A cor that will constantly feed them blood so that the task will be carried out sessfully. There were gruesome details of the experiments pertaining to both parties but this wasn''t what shook Alice. It was what they were nning to do in the Inverted World. To reim a lost ''relic'' of the Zenia''s. The foundation of their craft that is tied to the history of their noble family. While the branch manager couldn''t find out the truth and only the whispers of certain events, Alice knew of the truth. Her birthday party! She was the ''relic'' they wanted to reim! Chapter 363: Recovering A Living Relic The report states that they were negotiating uses for the Inverted World so that the Zenia family could begin setting up a new branch near the Academy. Not only would they attract students to their departments but also achieve their goal of investigating the Inverted World. [Theories on how to recover a ''living'' relic as opposed to just taking out replicas¡­ They really don''t see you as a person, do they? O''master mine.] Ca raised an eyebrow. Every time she recalled what was written on the page, her expectations on how low the Zenias could go were rewritten every time. The lengths they would go to achieve ''sess'' in their experiments, the sacrifices they are willing to make and the losses of life they dly incur. Even the Eclipse looked tame inparison! ''That''s just how they are. After ten years I''m not surprised that they''re anxious about losing their most profitable tool. But I didn''t think they would try to¡­ recover another ''me'' from the Inverted World of all things. What makes them think it''s possible in the first ce?'' Alice frowned. [The Inverted World is a library of memories and events. Taking out relics is simply a reward per say. But taking out a person¡­ I''m unsure. [After all, changes to the events within the Inverted World have no impact on the history of reality. It''s simply a viewing experience where you can take souvenirs. And in this case, the Zenia''s desire to take you as a souvenir. Though the logistics of having two you''s in reality simultaneously with one being a memory can be rather chaotic.] Ca furrowed her brows while tapping her chin. ''Regardless, we can''t let the discussion for the Inverted World go through. As bad as this sounds, it''s because they need humans for their experiments that the progress of their inventions is rather slow. ''Just imagine what they can do if they could ess memories and experiment within the Inverted World.'' Alyss reminded as Alice''s expression turned dire. The Zenias were the one family they could not allow ess to the Inverted World. ''Any way we can stop them without implicating the principal? If we do it inside academy grounds, it''s just another excuse for the Zenia''s to send more.'' Alice asked as both Alyss and Ca fell silent. Unless the principal could somehow convince the Zenias to stand down, the Zenia family will continuously send people to pressure her into handing over the ess. Even more so if they kill Erick and his entourage without proper preparation. ''Perhaps it''s time for us to talk to the principal don''t you think? See what her connection is to Allura and if there''s a way we can help her while killing the Zenia''s in the process.'' Alyss suggested as Alice thought about it for a moment before nodding her head. On top of talking to the principal, there was another thing she needed to sort out, her full transfer to the Theory Department so that she could start essing the tools she needed. Hopping off her bed, Alice was about to make her way out of her room when she froze up on the spot and slowly turned around. She saw a raven standing by the windowsill, staring at her with unblinking eyes. "Yo." "F*cking hell!" Alice shouted out, unable to get used to Kaden''s voiceing out of a raven. "Care to tell me what you''ve been up to? One moment you''re almost dead the other you''re alive again. Next thing I know you''re almost dead again only to miraculously be alive once more. I can''t begin to exin how stressful it is while I''m trying to do things on my end of things." Kadenined with a frown as Alice scratched her cheek. Smiling awkwardly, Alice exined the fight between her, Jyn and Rita while Kaden listened silently. On top of that, she decided to let him know what she ns on doing with the current Zenia group so he didn''t worry. Looking through the information she gave him, Kaden nodded his head. "I see¡­ I had Nalem look into something for me too. It seems the Zenia''s are tied with more groups than I thought. The deeper we look the more dirt we find. But all of this information is indeed correct. "After taking you out of the prisonst time, they seemed to have focused most of their efforts in branching out rather than looking for you. Now, only a small group is assigned to try and find you." He exined, pushing the parchment back to Alice. "Try not to get yourself into trouble if you can help it. Look for the principal for help if you need it. If you''re on the verge of death use the feather I gave you. I''ll be mostly unavable since there''s something urgent I need to sort out and fast." Hearing this, Alice understood that it must be something to do with Allura. Only Allura would get him to react like this as she nodded her head. "Alright. If¡­ If it''s something to do with Allura please let me know if I can help at all. I don''t know if my blood or knowledge can even help-" Before she could continue, Kaden''s raven jumped onto her shoulder and tapped her head with his wings. "Don''t worry I know. We''re verifying some¡­ potential solutions to Lua''s injury. While looking into the Zenia''s, it seems like some of their research caught Nalem''s attention. It might give us a clue on how to help Lua." Understanding that the Zenia''s are at the forefront of Abyss Blood research, it wasn''t surprising that they may have the clues to a solution. If the Zenia''s don''t have it then it was very unlikely that any of the other families will. Watching Kaden''s raven fly out of her window, Alice clenched her fists as she could only wait for news regarding what they find. All she could do now was sort out the things on her end. ### Making her way to the Academy, Alice was once again reminded of her poor reputation as the crazy b*tch. Around every turn, there was always someone whispering to their friend about her. How she''s the crazy b*tch that lured the beasts during the exams and so on. Of course, the biggest surprise for them was the state of her eyes. The right eye specifically. Having split hair and eyes to match was basically a trademark of her appearance yet her right eye was now closed with a gruesome scar on the eyelid. They could only assume what had happened while Alice continued her way through the Academy. But with so many eyes on her every movement, it was beginning to annoy Alice as she activated her temporary Sigil and disguised herself around a corner. Taking the appearance of amon ck haired girl with ck eyes, a pair of sses and a forgettable attire consisting of just standard wear that you see everywhere, Alice blended in with the masses. Her right eye was disguised with a fake eye and soon, she was near the principal''s office without anyone bothering her. There were no guards for the principal, which was to be expected. After all, six Sigils represented the pinnacle with the exception of those truly gifted who be Lords. Even mores so for beasts. Knocking on the door, Alice waited for a moment before a soft fatigued groan could barely be heard as the principalposed herself. "Come in." She called out. Dispelling her disguise and stepping inside, Alice closed the door behind her. Seeing that Alice took the initiative to see her, Rosalyn raised her eyebrow in surprise. "Well well well¡­ If it isn''t the prodigy trained by Allura and Kaden. To what do I owe the pleasure of weing you into my office?" Rosalyn smiled, resting her chin on her hand. "I just figured we might as well have at least on talk considering the fact that you look like my parental figure." Alice smiled as Rosalyn gestured for her to take a seat. "By all means, ask away. Though I have a few questions of my own. I must ask, what happened to your eye?" Touching her scar with her hand, Alice chuckled. "Just some simple training." "Rather reckless if you ask me but Allura and Kaden are ever the risk takers. Now let''s set aside my observation and let''s talk about what you want to ask me." Rosalyn shrugged. "The Zenia''s. Do you have a way to get them to stop pursuing the Inverted World?" Alice asked, getting straight to the point. Hearing the Zenia name, Rosalyn''s eye twitched as she had to hold back the slurs she was about to shout. Clearing her throat, she tapped her finger on the table. "The Zenia''s are a¡­ tenacious bunch. They''re putting quite the importance on getting ess to the Inverted World but rest assured, I''m not going to let them take it without a fight." Rosalyn reassured but Alice was not convinced. "Pardon me for saying this but considering how long the talks have been going on, is it safe to say that you''re not seeding at convincing them?" ". . . You''re just as infuriating as Kaden." Rosalyn''s smile twitched as she scratched her hair. "Yes, the Zenia''s aren''t budging at all. Even when I try to test how far they''re willing to go for this, I haven''t found their limit yet. But why does it matter to you? Surely the one chosen by Allura and Kaden have no ties with them, no?" Crossing her legs, Alice decided to be blunt and revealed a bloodthirsty grin. "I''m going to kill them." Chapter 364: Rosalyn "I''m going to kill them." Alice grinned. "Ideally in a way that doesn''t implicate the Academy considering you have ties with Allura and Kaden and that you look like my adoptive mother. It would feel rather sh*tty on my end to put you through that which is why I''m here. And unfortunately, it''s unavoidable. I WILL kill them." A silent stare-off ensued between the two as Rosalyn''s frown grew deeper, understanding that Alice wasn''t joking around when she mentioned wanting to kill them. "I don''t like it. Frankly, I think it''s downright stupid. It''s a stupid choice and even if you have a vendetta against them, its brainless to go after them right now. How much manpower do you think the Zenia''s have? In fact, let me ask you this first. Do you know what they desire from the Inverted World in the first ce?" Rosalyn asked, her face cold. She didn''t care if Alice was chosen by Kaden as this didn''t mean she could do whatever she wanted. While Kaden may be free spirited and nihilistic to some extent, even he knows the stupidity of going after the Zenia''s while their goal is right in front of them. Killing the group would only give the Zenias more reason to im the Inverted World and less room for her to negotiate. "And if you do know what''s at stake then still choosing to go after them because of your vendetta is childish and immature. You may gain instant satisfaction but what will you do when the Zenias im the Inverted World? Will you kill every Zenia that enters this city?" Rosalyn asked as she narrowed her eyes. Her aura seemed to dwarf this room as Alice swallowed her saliva. "Can you afford to stay in this city for that long? I don''t know what Allura and Kaden have nned for you, but I doubt you can stay in this backwater area for long. There are true monsters living in the maind. Monsters that can kill me with a single flick of their finger despite having the same number of Sigils." Silence ensued between the two of them before Alice sighed. "Fine. But what do you propose if I don''t kill them immediately? Two of them have already died by my hand and it was aplete ident. I didn''t think a quest I received from the Guild would result in a confrontation with them." Alice shrugged, throwing the evidence she recovered from the Orphanage towards her. Catching the experiment notes, Rosalyn began to read through it. Little by little, her expression turned cold as her hands clenched against the pages. "Don''t destroy it. It''s important evidence after all." Alice reminded as Rosalyn took a deep breath to calm herself. With this kind of evidence, anyone would be inclined to kill the group inside Silverwind immediately. But once again, doing so was simply ignoring the consequences of pitting themselves against the Zenia family. No, they needed to handle this carefully. "I''ll take this into ount so don''t kill them immediately. If you do, it''ll be the same as weing the Zenia family into my city with a red carpet." Rosalyn massaged her forehead with a sigh. If Alice was anything like Allura and Kaden then she''d probably go after them anyway and let her clean up the mess afterwards. "Alright. I''ll hold off as much as I can. But once they track it back to me, I''ll have no choice but to kill them like I had originally nned." Alice leaned back in annoyance. As much as she hated it, the principal wasn''t wrong. Killing them now would only invite more trouble in the future. If she kills them now and leaves, the Zenias will gain ess to the Inverted World. Once that happens, she''ll have to deal with an immortal army bolstered by the cor. On top of that, letting them live will give her time to investigate Selen, the one who let her go despite knowing she was the one who killed Jyn and Rita. A decision that confused Alice no matter how she thought about it. Especially since Selen was involved in some of Zenia''s ns. ''Do you think she''s trying to rebel and leave the Zenias?'' Alyss asked but Alice shook her head. ''It''s too early to say. But if we hold off a little, it should give us time to investigate and time for the principal to convince the Zenias to stand down. Or at least I hope so.'' While Alice and Alyss were discussing the issue around Selen, Rosalyn blinked her eyes in surprise. ''She¡­ actually epted my suggestion? She didn''t ignore my side and go ahead with what she wants to do?'' "Are you truly Allura and Kaden''s chosen?" Rosalyn asked as Alice furrowed her brows. "What''s that supposed to mean?" "Nothing, don''t mind it. But alright. If they go after you, you obviously need to protect yourself. There are two locations where I could reduce the impacts of their deaths with some excuses. First, the Inverted World. "Since you''re dealing with memories of the past, there''s always a chance of you running into an abnormally strong beast that was never mentioned. Butterfly effects and so on. The Inverted World records all of the variables that could happen during that instance in time. "The second is to kill them outside of the city. More preferable since it''s out of my jurisdiction and the Zenia''s can''t hold it over me. However, doing it this way gives the Zenia''s a chance to establish a branch just outside of my city. Once again, outside of my jurisdiction so I can''t say much about it." Rosalyn suggested as Alice listened with a nod. Since she had killed both Jyn and Rita outside of the city, the Zenia''s can''t do much and even if they do establish a branch, it''s not as though they haven''t already with the Orphanage. Moreover, the principal didn''t know about it until now! "But me giving you these two options isn''t an invitation for you to lure them into trying to kill you or for you to provoke them into trying to kill you there or for you to attack them while they''re out of the city. It''s ast resort okay?!" Rosalyn reminded sternly. "Don''t worry I know. I''d rather not have the Zenia''s ess the Inverted World if it can be helped which is why I''m keeping an eye on them." Alice shrugged. Just as she stood up, she decided to ask a favour from the principal. "Speaking of which, can you help me set up a fake ID or something simr? I''m using a fake identity to know them after all and the Underground doesn''t have eyes inside the Academy. It''s the only way I can safely change my appearance." Alice asked with a smile. "Eh? What do you mean? I don''t think you have a disguise type Sigil right? Or are you drinking blood for it?" Rosalyn blinked her eyes as Alice let out a soft chuckle. "Who knows~" Activating her Sigil, her appearance changed into Kale Grani, leaving Rosalyn stumped before Alice left the room. Standing rooted in her spot, Rosalyn blinked her eyes as she began to question what she had just seen. ''What? How? Huh? She should only have four Sigils no? When did she get a disguise skill?'' Questioning how Alice was able to disguise herself, Rosalyn soon remembered where she had seen Alice with that appearance. The girl that was seen hanging out with the Zenias not long after they would finish a meeting, go around shopping and asionally fight. It was Alice all along! The flip in personality and manners was shocking to say the least. It''s as though they werepletely different people! "No wonder the Zenia''s didn''t notice anything wrong¡­" Rosalyn furrowed her brows as she leaned back in her seat. Letting out a groan, there was more work for her now. nning a second exam, pressure from the noble families, Zenia''s wanting ess to the Inverted World and now Alice wanting a fake ID. However, at least Alice warned her beforehand. It was far better than what Allura and Kaden have been pulling. ### "You couldn''t find the culprit?" Erick raised an eyebrow in surprise. Selen of all people couldn''t find it despite taking the tracking relic. "The one who killed Jyn and Rita didn''t stay the night. I scanned everyone in the town but thepass didn''t react at all. I even checked the boats and carriages leading to other cities. My best guess is that they left immediately after finding out the truth about the Orphanage." Selen reported. Her gaze didn''t flicker nor did her expression change. After all these years, she''s gotten used to hiding her emotions when she needed to. Taking a frustrated breath, Erick sat on his bed while tapping his heel repeatedly against the ground. While the Zenia''s could cover up everything that has happened, having this kind of negative news while they were trying to acquire the Inverted World didn''t work in favour of increasing their odds. Plus, the principal of the Academy was being rather stubborn, refusing to budge a single inch even when the Zenias were prepared to go above and beyond for her. "Send word to the main family. Let them know that the branch was breached and that the guards were killed. The culprit no where in sight and have them send some of our best trackers to clean up the loose ends. We can''t make a big deal out of this." "Understood." Selen nodded her head as she turned around and prepared to leave but Erick stopped her. "Have someone else send the message. You have a more important job." He revealed a lecherous grin as Selen bit her lip until it bled but soon, the wound healed as she returned to her nonchnt state. "Understood." Chapter 365: Alice Vs Luke After her discussion with the principal, Alice took this time to train by with Luke since Ria was busy. Both of them needed more practical training with different opponents. For Luke, he needed to be able to defend himself against all sorts of threats. For Alice, she needed to get a better grasp of her new depth perception and scope of vision. With her right side now blind, she had to turn her head more often to cover for the blind spots. *BANG!!! Dodging the downwards cleave of the Pdin that Luke summoned, Alice slid against the ground as lilies would blossom wherever she touched. As they sparred, Alice discovered a strange change within her second Sigil, one that she only began to notice the peculiarities of. Ever since the manifestation of her spider lilies, her second Sigil and resonance have been split into two halves. Alyss''s half consisted of the violet mes that now also enhance the body with the energies it absorbs along with the countless ck limbs that only Alyss could summon. No matter how Alice tried, the limbs refused to manifest. The second half, Alice''s half, consisted of the red spider lilies. Flowers that enhance her casting ability while robbing the energy used by her enemies. Not only that, but these flowers blossom within the opponent''s body, using it as fertilizer to grow and fester. Naturally, Alyss couldn''t manifest these flowers. With this new information, Alice''s abilities could be summarized as such: First Sigil: Hallucination, Physical Buff (Disguise ¨C Temp) Second Sigil: Blood Maniption, Red Spider Lilies/Violet mes Third Sigil: Blood and Metal Manifestation Fourth Sigil: Void Control Of course, information about her spider lilies werergely unknown since it was a new ability that manifested during her fight inside the Inverted World. Even now, Ca was making notes on Alice''s power. The key property of these lilies are their nature to fester and grow, turning anything they touch into a flower bed. With this as a basis, Ca instructed Alice to experiment with ideas surrounding this concept. Creating a blood needle that hovered above her finger, Alice took aim and fired it towards the Pdin who released an upward cleave. *CLANG!!! Knocking the needle aside, it was about to charge at Alice when a torrent of briar thorns rushed towards the construct. Summoning a shield, it blocked the thorns while Alice ran in from the blind spot. In her hands, she held a blood dagger and jumped up. Stabbing into the pdin''s neck, the dagger copsed into a pool of blood as Luke snapped his finger and conjured a chess piece. "I don''t think your dagger can breach my pdin''s defences." He called out while Alice avoided Luke''s attack with a backflip. "I don''t have to breach the defence. I just need to make sure I nt the seed." Alice let out augh. Narrowing her gaze, she aimed her finger at the pdin before mouthing the words ''Bang''. *CRACK!!! Tearing the armour apart from the inside, red spider lilies began to bloom from the pdin''s neck as its roots dug deep into the armour. With each moment that passes, the lustre of the armour would fade while the lily''s pedals would radiate a scarlet radiance. Seeing his pdin restrained by the lilies, Luke''s smile twitched. "What a broken Sigil. You just need to nt the marker and your flowers will grow, who can even block it?" Lukeined while snapping his fingers. The pdin scattered into a sea of light particles. "Promotion ¨C Bishop!" Luke narrowed his eyes as a figure began to appear next to him. Seeing this, Alice''s smile twitched. "You already have Ria and you''ve gone as far as to copy me now? Shameless!" "Cry about it." Luke smirked as his bishop piece aimed her fingers towards Alice. Void Flux! Seeing the mes condense into a single spark that shot towards her at blistering speeds, Alice mmed her hand down and created a sea of blood. Thankfully, the bishop wasn''t able to copy the technique at full strength nor was it able to copy the nature of Alyss''s fire. Right now, it was simply a very destructive attack thatcked the properties that made it monstrous! From this sea, walls upon walls of briar thorns erupted from the surface as it collided with the attack and consumed it. Upon the briar thorns, spider lilies began to blossom. "Eh?" Blinking his eyes, Luke didn''t expect Alice''s attack tock the power he had seen before. But before he could contemte as to why that was the case, he noticed the flow of energy gathering towards Alice. "Let me show you how it''s truly done." mes erupted and converged into a single radiant spark. Just the presence of the true Void Flux was enough to warp the space around them as Luke felt a chill down his back. Commanding his bishop to stand in front of him, she prepared a Void Flux of her own as the two fired it off at the same time. The sh didn''t evenst a single second as Alice''s attack consumed the fake and even empowered itself! "F*ck!" Cursing out loud, Luke recalled his bishop and resummoned his pdin. "Cry about it~" Alice revealed a smug grin as the pdin mmed the tower shield into the ground, forming an illusionary wall. *CRACK!!! BANG!!! Diverting the Void Flux to the side, Luke watched as the left half of his pdin waspletely erased by Alice''s attack. "Are you sure you should be looking away right now?" Alice''s voice rang out. Running from the side, she shed towards Luke with her sword. Promotion ¨C Knight! *CLANG!!! Parrying her sh, the Knight pushed Alice''s de to the side before mming his shoulder into her chest, knocking her back by a few steps. "Don''t worry about that. If I don''t show a small gap, how can I make you bite?" ### The fight between the twosted for a while with no clear winners. Alice wasn''t able to breach his defence while Luke wasn''t able tond a single solid blow against Alice. Bothcked offensive capabilities to properly end the fight without endangering their lives. In the end, they decided on a draw while Alice covered her right eye with her palm. Not being able to see out of her right eye had been affecting her more than she originally expected. She had figured that she''d adapt to this vision soon enough but no matter how much she fought, there was a gap in her reaction that she couldn''t ovee. [Take your time o''master mine. Losing one''s vision isn''t something that can be ovee in a single night. Many take years to adapt while it''s only been a few days for you.] Ca reminded as the more stressed Alice was about adapting to this new vision, the less she''d achieve. ''I know. It''s just turning out to be harder than I expected that''s all.'' Alice smiled wearily. "What''s with that goofy ass smile on your face?" Luke asked, leaning over Alice as he handed her a towel. "Talking to the voices in my head. Are you going back to your lessons now?" Alice chuckled, epting the towel as she sat up. "Yep. Unlike some, my lessons haven''t stopped. Even if I''m a special ss student, there are still lectures that Xinbei suggests I listen to." Luke sighed while adjusting his hair and sses. "Oh? Though I thought you said you didn''t have a goal for Abyssal Engineering?" Alice raised an eyebrow, confused as to why Luke would continue to pursue this topic if he had no goals for it. "Just because I don''t have a goal right now doesn''t mean it''s not a good skill to have. Abyssal Engineering doesn''t ount for trinkets. With enough mastery, you can even make weapons with it or adjust existing ones. "Who knows? In the future, I might be the one who makes adjustments to your sword that Kaden sealed away." Luke rolled his eyes while Alice let out augh. "I''ll be honest, there are many things you can probably improve in the future but Void Fang probably isn''t one of them." Alice revealed a grin as this was a sword blessed and modified by Velouria after all. The Goddess of the Abyss and the Queen of Ayr. "Tsk, just you wait then. I''ll make you eat your words." Luke clicked his tongue in annoyance as this was a challenge directed towards him. Waving his hand goodbye, Luke made his way out of the training grounds. Standing up, Alice gave her body a stretch before letting out a yawn. It was about time for her to resume her disguise as Kale Grani and meet up with the Zenias again. She was curious as to how things would y out now that both Jyn and Rita were dead. Would Erick keep her around or would he focus on his task at hand. If he keeps her around, then it''ll be easier for her to keep track of what they''re up to now that two of the guards are dead. ''Maybe we can lure them out of the city and give them a quick¡­ ya know¡­'' Alyss trailed off as she did the gesture for cutting their throats. ''Did you forget what we promised the principal? Our job is to simply observe and involve ourselves with his group. Slowly gain trust and see if we can disrupt their ns without the Zenia''s making big moves.'' Alice sighed as Alyss was a little too bloodthirsty despite their promise to the principal. Not that she didn''t understand her eagerness as she too would prefer to just kill them. But with the Inverted World at stake, she couldn''t risk them getting ess to a banquet of experimental resources. That is to say, other humans. ''Tsk boring. But how many Lord level beings do you think the Zenia''s have for the branch manager of the Underground to struggle?'' Alyss asked as folded her arms in annoyance. ''Who knows? But considering their prestige probably a handful.'' Regardless, it wasn''t something she should bother with right now. Activating her first Sigil, she applied her disguise of Kale Grani and made her way out of the realm to meet up with Erick. Chapter 366: Ericks Offer Making her way through the marketce, Alice decided to ''look for an eyepatch''. With Ca being sealed, there was no avoiding the fact that her right eye couldn''t be used right now and thus, she incorporated it into Kale Grani''s disguise. Previously, she had a pair of bright crimson eyes. But now, her right eye was dull. No longer was there a crimson shine but instead, it was reced by a greyish blue. She noticed the Zenia group approaching in the distance but decided to ignore it since they wereing from her right. Not only that, but she made sure to expand her unstable Zone boundary since the Guards had noticed it before. "Ah~ That''s not very cute though¡­" Alice groaned while looking at eye patches. All of them were a dull ck colour andcked any designs. Upon hearing herment, the shopkeeper seemed a little annoyed. "Beasts aren''t going to hold back regardless of what you wear. Even if you wear the cutest outfit possible, it doesn''t make you any less of a meal for them." He reminded as Alice shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah but if I''m going to die I wanna die a cutie ya get me? If I wear something dull I''m going to flip in my grave!" Alice grinned and stuck out her tongue. The instant Erick stepped into the range of her boundary, Alice snapped her head to the right while jumping back with a hostile re. Once she saw it was Erick, she rxed her guard. "Ah sorry sorry! I''m a little skittish when people approach my right side now." She scratched her hair in embarrassment. "Did something happen?" Erick asked curiously, seeing the discolouration in her eye. "Eh¡­ I mean¡­ Just a little. Ah but don''t get it wrong, I''m still strong okay?" Aliceughed as she hopped over to their side. "Hm? Where''s the gori and the silent one today? Are they out doing something important?" Alice blinked her ''innocent'' eyes in confusion as Erick''s smile twitched for a moment. "They''re a little preupied for now. But setting them aside, can you tell me what happened to your eye? I might be able to help you fix it." Erick chuckled as he reached his hand towards Alice''s face. Screaming in her mind while allowing him to get a better look at her eye, Alice opened her mouth. "It''s¡­ Kind of hereditary. Do you know how I can fight against Jyn pretty well? It was because of my right eye. The people in my family are able to see a little better than the average Hunter. It''s like time just slows down. "But the more you use it, the worse the eye bes. Spacing out the uses is fine but there''s always a risk if you overuse it. I was in a fight while exploring the Inverted World and overused my eye a little and now it''s blind." Alice stuck out her tongue while Erick furrowed his brows. "I''ve never heard of a hereditary trait that allows you to see better but I suppose it''s the Abyss so anything can happen. Melissa, Michael, can you have a look at this?" Erick asked as Alice let out a small cough. "Erm¡­ maybe not in the middle of the streets?" She squirmed in embarrassment as Erick was still holding onto her cheek. "Ah, sorry about that." Erick coughed but snuck a nce at Kale''s embarrassed expression. Meanwhile, Alice was biting the bed covers in her mind, trying not to break her act while Alyss howled inughter beside her. Letting go of Alice''s cheeks, he invited her back to their Inn so that Melissa and Michael could make a quick diagnosis on Alice''s eye. Once she arrived at their Inn room, Alice followed instructions andid down on the bed while both Melissa and Michael activated their Sigils. For Michael, a halo manifested behind him while his eyes turned to a radiant gold while Melissa manifested a bloodied halo. Her eyes became bloodshot as ritualistic patterns appeared along her arm. Now that she was seeing this in person, Ca was more confused than ever. In all her time acting as the Eyes of the Abyss and the knowledge she had amassed, this was the first time she had seen this kind of power. Everything that came from the Zenias was abnormal, Alice included, and practically flipped all the existing knowledge of the Abyss on its head! Michael''s power had a hint of repulsion towards the Abyss, simr to how the mes acted while Melissa''s blood was oppressive and violent. Holding still beneath their gazes, Alice was ready to strike out if she needed but held back. Meanwhile, Selen watched with a conflicted expression. ''Is it coincidence?'' She wondered to herself upon seeing Kale''s eye. The suspect for the killing of Jyn and Rita also had a damaged eye but there was no traces of Kale''s power at the scene of the crime. Not only that, but they were simply too different to be the same person. ''The other girl tried to use illusions. Unless Kale can use illusions, it''s unlikely for her to be involved.'' Selen concluded. She figured that she was probably too eager after such a variable had appeared, but eagerness could lead to her downfall. She had to continue as she had always done and take things one step at a time. "It''s as she said sir. Though¡­ rather than hereditary, it''s more of a curse." Michael frowned as Erick raised an eyebrow. "Eh? A curse? Who me?" Alice sat up in shock while pointing at herself. Seeing her surprise, Michael understood that she didn''t know anything about it. "It''s only spective since we don''t have any equipment on hand. But it seems like there''s a curse on your eye, one that drains it of sight and power. I''m not sure what kind of curse can be inherited as such but it might be a ritualistic type that targets the bloodline rather than the individual." Michael shrugged, deactivating his Sigil. "It''s definitely not a ritual, I don''t see any signs of exchange or ritualistic contracts on this curse." Melissa shook her head, denying the possibility. "So it''s a curse targeted at her bloodline but it''s not a ritual either? Then what is it?" Erick folded his arms. "No clue sir. Can''t check it properly without tools from theb." Michael raised his hands in defeat as Alice flinched inwardly at the mention ofb. While her movement may have gone unnoticed by the others since they weren''t looking at her, it didn''t escape Selen''s eyes. Suspicion welled in her heart but she didn''t make a single move. "Hmm¡­ What do you think of this?" Erick turned to Alice who sat on the bed while covering her right eye with her hand. "Hm¡­ Doesn''t really change much since I''m already blind in one eye now ahaha¡­" Aliceughed bitterly while kicking her legs back and forth. Looking at Alice''s figure, Erick thought to himself for a moment before opening his mouth. "Would you like to go back with me to the Zenia family? As you know, the family is the best when ites to Abyss Blood. I''m sure some of our research can help solve your curse issue." Erick offered, surprising Selen as she didn''t think he would invite her to the family rather than keeping her as a ything. "Eh? To the Zenia family? Alice blinked her eyes as did Melissa and Michael. "Just like Selen, you are clearly capable of fighting people above your Sigil count. And the Zenia''s value that, truly. And if we can help you resolve this curse, what do you think about joining the family? As a knight like Selen?" Erick smiled while Selen clenched her fist. Closing her eyes, she could remember the offer extended to her. The moment she was chained to this Gods forsaken family. And once again, she has to see the same scene y out in front of her. "Of course, as I am not part of the main family yet, I don''t have direct say into whether or not I can get you in. However, we''re very close to achieving what we''ve set out to do in this city. Once I achieve that, I''ll be epted into the main family and directing some resources into solving your curse should be a piece of cake for me." Erick continued, making his way towards Alice. "So how about it? Would you like toe with me to the Zenia family?" Hesitating, Alice nced up at Erick. "But¡­" "I recall the words you told to me at the time we met were that you are strong, wasn''t it? I need strong people by my side. Ick the physical powers of guards or the mental prowess of our researchers and that''s exactly why I need to surround myself by people I can trust and people who can protect me. "In return, I''ll do everything I can to fulfil your wishes. Even fixing this eye of yours." Raising his hand, Erick ces his hand on Alice''s cheek with his thumb next to her eye. ''Bullsh*t.'' Selen thought to herself. Blushing from his touch, Alice took a few steps back while looking away in embarrassment, causing Erick to chuckle as he retracted his hand. "You don''t have to give me an answer immediately, I''ll wait for your reply. For now, rest in the room as long as you need." Watching them leave, Alice was throwing up on the inside when she noticed Selen flicking something towards her and caught it immediately. A small pin with the design of a sword. [It''s connected to her, simr to what the branch manager tried to track us. Though it''s for us to track her instead¡­] Ca muttered in confusion. Looking at the pin, Alice furrowed her brows before storing it into her pouch for now. It wasn''t a pin used to track her meaning Selen had no interest in Alice''s whereabouts. Instead, it was for Alice to know hers. Questions floated in Alice''s mind and the only one who could give it to her was Selen. ''Seems like we''ll have to talk to her sooner than expected.'' Chapter 367: Selen After Erick left, Alice passed the time for a bit before leaving the room while tracking Selen''s location. She pretty much spent the entire time following Erick around by his side, guarding him from danger while visiting the Academy. Aside from visiting the Academy, it seemed like they were checking out the rest of the city. From its defences to the different alleys and even the sewage area. ''What do you think she''s trying to achieve by showing us all of this?'' Alyss asked curiously. ''No clue.'' Alice shrugged. ''If she''s acting against the Zenia''s, is she not afraid of their retaliation?'' ''Considering the fact that she''s a captain and she went to find out what happened to Jyn and Rita, it''s clear that she knows about the things the Zenias hide from the public eye. Either she''s grown a conscience or she''s looking for a chance.'' Continue to observe their movements over the course of the day, Alice didn''t find anything too strange until Selen began to move rapidly to the docks as Alice took this as her cue to meet up with the girl. Making her way to the docks, she spotted Selen waiting by an alley. "Yo~ You wanted to talk with me?" Alice asked with a smile as she threw the pin over to her. Catching it with her hand, Selen nced towards Alice. "You can drop that act now. I''ve seen how you reacted when Michael mentioned theb. You know what the Zenia''s do don''t you?" Selen narrowed her eyes as she tapped her finger against her arm. At that moment, Alice felt overwhelmed by a sense of weightlessness. Widening her eyes, Alice immediately adjusted her posture as she rolled against the ck and white ground within a realm of monotony. A single eclipsed sun hung in the sky, bleeding a colourless blood while withered branches protruded from the trees. Seeing the eclipse, Alice immediately associated her with the Eclipse Cult but that doesn''t seem to be the case either. Selen didn''t hold any traces of Enris'' energy. But understanding that her act as Kale Grani was dropped the moment she flinched at the word Lab, Alice scratched her hair in annoyance and dropped her act while keeping her disguise. "What about it? Are you here to silence me now?" Alice narrowed her eyes towards Selen who sat atop a boulder. "You should stop while you still can. Getting involved with the Zenia''s is more trouble than it''s worth. Though if you persist, I can only tie up loose ends." Selen warned as a thick killing intent oozed from her body to the point that even Alice felt goosebumps forming on her arms. "If you felt that way, you wouldn''t have given me a chance to talk to you. You don''t like the Zenia''s either, do you?" ". . ." Staying silent, Selen stood up and held out her hand to her side. From her palm, a ck material began to form, breaking free of her skin as blood and ck metal fused together to form a single guardless de. "So you insist on going against the Zenia family." "Naturall-" Before she could even finish her sentence, Selen burst into action. Widening her eyes, Alice shed up with a blood de to counter her attack. *BANG!!! Releasing a horizontal sh, Selen destroyed the de with ease as she appeared in front of Alice. Just as Alice wanted to counter, Selen grabbed her wrist and flipped her over her shoulder before continuing with a kick to Alice''s stomach. "ARG!!" Coughing out a mouthful of blood from the kick, Alice''s body was sent tumbling away as she crashed into a boulder and pulled herself out from the rubble. "If you''re trying to fight the Zenia family with this meagre strength then give up. I was mistaken, deciding to include you was wrong." Selen sighed. "But that blood de¡­ You never showed it before. Seems like you have more than three Sigils after all." "Who knows?" Alice forced a smile as she didn''t think their talk would result in a fight. "I can''t stay away for long. So either prove yourself or die. And if you die, I''ll apologize to you personally when I die in the future." Selen narrowed her gaze as energy began to surge from her body. Taking a step towards Alice, symbols manifested above her head as Selen disappeared from her spot! [She''s adjusting time!!!] Ca shouted, surprising Alice as the de plunged into her chest. *KRRRK!!!! Ripping out a chunk of Alice''s chest, Selen let out a sigh as the de in her hand started to disappear. Once again, she let her eagerness drag someone into her ns. Had she waited a little longer, she wouldn''t have needed to kill them. But it was better to test them before Erick could take her to the Zenia family. Should that happen, Alice could forget about leaving thepound without them forcing a contract upon her. *Step¡­ Pausing in shock, Selen turned her head as she heard a footstep behind her. She could see Alice''s flesh stitching together but more importantly, her disguise disappeared! ''The girl from the other night!!!'' *BANG!!! Firing a point nk Void Flux at Selen, Alice jumped back as she spat out a mouthful of blood in annoyance. ''What do you mean she''s adjusting time?'' Alice asked as she flinched from the pain of having her chest carved out. [That power she disyed, it wasn''t exactly like the beast that I know of but it''s clear that she''s manipting her own time. She''s speeding up her motions and attacks.] Ca exined as Alyss sat up. ''Oi twinnie, want me to take over for a bit?'' Alyss asked with a frown. If Selen could manipte her time then for Alice who hadn''t grasped her depth perception just yet, it was a dangerous fight! ''Same n as usual.'' Alice nodded as she handed the controls over to Alyss. Rushing towards Alice once more, Selen furrowed her brows upon seeing the golden chains appear on her body. Revealing a maniacal grin, Alyss let out augh. mming her hand down, mes erupted around her as ck hands rushed out from the ground, aiming to grab Selen''s body. Feeling a chill from these hands, Selen wanted to jump back but Alice quickly took over. Abyss Lord of Duality! "!!!" Widening her eyes, Selen realised her body controls had been flipped and reacted immediately. Conjuring a second weapon that looks like a wand, she stabbed it into the ground. Suddenly, the sound of clock hands ticking slowing down sounded out before all sound came to a halt. Looking around in confusion, Alice realised that Selen stopped all of the abilities around her. Letting out a deep breath, Selen moved her body a few times before aiming her sword at Alice. "Truly, I wonder how many abilities you''ve kept hidden. A Sigil that absorbs the surrounding energy, one that releases shes, another that creates corrosive surges of energy, blood manifestation and maniption, these mes and those ck hands. Not to mention your disguise and whatever you did to change my motor functions." Selen narrowed her eyes. *BANG!!! Exploding with earth shattering speed, Alice flipped her controls once more but Selen didn''t slow down. ''F*ck! She''s a monster with body control! Let me switch!'' Alyss shouted as golden chains manifested around Alice''s body. Creating a blood de with a metal core, Alyss parried Selen''s attack. "Metal too huh? Logic tells me I should ssify you as an Abyss Lord level being since you have 8 powers. But clearly, that''s impossible otherwise I would''ve stopped breathing by now. Your experience shows that you''re a pretty young Hunter, immature even. How long has it been since you stepped on this path?" Selen asked, adjusting her guard and disarming Alyss. Grabbing Alyss''s wrist, she punched up, breaking the elbow before following up with a uppercut. Forcing Alyss to take a few steps back as her arm began to regenerate, Selen threw her sword at Alyss which stabbed into the shoulder. "On top of that, you have regeneration. That makes it 9 different abilities now. You are clearly not the pinnacle of human power, a nine Sigil Abyss Lord so I ask you, what are you?" Selen asked, mming her staff down as time froze once more. Alice could feel the sword being stuck to her shoulder, fused even, and it refused toe out no matter how she pulled. "Who knows? Wanna take a crack at it?" Alice forced a grin as she tore off her arm and regenerated her flesh. Furrowing her brows, Selen stabbed her staff down before letting go. Raising her guard, Alice wondered if Selen was about to continue the fight but that didn''t seem to be the case. Her killing intent faded away as Selen began to unbutton her shirt. "The f*ck are you doing???" Alice blinked her eyes, wondering why Selen was taking off her clothes. "Calm down, I''m not undressing for you to get off to me." Selen rolled her eyes as she turned around and revealed her back. Just as Alice was about to continue, her pupils constricted seeing the amalgamation of stitches and scars left behind by countless scalpels tearing across her flesh. A horrifying curtain of torture that was printed upon her back. "Everyone is surprised when they see my back. But you, you have an idea on what caused this don''t you?" Selen revealed a small smile, hiding the scars with her shirt once more. "You said you wanted me to take a crack at what you are, right?" Selen turned around, recalling the sword to her hand. "I''m thinking¡­ You''re just another f*cked up experiment in the long line of f*ck ups created by this family." Chapter 368: Miralith Furrowing her brows, Alice dismissed her abilities as Selen didn''t show any signs of wanting to continue to fight. Recalling her staff, Selen adjusted her clothes before turning to Alice. "Since you''re the same person that killed Jyn and Rita, I suggest you maintain your disguise as Kale for a few more days. Don''t let people see you as¡­ whoever you are. Erick is already telling me to find out your identity." Selen warned. "Either way, we can talk more next time. At least now I know you''re capable." Raising her hand, Selen snapped her finger as the realm began to copse around them. Returning the two of them to the docks, she didn''t hesitate to leave since she couldn''t stay away from Erick for an extended period of time without a good reason. Doing so would just be raising unneeded suspicion. ''She just does whatever she wants at her own pace doesn''t she?'' Alice blinked her eyes while Alyss shrugged. First, she gives her a pin out of nowhere then she tries to kill them. Next thing they know she''s left after telling them not to reveal her true appearance for a while. ''Regardless, it seems like she''s another product of the Zenia''s. A powerful one at that too.'' ''Mnm¡­ Those scars on her back look rather nasty too. Imagine what it must''ve looked like in its original state?'' Alice nodded. With healing blood, you can hide away scars to some extent, butrge amounts of damage will still leave marks. [O'' master mine, I believe there is one thing you must understand first of all. The power that she disyed, it doesn''t belong to the average beast. The power to be able to manipte the flow of time, even if it is just in ones body, is gifted to a select few beasts. Most of them cannot extend their powers far. [A beast that can pull off the stunts simr to what she had disyed and even freeze the motion of attacksunched by Alyss can only be one. Though a slight downgrade to what I have witnessed before, it is no doubt the ability of a sealed Abyss Lord of the old age. The Abyss Lord of Time ¨C Miralith.] Hearing this, Alice frowned as she quickly reapplied her disguise before someone noticed. ''Miralith? So¡­ The Zenia''s have ess to a sealed Lord. F*cking great and they''re throwing out Abyss Lord enhanced Guards as well.'' Alyss threw her hands into the air as this was beyond their initial expectations. She and Alice knew that the Zenias had other experiments happening on the side while theirs was happening. But to siphon the strength of a sealed Lord and even produce a Guard of this calibre was frankly scary. They don''t know the cost to produce such a Hunter but if the Zenia''s could mass produce it then it''ll be an army of faux Abyss Lords. Who knows, the Zenia''s may have already achieved this and simply hid it from the public eye. ''Say if we were to start an all out war with the Zenia''s. Just from what we know, they now possibly have an army of immortal soldiers using the cor, gically modified Hunters holding abilities that shouldn''t be possible and with their inspiration being us, Guards who are able to use powers belonging to sealed Lords andstly, Abyss Lord level Hunters that could worry the branch master of the Underground. Ya know what? Maybe, just maybe, we''re a little f*cked if that happens.'' Alyss let out augh before kicking her bed out of frustration. Panting out of anger, Alyss gritted her teeth. With every new bit of information they find, the prospect of toppling the Zenia continued to extend beyond their reach. Taking a deep breath, Alice calmed her mind. ''However, they have a ring weakness.'' Raising her eyebrow, Ca wondered what this weakness was. ''They all use Abyss Blood. Remember the book that Nalem lent to us when we first met in Zadash? Though you weren''t¡­ here like you are now so you might not know. However, the book is the journal of an old friend of his. ''The Abyss Lord of Poisons ¨C Leoric Becker, first son of the Becker family. An Abyss Lord who got the same first Sigil as me but focused his life on mastering this poison.'' Alice narrowed her eyes. ''If I want to fight against the Zenia family properly, I might have to walk the same path as Leoric. At least to some extent. I need to extend the range of my blood mist so that it can cover the entire army.'' Alice raised her hand and conjured a single seed that blossomed into a red spider lily. In her mind, she could already imagine the possibilities. An army of immortal Zenia soldiers marched at her but with a wave of her hand, crimson mist would descend upon the battlefield. In the next moment, a garden of spider lilies blossoming from the corpses of the so called immortal soldiers, forever used as the nourishment of her nts. ''We could try tobine the effects of your blood mist with my mes while that happens as well. Have the fire erupt inside them the moment they take a single breath of this mist.'' Alyss grinned as the two began theorising about possible ways they could try and wipe out an army using the properties of their fire and flower. Meanwhile, Ca watched by the side as her smile twitched slightly from the methods they proposed. Some may even call it war crimes but against the Zenia family who have forgone any morals in the name of the greater good and research, this was just right. ### "Where the hell have you been." Erick narrowed his eyes as he noticed Selen beingter than usual. "My apologies. There was a suspicious figure that caught my attention but I was being paranoid." Selen reported as Erick walked up to Selen. Staring into her eyes, he nodded before turning around. "Good work. I took the liberty of checking out if there were any¡­ Hunters that took amission near the orphanage. Turns out, there were three who did. Two are students and one was an old Hunter by the name of Samuel. "I had him dealt with and now he''s sleeping six feet under. But the annoying partse with the two students. One is low profile while the other is high profile. The low profile student is aplete waste. Two years in the academy and nothing to show for it. Trash in other words. "But the other is the recent main character of the Inverted World incident. Alice Agnelia, thest to escape and the one that took the longest. Someone who made a name for herself during the exams. There are quite a few rumours that are passed around and if such a high profile figure were to suddenly disappear, it would bring into question the safety of this city." Erick shrugged while sitting on the bed. "But disappearing is one thing. What if she was to... die inside the Academy grounds." Hearing this, Selen sighed inwardly as she understood what Erick wanted to imply. "When do you wish for me to make a move sir?" "Give it another day or so. We have another meeting with the principal tomorrow and I can bring up the topic of safety within this city. After the incident, their manpower is rather spread out. The only notable teachers are the heads of department while the others are pathetic to say the least. As one would expect of a backwater ind such as this one. "The only value this kind of ce has is the fact that the Inverted World is here, and the inderstch onto it like a parasite." Erick shrugged. "Now, shall we continue where we left offst time?" ### The next day, Alice met up with the group again as Kale Grani. Every time Erick would bring up the topic of her joining the Zenia family, Alice would dodge the question embarrassingly as Erick assumed she needed more time toe to a proper decision. If the day was to progress as usual, Alice would go on and do her own thing but that was not the case today. Today, Erick invited her to the talks with the principal, surprising both Alice and Selen. They didn''t think Erick would take the initiative in such a manner despite the fact that Alice hadn''t agreed to join the Zenia family yet. Moreover, outsiders aren''t usually privy to this kind of information. ''He''s definitely thinking with his d*ck.'' Alyss stated. [With near certainty o'' master mine.] Ca nodded by the side. ''Even a blind person can see why he''s doing this. epting this invitation is risky but rejecting it might piss him off considering the fact that you''ve been dodging his questions all day long.'' Alyss followed up with a grin. [Allow me to be¡­ crass, o''master mine. Please continue to act as though thou wanteth to pull down his undergarments and jumpeth onto his bed.] Ca smiled, holding back augh. Forcing a smile while clenching her fist until blood flowed, Alice cursed the two in her mind as she revealed the sweetest smile she could muster to Erick. "I mean¡­ If you don''t mind me being there." "Of course not. Nowe, we must meet the principal of the Academy." Erickughed as he wrapped his arm around Alice''s shoulder. The moment he did this, Alice revealed the slightest hint of killing intent that she couldn''t hold back while ring at his hand. ''Hold it in!'' Selen shouted in her mind, giving Alice a warning re. Erick felt a chill but he wasn''t sure what the source was as he pulled Alice closer. Maintaining her smile, Alice seemed ''normal'' until you looked behind her cor. The veins on her neck bulged to their limits as she held herself back from tearing off Erick''s arm. Her smile wavered but Erick didn''t notice. With Selen giving Alice the silent warning, Alice who was mustering everything to hold back and Erick who was clueless to the ticking timebomb he pulled next to him, the group entered Academy grounds. Chapter 369: Two Days After entering the Academy, the group made a beeline towards the principal''s office while Alice attracted a few looks since none of them had seen Kale before. Ignoring the mutters, she kept her head down as they approached the principal''s office. Without knocking on the door, Erick opened the door and stepped into the office to see Rosalyn with a cold expression. "How many times do I have to say this Mr Zenia, please have themon courtesy of at least knocking on the door to announce your presence." Rosalyn frowned before pausing briefly at the sight of Alice. ''Why the hell is she here???'' Trying her best to ignore Alice''s presence, Rosalyn maintained her cold demeanour. "I would if you hadn''t noticed my presence approaching already. Or perhaps you were trying to hide something before I appeared?" Erick let out augh as he sat on the sofa and rested his legs on the table. Gesturing pulling Alice to sit next to him, he rested his arm on her shoulder. "Everyone desires a speck of privacy and I do wish you would respect that desire. Knocking on the door is a basic etiquette that even children know. Mr Zenia, are you suggesting that you are below children?" Her retort caused Erick''s smile to twitch for a moment before heposed himself. "Regardless, if you have nothing to hide, I don''t see a need for me to knock. Especially considering the fact that you have eyes all over this Academy right? You noticed us the moment we stepped onto Academy grounds." "Courtesy is courtesy. Now let me ask you Mr Zenia, what brings you and your entourage to my office today? I believe I made it rather clear in the multiple meetings that we''ve had, that the Zenias will not be given free ess to the Inverted World. The Academy is fully capable of protecting the entrance and the safety of students." Rosalyn narrowed her eyes as killing intent wrapped around the room. In return, Selen took a step forward, countering Rosalyn''s show of hostility. "Now now, let''s not get aggressive here. Despite your im for safety, haven''t there been quite a few incidents surrounding the Academy these days? It would be quite a shame if more were to suddenly appear, wouldn''t it? There are already whispers of discontent no?" Erick waved his hand dismissively. Taking a step back, Selen returned her to a neutral state while Rosalyn furrowed her brows. "Mr Zenia, I hope that the implications of your words are with the intention of goodwill. Because I assure you, any intruders within Academy grounds will be killed without mercy. I would rather shut down the Inverted World than to have it fall into the wrong hands." Upon hearing this, Erick red at Rosalyn who red back. He wasn''t sure if it was a bluff or not. However, considering the fact that she had been principal of the Academy for quite a few years by this point, it wouldn''t be surprising for her to indeed have a method to shut down the Inverted World. "Either way, the Zenia''s will be more than happy to keep up the public safety with our Guards. Even though we may be a family centred around Abyss Blood, we do not neglect the strength of our guards." Standing up, Erick made his way out of the room. "Have a good day principal." He smiled as Alice followed behind him. After leaving the Academy, Alice managed to convince Erick that she''d give him her answer in two days so that she could deal with some personal matters. Once separated from the group, Alice made her way back to the Academy as she could tell the principal wanted to talk to her. Just as she was about to knock on the principal''s door, it swung open with the principal showing a forced smile towards Alice. "Yo~ Seems like you''ve melded yourself pretty deep into their group haven''t you?" Rosalyn flicked her finger and closed the door before locking it. Dispelling her disguise, Alice slumped onto the sofa. "Just a little." "I didn''t take you for someone that''ll allow a piece of trash like him toy a hand on you though. I was surprised you didn''t explode when he wrapped his arm over your shoulder." Rosalynughed, throwing a sk of mead to Alice since Kaden mentioned that Alice was a mead addict. Pulling out a drink for herself, she sat on the table. "Don''t even remind me. The mother*cker kept touching my face too. If it wasn''t for the disguise, I would''ve torn off his arm and shoved it up his ass already." Alice made a throwing up motion before opening the sk. Her eyes glistened the moment she noticed that it was mead. "So what are you nning then? Sticking so close to them." Rosalyn asked as she leaned back. "Well¡­ Let''s just say I found myself an unlikely ally. Not a great fan of the Zenia''s either. We haven''t hammered out the key points of the n yet but I think I have to avoid showing up as myself for a bit and stick with this identity of Kale Grani." Alice waved her hand, activating her Sigil and threw her hat into the air. "Don''t you think they''re going to make the connection between your sealed right eye and the blind one?" "It''ll be fine. But seems like Erick wants to cause some casualties on Academy grounds. Do you think you can handle it? Or is the Zenia''s getting ess unavoidable?" Alice asked while Rosalyn tapped her chin. "They''re definitely a stubborn bunch that don''t take no for an answer. Despite the countless reasons I''ve given them, they''re still holding on tight. And if things are to continue like this¡­ I think I might have to think of a way to close the entrance to the Inverted World instead." Rosalyn sighed, ncing out her window and towards the orb that hovered above the Academy. The damage done by getting rid of this entrance would be big but far better than letting the Zenias have ess to it. "It wouldn''t be the worst idea. If they seed in getting ess and do what they''re nning to do, I can say with certainty that the world will suffer. Imagine having an army of mini me''s with the same regeneration rate and the violet me ability." Alice exined, ncing up at Rosalyn while not moving from the sofa. "A f*cking nightmare then. My wyverns are still livid at you for killing one of them even though I brought him back." Rosalyn massaged her forehead. While closing the Inverted World is a choice, the consequences of doing so were going to be a pain in the neck. Especially since they''ll send inquisitors to ask about the reason. With the standing of the Zenia family, anything she says without sufficient evidence would just sound like a conspiracy theory. To get rid of something with so much value like the Inverted World over a theory would warrant her death. Sitting up, Alice finished the mead before throwing the sk back at Rosalyn who caught it with ease. "Regardless, it''s ourst resort. I''ll see if I can figure out anything with my new friend and we''ll work out a n." Alice smiled, adjusting the hat on her head and left the room. But right before leaving, Rosalyn stopped her. "Try not to meet me after this otherwise it''ll expose your identity. Erick tried to have his guards put eyes inside the Academy earlier. If I didn''t take care of that, they would''ve found out." Nodding her head, Alice left the room. ### "Erick wants me to kill you before the next meeting." Selen exined as the two of them gathered by the docks once more. Choking on her drink, Alice raised an eyebrow. "What?" "He wants me to take care of your¡­ other identity. While there are two suspects, you have the biggest chance of killing Jyn and Rita. He is correct and thus, he wants me to assassinate you. I do hope you have an ability that can fake your own death." Selen crossed her arms. "Unfortunately I don''t. But I haven''t appeared as Alice Agnelia for a day or so, if I keep this up it should be fine right?" Thinking about it for a moment, Selen shrugged. "Depends on how much of an importance he ces on your death. He doesn''t want me entering the Academy just yet since our ''eyes'' were taken care of earlier. "If I force it, the principal will have the justification of pushing him away which he doesn''t want. He''s ordering me to keep an eye on the entrance of the Academy for when you take a step out." ''Pretty funny considering the target he''s looking for is right next to him.'' Alyss chuckled while Alice nodded her head. "I know I said I''ll give him my answer in two days but any ideas on how to take care of him without Zenia''s sending more people to this city?" Alice asked, causing Selen to furrow her brows. "Originally, I was hoping you''d serve as a distraction. But that can''t be done anymore. Let me think about it, I''ll give you some details tomorrow." Selen shook her head as she didn''t wait for Alice to respond before leaving the area. ''Well sh*t. We can''t kill him inside the Inverted World nor can we kill him outside of it since both methods bring more Zenia''s to us. The principal doesn''t want us to make a move until she convinces him to step down. I''m starting to think I should''ve told him to give me a week rather than two days.'' Alice thought with a deep sigh. She could only hope that the principal could convince Erick in time. ### "Pardon?" Alice blinked her eyes, unsure as to whether or not she heard Erick clearly. "We''re going to go into the Inverted World early." Erick smiled. Chapter 370: Zenia Contract Extalia, the continent that the Zenia family reside in. In the past, it was ruled by a single royal family, the Extalia royal family but after a civil war, the continent was split into three main kingdoms. Extalia, the most central Kingdom, is known as the Land of the Abyss. Thend that the Kingdom reside over houses the most amount of gateways into the Abyss hence the name. Sikha, Land of the blistering heat. A Kingdom to the east that has turned mostly into a desert area after interference by the Eclipse Cult and constant wars with the Extalia Kingdom near the borders. And finally, the Verona Queendom, thend of the blistering cold in the far North. That was the world that Alice knew of before her subsequent imprisonment. However, due to a sudden pandemic that broke out in the west of the Extalia Kingdom, a truce has been dered and the Zenia family has been given authority to enter the Inverted World to find a cure. An order for Rosalyn, principal of the Academy that can''t be ignored. Not only that, but it has the royal stamps of all three families, making it so that if Rosalyn were to disagree, she''d be dering herself an enemy of the continent! Hearing this news, Alice''s smile faltered but she tried her best to maintain her calm. Sneaking a nce at Selen, she noticed that not even Selen was prepared for this scenario as a frown could be seen on her usually stoic expression. "There will be representativesing soon to verify this news and deliver it personally to Rosalyn. We''ll be using that chance to enter Inverted World early which is why I must ask for your answer a day earlier than expected." Erick smiled, sitting down on the sofa while Alice swallowed her saliva. "So what''s your answer? Will you join the Zenia family with me?" Poking her fingers together, Alice bit her lips before letting out a sigh. "Erm¡­ What does it entail exactly? I know that you want my help and in exchange, you fix my eye. But¡­ what exactly am I helping with?" Alice asked curiously. She had an idea based on the state of Selen. Despite her dislike towards the Zenias, she was still forced to work as a guard. Meaning, she is under a contract! "Unfortunately, I can''t share the details until you agree to join the family. But I can guarantee that the family will treat you well if you join us. Fixing your eye will just be a small matter." Erick smiled as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a rolled-up piece of parchment. "Sign thisw of Agreement, be a member of the Zenia family and you will get the things you desire." Swallowing her saliva, Alice unfurled the parchment and read the conditions. The contract could be summed up to three key points. Upon signing the Law of Agreement, Alice bes a member of the Zenia family and the following restrictions will take ce. 1)She must adhere to the hierarchy of the Zenia family. 2)What happens in the Zenia family cannot be disclosed to outsiders without permission from the family. 3)She will not harm the family. ''If you don''t agree, we can''t stay close to them and follow them into the Inverted World. If you sign it, it''s restricting your movement and you can''t harm them. It''s a trap, we can''t sign this.'' Alyss frowned but Alice shook her head. ''You''re missing the key point here my dear twin.'' Alice revealed a menacing grin as she licked her lips and rubbed her hands. ''Huh?'' Blinking her eyes, Alyss wasn''t sure what Alice meant while Ca was also confused. "Yiya~ This contract seems pretty harsh ahaha. It''s basically asking for my eternal loyalty, is it not?" Alice smiled, sitting across from Erick. "I must follow the family''s rules, I can''t talk without permission and I can''t harm. Isn''t this just a ve contract?" Alice asked with a smile that wasn''t quite a smile. Even though she may have shown interest as ''Kale Grani'', her persona wasn''t the kind to just fold over for a ve contract like this. "It seems harsh to begin with I agree but I assure you that the Zenia won''t treat a treasured Guard harshly." Erick chuckled. "Words are cheap~ Shouldn''t you show a sign of sincerity?" Alice rubbed her fingers while making the gesture for coin. "A sign of sincerity huh? Indeed, with your eye you were quite the formidable Hunter, even strong enough to fight against Jyn. However¡­ Without your eye it''s a little harder to say." Erick narrowed his gaze before shrugging. "But very well, I''ll simply think of it as an investment. However, why don''t we add an additional use to the contract? You''ll serve as my Guard." Erick offered, modifying the contract before gesturing for Michael to stand next to him. "I believe you know of Artifacts yes? So if you know of Artifacts, what if I was to give you a personal Artifact as the condition?" He asked. Artifacts. Powerful relics are either crafted by a skilled craftsman or obtained from miraculous scenarios. Each of these Artifacts grant various abilities that are akin to downgraded Sigil powers. But when used properly, it would be like a free Sigil. Personal Artifacts on the other hand are weapons that have undergone a transformation to be bound to the user and enhance their abilities to the next level. For Kaden, it was his grimoire that enhanced his authority as an Apostle. For Allura, it was her sword. [Personal Artifacts while powerful, are hard toe by since they requirepatibility with the user''s power not to mention the drawbacks in activating these abilities. The cost of activation for Kaden and Allura are steep enough that even as Abyss Lords and Apostles, they suffered the physical drain.] Ca frowned after exining Artifacts and Personal Artifacts to Alice. [I don''t know how the Zenia''s can just bestow a Personal Artifact but its definitely fishy.] "If I recall, Artifacts can be attained in the Inverted World but the requirements for a Personal Artifact is far more stringent. How can you simply bestow one to someone you just met?" Alice asked with a raised eyebrow as Erick let out a smallugh. "It''s a little early since it''s still in the testing phase. However, the Zenia family have achieved a method in mass producing Personal Artifacts. If you sign this agreement, I''ll be more than happy to provide you with a Personal Artifact. Additionally, a high grade Artifact will be given to you as well." Erick offered, sweetening the deal as Alice narrowed her eyes, contemting if this is worth it or not. Noticing this, Selen furrowed her brows but she couldn''t say anything. Not when Erick was in the room. For Alice, this was nothing but a trap. If she signs this, she''ll forever be the ve of the Zenia family and moreover, Erick''s ve as well. "Hmm¡­ You won''t do anything naughty with me now would you?" Alice asked as she rxed her tone. Seeing that Alice was swayed by the promise of a Personal Artifact, Erick chuckled before raising his hands. "I won''t do that and if you''re so worried, I can write that into the contract too." While he enjoys doing things forcefully like he does to Selen, going the natural way was enjoyable every now and then. Plus, if it does get frustrating, he could always utilize the authority of the Zenia family held within this contract. It had the highest priority. Watching them modify the contract with the new agreements, Selen could only sigh and shake her head internally. She made a mistake. Despite the hatred that Alice showed, she was still swayed by the promise of a Personal Artifact. Upon signing the contract, Alice could see the phenomenon of the contract taking ce as Erick stored the parchment away. "Fufufu~ Now! Show me how you can give me the Personal Artifact." Alice grinned, causing Erick tough. "You''re quite the gold goblin but sure, Michael, you can begin." Nodding his head, Michael took a step forward. "Which one would you like first? A choice of your Artifact as per written by the contract or the Personal Artifact first?" He asked as Alice thought about it for a moment. Since she was getting two artifacts, she might as well save the best tillst. "Show me the Artifact first." Alice smiled as Michael nodded his head. Pulling out a key from his pouch, Michael stepped to an empty spot in the room and inserted the key into the air in front of him. Noticing the fluctuation of energy belonging to the Void, Alice raised an eyebrow as a door manifested in front of them. "Each member of the Zenia family branches are given a ''vault'' in the Void. This one is mine, feel free to pick any Artifact you find inside. While I may not be part of the main branch, I can assure you that you will not be disappointed by the selection." Erick smiled as Alice nodded her head. Standing up, she walked to the door and gave it a push. *Creak¡­ Pushing open the door, a world of gold and items greeted Alice''s eye. A vault hidden within the vast Void filled with Artifacts, items, weapons, armours, precious Abyss Blood and so on. How many more vaults were like this hidden in the Void? If Alice could navigate the Void like the Void Seraphim, couldn''t she rob the Zenias blind? Thoughts filled her mind but right now, she had to choose a Artifact within this vault that was to her liking. Licking her lips, Alice revealed a grin as an idea appeared in her head. ''What if I use my fourth Sigil?'' Chapter 371: Choosing Artifacts Narrowing her eyes at the multitude of treasures Alice shook her head for now. As much as she wanted to teleport stuff away, the Zenias probably have trackers ced in their vaults. Making it so that even if she kills Erick, she couldn''t im this vault for herself. If she still had Ca unsealed, she could probably see the flow of energy but regardless, the reality of the situation is that she sealed Ca and there was nothing she could do about it. The vault itself was split into five sections with the Artifact section located on the right-hand side. ncing back, Alice could see Erick gesturing for her to go ahead and pick something that she liked. There were two options for Alice right now. First, pick an artifact and call it a day. Second, she could check out the different Abyss Blood and find something that suited her! She wasn''t sure if drinking Abyss Blood that had been kept in a vial would hold the same result. But if it was indeed sessful and she could ''extract'' a Sigil from it then it would be worth it. She had never seeded before but there were always exceptions. Butpared to an Artifact, Abyss Blood was stillcking. Making her way to the right side, most of the Artifacts on disy were weapons, grimoires or shields. Each Artifact was encased in a ss disy and beneath, their name and effect were written down. [Lothim''s Rapier ¨C Intermediate Grade] Increases physical attributes, especially speed. Increases stabbing speed tremendously. Each stab leaves behind a mark. Each sh detonates the mark. The most Artifacts could be ssified into three grades. Low, Intermediate and High grades. Anything higher, even if it is Artifacts, was hard toe by. ''What grade do you think Void Fang would be considered as?'' Alice asked curiously as Ca contemted the answer. [Based on its usual properties, I would say it''s Peak Grade. Above High grades are Peak, Legend, Myth and then Holy grade. While its properties are certainly amazing, being able to turn into any weapon with enough blood and durability to withstand Void Flux ¨C Cleave, it wascking to properly manifest as a Legend ranked Artifact. But since Velouria has upgraded it, it''s definitely Legend grade.] If Void Fang had a disy like the Artifacts in Erick''s vault, it would be like this: [Void Fang ¨C Legendary Grade] After absorbing blood, can take any form. After absorbing blood, increases lethality. After absorbing blood, enhances and adapts to the user''s Sigil powers. Significantly enhances Violet me abilities. Significantly enhances Void Flux attacks. Decreases energy used to manifest Violet mes and Void Flux attacks. Returns to user''s hand if recalled. Superior Durability. After all, Velouria modified the weapon so that it suited Alice''s fighting style. A style that revolves around using her Void Flux and violet mes. If it wasn''t for the fact that she hasn''t fully bonded with the weapon, it may as well be her Personal Artifact! Browsing through the different High grade Artifacts, Alice furrowed her brows as all of them had useful abilities. Weapons that could help her breach defences, armour that enhanced her fighting capabilities and grimoires that summoned beasts to her aid. In the end, Alice narrowed down her choices to three Artifacts. A sword, a staff and a floating shard. The Sword was crafted from a crystalline material with a cross guard embedded with a blue crystal. [Sword of Frost ¨C High Grade] - Passively enhances all physical attacks with cold energy. - Absorbs energy to coat the de in ayer of ice to enter an enhanced state. - During the enhanced state, the user can release aura des with devastating cold energy. - Create a blizzard zone by stabbing the sword into the ground, hindering movement except for the user. Ice des are created in the ground for the user to use. - Absorbs blood to enter a breakout state. Breakout state enhances physical attributes and casting abilities. Swords manifest around the user and bend to the user''s will. At first, the de simply looked like a standard weapon that was better than usual but what caught Alice''s eye was the breakout state. In this state, it enhanced physical attributes and casting abilities. Meaning, in this state, her Void Flux and Void Flux ¨C Cleave would be more devastating! Even if she doesn''t use this weapon as it''s intended, just having the breakout state is enough for her to consider this to be her choice. The staff was made from a ck material that pulsed with a bloody red in the gaps. Secured at the rob was a swirling red orb covered by a jagged w. [Blood Moon Staff ¨C High Grade] - Boosts casting speed of Blood, Lunar and Blood Moon abilities. - Boosts spell power of Blood, Lunar and Blood Moon abilities. - Decreases energy consumption of Blood, Lunar and Blood Moon abilities. - With every cast of Blood, Lunar and Blood Moon abilities, stores charges. Once enough charges are gathered, activates Blood Moon realm. - Blood Moon realm is a short duration area of effect ability that reduces the consumption of all Blood, Lunar and Blood Moon abilities to near zero. Enhances Speed and Power immensely. For Alice, this staff allowed her to boost her most versatile ability, her blood manifestation and control. Boosting the casting speed and power meant her Void Flux, which was created through a mix of her blood and violet mes, would be enhanced! Not only that, but the Blood Moon Realm meant that she could use the special properties of her second Sigil without limit for a short duration. Just the thought of being able to constantly abuse the effects of her red spider lilies and violet me tempted Alice to take this staff. And finally, a single floating shard. Usually, one would stop at the previous two mentions due to the immediate benefits they grant to Alice''s skills and power. However, after seeing the shard, Alice was swayed. A simple floating shard that looked as though it used to be part of a mirror. A shard with a splintered centre surrounded by vines and flowers. Compared to the other two, this Artifact was¡­cking in abilities. While the others had five features, this one only held three. [Shard of Kara ¨C High Grade (Damaged)] - Can form a shield using the user''s Sigil power. - Automated defence that can be manipted. - Absorbs stamina and energy to block attacks. A damaged Artifact yet still preserving the rank of High grade simply due to its defensive capabilities. While Alice was an agile fighter who avoided taking damage whenever she could, now that her right eye is blinded, gaps will no doubt appear. Her blood and metal manifestation can defend her to a certain extent but it was stillcking. Since she had plenty of firepower, she needed a survival tool and this shard was the perfect tool for her. Not only that, but the third ability to absorb her stamina and energy to block an attack could turn out to be more helpful than she expected. However, she needed to limit-test the durability of this shard to truly understand its value. [The shard will help you tide over this period where you''re not used to your current vision.] Ca suggested while Alyss shook her head. ''The shield is good but we''ll unlock the eye eventually, right? Wouldn''t the sword or staff be better? While the staff doesn''t suit me, it''s better for you who focuses on casting abilities.'' Alyss reminded as Alice folded her arms. After a long moment of contemtion, Alice still chose the shard in the end simply to act as a means of survival. Their regeneration is strong but they can''t be relying on it all the time. Especially for abilities thattch onto their bones and hinder regeneration. When both options take her stamina, it is better to block than to tank the strike. Taking the shard out of the vault, Alice showed it to Erick who nodded his head. "Shard of Kara, a good choice. It''ll help cover your blind spot since your eye is damaged right now." He smiled while Michael closed the vault. Alice felt a little regretful since she wanted to leave a tracker in order to find the vault in the Void but it was too risky to pull off right now. "Did you know that this Shard used to be a Peak grade Artifact that was given to a member of the main family? But after it was damaged, it was downgraded to High grade and the drain for the third effect is exceptionally high. Regardless, it''s still a good defensive tool." He exined while Alice affixed the shard to her hair as a hairpin. Closing her eyes, she funnelled some of her energy into the shard while using Tiamat''s power. Detaching itself from her hair, the shard shattered into several small pieces that acted as anchor points while an illusionary barrier appeared beside her. "Oh~" Alice blinked her eyes in wonder while knocking the shield with her finger. Hearing the echo, she retracted her energy and the shard returned back to normal. ''The energy drain is a little steep but if I focus on blocking a strike the instant it''s about to hit, I should be able to reduce the impact to some extent.'' Alice thought to herself before turning to Erick with a grin. Now that she''s picked her High grade Artifact, what''s left is the Personal Artifact. The reward that she had been looking forward to the most yet also had the most questions about. After all, how could the Zenias mass produce a Personal Artifact? "I know that look. Seems like you''re pretty eager for a Personal Artifact huh?" Erick chuckled. "Well of course. Who doesn''t?" Alice shrugged as he nodded. "Indeed. But before we continue, let me ask you this. Do you know how a Personal Artifact binds itself to the user?" Chapter 372: Secret Behind The Personal Artifacts "Do you know how a Personal Artifact binds itself to the user?"Erick asked as Alice shook her head. Artifacts and Abyssal Engineering are topics outside of her expertise and knowledge. The most she learned from the Zenia family was all information on Abyss Blood. "You see, the difference between a Personal Artifact and a standard Artifact is that the Personal variant moulds itself to the user. It takes in what they''ve chosen for Sigils and modifies their abilities to match that. For that to ur, the Artifact must be able to ept a portion of the user''s power. "Their soul in other words. The Artifact must synchronise and be a container for the user''s soul in order to be a proper Personal Artifact that enhances their strength. The difficulty in procuring Personal Artifacts is that there are two requirements to fulfil." Erick exined as he stood up and walked to the balcony. "First, you must find an Artifact with a set ofpatible abilities. You see,patibility is key when ites to achieving a Personal Artifact. So much so that people are willing to pay hundreds of millions to get even ONEpatible ability on a weapon. "And when I saypatible, I don''t mean if you squint hard enough. No, I mean it has to be 100%patible. Preferably from the same source as the Sigil. It is only when this step is fulfilled will the equipment even have a slightest chance to seed. "Thenes step two. You need to get a piece of equipment strong enough to survive the binding process between the user and the Artifact. When a cksmith focuses too much onpatibility, durability suffers. And if durability suffers, the Artifact breaks apart during the binding process. With these two requirements, man made Personal Artifacts are very expensive and rare. "But the same can''t be said for naturally urring Personal Artifacts that are awaiting a new owner. After being submerged in the ambient energy of the Abyss and left to grow, these pieces of equipment have attained a durability that''s hard to achieve through human means. Not only that, but there are often times when there are¡­ slots that have been left empty. "An empty slot that''s waiting for an ability. The ability of their owner. This is why naturally urring Personal Artifacts are practically priceless. Even more than the purest Heart Blood of the strongest beast. So I ask you this, Kale, what makes it difficult for a Personal Artifact to be made through human means?" Erick turned around, raising a ss of wine that he picked up on the table before taking a sip. Folding her arms, Alice was silent. On one side, the man made Artifacts could be tailor made to the individual. Making it so that it''s much easier to fulfil the first requirement of finding apatible ability. On the other hand, naturally urring Artifacts are often open to being imprinted by the new owner. A slot left empty on purpose so that the owner could bind itself to it. [For Allura and Kaden, their Personal Artifacts were crafted by Velouria with the best artisans of Ayr. To ensure that the Artifacts could withstand the power of an Apostle as well as the power of nine Sigils, Velouria used her own flesh and blood as the ingredients. [It''s safe to say that while Nihility''s Edge and the Grimoire of Original Sin are man made Artifacts, they are heads and shoulders above the quality of even the best naturally urring Personal Artifact. A Personal Artifact made for an Apostle using the flesh and blood of a God. O'' master mine, do you know why Velouria decided to use her flesh and blood?] Ca asked. ''Didn''t you say it was because she wanted to make sure it could withstand the power of the Apostle?'' Alice replied as Ca nodded her head. [Indeed. To ensure that the Artifact could be bound sessfully, Velouria used her own flesh and blood. But that wasn''t the only reason. As Erick mentioned, the Artifact needed two requirements. First,patibility. Second, durability. The only thingpatible with the power of an Apostle is the God they received their powers from. The only durable enough to withstand the channelling of divinity is a God''s flesh. Velouria HAD to use her flesh and blood if they wanted equipment strong enough for Allura and Kaden. [That is the same with you o'' master mine. When Velouria upgraded Void Fang, she used her own flesh and blood. While iplete due to the fact that she is a spectre, a memory of the past, it still holds fragments of her power. A faux ritual if you will. It is the only way for her to find somethingpatible with your strange power that denies the Abyss. As someone who had implemented rules to go against the natural order, Velouria is the mostpatible source to you when ites to power.] Furrowing her brows, Alice let out a sigh. She felt as though she was on the precipice of finding out the truth of why Personal Artifacts were hard to make but a thin veil blocked her way. ''Think Alice think¡­'' Personal Artifacts are equipment that''s meant to stay with the Hunter while they grow. Durability is a key factor to the Artifact''s sess. Kaden and Allura needed their Artifacts to be made by Velouria herself using her flesh and blood. Only Velouria''s flesh and blood can act as the base for an Apostle''s power because she is the source. Adapt to the user''s power¡­ Preferably the source of that power¡­ Why? Apostle¡­ Goddess¡­ Only equipment that can handle their power¡­ Compatibility¡­ Durability¡­? Source of power¡­ Source is a beast¡­ Durability of the equipment¡­ Power, durability, source¡­ ''There''s no way¡­'' Alice blinked her eyes as she swallowed her saliva. If¡­ If the Zenia''s did what she thinks they''re doing then¡­ Biting her lip, Alice took a deep breath. "Because the Hunters outgrow their equipment, right? The durability andpatibility are directly tied to the source of the power. A beast. If the beast is a weak beast, it''s only natural it can''t withstand the power of a let''s say five Sigil Hunter, no matter howpatible they are." Alice replied as Erick pped his hands. "Amazing. You''re both smart and cute." He chuckled, cing his ss of wine down. "You''re exactly right. Even with the best cksmiths, they struggle with the fundamental issue of Hunter''s outgrowing their equipment. No matter thepatibility, it''ll fall short of a high level Hunter''s full strength and break apart." It''s the exact reason why Velouria needed to use her flesh. When Allura and Kaden became Apostles, they weren''t yet Abyss Lords. But with their identity as Apostles, it was only an issue of time before they reached the pinnacle of human power thus Velouria needed equipment that couldst until that moment. That being equipment made from the strongest beings, Gods. With the flesh of a God, the issues of Compatibility, Durability and even growth are resolved. "That''s why Personal Artifacts can''t be made easily. It''s simply not worth it. Not only does it cost a fortune but if it breaks the next time you get a Sigil, you might as well not buy it in the first ce." Erick shrugged before walking up to Alice. "So how do you think the Zenia''s resolve this issue? What is the mostpatible source, the most durable and a source that can grow alongside the Hunter?" Clenching her fist inside her sleeve, Alice closed her eyes. Revealing her true feelings would betray her act thus she must recall the sight of those loathsome Schrs who tore away at her. Curling her lips into a maniacalugh, Alice tilted her head back and covered her eyes. "Pft ahaha! I didn''t think the Zenia''s would go this far. You''re being serious right? For real?" Alice asked, ''excitement'' glistening in her eyes as Michael and Melissa paused in surprise at her outburst. A sight they were familiar with seeing within thebs as the two of them looked at one another, wondering if they found another kin. "I was wondering how I was going to hide this but if the Zenia''s are truly like this then aren''t I in heaven?" Alice wiped away her tears before ncing up at Erick. "It''s humans right~?" She asked, slowly as Erick''s pupils shrank in a mixture of shock and surprise. "Humans! The most adaptable beings within the Abyss. A being that can hold the effects of multiple Abyss Bloods and STILL FUNCTION! They can ept the blessings and engrave Sigils upon their body, drink blood till they are full and no beast can contest. "Should you use a beast as the source for the Personal Equipment, they''ll expire quickly. But a human? No~ humans will keep growing and adapt to their surroundings. But therein lies the issue of using Humans as the resource for these Artifacts. "Their souls have already been modified right?" Alice asked, circling the room while ncing towards Michael and Melissa who were nodding their heads in agreement. It was clear they anticipated her answer. "So how do you resolve the issue of the human being tampered with already? You can''t use such a resource as a weapon now can you? You run into the issue ofpatibility. So what do you do?" Alice faked being clueless as she tapped her chin with her finger. "You simply return to zero." Sheughed. "You find humans without any Sigils to act as the base and reforge them into the material that acts as the foundation for the equipment. But even Children would''ve been tampered with to some extent which is why you need to go even further than that~ Ah~ I can see the answer as clear as day now. "The secret behind the Zenia''s mass production of Personal Artifacts are human babies that haven''t been born yet, right? A catalyst to be used as the material, a resource that can grow and mature alongside the Hunter. We simply need to change their shape into an Artifact and instead of Sigils of their own choosing, they receive whatever the Hunter''s get. "What better Artifact could you ask for than one that adapts to your every move?" Chapter 373: Lords Of The Surface To Alice, it was a 75/25 gamble. While she knew how the Zenia family operated and the basis of their thoughts regarding advancement, she had no evidence on hand. The things she imed just now were spection based on her own understanding of the family and the hints she''d gotten from sources and their expressions. All that was left was for them to admit it themselves. *p¡­ p¡­ p "Simply¡­ Spectacr." Erick pped his hands while letting out a smallugh. "I had expected you to be taken aback by the news but it seems like you''re a kindred spirit after all. And to think you''d actually figure out the truth behind the Personal Artifact¡­ You''ll be just fine in the Zenia family." He patted Alice''s shoulder with a nod before turning to Michael and Melissa. "Show her the first prototype so that she can bind herself to it. We''ll leave for the docks in a moment to¡­ wee the new guests from the other Kingdoms." Erick waved his hand as he gestured for Selen to follow him. Giving Alice an annoyed side eye, Selen followed behind while Michael and Melissa walked up to Alice. "I didn''t think you were the kind to think of this solution. Please, how did youe to this conclusion?" Michael asked with expectant eyes, wanting to see the thought process behind Alice''s answer. "Well¡­ It''s just the natural conclusion isn''t it?" Alice smiled as Michael gestured for her to exin. "He mentioned the two requirements. First,patibility. Second, durability¡­" Little by little, Alice exined her understanding and the reason she coulde up with this conclusion. ### Outside the room, Erick tapped his chin with a mysterious smile. "What do you think of Kale?" He asked out of the blue, surprising Selen who continued to look forward. "She''s strange. An abnormality and a dangerous variable. But if used well, it seems like she can be of great value." She replied honestly while Erick nodded in agreement. "Indeed. That mind inside her head is phenomenal. In the past few days that I''ve met her, she has never once shown this kind of capability. I mean who in their right mind would even think of the truth? She''ll fit perfectly within this family." "Yes, yes she will." Selen narrowed her eyes. Alice was more of a wild card than she initially expected. While she may have known the truth about the Personal Artifact, it took her a while to find out. But one hint and Alice managed to think of such a diabolical solution to a question that gued themon cksmith. Truly, it might''ve been better to dispose of Alice during the first night but now they''re both entangled in the web known as the Zenia family. ### "Ah~ Simply sublime~ Please, you must tell me more about the theory of souls more often!" Michael smiled brightly as he continued to question Alice regarding her thoughts. In order to avoid suspicion, Alice only gave a slight insight to what she truly knew yet it was enough to enlighten Michael. [That''s because you had the benefit of visiting Ayr and myself. Being able to see the secrets of the world invisible to the naked eye along with witnessing the soul are opportunities that many schrs would kill for. Literally.] Ca reminded as Alice nodded her head. "Anyways, don''t we need to leave soon? I still need my personal equipment, right?" Alice chuckled as Michael smacked his head. "Right, my bad. I got too carried away ahahaha. Here, this is the node that will form your equipment. When you find the chance, sit down and focus your Sigil power into it and it''ll modify itself to match your power." Michael smiled, handing over a crystalline orb to Alice. The node looked simr to the Inverted World but with a swirling mass of darkness within. Though it may be momentary, the darkness seemed to form a crying face as Alice winced inwardly before storing it in her pouch. "I''ll do attune to itter since we need to go to the docks." Alice chuckled. Nodding his head, Michael gestured for the other guard to follow as they made their way out of Erick''s room while Melissa gave Alice''s arm a hug. "Can I call you little sister from now? Fufu~ You should join the research department when we get back. I''m sure you can get a much better position as a researcher than you would being abatant. Plus, what''s so fun about fighting ugly beasts all day~" Melissa sighed while pulling Alice into her embrace. "There''s fun in both sides." Alice replied despite holding back the killing intent she had for this group. Little by little, step by step. Since entering the Inverted World was inevitable, she may as well kill them inside and find a chance to close it. The principal will find it hard to deny the power of the three countries behind Zenia. If she were the one to make a move, it would be akin to dering herself an enemy. However, there was one exception. And that''s for Alice to be the one to break the Inverted World from the inside out. If she was the one to break the Inverted World while the Principal was under scrutiny, it gives her an alibi and dissolves the suspicions. [The principal doesn''t know about the new order. Meaning she cannot ''warn'' us beforehand and can''t pull anything either. If it wasn''t for the fact that you approached Erick, we would''ve been taken by surprise.] Ca furrowed her brows. Truly, she never expected the Zenias to be able to rope in three Kingdoms into this negotiation. At this point, calling it a negotiation was generous. If anything, it''s more of an order. ''That''s just how influential the Zenias are. They''ve pretty much got a monopoly of Abyss Blood on the surface and their reputation is rather ''good'' as well. Not only that, but they also borrow the influence of the Church of the Moon with distribution. All these thingsbined make it so that not even the leader of these countries can take the family lightly.'' Alyss frowned. While it''s spection, they can only assume that the Zenias have ess to several Abyss Lords at their disposal. ''Regardless, we need to find a way to break the Inverted World from the inside out. If we can''t achieve that, we''ll be giving the Zenias ess to an unlimited supply of experimental subjects for their house of horrors.'' Alice narrowed her eyes. If they are able to make Personal Artifacts out of unborn babies, there''s no telling what else they could do. They simply need the resources to experiment before trying it with real victims. [It''s as you say o'' master mine. I''ll try to think of a way to destabilise the space holding the Inverted World. But I need to warn you. Doing this could lead to two conclusions. [If things go well, the Inverted World simply copses in on itself and the space is repaired. If things go bad, the energy released by the death of an Abyss Lord would assault this ind. It''s going to be a gamble on which results wend on.] Ca warned. ''I''ll take that into consideration.'' Leaving the inn, Alice saw Erick waiting with Selen and gave her a small wave. "Come, we must go to the docks. The ship carrying the new guests is about to arrive. I have to warn you though, even though you may be part of the Zenia family, you still have to show respect. Our guests are Abyss Lords, beings that can kill us with a snap of their fingers." Erick warned as Alice paused for a moment before nodding her head. Considering the fact that the principal is the strongest beneath the Lords, sending Lords is the natural conclusion if they wished to force her to abide by the rules. "Wait, they''re really sending Abyss Lords to this backwater ind? Why?" Michael furrowed his brows. "That just goes to show how important this mission is. So we can''t afford to fail." Erick winked. To the public, this was a mission to find a solution to the pandemic. But to the Zenia''s, it''s an opportunity for development. As they approached the docks, Alice didn''t even need Erick to tell her that the Abyss Lords wereing. Even from this distance, her senses were warning her of the passengers upon that ship. Beings who can tten the ind in mere moments. Civilians who felt goosebumps but didn''t know the source. Hunters felt the looming sense of death and became on guard. Alice felt the aura of a Lord for the first time properly while they weren''t supressing themselves. Allura supressed her aura, same with Kaden. When she fought the Lords during the war in the Inverted World, she had power ''equal'' to a Lord in terms of Sigil power. But now? She only had four Sigils and just their presence was enough to send her into a fight or flight response. Holding onto her arm, Alice furrowed her brows as she followed silently and soon, they arrive at the docks where three figures could be seen stepping off the ship. "Man what a bother. I could''ve just arrive here faster myself than to ride a slow ship." A young manined. He had long blue hair and a pair of emerald eyes and wore a loose fitting white outfit with scaled paddings on the arm, shoulder and waist. A red belt with a scabbard tied to the back. "Have some self respect. We are here representing our nations. Don''t do anything that will cause shame, even if you are a Lord." A woman reminded. She had a pair of elongated ears pointed upwards and a pair of azure eyes with red markings along the edges of her eyelid. tinum coloured hair and wore a knight''s attire with ted armour across her body. And finally, a man with arge stature, far bigger than the average Hunter and the same height as Allura. He let out a silent huff and refused to say anything more. Compared to the other two, he seemed far more aged yet his aura was the most potent. A man with greying hair and a full beard. A scar over his eye, nose and lip. His attire consisted of arge fur cor cape hiding the thick leather armour below with chainmail and buckles. These three were the Lords sent forth by the nations of the surface. Chapter 374: Three Lords Orders Just from their aura, it was hard to tell what kind of power they wielded. But between the three of them, the man with therge stature felt the most dangerous to Alice. If she had to put it into words, it''ll be akin to facing an unstoppable beast. Silence yet ready to pounce at a moment''s notice. "Erick of the Zenia house wees three esteemed Lords." Erick took the initiative to greet the three of them with a slight bow as they nced over to him for a brief moment. Their gaze didn''tst long before looking towards the Academy. "Mnm. Prepare to enter the Inverted World, we''ll deliver the news to the Principal." The woman nodded her head and took the lead. Giving the three a bow, Erick gestured the others to follow behind them. "Which nation do each of them belong to?" Alice whispered to Erick curiously. Without Ca acting as her source of information, it was hard for her to see what kind of Lord they were. "Lady Renna belongs to Extalia and is part of the King''s guard. Lord Kizen is part of the eastern nation while thergest stature amongst them, Lord Urigar, belongs to the North. All of them are high ranking Queens and Kings guard to ensure that the principal listens to the order properly without pulling anything strange." Erick exined, understanding that Alice must be curious about the Lords. However, what surprised him more was how she could keep herposure despite their pressure. Selen and the others that are part of his group had seen Lords before so it was only natural for them to be used to their presence. But Alice? No ordinary Three Sigil Hunter canpose themselves in front of this aura. To Erick, the mysteries around Kale Grani continued without stop. Her twisted mind wasparable to the Schrs in the Zenia family, herbat ability put her on par with the guards and her unknown background. Even though they couldn''t use the Underground anymore, the Zenia family still had a good intelligencework. Yet even with this, it''s as though she just appeared out of nowhere. Had it not been for the fact that Alice signed the Law of Agreement, he wouldn''t have been able to rest easy around her. Indeed, the moment she signed the Law of Agreement everything was determined. As they followed behind the Lords, Alice wondered if Kaden was watching everything happen. But since he was dealing with potential leads to Allura''s recovery, she doubted he had the luxury to keep an eye on her. The only possibility would be the Raven feather he gifted her but Alice didn''t want to trouble Kaden time and time again. This current situation was one where she could resolve it without his help. ''Have you not found a method to copse the Inverted World yet?'' Alice asked but Ca shook her head. [there hasn''t been another case that''s remotely close to the scale of the current Inverted World. Due to its sheer size and destructiveness, it achieved a miraculous bnce that allows people to peer deeper and further into history than a standard entrance. [Other simr cases can only focus on one point in time, naturally urring entrances of the Inverted World. Dungeons for another word. But this? This is like a thousand Dungeons condensed into a single entrance. I knew it was going to be hard but this is outside of my expectations.] Ca replied with a deep frown. ''I see¡­'' Furrowing her brows, Alice sighed before nodding her head. Since there was nothing that could be done for now, Aice simply needed to gather more information and power. Then, at the right time, she can close this damn entrance. Thinking about this, Alice had a sudden thought. ''Since the Lords areing, do you think they''re entering the Inverted World as well?'' Tilting her head, Ca contemted the possibility before shaking her head. [It''s possible but very unlikely. In the event that the Lords indeed join this expedition, the Inverted World will react to their presence and make adjustments. If Erick is smart, he also understands that he can''t expose the Zenia''s n to them and will probably suggest that they enter with just our group.] Nodding her head in agreement, Alice let out an inward sigh before ncing over at Alyss who had been strangely silent this entire time. ''is something bothering you?'' ''Hm? Oh nothing. Haven''t been much for me toment on.'' Alyss shrugged. She was used to it. Spending time silently while watching Alice go on with her life. If anything, their interaction has been abnormal. Neither of them should be able to talk to the other. ''I''ll try let you out more often after this mission okay? Sorry if I''ve been neglecting you recently.'' Alice apologised as she too knew that she had been busy with tricking Erick. If it wasn''t for this, Alice would''ve given Alyss her time of freedom at least once per day. ''Urg... Stop saying sorry all the time. We can''t change the state of our body in the first ce. Just focus on this and repay me with some spicy meat skewers when you finish.'' Alyss huffed in annoyance. Even though Alice seemed tough on the outside, she was prone to saying sorry too often. Perhaps it was guilt but there was nothing she could''ve done about it in the first ce. Hearing that Alyss wanted spicy skewers as repayment, Alice nodded her head with a smile. With their body in this state, Alyss''s time outside was very limited. As they approached the principal''s office, Alice could see the special grade students, department heads and their assistants looking at the Lords with wariness in their eyes. All of them could sense the dangers of these people but dare not make a single move. Doing so meant sparking a fight between the academy and the three nations of the surface. Pure suicide! Standing in front of her office, Rosalyn narrowed her eyes as cold sweat covered her back. Clenching her fist, she could only grit her teeth and stay silent since she couldn''t disobey the orders of three nations. "What brings three esteemed Lords to my humble Academy? Unfortunately, I haven''t prepared anything to properly wee guests such as yourself." Rosalyn asked with a forced smile. "There''s no need to concern yourself with weing us. It''s a very impromptu meeting after all." Renna shook her head, taking the lead and stepping into Rosalyn''s office despite her not saying anything yet. Stepping to the side and letting the other Lords enter, Rosalyn nced at the staff and students before giving a small shake of her head. Dismissing the crowd, Rosalyn gestured for the rest of Erick''s group to enter since they came with the Lords. Closing the door, she listened to the Order. "Rosalyn, Crimson Witch of Ruin, despite being a beast you''ve been given pardon and allowed to oversee this Academy. The Kingdom of Extalia is grateful for your service but a new threat has arisen. A pandemic most foul broke out in the west of Extalia, one that rots you from the inside out." Renna sat on Rosalyn''s seat and crossed her legs. "The strange disease is not one that can be dealt with easily and even some of the best clerics of the Moon church are struggling with containing the spread. Usage of the Inverted World for the Zenia family has been authorised. Even though you have been ced as its guardian and given a contract, I''m sure you understand the severity of the situation right?" It sounded nice to the ear but everyone knew it was a threat. To let her know her ce and force her down. While the pandemic was a real threat and there was no sign of falsehood in Renna''s words, it was still forcing Rosalyn against her will despite everything she''s done. "I... Understand. Please allow me two days to ensure there will be no issues with the Inverted World. As you may have heard, there was a incident recently that affected the stability of the passage. If we recklessly enter, it could cause a copse." Rosalyn bargained but Renna simply tapped her finger against the table. "Rosalyn, I''m saying this for your own good but don''t force my hand. We''ve been sent here to oversee the process and to ce a new seal on the passage to ensure it''s preservation. You do not have to worry about it''s stability. For now, simply await furthermands." Renna narrowed her eyes. Swallowing her saliva nervously, Rosalyn bowed and nodded her head. "...Understood." "Gather in front of the entrance in 8 hours. That should be enough time to stabilise the entrance. After that, I hope the Zenia''s can fulfil their side of the promise and find a solution." Renna nced over to Erick who gave her a smile. "Of course my Lady. The Zenia''s will naturally use all of its power to fulfil any promises made to the nation." Nodding her head, Renna made her way out. The other Lords, while displeased, allowed Renna to take lead since this was technically a part of Extalia''s territory. Watching the Lords leave, Erick gave Rosalyn a smirk before leaving as well. Naturally, to keep up her disguise, Alice followed. Once she was alone in her office, Rosalyn let out a shout if anger as she wrapped her chair in a swirl of blood and crushed it to pieces. Veins bulged on her neck as she took a deep breath to calm herself. All this time, she had maintained her stance as a subordinate to the Kingdom due to the fact that she needed the Inverted World. But if it was going to get stolen from her like this, she may as well stop holding back. As Kaden said, she simply needed to be stronger. After all these years, Rosalyn finally contemted the chances of obtaining the title of Lord. Chapter 375: Zenia Compound Unable to stay behind to talk to Rosalyn, Alice could only follow the group as they made their way to the base of the Inverted World. Looking up at the entrance locked in stasis, Renna nced at the other Lords before nodding her head. Pulling out her sword, she stabbed it into the ground while the other Lords rushed to the peaks that nked the entrance. Two surges of energy could be sensed as Alice understood that the other two Lords must''ve done the same as Renna. [They''re stabilizing the entrance to the World. That way, even if the principal was to try sabotage it from the outside, it wouldn''t work. It''s a seal created by three Lords after all.] Watching the convergence of energy descend from the sky, forming an illusionary cage around the entrance sent shivers down Alice''s spine. If all of that energy was used to focus an attack then¡­ Shaking her head, she didn''t want to think about it while the three maintained the protective barrier. "Go on ahead while we stabilize this entrance some more." Renna nced at Erick. The three of them needed to reinforce the entrance for it to be a permanent entrance rather than a temporary one sealed in stasis. Once that happens, even with the power of a Lord, the entrance will not copse. Nodding his head, Erick gestured for his group to follow him as he took out an orb from his jacket. Realising that the Lords weren''t going to follow them, Alice narrowed her eyes. She understood that this was herst chance to deal with them while also sealing the entrance. First, she wasn''t afraid of being inside the Inverted World while it copsed simply due to her fourth Sigil. It''ll allow her to traverse the Void to safety. Not only that but there were other methods through the Sigils she stored in her Spiritual Heart. Now that the biggest variable, the Lords, were taken out of the equation momentarily, Alice had confidence in seeding with this near-suicidal n to erase the Inverted World. Standing next to Erick, Alice watched as he activated the orb. A pulse of energy epassed him, Selen, one guard, the two researchers and Alice herself. With Selen being against the Zenia family, it''s effectively a two vs three. So long as it wasn''t Selen, Alice was confident in taking them out. For a split moment they disappeared towards the Inverted World, Alice idently let her killing intent slip as Renna snapped her gaze towards the group only for them to disappear. Furrowing her brows, she couldn''t help but wonder if it was a hallucination or if it was real. In that split moment, killing intent thick enough to send her into a flight or fight response. ''There were no Lords in that group. It''s impossible.'' She dismissed. For someone to make a Lord like her feel the threat of death, it could only be another Lord. No being beneath the level of Lord could house that kind of killing intent and danger. Shaking her head, she ignored this nagging feeling in her chest and focused on stabilizing the passageway into the Inverted World. ### Shielding her eyes, Alice furrowed her brows as a strange sense of sickness washed over her. She wanted to throw up everything she ate in the morning. Clutching her head, she nced around her and saw that everyone was in the same state except Selen who was pale in the face but tried her best to maintain her neutral disposition. Michael was less fortunate as he was throwing up by the side while Melissa was using his sleeves to stop herself from doing the same. Erick washed out the bad taste with some water before standing up. "Just a¡­ Urg¡­ Slight side effect from forcefully choosing a point in time. We''ll be doing this again in order to actually find the solution for the pandemic." Erick exined as he stored the orb away. "I thought it was randomised? Or did you find out how the Academy controlled the trajectory of the passage?" Alice asked curiously, holding herself back from gagging on this feeling. "It depends on what you can have as a waypoint or marker towards the intended direction." Erick shook his head before sitting down and taking a breather. "Even I''m surprised we seeded in the first try since it usually takes one or two attempts." Hearing this, Alice nced around as her pupils shrank for a moment before she forcefully regained her calm. This architecture, this blue sky, the garden that her mother tended in her spare time¡­ It was indeed the Zeniapound of her memories. "Where are we exactly?" Alice asked, clenching her fist with an innocent smile. "The Zeniapound roughly 10 years ago. I haven''t told you why we''re here yet have I? The¡­ Artifact we''re looking to recover isn''t an item but rather a beast disguised as a human. Aside from that, I''ll exin the rest to youter when you see what happens with your own eyes. The key is to retrieve the target from this world." Erick exined as Alice furrowed her brows. "I thought you couldn''t take living beings out of the Inverted World? Isn''t it inanimate objects only?" "It depends but don''t worry, just follow me and you''ll see." Erickughed, patting Alice''s head as she held herself back from swatting his hand away. Once everyone had recovered, Erick had Michael hand out outfits for the group. A mixture of maid and butler attires. "The head of the family has already given me instructions on how to blend in until the moment arises. Don''t do anything stupid, don''t do anything I don''t say. Just follow alright? It''s amand." Erick snapped his finger as both Michael and Melissa twitched for a moment. Understanding that this was Erick exerting hismand, Alice followed suit and nodded her head. "Good, get changed here and we''ll infiltrate the party." Erick nodded as he stepped to the side with the guard and Michael while the girls went to the other and got changed. Selen was used to changing fast while hiding her scars while Alice furrowed her brows at the attire. It felt off putting to wear but for the sake of the disguise, she swallowed down her bitterness and changed into the maid outfit. After making sure everyone was dressed well, Erick didn''t say much else and led the way while the four followed behind. As they approached the party hall, Alice could feel her heart beating against her chest. The familiar gardens, theughter in the distance and even the doors of thepound. It had been 10 years but now that she was here again, memories rushed to her without stopping as a single tear rolled down her cheek. But that''s when the fond nostalgia ended. A silent scream exploded in her mind as she stumbled on her foot and clutched her head. The scraping of scalpels, hiss of machinery and the tearing of flesh. Screams, cries, panic. Tables being knocked over, guards kicking down the doors and pained voices shouting her name. Taking several deep breaths, Alice could see her hands trembling as she clenched her fist and focused her gaze. She could see the group concerned over why she suddenly copsed over but Alice simply smiled and shook her head, refusing to say more. Despite his confusion and concern, Erick didn''tment and proceeded towards the party hall located in the centre of thepound. There were two sections, an outdoor party and an indoor party. While Erick was speaking with the other butlers and maids, Selen took this time to stand next to Alice. "Why did you take the contract?" She asked, her tone neutral yet held a hint of anger and annoyance. "Don''t worry about it. I have my own backup ns. Just tell me if you''re still going against the Zenias or not." Alice whispered back. "Of course I am." Selen narrowed her gaze before stepping away. The longer she stayed next to Alice, the more suspicious it became while Melissa and Michael made their way over. "I didn''t know you two were close?" Melissa asked curiously, wondering why the ever so stoic Selen was speaking with Alice. "Nothing much. She was just telling me not to mess up the operation because I fell over earlier. Just not used to these shoes you know?" Alice dismissed with a cheerfulugh as Melissa nodded her head in understanding. "I know right? It just digs into the back of your heels and it feels tight around the ankle. Honestly, if it wasn''t for this being needed I would''ve thrown these shoes away immediately." Melissamented as she chatted with Alice to pass the time. Soon, Erick returned with a trolly, a map and several trays holding refreshments. "Gather up and listen closely because if we mess this up we''ll need to leave and redo everything again, understood?" Erick warned as they nodded their heads. "Our target will appear at the party in approximately 1 hour. During this time, we''ll be splitting into these locations handing out. Kale, you''ll take the southern entrance. I want you to seal it once things go south. An ident WILL happen, watch and don''t let anyone leave. The more people are involvedter, the more annoying it bes to extract the target." Erick exined. While he was exining the other roles to Selen, Melissa, Michael and the guard, Alice had her eyes on the northern entrance. The entrance she steps through with her father and mother while her brothers stood beside her. Even now, she could remember the timeline of events that urred and didn''t need Erick to remind her. After all, this was her birthday and she was the main star. Chapter 376: Beginning Of The Banquet The main banquet hall could be split into 4 different zones. First, the ''stage''. The northern entrance where she''ll appear in the hall with her familyter. Second, the main floor. The centre of the room is where all the guests gather and chat amongst themselves. Third, garden exit. A ce where you can enter the Zenia garden to get a breath of fresh air. And finally, the guard entrance. It''s the location where the guards wille pouring in once the ident happens. Copying the attitude and actions of the Maids around her, Alice stood guard by the southern entrance. Since the guards, Melissa and Michale have been with Zenia for a while, Erick wasn''t worried about their actions during this party. Each of them was taught the basics of etiquette amongst the nobles but Alice? Her background was still a secret to Erick. ''Was she part of a noble family in the past?'' He thought to himself before turning his attention away for now. Honestly, if it wasn''t for the death of Jyn and Rita, he wouldn''t have even brought Alice into the Inverted World and a contract wouldn''t have changed that. But without Jyn and Rita, the southern entrance is left unchecked while Selen is forced to take on two jobs. It''s a temporary measure but Alice''s presence allowed him to continue on with the n. A few of the staff were wondering about the appearance of new butlers and maids but Erick sorted that issue out with a handwritten notice by the Lord of the house and a seal. An item granted to him by Luthor himself to avoid troubles within the Inverted World. Who would dare question a notice written and signed by the Lord of the House? As such, Alice and the others weren''t questioned about their presence. ### ''There''s quite a few big names here aren''t there?'' Alyss asked while ncing at the guests of the house. ''Nightingale, Carman, Bellian and the Palmer family just to name a few.'' Before the incident that was about to ur and the shift in how the Zenia family acted, they held quite an amicable rtionship with most of the noble houses of Extalia. Most of the houses in the party had ties with Abyss Blood and the Zenias acted as a middleman to distribute the goods. Of course, the Zenia had discoveries of their own butpared to their current reputation as the single best family to do with Abyss Blood, it was negligible. ''It is the birthday of their ''treasured'' daughter after all. Plus this is a big event.'' Alice shrugged. Rather than hosting a celebration for the birthday every year, the Zenia''s celebrated the fifth, tenth and sixteenth publicly while the yearly celebrations were left for close friends and family. Fifth to introduce the child as a member of the family, tenth to wee them to the society and sixteenth to congratte them for theiring of age. Most of the families follow this tradition not just the Zenia''s. For Alice, the only daughter of Luthor Zenia, the next time she''ll be seen ''publicly'' after today would be on her sixteenth birthday. Thus a lot of people have gathered today to congratte Luthor and to form connections for the future. [It''s rather differentpared to Ayr.] Ca muttered while observing the celebration. ''How so?'' Alice asked curiously. [As you know, most of the Ayrians are humans who used to be beasts. Thus we do not know our birthday. Instead of a yearly celebration, we host a festival every half a cycle called Day of Rebirth. It''s to celebrate everyone who''s managed to follow Velouria''sw and achieve a human form. [Aside from the Anniversary of the creation of Ayr, the Day of Rebirth is the biggest festival in the city. Oh how I wish you could''ve seen the spectacle.] Ca reminisced with a happy smile on her face. [Though these days neither Allura nor Kaden or anyone else for that matter celebrate this day anymore. Doing so would just draw attention to the remnants of Ayr. Those that survive have followed the change in traditions and switched to celebrating once per year on a day we choose to be our ''birthdays'' in an attempt to blend in.] She shrugged with a somewhat bitter expression. Seeing this, Alice thought for a moment before opening her mouth. ''Do you think Allura and Kaden would be offended if I was to¡­ Well, you know. Celebrate a private Day of Rebirth with them?'' [!!!] Pausing in surprise, Ca chuckled before shaking her head. [Of course not. I think both of them would be pleasantly surprised about it.] ''Then you need to tell me what I need to do to prepare for this Day of Rebirth once we sorted out some things here.'' Alice nodded with a smile as she focused her attention back to the Inverted World as more and more nobles began to enter the banquet hall. Selen, Alice and Melissa began to attract quite a bit of attention as both Selen and Melissa were good looking women. As for Alice, her appearance was more ''toned down''pared to the other two but was still considered a beauty nheless. Melissa joked around with some of the young Lords who were talking to her while Selen kept herself ''professional'' and stoic as per usual. As for Alice¡­ "Sorry but I''m not interested~" Alice tried to keep up her act as Kale but the young lords of noble houses kept pestering her. "Aw don''t be like that. Just a meal is all I ask." One of them offered while Alice''s smile twitched. Trying to reject his offer for a second time, she let out an annoyed sigh as it didn''t seem like he was going to listen to her. In the end, she resorted to drastic measures. "Yiya~ Young lord if you pester so much even I''ll be swayed." Alice sighed as the young man widened his eyes in happiness. Grabbing his hand, she leaned against his ear and opened her mouth. "But young lord¡­ I''m not sure if you can handle me~" She whispered, causing him to shiver before clearing his throat. "I-I''m sure I''ll meet your expectations." "No no~ I don''t mean it that way, my Lord. Perhaps you didn''t realise but please, look down." Alice let out a soft chuckle as he nodded and nced down. But when he did, his pupils shrank as his body shivered in fear. A monster bulge beneath that skirt. Colour drained from his face as he apologised and immediately ran away. "Idiot~" Alice stuck out her tongue as it was a simple illusion but quite effective in getting people to leave her alone. ''Maybe I should use this trick more often.'' Alice contemted while Alyss let out a scoff. ''And what will you do if they''re into it?'' Hearing this, Alice paused for a moment as her smile twitched. ''Surely not¡­ Right?'' ''Well, you never know.'' Shivering at the thought, Alice decided to not use this trick again for the sake of her own mental sanity. Unfortunately, her mind works in wonderous ways and a quick mention caused a vivid scene to assault Alice''s mind in an instant before she could drive it away. ''ARGGG!!! Stupid b*tch can you not drag me into your fantasies!?!?'' Alyss shouted in a panic. As they were residing within Alice''s mental space, such a vivid scene was revealed to both her and Ca. Ca simply hid her face with an awkward cough, not wanting to judge her master. ''It''s a misunderstanding!'' ### While Alice was trying to convince Ca and Alyss regarding the misunderstanding, she continued to serve the guests. A few curious gazes were scanning towards her. More specifically, towards her skirt but no one took the initiative to talk to her which Alice was grateful for. It allowed her to focus her mind on the guards around the banquet hall along with the northern entrance where her father would appear soon. Suddenly, a horn sounded as all of the guards mmed their staff into the ground, silencing the banquet hall. "Lord Zenia is entering!" One of the butlers shouted as the doors swung open. From the door, Luthor Zenia stepped out. The Lord of the Zenia family. Unlike the aged old man that Alice was familiar with over the years, the Luthor here seemed far younger with fewer wrinkles around his face. His eyes were calm, rxed and warm with no sign of stress. If it wasn''t for his appearance, Alice would doubt if this was her father at all. "First of all, I would like to thank everyone for attending this party. It brings me great joy to have all of you celebrate such an important time for me. As a father, I watch my daughter grow with each year. Herughter, her joys. "But it is at events like this do I truly get the chance to reflect back on what''s happened in the passing years. Five years. That''s how long it''s been since thest public celebration that I''ve held for my daughter. But I''ll keep my words brief as I am not the main character for today''s event." Luthor let out a chuckle as Alice clenched her fist until it bled. A sizzling sound could be heard as her wounds tried to mend itself but her nails were in the way. All of this warmth yet he was brutal enough to experiment on his daughter for ten whole years. ''What a load of sh*t¡­'' Alice thought to herself as Luthor continued to give his weing speech. Nearing the end, he raised his ss of wine. "So please wee my wife, my sons and most of all, my dear beloved daughter!" The first to step through the door caused Alice to pause. A woman whom she had very little memories of, a woman whose voice brought her a sense of heartache. Her mother, Sienna Zenia. Chapter 377: Unexpected Appearance Sienna Zenia, an elegant woman with long dark purple hair. A pair of violet eyes and a soft smile paired with a gentle demeanour. As it is a special asion, she wore an elegant ck dress that seemed to hold the universe within. Each of her movements caused the dress to shimmer with countless stars. Watching her mother step through the door while giving everyone a wave, Alice bit her lip. This heartache, this bitterness. Why? And most importantly, why doesn''t she have any memories of her!? ''What''s¡­ going on?'' Alice asked with a trembling voice. Alyss wasn''t able to respond as she too noticed this strange phenomenon. They could clearly recognise her as their mother and yet¡­ the memories of her past seemed out of reach. Holding her head, Alice shook her head but still wasn''t able to remember anything. Even if she had been locked away for ten years, it shouldn''t be enough to the point where she forgot her own mother. Hell, she could even remember the times with her father and brothers before her birthday! So why couldn''t she remember her mother? Unaware of Alice''s dilemma, the party continued as Sienna stepped to the side and allowed the main character to step through. Walking while holding both her brother''s hands, three children stepped through the door as young Alice could be seen in the middle. Unlike her current self with the split hair and eyes, young Alice had dark brown hair simr to her father only much darker in colour. She had a cheerful smile while wearing a glimmering dress of white, the opposite of her mother. Seeing young Alice, Selen''s pupils trembled for a moment. ''Is that¡­ No¡­ There''s no way?'' She thought with doubt. But the resemnce was uncanny. It was hard not topare her with Alice yet at the same time, it seemed impossible. "That''s the target. Remember, do NOT, make a move until the ident urs. Stand your guard and try to stop as many people from leaving as possible." Erick whispered as he stood next to Selen, cutting off her train of thought. "Understood." Selen nodded. Repeating the process for the others, Erick soon approached Alice who couldn''t take her eyes off the members of the Zenia main family near the stairs. "Kale, are you alright?" Erick raised an eyebrow as Alice nodded her head. "I''m fine don''t worry. I don''t believe I''ve heard much news about Lord Zenia''s precious daughter." Alice asked ''curiously''. With such a big party, it was hard not to know about the members of the Zenia main family. But ever since she escaped from the Labs, Alice hasn''t heard a single mention of her existence until now. Did the Zenia''s suppress the news? Or did they announce her ''death'' as to hide her existence? Therefore, she had to act as an unknowing bystander. "The Lord''s daughter is¡­ a touchy topic. If you ever meet the Lord don''t mention her at all. But you remember what I told you right? Guard the exit and go for the target once the ''ident'' urs." Erick reminded as Alice nodded her head. "When will I know the ident''s happened?" "It''ll be a bigmotion so don''t worry. Plus, you''ll see me and the others move so just follow. As long as you remember to guard this exit it''ll be fine." Erick reassured as he made his way to the centre of the room. It''d be more suspicious if people were to find him talking to Alice and the others. Narrowing her gaze, Alice let out a soft sigh as she snuck a nce towards her mother who gave young Alice a warm hug. Meanwhile, her brothers and father looked on from the side with a soft smile. If Ca wasn''t aware of everything that the Zenias have done, she would''ve begun to doubt that this was even the same family that Alice spoke of. Just as Alice was about to turn her attention elsewhere while trying to recall memories of her mother, a man stepped into the banquet from the southern exit, the exit she was guarding. A chill ran down Alice''s back as though an untamed beast had just stepped through the door beside her. She dared not to turn around as doing so could directly lead to death! "Hm? How strange. Are all Maids supposed to be in disguise as you are or is this just a personal hobby?" A familiar voice asked as all three of them froze up. Slowly turning around, Alice came face to face with someone she didn''t think would show up here. A man who used to have medium length wild brown hair and sharp ck eyes with a messy stubble. A man who used everything and anything in an attempt to reach his ultimate goal. An enemy whom she can''t forgive. Lordmander of Ayr, Nyer! While the Nyer in the past felt rather rxed and a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders this was no longer the case. Scars riddled his body and his hair was cut short. He wore arge cloak yet even this wasn''t able to hide the damaged body beneath the cloth. Even with all the wounds, Nyer felt far more dangerous and threatening! Cold sweat filled Alice''s back as she didn''t even dare to shiver in front of him. If Nyer was a silent guardian beast in the past, the current Nyer is akin to a starved beast, hungry for flesh. Narrowing his gaze at Alice, he let out augh as he reached for her head and gave it a pat. "No need to be so scared. I know I look scary but I''m just a guest today." Nyer chuckled, his gaze focused on Luthor Zenia and his family. As Nyer stepped away, Alice was finally able to breathe as she panted heavily. ''Why the f*ck is he here?!?!'' Alyss shouted in a confused panic while Alice was the same. Nyer shouldn''t be here. There''s no reason for him to be here since he didn''t know that she was the sessor in the past! [That''s not his real body¡­] Ca muttered as her eyes widened at the sight of Nyer. ''Of course it''s not, we''re in the Inverted World.'' Alice furrowed her brows while pressing her hand over her chest. She could feel the restless beating of her heart that couldn''t calm down even as he stepped away. [No that''s not what I meant. This isn''t his real body that he''s contracted with the Abyss!] Ca exined, clearly distressed. Pacing around, she began to bite her nail while mumbling to herself. Her panic allowed both Alice and Alyss to calm down as whatever Ca had realised was clearly unnatural. [He''s broke off his contracts. He''spletely free of the Will''s influence and the bindings of the Abyss. The current ''him'' is not a Lord, merely a four Sigil Hunter. But rather than the conventional Sigils that we''re used to, it''s forged! A fake!] Ca exined while sitting down on her bed. [No I need more information. Arggg!!! O''master mine, why did you have to seal me?!] Ca tugged her hair in annoyance as she wasn''t able to find out how Nyer has achieved this and what his intentions were. Furrowing her brows, questions flooded Alice''s mind. Nyer''s appearance, his thought process and his intentions. These variables had thrown her predictions into the wind as her understanding of the banquet began to stray from what had happened in her memories. Perhaps she was too young at the time but she couldn''t recall anyone that looked like Nyer. Or maybe she simply didn''t notice. But there was another variable that confused Alice. The variable regarding Enris''s energy on his body! Since Ca was sealed, she wasn''t able to ''see'' the strands of energy that belonged to Enris. But as someone who''s fought the God of the Eclipse, her followers and felt the energy personally, it was hard not to sense it from Nyer''s body. No matter how faint it was, it like seeing a ck dot on a white canvas! Unmistakable! ''Did Nyere to an agreement with Enris? She loves chaos so perhaps she desired this oue? But even so, there should still be issues with that no? I thought he imed a portion of Velouria''s divinity? So why is he able to showcase Enris''s divinity too?'' Alice asked with a frown. But before she could get her answer¡­ *BANG!!! A sudden collision of power within the centre of the banquet. The building trembled as rubble crumbled from the ceiling. "NOW!" Erick''s voice could be heard, clearly as a sign to seal the exits. Seeing the spiral of energy exploding out from the centre of the banquet hall, Alice furrowed her brows but followed the n. There were many questions in her mind, many of which could only be answered while she observed the situation. Thus to ensure that things weren''t going to be even more hectic, Alice made a move. mming the doors shut, Alice stood in front of the door and activated Tiamat''s power, draining the world of energy into a single orb. "What is the meaning of this?!" "Open the damn door!" "Let me out you whore!!!" Shouts of protest and panic rang out but the Erick group and Alice stood firm. The first to make a move was someone near Selen but they were dealt with instantly. Alice couldn''t care less if anyone was to charge towards her since all she had to do was kill them. However, her gaze slowly turned towards the source of the collision. Standing in front of young Alice who was clutching her arm, Luthor red at Nyer with killing intent while sparks crackled around him. "What''s the meaning of this?!" He shouted, demanding an answer. All Nyer did was smile and in his hands¡­ A single empty syringe. Chapter 378: Chaos At The Banquet Upon seeing the syringe, Alice''s mind went nk. This entire time, the events that led to her torture, it was Nyer all along. Nyer nted the Abyss Blood inside her body! Her breathing sped up as her vision flickered between Nyer, her younger self and her father who stood in front of her. Gritting his teeth, Luthor let out a shout as he turned around and shed down with his de. "ARGG!!!" Letting out a cry of pain, young Alice copsed onto the ground as Luthor had cut off her arm! ck tendrils of ink exploded from the veins, trying to im Alice''s main body but Luthor kicked the arm away. "Sienna! Take Alice away! NOW!" He roared, dashing towards Nyer who created a beast of ink that collided with Luthor, stopping him in his path. Biting her lips, Sienna nodded and grabbed Alice who was crying while blood poured from her wound. Her brothers were panicking an unable to react while the guests were trying to find an exit. At that moment, briar roots exploded from the arm that was cut off and arge tree sprouted in the centre of the room. "Why choose such drastic measures as cutting off your own daughter''s arm on her birthday? I merely gifted her a personal project of mine. Are we not supposed to gift presents to the princess of the day?" Nyer chuckled, curling his mouth into a grin while caressing the tree trunk. Briar thorns shot out from the tree and embedded themselves against the walls while the exits were being sealed one by one. As the roots approached the southern exit, Alice could feel something stirring within her. Try as she might, she felt as though her powers were going out of control. Violet mes burst forth from her body and within that me, her red spider lilies blossomed. "Hm?" Furrowing his brows, Nyer paused as he nced back and saw the reaction of Alice''s body. ''Wait¡­'' Widening his eyes, he closed his left eye before opening it to reveal a transformed eyeball! The whites turned ck and the pupil turned purple! That power, that radiance. There''s no doubt that it''s an artificial power outside of the Abyss. Not only that, the mes and flowers rejected the very notion of the Abyss itself! "Ah is that how it is? Pft ahahaha! If the truth of this reality is such, this one should see how far my product has grown." Nyer let out augh. His mind began to piece together the hints that he''d seen thus far and understood the truth of the matter! Focusing his gaze on Alice''s body, he saw past her disguise and saw her appearance for what it is. "Is this how a father feels seeing their product all grown up?" He muttered while scratching his chin. Creating a knife from ink, he shed along her arm and poured his blood onto the tree. Reaching into his pouch, he retrieved a shimmering vial of blood. Blood that flickered with the light of the stars and gold in colour. The blood of a God! Pouring it onto the tree, Nyer smiled as the tree began to absorb the blood without any issues. ### ''Urg¡­ What the hell is going on?!'' Alice gritted her teeth as she could feel her power going out of control. The roots that dug into her flesh, the fire that burned without control. Alice wasn''t the only one feeling these effects as Alyss buckled over from the pain. ''F*cking Nyer¡­'' Alyss squeezed out while clutching her body. With this variable thrown into the mix, their understanding of what transpired on this day began to shift. She doubted her perception of her birthday. For Alice, it had always been ''someone'' stabbing a syringe into her causing her to go on a rampage. But the current event didn''t follow the timeline at all. Nyer stabbed the syringe into her, Luthor cut off her arm and a tree sprouted in the centre. Watching the swarm of people trying to leave and ignoring the fact that she burst into mes, Alice turned her attention to Erick and the others who were beginning their ughter of the guests. Alice could roughly guess their n of action. Seal the room, prevent the guards from entering, kill the guests and take care of Nyer along with Luthor before extracting the ''relic'' from this memory. [What¡­ is that tree¡­] Ca muttered, unable toprehend theposition of the tree that sprouted from young Alice''s arm. A coldness that assaulted her mind, the fear of looking at somethingpletely unknown. Every part of her was saying that this is a tree that shouldn''t exist and yet here it stood. She had this feeling with Alice before but never to this extent. This feeling of helplessness. The feeling of a prey looking up at a predator. Moreover, Ca could see the resonance between Alice and the tree. Perhaps it was due to the passage of time but right now, Alice was akin to a branch, an extension of this power but not the source! [We have to switch out the second Sigil, immediately!] Ca shouted. If they didn''t switch it and allow this resonance to continue, there was a risk that Alice could bepletely dominated by this foreign object. But neither Alice nor Alyss could reply. Alyss had recognised this danger from the start and had already tried to rece it but the Sigil took root deep within their Spiritual Heart, refusing to be reced. Acting as a waymark, energy from the tree was siphoned into Alice''s body while Alice''s energy was siphoned into the tree. This link prevented Alyss from swapping out the power! shing down a noble who tried to leave, Selen wiped away the blood before ncing over at Alice who was buckling over while violet mes flickered around her uncontrobly. Within these mes, red spier lilies began to bloom as they also appeared on the tree. ''There''s no doubt anymore!'' Selen widened her eyes. Kale Grani or rather, Alice Agnelia was in fact Alice Zenia, firstborn daughter of Luthor Zenia and their target for this mission! This appearance, that power. Selen knew that the goal was for the tree to merge with their target. But if she was indeed Alice Zenia, why was she here? How is she here and why doesn''t the Zenia family know about this? ''Did she sign the contract because she''s higher than Erick on the hierarchy? No¡­ If she did she still can''t harm the family. That''s one of the conditions for the contract¡­'' Selen furrowed her brows, mming her staff down and pausing the time around her momentarily. Flickering through the crowd, she flicked the blood off her de as the people slowly broke apart into chunks of flesh. ''Does that mean there''s another loophole I didn''t know about?'' "What the hell is going on with Kale?! Since when did she have a Sigil with blue mes?!" Erick panicked as the n had immediately begun to derail. "I''m not sure. It seems to be resonating with the tree though." Selen sighed. Now that things have gotten to this stage, she could only bide her time and wait for Alice to make a move. Since she''s the first born daughter, it''ll allow her to override a part of her contract with Erick, letting her break out of the bindings. "Forget it, focus on the mission first. We need to let the tree assimte itself with the young girl otherwise we can''t take her out of the Inverted World. Stop Lord Zenia for now and stall him. I''ll deal with the rest." Erick shook his head as Selen nodded her head. As this was a memory, her contract doesn''t apply to the mimicry of Lord Zenia. Meaning she could use her strength against him. Taking a deep breath, Selen sighed as she summoned her staff and rushed towards Luthor. As for Erick, he needed to separate young Alice from Sienna. Melissa and Michael were having their fair share of ''fun'' spreading a new poison amongst the nobles while the other guard was tasked with keeping Alice''s brothers at bay. Even though they''re young and posed no danger, having them interfere would make things more annoying when they extract the ''relic''. Watching the chaos unfold, Alice stumbled to her feet as sweat dripped down her body. With so much energy coursing through her, she felt as though she would explode at a moment''s notice. Taking several deep breaths, she red at the guard holding her brothers. She wasn''t doing this out of love or care, no those feelings can be fed to beasts for all she cares. She was going to target the guard since all the others were distracted! Narrowing her gaze, she redirected this energy across her body and used it as fuel for her partial bloodline release. *BANG!!! Before she could rush towards the guard, Nyer dropped down in front of her with a maniacal grin. "Are you sure you should be focusing on that friend of yours?" Nyer smiled as Alice didn''t hesitate to gather her energy and fire a point-nk Nova Core. "Oh hou~ Now that''s something I haven''t seen in a long long time." Nyer let out augh, swatting her hand aside and knocking the st off course. *BOOM!!! Creating a hole in the roof, Nyer grabbed Alice''s arm and pinned it against her back, threatening to break it as he grabbed her chin. Forcing her to look towards Sienna and young Alice, he opened his mouth. "You''ve already proved my sess. Shall we witness it together?" Widening her eyes, Alice could see Erick pushing Sienna away before grabbing young Alice and throwing her towards the mutating tree. Briar thorns erupted from the trunk as a female figure formed from the bark. Cracking her mouth open, the beast grabbed young Alice with its roots. *CRUNCH!!! Chapter 379: The Truth Of Alice and Alyss *CRUNCH!!! Flinching from the bite, Alice was speechless as she watched the beast eat her younger self. Young Alice''s body twitched before falling limp. The sounds of her mother crying out with a soul-wrenching scream, her father trying his best to break past Selen and her brothers who shouted her name. "Ah~ How wonderful it is to see one''s own birth. And yet¡­ Unfortunately, this is iplete wouldn''t you say so, my dear product?" Nyer whispered into her ear as he created a small spark on his finger and tapped her neck. At that moment, a golden cor shimmered to life with chains attached. "Why is there still a remnant of young Alice within you? By all rights, you should''ve devoured her the moment you crushed her skull and absorbed her into you." Nyer asked, jumping back as Alice gritted her teeth and wrapped herself in violet mes. "Did your make-belief be a reality? Or was it a miscalction on my part to allow you the memories of young Alice?" Nyer tapped his chin. "Shut up!" Creating a blood de in her hand, Alice lunged towards Nyer and activated Void Flux ¨C Cleave. Releasing a wave of destruction towards Nyer, she watched as he stepped to the side and flicked the face of the wave, breaking it in half. "Let''s see¡­ Ah~ There you are." Nyer made a circle with his fingers and scanned Alice. pping his hands together, the bindings manifested around her limbs as Alyss was forcefully brought out, taking control of their body. Looking down at her hands, Alyss sighed before looking up at Nyer. "What do you want?" She asked calmly. Alice had expected her other self to scream and fight but this calmness? This is a first and frankly, it scared Alice more than anything. "Are you trying to bargain?" Nyer raised his eyebrow while Alyss shook her head. "You brought me out, forced me to take control. Either you want to say something to me or kill me right? So your product can be whole." Alyss asked, dismissing the blood de. All this time¡­ Both of them thought that she was the ''product'' invading their mind. All this time, she was given the name Alyss because she wasn''t the ''original''. A split soul created with a mysterious origin. But the reality was that the original Alice was dead all along. She was killed by the product and the remanent soul was renamed into Alyss. Perhaps that was why her father hated her. Her brothers didn''t see her for who she was because she was never the original Alice. She was the beast who killed her and took her form. "A schr does not interfere with the experiment when new variables appear. He merely¡­ Observe and records. I want to see the results of my experiment for I am but a memory am I not? The fact that you''ve appeared before me is a sign and thus I shall observe. Observe the results of my work in the distant future." Nyer let out augh, snapping his fingers and copsing into a puddle of ink, disappearing from their sight. Watching the chains fade away, Alyss let out a sigh before turning to Alice. ''I''m sorry.'' Alice apologised while clenching her fist. Even though Alyss had returned her control to Alice, Alice didn''t move and simply stood still. ''Why are you apologising for? The fact that you killed me originally or the fact that I''m here now?'' Alyss asked,ying down on her bed and covering her eyes with her arm. Opening her mouth, Alice wanted to speak but nothing came out. She merely stood in silence. How would a person feel if they realised they were never who they thought they were? That everything was a lie. She was never Alice Zenia but rather a product produced by Nyer. Just another f*cked up experiment. Alyss was the original and she''s the parasite that stole her appearance, her blood, her memories and her body. If¡­ if she had never killed the original Alice then perhaps her family wouldn''t have turned out the way it did. Before she could continue her train of thought, Alyss grabbed her by the cor. ''Look at me. How is it that me, the one you f*cking killed, is taking this better than you? We can talk about who to meter but for now, can we do our f*cking job and stop these freaks from getting you/us out of this damn ce?'' Alyss gritted her teeth. Biting her lip, Alice hesitated for a moment before nodding her head. Right now, she didn''t want to think. Don''t think about the truth, don''t look at the ugly reality and simply do what she came here to do. Kill the Zenias, copse this realm. Nothing else matters. Just kill. mming her hand down, a pool of blood began to expand across the entire hall. Reaching down, Alice grabbed the leg of the first guard and dragged him in front of her. Confusion filled his mind as he wondered why he was upside down. Seeing the emotionless eyes of Alice who was staring back at him, fear gripped his heart. *BANG!!! Jamming a Void Flux into his mouth while red spider lilies blossomed across his body, Alice detonated the spark and watched as his head was obliterated in one go. Throwing the body aside, Alice wiped the blood stter across her face, creating a ghastly smear of blood. "That''s one¡­" Alice muttered. Was this why she always felt at ease during battle? Because she was made for it? ''Three left. Michael, Melissa and Erick. Selen is keeping¡­ Luthor busy.'' Alice thought to herself as both Michael and Melissa were annoying targets to take care of. Even though they were focused on killing the nobles, there was a protective barrier around them, keeping them safe. Alice couldn''t repeat the same method she did with the guard since neither of them was open to a sneak attack. However, just because both of them have ced precautions doesn''t mean she can''t make an opening! Focusing her mes into two tiny sparks, Alice began to modify their shape before aiming it towards Michael and Melissa. *BANG BANG!!! Firing the modified Void Flux, Alice leaned back into a blood mirror and teleported above them. Just as the modified Void Fluxes came into contact with their barriers, it exploded into a blood mist and began to eat away at the energy. "Huh?" Noticing the blood mist that exploded around them along with their barrier that was being dissolved away, Michael furrowed his brows when two hands came into his view. *CRACK!!! Breaking Michael''s neck, Alice created apressed orb of blood and jammed it into his throat. From his body, briar roots burst out from his orifices as red spider lilies blossomed across his body. Widening her eyes in horror, Melissa red at Alice in terror and shock then anger. "KALE!!!" "Shut up, I''m not deaf." Alice nced over while Melissa manifested a bloodied halo around her. Ritualistic patterns appeared across her body as she was about to activate her ability when Alice used Michael''s body as a shield and dove into the blood mirror. Confused as to where Alice went, Melissa activated an area of effect ritual to create a zone of safety. However, she didn''t expect Alice to crawl out of the blood surrounding her feet. Two shes against the tendon, forcing her to fall over while two fingers appeared in her view. "ARGGGG!!!" Letting out a scream of pain, Melissa could feel Alice gouging out her eyes as her head was pulled back. Activating her partial bloodline release Alice curb stomped Melissa on the back of her neck. Each stomp caused her blood to stter around her as Alice pulled her head and spine from her body via brute force. Since it would be a waste of resources, Alice snapped her finger and gathered the blood of Melissa, Michael and the guard into a single orb and threw it into her mouth. *BANG!!! Parrying a sneak attack that had invaded her zone at thest moment, Alice''s disguise began to flicker as she noticed it was Erick who fired the attack. "You won''t get out of this alive. Three Lords are waiting outside and you''ve also broken the contract." Erick threatened as he red at her. Hearing this, Alice tilted her head before letting out augh. "Pft AHAHAHAHA! Oh my dear young master, do you really think I signed that contract because I had no way to get out of it?" Alice narrowed her eyes. *Crack¡­ Little by little, the disguise provided by the mirror jester started to fade away. Her split hair, her scarred eye that was sealed by Kaden and the outfit of Ayr. Alice revealed her true form to Erick who widened his eyes at the resemnce. "The contract stated that it will take effect once I join the family. But if I''m already part of the family, does the rest of it still apply? And even if it did, how will youmand the first born daughter? But all things considered, I guess the first born daughter part doesn''t apply to me anymore." Alice smiled bitterly as the only one it applied to would be Alyss. Regardless, since their soul was in one body, the contract couldn''t be applied to them. Sienna, who was dragged away by Erick, saw Alice''s appearance and her gaze trembled. She had just seen her daughter get eaten by the monster but another appeared in front of her. Confusion filled her mind but that was no doubt, the appearance of her darling little girl. "You''re the missing relic!" Erick gritted his teeth. The reason why they were on this mission was because the real relic was missing. But if she was here all along then all he needed to do was warn the rest of the family! "What was one of the uses again? Ah right, obey the hierarchy, right?" Alice revealed a cruel smile. Widening his eyes, Erick realised what she was about to say as he reached out, wanting to stop her but it was toote. "Erick Zenia, kill yourself." Chapter 380: Dissolving Contracts "Erick Zenia, kill yourself." Alice ordered coldly. Widening his eyes in horror, Erick started to lose control of his own body. Little by little, his hands reached for the de sheathed on his waist. "You b*tch! You won''t get away with this! The family will know! They will know the relic is still around!" Erick shouted, trying his best to hold himself back but the contract stood firm. Grabbing the de, he began to repeatedly stab himself in the face. Blood, flesh and bones sttered around him while Alice watched on coldly. This was far too good of a death for him but she couldn''t spend too much time on this fool. After the beast ate her younger self and received Nyer''s blood along with a strange vial, it began to shift and morph. A cocoon of sorts could be seen within the trunk of the tree while red spider lilies blossomed around it. Taking a deep breath, Alice nced over to Selen. ''Ca, is there a way to break Selen''s contract? Might as well do it so that she''ll feel in debt to us. I need her help.'' Alice asked curiously. If a contract can be established, there should be a way to nullify it. Especially since she is¡­ No, she was the firstborn daughter of the Zenia family. The contract recognised the blood within her, hence she could order Erick to kill himself. But she wasn''t sure if it''ll ept the nullification of the contract. [The method is rather simple o''master mine. If Selen carries the Law of Agreement on her or if there''s a mark, simply using your own blood to resolve the contract would be enough.] Ca replied. She didn''t say anything more than necessary as both Alice and Alyss were in a delicate situation. Alyss was taking in the fact that she was the original and that Alice had killed her and absorbed her. Alice was taking in the fact that she was the product of Nyer, made to consume the original Alice and take over her body. The anger and hatred from her family towards her had been justified. She was the one who broke apart the happy family. Nodding her head, Alice made her way to Selen while the cocoon hadn''t hatched yet. "Do you have the Law of Agreement on you? I''ll dissolve the contract with my blood." Alice asked as Selen nodded her head. Pulling out a rolled up piece of parchment, she watched as Alice made a cut on her finger and stamped it on the roll. Golden energy filtered through the void as it wrapped around the contract. *SHATTER The sounds of chains breaking could be heard as Selen felt the contract that''s been binding her this entire time fading from her body. Closing her eyes to enjoy this sensation, she took a deep breath before lunging at Alice! *BANG!!! Her de was parried by a blood sword as Alice red at Selen. "The f*ck are you doing?!" "Venting. So you''re the first born daughter of the Zenia family. If it wasn''t for you, they wouldn''t have poured that vile blood into me. Do you know how much I had to go through because of you?" Selen gritted her teeth as the two of them stared at one another. "Congrattions. I don''t know if you know this but you''re not the only one that suffered okay? Now can you help me kill the relic or not? If you don''t want to help me, kindly go f*ck yourself and let me deal with this." Alice frowned as mes and flowers erupted around her. It was clear that Alice was willing to go all out if Selen didn''t cooperate. While Selen was confident that she could put up a fight against Alice, she wasn''t sure if she could do the same against the strange man who had the syringe. There was something abnormal about him that terrified her to her core. If he was to make a move, she wouldn''t be able to fight back. "Fine. Our cooperation ends once we get out of this ce." Selen frowned as she conjured her staff and turned to the tree. "Care to spare a drop of blood first?" Alice smiled, causing Selen to raise and eyebrow. "Why?" "Just some preparations." Alice shrugged. Since she knows they weren''t going to be on the same side after this, she wasn''t going to hold her cards close to her chest. Narrowing her eyes, Selen remembered their previous fight and frowned. "You''re going to copy or steal my power aren''t you? I was wondering how you can have so many abilities. It must be blood, right?" ''Sharp b*tch.'' "Perhaps. So are you going to give me a drop or not?" Alice asked. Since they were cooperating and Alice wanted her help, the likelihood of it being ''steal'' was unlikely. It was leaning more towards ''copy'' as Selen bit her finger before throwing some blood towards Alice. Using her blood maniption to attach some blood mist to the droplet, Alice threw it into her mouth. "Are you taking offence, or shall I? we still need to be careful about the weird guy and I''m not sure if we can kill him or not." Selen asked as Alice nced up to see Nyer sitting on the pir, giving her a wave with a small smile. "Ignore him. He''s an observer and won''t interfere. He simply wants to see how I deal with his tree of his." Alice shook her head. Taking a deep breath, Alice activated her partial bloodline release. "We''ll switch roles depending on the situation!" Charging forward, Alice created four floating blood des and shot them towards the roots that burst out of the ground. Exploding into wall of violet mes, Alice noticed that the tree had mes of its own. ''It''s resonating with the powers I have.'' "Don''t get hit by the fire or flowers. Get hit and you won''t be able to use your Sigils." Alice warned as Selen nodded. Flipping her body, she vaulted over a root before the flowers or mes could reach her. Just as she was about tond, a trap of briar thorns manifested but Selen was prepared. Stabbing her staff into the ground, she used it as a tform before shing away at the roots around her, tearing them to shreds. Once again, Alice was reminded of just how much control Selen had over her own body. Even when she flipped her controls, Selen was able to adapt almost instantaneously. Using her hand as a medium, Alice created several modified Void Flux ¨C Cleaves and used it to fend off the roots that reached for her before aiming a Void Flux at the cocoon. *BANG!!! Firing the spark, Alice frowned upon seeing a wall of briar thorns absorb her attack and sprout red spider lilies. "Tch!" Watching the two of them try to approach the cocoon, Nyer chuckled inwardly. Truly, he never expected Alice to be able to use Allura''s techniques. ''Seems like the gamble was a sess after all.'' He smiled. The ''product'' he had injected into young Alice was a type of parasitic blood. One that had extremely potent adaptability capable of even epting the blood of a God. However, there was one issue with this. A vessel. It needed a capable vessel to hold its power otherwise even with superb adaptability, the host would die in due time. In order for him to create a new body for his Goddess, he needed to fulfil several requirements. And right now, his main goal is to procure the right body for her. An immortal body and a vessel capable of sustaining the powers of the Abyss. Young Alice matched this description. Through his countless years of exploring the Abyss, the surface and all of its inhabitants, she was the strangest that he had seen. While the product was designed to be a nk canvas, she was on apletely different level. Not only could she adapt, but she could ''clean'' the canvas. If paired with his product, he could truly create something miraculous. A miracle in the flesh that can ept the power of a God. The foundation of a man made God. Seeing the Alice of the future, it seems like he was right all along as she has truly taken advantage of her own physique. The countless powers stored within her body yet she maintains control. However¡­ To truly be the vessel of a God, it was still a littlecking. Hence why Nyer decided to¡­ ''enhance'' his product in the current world. His own blood that had siphoned traces of divinity from Allura and Kaden along with powers granted by Enris, God of the Eclipse. And on top of this, the blood of a God. With all of this, it should allow the product to undergo a metamorphosis, advancing to the next stage. Once Alice defeats the enhanced product, a resonance effect should ur within her own body as it did earlier, absorbing the residual energy. ''Don''t disappoint me now~'' Nyer smiled. Noticing some movement in the back, he could see Luthor and Sienna evacuating their sons while Alice fought against the beast. Sienna was conflicted and wanted to save Alice. She wasn''t sure of her true identity but that was now doubt the appearance of her daughter. Luthor on the other hand, was more doubtful as he witnessed the beast eat his daughter. Not only that, but the two of them share the same power meaning the Alice they were seeing was the beast but from a different time! Scratching his chin, Nyer wondered if he should give Alice another push but upon remembering the hatred in her eyes after seeing Luthor, he shook his head. He simply needed to watch the events unfold. There was nothing else he needed to do, nothing that he needed to prove. Alice''s existence has already proven the progress of his n and nothing else was needed. Soon, he will be reunited with his beloved Goddess. Chapter 381: Selens Trump Card Pushing back the onught of roots, fire and briar thorns, sweat dripped down Alice''s face as she realised the tree was getting faster with each passing moment. Due to the effects of her fire, neither of them could use their Sigil abilities against the tree. If Alice''s control of the violet mes and her red spider lilies were considered to be level 1, the tree would be level 5. It was on a whole different level! *BANG!!! mming her staff down, Selen attempted to freeze the time around them but mes burned away her powers in an instant. Within that instant, five roots shot towards her but they were different than usual. On the tip, syringe like spikes aimed to pierce her body as Selen realised they wanted to drain her of blood! Twisting her body, she managed to dodge three but two were about to hit. *CLANG!!! Creating a blood mirror above Selen, Alice appeared and kicked the two roots away before dragging Selen into her mirror. Sliding across the floor, the two red at the tree that was now focused on defending itself once more. "Do you have anything to burn this damn thing to the ground?" Selen asked as Alice furrowed her brows. Swapping Sigils only works once and once it''s been reced, it''ll stay like that for hours. Right now, she couldn''t afford to get rid of her second, third or fourth. Granted, she ate the blood of the guard so she''s equal to a six Sigil Hunter but those Sigils can only be assigned once. If something bad urs and she''s already reced them, it''ll be difficult to escape the predicament. "Depends but if it doesn''t work I won''t be able to do anything about it. It''s a trump card ya know?" Alice forced a smile. Hearing this, Selen furrowed her brows as she let out a sigh. "Can you buy me a bit of time then? I''ll activate my resonance." Selen asked as Alice furrowed her brows and nodded her head. "I''ll certainly try." Taking a deep breath, Alice mmed her palm down as a pool of blood began to expand across the area. From the blood, weapons manifested and shot towards the roots that surged towards Selen. Detonating it into a brilliant disy of mes and explosions, Alice nced back and saw Selen with her eyes closed. In front of her, she held her staff. ''Seems like her resonance has something to do with the power of time. If I just defend, it''ll be easy for the tree to overwhelm me.'' Crouching down, Alice set down a node next to Selen before dashing towards the tree. Snapping her fingers, she created three Void Fluxes next to her and fired it at thergest root she could see. *CRACK!!! pping her attack out of the air using a smaller root, the tree tunnelled therge root into the ground, aiming for Selen but Alice was ready. sping her hands together with a Void Flux, she activated the node she set around Selen. *BANG!!! A dome of mes and flowers burst out from the ground, creating a barrier of sorts that prevented any roots or thorns from hitting Selen. Using this chance, Alice aimed her third Void Flux at the cocoon. Adjusting its shape for prative power, she narrowed her eyes and fired. The recoil of the st caused the pool of blood around her to scatter but it was within her calctions. Controlling the blood, she had them nk the modified Void Flux and warded off the thorns. Spider lilies blossomed along the trunk as they formed a protective. Uponing into contact with the Void Flux, it began to twist and snap. However, Alice noticed its goal. By having it twist and snap, it was able to reduce the spin on her attack, thus reducing the prative power. Before it lost more momentum, Alice forcefully detonated the spark. *BOOM!!! Looking at the cloud of smoke and mes, Alice narrowed her gaze before bending her body back. Above her, a spike thorn began to slowly retract. "!!!" Cold sweat filled her back as Alice could feel her head beating against her ear. If she was any slower, that thorn would''ve pierced her body. The Zone that she had established around her body warned her at thest moment and she instinctively bent back. Yet it was this exact move that saved her life and prevented the thorn from tearing off her head. Just as Alice was recovering from her initial dodge, two more thorns rushed out as she dodged the first but was struck by the second. "Arg!" Gritting her teeth, Alice created a dagger and cut off a piece of her forearm that the thorn struck. However, her cut wasn''t deep enough as she could see roots burrowing into her flesh. "Gods f*cking dammit!" The speed of these thorns was far too fast for Alice to defend using the automated defence of her Shard of Kara. Yet her Zone wasn''t stable enough to control the shard with pinpoint uracy. Taking a deep breath, she didn''t hesitate to create a Void Flux and aimed at her arm. *BANG!!! Destroying the roots that were trying to reach her main body, Alice jumped back to create some distance before more thorns could strike her. Since she had used the Void Flux, her regeneration was slowed down by the mes butpared to having roots inside her, this was the more preferable oue. As the dust cleared, Alice could see a single arm reaching out from the cocoon that had controlled the briar thorns. A strange darkness covered the arm simr to her first Resonance and slowly blended back into her natural skin tone. Grabbing the edge of the cocoon, the arm tore away at the chunks as a woman''s figure began to reveal herself. Dishevelled crimson hair, the same shade as the red spider lilies that blossomed on the tree. A pair of unfeeling red eyes with the pattern of the lilies printed upon her face. A visage simr to that of a mix between Velouria and Alice herself. The outfit consisted of briar thorns digging into her flesh and a curtain of blood that acted as fabric. Stepping out of the cocoon in her bare feet, the woman nced around cluelessly while raising her hand. Seeing the blood drip down her arm, she opened her mouth and licked the blood before curling her lips up into a smile. "Alice! Get out of the way!" Selen shouted while Alice was frozen by the appearance of the beast. Hearing Selen''s shout, Alice immediately dove into a blood mirror and Selen pulled out her staff and aimed it towards the beast. In her resonance form, Selen''s hair turned into a crystalline white. Adorned with a marble coloured and ck dress with straps of fabric hovering around her as though it was underwater, she rushed forward. With each step she took, the sound of a clock hand ticking could be heard as she weaved through the countless thorns that the beast sent towards her. Taking another step, she pivoted on her foot and stabbed her staff into the ground. Biting her finger, she drew a line along the shaft of the staff before circling the beast in an anti clockwise motion. A barrier manifested around the staff while Selen reached the next zone and created a second staff. Once again, she drew a single line of blood upon the shaft of the staff. Noticing what she was trying to do, the beast began to send more thorns towards Selen but Alice wasn''t going to stand by and do nothing. mming her hand down, orbs of blood appeared around Selen. Just as the thorns were about to reach her, an orb would intercept and transform into a mirror, sending the attack elsewhere. While she may struggle with dodging thorns while they were rushing towards her, positioning her mirrors around someone else was a different matter! Giving Alice a side eye, the beast furrowed her brows ever so slightly before aiming her hand towards Alice. Sensing danger, Alice rolled to the side and fired a Void Flux towards where she was standing out of instinct. *BANG!!! Colliding with a pir of thorns that pierced through the ground, mes erupted beside her but Alice made sure to keep most of her attention on Selen. While she may be a master at controlling her body along with slowing the time around her, without Alice''s help, she would''ve been stabbed by several thorns already! Upon cing the twelfth staff, Selen jumped back and mmed both her hands against the ground. A ritualistic circle manifested around the beast as illusionary glyphs appeared above each staff. Blue energy flooded into the room, forming a barrier with each point being anchored down by a staff and above, space cracked apart. [There''s no doubt, this is indeed the power of Miralith, the Abyss Lord of Time. Selen''s formed a ritual but the Lord should be sealed. How is she able to bring out its power?] Ca frowned. A Sealed Abyss Lord cannot die nor can they exert their powers with few exceptions such as Tiamat. And even then, they are limited to a minuscule fraction of their abilities. Miralith certainly doesn''t belong to this tier, even if it can control certain aspects of time. However, Selen was able to bring out its power. Either the Zenia''s have found a loophole or Miralith''s bindings have be loose! From the crack of time, a pair of illusionary ws tore apart the entrance as a colossal beast revealed its head. With a pair of jagged horns, two pairs of eyes and a wingless draconic body that seemed to shimmer between skeletal form and flesh, the Sealed Abyss Lord of Time manifested in the banquet hall! [Abyss Lord of Time: Miralith ¨C ?????????] Chapter 382: Alice Vs The Product [Abyss Lord of Time: Miralith ¨C ?????????] Widening her eyes, Alice took a step back upon seeing the visage of a sealed Abyss Lord. While it wasn''t here in its true form, the pressure it exerted was no less than Tiamat from the Inverted Realm! Seeing all of this, Nyer scratched his chin with amusement. ''Miralith huh? It''s not the same Miralith I know from this time. Meaning thisss is from the future as well. . . Interesting.'' With the ritual zone established, Selen gritted her teeth as blood began to pour from her orifices but she continued the ritual. Meanwhile, the beast tried to break out yet the barrier held firm. Little by little, her movements began to slow down as the zone within the barrier slowly lost its colour. Even without Ca, Alice could tell that Miralith was slowing down the time within the barrier until it came to a stop. [Once Miralithpletely stops the time within the barrier, anything trapped inside will essentially be removed from the flow of time. In essence, they die.] Ca exined using her previous knowledge of Miralith as a basis. However, things didn''t go that smoothly. From inside the barrier, the beast narrowed her gaze as she could feel the withering of her body. The slow decay and the removal of time from within this barrier. If she were to do nothing, she would die! Die? No, she couldn''t let that happen. She had to survive! She refused to die in this ce! "ARGGGGG!!!" Letting out a cry of anger, briar thorns exploded out of the beast''s back as ittched onto the barrier. While it couldn''t pierce it, the beast didn''t care as it wasn''t her goal in the first ce. *BANG!!! Violet mes and red spider lilies blossomed across her body while strange marks appeared. It reminded Alice of Sigil patterns yet they were very different at the same time. A fake Sigil. "What the hell is this beast?!" Selen widened her eyes, clearly sensing a familiar power contesting against her ritual. The briar thorns that exploded from the beast''s back began to glow as pulses of blue energy could be seen rushing towards the main body. *URAHHH!!!! Letting out a roar, Miralith cracked her jaw open as energy gathered into a single orb. Firing it towards the beast that was attempting to siphon her power, Miralith mmed her ws into the ground. Within the barrier, light began to fade. The material thatposed the floor and rubble cracked apart and was reduced to dust in the blink of an eye. The briar thorns and the flowers withered while the mes reduced in size. Alice wanted to assist but there wasn''t much she could do right now. Anything she did would interfere with the barrier that Selen had established. ''It''s not enough. The me isn''t extinguished, the¡­ beast is still alive.'' Alyss frowned. The pulse of the fire held on as it flickered to a heartbeat. *Ba-dum¡­ Ba-dum¡­ With each beat, the mes would fight back before calming down. Fight back then calm down. With each flicker, it limated itself to the surrounding pressure of Miralith attempting to extinguish it. With each flicker, it anchored itself in this realm that was slowly being drained of time. With each flicker, Alice could feel herself being drawn towards that me. Unknowingly, the violet mes that shemands began to manifest around her body. "Selen, you should get back." Alice frowned. She could feel the beast gaining more power with each pulse and soon, the barrier wouldn''t be able to hold it back anymore. Selen wanted to protest but decided against it. Seeing as how Alice''s mes were beginning to sync up with the beast''s, it was clear that Alice understood what was happening inside that realm. Not only that, but Selen could sense her ritual beginning to fail with Miralith struggling to exert more pressure within the barrier. It felt as though an invisible wall was blocking her, preventing more time from slipping away. Clenching her fist, Selen nodded her head before pressing her palm against Alice''s back. "It''s a slight speed buff. It''s not much since the effects are diminished when used on someone other than me. But it should help you keep up to some extent." Raising an eyebrow, Alice chuckled before nodding her head. Watching Selen jump back, Alice ced her hand over her chest. She could feel the beating of her own heart in tandem with the rhythmic pulses of the me. While their meeting may have been coincidental and should never have happened, now that she''s here, a resonance has been formed. Much like how a beast would feel threatened when an equally strong opponent was to invade their territory, Alice instinctively felt anger and threat towards ''herself''. Only one of them can exist! ''Calm yourself. Don''t lose sight of the goal and switch when you need to. We''re not a one woman show, there''s two of us here.'' Alyss reminded, understanding that Alice''s state was abnormal. Not only was she psychologically stressed due to the revtion that she was a product all along and not even the Original Alice, but her body was also reacting strangely due to the presence of the beast. *Fuuu¡­ Letting out a breath, Alice nodded her head. ''I know. I won''t do something stupid.'' Alice forced a smile even though she didn''t feel like smiling. She understood that neither Alyss nor Ca could hear the ringing in her ears. Amand that continued to echo while the mes fester within the boundary of frozen time. KILL!!! *CRACK!!! SHATTER!!! Breaking out of the barrier, several thorns shot towards Alice. Crouching down, Alice activated her partial Bloodline Release and dashed towards the beast without any hesitation. Creating a sword simr to Void Fang using her blood maniption, she activated the Shard of Kara. Using the shard to defend her blind spot, Alice pivoted on her right foot and shed down. *KRKKK!!!! Tearing apart the root using her de coated in mes, Alice adjusted her grip into a reverse grip and parried two more attacks. Just as a third thorn was about to collide with her body, the Shard of Kara mmed into it from the side, knocking the thorn off target. Taking a deep breath, Alice manifested a wall of blood beads and sent it towards the beast. Each of the beads began to pulse as mes erupted from the centre. Sparks of light detonated within and it turned into a nket of Void Fluxes! *BANG!!! Colliding with a wall of thorns, smoke and debris shot out while the beast furrowed her brow. ''Behind!'' Snapping her head 180 degrees, it watched as Alice burst through the smoke with her de in hand. However, she was ready for the sneak attack as she curled her lips into a wide grin and revealed her sharp teeth. Clusters of thorns appeared behind Alice and exploded before she could jump out of the way! Gritting her teeth, Alice could feel the thorns digging into the flesh on her back. Now that she was face to face with the beast, she might as well get a good hit in before she distanced herself! *KRK KRK!!! Two rapid shes, one on the right arm and one on the left. Just as the beast was about to regenerate, Alice interfered and snapped her finger. Metal stars stabbed into the beast''s wound as red spider lilies blossomed! First Resonance! Looking at Alice who has flower patterns manifested on her face while her form shifted to match her Resonance, the beast unleashed a barrage of roots to force Alice away. Panting heavily, she red at Alice who looked at the thorns that squirmed beneath her skin. Letting out a small chuckle, golden chains and cuffs materialised across her body. The appearance of Alice''s first Resonance changed to match Alyss as countless ck limbs burst out of her shadow, wing at her flesh, forcefully dug out the thorns and tossed them onto the ground. Stitching her flesh together, Alyss narrowed her eyes and taunted the beast. Gritting her teeth, the beast created a de of thorns and removed her arms from the shoulder before regenerating new limbs, matching Alice''s actions. Grabbing the sword, she stabbed it into the ground. At that moment, a ritual circle erupted around Alice, the very same that Selen tried to trap her in! "That''s not gonna work on me." Alyssughed as she exploded with blinding speed and appeared next to the beast. Twisting her body, she kicked the beast in the head, sending her body flying into a wall. However, the beast managed to leave a thorn in Alyss''s stomach. But she didn''t care for the damage and wed it out forcefully. Watching this short exchange, Selen winced at the thought of sustaining such injuries. It didn''t feel like a battle between a Hunter and a beast. Rather, it was more reminiscent of two beasts wing at each other in desperation! Looking at the beast who was pulling herself out from the rubble, Alyss frowned as she could see the beast improving with each second. The longer they fight, the stronger the beast became. Thus they must finish it as soon as possible. An attack topletely surpass their regeneration. Closing her eyes, Alyss handed over the controls back to Alice as she reached into her pouch and pulled out a single orb. Looking at the swirl of energy that seemed to resemble a screaming face, Alice apologised inwardly. She wasn''t able to free them or undo what had been done. What she could do was grant them a chance at vengeance. To foil the ns the Zenia''s have worked towards and end the beast along with this Inverted World. She was going to tune herself with this orb to create her Personal Artifact! Chapter 383: The Beasts Resonance Looking at the orb made from an unborn human, Alice hesitated. There were other ways she could use to try and defeat the beast but they would take too long. Not only that but because the tree was ''her'', there''s an inherent risk that the tree would steal her power. It had already happened earlier with the barrier and with each passing second, she was getting stronger through siphoning the abilities around her. ''I won''t be surprised if she steals my blood abilities next.'' Alice thought to herself, stepping to the side and dodging a thorn strike. Just as she dodged, the thorns cracked open to reveal several seeds that shot towards Alice. Widening her eyes, Alice controlled the Shard to appear in front of her. Expanding the shield, she watched as the seeds grew roots and dug into the barrier before sprouting spider lilies. ''She''s adapting already!'' Recalling the shield, Alice twisted her body and created an orb of fire in her hands. Swiping up, a wave of mes rushed towards the beast as she took this moment to channel her energy into the orb. A Personal Artifact. A weapon that is perfectly matched with her abilities allowing her to bring out more than 100% of her potential. In order to reach a level of power that''s capable of killing this beast in one go, Alice had to choose her Sigils carefully. Her first Sigil was stuck as the Mirror Jester. An unfortunate situation but she couldn''t do anything about it. Her second can''t be changed right now, not that she wanted to. It''s the Sigil that makes up the foundations of her power. Taking it out would cause her to lose ess to all of her main attacks. Therefore, under no circumstances can she change out her second. Her third can''t be changed either. The blood and metal manifestation was far too beneficial as it stopped her from using her own blood as a resource. Had it not been for this, each time she fights, Alice would be anaemic even if she cycles the blood back into her own body. Her fourth was a safety that also doubles as an offensive option. The power to manipte the Void helped her close the gap of physical power using teleportation. Even with partial Bloodline Release, she couldn''t fully close the gap between her and someone who''s been permanently affected by Abyss Blood. But her tricks and gimmicks helped her bypass this for most of her fights. With all of this in mind, Alice could only change two Sigils out of her six. The strongest person that she knows, Allura, was the obvious choice for her fifth Sigil. Out of everyone that Alice could ess, Allura was by far the strongest. But the problem was which Sigil should Alice take? From her knowledge, Allura''s first Sigil was me Control. Her second was me Maniption which coated her body in fire. Third was being able to further channel her fire and condense it beyond the normal capacity, hence the white mes. Allura''s fourth was invisible des that prevents wounds from being healed. Fifth was a Berserk type Sigil. Sixth, which she chose for her identity as Kale, was Instant shes, letting her bypass the ''slow'' travel time of her attacks when fighting Lords. Not only that, but this Sigil could also directly attack the soul for beings such as Immortality and Spirituality. Alice wasn''t sure about Allura''s seventh Sigil. From what she saw, it was a stacking type that Allowed Allura to activate her new skill that was only devised in the Inverted World. The Seven Days of Execution. As for her Eighth, the Power of Destruction that used to belong to Shura. However, this was a gamble as Alice highly doubted the fact that she could ess the eighth Sigil purely based on the timing of which she gained ess to Allura''s Sigil. The moment in time where she ''siphoned'' a small part of Allura''s soul was during their sparring, far before the fight during the war. ''There''s another way for you to¡­ update your information on Allura.'' Alyss spoke up as Alice nced over in surprise. ''What do you mean?'' ''You still have it right? Allura''s Amulet that she gave you to save your life.'' Alyss reminded. The Amulet created from Allura''s condensed mes. A gift from their moment of parting that lost its use since the connection was severed once they entered the Inverted World. ''Even though it lost Allura''s essence which connected her to the Amulet, it was still created from her fire.'' Furrowing her brows, Alice paused as she realised that Alyss was correct. While Alice was contemting her options, the beast moved. Digging her hands into her chest, she tore open her flesh, cracking apart her rids. Housed in the centre of her body was a beating heart wrapped in a veil of thorns. Resonance! Alice felt a sense of danger. A feeling of death looming ever closer and closing its frigid ws around her neck. Blinking her eyes, she realised her surroundings had changed as she was dragged into a special type of Resonance simr to what Selen had done yet not the same. Selen was an ability but Alice could sense the energy of Resonance from the beast''s body. A monotone world filled with ck and white. The only colour breaking apart this monotony was the deep crimson of red spider lilies that blossomed from the corpses of countless chimeric beasts scattered across thend. A harrowedndscape of corpses and destruction filled this realm while a nket of mist rolled in from the edges. Beyond the horizon of this realm, colossal ruins crafted from the skeletal corpse of a levithan sized beast with countless limbs grafted onto its body. Blood dripped from the deste sky with chains descending from the clouds. Hanging directly above her head, a single eclipsed sun stared down at the battlefield. [Theres¡­ two sources of Divinity here¡­] Ca muttered with a trembling voice. Alice didn''t need Ca to exin as she could feel it too. Powers that she was all too familiar with. The Divinity of the Abyss and Eclipse! Biting her lip, Alice clenched her fist. She knew that her birth was far from natural but this was beyond her initial expectations. A product created by Nyer, the blood of a fallen Goddess and the blessing of Enris. What else was this body of her''s hiding? Moreover, it was the Eclipse of all things! The very same cult that ruined the life of Ria! *Tap¡­ Snapping her gaze to the right, Alice could see the approaching figure of the beast. No longer was she bound to the tree, limiting her movements. Each of her steps caused the ground to stter with blood and wherever the bloodnded, spider lilies bloomed. Alice wanted to jump back but in her moment of observation of this realm, she hadn''t noticed the spider lilies taking root across her body! ''How could I miss this!?'' Gritting her teeth, she mmed her palm against her chest as violet mes flooded her body. But in this realm, her mes lost their colour. Seeing the fire surge across her body yet the spider lilies continued to bloom, Alice felt confusion assault her mind. Why did her me stop working? The fire which she relied upon all this time to cancel out the abilities of the Abyss. Why could it not burn away these flowers despite having done so before? ''Dammit! This is no time to think of this sh*t!'' Alice cursed inwardly as she created blood des and shed away at the roots preventing her movement. Jumping back, she nced to her hand and saw that her blood retained its colour within this realm. ''Is ''red'' the only thing that works here?'' Regardless, Alice made a choice. Her fifth Sigil will be updated to Allura! Reaching into her pouch, Alice grabbed the amulet and threw it into her mouth. Just as she did this, the beast appeared in front of her and grabbed her head. Raising Alice into the air, it attempted to m her into the ground but Alice reacted in time. Adjusting her body, she kicked the beast in the face while firing a bead of blood towards her chest. Upon collision, the bead transformed into a Void Flux which pushed the beast back and failed to deal any meaningful damage. But Alice didn''t care since this was just fine for her. The key was to create some space between them so that she could assign her sixth Sigil. She wasn''t sure if eating the Amulet worked but there was no time to properly test. The fastest way was to eat something else and see if she could designate it as her Sigil. Naturally, there was only one target for this. Forcing herself to smile, Alice reached into her pouch and threw the item into her mouth. ### Interrogating a Zenia Schr, Kaden flinched as he idently exerted too much strength and crushed the Schr''s skull with his hand. "What the hell are you doing?! He was about to tell us something!" Nalem panicked while Kaden''s smile twitched furiously. ". . .Sorry." Kaden flicked the brain matter from his hand as he took out a handkerchief. "Well? What the hell happened?" "Alice just ate my f*cking feather." Hearing this, Nalem felt his brain copse in on itself as he failed to fullyprehend what he just heard. "What?" "She. Ate. My. F*cking. Feather." Kaden rified as Nalem had to raise his hand and massage his eyes. "She ate your feather?" "I''m not repeating myself for a third time." "Your feather than you gave her to save herself?" Nalem asked. "Yes." Kaden nodded. "The feather holding the power belonging to a Lord and Apostle?" "Yes." "And she ate it?" "Yes." Blinking his eyes, Nalem only had one thought. ''The f*ck?'' Chapter 384: Alices Personal Artifact There have been moments when a person felt like they could see the whole world after consuming Abyss Blood. The surge of knowledge, so vast and paralysing. A flood of information that renders you unable to move, react orprehend whatever you have just discovered. Alice was in this exact state. Upon consuming the feather gifted to her by Kaden, Alice felt a wave of information flood her mind. It wasn''t anything grand such as methods of casting nor was it the steps to bing an Abyss Lord. What it was, was apendium of all the monsters he had ess to. How to summon their mimicry and how to fuse it together. It felt as though all the information given to Ca''s library was forcefully inserted into her mind without any filters. *COUGH!!! Covering her mouth, blood poured out of her orifices as Alice wanted to jump back to avoid the beast while she digested this knowledge. However, the beast wasn''t about to let her go that quickly. Stabbing the thorns into her arm, she sent countless strands covered with her own blood towards Alice. Gritting her teeth, Alice conjured a wall of blood before transforming it into a wall of spider lilies, fending off the attack. While she wasn''t fully aware of the rules within this realm, thus far, only blood based powers are working due to the ''colour red''. Alice wasn''t sure if this was the gimmick but if it worked, she wasn''t going to question it. Meanwhile, the information granted by the feather continued to pour into Alice''s brain. Unlike the moment where she consumes someone''s blood and gains ess to their Sigil, this was a constant flood of information that didn''t care whether or not she could ept this knowledge at all. An entirely different experience from when she drinks blood. She wasn''t sure if she had properly ''borrowed'' Kaden''s power or not but there was only one way to test it out. mming her foot down, a pool of blood expanded with her in the centre. *BANG!!! Bursting through theyer of blood, beasts crawled out of the pool and lunged towards the thorns, tearing them apart. Widening her eyes, Alice curved the corners of her lips into a smile and jumped back while pulling out the orb once more. With her blood beasts to distract the ''younger her'', this was the perfect opportunity for Alice to create her Personal Artifact. All six Sigils have been prepared. Powers optimized! *CRACK!!! Shattering the outer shell of the orb, ck tendrils burst forth from the orb and dug into Alice''s arm. Flinching from the pain, Alice widened her eyes as she could feel it invading her body. Digging through her flesh and surging towards her heart! At that moment, Alice feltpletely exposed. A dark energy scanned her body, marking down everything she could do, everything she could ess and everything she knew. Imprinting the orb with Alice''s experience, these dark tendrils retreated back to the orb as chains and rings wrapped around it, transforming the orb to act as Alice''s Personal Artifact. Shaking off this feeling of disgust, Alice cringed as the orb in her hand pulsed like a beating heart. It wasn''t an instant transformation as it still had to adapt to Alice''s entire skillset to be an ideal Personal Artifact for her. During this time, Alice had to make sure she could survive this entire ordeal! ### Keeping only Ca open, Nyer observed the movement within his product''s Resonance. Even though he may be the creator, his product still holds many mysteries that are unknown even to him. It''s what makes it such an interesting creation. The ability to adapt, mimic and even enhance. The perfect vessel for Velouria if he ys his cards right. However, despite the fight between his two products, the orb and feather caught his attention. The feather contained the aura of Kaden meaning Alice knows both Kaden and Allura in the future. Just knowing that those two are still¡­ alive and ''well'' was enough for him to smile in nostalgia. His nostalgia was short lived as he looked at the orb in Alice''s hand. ''Is¡­ Is it trying to match itself to my product''s adaptability?'' He mused inwardly while focusing on the flow of energy between the two. The resonance from the orb to Alice''s Spiritual Heart was clear as it tried to match her ''wavelength'' but struggled. His product wasn''t something that could be matched easily since he had spent several centuries perfecting it. Powers from Null, blood belonging to countless beasts that focus on Adaptability, the power of Gods and the ''data'' of Spiritual Hearts belonging to Hunters across the ages. He had prepared everything for today, the day when the strongest vessel is born from young Alice''s tenth birthday. However, the way the Orb was trying to keep up and even match the adaptation intrigued Nyer. Had it not been for the fact that he was a memory and that his discoveries couldn''t be given to the ''real'' him, he would''ve stolen that orb to perform some experiments. Noticing a slightmotion to the side, Nyer nced over and saw that Selen was facing against Luthor and his guards. After the initial panic, the sealed entrances were opened and Guards had flooded into the room. Several of them were at the peak of six Sigils with some even showing signs of potentially bing Lords if the conditions are right. But at the end of the day, he was simply a spectator. A schr observing the battle between his product today against the progress made in the future. To see how much it''s improved and not to interfere with unimportant pawns. While the fact that Selen could conjure the illusionary figure of a sealed Lord did indeed interest him, it was not enough for him to make a move. ### Crossing des with the beast, Alice felt a strange feeling gnaw her at chest. A difort she couldn''t quite put her finger on. It wasn''t the orb that caused this difort, no. The source was¡­ The beast? Out of all the opponents she''s fought seriously, this may be the first that no longer hold a killing intent for her. It felt¡­ Empty. Devoid of distractions. Simply aiming to kill the thing in front of her so that she could survive. Not because it hates or wants to. ''She''s just trying to survive¡­'' Alice thought to herself. Since it was ''her'' of the past, was she the same? No, she couldn''t say she was the same. Ten years of experiments made her a body of hate targeted towards the Zenia family. Even if it was a misunderstanding, even if her father may have been a good man at one point in time, that time had long passed. Understanding does not mean forgiveness. Simply epting what Luthor was like in the past doesn''t mean she can spare the Luthor she knows. In this regard, she was different to the beast that had just been ''born'' wanting to survive. Twisting her body, Alice mmed her heel into the beast''s chest, sending her stumbling backwards. Clutching her wounded area, the beast opened her mouth. "Ma¡­ Ma¡­ It hurts¡­" "!!!" It had already begun its transformation back into ''Alice''. The voice that echoed from its mouth was slightly off sync with her lip movements but there was no doubt that it was beginning to change. Even her appearance which was simr to Velouria had shifted to match that of Alice, the first human she ate. A crackle of red energy erupted from her back, whipping towards Alice who blocked with the Shard of Kara and redirected to the side. Lunging forward, Alice created a spiral arrow using blood and aimed it towards the beast. In this realm, only ''red'' worked. With blood as the foundation of her powers, she simply needed to use blood. The power of Void Flux that doesn''t use her mes. Instead, Alice sought to use her red spider lilies as a base! Briar thorns twisted around the grooves of the arrow as she fired it into a blood mirror. Sensing danger from above, the beast widened her eyes as a pulse of energy erupted from her. Blood instantly lost its colour as violet mes exploded out from her body. Seeing this, Alice realised she must''ve modified the rules of this Resonance and reacted ordingly. With the controls suddenly thrust into her hands, Alyss mmed her hand down as fire and limbs rushed towards the beast. Two ''different'' sources of violet mes collided while the limbs secured her in ce. While the beast was restrained, she modified the properties of the arrow and turned it into a Void Flux arrow! But before the arrow could hit, the beast''s arm exploded into a mass of chimeric limbs, swallowing the mes and arrow in an instant. Even though she modified the arrow to the best of her capabilities, it still lost a majority of its power with the beast modifying the rules of this realm. ''What''s the n now? I don''t think we can stall any longer.'' Alyss asked with a frown. More and more of their abilities were beginning to lose their effectiveness and if they were to tap into Allura''s power as well, then that''s their most offensive power rendered useless. ''We don''t need to stall anymore, the Artifact is almost ready.'' Alice smiled, taking over the controls. Looking at the orb hovering above her hand, wrapped in rings and chains, she could see cracks beginning to form across its surface. A simple question appeared in Alice''s mind. What kind of power does she seek? The answer was simple. A destructive power able to bring out the most of her second and fourth Sigil. To deny the Abyss and manipte the space around her! *CRACK!!! Shattering the shell into countless pieces, Alice''s Personal Artifact manifested above her palm. A singrity warping the space and absorbing it into absolute darkness simr to the entrance of the Inverted World only far more destructive. Golden rings rotated around the singrity, keeping it contained within the boundaries of this artifact. [Key of Destruction ¨C Ruinous Void] Chapter 385: Key Of Destruction - Ruinous Void [Key of Destruction ¨C Ruinous Void] Looking at her Personal Artifact, Alice felt a strange sense of connection with it. The feeling of grabbing a familiar tool that had been by her side this entire time. Even without Ca''s help, Alice understood exactly what this weapon could do. Much like Alice, the Ruinous Void had two sides to it. One for Alyss and one for Alice. A physical and a casting mode and each side had three abilities. [Ruinous Void ¨C Physical] Lance Form: Changes form to be ance that harnesses the power of the Void. In this state, the user can manifest the Void inside the weapon for a guaranteed hit. Three uses beforepletely exhausting the user. Gauntlet Form: Changes form to be a pair of gauntlets. Wherever you punch, a ''detonation'' zone will be left behind. You can choose to detonate these zones whenever you want. Detonations will ignore most forms of armour to inflict direct damage. Axe Form: Raw destruction. Slowest attack but mightiest power. Cleave through the Void with each strike and leaves behind the power of the Void, obstructing regeneration and making your next hit on them hit harder. All three had varying offensive powers with the Lance capable of hitting fast targets, Axe hitting slow targets and the Gauntlets being a bnced state. For Alyss, this was perfect. For Alice, rather than offensive power it was more focused on versatility and casting. [Ruinous Void ¨C Casting] Unbound Form: Capable of opening pathways to the Void at will, harnessing the natural forces within the Void to push or pull. Fractured Form: Unleash the chaotic nature of the Void, fracturing the reality around you. With the Void ovepping reality, realm based Resonances cannot be used. Void based abilities gain a boost. Singrity Form: Transforms [Key of Destruction ¨C Ruinous Void] into a medium for abilities. Significantly enhancing ability power, casting speed and allowing the user to gain high levels of control over the Void. The abilities granted were rather abstract and allowed freedom of movement. However, with this abstractness, it also means the dangers are unknown. With her previous experiences with weapons, Alice understood that channelling too much energy risked the Artifact or weapon breaking from the stress. Since Ruinous Void didn''t have enhanced durability unlike Void Fang, she didn''t want to go too overboard with channelling the energy. Naturally, this concern was due to the passive ability. Adaptive State! User can ovep Sigil powers with Ruinous Void. Different Sigil powers grant varying effects. For someone like her who would constantly switch out her Sigils, this was perfect. No wonder it was called a Personal Artifact. Even though she faked her fifth and sixth Sigil, the Artifact understood that and adjusted! Unfortunately for Alice, this was no time to admire the power of this weapon as she still had to deal with the beast in front of her. ''First things first, let''s deal with this annoying resonance!'' Alice grinned as she mmed the Artifact into the ground. Fractured Form! *CRACK!!! ss fractures began to manifest around them as the beast looked around in confusion. Reaching out, she tried to touch the fracture with her finger. But uponing into contact, the rift between her realm and the Void tore her finger apart! Stepping back in shock, she watched as more and more fractures appeared until¡­ *SHATTER!!! Her realm was forcefully torn apart! Returning the both of them back to the Zenia banquet hall, the beast red at Alice in bewilderment when an invisible force gripped her body. Unbound Form! The rings around the Ruinous Void shattered apart, allowing the singrity sealed within free as it imprinted itself onto the back of Alice''s hand. Pulling the beast towards her, Alice narrowed her gaze as golden chains manifested around her. Gauntlet Form! *BANG!!! Punching the beast in the stomach, Alyssunched her into the air before Alice pulled her back using Unbound Form. The constant switches between the two had the beast being flung around as though it was a doll, unable to fight back. "ARGG!!!!" Letting out a shout of anger, violet mes coated the beast''s body, breaking apart the invisible hold Alice had on her. However, her shouts were cut short as Alice created a blood mirror to allow Alyss to jump through and appear behind her. Axe Form! In her hands, arge axe could be seen with the main body of the Ruinous Void housed in the centre between tworge axe des. *BANG!!! Cleaving down with the axe, the power of the Void ripped forward, tearing into the back of the beast as her body was sent towards the ground. Violet mes tore away at her wound, preventing her regeneration as Alice took over once more. Singrity Form! Breaking apart the chains that held the singrity within its confines, Alice pulled her arm back and turned it into an arrow. And to guarantee the kill, she activated her ritual. ''Same as always aye?'' Alice smiled inwardly as Alyss nodded her head. Seeing her twin being so excited about an attack, Alyss couldn''t help butugh. ''Go for it, I''ll funnel you as much power as I can.'' "Feast o'' me of mine." *KACHIN!!! Shattering the chains around her body, Alyss was given partial freedom as the shadow of a beast manifested behind Alice. The countless ckened limbs wrapped around the arrow before exploding with a surge of violet me. Sigils burned across her body, Alice''s resonance red and her connection to her Personal Artifact was reinforced. The entire world seemed to tremble from the power gathering towards Alice as she arched her back to draw out as much power as possible. Just as she was about to fire, her pupil shrunk in a mixture of anger and shock. While the beast hadnded against the ground, clutching her wound with fear in her eyes, Sienna of all people ran in front of her! "MOVE!!!" Alice shouted in anger. She didn''t have time to hesitate and if Sienna refused to move then she could die alongside this beast! Alice didn''t care if she was her mother or not. This was not a time she could hesitate due to stupid decisions from other people. Seeing that she wasn''t moving, Alice bit her lip. Doubt and hesitation wed at the corner of her mind but she didn''t dare to hold back. Not when her opponent was a younger version of her but reinforced with the power of Gods! Ruinous Void ¨C Nova Core! A copse of stars surged towards the singrity. Light erupted then simultaneously consumed by the darkness. A swirl of gravitational force mixed with the burning power of her violet fire birthed a nexus of destruction that shot towards the duo. Nyer could feel thews of the Inverted World bending with this attack as his eyes glimmered with excitement. "What marvellous demonstration of power~ This! This is what a vessel should be like!!!" He roared at the top of his lungs, apuding Alice''s destructive power and disregard for even her mother who tried to protect the product! On the path to power, this is how one should act. To disregard the ignorant masses who hold you back! "Armament!" *BANG!!! Several armoured knights manifested in front of Sienna, forming an iridescent blue barrier that collided against Alice''s attack. *SHATTER!!! The firstyer broke apart with ease as the cmitous energy of the Nova Core tore away at the barrier, shredding away at its energy and consuming it to empower itself. But the loyal Guards of the Zenia family weren''t going to back down even in the face of such danger. Behind oneyer, another formed and the Guards organised themselves into a defensive formation around Sienna and the beast. Luthor was keeping Selen busy so she couldn''t interfere. "What the hell are you doing?! Get the f*ck out of the way!!!" Seeing them tantly protect the beast in such a manner triggered something within Alice. A deep-rooted anger and hatred. Where was her protection? Where was this care when she was crying out in pain on the operating table? The two of them were no different so why? Why is the beast protected but she ignored? Why does her mother stand in front of the fake, protecting it with her own body? Can they not see the danger of the beast? "ARGGGG!!!" Letting out a cry of frustration, Alice clenched her fist, prematurely detonating the Nova Core into a maelstrom of chaotic energy. Wrapping herself in a barrier of blood and mes, she rushed through this energy without a care of the damage she was taking. Recalling the Artifact, she reactivated the Singrity Form. But instead of a giant Nova Core, she opted for it to act as the catalyst for her Cleave instead. Void Flux ¨C Cleave! Shredding a guard in half, Alice stomped against the ground and lunged at the beast who was hiding behind Sienna. "Momma! Help!" She cried out, using the same voice as young Alice. "Not this time!" Alice red at Sienna. Activating the Unbound Form, Alice dragged Sienna away using the gravitational forces of the Void in case she had a defensive artifact that could protect the beast. Just as she appeared in front of the beast with the sword in hand ready to strike, Alice watched as the beast curved its lips into a malicious smile. The time she had to spend to drag Sienna away was enough for the beast to think up of a n! Columns of flesh and teeth burst out from the ground as the guards were consumed in an instant. Both Luthor and Selen was able to react in time and dodge but the beast didn''t care. Her main goal had been achieved and an influx of abilities surged towards her body! There was only one thought in the beast''s mind. ''I''ve won!'' Chapter 386: Reversal The instant Alice was about tond her hit against the beast, she widened her eyes while watching it split into a giant of flesh. Seeing the excitement in the beast''s eyes, Alice sighed inwardly. How does one fight against a copy of yourself? Do you use brute force? Grow stronger during the fight? Both were right answers with the right execution but Alice preferred a different approach. To observe the habits. During the fight, Alice understood that while they were different in terms of the time they spent alive, their habits were far too simr. The way she sought to use her fire and flower against her opponent, to consume their blood to empower herself and so on. It felt as though she was watching herself through a cracked mirror. Slightly imperfect yet it was definitely her in the reflection. With their habits being so simr, Alice decided to keep one key factor in mind. The moment the beast sought to consume her! That was the moment when she could truly strike. The moment when the beast would drop its guard thinking it''s won. It''s a bad habit of hers after all, thinking she''s attainted victory just because she managed to consume their blood. There are always exceptions and in this instance, it was Alice! For her Artifact, Ruinous Void, it had the passive where its abilities change slightly depending on which Sigil she''s using to power the weapon. Earlier, Alyss used the Violet mes which helped significantly boost the potency of her mes. It helped surpass the regeneration of the beast and even eat away at some of its abilities. But that''s not the Sigil Alice wanted to use in tandem with her Artifact. No, there was a much better option. One that willpletely cripple the beast in front of her. Allura''s Sigil! The Sigil belonging to the Apostle of Severance! Time around her seemed to slow down as she focused her attention solely on the beast in front of her. She could see the flickering of her Artifact as it began to adapt to the powers of Allura''s Sigil. The slow movements of the flesh that was wrapping around her body, ready to envelop the ''prey'' caught within. With everything going to n, Alice felt as though she had all the time in the world to herself. Little by little, pieces of metal and blood coiled around her hand, turning into a sword while housing the Ruinous Void in the guard of the de. Tendrils of energy belonging to Allura''s Sigil burst forth, wrapping the de in a shimmering white energy. Singrity Form! Using the Artifact as the catalyst, Alice felt a familiar yet foreign aura. Right now, she could do it. During their previous battle against Enris, Alyss achieved something that infuriated her. The replication of her beloved weapon. Back then, the conditions were absolutely perfect for Alyss to replicate the weapon despite it being the armament of a God. But right now, she wasn''t seeking the weapon of a God and thus the requirements were more rxed. Yet even then, she couldn''t drop her guard. ''My understanding of Artifacts iscking. But I know the flow of energy and how it''s roughlyposed. The outline doesn''t matter so long as the effect remains the same. Even if it looks ugly, as long as it can do the job, I don''t care.'' [Replication ¨C Nihility''s Edge] A twisted amalgamation of blood, metal, the singrity and the chain that bound it wrapped around Alice''s arm. There was only one thing Alice wanted to strike and that was the connection between the beast and her Spiritual Heart! Alice understood that their adaptability came from their abnormal Spiritual Heart that''s connected to the countless souls of beasts they''ve gathered. It allows her main body to be untouched by the consequences and only linking to the souls when needed. Outside of that, she was akin to a normal Hunter. Thus, if she were to severe the connection of the heart, the beast would no longer gain power! Gritting her teeth, Alice adjusted her stance. One chance, one attack. Missing it means the beast consumes her. But despite these risks, Alice felt calm. A single attack to determine life and death. Dancing on the edge of salvation and destruction. *Badum¡­ Badum¡­ Badum!!! She could feel her heart beating against her ear. Fear? Nah. It was the pure excitement of ughter! Ruinous Void Flux ¨C Cleave!!! Releasing the strike with all of her power, a maelstrom of energy ravaged towards the beast''s innards. Tearing, shredding and consuming everything that stood in her way. The space bent to her will, the Void opening to allow the attack to strike true. Crackles of energy seared the beast''s flesh but its face revealed no sign of reaction. An attack so fast that she didn''t even know she was struck! wing into the beast''s body, the energy rushed towards the heart before detonating with a brilliant spark. *BANG!!! A crimson cross exploded out from the beast''s back as her flesh twitched and iled in pain. Stumbling back while rolling across the ground, she clutched her chest as blood and tears rolled down her face. The impact of the strike detonated at such a blistering speed that not even Nyer realised what had happened! An attack that transcended the rulesid down by the Abyss and directly crushed the Spiritual Heart! Staring at the scene nkly, questions filled Nyer''s mind as he watched Alice walk towards his product with a malformed de in hand. ''What just happened?'' Even with the remanent power of Ca, all he could see within his product was a gaping darkness devoid of life. Theplete absence of a Spiritual Heart and the soulstched to it. The blood of a fallen god, the blessing of the Eclipse. Everything was gone in that moment. Cold sweat dripped down Nyer''s back as for the first time since he started this project, he questioned the end result. Was this truly the right path? To birth such a heinous vessel for his beloved Goddess? ### Looking at the squirming and tearful body of the beast, Alice wasn''t sure of the feeling inside her chest. The way it tried to drag itself away from her. The incoherent screams and the tears that rolled down her face. Even though they were enemies, they were still the same being. The same product. If her own Spiritual Heart were to be crushed in the same manner, would she be the same panicking mess? To lose the power she''se to rely upon, to lose her connection to Alyss. Wincing at the thought, Alice prepared to dispose of the beast when a voice halted her. "W-wait! Please¡­ Alice¡­ Please don''t kill her¡­ Don''t kill my daughter..." Sienna cried out, bleeding from her wounds but continued to stumble towards the two. "Haven''t you done enough already? If it wasn''t for you, I would''ve killed it much faster. I wouldn''t have needed to kill those guards. Why do you even care for a beast that ate your daughter?" Alice sent a barrage of questions towards her ''mother''. Ignoring these questions, Sienna copsed next to the squirming beast and wrapped her arms around its body, giving the beastfort. "Please¡­ Don''t take my daughter away from me¡­" Sienna begged, looking up at Alice with tearful eyes. Hearing this, Alice''s face warped in anger. They were the same so why? Why was her mother so tearful over the squirming mess? They were both ''Alices'', so why didn''t she care about what she was feeling? Would Sienna be like this if she was the one lying on the ground, gasping for life? NO! Gritting her teeth, Alice wanted to sh the two to pieces but her body refused to move. Tears welled up in her eyes as she bit her lip. "ARGGG!!!" Letting out a shout, she mmed her sword into the ground next to Sienna, shattering it to pieces. Panting heavily, Alice stumbled back. Bitterness. An overwhelming bitterness assaulted her heart. "Why¡­ I''m the same as her¡­ Why do you protect her?" Alice asked with a trembling voice. She thought she had long disregarded the Zenia family but now she realised a small part of her still wanted their love. Their forgiveness and their eptance. Seeing the beast receive everything she wanted brought out a rage from within but more than that, sadness. Tilting her head back, Alice closed her eyes as the sound of footsteps rushed towards them but Alice ignored it. It was her father and the remaining guards running over to protect Sienna while Selen also walked over. She felt exhausted. It was a futile question. Of course they wouldn''t ept her. After all, in the true history, she killed the real Alice. She killed her own mother who tried to protect her. She killed the guards who came to stop her. Why would her father and brothers ept her? After she had calmed down and revealed the form of the young Alice, her father tried to see if there was anything left of his daughter. But all he saw was a monster with the skin of a human. "Let''s leave¡­" Alice muttered, opening her eyes and ncing towards the wounded Selen. She was going to leave the rest of her feelings for the Zenia family inside this Inverted World. All of her remaining desires and expectations of the Zenia family left with the false clone who received the protection of her mother. "There are still Lords waiting outside for us. How do you n on dealing with them?" Selen asked with a deep frown. "We''re not going through the main entrance. Now that I''ve made this replication, I know how to copse this Inverted World. We''ll ride the Void out of here so they think everyone died inside." Alice exined as she nced towards Nyer who had aplicated expression. But seeing as how he wasn''t going to make a move, Alice ignored him. Giving onest nce towards her mother and the crying beast, Alice bit her lip and turned away. Her goal remains unchanged. Only this time, new objectives have been added. Eliminate what has be of the Zenia family and kill Nyer. Chapter 387: Collapsing The Inverted World Now that Alice merged her Personal Artifact with the power of Allura, she was about to sense the ''connections'' that were usually hidden from the naked eye. While she could ''see'' it with Ca, unless she knew what she was looking for, it was still hard to filter through everything. But Allura''s power was the opposite. It singled out this connection so that she could severe it without any issues. Sensing the countlessplex seals ced around the Inverted World, Alice furrowed her brows as copsing this was going to be harder than she thought. But still not impossible. She had the absolute counter to such abilities that relied on the Abyss! ''If I merge Allura''s power and my own, it should be sufficient. I''ll drain the barrier so that it loses its power then severe the final connection using Allura. Without anything holding it back, even if it''s three Lords waiting outside, they wouldn''t be able to stop the destruction.'' "I''m nning to ride the Void out of here once I copse this entrance. You got ns of your own or do you want to follow me?" Alice asked curiously. If she was being honest, she''d rather not hang around with Selen if she could help it. However, because Selen had given her assistance during this fight, Alice couldn''t abandon her either. Scratching her hair in annoyance, Selen sighed. "Even with my abilities, I can''t guarantee my safety through the Void. If you have a better option then I''ll tag along." Nodding her head, Alice closed her eyes. Her senses weaved through the countless strands of energy and sought out the connections maintaining this realm. ''Found you¡­'' ### Crossing her arms, Renna furrowed her brows while looking at the entrance of the Inverted World. Considering how much time has passed, it should be more than enough for them to enter ande out with the so called antidote. But seeing as how they''re taking longer than initially expected, she couldn''t help but worry. But then again, the antidote for such a pandemic wasn''t something that could be found in a day. Just thinking about the sight of the pandemic, Renna couldn''t help but sigh as it was her first time seeing something like that. Even if she''s been alive as a Lord for quite some time now. *RUMBLE!!! ncing up in shock, Renna froze upon seeing the space around the entrance begin to warp. The seals that were put in ce cracked little by little. The maelstrom of energy frozen in time began to resume! "Renna! What the hell is going on?! Did you sabotage the seal???" Kizen, a Lord belonging to the eastern nation, rushed over with a face of anger. "Do you think I would do something like this? Shut up and help me stabilize this entrance!" Renna snapped as veins bulged on her neck. Sigils red across her body as she framed the entrance between her hands before slowly bringing her hands together. However, there was an invisible resistance from the entrance as it continued to shrink. Seeing that Renna wasn''t the source of this, Kizen clicked his tongue before pulling out his de in a reverse grip. shing towards the entrance, an army of spectral des manifested in the air with ming chains connecting them to one another. With two Lords attempting to stabilize the entrance, the copse slowed down but showed no signs of stopping. "URIGAR! ARE YOU GOING TO KEEP WATCHING OR ACTUALLY HELP?!" Renna roared, ring towards Urigar who was hovering in the air with furrowed brows. "In the face of a copsing mountain, how can mortals fathom how to stop what''s already begun? Even with my help, we cannot stop this." He shook his head. "I DON''T CARE WHAT YOU THINK, JUST HELP YOU DUMB OAF!!!" ncing down at her, he sighed before reaching out with his hands and mming them together. *RUMBLE!!!! The space surrounding the entrance was torn apart as a pair of illusionary arms grabbed hold of the edges and attempted to pull the entrance open. ''Indeed deserving of his title. One move and the pressure of the entrance closing was relieved by this much.'' Renna thought to herself. The God of War belonging to the northern mountains, The Imprable Wall of Verona. The final bastion and the Immovable Mountain. Urigar, The Abyss Lord of Titans *CRACK!!! Furrowing his brow, Urigar watched as cracks began to form along the arms of his manifestation. The unstoppable storm of power leaking from the Inverted World violent enough to harm him! "What kind of monster was killed here? More than that, what kind of Hunter was able to kill a Lord of this calibre?" Urigar questioned before letting out a sigh. "I suggest you evacuate the citizens while I hold the entrance back. If all of us were to let go, none of the people below would be able to survive the subsequent explosion." Urigar warned as Renna gritted her teeth. "But the cure?!" "We can find it elsewhere. You know full well that this entrance is a lost cause." Urigar shook his head. "The big guy is right. We''re done here." Kizen raised his hands as the swords began to fade away. "We''ll have better luck asking elsewhere for help regarding the pandemic. If anything, isn''t the Extalia Kingdom the one having the most issues despite housing the Zenia family? We''re only getting small cases and with enough precautions, we should fair just fine." Kizen snickered while scratching his chin. "Rat b*stard!" "So fierce. But don''t me me, we''re still at war you know? Perhaps I can earn some merit by taking care of you. The life of a Lord is rather precious, no?" He narrowed his eyes as killing intent began to seep out. Widening her eyes, Renna nced towards the city momentarily before turning her attention back to Kizen. Since things have gotten to this stage, she wasn''t going to bother about the city. Compared to the life of a Lord, how can a city be ced on the same table? If Kizen was going to take this chance to try and kill her, she wasn''t going to just stick out her neck and let him try! "Try me you filthy sand b*stard!" Renna retaliated with her own killing intent as she gave up maintaining the entrance and aimed her sword at Kizen. Adjusting her body, green and blue energy coiled around her de as she lunged towards Kizen. Seeing this, he revealed a wide excited grin and raised his de above his head. Whispers of smoke rolled around him, twisting unnaturally and began to form the visage of a demon. Bursting through the smoke, the personification of demonic fury appeared. It wore a dark crimson mask pulsing with a malevolent force. Tworge jagged horns jutted from the forehead, curving into the spikes of a twisted crown. Its scarlet hair, roaring and ring behind like an untamed me, whipping around in the wind refusing to be extinguished. Eyes burning with an unholy light, mouth filled with rows of jagged teeth. Large canines pushed out as its mouth formed a wide grin, filled with the excitement of battle. As the two auras belonging to Lords shed, the Abyss reacted. The skies above turned cloudy with thunder crackling through the clouds. Furrowing his brows, Urigar wanted to stop the two as the civilians were going to get dragged into their sh but letting go of the entrance would spell doom for them all. Just as their attacks were about to sh, their auras reaching their apex, a single figure stood between them. *Tap~ BANG!!!!!! "Oh my~ My dear guests, please don''t use such frightening attacks near my Academy. I''m afraid the building can''t take the power released by esteemed Lords such as yourself." Rosalyn revealed a smile as she redirected their attacks to the sky. At first, both of them were confused as to how their attack was parried then came the realisation that it was Rosalyn who did it! A six star Beast stopped the attack of two Lords! Neither of them held back and both attacks were released with the intent to kill. They may not have used their resonances but it''s still an attack from a Lord. It wasn''t something a six Sigil beast could withstand. Jumping back, both Renna and Kizen narrowed their eyes at Rosalyn. "Is this your doing?" Renna asked, gesturing to the copsing Inverted World. "Oh deary me, of course it wasn''t. Did you think I could pull off such a stunt in front of three Lords? I''m ttered. Though I will admit the thought definitely crossed my mind and the scenarios certainly favour my ns." Rosalyn let out an elegantugh while ncing up at the shimmering entrance, resuming its fate of destruction. "May I ask if the two Lords are familiar with the way beasts attain the status of Lord?" Rosalyn nced at the two while slowly floating up towards the entrance. Without answering Rosalyn''s questions nor giving her a chance to approach the Inverted World, Renna appeared behind her and cleaved down with her sword. But to her shock, her attack didn''t deal any damage! Rosalyn''s body turned partially into a blood mist that evaded the attack. *Sigh¡­ "Not even going to answer my question? How boring. And to think you''d strike so soon as well, I''m hurt~ Have I not been loyal to the Kingdom for all these years? Fostering youths as it demanded and repurposing the Inverted World for the benefit of mankind?" Rosalyn shed a single bloody tear as Renna''s form began to shift. Withoutmunication, Kizen followed suit and the two of them activated their second Resonance, attempting to drag Rosalyn away. They weren''t sure what she was up to but their many years of instinct honed by countless dangers told them not to let her reach the entrance! "Shh!" Rosalyn narrowed her gaze and ced her finger against her lips. *CRACK!!! SHATTER!!! Breaking apart before it could even form, the Second Resonances belonging to the Lords failed to activate! Widening their eyes, they could only watch as Rosalyn sat upon the arms used to hold open the entrance. "Let''s not get violent here." Crossing her legs, she leaned forward. "How many years do you think I''ve spent in this ce? Bold of you to assume I''ve been sitting idly without preparing anything." She sighed while waving her handzily. "So now I ask for a second time my dear esteemed Lords. Are you familiar with how us Abyss Beasts attain the status of Lord?" Chapter 388: Rosalyns Ascension Hearing her question for a second time, neither Lord sought to answer as they simply red at Rosalyn who shook her head with a sigh. "It was more fun talking to Alice. At least she''s responsive." Rosalynmented while raising her hand. Snapping her finger, blood erupted around her as a tidal wave descended towards the city before freezing in space. Looping back, it created a veil around the entrance of the Inverted World. "For standard Hunters, there are many ways for them to attain the rank of Lord. Whether that be through self cultivation, constant hunts and even inherited for that matter. Over the course of countless years, I''ve watched the method to attain the rank of Lord change. Some nations even hide their unique method while vagrant Hunters find new ways. "While humans have a multitude of paths they can take, there is only one path fit for a beast of the Abyss. Survival of the fittest. To fight, to kill, to eat, to sleep. Everything they do is for the singr goal of bing a Lord. To be a Lord and transcend the limits cast by the Abyss." Rosalyn exined with a smile. Creating a needle, she pricked her finger and released a single drop of blood onto the veil that she had cast. "For a beast, to attain the appearance of a human is no easy feat. You may not know but there are remnants of an old rule. A rule to allow us beasts to be human and gain Sigils like you. But due to an ancient war, the rule was sundered and left to rot. Only fragments of the rule are still in ce today which is why I can exist. "I am both beast and human, I canmunicate and survive without killing and eating you lot but I cannot get Sigils. A strange fusion is it not? Even with the fractured rule, many beasts still fail to be human. Whereas for me, I''ve been ''human'' for a long, long time. "Only beasts who attained the rank of Lord can maintain a human form. That was part of the rule in the old age. Can you answer why that is so?... Ah! Sorry, seems like I''ve gone on a little tangent. But believe me when I say it still matters." Rosalyn chuckled before standing up. Even though Renna and Kizen wanted to stop Rosalyn, an invisible pressure wrapped around their bodies. The chains of a devil restraining their limbs, choking out the air from their lungs and sapping the strength from their body. During this, Renna noticed that Urigar was untouched. Left to maintain the entrance of the Inverted World. "My dear Lord belonging to the North, you may let go of the entrance now. I thank you on behalf of all my students and the civilians who live within this city. Your deeds will not go forgotten and I will not point my sword towards you." Rosalyn nced over with a smile and a wave. Letting out a strained sigh, Urigar nodded and released his grip before folding his arms and taking a step back. He could see the situation was already beyond their control. *BANG!!! Crashing against the restraints of Rosalyn''s veil, the entrance started to implode as she revealed an excited smile. "The energy of a departed Lord, sealed in time. The Inverted World that''s weed countless guests. Though it may be the pathway to a library of knowledge, it has also be a giant reservoir of power. After years of patience, my ns can finallye to fruition. If only I hadn''t drank that sted blood of Allura, this would''ve been so much easier." Rosalyn clicked her tongue while recalling the mistake of their youth. She had thought that she''d obtained the greatest benefit a vampiric beast could ask for. The blood of a Lord! Not only that, it was the blood belonging to the Apostle too! If she drank it, it would serve as the foundation of her ascension into Lordhood. However, little did she know that Allura''s blood was f*cking poisoned with the power of another. Instead of bing the foundation of her ascension, it became her prison. The blood was so potent that it changed her form but also stunted her growth! Over the countless years, she''s tried to purge this damn blood from her system but it refused to leave. It continuouslytched on like a goddamn parasite, preventing her from reaching her true potential. It was also the reason why she''s known as the strongest below the rank of Lord. She had the strength, the experience, the powers. The only thing shecked was a proper ascension. Now that things have gotten to this stage, Rosalyn made a move. The blood of two Lords along with the reservoir of Energy sealed within the Inverted World. It was her time to finally purge Allura''s blood! Pulling her arm back, ck and red energy surged towards her fist as her eyes flickered with a crimson light. Years of torment, stress and being anchored by Allura''s blood poured out in an instant as she mmed her fist down with all her might. *BANG!!! A rush of blood stabbed towards the centre, forcefully detonating the entrance earlier than expected! With the surge of blood triggering the detonation, a flood of energy rushed out from the centre, mming against the veil and threatening to tear it apart. However, instead of being fearful, Rosalyn''s eyes glimmered with happiness. ''Finally! Finally I can get rid of this damn appearance!'' Sheughed inwardly. She could get rid of these excessively long limbs, thisrge physique and Allura''s face that reminded her of her mistake for countless years. Finally, she could revert back to her original self having attained the status of Lord! "This energy¡­ I''ll take it all!!!" Rosalyn shouted, raising her hand as the veil began to crack apart. *RUMBLE!!! As though understanding what was going on, the Abyss began to tremble, weing the new dawn of an Abyss Lord. Strands of energy leaking out from the veil began to coalesce towards Rosalyn''s hand. Dark clouds loomed above while a torrent of Abyssal energy flooded from the space around them. Even though both Renna and Kizen had felt the phenomenon of bing a Lord, it was far more tamepared to the transformation that Rosalyn was going through! Worst of all, they couldn''t move! A suffocating energy permeated the air, holding them in ce. At this point, it wasn''t just Rosalyn''s energy. No, the Abyss was helping her! Telling the two Lords to watch the advent of a new Lord without interrupting! "ROSALYN!!!!" Renna shouted, gritting her teeth in anger. She hated the fact that Rosalyn didn''t breach her contract despite all of this! Meaning she couldn''t even use it against her! Condensing all of the violent energy into a single vtile orb, Rosalyn opened her mouth and swallowed it. *RUMBLE!!! BANG!!! A column of crimson energy erupted from the clouds and crashed down upon Rosalyn! Within the column, her flesh began to peel away, cracks formed across her body but she didn''t scream. In fact, the more her body shaved away, the wider her smile became! As thest piece of her body crumbled away, a pulse of darkness sparked within the column. From a single spark, it grew until it became a raging inferno of power. First, the bones then came the flesh. Rosalyn''s body was reconstructed though this time it was much smaller than her previous form. After all, Allura was ridiculously tall even by Ayrian standards! "Ah~ How long have I waited to reim my true form." Rosalynughed, her voice different to before. Raising her hand, she snapped her finger and a surge of blood shattered the column of light. Behind her, reality started to warp as all four of them were dragged into Rosalyn''s Second Resonance! Second Resonance ¨C Crimson Walpurgis As the light cleared away, Renna nced up and paused. Her pupils shrunk upon seeing the dark castle suspended upon a mountain with arge crescent moon hanging behind it. Standing atop the tallest spire, a girl could be seen with flowing white hair. She wore an elegant dark gothic frilled dress with silver and red highlights. A set of crimson ornaments decorated her wrist and neck with a pair of ck evening gloves. A long ck veil hung on her hair, fluttering in the wind as she revealed a mesmerising smile with a set of crimson eyes seemingly innocent yet seductive. "Ah ah ah~ Fufu~ How sweet it feels to finally hear my own voice after so long. My dream has finally been fulfilled at longst~" Rosalyn chuckled before looking down towards the two Lords frozen in shock. "My dear Lords, since you''ve witnessed my long awaited rebirth, I trust that you won''t spoil the moon. Or do you perhaps wish to stay the night? If you do, I guarantee that I will be a good host and treat you with the courtesy you deserve." Rosalyn asked, curling her lips into a smile and revealing her elongated fangs. Behind her, a set of vampiric wings unfurled. "Congrattions on bing a Lord. I''ll take my leave now." Urigar nodded his head as he turned around and created a gap in space. Giving him a gentle wave, Rosalyn turned her gaze towards the remaining two. "And now we turn to my two, violent yet esteemed guests. Will you take your leave now or enjoy the night view of my Resonance? Permanently." Rosalyn warned. Furrowing his brows, Kizen sheathed his de with an annoyed sigh. "Congrattions on bing a Lord, Lady Rosalyn. I''ll also take my leave." He turned around as Rosalyn nodded, flicking her finger and allowing him a passage out. "Then there was one. Lady Renna, what will your choice be?" Gritting her teeth until blood began to flow, Renna sheathed her de. "I''ll let the King know that you''ve ascended to be a Lord." She spat with hatred, causing Rosalyn to let out augh. Now that she had be a Lord, the chains of the Kingdom could no longer hold her back. [Rosalyn ¨C Abyss Lord of Scarlet Ruin] Chapter 389: Alices Whereabouts After the Lord''s retreated from Rosalyn''s Resonance, ''calm'' returned to the city. No longer were they being pressured by the Aura of Lords. Instead, they were concerned by the sudden disappearance of the Inverted World. Students questioned the reason for staying behind in this Academy now that the main attraction foring here was gone. Shopkeepers wondered about profits while civilians worried about their safety if people were to abandon this ce. Meanwhile, Rosalyn was enjoying herself in her office with a wide smile on her face. She leaned back on her chair and rested her heels against her table. In front of her, she could see the confused yet concerned expression of Garret, Department Head of Combat. "Why the long face? Not used to how I look?" Rosalyn chuckled, swinging herself around her chair. This new sense of freedom brought out a childishness inside her that she had long forgotten and she relished this feeling. This giddiness. "Well¡­ Without the Inverted World, we can''t conduct any lessons nor can we prepare any excursions. To put it frankly, this Academy has lost all of its value." Garret scratched his chin. "Hmm¡­ You''re not wrong. The Inverted World was the main reason why people came to this backwater ce. But now that it''s gone, no one would give a sh*t. But this is perfect. Let the ones who don''t want to stay leave. There are other facilities that we can use and I''ll also call up some old friends of mine. "Now that I''ve reached the status of Lord, it''ll be much easier to ask for favours of them." Rosalyn smiled, ying around with her hair. Seeing that the principal was stubborn and nonchnt, Garret could only sigh as she didn''t seem like she was going to change her mind. "Understood." "Either way, don''t worry about it~ I have it handled. Plus, now that I''ve be a Lord, I n on redeveloping Silverwind Valley to suit my needs ya know?" Rosalyn reassured. Hearing this, Garret nodded as she dismissed him from her office. Leaning back on her chair, Rosalyn let out a sigh of satisfaction and closed her eyes. She was living her dream life right now and nothing could bring her down. *Knock knock "Come in." Opening one of her eyes, Rosalyn nced towards the door and saw that it was ra. *BANG!!! mming a mountain of documents on the table, ra took a deep breath as there were dark bags under her eyes. "Principal, I''ve done all the work that you''ve requested of me." "Oh my¡­ That was fast." Rosalyn blinked her eyes. With howzy ra usually was, she couldn''t help but think that there was something else she was after. More Abyss Blood? Research funds? Perhaps even her blood now that she''s a Lord? "There''s something that you want right? How long have we known each other? Just tell me and I''ll see if I can arrange it." Rosalyn waved her hand. ra was lucky that she caught her in a good mood otherwise she wouldn''t have given this kind of reward for some fast work. "I won''t hold back then." ra licked her lips. Seeing this, Rosalyn chuckled. ''It must be Abyss Blood that she wants.'' "The application change for Alice Agnelia. I believe she was registered for the Combat Department right? Please transfer her to my department instead." ra requested. "A transfer? Easy¡­ Enough? Huh?" Rosalyn blinked her eyes. "Ah! It''s easy you say? That''s perfect then! I''ll let her know fufu~ How the research we can conduct~" ra panted as she prepared to leave the room when Rosalyn massaged her eyes. "Wait just a moment. You want¡­ to transfer a student to your department?" She rified as ra nodded her head. "Is that too difficult?" "Well¡­ Not exactly? But you don''t want Abyss Blood? I''m a Lord now, you know that right?" Rosalyn raised an eyebrow. "Oh pardon myte congrattions but the entire city knows." ra nodded. "Weren''t you desperate to get my blood before though?" "Yes, but that was the past. I found something else that stirs the emotions within my chest!" Before ra could begin to exin her love for Alice''s abnormalities, Rosalyn shook her head. "Right right, I get it. I suppose it''s only a matter of time before you''re dragged into her mess." She sighed. "So can youmence the transfer?" "You see, therein lies the issue. Alice isn''t here anymore." Rosalyn shrugged. "Eh? What do you mean she''s not here? Is she elsewhere at the moment? Another city?" ra asked, unsure as to what Rosalyn was trying to say. "She''s not in the Abyss. Not in a city, not in some weird stranded location. An ident happened and she''s flung herself all the way to the surface." Rosalyn sighed, pointing her finger up. After thest Lord left, Rosalyn wanted to find Alice and thank her personally. She wasn''t sure what she pulled off in the Inverted World but it was thanks to her that her ascension could go so smoothly. Otherwise, she would''ve not only had to hold back three Lords but also had to destabilize the Inverted World enough for her to absorb it. In that situation, it was a do or die moment that was leaning towards die. Yet no matter the method she chose to track Alice down, the leads ended where the Inverted World was. Naturally, since she was tasked with looking after Alice, Rosalyn had to take ountability. ### *Gulp¡­ ncing up at the Raven who was standing atop her chair, Rosalyn didn''t dare let out a single peep as she couldn''t tell what Kaden was thinking. Even though she knew there was a gap between them, having attained the status of Lord, she figured the gap would''ve been bridged. But now that she''s reached this stage, she could tell how much of Kaden''s power she wasn''t seeing before! Hell, she wasn''t even sure if this was everything! In her ignorance, she had tried to stand her ground earlier but the Raven pped her into a wall with a single beat of its wing! "I can''t track her either. Though I know that she''s alive." Kaden''s Raven sighed, scratching its head. "If she copsed the Inverted World from the inside and is still alive, she probably rode the Void to safety. Well either way, as long as she''s alive it''ll be fine. I''ll leave both Ria and that kid Luke in your care. Keep an eye on them, train them if you must." The Raven shrugged, preparing to leave but Rosalyn stopped him. "W-wait!" "Hm? Do you want another beating?" "No! How should I exin it to Allura? You know I also need to notify her right??" Rosalyn exined as the Raven tapped its beak. "If I can''t sense Alice in the Abyss then there''s a 95% chance she''s at the surface. I''m not 100% sure though so just do what you can." Without giving Rosalyn more time, the Raven flew up before diving into its own shadow. ### Just thinking about her brief exchange with Kaden that resulted in her being pped and then tasked with looking after two kids, Rosalyn shivered. While she may have been freed from the chains of Allura''s blood, Kaden was still holding her leash tightly. Shaking her head, she nced over to ra who was twitching strangely. *BANG!!! "!!!" Jumping up from ra''s sudden movement, Rosalyn wondered what she was up to. "What''s this?" "My resignation letter. I want to quit." "???" Blinking her eyes, Rosalyn watched while ra left the office. After a moment to digest what ra just did, Rosalyn''s veins bulged on her neck. "All of these motherf*ckers leaving without giving me a chance to reply¡­" She muttered, clenching her fist. She was an Abyss Lord dammit!!! Even though she wanted to throw her table out the window, it had been recently reced and she couldn''t do that. Not when their budget was tight for reconstruction and development. Once she left the room, ra let out a sigh of boredom. She thought that Alice would be her new reason to remain in this Academy but not that both the Inverted World and her love had gone, there was no point in staying. Plus, it wasn''t like this was a sudden decision. She had already thought about resigning for a while now since nothing''s really caught her eye and it''s constantly been the same old same old. Seeing Arunya waiting by the side, emotionless as always, ra patted her on the shoulder. "Things might get tough on you Runi~ You''ll have to look after a new Department Head once I''m gone." "There won''t be a department head that''s as perverted or weird as you, professor." Arunya replied while ncing at the hand touching her shoulder without turning her head. Gently picking up the arm by the sleeve, Arunya couldn''t help but wonder if the professor washed her hands after exploring her own body thoroughly. "Rude. I know I gave the principal my letter of resignation but still." ra pouted as she made her way out of the main building. Strangely, Arunya followed behind. "What are you doing?" "Professor, if I may be honest, I doubt you can survive out there. Plus, if you leave, I''ll lose my role as assistant. Since the Inverted World is gone, I''ve lost what was keeping me in the Academy. I may as well follow you and keep you alive. That way you owe me a big favour." Arunya replied, causing ra to smile as she tried to ponce on Arunya. "Please contain yourself professor. While I may be following you, I don''t want to be entangled in a physical rtionship with you." "So mean~ But I like that about you. Thank you for taking care of me~" raughed, jumping on Arunya''s back. "Should I get you more food professor? You''ve gotten lighter." "me the principal. Gave me a bunch of work before I quit too." ramented as the two of them made their preparations to leave the Academy and go on their journey to find Alice. ### Meanwhile, at the surface. Looking at a bandaged Alice lying on the bed sleeping, Selen held a de in her hand and narrowed her eyes. Chapter 390: Northern Lands Raising her hand, Selen prepared herself to sh down but hesitated before letting out a fatigued sigh. She hated Alice. At first, she thought the two of them were kindred spirits, both the result of heinous experiments conducted by the Zenia family. Little did she know, Alice was the root cause of it all. The source of the cursed blood that runs in her veins. Everyone that had been injected with her blood mutated without exception. It was simply too potent and the Zenia''s struggled to dilute it without losing the effectiveness of its properties. It was only recently that they had a breakthrough. To merge the abnormal blood with the blood of various sealed Lords. To have several ''poisons'' fighting one another within one body in order to bnce it out. For each ''portion'' of Alice''s blood they injected, they needed to bnce it out with the blood of four different Lords. However, the experiment proved to be a failure as it couldn''t maintain the properties of bing immune to the effects of Abyss Blood. What it did prove was its adaptability. By merging with the blood of sealed Lords, the user was able to take false Sigils so long as they are able to withstand the power. Powers that held simrities to the sealed Lords. Selen was one of the few who had a bodypatible with the power of Miralith, the sealed Lord of Time. But even then, the procedure caused permanent damage to her body and side effects unseen to the eye. She hated the Zenias for dragging her into such experiments. She hated Alice for having this blood. However, she couldn''t deny the fact that it was also Alice who dissolved her contract that tied her to the Zenias. She was the reason for her pain but also for her freedom. Leaving the tent, Selen shielded her eyes from the harsh sunlight across a sea of snow. She had cleared the space around their tent but snow kept on piling up every night. After Alice had copsed the Inverted World, she tried to relocate them elsewhere on the ind. Unfortunately for the both of them, outside interference destabilised the pathway that Alice had set out and instead flung them deep into the Void. With Alice not having enough power to keep the protective barrier around them for long, she made the decision to slingshot them in a random direction. To attach a ''rope'' to them and anchor the other end to a single point. She swung them around in the Void before cutting the connection. The next thing that Selen remembers was falling through the sky with Alice. Both of them were bleeding from head to toe but it was worst for Alice. Cuts that refused to stitch together, bones exposed on so on. While Selen had superficial cuts, Alice was on the verge of death. After Selen managed to protect the two of them from falling to death, she noticed a serious situation. Her control over her own powers had waned dramatically! Compared to her time in the Abyss, Selen struggled to fully channel her powers. If using her powers in the Abyss wasparable to a gentle ride down a river, using her powers on the surface felt like pushing a heavy log through a thick swamp. It took ten times the effort to even manifest her powers never mind using it to its full potential. Perhaps that was why Alice''s regeneration was slowing down to the point she was stuck in a state of limbo. Neither dead nor alive. Shaking her head with a sigh, Selen made her way over to some trees that were covered in snow. Adjusting the grip on her de, she cut down the tree and turned it into several logs that could be used as firewood. Bringing the log back to her tent, Selen used her powers to speed up the drying process before storing it on a makeshift shelf. It has been around three days since they escaped to the surface. A few beasts would attack but it hasn''t been anything that Selen couldn''t deal with herself. Thankfully, she had some supplies in her pouch. Healing blood, bandages and some spare clothing. The tent was made from animal skin. Crude but sufficient to block out the wind and snow. After scouting out the area, Selen concluded that they were in the far regions of the north. She wasn''t sure where but as long as she could find some traces of merchants, she should be able to find her way to a city. But to find these traces, her best chances are to travel south towards Extalia. The borders between the two nations are constantly embroiled in skirmishes but there''s a truce during this time. Finding some help and getting a new life should be rtively easy there. She couldn''t return to the Zenia family nor could she parade around as her current appearance in Extalia. The Zenia''s have eyes everywhere. Therefore, her best options would be to travel south, find a vige belonging to Verona and then travel north again to start her new life. She didn''t know what Alice preferred and frankly, she didn''t care. She was already doing Alice a big favour by keeping her alive. Not only that but also taking her with her during this journey. ''What a hassle.'' Selen thought inwardly as it was going to be a pain in the ass to take care of everything all while carrying an unconscious Alice on her back. But even if it''s a pain, she had to do it if she wanted to live. The only issue was food. She was fine but she wasn''t sure how Alice was doing. It seems fine so far as she''s being sustained by a supply of blood that Selen had but this was going to run out soon. ''She''s immune to the effects of Abyss Blood but even so, I can''t keep feeding her this stuff.'' Selen had enough supplies tost another 3 ish days for Alice. After that, it''ll be feeding her unfiltered blood from the corpses of beasts. Getting the rest of their supplies such as dried beast meat, some makeshift fur coats and dried logs, she split the pile into two stacks. One for each pouch that they had as Selen took it upon herself to borrow Alice''s pouch. Naturally, she found Alice''s unnaturallyrge supply of mead within the pouch but left it untouched. Setting aside some logs, leather and fur, she got to work. To secure the logs to each other, Selen used a mix of sharpened bone, teeth and tendons. Ayer of leather and fur toy Alice''s body on with a nket made of the same material on top. A makeshift bed/sled to carry Alice around while keeping her warm in this cold. One of the key dangers to the Northernnds was the freezing cold! Depending on the zone you were in, not even six star Hunters were safe and they could die within the first hour of not getting warmth! "Ah¡­ Not enough fur." Selen muttered as she noticed there wasn''t enough to make another coat for herself. Furrowing her brows, she was just about to go out to hunt when a wave of snow exploded beside her. From the depths, a four armed beast burst out from the ground. A pair of cracked curved horns with one side being broken protruding from its head. On its back, two hornsrger than the ones on its head curved out from its back and over its shoulders. A pair of glowing white eyes,rge tusks and a thick leathery chest with white fur across the body. Horned Yeti! One of the mostmon beasts that one could find within the north. Despite theirrge stature and powerful physiques, they were pack based beasts who often hunted in groups. The weakest of the group could be as weak as two Sigils while the strongest was at an astonishing six! If one was to appear, more would surely follow. After hunting these beasts in the past few days, Selen was familiar with their strategies. And as expected, the moment she turned to face the first Yeti, two more burst out of the snow behind her, ready to strike. "F*cking predictable." Selen muttered, conjuring her staff and mming it into the ground. *BANG!!! Arge ritualistic circle expanded with her in the centre as time seemed to slow to a halt. The kes of snow that was flung by the Yeti froze in the air as Selen released her staff and maintained the circle. Unsheathing her de, she released a flurry of shes and grabbed her staff. A new attack that she had thought up of after her fight in the Inverted World. One that would make the most out of her time based abilities. Fester! *KRK!!!! As time resumed, the small wounds upon the Yeti''s body burst open as blood poured out like a fountain. An attack where everyone wound Selen causes would fester and age, rotting the flesh and reaching the bone within a single moment. Looking at the corpses of the Yetis dying the snow in their blood, Selen massaged her shoulders. Hidden in the snow next to a tree, another Yeti was hiding but Selen sensed its presence. During her attack, she had made sure tond a strike on it as well. With all the Yetis dealt with, even the hidden one, she wasn''t worried that more would show up. If anything, they would only think a strong beast had shown up in this region. "Now then, time for me to carry the sleeping princess." Selen sighed, hoisting Alice onto her sled and grabbing the tendon rope. Dragging it behind her, she departed for the south in hopes of finding a vige where she could get some proper treatment for Alice. That way, she could pay off her debt and have nothing to do with her anymore. Chapter 391: A Conversation With Alyss Lying on her back while floating in the sea of her own consciousness, Alice groaned as she slowly opened her eyes. Clutching her head, she sat up and saw that the realm hadn''t undergone any changes. Thest thing she could remember was a desperate attempt to bring her and Selen out of the Inverted World after some¡­ slight miscalctions. ''Why the hell did the entrance f*cking implode like that? I know I set it off but it shouldn''t have exploded that way.'' Alice muttered inwardly, trying to stand up but flinching from the pain. Looking around, she saw Ca resting on the bed, unmoving as she seemed exhausted and drained of energy. Just as she was about to look for Alyss, a voice called out. "I''m here, no need to look around too much." ncing back, Alice could see Alyss resting on a seat with one leg up and the other down. "Want a game of chess while we talk?" Alyss offered as another seat appeared with a table between them. Atop the table was a chessboard set. Although Alice was a little confused by Alyss''s offer, she didn''t reject it and sat opposite her. "Want to take the first move?" Nodding her head, Alice moved the white pawn in front of the king two squares up. In response, Alyss moved her ck pawn in front of the bishop two squares up. "Ca''s pretty tired you know? Even though she''s sealed, her vitality and yours are still linked together. There''s a certain amount of¡­ force? She can exert through your body. She kept you alive despite the damage we took. The Void tearing us apart, our regeneration being taxed to the absolute limit." Alyss exined, watching Alice''s next move before moving her knight. "It''s the first time this has happened. That our regenerationpletely stopped." "Have we lost it? Or is it still there?" Alice questioned. She wasn''t familiar with the game of chess and so far, she''s just been ying the pieces she thinks are right. "We still have it. It''s just recovering right now. Rather, our Spiritual Heart is recovering. Whatever happened in the Inverted World sent a wave of energy back to us right after we tried to close the realm. A sort of bacsh if you want to call it that. We''re pretty vulnerable." Alyss shook her head. Moving her pawn, she took Alice''s pawn and in response, Alice''s knight got revenge. Alyss moved her other pawn. "I''m guessing Selen is keeping us safe." Alice moved her bishop. "Alive and fed. She''s got a good heart in her. Even though we''re the source of her misery, she''s repaying the debt she owes us. For freeing her of the Zenias and bringing her out of that copsing world." Alyss nodded, moving her second knight onto the field. As they began to move the other pieces, pawns started to disappear while they made sure their more important pieces were out of harm''s way. "And what about you?" Alice asked with a heavy heart, moving her queen diagonally to take Alyss''s knight. "Me?" Alyss nced up momentarily before using her rook to take Alice''s bishop. "Mnm. With everything we found out in the Inverted World, I''m sure you''ve gotten some new thoughts." "Hmm¡­ Just a few. But even if I have thoughts, it''s not going to change much about our situation, is it? Knowing that I''m the remanent of the original Alice. On the other hand, I can ask you the same question. Knowing that you''re¡­ Nyer''s product and that you''re part of the reason why our family changed so much." Alyss decided to be blunt. Both of them had to face the truth and Alice had already abandoned her expectations for the Zenia family back in the Inverted World. If there was a time to talk and reveal the burdens in their heart, it was now. Alice wanted to say that things could change but she hesitated. It felt like an empty promise. She couldn''t deny that Alyss was now shackled to her body, serving as the Spiritual Heart. If she was to get rid of Alyss, she too would be helpless and vice versa. They needed one another. However, even if they needed one another it didn''t change their stance where one is the prisoner and the other the warden. Taking Alyss''s rook with her queen, Alice let out a sigh. "I don''t know. Even if¡­ I''m the reason that the Zenia''s changed, it still doesn''t change the fact that they exploited me. Deserved or not I suppose. After giving up my expectations for them I''m taking Allura''s words and lessons to heart now." From the start, Allura had been trying to teach Alice the importance of her own body, her own individuality and how she should be free from the Zenia''s shadow. It was only now that she truly began to see the value of Allura''s lessons. The chains belonging to the Zenia''s that wrapped around her limbs felt lighter than before. Each breath she took felt liberating. In this sense, she felt truly free. "Mnm, that''s good." Alyss revealed a small smile as she ruthlessly took Alice''s rook on the other side of the board. Hesitating for a moment, Alice opened her mouth. "Do¡­ Do you want to let the Zenia''s go? Now that we know it was my fault to begin with." Personally, she couldn''t let it go. While she may have given up her expectations, this hatred was still fresh in her heart. The bare minimum she had to do was topletely root out all the schrs and research they''ve produced. Alice took Alyss''s final knight using her second bishop. "Why would it be your fault? Didn''t you see that it was Nyer who nted you in me in the first ce? I will admit that in these past few days, I have thought about what life could''ve been like if none of it ever happened. "If I remained the first daughter for Luthor and Sienna Zenia without thinking I''m a mutation or a split personality created by you. But if Selen can look past it can take care of us while we''re injured, I suppose it''s only right that I do as well." Alyss looked at the chess piece in her hand as a conflicting swirl of emotions stormed her heart. She didn''t know if she hated Alice, pitied her or liked her. The same goes with her own family. With everything that came to light, her mind was a cluttered mess and even with the time she spent alone trying to figure it out, Alyss still felt lost. Perhaps she felt it would''ve been better if she was indeed the product of Nyer or a split personality. At least then, she wouldn''t have needed to think about her rtionship with the Zenias. Seeing the love her mother showed and the desperation of her father despite being forced to cut off her arm nted a seed in her heart. "But it''s not that easy is it?" Alice asked, noticing the conflict in Alyss''s eyes. "Indeed it''s not. You might''ve given up your expectations while I''ve gained some new ones. Ironic isn''t it? Since we were the opposite before this." Alyss let out a chuckle, cing her piece on the board. Nodding her head silently, the game wasing to an end as the two of them started to take important pieces while looking for a way to checkmate the king. Alice promotes a pawn to queen. "However, all of this doesn''t change the fact that the Zenias aremitting heinous crimes across the world. I wouldn''t be surprised if the pandemic was caused by them in order to drag us out of the Inverted World." Alyss ced her bishop in ce, trapping Alice''s newly promoted queen in a trap of bishop, rook and queen. "We also have evidence of the research they conducted at the orphanage." Alice added, using the queen to take out Alyss''s queen. Taking out the queen using her rook, Alyss nodded her head. "We can''t exactly just throw the evidence to the public either. None of the three religions are reliable, especially Enris since she''s thrown her lot with Nyer. Not that I would suggest her in the first ce since Ria hates them. "The moon is a no go since they have ties with the Zenias. I won''t be surprised if some of their experiments were ordered by the moon since the b*tches there are obsessed with longevity." Alyss shrugged. "I''ll withhold my thoughts on the sun for now since we haven''t exactly gotten to know them. But if I had to choose one, the Sun is looking to be our best option if we want them to fight against the moon." Alyss suggested, watching Alice move her piece forward in order to threaten a check. "This can wait until we get more Sigils though. We''re too reliant on drinking the blood of others to ''promote'' ourselves to the next level. If this secret gets our we''re f*cked." Alice scratched her chin. "Exactly. So take your time enjoying the surface since we''re finally out. I''ll sort out my thoughts in the meantime. Oh, I''ll leave my piece here and call it a draw." Alyss chuckled, stepping away while Alice furrowed her brows. "What do you mean it''s a draw? You haven''t- wait¡­" Pausing for a moment, Alice realised that if Alyss had moved her piece a single space forward, it would''ve been aplete checkmate with her king anchored into a corner by Alyss''s pieces. Scratching her hair, Alice leaned back and let out a frustrated sigh. She thought she was doing pretty well but in the end, Alyss still got the better of her. Shaking her head, she nced over at her twin who made a bed on the other side of the mental space and Ca who''s still sleeping. Feeling d that none of them disappeared, Alice slowly opened her eyes in reality as she could feel the shaking of a wooden cart. Chapter 392: Information Of The North Feeling the cold wind upon her skin, the shaking of the cart and the biting cold that assaulted her senses, Alice nced up and saw the pale blue sky. There was no sun in sight, only miles upon miles of clouds while snow fluttered in the wind. Looking to her side, she could see that she was currently in a horse cart. There were three others in the cart including Selen. "Ah, you''re finally awake. The youngdy over there was trying to take you to the border. Almost got caught in an ambush by the dogs of the Extalia kingdom." A middle aged man smiled, giving her a small wave. He had dirty blonde hair with braids on the side and a messy beard. messy beard. "Where are we?" Alice asked curiously, ncing towards Selen who had fallen asleep. Just as she wanted to adjust her posture, Alice flinched from the wounds across her body. One of them was even torn apart and blood seeped into her bandages. "You don''t know? We''re in the Verona Queendom. How did you two even get so deep into the nation if you don''t know where you are? All the borders should be embroiled in war right now." He asked curiously as Alice scratched her cheek. "Not sure, I''ve been sleeping this entire time after all." Alice pointed at her bandages. "Makes sense. Thedy said you two got into an ident when you were running away from a beast. The next thing you knew you found yourselves in the north. Right now, we''re heading to the north and away from the borders. Kvia, that''s where we''re headin''. "A military outpost of sorts. Meant to shuffle supplies back ''n forth for the war effort. You should also be able to find a carriage to take you to a safer city towards the capital." Hearing this, Alice furrowed her brows as she didn''t think she''d be sent all the way to the north. Not only that but the border was under conflict? ''Seems like the truce was broken now that the Inverted World disappeared.'' "What happened with the truce? I thought they weren''t fighting for a while." "Bah, a load a bullsh*t that''s what it was. Sickness broken out over there and some of it was passed to the north and the east. Brokered a peace to try and resolve it. Unfortunately, their ns got ruined and no one could find a good cure. Now we''re just biding our time for the doctors to resolve the issue but war don''t wait for no one." The man sighed while waving his hand. "The sickness breaking out is a load of crap. It''s orchestrated I tell ye. They got scared that we''re pushing em back and did this to scare us into retreat so they could regroup. We should''ve never epted that damn truce and kept fightin''." Another man in the carriage piped up. "You''re only saying that coz you never saw it with your own eyes. I saw everything with me own eyes." The first man pointed at his eyes. "Every man and woman going insane, blood in their veins bursting out. They stopped being human and turned beast like. Strange parts poking and prodding out their bodies, nts growin'' and their organs turning inside out. Looked f*cken painful, a fate worse than death." "It''s just a hallucination from chemicals in the air. Another sted Sigil ability no doubt. Filthy sinners stoop to all kinds of levels just for power." The second spat in disgust while Alice raised an eyebrow. "Don''t everyone get a Sigil here and there though?" She asked as taking Sigils was a rather standard procedure for even themon folk. "Hah! As if. Not everyone''s eager to sell their soul to the devil for power." Heughed in contempt. "It''s true. It may bemon for the Extalia dogs but for us? Not all of us are so eager. Those who proceed do so with the goal of protecting us. True heroes and not those devil worshippers who do it for the power." The first man nodded his head in agreement. Smiling and nodding by the side, Alice felt a little awkward. After all, in their words, she too was a devil worshipper who got Sigils for power. Not only that, but she''s the sessor to the ''devil''! Regardless, Alice was d to see someone thinking it was premeditated rather than happening normally. It was too coincidental for the Zenia''s to go after the Inverted World, and then a pandemic broke out, giving them an excuse. Thinking of this, Alice wondered what happened to the principal. Considering that three Lords were looking after the entrance, seeing it suddenly disappear will most certainly turn some eyes towards her. ''There''s also Ria and Luke too. I wonder how they''re doing.'' Alice sighed inwardly as she worried about her friends. Shaking her head, sheid out the goals for herself. The most important task right now was to figure out where she was exactly. She knew she was in the north but where was she on the map? Information was key and she needed a map. Soon. Second was to heal her body. It was hanging on for now but Alice wasn''t eager to maintain herself in a half dying state. Her wounds refused to close and her body felt sluggish. Compared to the Abyss, she felt like she was walking through a swamp. Not only that but it was also hard to breathe. Closing her eyes, she tried to spur her regeneration but there was no response. Only the bare minimum was being activated. ''Is it because I''m not in the Abyss?'' Alice wondered. With the control of Abyssal Energy being harder than before, it was difficult to bring out the power of her Sigils. Letting out a soft sigh, she leaned back and nced up at the sky. She enjoyed the feeling of soft sunlight filtering in through the clouds. The biting cold against her skin turned the tip of her nose and ears red. Letting out a breath of cold mist, Alice let out a softugh. Seeing Alice randomlyugh to herself, the two men nced at one another before shrugging. The journey proceeded without any issues much to the surprise of Alice. Travelling in the Abyss was always fraught with danger. Fears of a beast jumping out from the forest or ground. Fears of a nt type Abyss beasttching onto you and draining you of your essence. Fear that a randomly infected Hunter may suddenly turn to kill you. But here on the surface? The biggest fear may be the stray bandit or a blocked off path. Compared to the Abyss, it was far rarer for Beasts to be roaming thends. ording to the two men, most of the beasts are regted into certain zones by the warriors of Verona. If people with Sigils are called Hunters in the Abyss, the Northerners call them Warriors. Thus, it was rare to ever get attacked. As for Bandits, they take care to scout out their target before making a move in fear of a strong warrior being tasked as a guard. Hearing about all of this was fascinating to Alice as the people living on the surface have far different worriespared to those who live in the Abyss. Since most of her time on the surface was spent in a prison, she considered herself a resident of the Abyss. Naturally, the two were confused as to why Alice was asking these questions. Instead, they chalked it up to the fact that she was from a different part of the surface. Perhaps from another area of Extalia or even the eastern nation of Sikha. However, they took care not to mention that since she was appreciating the knowledge of northerners. Considering the wounds on her body, the two guessed that she was either a deserter of Extalia or someone who tried to cross the border for safety. Perhaps this was the ''ident'' the other girl had spoken of. With this in mind, they answered any questions Alice had. "Hng¡­" Opening her eyes slowly, Selen saw that Alice woke up from her briefa and was now chatting away with the northerners happily. Their conversation was a little too loud and woke her up from her nap. Stretching her body, she let out a yawn. "Ah you''re up, how was your nap?" Alice asked with augh. In her hands, she held a sk of mead and had shared some with the other two as payment for their information. She was confused as to why her pouch had a set of other materials such as wood and fur but she ignored it for now. She figured Selen probably took the chance to use her pouch as storage. So long as the mead wasn''t touched, she was happy. One of the important parts of the northern culture was their love for alcohol, a part that Alice was greatly interested in. The exchange of alcohol was a sign of showing respect for these northerners and with Alice giving them mead, the three became close rather quickly. Alice wanted to give the driver some mead as well but he rejected, saying he had to focus on the road but appreciated the gesture. "Noisy. How was yours? Is your body any better and should you be drinking alcohol?" Selen furrowed her brows, overwhelmed by the smell. "Strangely exhausting? And drinking mead is fineee~ Plus it warms my body up from the cold, isn''t that right?!" Aliceughed, raising her sk at the other two as they did the same and let out a heartyugh. "Aye thess is correct. Nothing better than a sk of mead in this kind of weather!" The first man grinned while the second man nodded. Not wanting to end their party, Selen let out a sigh and a smile while enjoying the atmosphere. Through the snow and wind, heartyughs and the clinking of sks could be heard. Chapter 393: Kvia Listening to the crunch of the horse hooves against the snow, Alice pulled her fur lined coat tighter around her shoulders. A breath of cold air escaped her mouth as her eyes glimmered with childlike excitement and awe. Above her, the darkened sky was illuminated by an ethereal dance of silken strands flickering in a multitude of colours. Ever changing, ever moving. Jagged snowcap mountains loomed in the distance, shrouded by mist and basking in the lights above. Located next to argeke connected to a channel, the military outpost Kvia, could be spotted. Alice could see tall watch towers, log cabins and small homes. Soft warm lights filtered through the frosted ss as silhouettes of happy families could be seen despite the nature of this location. Aside from the houses, she could also seerge tents as warriors would patrol the outpost, ensuring public safety and making sure there were no intruders. Amidst the frozenndscape, a warm vige thrived. As they approached the vige, the carriage came to a halt just outside the gates of the outpost. Guards nced down and gestured to their fellow warriors before opening the gates slightly. Seeing the warriors that came out of the city, Alice understood that this was to check their identities. The driver and the two northerners had papers that allowed them travel but that wasn''t the case for Alice and Selen. Recalling that Allura had given her an ID card when they had left for Zadash, Alice rummaged through her belongings before pulling out the card. She wasn''t sure if it would suffice but it was better than nothing. Plus, a Guild ID wouldn''t let her travel between cities, merely allowing her to use the services of the Guild. Furrowing his brows, the warrior guard examined Alice''s ID before whispering something to his friend. After this, the other guard jogged back to the outpost, allowing the other three to enter it. Waving goodbye to the two men that she got close to on this journey, Alice looked at Selen who simply folded her arms and closed her eyes. She didn''t seem surprised that they were held back considering the only ID they had were ones belonging to the Abyss. Considering the attitude that the other two men have shown towards those who use the powers of the Abyss, it is very likely that they may be rejected for entrance into this city. "Pst pst, say, can you tell me what''s going on at the border? The other two told me a little but I''m still not sure about the situation there. With there being such stringent checks, I''m guessing they''re not giving you an easy time right?" Alice struck up a conversation with the guard and showed a harmless smile. Naturally, she made sure to adjust her body so that he could see the wounds on her clearly. Though the same couldn''t be said for her eye as she covered it with her hair. Seeing her wounds, the guard scratched his cheek before nodded. "There''s been more and more ambushes as ofte. The dogs of the kingdom are trying to target important supply lines so we need to check everyone thoroughly. I know it''s beginning to snow pretty heavily but the checks should be finished soon so please hang in there okay? Once you''re inside you can get the help you need." He sighed as Alice brushed her hair behind her ear and nodded her head. "I see¡­ Thank you. Seeing all of you working hard despite the weather really sets the heart at ease. If there''s anything I can do to make your job easier, please let me know and I''ll try my best to cooperate." Hearing this, the guard chuckled and thanked her. Not wanting to push the limits and annoy them by ident, Alice waited by the side. This one piece of information was enough to give Alice a general sense of the situation at the border. With the Inverted World being a dud, the fight resumed and now the Extalia kingdom is looking for ways to push for more territory from both the North and East. Especially if they''re going as far as sneaking ambushes towards supply lines like this. It meant that the kingdom didn''t care whether or not the soldiers they sent here lived or died so long as they got the job done. ''Seems like heading back to the Abyss isn''t going to be easy.'' Alice sighed inwardly. While she may enjoy her freedom on the surface, she needed to find a way back soon. Ria and Luke were bound to be worried. On the other hand, Alice wasn''t worried about Kaden and Allura since they could sense her. If Kaden needed her, he''d simply send a Raven. ''I wonder if the Underground has branches on the surface. If there is, I can send a message to Luke and Ria. Otherwise, the best course of action would be to enter the Abyss asap and see where we can meet up again. ''That being said¡­ Luke should have a better sense of direction than Ria. The two of them¡­ should be fine.'' Alice sighed. Waiting for the IDs to be checked, Alice felt as though she was about to fall asleep in the cold. Even if it was Abyss ID, surely it shouldn''t have taken this long right?! Just as she was about to reach her limit, the guard that jogged in earlier came out and whispered something into another guard''s ear. Nodding his head, he smiled and walked over to Alice and Selen. "Sorry for the wait, everything''s been checked and approved. You''ll need to get further approval and a temporary travel pass if you want to travel to other towns without going through this process again. Unfortunately, we can''t do it here." He apologized as Alice received her ID. "Ah it''s okay. Thank you for telling me. Where do we need to go if we want to get a travel pass?" Alice asked curiously. "You''ll have to travel ind towards the capital. As long as you''re away from the borders, it should be rtively easy to get it approved. I''m not exactly familiar with the process but this should be roughly correct." "I see¡­ Thank you. Let me buy you a drink as thanks if I get a chance while I''m still in this town okay?" Alice chuckled, giving him a small wave while entering the town with Selen. Meanwhile, the guard''s friend gave him a side eye and proceeded to elbow his ribs. "Ow! What was that for?" "F*ck you." "???" ### Stretching her body and then flinching from the wound, Alice walked around the town with a skip in her steps. "Seems like you''re quite excited." Selen raised an eyebrow while walking behind Alice. She felt like she was babysitting a kid with how energetic Alice was being despite her wounds. "Just a tad. This is my first surface town after all. The mead here should be pretty tasty right?" Alice grinned while licking her lips. "What''s with you and mead?" "Don''t mind it. I''m just an alcoholic. I wonder if they sell spicy skewers too¡­ Well I have plenty of time to look around. What ns do you have now that we''re at a town?" Alice nced back. She was curious about what Selen wanted to do after this considering the fact that she broke off her attachment to the Zenia family. With the contract now dissolved, she was free to do whatever she wanted. "I¡­ Think I''m going to wander the surface for a while. Maybe for a year or so. Maybe more." Selen replied after a brief pause. She nced up at the multicoloured sky and softened her gaze. "I''ve spent too long shackled to the Zenia family. It''s about time I live my life outside of their shadow." Selen smiled, breaking her stoic disposition. "Hou~ Sounds nice. Indeed, the Zenia''s have done too much to you." Alice nodded her head approvingly. "Of course, I''m not going to avoid them. If I doe across a few Zenias, I may as well clean up the dirt while I''m there." "Oh! Heroic sort. Perhaps in a few years once the Zenia''s are rooted out, some bard may begin singing your story." Alice chuckled. "You realise that this includes you right? Like it or not, I doesn''t change the fact that you''re blood was the start of it all." Selen narrowed her eyes but Alice simply shrugged. "I mean you''re free to try ande kill me if you ever decide to. I will retaliate in kind. But seeing as how you''ve cared for me and kept me alive till now, I don''t think you''re nning on doing that any time soon. You know as well as me that I have a grudge against them too." Alice turned around while looking for the nearest tavern. "Everything I do will be working towards the goal of ending the Zenias once and for all. You''re free toe stop me or help me. But if you''reing to stop me, just be prepared to die since I won''t spare you twice." She warned. Despite her injured state, Selen could tell that Alice was willing to struggle as hard as needed in order to survive. "I don''t n on doing that. The Zenias have only given me pain, why would I join hands with them again? But that only makes me wonder about you. Seeing as how you''re¡­ the first daughter and all." Selen shook her head with a sigh. "Don''t worry about that. I''ve left that all behind. I''m not the first daughter or part of the Zenias anymore. I''m simply Alice Agnelia, student and daughter to Allura Agnelia." Aliceughed as she truly felt free from the Zenias. Hearing this, Selen nodded her head. "I overheard some northern folks earlier talk about a good tavern with some drinks. You should be able to get some mead and skewers there." "Oh! Lead the way!" Alice grinned as the two girls made their way through Kvia and towards the tavern in question. Alice''s first night on the surface, free from danger. Chapter 394: Void Hawk After arriving at the tavern, Alice immediately asked for a room, some mead for herself and spicy skewers for Alyss. Even though she wanted to gather some more information, she couldn''t help but admit that the fatigue was catching up to her. When paired with her injuries, a good night''s sleep was what she needed the most rather than information. Making arrangements to meet up with Selen again tomorrow morning, Alice made her way back to her room and threw herself onto the bed. "Ouch¡­" She groaned, feeling the pain across her body. Rxing herself in the bed for a moment, she sat up and nced at her arm. Peeling the bandages off, she could see the state of her body clearly. Bloodied scars riddled her arm with parts of it threatening to burst if she wasn''t careful. In fact, some of them have already burst and Alice could see her flesh all the way down to her bone at certain parts. Her blood and flesh tried its best to sew itself together but it was slow. ''Selen said she fed me quite a bit of Healing Blood too but it wasn''t that effective.'' Alice thought with a sigh. She wasn''t sure why her regeneration was slowing down and Ca wasn''t awake to exin. Not that she would know in the first ce. Alyss seemed pretty clueless on the whole situation as well. Closing her eyes, Alice tried to activate her third Sigil. *KSHK!!! Furrowing her brows, she opened her eyes and saw that all of her wounds simultaneously burst apart. Her body was akin to a broken sk that was barely taped together. Too much water and it''ll begin to leak and crack apart again. ''What a hassle.'' Alice sighed. With all of her wounds breaking open, she''ll need to clean her body and redo the bandages. "There should be a bathhouse here¡­" Switching controls with Alyss to let her enjoy the skewers before taking over again, Alice rummaged through her pouch and grabbed some warm clothes. In order to conserve as much energy as she could, she needed to keep herself warm. The outfit she chose was arge fur lined turtle neck coat reaching down to her thighs. It was coloured white that blended into a soft blue with golden ents. A pair of shorts with ck tights and fur lined long boots. Adjusting her hair after putting on her warm fur hat, Alice moved some strands over her right eye. Looking at herself in the mirror, Alice gave her body a twirl and smiled, feeling satisfied with her outfit. ''All ready.'' ncing at the clock on her table, she could see that it was 11 pm at night. She wasn''t sure if the bathhouse was open or not but a walk wasn''t bad either. Grabbing her sk Alice made her way out of the tavern. Compared to earlier, the town had calmed down a lot more with only warriors on patrol. Now that it was reaching midnight, everyone had gone back to their homes to sleep. Asking the guards where the bathhouse was, Alice found out that it was located near theke and made her way over. ### "Ahhhhh~" Letting out a satisfied sigh, Alice smiled happily while soaking her body in the open air bath. It was just her at the moment since it was ratherte but it worked out perfectly for Alice. After all, having others see this scar riddled body her''s wouldn''t be good for their mental not to mention the blood. Allowing the hot water to wash away her blood, it stun against the open wound yet was also strangely satisfying. Alice had to question if she had a hint of masochism in her but quickly dismissed the thought. With the strange blend of a hot bath and the cold air, Alice felt as though she was in paradise. ''Seems like they don''t use Abyssal Engineering as muchpared to the Abyss. Going through such roundabout ways to obtain hot water for the bath.'' Alice thought to herself while ncing at the statue that was pushing fresh hot water into the bath. She couldn''t see any signs of the usual mechanisms used for Abyssal Engineering and figured it was probably something else entirely. Either way, if everything was like this bath, she could get used to it rather quickly. Just as she was about to rx fully, Alice''s ear twitched as she immediately stood up and grabbed the towel near her. Narrowing her eye, she grabbed a nearby bucket. She could be hallucinating but for a moment, she heard some movement from the bushes and trees. Her senses were rarely wrong and at this moment, Alice tuned her focus to the max. With her body in this state, she wasn''t able to deploy a zone. After waiting for a long time, peace seemed to return as Alice couldn''t hear any more movement. Furrowing her brow, Alice decided to cut her bath short and made her way to the changing room while keeping her bucket beside her at all times. Without a weapon right now, this bucket was her best friend. Unknown to Alice, just as she left, a figure let out a sigh of relief from the trees. A girl could be seen wearing dark clothing and arge hooded cloak hiding her figure. She didn''t know what kind of person appeared in Kvia but to think they could detect her presence. All it took was hernding on the tree for the split haired girl to notice her and go on guard. Had it not been for the countless wounds across her body, perhaps they would''ve been forced into a confrontation. Regardless, she was d that the girl decided to leave after a long pause. The hooded figure decided to postpone her mission for the night in fear of unknown variables. ''I''ll need backup from the rest of the squad if we want to do this sessfully.'' She sighed inwardly while sneaking out of the outpost. Compared to trying to avoid Alice''s notice, escaping the outpost was a piece of cake. None of the guards noticed her even if she made some noise. Most of them only thought it was a wild animal or the wind. This only served to prove her concerns about Alice and needing more support. If she was still around when they begin their mission then the chances of it failing increases drastically. ### After getting changed and leaving the bathhouse, Alice didn''t detect any more abnormalities and couldn''t help but begin to doubt herself. Perhaps she was being too on guard due to her wounded state but it was far too strange for it to be the wind. However, that brief scare was enough to reinforce her belief that she should fix her body as soon as possible. While the surface may be far saferpared to the Abyss, dropping her guard like earlier and leaving herself in a vulnerable state was the worst thing she could possibly do. Even with such safety a sneak attack is all it takes to kill her! ''If Abyss Blood doesn''t work that well perhaps there''s something else that''s holding me back.'' Alice spected. It was about time she dug into the secrets of her regeneration. At first, she had thought that it was part of Alyss''s power but that was clearly not the case. There was another source and that source was her. And if it was her, what was wrong with her body for her regeneration to slow? In previous instances, her regeneration would slow when she took too much damage and couldn''t keep fighting. There was another theory of hers and that it was something to do with her Spiritual Heart. She noticed the regeneration of her younger selfing close to a halt once she had severed the connection, essentially turning her into a vegetable. If cutting off the link to the spiritual heart caused the regeneration to stop then there was a chance that Alice''s own link had been damaged in that fight. ''What a hassle.'' Alice sighed. She had two ns tomorrow. First to find the Underground. Second was to see if she could find a healer to check out her body and resolve the issues. Of course, there''s an inherent risk with finding a healer since her secret could be exposed. But staying as she is right now, unable to use any Sigils was worse. A choice where she''s picking the lesser of two evils. ### "So you''re nning on looking for the Underground?" Selen asked while eating the breakfast. Compared to the breakfast in the Abyss, there was far less beast meat and mostly just eggs, butter, bread, stew and some fruit. "Yep. I need to tell my friends that I''m alive and where we should meet after all." Alice nodded, dipping her bread into the stew. "You''ll probably struggle then. The Underground is mostly an organisation that operates within the boundaries of Extalia with some influence in Sikha. But due to the attitude of the Northerners, the Underground struggled in Verona. "Plus, the Northerners have a different way of finding and passing information. They train specific beasts that travel back and forth from the capital by shuttling through the Void. "Void Hawks. That''s what they''re called. It takes them about a week for a round trip to the capital and back but the Northerns have perfected the training system. There are probably a few thousand of these shuttling back and forth constantly as we speak." She shrugged. Scratching her chin while listening, Alice wondered how they were shuttling through the Void. Depending on their method, there was a chance she could recreate it using her own abilities. The thought of shuttling through the Void to throw a bomb at someone''s face then running away brought a smile to Alice''s face. It would be the perfect surprise attack. Chapter 395: Price Of A Single Message "Pardon? How much did you say it was?" Alice asked again as her smile twitched furiously. "10 tina. You heard me clearly." The old man by the counter yawned while feeding the Void Hawk next to him some pieces of raw meat. Furrowing her brows, Alice calcted the value of 10 tina in her mind. ''Most families earn about 10 Gold per week. It takes about 100 Gold per tina. To get 10 tina I''ll need to earn a thousand gold. That''s 100 weeks or roughly two years or so¡­!!! F*ck this old b*stard wants enough gold for two years for one message???'' Holding back her anger, Alice cleared her throat. "Ol- No no, Sir. You''re asking for 10 tina just for a single message isn''t that a little expensive? It''ll take 2 years of honest work and not spending anything to save up that much." "If you had asked me to send a message within the borders of Verona it''ll only cost you tens of gold at most. But you''re asking me to send my precious Hawks to find this Underground thenmission them to send a message to their branch in the Abyss. Not only that, but they then need to find the damn person you''re trying to look for. "That''s a lot of hurdles for your ''just a single message'' youngss. And you''ve got to take into ount the dangers of sending my Hawk to ces like that. What if the Hawk gets killed? How are you going topensate me for my pal?" The old man asked, picking his nose as Alice winced in disgust. However, she couldn''t refute him. There are two ways for him to locate the Underground. Either by sending the Hawk past the borders or trying to find an entrance into the Abyss and locating them that way. The dangers of the Abyss didn''t need to be exined as everyone knows just how dangerous it is. As for the border, with it being embroiled in war, the Hawk would no doubt be shot down immediately once it''s been spotted. "Even so, with the dangers taken into ount, shouldn''t it be 5 tina at most?" Selen narrowed her eyes. "Look here, I don''t make the rules. Capital sends orders, I follow them. You''re trying to hire a Hawk that could be used for the war effort if an emergency was to appear. Naturally, you''ll need to pay the price. If you can''t afford it then you can wait until the war calms down. But right now? 10 tina''s the best price you''re gonna get for your request." The old man sighed as he too was helpless in this case. What was he supposed to say if his higher ups were to ask him why he gave the Hawk out for less than 10 tina? Scratching her hair in annoyance, Alice let out a sigh. "What about just locating a branch of the Underground then? Or an entrance to the Abyss?" "8 tina." "YOU!!!" Gritting her teeth, Alice wanted to throw a table at the old man but Selen held her back. "What about me? Like I said, I don''t make the rules. Same sh*t different story. To find the branch, I still need to send my Hawk across the border. To find an entrance to the Abyss that''s not being regted by the Royal family is gonna cost you 8 tina. Or you can get a map and then pay the toll to enter the Abyss. But then you need to take into ount the travel fees and wartime fees." The old man rolled his eyes. With how clueless Alice was towards the current state of the country, it was a surprise how she even got this far. The old man had his own guesses based on her scars but he wasn''t certain. In the end, Selen had to drag Alice out of the building before shemitted a crime. Huffing in anger by a tree, Alice kicked her foot into the trunk in a fit of rage. *BANG!!! "HNG!!!" Dropping to her knees, she clutched her toes in pain as tears began to form in the corner of her eyes. Seeing this, Selen couldn''t help but facepalm and sign. She wondered how someone like this was able to get strong and even take out people with more Sigils than her. After taking a moment to let the pain fade, Alice sat down on a bench and leaned back. "Since things are too expensive here, I need to earn some money and get a map. If I can get to the Abyss then finding the Underground should be a piece of cake." "And how will you earn money? Just to remind you, arenas are pretty rare on the surface unless you''re in the big cities. You don''t earn as much as you would in the Abyss either." Selen reminded as Alice froze up. Letting out a groan from the depths of her soul, Alice understood that she had to earn money like everyone else rather than through fighting. "How do people earn money quickly?" Alice asked, feeling drained of energy. The only ways she knew were either takingmissions from the Guild or gambling thanks to Ria. With gambling struck off, there was only the option of taking Commissions but there was no Hunter''s Guild here. "You could sign up as an independent mercenary. With the war at the border like this, there are groups specifically made to recruit extra help outside of the army. Or at least that''s what it was like for Extalia. I''m not sure how the Northerners do it but it doesn''t hurt to ask." Selen suggested before pausing. Looking at Alice from head to toe, she furrowed her brows. "Can you even fight in your state?" She asked. "Hell no. Does it look like I can fight? Didn''t you just see me getting defeated by a tree?" Alice raised her eyebrow while pointing at the tree. "I can''t use my Sigils and moving my body too much causes the wounds to reopen. I don''t know what''s stopping my regeneration too. It''s like it just stops once a bit of skin is stitched together." Alice scratched her hair and sighed in frustration. "However, that doesn''t mean I don''t have any options." Alice smirked. "Hou?" Raising her eyebrow, Selen failed to see how Alice could put up a fight in that kind of body. However, Alice was wee to prove her wrong. "And pray tell what kind of options would that be?" "Naturally, that''ll be this!" Alice puffed up her chest before snapping her finger. Detaching from her hair, the Shard of Kara broke apart into several pieces and formed a shield next to Alice. "It''s a little weak since it''s only using my stamina right now. But it''ll suffice to block a few attacks." Alice exined, recalling the shard. "Yes but what about offensive capabilities?" Selen tilted her head, wondering how Alice was going to make a name for herself and earn some money using just the shard. "Who said I needed an offensive option? I can''t even use my personal artifact since manifesting it requires energy and the same goes for changing the forms. However, if I use the Shard to protect people from dying, naturally I''ll get some assist points, right? I''ll earn money through that." Alice grinned. Feeling some doubt, Selen wondered if Alice could even keep up with the battle. After her eye got cursed, she could no longer deploy her Zone as she did before. "Actually now that I think about it¡­ Didn''t you say you were going to travel the world? Howe you''re staying here and worrying about me?" Alice asked curiously. With how Selen hated the fact that her blood was the start of it all, Alice was surprised she could even stomach the idea of sticking around her. "I''m just paying off the debt. You freed me from the Zenia and saved me from the copsing realm. Even if you were the cause of it. I''m sticking around until you can use your Sigil abilities again. After that, you can fend for yourself." Selen shook her head. "Ohya? Ohya ohya? So attentive. Honestly, maybe I should stay injured for longer so you can keep protecting me." Alice grinned. "If it takes too long I''m going to leave. So hurry up and recover." Selen rolled her eyes and made her way towards what seemed to be the barracks so that they could register as mercenaries. "So heartless~ Wait for me." Aliceughed, following behind. ### "Are you sure she discovered you? It wasn''t a fluke?" A man with messy short silver hair asked with a frown. He had a scar on his cheek and across his nose bridge. Wearing a tight ck shirt and a pair of baggy pants with boots, one could see the scars of battle across his arms. Smoking a cigarette, he extinguished it in the snow while looking at the woman who had returned from what would''ve been a sabotage that was turned into a scouting mission. "I''m 100% sure. If I didn''t stay still and stop everything, she would''ve found me." The woman replied while recalling Alice''s sharp senses. Scratching his chin, he decided to adjust the n a little to get rid of as many unknown variables as possible. Command didn''t care how theypleted this mission so long it was done. "Grab two others with you and set up some ambushes. Make it seem like a beast did it and see how the girl reacts. You said she was injured right?" He asked, confirming the information she brought back. "Yes, she is." "Good. Let''s see if we can force her into action. Depending on how it goes, we''ll either dy the n a little more or strike immediately. Let everyone else know." He ordered as she nodded and dashed away. Looking at the outpost by the river, the man narrowed his eyes before stepping away. Chapter 396: A Warriors Honour Running over to the barracks, Alice could see a bunch of burly men sparing with each other using wooden weapons. However, there was something¡­cking with the training. ''They''re not going for the kill. They''re aiming to hit each other''s weapon rather than the body.'' Alyss spoke up, surprising Alice as she thought her twin still needed some time alone. But now that she was speaking, Alice was more than happy to reply. ''Mnm yeah. It looks good to outsiders but people who''ve actually fought on the battlefield will onlyugh. Seems like these are all new recruits they brought in rather than seasoned veterans." Aliceughed. There were a few overseers of the training and Alice could see the disappointment in his eyes. Yet no matter how he tried to lecture them, they were unable to make the corrections to their movements. Ignoring the inefficient training of the new recruits, Selen and Alice spotted the tent with a queue of warriors looking to sign up. Every so often, there would be a new person joining the queue having just arrived from a carriage. However, seeing the state of these new recruits caused Alice to doubt the Verona Queendom''s chances of winning this war. To put it bluntly, rather than warriors, they looked like standard civilians or rookie mercenaries who hadn''t seen the harshness of the world. Regardless, if they wanted to earn some money, they had to sign up as frence mercenaries. Waiting by the queue, Alice would see people walking out with disappointment on their faces. Some passed but they were barely better than the others. Few would show anger. Selen ignored all of this and kept her eyes on the training grounds, keeping an eye on how the instructors were. To her, having a decentmand was far more important than the quality of the individual soldier. One soldier may be able to distinguish themselves on the battlefield but apetentmander can increase the odds of survival. Having an ipetentmander would increase your odds of dying and if you were to try and leave in fear of death, you''ll bebelled as a deserter. If that was the case, Selen would rather not sign up in the first ce. While Selen was observing the instructors, Alice was enjoying her time with a sk of mead to pass the time. This was essentially a holiday to her even when she included her injured body. She wasn''t nning on fighting on the front lines and instead, looked to act as a shielder. Someone who protected the members of her team. Not quite a full tank that stood on the front and instead, a supporting role. After waiting for roughly an hour or so, it was finally Alice''s turn as the one in front of her was rejected harshly. He had a muscr statue with red tribalistic markings across his body and stood almost twice Alice''s height. Around his eyes were red eye makings while a beast w mark could be seen painted across his face. Dirty blonde hair that was pulled back into several braids. On his shoulder, a bear''s head was mounted onto his shoulder pad while leather and metal armour covered his body. Alice could tell that he was rather confident in his physique because of theck of coverage, exposing his thighs, arms, and chest. "What do you mean I failed?! The sprouty sh*ts earlier passed so why haven''t I?!" He mmed his fist into the table as veins bulged across his head and neck. "I''ve already told you once. You''re not fit to join the mercenaries. You have several misdemeanour offences on your record. Arrogant, egotistical and rarely listen tomands properly. You also have a track record of belittling those with whom you are grouped. With all of this, you are not fit to serve. Please leave." Unlike the people around him, the examiner seemed far less¡­ ''barbaric'' as he wore a tidy uniform with wild dark green hair. A pair of calm jade eyes that resembled that of a serpent looked up at the furious warrior without an ounce of fear. Grabbing a stamp, he mmed it against the document that the warrior brought with him and handed it back to him. "If you wish to prove me wrong then polish up your record. No matter how strong you are, I cannot ept the risks you bring with you." The man gestured towards the exit. Gritting his teeth, the warrior leaned towards the man and red at him in the eye. After a long moment, he mmed his hand onto the table before turning around to leave. "Next." He called out calmly, ignoring the slight hindrance caused by the warrior. Just as Alice was about to enter the building when her path was partially blocked by the warrior. "Watch where you''re f*cking walking shrimp. Can''t believe this sh*tty ce would even ept a useless sh*t like you to sign up." He spat out in anger as Alice shielded herself with her sleeve. Ignoring the warrior, she stepped into the tent. It''s just a recruitment for frencers into the army. Shouldn''t be that bad. Plus, she survived Kaden and Allura''s training so something like this should be a walk in the par- Death. A chill ran down her spine as Alice instinctively felt the threat of death. Her fight or flight response was triggered immediately as she rushed towards the man behind the table and grabbed a spare pen in one swift moment. Using her shard to block his arm from countering, she stabbed towards his neck. *BANG!!! An armoured arm holding a de blocked her pen strike as she kicked the table towards him and jumped back. Her sudden movement surprised everyone waiting by the side, especially Selen as the guards prepared to rush into the building but the man behind the table raised his hand to stop them. Looking at the fragments of the pen scattered across the floor, he nced at Alice with surprise in his eyes. "Remarkable¡­ What is your name?" He asked, adjusting his sleeve as the armoured arm disappeared into strands of energy. Waving his finger, he returned the table and papers back to where it was originally and sat down. "Alice Agnelia." Alice frowned as the earlier feeling disappeared as though it was simply her hallucination. But in that brief moment, she definitely felt it. This man was close to the realm of a Lord! ''A six star Hunter no doubt.'' Alice swallowed her saliva as cold sweat had formed across her back. "Alice Agnelia... Seems like you''re a foreigner. Let''s see¡­" He muttered, rummaging through the papers before stopping at a particr sheet. "You entered the outpost yesterday after your friend brought you towards the border. You two don''t know the situation and had to turn back. ID originates from the Abyss. Hmm¡­ Are you looking to sign up as a frence mercenary?" He asked while flipping through the short file he had on her. "Somewhat. Though I can''t exactly fight so I''m looking to work as a supporter." Alice replied as she nced down at her arm. Blood seeped into her bandages as her wounds were torn open from her sudden movement. "I''m guessing you''re looking to use the Artifact floating next to you. Considering the current state of your physical body, you won''t be able to fight even if I order you to. Alright, approved. You''ll be joining the Mercenary Squad as a supporter." He nodded with an approving nod. As much as he wanted her in the main squad considering her reaction to his killing intent, he couldn''t let that happen. Her origins are still rtively unknown even with the ID she provided. With the Abyss being arge factor in Extalia''s strength, he couldn''t help but wonder if someone like her was a spy. But even if she was, she wouldn''t put herself in this kind of danger. Especially with that body. "What kind of bullsh*t is this!?!?!" The warrior from earlier shouted out as he nced back for a moment and saw Alice attacking the examiner. Yet instead of being told to leave, she was approved? This shrimp covered in bloody bandages was approved while he wasn''t?! Impossible! "Egil, you have already been rejected. Do not cause more of a disturbance or else I''ll have to remove you myself." The examiner warned while adjusting his gloves. Next to Egil, a ritualistic circle manifested as the same arm that blocked Alice''s strike appeared, raising the de next to Egil''s neck. "I won''t stand for this!" He punched the de aside. To them, this was an opportunity to get recognition. To obtain wealth and food or even redemption. He couldn''t ept the fact that someone injured like Alice would be epted while he was turned away. Storming into the building, he red at Alice who opened her sk and took a sip while giving him a small wave. Her nonchnce only served to further his anger. "I challenge you to duel of the Warrior''s Honour!" Egil shouted, causing the examiner to let out a sigh and massage his eyes. Amon tradition with those that live in the North. The Warriors Honour, a battle between two people with a dispute. The winner is right and the loser is wrong. Naturally, to the Northerners, rejecting this duel is essentially saying you have no honour and to them, it''s one of the biggest insults you can receive. If Alice was to reject, none of the mercenaries in the squad would ept her but that wouldn''t stop her usefulness as a shielder. "Hah? And why would I do that? Don''t you see this body of mine?" Alice rolled her eyes. "However¡­" She licked her lips. "If you throw in a bet, I might be convinced." Chapter 397: Rules Of The Duel "If you throw in a bet, I might be convinced." Alice grinned as Egil almost seemed offended by the suggestion. "A bet? For the Warrior''s honour??" Egil questioned. "Yep. You see, I''m not exactly a northerner so all of this¡­ tradition you speak of means absolutely nothing to me. I don''t see why I should care about the ''Warrior''s Honour''. So for me to care, perhaps you should get something to entice me into epting. I take coin or items that can be sold for coin." Alice exined with augh. "Of course, since I suggested the bet without you knowing, I''ll give you a bit of time to think about it. In the meantime, shall we set down some ground rules for this ''Warrior''s Honour?''" She suggested, pointing towards the chairs in the room. Furrowing his brows, Egil nodded his head. He stepped into the building and sat down opposite Alice. Crossing her legs nonchntly, Alice yed around with her shard. "For this¡­ Duel, I won''t be able to fight you head on. Plus, I don''t n on doing such a thing to begin with. My body can''t handle it." Alice admitted as she expanded the shield. "I signed up to be a support. So how will we determine who wins? If I fend off your attacks? If you break my guard? What do you suggest." Now that he was given a chance, Egil calmed down and observed Alice. While he may have challenged her in the spur of the moment because he couldn''t ept the fact that someone wounded was epted, it was also out of desperation. If he''s turned away now, he wasn''t sure when he''ll be able to join the fight. After a long pause, Egil opened his mouth. "You can choose a representative to fight on your behalf. You just have to make it so that they don''t get hit even once while we fight. If you can achieve that within a set duration, it''ll be my loss." Egil suggested seriously as Alice was surprised by his response. With the list of reasons why he was rejected earlier, Alice thought he would be more unreasonable. Yet, he considered her current body conditions and even suggested a rule that benefitted her. To Alice, it felt as though Egil wanted to prove himself. Even if he got heated earlier, he wanted to redeem himself in this duel of a Warrior''s Honour. "Hou~ Aren''t you afraid I''ll pick someone you can''t defeat?" Alice asked curiously while shifting her nce towards the Examiner who kept quiet and pretended the discussion wasn''t about him. Furrowing his brows, Egil shook his head. "If they ept to be your representative then I have nothing to say for it." Folding her arms, Alice raised an eyebrow before nodding her head. "Don''t worry, I won''t pick anyone like that fufu~ Since I''m joining as a shielder, it''s only natural for this to be a test towards my protective capabilities. I''ll someone average and protect them from your attacks." She reassured with augh. "So, how long should I protect him?" "5 minutes. If you can defend him for five minutes, even if it''s a weak little sh*t on the battlefield, you''ll be able to guard them till reinforcements arrive. Or we can cut it down to two and a half minutes." Egil suggested. ''A rather short duration¡­ Is he taking pity because of my body?'' Alice mused to herself. "I''m guessing the two and a half minutes has a catch." She asked. "During the two and a half minutes, I''ll also be going after you. Once people realise you are a support type on the battlefield, there will be no doubt that attacks will be flying your way. If you can''t protect yourself while keeping an eye on the battlefield, you''ll be useless as a support." Blinking her eyes, Alice couldn''t help but p her hands. To think he would put this much thought behind the duel despite his earlier demeanour. Truly, one couldn''t judge others by the cover. Even the Examiner was surprised as the difficulty waspensated by the short duration. Two and a half minutes was both long and short in the heat of battle. "Hmm¡­ Two and a half minutes. During that time I have to defend myself and the random recruit I pick. If either of us gets hit, I lose. If I survive for that duration, I win. Alright, sounds fun." Alice grinned. Rummaging through her pouch, she grabbed her sk and swung her head back to drink a mouthful of mead. "Now that the rules areid out, let''s talk about the bet." "How much gold are you wanting?" Egil asked but Alice shook her head. "This is where you entice me with a good bargain." She narrowed her eyes while pinching her index and thumb together. The hand sign for money. "Or at least that''s what I would''ve said if nothing changed. How much do you have?" "Around 2 tina''s worth if I sell some stuff." Egil hesitated. This was everything he''s got. Hell, he wasn''t even sure if he could reach this price if the tradesman was stingy. However, if this helps him achieve his goal then it''ll be a small price to be paid. Money can always be earned once it''s spent. But the same couldn''t be said for someone''s life. ying around with the sk in her hand, Alice observed Egil''s movements. The way his eyes darted around. How he looks at the ground in deep contemtion before looking back at her. The way he clenches his fists and sat ufortably. "500 Gold. If you win, you take my spot. If I win, you give me 500 Gold. Mr Examiner, that''s fine right?" Alice nced over as the man sighed. "It''s Torgeir and yes, these arrangements are eptable. However, if Egil takes your ce, he still has to prove that he can work as part of the squad during training. If he cannot aplish that, I remove him before we head out to war." Torgeir narrowed his eyes at Egil who red back without fear. *p! Breaking up the ring contest with a p of her hands, Alice smiled. "Then seems like everything is in order. Mister Torgeir, is there a space we can use for a duel? Preferably one that wouldn''t damage the outpost. Ah I also need a volunteer from the recent recruits." Letting out a sigh, Torgeir nodded. "I''ll arrange a spot. Take this time to prepare yourself and I''ll let you know when everything is ready. Now please can the two of you leave this building so that I can continue with my job?" He asked, pointing towards the queue outside the building. While they were discussing the details of their bet, Torgeir hadn''t been able to do his job. Now that they''ve sorted things out, he wanted to finish up quickly. Realising that she had been holding him up, Aliceughed awkwardly as she quickly jumped off the seat and jogged over to Selen. "I''ll wait for you by therge tree near the centre of the outpost okay?" Alice patted her shoulder as Selen nodded her head. Running away from the building, Alice rxed herself by the big tree while enjoying her mead. ''He was quite the strange person, wasn''t he? One moment he''s like a brute. The next he''s civil and even honourable.'' Alyss remarked. ''I want to say it seems pretty standard for Northerners considering the emphasis on the so called ''Warrior''s Honour'' but he''s the first one that mentioned it or even acted upon it.'' Alice shrugged. ''Regardless, it''s a good opportunity for you to test out your control over the Shard. Right now, we only know that it can form a single shield by connecting energy with each of the fragments. But I think if you y your cards right, you should be able to form smaller shields to block arrows and so on.'' Alyss suggested. Hearing this, Alice''s eyes glimmered as she decided to put it to the test immediately. Controlling the shard, she brought it in front of her and split it into tiny fragments beforemanding it to form a shield. However,pared to when it was linked with each other, the smaller shields were unstable. Even a light flick would dispel the barrier. ''Perhaps it''s something that can only be repaired once the entire shard is fixed.'' ''Seems like it.'' Alice sighed inwardly as she leaned back. ying with the shard and drinking some mead whenever she felt thirsty, Alice practised her control. After a short while, Selen returned. "Wee back~ With how long that took can I assume you passed with flying colours?" Alice grinned, offering some mead but Selen shook her head. "Most of the time was spent cleaning up the mess before Torgeir could continue. Why did you even ept the duel of the Warrior''s Honour?" She asked with an annoyed expression. The longer Alice took to heal her body, the longer she had to stay around her. While Selen didn''t mind Alice''spany, she was still a grim reminder of the experiments the Zenia''s did on her. The source of the cursed blood. Once she repaid her debt, she wanted to go her separate way. "Ahahah sorry sorry~ You saw the situation yourself. It wasn''t exactly one that I could back out of easily since he seemed pretty insistent on the duel." Alice scratched her hair. *Sigh Nodding her head in agreement, Selen could only hope that they get the battle over and done with quickly. The main concern was still Alice''s body. "Let''s get you some new bandages before the fight begins." Selen suggested as Alice hopped onto her feet. "Lead the way boss~ And don''t worry, once I win the Gold I''ll share half with you." "Forget it. Just fix your body as soon as possible." Selen rolled her eyes. Finding some new bandages and clean water to wash Alice''s wounds, the two waited for the start of the duel. Chapter 398: Duel Against Egil Looking at therge crowd that was gathering around the barracks, Alice was rather surprised by how much importance they ced on the Warrior''s Honour. Some came to watch Egil lose. Some came because they were curious but most came because it was specifically the Warrior''s Honour. As Warriors, their honour was equivalent to or perhaps even more important than the honour of Knights back in Extalia. They formed arge circle around the main ''arena'', which was just arge empty space where they were training earlier. Around the borders of this arena, Torgeir had soldiers make a boundary with shields that were stabbed into the ground. Once thest shield was ced, a resonance effect activated between them, forming a dome. "Usually, these shields face outward to stop attacks from reaching us. But since this is a duel for the Warrior''s Honour, these shields will face inwards to prevent any stray attacks froming out." Bo exined. Bo was the soldier that Torgeir had picked. Above average but not quite at the level where he could lead a squad of his own. He had long wild ck hair shaved at the side. Markings on his cheeks and silver earrings. Donning a fur jacket with rtively low amounts of leather armour and mostly cloth for movement, he hung two hand axes on his waist. "Hou~ First time I''ve seen something like this." Alice remarked while tapping her finger against the barrier. Hearing the low echo, it seemed to be simr to the shield her shard generates but on a weaker level. Needing multiple shields in order to be deployed. "It''s a rtively new creation. However, it''s helped reduce the casualties on the front line by a lot. Even if not all of them are set up properly, the individual shields are still good to block one stray st." Boughed. "So if you want to impress the Captain then you''ll have to show you''re better than these shields." He suggested while ncing over at Egil who seemed to be meditating while sitting on the ground with his legs crossed. There was another reason why Bo was the one chosen to help represent Alice during this duel. He volunteered himself. ording to Bo, he has a slight grudge against Egil since his old friend was injured by Egil a while back and couldn''t fully recover. They took too long to get the healing blood to him and by then, if he drank the blood, it would''ve healed the wound in a weird way that would''ve impacted him more than letting it recover naturally. However, once it recovered naturally, his life as a warrior was basically over and he could only work as a backline support. Shuffling supplies while watching his brother at arms go out to war, unable to help protect their backs. "Don''t worry, just fight how you would usually fight. I''ll adapt." Alice reassured. This was also a test for herself. A test to see if she could synchronise herself with someone who she doesn''t know anything about. To learn of their fighting style, their habits and their movement in the midst of battle. She could do it with enemies and find out ways to exploit them but struggled with doing the same on her allies. It took her a long time to understand how Ria moved yet she could see through her enemies within the span of a fight. "Alright. But just to let you know, I use a lot of jumping attacks so if I suddenly jump, don''t be surprised okay?" Bo smiled, liking Alice''s confidence. Seeing that everything was ready, Torgeir made some final checks before stepping towards the arena. He had expected Alice to ask for some information on Egil but that wasn''t the case. Just like Egil, she was going into this battle blind. Clearing his throat, he opened his mouth. "Are both sides ready?!" He shouted. Opening his eyes, Egil stood up and took a deep breath. His gaze was steady and locked onto both Alice and Bo. Pulling out his axes, Bo took an offensive stance and red at Egil. Alice flicked her finger and the Shard floated next to Bo. "The challenger! Egil will obtain Alice''s spot in the squad should hend a blow against Bo and Alice herself within the limit of two minutes and thirty seconds! The defender! Alice will obtain 500 Gold pieces if she protects Bo and herself from Egil''s onught for this duration! Are all three Warriors ready?!" Torgeir shouted, exining the rules to the onlookers while making sure both sides are prepared. "Ready!" Egil shouted, a red aura ring from his body. "Ready." Bo nodded. "Ready~" Alice smiled with a slight wave. One was pumped up and ready to go, one was calm and thest¡­ looked like she was going on a pic. Wondering to himself if this was the right choice, Torgeir sighed inwardly and nodded his head. "BEGIN!!!" *BANG!!!! Just as Torgeir announced the start of the battle, Egil burst into action! One step. One step was all it took for him to leave behind a crater where he stood and close the gap in an instant! However, neither Alice nor Bo were slouches who couldn''t react to him. Bo jumped into the air with a flip, ready to strike with his axes while Alice had already deployed the shield. She knew the shield probably couldn''t take a head on attack without any of her energy being supplied to it. Thus, in order to defend against the attacks, she had to tilt it at the right angle to diffuse the impact. *CLANG!!! ws made from energy manifested around Egil''s arm as he parried Bo''s attack. Stepping on the shield that Alice made, he tried to use it as a foothold. Noticing this, Alice deactivated the shield and positioned it to stop Egil from striking at Bo using his spare arm. Surprised by Alice''s fast reaction, Bo hadn''t expected Alice to be able to match their pace with that injured eye. But seeing as how she could keep up with this speed then there was no reason for him to hold back! Twisting his body, he kicked Egil''s arm, breaking open his guard. Throwing his hand axe into the air, Bo took this chance tounch a follow up kick against Egil''s chin but the kick did nothing. Egil didn''t even flinch as he took a deep breath. "ARG!!!!" Letting out a shout that shook the ground, Egil forced Bo back and mmed his fist into the ground. Pulling out arge chunk of earth, he mmed his fist into it,unching it towards Alice! Before Alice could make a move, Bo appeared next to the axe he threw and chopped down, splitting the earth. ''This Bo guy is pretty impressive wouldn''t you say so? Rather than you defending him, it''s him defending you.'' Alyss blinked her eyes. ''Yep. Though this isn''t exactly helping my case.'' Aliceughed, not feeling the pressure of this fight just yet. Egil hadn''t put his focus on her and so far, it''s just been a match between Bo and Egil. In order to be more of an annoyance, she had to use her Shards as tools of annoyance just like how Kaden taught her how to use the metal from her third Sigil. Staying low to the ground, Bo dashed towards Egil and threw both of his axes! Wanting to parry the throws, Egil pulled his arm back and prepared to strike when the Shard positioned itself in front of his eyes, blocking his view! *CLANG! Putting up some defences as ast resort, Egil furrowed his brows while the Axes bounced off his body. He reached towards the shard with the intention of pushing it aside but Bo was faster. mming his elbow into Egil''s torso, Bo clicked his tongue after realising it had done nothing and jumped away, looking to reposition himself. Before he couldnd, the shard flew over and deployed the shield and transformed into a foothold! "Oh! Not bad!" Boughed, jumping into the air and recalling his axes. Narrowing his eyes, he pulled his arms back as Sigils lit up on his shoulders. On the edges of the axes, orange energy coated the des. Mountain Cleaver! In an instant, Bo reached his terminal velocity and mmed his axes into Egil''s body. *BANG!!!! The ground buckled beneath Egil as he found himself knee deep. He wanted to put up a guard but the Shard split into two pieces andtched themselves on his inner arm, stopping him from forming a proper guard! If it wasn''t for the fact that his body was durable, he might''ve lost right here, right now. Since that was the case, he''ll take her out first! Bo can''t damage him and the only one preventing his movement was her! First Resonance! Activating his resonance, his Sigil markings stretched across his body while bestial traits manifested across his body. It wasn''t the same kind of trait as mutations but rather spectral aspects that ovepped his form. The ws of a tiger, horns of a bull and the body of a bear were just a few of the traits that manifested across his body. The activation of his resonance threw Bo back. "!!!" Sensing danger, Alice immediately recalled her shards and created a shield next to her body. *CRACK!!! The shield was barely formed when Egil''s fist mmed into the barrier of energy, shattering it in an instant and sending Alice crashing towards the borders of the arena. It wasn''t a direct hit but just the force from her shield and his fist colliding felt as though she had just been kicked in the chest! Wanting to recover before she mmed into the walls, Alice wanted to make a foothold with her shard but Egil had already caught up! ''Holy sh*t this guy is a physical monster!'' Alice shouted in her mind as she hastily created another shield only to have it shatter in one punch once more. With her guard broken, Alice watched as the follow up punch rushed towards her. Chapter 399: Bos Resonance *CLANG!!! Right before Egil''s fist could collide with Alice, Bo intercepted him. Forcing himself between them, he tried to cut off Egils arm with his hand axe but the aura wrapping around Egil''s arm protected it. However, this moment was enough for Alice to recover. Reaching forward, she expanded the shield in front of them. "Hm?" Noticing something strange while Egil jumped back, Alice nced at her hand before shaking her head. Even though she wanted to ask Bo something, they didn''t have the luxury of talking right now. Egil didn''t allow for it! *BANG!!! Once he stabilized his body from jumping back, Egil rushed towards the two of them once more. Compared to earlier, his speed was increased by threefold! With this increase in speed, he appeared in front of Bo in the blink of an eye andunched a punch towards him. *CRACK!!! Parrying the punches using her shields, Alice frowned upon seeing the barrier cracking even though she had diverted most of the impact. But Egil was familiar with Alice''s artifact now. Twisting his body, he unleashed two quick kicks towards Bo. One of which was dodged by Bo while the second was forcefully blocked by Alice''s shield but the resulting impact shattered the barrier and sent Bo flying into the sky. Gritting his teeth, Bo adjusted his posture in the air. If things continued like this, it would only be a matter of seconds before either he or Alice gets hit! Alice''s shield was barely keeping up with Egil''s strikes but it was beginning to slow down. The damage it''s been umting since the start of this battle has made it slow in deploying the barrier. Furrowing his brows, Bo was at a crosswalk of options. On one side, he should do his job as the representative and simply try to dodge Egil''s strikes while Alice protects him. That way, she can win the Warrior''s Honour the ''proper'' way while Egil loses. On the other, he wanted to fight back as hard as he could. He''s been taking it rtively easy on Egil despite his grudge because this was not his match and Torgeir reminded him not to get emotional. But so what! He wasn''t someone who''d just let himself get thrown around like this! Resonance! At that moment, Bo''s hair turned silver as jagged white bones manifested around his body. His flesh turned ck while the Sigil markings glowed a menacing red. Bones became his armour, covering his arms, torso and legs while tattered clothing fluttered around his waist. A bestial mask appeared on his face as his hand axes underwent a transformation. Seeing Bo use his Resonance, Torgeir furrowed his brows and sighed. This was why he was unsure if this was the correct choice for Alice. If the duel continued like this, it would simply be a duel between Egil and Bo. No longer was the focus of this fight on Alice''s capabilities as a shielder. Right now, she was simply a slight annoyance a little better than the standard shield. ''There''s about a minute left.'' Egil, while being a liability due to his past record, was still a Warrior who was attuned to five spirits. Not only that but within those of his level, he''s practically unmatched in terms of raw physical power. Had it not been for his personality and past records, he would''ve been known as the ideal Warrior. Bo, on the other hand, was akin to a wolf. He preferred to work with others and once hetches onto his prey, he won''t stop until they''re dead. It''s why he warned Bo not to get carried away before the fight began but it seems like his words were ignored. Letting out a sigh, he nced at Bo who was darting around the arena. Egil was forced to defend as he couldn''t keep up with Bo''s speed. However, Bo couldn''t do any damage to Egil who was able to endure everything with his physicality. "Huh?" Pausing for a moment, Torgeir furrowed his brows as he noticed something abnormal with Bo''s movements. Even if he''s fast, he shouldn''t be able to make these kinds of turns in mid air¡­ Furrowing his brow, Torgeir calcted Bo''s path. ''Two turns into a sh. That should be the optimal path.'' He concluded for Bo''s next attack. Egil was the same as he turned his body to counter. However¡­ *BANG!!! Egil''s fist struck the empty air as Bo was able to dash out of danger at thest moment! Flickering around the arena as though he could fly, Egil began to lose track of him! ''What is going on¡­'' Torgeir widened his eyes. ### Curling his lips into a shocked smile, Bo continued to dash around the arena while increasing his speed as much as he could. Every time he felt like he should make a turn, a small tform would appear right by his feet, allowing him to dodge. At first, it was sloppy. The tform was slow and sometimes it might even fail to deploy correctly. Therefore, he ignored these at the start. However¡­ At thatst moment, when Egil had predicted his movement and Bo could only prepare himself to be hit, the tform manifested right below his feet. The timing when his knees were bent so he could exert his full power to dodge! It was Alice! He didn''t know how she was doing this but this worked out better for the both of them! Cranking his speed up to max, Bo understood that Alice was beginning to understand his movements. How he prepared his path and when he wanted to attack. The moment he even shows the slight indication of wanting to strike, the tform would manifest at the right angle where it would allow him to charge towards Egil! *CRACK!!!! mming his axe into Egil''s aura that protected his body, a crack was formed! The bnce was tipped in their favour! Narrowing his eyes, Bo dodged Egil''s counter as jubtion filled his chest. This was the first time he felt this free when fighting. It was as though the air had be his domain. He was able to move however he wanted and fight at his full potential! ''I was wrong about you Alice!'' Boughed inwardly. During this fight, she has earned his respect and admiration! The foresight to be able to ce footholds exactly where he wished at this speed was simply monstrous! Egil may have not noticed but Bo understood the reality. This entire arena has be Alice''s personal yground and he was simply her most effective pawn! ### Sweat dripped down Alice''s face but there was a wide smile on her face. ''It''s working!'' She thought inwardly. During the brief exchange earlier, she noticed the way the fragments of her shard deployed the shields. Simr to the shield that Torgeir had his soldiers ce around the arena, each fragment acted as a ''node'' that expanded the barrier. By being in close proximity with other fragments, these barriers resonate with each other and connect. But this wasn''t the important part. The important part was the fact that by fragmenting the shard further and allowing smaller deployments, she reduced the stamina it took to recover the damage! She didn''t need a strong shield that could block every attack. She just needed it to be good enough to divert the power even if it breaks! Panting heavily, Alice could feel her body screaming out in pain as her stamina was being tapped into every time her shard broke apart and repaired itself. If she was using her energy to fuel the shard, this would''ve been much easier. But because she couldn''t, her stamina was being constantly drained. Despite not fighting against Egil and instead acting as support, Alice felt more exhausted than when she was fighting against Lords! Alice circled around the edge of the arena, making sure Egil didn''t put his focus on her. With the shards as fragmented as they are right now, she was in more danger than ever. But by giving Bo the freedom of movement he desired, he was taking all of the aggro! ''How much time is left???'' Alice questioned as each passing second felt like torture. Bo was keeping Egil upied with his rapid attacks while Alice was pushing her concentration to the max! To understand Bo''s intentions, where he wanted to strike, how he wanted to move and where her shards needed to be wasn''t easy. She didn''t have the kic vision provided by Ca nor the time slowing abilities of Selen. But what she did have was instinct! She had to put herself in the mindset of Bo. How would she try to optimize the way she would attack Egil? What does she consider to be a ''dead'' path? She had to take this into ount every time she made a tform for Bo otherwise the foothold wouldn''t deploy properly! There were instances where her thoughts and Bo''s became mismatched. But with each failure, Alice began to understand Bo better! She didn''t know how long till the end of the duel but she didn''t have the leisure to care about that right now. She had to maintain this ''grid of control'' or else Bo would get hit and it''ll be her loss! Defending against Bo''s relentless onught, veins bulged across Egil''s body. He wanted to counter but couldn''t find the chance! ''Not like this¡­ I can''t end things like this!'' He had to win. If he didn''t win, he wouldn''t be able to join the squad. If he can''t join the squad, it''ll take too long for him to earn achievements in war. If he can''t earn achievements in war then¡­ It''ll be toote! "I WON''T ALLOW MYSELF TO GO DOWN LIKE THIS!!!" Egil roared, the crimson energy ring from his body. The flood of energy that erupted from his body rushed into the arena, submerging both Bo and Alice in its influence. At that moment, both Alice and Bo felt their movementse to a halt! This gap was exactly what Egil needed as his fist mmed into Bo''s chest, breaking apart the armour and sending his body crashing into the walls. Chapter 400: End Of The Duel Silence filled the arena as Alice slowly turned her head towards Bo who was slumped against the shields. The spectators weren''t sure what happened as Egil was on the back foot until thatst moment. Copsing on his knee, Egil looked at Bo before turning to Torgeir. Gritting his teeth, he mmed his fist into the ground. "F*CK!!!" He roared in anger, confusing the people around him including Alice. *Ahem! Clearing his throat, Torgeir stepped into the arena and calmed the crowd down. "The winner of this duel, Alice Agnelia!" He announced. Upon hearing his promation, the crowd broke into confusion as Alice stood up and recalled her shards with doubt in her eyes. "While Egil indeed managed tond a strike against Bo, he did so after I called the end of the duel. It was his shout that caused the announcement to go unheard." With the decision being reinforced, Egil could only sit down on the ground in fatigue. He felt it the moment attacked Bo. Torgeir was the reason why all of them were stopped mid attack! If it wasn''t for the fact that he managed to break out of the imprisonment the moment it was cast, he would''ve been frozen right before he could punch Bo. However, what''s done is done. He lost the Warrior''s Honour fair and square and there was no room for him toin. Yet a bitterness filled his chest. "I don''t agree with this." Alice''s voice rang out, surprising Egil as he thought she would be happy with this victory. The sudden change in Bo''s movements was her doing after all. But at the end, even if he wanted to go for her, he wasn''t able to. He could only keep his attention on Bo who was darting around the arena. "What do you mean?" Torgeir furrowed his brows. Alice won fair and square. It was his fault for miscalcting Egil''s strength at the end. He didn''t think Egil had the power to break out and once he did, hended the hit against Bo. Thus, causing the misunderstanding within the crowd. "Do I really have to say it?" Alice scratched her hair in annoyance. Through a technicality, she won this fight. She managed to protect the two of them for the entire duration before Egil couldnd a hit. But a fraction of a moment after the match ended, Bo was hit. Hell if it was 2 minutes and 30.3 seconds, Alice would''ve lost. That was how close it was. However, if she were to put this into the perspective of a war, she would lose. No one can predict the variable that may suddenly manifest on the battlefield. It was her fault for letting down her guard the moment she felt something restricting his body. If she had kept up her guard and moved the shard in front of Bo, would he have been hit? The answer was uncertain but there was a chance Bo would''ve managed to dodge. Yet because she dropped her guard, that uncertainty became certainty and Bo was hit a fraction of a second after the end. In this regard, she lost. "Anything can happen in the middle of a fight. The enemy won''t stop just because time is up. If this was a real fight¡­ Well I''m sure you don''t need me to say more." Alice nced over at Bo who was knocked out of his Resonance. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth while healers rushed to help him. There were many things Alice could improve on and she knew this herself. The mistakes that she made during this duel could cost the life of her nextrade during battle. Therefore, Alice couldn''t ept this win. Furrowing his brows, Torgeir massaged his eyes. One side is frustrated that he lost but epted the result. The other won but is angry because of how the duel ended. *COUGH!!! Coughing up a mouthful of blood, Bo dragged himself onto his feet despite the warnings of the healers and turned to Egil. Veins bulged on his neck but Bo held himself back and turned to Torgeir. "I lost. If it wasn''t for Lady Agnelia assisting me during this fight, I would''ve lost at the first counter. I held her back. And¡­" Biting his lip, Bo let out a frustrated sigh. "Egil won his chance." He didn''t like Egil but he had no choice but to admit that Egil surpassed all of them during that moment. Not even Torgeir could stop the warrior and he could only watch as the fist crashed into his chest, knocking him out with one punch. "This¡­" Torgeir was stuck on a choice as this was the first time this kind of thing happened during a Warrior''s Honour. Neither side seemed satisfied. "I willpensate Lady Agnelia''s reward with my own money." Bo tried to bargain but Torgeir remained silent. "Why don''t you just call it a draw?" Alice suggested, walking up to the duo. "Oh? A draw for the Warrior''s Honour? Since you''re a foreigner, you may not understand our tradition. However, draws aren''t an option. You either win, or you lose." Torgeir raised an eyebrow. Sounds of discontent could be heard amongst the crowd but Alice couldn''t care less. She wasn''t a northerner so these traditions meant nothing to her. However, she was willing to respect them to a certain degree. "What do you suggest then? I''m not satisfied with my win and Egil isn''t satisfied with his loss." Alice asked. Since he was the overseer of this duel, it was up to him on how they should settle the oue. "A rematch. I''ll postpone the results of this duel for the second round. The conditions for the rematch will be the same only this time you''ll be partaking in it once your body has healed. A fair one on one battle to prove a Warrior''s Honour." Torgeir suggested after a brief pause. Throughout the match, there were hints of Alice''s true power. Especially at the end. To begin with, the Warrior''s Honour was meant to be fought by oneself, for oneself. Not by designating a representative. With this arrangement, the two get the rematch they wish and the tradition isn''t broken. Crossing her arms, Alice contemted it for a moment before nodding her head with a smile. "I''m fine with that. What about you big guy?" Alice turned to Egil who wanted to say something but stopped himself and nodded his head. "I''m¡­ Fine with this arrangement." Tilting her head, she wondered what else was bothering him when it clicked in her mind. "Say, Torgeir." Alice called out as he nced down. "What do you say about giving Egil a chance? He''s proved himself to be a capable warrior and he did keep things fair. I don''t see the sign of his previous misdemeanour records except maybe when he was heated. Plus, didn''t Bo say it earlier? Egil won his chance when he broke out of that restriction." She suggested with a chuckle. With both of the winners suggesting such an oue, Torgeir sighed before turning to Egil. "One chance. I''ll keep an eye on you." Hearing this, Egil''s eyes trembled as he bit his lip and nodded his head. With the results of the match being postponed till ater date, most of the spectators lost interest and began to leave. Some ridiculed both Alice and Egil but Alice didn''t care about their words. After all, if they had someone like Egil charging at them, they''d probably die in one hit. The weakest people talk the most. "Why?" Egil asked, walking up to Alice. Conflicting emotions swirled in his chest as the girl in front of him granted him the reward he asked for even though he lost. "What do you mean why? I don''t see why he should limit your participation in the first ce. Plus, you''re pretty desperate for that spot, right? With your strength, there are many things you can do. "I won''t ask why you want it that much but everyone gets a second chance. Just don''t waste it okay? Ah! But I fully expect my share of the bet too. After all, I did get your spot in the military." Alice grinned as Egil froze for a moment before letting out a slightugh. "I''ll get the gold to you as soon as I can. And don''t worry, I won''t forget this favour that you''ve done for me. Thank you." Watching the big guy walk away, Alice scratched her cheek. Contrary to his appearance and history based on the reports, he was a pretty chill guy once things calmed down. He was simply prone to emotional outbursts it seems. Once Egil left, Bo approached. "Lady Agnelia." He called out, causing Alice to let out augh. "So formal all of a sudden. What happened? And how are your injuries?" She asked, ncing at his tattered shirt. "My injuries will recover. As for the formality¡­ Simply put it''s the respect shown towards great warriors. How did you manage to understand what I wanted to do at the end? And how were you able to make that many footholds? If I didn''t know any better, I''d say you were using an ability to control the entire arena." Bo asked with a glimmer in his eyes. "It''s nothing fancy like you think. Simply doing my best to understand what you wish to aim for during the fight and make some educated guesses. Though if I didn''t make any changes, my artifact wouldn''t have been able to cover the entire arena." Alice chuckled. Splitting her artifact into smaller fragments, she continued to divide them until they looked likerge grains of sand. "Simply put, I spread these fragments across the arena and assign them into grids that cover the arena. Each fragment is responsible for one grid and I made predictions based on your speed and direction. "Once I have that down, I simply move the fragment and focus on making a foothold thatsts just long enough for you to change directions." Hearing her exnation, Bo felt a chill down his spine. With the way she was putting it, it felt as though she hadpletely grasped his fighting style in the brief cooperation they had! Not only that, but the calctions required to move these tiny fragments precisely in order to amodate his movement. And she was doing all of this while keeping an eye on Egil, making sure he couldn''t attack her! Chapter 401: Numbered Equipment "How did the duel of the Warrior''s Honour go?" The Silver haired man asked while leaning against a rock overlooking the outpost. "Alice Agnelia didn''t do much except struggle. Her senses are sharp but her actually power inbat is limited to deploying a shield every now and then. However, I believe we''ll need to update our information on Egil Holgersen and Bo Gunnulf." "Hou?" The man raised an eyebrow. "Egil Holgersen has reached a level of physical power where he could break out of Torgeir''s confinement at the end of the duel. Bo Gunnulf''s speed has increased and he was even able to makest second corrections to avoid the attack. Rather than a duel to see how useful Alice is, it was more a fight between Egil and Bo." The scout exined as the man rubbed his chin. "Decrease the priority of Alice. Increase the priority on Egil and Bo. Adjust the ambush, we''ll attack oncemand sends the order." He ordered as the scout nodded and left. Now that Egil had the power to break out of Torgeir''s confinement, it might get a little annoying but he was d that Alice didn''t turn out to be the variable that he was expecting. It was simply a case of her having sharper senses than others. Regardless, it''s about time they sped up their preparation for the next attack. On top of the Ambush, he had prepared an Abyss Break into a monster wave. Curling his lips into a grin, he looked forward to how Torgeir nned on protecting this outpost of his. ### The exnation Alice gave Bo was simplified down since the actual process was far moreplex and annoying. By splitting these fragments into small sand like grains, they lose a lot of their durability. Topensate for this, whenever Bonded against a fragment, it created a maic type response with the other fragments. This caused them to begin stacking and almost create a springboard that goes back to its original ce once Bo jumps off. The tform that manifests is simply the multiple fragments resonating with each other. There was no reason for her to expose all of her cards. Simply mix the truth with some lies. "I see¡­ I look forward to fighting alongside you in the future." Bo smiled. Nodding her head, Alice shook his hand while watching him leave. Once Alice was left alone, Torgeir made his way over. "You''ve certainly proved your worth. What were you doing before you arrived in the north?" Torgeir asked curiously. "Just roaming around in the Abyss." Alice chuckled. ''Jumping into the past, getting training from Apostles, killing Lords and foiling the ns of someone who wishes to overthrow the Will of the Abyss. Yeah, just a casual roam.'' Alyss added in their mind causing Alice tough. "Is that so? Well regardless, once you join the military it doesn''t really matter. What matters is that you do your job." Torgeir shrugged. "You and your friend should follow me. I''ll finish your registration personally since I''m going to make a few adjustments. You''re a good asset for Bo''s team so I''ll be moving you there instead of staying in the beginner squad." "Hou? Are you sure that''s fine? I''m pretty sure a newbie would just disrupt the team dynamic no?" Alice raised her eyebrow in surprise. She didn''t think he would just send her into the deep end like this. "That''s your job to figure out. Weren''t you learning how to adapt to new allies without knowing them for a long time?" Hearing this, Alice realised that Torgeir understood what she was aiming for during the fight. Sticking out her tongue, Alice nced over to Selen. "What about my friend? Is she going to be in the beginner squad?" "Her situation is¡­ Unique from what she''s told me. She''ll be joining you. Though I still need to personally verify your abilities for that." Torgeir thought for a moment. "Are you going to spar with us?" "What? No. We don''t use a barbaric method like that to check abilities. Not everything can be verified through a battle. Some shine elsewhere." Torgeir furrowed his brows, causing Alice''s smile to twitch. ''So you don''t use a barbaric method to check abilities but you duel to see who''s right or wrong???'' Alice retorted in her mind, feeling as though their priorities were flipped. "You''ll understand once you follow me." Guiding Alice and Selen through the barracks, they soon arrived at a rather unsuspecting building with a single floor. Opening the door, Alice was surprised to see a staircase leading down. "Since you two are foreigners thate from the Abyss, I should exin to you how we call things in the North. As you know, the word Hunters is reced with Warriors. Instead of beasts, we call them Spirits. "Sigils are what we Northerners consider as attuning to the Spirit we kill. And in the north, we have names for the rank of the Warrior that attune to spirits." Torgeir began to exin. In the north, they ce more importance on the individual ranks rather than splitting it into three, unlike the Abyss. 1 Sigil ¨C Beginner 2 Sigil ¨C Proficient 3 Sigil ¨C Expert 4 Sigil ¨C Master 5 Sigil ¨C Advanced Master 6 Sigils ¨C Grandmaster From the 7th Sigil onwards, they don''t have names for them and simply refer to them as the titles granted to them by the Abyss. Same with the resonance. They keep the same name. "However, there''s been a new ritual conducted in the capital. A baptism for those that reach beyond the sixth rank. To grant them a title belonging to the North. "Are you familiar with Lord Urigar? The Abyss Lord of Titans." Torgeir asked as there was a glimmer in his eyes. "I''ve heard of him before." Alice nodded. "Rather than calling them Abyss Lords, Her Majesty has begun to baptise them and bestow upon them a new title and rank. 7th rank is Spirit Lord, 8th is Spirit King and finally, the fabled 9th Rank is Spirit Sovereign. "Lord Urigar will be the first to be baptised by this method so if you get the chance, you should head to the capital and watch the ceremony." Torgeir suggested as they descended into the depths. "When will this happen?" Alice asked curiously. She wanted to see what kind of ''baptism'' this was and if the new titles were purely ceremonial or had some value. If it was thetter, there was a chance that Nyer may dip his hands into the politics of the North considering the fact that he''s looking for things to overthrow the Will. "It should be around two months or so from now. Hopefully, the war settles down during that time so I can go watch the ceremony too." Torgeirughed. Seeing this, Alice could clearly see the respect he had towards the Abyss Lord of the North. "How many Lords are there in the North?" Four that are publicly known. We don''t know if there are more. There is Lord Urigar, Abyss Lord of Titans. Lady Frida, Abyss Lord of Winter, Lord Sigurd, Abyss Lord of The Forge and finally, Her Majesty herself. Queen Verona. "However, for Her Majesty, we don''t know her title. We just know she has reached beyond the 6th realm." Torgeir shook his head but Alice''s interest was focused on Sigurd. "What do you mean when you say Lord Sigurd is the Abyss Lord of the Forge?" "Simply put, he''s the greatest cksmith in all thends. Even the scrap he creates are considered to be high quality weapons and armour. But his masterpieces are known as the Numbered Equipment. "They are given a number based on when he forged them and so far, he has created ny nine masterpieces that he considers to be worthy of a number. If you make a big achievement for the north, you might even be granted a numbered equipment yourself." Torgeir chuckled as they reached a set of metal doors. "Personally, I got my eyes set on Number 35: Gungnir. One of, if not the best spear that Lord Sigurd has crafted. Though it''s just a distant dream ahaha." Pushing open the doors, he revealed a ritual circle with several strange apparatuses around it. Flickering orange lights illuminated the room while Torgeir gestured to the people waiting by the side. "Once you sit in the centre, we''ll begin the ritual and it''ll record your strengths. These are categorised into six values we used to determine what you''repatible with. Naturally, it''s easier for you to experience it yourself first before I exin." He gestured for Alice to step in first. Hesitating for a moment, Alice nodded and stepped into the circle. She could sense strands of energy emanating from the circle and slowly entering her body as the lights around her began to fade. Pain shed across her body momentarily and faded before she could even flinch. She felt the wind crashing into her, pushing her hair back. An invisible pressure bore down on her, reminding her of the time she felt into the Waters of the Abyss. The sense of restriction while the sludge attempted to crush her. She felt a strange familiarity. The sensation of energy coursing through her body. The exhaustion thates with fighting a long battle. And finally, she felt the intent to harm tracing across her body, causing her to furrow her brows in difort. "And we''re done." Torgeir''s voice rang out with a mild hint of surprise. Opening her eyes, Alice could see that she was still standing in the centre of the circle and didn''t move from her spot. "That''s it?" Alice raised an eyebrow with doubt but Torgeir nodded his head. Beside him, a man was writing down the report before handing it to Torgeir. "As I said earlier, this ritual circle helps us determine what you''repatible with and splits it into six values. Power, Speed, Physicality, Spiritual, Endurance and Instincts. And I must say, your results are¡­ rather interesting." Receiving the report of her statistics, Alice blinked her eyes in surprise. Chapter 402: Alices Stats The graph was presented in a hexagonal grid with each category taking a point. Alice Agnelia: Power ¨C D Speed ¨C C Physicality ¨C E Spiritual ¨C SS Endurance ¨C A Instincts ¨C S "Power is self exnatory same with Speed. Physicality is how strong your physical body is and how well you can control it. The Spiritual category is how efficient you are with the powers of the Abyss. Endurance is stamina and instincts is your sixth sense." Torgeir exined. Alice''s graph was heavily skewed towards the Spiritual side of things, making her an absolute monster with Sigil abilities. Her instincts were also top notch with her enduranceing in third. However, the rest of her stats were poor. "The lowest you can get is F rank while the highest is triple S. As for the meaning, a D rank means you have the same power as Warriors with three Spirits. With this in mind, your overall average is around B rank or a five Sigil Hunter. That''s even if I include your extremely high Spiritual Stat." Hearing this, Alice nodded her head as her eyes focused on her Spiritual stat. Her spiritual stat was in the realm of Lords! Double S! On the opposite spectrum was her physicality which was the same as a two Sigil Hunter. Even if she wasn''t injured, the value probably won''t go up by much. ''Seems like I''m a caster type fighter rather than a physical one. Which honestly makes sense since even my Void Flux ¨C Cleave is energy based rather than using raw strength.'' Alice thought inwardly. ''Do you think the stats will chance if I take over?'' Alyss asked curiously. She was interested in what her own stats were. ''Probably. You''re better at using your body than I am.'' Alice nodded. It was just a guess but she wanted to say that Alyss probably has an S rank in physicality. "I must say, it''s the first time I''ve seen someone with that high of a Spiritual Stat. While some people can increase their stats with enough training and experience, the Spiritual Stat is one of the hardest to increase. It''s based on howpatible you are with the energy of the Abyss after all and how well you can utilise it." Torgeir remarked while looking at the stats. When they first saw the double S, they thought the ritual ran into an Error. After all, having this stat right now meant Alice wasparable to the esteemed Lords at the top of the food chain! Yet no matter how they tried to redo the test, it continued to show up as double S. Next was her instinct. Torgeir wasn''t surprised by this as much considering Alice''s fast reaction to his killing intent. The rest of her stats were more in line with someone of her calibre. "Have you any thoughts on bing a Shaman or a caster of the royal family? Someone of your Spiritual Stat can easily get epted." Torgeir asked curiously, wondering what Alice wanted to do with her talents. "Maybe in the future if I feel like it. Though I''m curious what your stats are like." Alice grinned, wanting topare herself. Thinking about it for a moment, Torgeir nodded his head. Since Alice was a rare genius with a double S rank in the Spiritual category, he wanted to show her favour so that she would view the Verona Queendom favourably. Who knows, if he could scout her into staying in the north, he might be able to get the Numbered Equipment he wanted for so many years. Watching Torgeir step into the circle, Alice could see the strands of energy linking with his body. As the ritual began, shes of colour pulsed through the strands and soon, he opened his eyes. "It''s done???" Pausing in surprise, Alice didn''t think the process was that quick. To her, it felt like tens of minutes had passed when in actuality it had only been tens of seconds. "Yep, it''s that fast." Torgeir chuckled as the staff handed him his report. Power ¨C B Speed ¨C A Physicality ¨C A Spiritual ¨C S Endurance ¨C A Instincts ¨C S "As you can see, your talent in the Spiritual aspect is greater than mine." Torgeir smiled. He had an average of A. "What about Egil and Bo? Have they done it before?" Alice asked, wondering what their stats were like. "Of course they have. In fact, you have to go through this before you go to the interview. asionally there will be a few who haven''t done the stat check and still signed up but we''ll go through this process eventually. "Egil went through this before and if I remember correctly, he had S ranks in both Physicality and Endurance. Though his Spiritual stat was extremely bad and dragged down his average." Torgeir recalled while walking over to the other staff members and searched through the files. "Ah here it is." Egil: Power ¨C A Speed ¨C A Physicality ¨C S Spiritual ¨C E Endurance ¨C S Instinct ¨C A "Jeez¡­" Alice muttered seeing the absolute monster of a stat line that Egil had. Everything was A or higher across the board except Spiritual. "It''s why he was looked upon as an ideal Warrior. Though if it wasn''t for him being a known troublemaker, I would be more than happy to ept him." Torgeir sighed at the wasted potential. He could only hope that Egil was true to his word and proved himself to be capable of working in a team. Flipping through the files, he soon found Bo''s stat line. "Here''s Bo. As you can expect, he''s someone who''s entirely focused on speed. Bo: Power ¨C C Speed ¨C S Physicality ¨C B Spiritual ¨C C Endurance ¨C C Instincts ¨C B "He''s pretty average in everything except his Speed. In a serious contest of speed, there''s no one here that can match him. Even if you go the capital, you''ll rarely see someone faster than Bo." Making a mental note of all the stats in her mind, Alice handed the sheets back to Torgeir. "Right then, sorry for the wait. It''s your turn next." Torgeir turned to Selen with a smile. Nodding her head, Selen entered the circle without saying anything and waited for the process to be over. After waiting a brief moment, her stats were revealed. Power ¨C C Speed ¨C B Physicality ¨C A Spiritual ¨C A Endurance ¨C B Instincts ¨C B It was a pretty average and consistent spread across the board with nothing standing out a lot nor any majorcking stats except power that''s at a C. ''An all rounder huh?'' Torgeir thought to himself while scanning Selen''s stats. Alice, Egil and Bo were all specialist warriors. People who focus on one thing and one thing only while Selen was good at pretty much everything but not excelling. "Alright. Now that we''re done with this, let''s get you your new uniforms. Wouldn''t want to hit the wrong person on the battlefield after all. After that, it''ll be your new schedules and amodations." Torgeir handed the sheets back to the staff. Leading the two out of the basement, Torgeir nodded at his staff as they prepared to send Alice''s scores to the capital. This is a rare case of a double S rank, he couldn''t let her slip through his fingers. ### Making their way to his office, Torgeir handed them their new uniforms, schedule and keys to their amodations. Both Alice and Selen were put into the same room since they were familiar with one another. Once she was in her room, Alice didn''t hesitate to try out the uniform. A light blue shirt with leather belts, arm cuffs and a skirt. ck pants and boots with arge fur coat. Giving herself a twirl while looking in the mirror, Alice folded her arms. "It''s pretty cute I guess though not what I would usually wear. What do you think?" Alice asked, ncing at Selen who didn''t try the uniform and got into her pyjamas. "I don''t see why the outfit being cute or not matters as long as it can protect you." "Ehh~ That''s a bit boring don''t you think? Obviously, I want to look cute when I''m killing someone during a battle. If I make a name for myself and get a statue made, it has to look good. Who wants to look at an ugly statue?" Alice sighed. "Again, it doesn''t really matter to me." Selen shook her head while climbing into her bed. Before Alice could continue, she could already hear light snoring from Selen. ''F*cking hell she slept fast.'' Alice blinked her eyes. This was the first time she was going to share a room with Selen and the sheer speed of which she could fall asleep was simply remarkable. A talent even. Shaking her head, Alice let out a sigh. As long as the uniform looks roughly the same it should be fine for her to make some adjustments. Grabbing a dagger from her pouch, she began to tear away at her uniform. If Velouria could see what Alice was doing, she would shed a tear in happiness. Once she was done with her modifications, Alice looked in the mirror with a happy grin. Her shard acted as a needle once she split it into fragments. For the thread, she used the excess fabric. cing her uniform by the side, climbed into the bed and closed her eyes. Retreating into her mental scape, she looked towards Ca who struggling in her sleep but showed no signs of waking up. ''Before you ask, no, I don''t know when she''s going to wake up nor do I know why she''s still asleep.'' Alyss sighed. She was also worried for Ca but all they could do right now was to stay by her side. Furrowing her brows, Alice nodded and drifted off to sleep. She looked forward to the training tomorrow since she''ll be meeting the squad that she''ll be part of. Chapter 403: Joining Group Training A light blue shirt with leather belts, arm cuffs and a skirt. ck pants and boots with arge fur coat. "What in the f*ck?" Selen asked as she blinked her eyes. The first thing she saw after waking up in the morning was Alice''s new modifications to her outfit. "What do you think? Cute isn''t it?" Alice smiled happily and struck a pose. Compared to the uniform yesterday, her outfit today could be considered¡­ revealing and downright stupid for the weather in the north. After her modifications, Alice now wore a blue one piece dress, a belt, a pair of long boots and a hooded jacket with fur lined around the hood. Her pants were torn apart and turned into a pair of gloves connected to the arm cuffs while the rest into decorations around the outfit. If it wasn''t for her jacket, her arms and legs would bepletely exposed. Naturally, ayer of bandages to cover her wounds was beneath the outfit. Yet despite all of these changes and even taking away the pants to make something else, she still maintained the key parts of the outfit that make it recognisable as part of the uniform. Letting out a sigh, Selen didn''t have nearly enough f*cks to give first thing in the morning and simply ignored it. Putting on her own uniform, the two went down for breakfast as Alice''s attire caused a few of the new recruits to look at her with a mix of confusion and nervousness. Feeling a little devious, Alice would grin and blow them a kiss whileughing at their reactions. Selen pretended none of this was happening and ate her breakfast. Once again, she didn''t have nearly enough f*cks to give. Once they finished their breakfast, they made their way to the training centre. Alice had a skip to her step feeling rather happy with her outfit. "Let''s see¡­ If the schedule is right, we should be going to area G for our group." Alice muttered, looking at the schedule. Looking around the training grounds, she spotted Bo waiting by area G. Upon spotting Alice, he gave her a big wave. "Over here!" He called out with augh. Jogging over, Alice could see that there were three others who were waiting for them. "How are your injuries? Feeling better?" Alice asked curiously. "It''s all healed up don''t worry. Will you be alright with that uniform though?" "Fufu~ I adjusted it myself. Cute isn''t it?" Alice smiled while Bo scratched his cheek. "You see¡­ these uniforms are sprayed with beast repellent. There is less being sprayed on the uniforms for the front liners since they need to get the beast''s attention. But if you modify yours like this¡­ I''m pretty sure you''re now ssified as the tank." Bo exined awkwardly as Alice froze up. *Pft¡­ Snapping her head to the right, Alice nced at Selen who revealed a stoic expression. "Then do I just spray more or¡­" Alice coughed awkwardly. "It should be fine if we spray more than usual into your jacket." In the end, Alice sat by a bench while Bo sprayed her jacket with beast repellent. While spraying the jacket, Bo exined what they were doing today. "The situation in the frontline is a little rocky right now so we''re getting as many groups ready as soon as possible for deployment. For today, we''ll be doing some squad training to see howpatible we are with fighting alongside each other. "If everything goes well, we could be deployed in two days are the earliest." "Jeez isn''t that a bit fast? We''ve just met one another for a day. Is a haphazard group like this really suitable?" Alice blinked her eyes in surprise. "That''s just how serious the situation is. But I''m sure you can handle it just fine. You managed to keep up with me with our first cooperation after all." Bo reassured with augh. Once he was done spraying the beast repellent, he pped his hands and had everyone group up. Surprised by how fast Selen assembled, Bo cleared his throat. "Today we''ll be going on a patrol around Agar''s Canyon. The goal is to find a beast rivalling an Advanced Master rank Warrior. The Mortis Necrothrax. Once you find it, you''re expected to hunt it down with efficiency. Improvise with what you have, adapt to one another to find your strengths and ovee your weaknesses. "I will not be lending a hand for this battle so it''ll be up to you to defeat it. Is clear?!" Bo shouted. """HU RAH!!!""" "?!?!?" Flinching from the sudden shout from the other three, Alice blinked her eyes as it seemed to be a war cry of sorts. An affirmation that they understood the order. "Good. Take this time to introduce yourselves to one another. I''ll get us a carriage to take us to Agar''s Canyon." Bo nodded with a smile and left for the stables, leaving the five alone. Silence filled the area as Alice scratched her cheek from the awkwardness. Seeing as how everyone was silent, she decided to take the first step. "Alice Agnelia. I primarily focus on abilities but because my body is wounded, I''m focusing on acting as a support. I''ll be blocking attacks and helping you navigate the battlefield. Looking forward to working with all of you. In terms of ranking¡­ I''m a Master rank Warrior with four spirits. Though I can''t ess them right now ahaha." Alice smiled and tried to be casual but none of the warriors smiled. "Selen. Ability focused. I take a damage role with some utility. Advanced Master rank with five Spirits." Selen followed up with a short and direct introduction. "Bjorn. Bow focused. Damage role with some utility. Advanced Master rank with five Spirits." Bjorn followed up with a simr reply to Selen. He''s a tall slim warrior with dark skin. Dark hair that was pulled back into braids with the right side being shaven. A tattoo could be seen stretching from his arm up to the side of his head. He wore the standard uniform without any modifications unlike Alice and carried a bow on his back. However, there wasn''t a quiver in sight thus Alice concluded that his abilities were responsible for his arrows. "Einar. Frontline. Advanced Master rank with five Spirits." Einer stood taller than any of them and spouted a short haircut swept back and shaved around the side and back. A beard and blue tattoos across his body and arms. Much like Egil, he barely wore any armour as he seemed to be rather confident in his physical body. Wearing only a fur cloak, leather arm guards, leather belt, a pair of pants and boots. And finally, the only one left was a tall woman who was roughly the same height as Selen. A rather bulky physique with thick leather padding, arge metal shield on her back and a mace on her waist. She had long blonde hair tied into a single braid. "Brynja. Support. Advanced Master rank with five Spirits." She introduced herself while giving Alice a dirty re. Blinking her eyes in confusion, Alice wondered why Brynja seemed to dislike her quite a bit. This was their first meeting after all. But with Brynja''s introduction, Alice got a rough understanding of theposition for this party. Einar acts as a frontliner with Selen to help him. Bo, being the speedy type, would pick off high priority targets. Bjorn supported from range and Alice covered the whole party with her shield. She wasn''t sure what power Brynja has but she seems to be taking a simr role. ''Overall it''s a bncedposition. I don''t know their stat lines so it''s hard to guess what kind of fighter they will be in the midst of battle. The more information she gathers, the more effective she''ll be when they fight the beast. If she could synchronize herself with the party like she did with Bo then their power will increase by roughly 20%. Spying on the group introducing themselves to one another, Bo let out a sigh as he felt worried about thisposition. In order to bnce out their stat lines, they were paired topensate for each other''s weaknesses. Einar has high Strength, Bjorn has high Endurance, Alice has abnormally high Spiritual stat, Brynja has high Physicality and he has high Speed. Selen acts as an anchor for this group. However. This only seeds if they can work with one another properly. Einar, Bjorn and Brynja look like they have no intentions of ying nice with Alice or Selen since the three of them have been grouping together for a while now. Massaging his temples, Bo let out another fatigued sigh. He wasn''t sure if Torgeir was venting frustrations on him but thisposition certainly felt like it. Regardless, he was given a job and he was going to do it. At least the Mortis Necrothrax was apatible beast for this kind ofposition. High defence but a weak attack. It''ll give them plenty of time to get used to one another. Jumping down, he pulled the carriage towards the group. "Seems like introductions are done. I hope you understand your roles and where you should stand in battle. Protect both Alice and Brynja since they are your supports. Without them, the fight will be much harder. Bjorn, you''ll drive the carriage since you know the way." Bo ordered as Bjorn nodded his head and jumped into the driver''s seat while the rest climbed onto the back. Departing from the city, Bo looked at the group once more. Alice looked at her surroundings with a childish glimmer in her eyes. Selen simply sat in silence without showing any emotion. Brynja who snuck res at Alice and Einar who focused on his greatsword. Once again, Bo began to doubt whether or not this party would seed as they proceeded towards Agar''s Canyon. Chapter 404: Beast Within The Canyon Agar''s Canyon. A Canyon named after Lord Agar, the previous Abyss Lord of Titans and one of the founding figures of the Verona Queendom. During the fight against a Lord of the Extalia Kingdom, he sacrificed his life to release a single devastating sh that forever altered thendscape of the mountain. Even with abilities that conjure earth, Warriors discovered that the terrain could not be altered no matter what they did. If they tried to fix the Canyon, the earth would crumble apart. If they tried to carve out the mountain, the excavated earth would crumble while the hole would mend itself. Ignorant of this property, the Verona Queendom had lost a few miners who were tasked with excavating this mountain for important materials. Riding the shaking carriage, Alice could see the Canyon in the distance. nked by tworge mountains, a single path and a sheer cliff on the left and a mountainous forest on the right, Alice could feel her hair stand on end. "Even after all these years, the aura of Lord Agar''s strike persists to this day. Those with a high instinct stat like you will sense it clearly while those with lower stats need to be closer." Bo chuckled seeing Alice rubbing her arms while ncing at the Canyon. "I''m more surprised that the earth refuses to be changed after his strike. Have people ever found out the true cause or is it just because he had that much power to alter thend?" Alice asked curiously. She''s seen the wreckages left by Lords and Apostles alike during her time roaming the Abyss. However, this was the first time she heard that thend refused to be changed. "It''s more to do with Lord Agar''s abilities as the Abyss Lord of Titans. If I recall the stories urately, his strike sealed a portion of the enemy Lord''s abilities in thend. This essentially crippled one of the Lords belonging to Extalia while also making it so that his title couldn''t be passed on unless he died. "But you should take that with a grain of salt since I heard it from a Bard''s tale. No one dared watch the battle between Lords as it would be a miracle should you survive. They are practically living breathing natural disasters after all." Boughed. While the difference between six Sigils and seven Sigils may be just one Sigil, the gap was practically insurmountable. To attain the acknowledgement of the Abyss and be granted its blessings upgraded your body beyond mortal limits. No matter how much power someone has, without that blessing, no one would be able to reach their full potential. "We''re all familiar with the story of Lord Agar, captain. I don''t see why you want to tell her about our history." Brynja grumbled while Bo shook his head. "If Alice doesn''t want to know, she''ll verbalise it. I''m merely acting upon the curiosity she disys for our culture. If she wishes to learn more, I don''t see why I should stop her." Bo lectured with a frown. He wasn''t sure why Brynja was being this petty towards Alice but he wasn''t going to stand for it. "Urg¡­" Gritting her teeth, Brynja bit her lip but nodded her head. Making their way through the Canyon, Bo jumped off the carriage and kneeled next to some tracks. Furrowing his brows, he ced his hand on top of the footprint. A wave of energy pulsed out from his body for a moment, knocking aside the snow. "Got him." He muttered, standing up. "The Mortis Necrothrax is deep inside this forest. From here on out, I''ll be observing. Remember, work as a group to cover one another''s weaknesses." Bo reminded as he disappeared into the trees. Alice and Selen nodded at one another as they both jumped off the carriage and pulled out their weapons. Splitting her shard into several fragments, she had them hover around each member of the party. Einar and Bjorn looked at the shard with doubt while Brynja furrowed her brows in disdain but didn''t make a move to swat it away. Doing so would just cause Bo to be angry with her. With Einar taking the lead, the group followed behind with Alice creating a grid around them. The moment anything approaches this grid, she''ll notice. As they walked through the forest, snow began to fall. Trees were nketed in ayer of white while the tracks behind them were being hidden. Alice could feel the coldness assaulting her body with the tip of her nose turning red. Forgetting that her resistance to elements had weakened thanks to her injured body, Alice was beginning to regret the action of making her outfit cute. Just as she thought this, Bjorn halted the party. Furrowing his brows, he grabbed a dagger and climbed up a tree. Closing his eyes for a moment, his ears began to twitch. "It''s approaching, fast." He called out as mes condensed between his fingers and turned into an arrow. "Positions!" Einar shouted. mming his hand into the ground, energy condensed around his palm as he pulled out a greatsword almost as tall as he is. Both Einar and Brynja took a defensive position with their backs to one another without caring for Alice and Selen. Seeing this, Alice could only roll her eyes and shrug at Selen. "No matter." Selen ignored it and summoned her staff. Holding her sword by her side, she narrowed her eyes and scanned her surroundings. Even though the Necrothrax was approaching fast, it still hadn''t pierced the boundary that Alice had set up around them. At that moment, Alice sensed a high speed projectile piercing through her grid. Widening her eyes, she immediately gathered the shards at a single point and expanded the barrier. *BANG!!! CRACK!!! Shattering the shield in one go, Alice froze up seeing therge bone spike that was sticking out of the shard. Sparks of crimsonshed out from the bone as it began to erode the protective barrier. Seeing this, Alice dismissed her shield and recalled the fragments. While she was blocking the surprise attack, Bjorn took this moment to fire an arrow towards the source of the attack but there was no response. The beast had already left its position. ''Fast and it has ranged attacks.'' Alice thought to herself with a frown. If she could still use her energy, she would''ve sent out a pulse to try and detect the beast. But from the looks of things, Bjorn had already tried that yet it was still out of detection range. Once more, Alice sensed a rapidly approaching projectile and gathered her shards. *BOOM!!! Before it could collide with the shield, it imploded into an array of violent crimson sparks that tore up the ground around them. Selen created a barrier to deflect the attack, protecting Alice while Brynja formed a protective dome for Einar. Bjorn was out of the range so he was safe from the attack. "It''s changing the way it''s attacking. This one was clearly prepared for when I try to block it." Alice frowned. However, it wasn''t something they couldn''t deal with right now. "Let me know if it gets within range. You should remember my limit right?" Selen suggested as Alice nodded her head. Expanding the range of her shards, her main goal was to find where the target was rather than block things. Selen and Brynja had it covered. *BANG!!! BANG!!! Two rapid hits, one from the north and one from the south. ''It''s that fast???'' Alice thought to herself in disbelief as it was still out of her range yet it was able to fire the second shot despite a small dy. Gritting her teeth, she spun the shards in a circr motion around them. This time, since the beast chose speed over power, her shards were able to knock the spikes barely off course as they mmed into the ground beside them, knocking up a wall of snow. "What are you doing!? You''re blinding our vision!" Brynja shouted in frustration as a vein bulged on Alice''s neck. ''Ignore it, ignore it.'' She chanted to herself in her mind as this was no time to be fighting with her ''allies''. The beast was the main concern. While she may be able to kill five star beasts usually, this wasn''t her usual state. She was vulnerable. "West! It''s preparing to fire again!" Bjorn shouted from the trees. "Nah, not this time." Einar gritted his teeth. Twisting his body, his muscles bulged as he mmed his greatsword into the ground and cleaved up. *CRACK!!! Erupting from the ground, a wave of destructive energy rushed towards the west while infernal chains nked its sides. "Rush it down!" Einarmanded, crouching down and jumping towards the west. Looking at one another, Alice and Selen nodded. Without giving Alice a chance to prepare herself, Selen threw Alice over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes and jumped after Einar. ". . ." ''At least carry me gently or something.'' Alice retorted in her mind jokingly while focusing on setting up a new grid with her shards. Approaching the beast, Selen threw Alice away and nted her staff into the ground. Activating her Sigil ability, a dome manifested around the beast just before it could escape. However, it refused to be captured as its body turned into a blur. A flurry of bone spikes rushed towards Selen but Alice countered with her shards. With the brief moment of safety that Alice bought, Selen was able toplete her skill as the dome copsed and the strands of energy embedded itself into the beast''s body and slowed down its movements. Soon, its appearance could be seen with rity. [Mortis Necrothrax - ?????] Chapter 405: Mortis Necrothrax What stood before then was an unholy beast of bone and necrotic energy. Its skull, elongated and coated with jagged edges and a crown of spikes. The hollow sockets of its eyes burned with a demonic crimson light as faint screams could almost be heard from each flicker of its eerie radiance. Its jaw cracked apart to reveal the needle like fangs, dripping with a disgusting blend of saliva and a thick ck liquid that hissed and sizzled upon touching the snow beneath its body. Each ssh of this strange mix would corrode the ground, releasing what Alice only assume to be toxic fumes. Strands of eroding flesh and malevolent energy clung onto its skeletal structure. The demonic spine that ran down its back was littered with countless bone spikes. The tail mmed against the ground as the tip began to regrow. Chains and barbed wire fused against the remnants of its flesh and bone. Each movement echoed and hummed with the symphony of anguished torture. Yet despite the chains, it was not an enved beast. No, these chains have dug into its flesh since its conception from the pits of the Abyss. Just its aura corroded the very air that touched it as strands of necrotic energy would overflow from its corpse like body. Truly a harbinger of doom. A beast representing the mockery of life. An unholy being living beyond death and despair. A beast thus named the Mortis Necrothrax. Standing before this behemoth of death, Alice felt a chill down her spine. Never has she seen such a foul beast that dissuaded her from fighting just by existing. "Stop spacing out!" Selen shouted, breaking Alice out of her trance. Focusing her mind, she created a pathway of small footholds for Selen. Rushing towards the beast while her staff was slowing down its movements. She twisted her body and mmed her sword against the neck. *CLANG!!! Flinching from the impact, her de trembled from the hit as she wasn''t even able to leave a scratch! ''What kind of durability is this???'' Alice widened her eyes. She was very familiar with how much power Selen could exert through her attacks yet she was unable to leave a single mark! *URAHH!!!!! Attempting to crush Selen between its jaws, the Necrothrax missed its target as Alice managed to drag Selen out of danger using her shards. ncing at the others who also broke out of their trance, Alice wanted to make a path for them to attack its body but they ignored it. A wave of arrows rained down from above, embedding themselves into its body before detonating into a brilliant sea of mes. Yet no matter how shy the attack was, the Necrothrax remained unharmed! "What kind of sturdy defence is this?" Selen asked, massaging her wrist. This was the first time in her life that she felt such a bacsh from her attack. Not even the instructors at the Zenia family had this kind of defence. "There has to be a gap that we can exploit. Thankfully your g is keeping it slow otherwise it''ll be both fast AND durable." Alice sighed, creating an angled shield to push off a w swipe for Einar. But rather than showing his gratitude, he showed annoyance as he was fully prepared to parry that by himself. In exchange for its blistering speed and strong durability, the Necrothrax wascking immensely in terms of offensive power. It wasn''t a beast that was difficult to hunt. Sure durable to the point where even hitting directly with the power of a five star Hutner may not deal significant damage! Furrowing her brows, Alice focused on keeping Selen safe and knocking aside any stray hits that may fly towards Einer and Brynja. Ignoring the fact that Alice was trying to synchronize herself to their fighting style, Einar appeared beneath the beast after dodging a w swipe and shed up with his greatsword. Yet uponnding on his feet, he noticed that the cleave was shattered by the bone armour. Admittedly, all of them had underestimated the armour but this was still ridiculous. Not even his strength could pierce it! "Brynja!" "Don''t shout! I''m on it!" Jumping up, she mmed her shield against the side of the Necrothrax''s head. *BANG!!! The impact of her m caused the beast to stumble back as the tail twitched for a moment. A bad feeling invaded Alice''s mind. Without hesitation, she mmed her hand down and created a miniature barrier around herself and Selen. Raising its tail, it began to twitch and soon, an omnidirectional tsunami of spikes shot out. Even though she had made the necessary preparations with her shield, the collision still caused her to be sent back from the impact as a splinter of the bone had even made a cut on her arm. Einar blocked what he could and tanked the rest while Brynja hid behind her shield. Bjorn, despite being rather far out, had a bone shard pierce his shoulder. Retreating by himself, he took this time to heal up. Once the rain of bone spikes stopped, Alice nced at Selen as she nodded and took a deep breath. Since she got the signal from Alice, she was going to fight however she wanted! Alice will adapt to her rhythm! Activating eleration on herself, she flickered above the beast and pierced down with her de. However, her stab failed to prate the uppermostyer of the rotting flesh and caused the sword to bend. Furrowing her brows in annoyance, she twisted her body and kicked herself away using the footholds that appeared where she needed them to be. This allowed her to block a quick stab by the beast as the spines on its back expanded rapidly before returning back to normal. Stabilizing herself on a set of footholds floating in midair, Selen frowned. She had a few options right now but the one she didn''t want to use was her Resonance. She couldn''t predict what else might happen and since she was the only one properly guarding Alice right now, she needed to preserve this trump card! Summoning a staff, she crouched down and dashed towards the ground. Realising what Selen was aiming for, Alice created a series ofunchers that''ll help her ce the anchor points down exactly where she wanted them. While Selen was doing this, Einar continued to tank the beast while Brynja granted himyers uponyers of protection and buffs to help him maintain the one on one. However, thisck ofmunication almost caused Einar to drag the beast out of Selen''s confinement while Brynja interrupted Selen''s dash pathing, causing them to collide. This collision allowed the beast a moment to breathe as it reared its head back and unleashed a roar that pushed away the snow. Reacting to its cry, the bone shards that had scattered throughout the battlefield began to vibrate. Danger! Immediately using her fragments to protect her and Selen''s vitals, Alice managed to react just in time as the shards exploded in mass and transformed into a deadly forest of spikes! "URG!!!" Blood dripped from the corner of her mouth as Alice gritted her teeth. The spikes had pierced through her arm, and thigh with one evening close to taking out her eye but Alice managed to move her head at thest moment. Her heart pounded against her chest as she struggled to free herself from the prison of spikes. *CRACK!!! shing down with her sword, Selen had rushed to Alice''s side even though she had taken some damage herself. Even though it wasn''t fatal, she was still bleeding across the body. Freeing Alice from the confinement, she helped her pull out therge spikes while handing her a healing vial from her pouch. She only had two vials after buying some from the supply shop as there was a limited amount to go around. Each person was limited to two vials. Drinking the vial, Alice could hear her flesh sizzling as it stitched itself together but it was far inferior whenpared to her original regeneration. And once again, the healing stopped once the wounds closed up. Ignoring her anger for now, Alice turned her attention to both Einar and Brynja who took heavy damages from thatst attack. Brynja had a nasty wound on her abdomen while Einar had his forearm pierced by the spike, making it impossible for him to hold his greatsword using two hands. "What the f*ck are you doing?!?!" Brynja shouted in anger. If it wasn''t for the random crap that both Alice and Selen were doing, they wouldn''t have shown such a gap to the beast. "HAH?!?!?" Hearing this, Alice''s patience had reached its limit as Brynja had done nothing but me them since the start of this fight even though neither of them was on the same wavelength. To her, only Alice and Selen made mistakes while they were perfect as usual. Holding Alice back from causing a fight, Selen shook her head with a frown. "We can fight herter, let''s focus on the beast for now." Gritting her teeth, Alice took a deep breath and nodded. "Any ns?" Alice asked. Her offensive power was sorelycking and the best she could do was assist Selen''s movement and fend off dangerous attacks. The fact that they had nothing to prate the beast''s weakness worried her but there was bound to be a weakness. "I''ve noticed that it had some¡­ strange movements while defending against attacks. It seems like there is a specific spot it doesn''t want to get hit." Selen hesitated for a moment. "Why didn''t you say so earlier? Where is it? I''ll help you reach it." Alice blinked her eyes, urging Selen to speak about this weakness. Coughing awkwardly, Selen debated for a moment before opening her mouth. "The base of the tail. Between the legs." "???" Hearing this, Alice was stunlocked. ''Isn''t that just it''s ass???'' Chapter 406: Killing The Necrothrax ''Isn''t that just it''s ass???'' Alice''s smile twitched as she couldn''t believe Selen had just suggested that they hit the ass of all locations. "Something wrong?" Selen tilted her head in confusion seeing Alice''s hesitance. "Wouldn''t¡­ hitting the ass only piss it off more?" Alice asked while keeping an eye on the Necrothrax. Right now, it was being distracted by both Einar and Brynja so they could have this conversation. "It''s a bit of a gamble. But a lot of energy passes through that location, especially when it fires the tail spikes. If Ind a good strike against it, I should be able to cut off its tail." Selen shook her head. Forcing a smile, Alice realised that Selen didn''t understand that she was hinting at the fact they should aim elsewhere. But seeing as how Selen was determined, Alice couldn''t help but sigh as her smile twitched furiously. "But does it really have to be the ass???" Alice asked, hoping to bargain. "Are you seriously still stuck on this???" "Well of course I am! It''s the ass for gods sake! The ass!" Alice emphasised. Even if she was shameless, she wasn''t this shameless as to target the ass of her enemy mid fight! If she doesn''t die from their attacks she''ll die from shame! "Look! It''s a life or death situation so just help me target the ass already!" Selen shouted as their hesitation may lead to this opportunity disappearing. Blushing from embarrassment, Alice let out an exasperated sigh and reluctantly nodded her head. "I''ll make a pathway for you then. Just focus on aiming for it and dodging when you can. Don''t worry about missing a foothold, I got you pretty much all figured out." Alice reassured as she flicked her wrist and created several footholds leading towards the beast. Seeing this, Selen crouched down activating her eleration and dashed towards the beast. Noticing Selen''s approach, spikes shot out from the forest around them but Selen could see them approaching with ease. Twirling her staff, the space around her started to distort. The spikes that entered this boundary slowed down as she used them as footholds to dash into the air. The space around the Necrothrax became her yground while both Einar and Brynja were confused as to how Selen was able to move like this. Meanwhile, Alice hid in the forest of spikes. With the beast being focused on both Selen and Einar, this was the perfect environment for her to thrive in her current state. While shards created footholds for Selen, Alice adjusted the terrain around both Einar and Brynja''s feet, helping them navigate the beast while they were also distracted. The sudden shift of the ground beneath them caused their bnce to change, helping them narrowly dodge what would be considered a dangerous strike. However, instead of feeling grateful, both Einar and Brynja threw curses towards Alice, ming her for making them lose their footing. ''F*ck it, they can die for all I care.'' Alice concluded. Even though she would prefer to knock some senses into them herself, she didn''t have a chance for that. *BANG!!! A w mmed into Brynja''s shield while spikes fired from its shoulders. Piercing into Brynja''s torso, she stumbled back. "What are you doing?! Aren''t you a shielder?! F*cking useles b*tch!" *PUCHI! She was definitely getting punched after this battle. Ignoring the useless shouts from Einar and Brynja, Alice created twounch pads for Selen. Dashing in an arch over the Necrothrax, Selen positioned herself for the final strike as Alice activated the springboard beneath her. *BANG!!! Stacking as many eleration buffs onto herself as she could, Selen''s de hummed with a vibrant blue. Her figure disappeared with a burst of energy. *ARG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A gut wrenching scream erupted from the beast, sting away the snow within the vicinity as Alice flinched and turned her eyes away. Even without staring at the battle, she knew what had happened. Thatst fraction of a moment where Selen appeared right beneath the beast''s rear. *BANG!!! The sound of heavy bones mming against the ground could be heard as Alice nced up and saw the Necrothrax missing its tail. Blood poured out from the wound as Selen wasn''t done. Adjusting her posture, she unleashed a flurry of shes and stabs, cleaving a path into the innards of the beast. Seeing this method of attack, Alice paled, clutching her rear out of instinct. A phantom pain assaulted her mind. Most would avoid this kind of method since they would be soaked in the blood of an Abyss Beast. However, for Selen who was experimented on by the byproduct of Alice''s blood, this was nothing! With Einar and Brynja staring in disbelief while Bjorn had just finished healing himself, Selen reached the neck and released a crescent sh! Tearing off the head with one spiral motion, she stood on the stump of a neck and panted heavily. Blood coated her entire body as the beast slumped against the ground. Blood pooled beneath it while the malevolent energy of the flesh began to fade. However, before they could bask in the feeling of joy, Alice''s pupils shrank. "SELEN! DUCK!" She roared, gathering all of her shards into one spot as Selen instinctively ducked as Alice had ordered. *BANG!!! An extrarge bone shard shot out from the forest as Alice''s defences were blown apart in an instant. But she managed to seed in diverting the attack slightly, knocking it off course and making it so that only some of Selen''s hair was shredded by that attack instead of her upper torso. *CRACK!!! Watching the shard dig deep into a tree, cold sweat filled Selen''s spine as she hadn''t expected a second one to appear so fast. All of them were exhausted right now. Selen didn''t think she could attack with the same vigour she had done just now, even if she was to use her Resonance. Einar looked battered and bruised while Brynja wasn''t much better. Even though Bjorn managed to heal his wound, his scouting ability diminished greatly as he wasn''t able to detect the second beast. And finally, for Alice, one fight was her current limit. She could see the exhaustion on Alice''s face as recovering her shards drained a great deal of stamina from her. Thankfully, it didn''t seem like they needed to fight a second round. *BANG!!! The sound of collision could be heard as the ground trembled from the impact. shes of light flickered in the distance while a familiar burst of energy erupted from the second being. Recognising it to be Bo, Alice sighed in relief and slumped onto the ground. After a brief moment, Bo returned covered in the Nercrothrax''s blood and held its head in his hand. Just as Alice was about to greet him, she saw a hint of anger in his eyes and decided to not say anything for now. "Back to the cart and tend to your wounds!" He shouted. Everyone could tell that he wasn''t happy and followed the order without saying anything back. Once they were on the carriage, Bo had Bjorn drive them back. Sitting on the back, the silence was deafening as Bo continuously tapped his heel against the floorboard. "Care to tell me what that was during the fight? No one giving orders and people throwing me around. Not caring about the wound sustained by people you don''t like, not properly grabbing attention, not notifying your allies of your intentions. A Mortis Necrothrax should be something you can deal with easily, that''s why I picked it as our first outing. "But what happened? Two of you almost died and you were to exhausted to even notice the second one. You didn''t even had enough stamina to kill it yourself!" Bo lectured as veins bulged on his neck. "Reflect on everything that happened today. I want a report once we get back. As group captain, I can''t let this go on otherwise you''ll die the moment you step onto the battlefield." He spat out in annoyance. Crossing her leg, Alice rested her chin on her hand while ncing at the passing surroundings. He wasn''t wrong but it''s not exactly easy to work with someone who hates you for no reason. Not only that, but no matter what she did, me was thrown her way. She tries to help them, she was being a bother. She doesn''t try to help them, she was being useless. No matter what she did, they weren''t satisfied so naturally, Alice wouldn''t care if they got hit or not. Might as well focus her attention on Selen who''s actually doing something for the team. Of course, it didn''t mean she should leave them to die but saving them left a bitter taste in her mouth. Seeing the reaction of the group to his order, Bo sighed inwardly. With things as they are, it''s going to be impossible for them to cooperate well enough for their deployment in two days. Unfortunately, the frontline needed reinforcements and the new recruits were the only ones nearby. ''I guess a silver lining is that Alice is very adaptive. As long as her teammates were cooperative to some degree. He had to admit that if it wasn''t for the strange hostility from Brynja, the fight might''ve gone a bit better since Alice was already covering for them. If he could solve the issues between them, the power of this group would increase by two fold. Then there was the case of Selen. There wasn''t much to say about her except thatst attack. Just thinking about it cause him to shiver as he shuffled in his seat. From now, just in case he was to meet someone like Selen in the future, he''ll reinforce his rear with a bit of energy as a precaution. After all, surely there wasn''t someone with such a sadistic hobby as to target the rear mid fight. Right? Chapter 407: Returning From The Canyon Making their way back to the outpost, Alice could see that most of the other groups had returned and were rtively unharmed. They had wide smiles on their faces and talked about getting a drink at the tavern. However, their group was battered and bruised. Bo even had to step in to ensure that they were alive. "Get something to eat first then we''ll talk. I know you''re not fond of each other so we''ll talk one on one." Bo instructed, making his way to the building where Torgeir was. Seeing this, Alice sighed as she figured she might as well grab a drink for now. "Wanna get a drink?" Alice offered Selen but she shook her head. There were things she needed to reflect upon after this training excursion and she''d rather not use this time to drown herself in alcohol. Shrugging her shoulders, Alice made her way to the tavern and ordered a few jugs of mead for herself and some snacks. Looking for a table to sit on, all of the tables within the tavern were taken. However, hidden away by the side, she spotted a familiarrge figure by the window. Curling her lips into a smile, she hopped over and ced her jugs on the table. "What''s up big guy? Seems like you also had a rough time." Aliceughed as she sat down opposite him and offered a jug. Raising an eyebrow, Egil didn''t think Alice would take the initiative to sit at his table. But considering that she was the one who helped him get this opportunity, he didn''t see why he shouldn''t talk. She even brought over a jug of mead to share. "It''s hard to escape the shadow of your past. But I should be able to manage since I have a sturdy body." Egil chuckled, reaching for the jug. "Hou~ Seems like your group isn''t cooperating either. I don''t know why but the gal in my group hates me on first meeting ahah. She even started ming me for all kinds of sh*t during the fight even though I literally saved her life like twice. Well¡­ maybe not that far since she''s pretty sturdy but you know what I mean." Aliceined, raising her own jug and knocking it against his. "Wait what?" Recoiling at the mention of such an incident, confusion filled Egil''s mind. Who would be unhappy that someone saved them in the middle of a battle? Swinging her head back, Alice gulped down several mouthfuls of mead and began to recount the hunt. How they ran into the Mortis Necrothrax and how the fight went. The more he heard, the more his expression faltered. Truly, the dynamic of her team confused him. He could still remember the passive pressure that Alice was exerting during their duel when Bo was acting as her representative. If it wasn''t for her giving him the freedom of movement that he had, Bo would''ve been defeated rather quickly. It was only thanks to Alice''s quick judgment and pinpoint control that helped Bo push him to the limit. For someone to not appreciate this kind of help and even call her useless was¡­ baffling to Egil. "Seems like you had it rougher than me." Egil chuckled. "Who knows. You still haven''t told you what happened on your hunt yet." Alice shrugged. It was more of a passive annoyance if she was being honest. There were ways for her to deal with it and even now, she was forming new ns for the next day. "Mostly just people throwing attacks while I''m next to the beast. It doesn''t hurt but when I''m not expecting it, it''s still surprising." Egil sighed. Even though he was brief, Alice understood how difficult it must be to reign in his anger if people kept throwing attacks at his back. He couldn''t exactly fight back because of Torgeir keeping an eye on him yet if he keeps taking these hits, he''ll reach a limit and will do something he regrets. "Indeed. Sometimes you just wanna let loose and smack some sense into them but they''re so fragile. If I wasn''t injured, one hit is all I need." Alicemented. It was true, one Void Flux was all she needed to take out most of the Warriors she''s seen. Hell, Void Flux wasn''t even needed for some of them! Just her partial Bloodline release would''ve been enough. Yet here she was, a body that couldn''t handle her power. Thinking about this, Alice became curious. If her body couldn''t handle it, what if she was to forcefully bring it up to the standard? To consume the blood of someone stronger and raise her Sigil count. When her thought process reached this stage, Alice sat up. Her smile twitched as she had an idea of why her body was in this state. The biggest suspect was Kaden''s feather! To consume such a concentrated mass of power from an Apostle at that. ''There''s no way right?'' Sheughed but doubt lingered in her mind. Right now, this was the most likely answer. ''I guess next time don''t eat random crap. Kaden did give that feather to protect us rather than for you to eat it.'' Alyss rolled her eyes. ''Oh shut up you were pretty impressed when I did it.'' Alice scoffed. Turning her attention back on Egil who was confused by why she was suddenly silent, Alice coughed and cleared her throat. "I''m sure your group will get better. After all, if they don''t, they''re just sabotaging themselves. Torgeir won''t choose people who''ll keep throwing attacks at their allies back, no matter how durable they are. As long as you prove he didn''t make a mistake in giving you a chance then it''s fine." Alice reassured as Egil nodded his head. Swinging his head back, he finished his drink in one go. "Thanks for this by the way. I''ll make sure I pay you back." He grinned. However since this was the second time he said it, it sounded less persuasive. Giving him a small wave, Alice watched as Egil left the tavern to continue his training. While he may have a strong physique and defensive power, his offensive options werecking. Or so he imed. Thus he needed to find ways to channel his power into offensive potential. Seeing Egil working towards an unknown goal, Alice felt a little inspired. Now that she had an idea of why her body might be acting this way, it was about time she tried to resolve it. Of course, she still needed information. No matter how much of a rush she was in, charging in blindly would just destroy her in the process. Finishing her drink, Alice was about to leave when another jug was ced down in front of her. "You''re thest one left." Bo gestured for her to remain seated. "I''m guessing the other talks when pretty good if you''re here so soon." Alice epted the mead with a smile. "Somewhat. They only require small reminders. Bjorn got easily distracted by what''s in front of him and was too confident that the attacks won''t hit him. "Einar just need a reminder on how to keep the beast''s attention properly. Brynja¡­ Needed a reminder to not bring personal feelings into a battle. Still, she didn''t say why she didn''t like you only that she''ll keep it in mind for the next battle." Bo scratched his hair. "Selen was fine except she needed to be more open minded and help the others as well. But you? You''re probably the one that''s giving me the most headache. How do I put it¡­ You''ve never yed a supportive role before have you?" He asked as Alice shook her head. While she has supported Ria in the past during a battle, it''s more as a supportive damage dealer rather than a full on support. "That''s the issue. How do I put it¡­ You''re and Brynja are the keys for this team to cooperate with one another. As supports, your job is to bring out the most out of your allies. However, during the fight, you were fighting with far too high of an expectation for them. "Expectationses only after experience and trust. But instead, you were so focussed on what was possible, you didn''t see what was happening around you. Sometimes it''s better to take a step back and assess the situation as a whole before making a move. That way, you can see the full picture." "I know it''s probably impossible to ask you two to work together properly. So instead, I told them to just do their thing and don''t antagonize you. It''s better for you as well right?" Bo asked as Alice nodded her head with a smile. "Yep that works perfectly for me. If they fight as per usual, I can study how they move and help them. But if they force themselves to act differently, their choices and habits will begin to conflict." "If that''s how it is then everything should be alright. Just try your best since we''ll be heading out early to hunt again tomorrow. Our target this time is a Dreadhorn Ravager. It''s the same rank as the Mortis Necrothrax but make no mistake, it''s more aggressive so you''ll have to take more care than you did today." Bo reminded as he stood up and made his way out. Finishing her drink, Alice wiped her mouth and leaned back. ''I''ll ask Torgeir for some of his blood as emergency next time I see him.'' Alice thought to herself as tomorrow was going to be¡­ interesting. Hopefully, Einar and Brynja were more cooperative this time or as Bo said, stop antagonizing her and just do their job. Chapter 408: The Old Warrior After drinking at the tavern, Alice had some time to kill and decided to see if there was a library of sorts at the outpost. Unfortunately, no matter how she roamed, there was no building of this sort in sight. The closest thing she could find was a bookstore as she recalled meeting Nalem. However, the selection of books wasn''t even close to what she had expected. Forget about information on the Dreadhorn, there wasn''t even apendium on beasts located nearby. Instead, she was redirected to an old Warrior who''d been ced within this outpost. ''ording to the store owner, the old Warrior has been here longer than anyone else. If anyone has information on beasts, it should be him.'' Alice thought to herself as she looked at the spot marked down on the map. The old Warrior resided in a small house located on a hill within the outpost. It gave him a good view over the entire outpost as well as the surrounding areas. Upon arriving, Alice could feel the cold wind blowing against her body, causing her hair to flutter along with her coat. Taking a deep breath, she was rather taken aback by the view and sensation of standing in this ce. Even though it''s just a small hill, the people looked tiny by the buildings. The soldiers who still train like Egil, those who y around and those who''ve retreated for an early night. Sensing something on the edge of her senses, Alice furrowed her brows and nced around. "You have quite the shard instinct for a young one. What brings you to an old Warrior''s house?" A voice rang out beside Alice as she kept her calm and nced over. "There wasn''t a library here so the bookstore owner told me toe here and find you. Said that you probably had the information I want regarding beasts." Alice replied. The old Warrior had well kept grey hair swept back and aside to reveal his wrinkled forehead. Arge beard with a moustache. His current outfit consisted simply of a rugged set up with arge tattered coat. For an upation that gets injured easily and even die, the fact that this man had lived to this age without a single scar was impressive. Not only that, but Alice couldn''t see any signs of side effects. Meaning he hasn''t consumed that much Abyss Blood. "Hou? Not many Warriors these days even ask for information. It''s a practice that''s mostly done in the Abyss since the beasts there are far more ferocious. Which beast do you want to know about?" He asked with a smile while scratching his beard. "Dreadhorn Ravager." "Hmm¡­" Closing his eyes, the old Warrior began to recall the beast as he walked over to a set of chairs and sat down. Gesturing for Alice to sit down as well, he reached into his pouch and pulled out some fruit for them to enjoy. "It''s a pretty nasty beast you''ve gone and chosen for this hunt." The old Warrior remarked as the Dreadhorn Ravager had another nickname from those who have hunted it before. The personification of wrath. A beast of raw unfiltered wrath than kills everything and anything. It''s one of if not these most aggressive beasts you have fight if the conditions line up. "Well it wasn''t really my choice. Squad Captain said it''s the next beast we''re hunting down to improve coordination." Alice shrugged, epting the fruit as she took a bite. One bite was all it took for the juice to burst out from the fruit. The sweet vours and flesh of the fruit melted in Alice''s mouth as her eyes blinked in surprise. "Hahaha, take your time, there are plenty of fruit left." The old Warriorughed, taking out a handkerchief for Alice. Thanking the old man, she finished the fruit quickly as he handed her another. Since it was tasty, there was no reason to reject. "The Ravager is a nasty beast with a myriad of ways to escape. Despite its nickname, Personification of Wrath, it''s a pretty cowardly beast. Shadowmeld and Berserk Regeneration. These two you need to watch out for." The old Warrior began to exin as Alice listened intently. "Shadowmeld lets it sink into the shadows and lung out when it wants to strike. It can also use it to run away by dashing in between the shadows in its surroundings. However, you can usually tell where it is by the way the shadow moves. "The Ravager''s affinity for shadow while good, can be disrupted pretty easily. Use light. If the ''volume'' of the shadow isn''t enough, it''ll be forcefully expelled." Hearing this, Alice was reminded of the ways that Kaden fights. How he sinks into the shadow as well. With this in mind, she couldn''t help but wonder if one of his Sigils belongs to the Dreadhorn Ravager. "The second thing is Berserk Regeneration. Once ites close to death and realises that it can''t escape, it''ll sacrifice its vitality for a burst of energy and regeneration. All of its wounds will heal and it''ll gain a boost to its physical prowess. Tough it out and the beast will be extremely vulnerable to attacks that even someone with three spirits can kill it. "If you watch out for these two things, the rest should be easy since the Ravager is primarily a physical attacking beast. It''ll almost never use casting type abilities. Ah, also keep an eye on its horns. You can think of that as its casting medium. Whenever the horn starts to glow, it''ll be preparing to use an attack¡­" The more Alice listened, the more she was impressed by the sheer depth of knowledge the old man possessed. The wisdom cultivated by years upon years ofbat experience. From the beast''s habits, hunting priority and even where it likes to strike, the old man knew everything. Time passed and before Alice knew, the sun had already set and the old man finished talking. "That''s everything I know about the beast. It should be rather helpful for your hunt tomorrow." He chuckled. This was the first time anyone had listened for this long. Seeing her focus, he couldn''t help but to continue. After all, who wouldn''t want to teach more after seeing an eager student. "Thank you for this information." Alice stood up and gave him a bow as he dismissed with a wave of his hand. "It''s no matter. Take my words to heart and be careful when you fight it. One moment of weakness and it''ll turn its attention to you even if you have beast repellent. That''s the kind of beast you''re dealing with." The old man smiled while reaching into his pouch. "I''ll keep everything you said today in mind when I fight it tomorrow. Hm?" Blinking her eyes, Alice wondered what the old man wanted to give her as he held out a heavy looking sack. "Take it. It''s filled with the fruit you had earlier. Come back for more if you run out." Heughed with a soft smile. Seeing her eating fruit while listening to him talk reminded him of his daughter before she passed away. Perhaps if she was still alive, he''ll be seeing his grandchildren running around him. s, reality was cruel. Swallowing her saliva, Alice rummaged through her pouch for some coin but the old man rolled his eyes and threw the sack at her. "An old man like me have no use for money. Just take it ande back safe tomorrow." Catching the sack, Alice nodded her head with a smile. "Okay, I''ll definitelye back tomorrow. What''s your name old man?" Alice asked, wanting to know the name of her benefactor. Plus, it''ll be pretty awkward for her to keep calling him old man. "Ragnar. And you, youngdy?" "Alice. See you tomorrow!" Alice waved as she ran downhill while grabbing a fruit to eat. Seeing Alice run away before curfew, Ragnar let out a chuckle while brushing his beard. He didn''t think a recruit would be this sensitive. One step was all it took for her to realise he was there hence why he made the first move. It would be rather awkward if she was the one who found him first. What''s weirder was the state of her body. While they were talking, Ragnar had done a light examination on her. If he was to do a thorough examination, she would''ve noticed. Just from what he saw, her body was aplete mess. A storm of opposing energy constantly colliding and fighting one another. It was a miracle she could walk normally like this. Taking a deep breath, he looked at the city. "Such turbulent winds¡­" He muttered. There had been rats invading his outpost recently. He let them go since it wasn''t his job to make a move but they''re bing more daring. Based on the rate they were gathering information from within the outpost, they''ll be making their move soon. He hoped that the bait he threw out was big enough to catch the big fishes. Shaking his head, he pulled out a fruit and took a bite. He looked forward to what kind of story Alice would give him once she finishes her hunt tomorrow. Since her target was the Dreadhorn Ravager, it should be a rather interesting tale. ### Making her way back to her room, Alice noticed that Selen was preparing to head to bed. "You''re back prettyte." "Ran into an interesting old man. Told me some information on what we''re going to be fighting next and even gave me some fruit." Aliceughed, offering Selen one. Thinking about it for a moment, she nodded and took a bite before immediately spitting it out. "BLERG! What the hell is that???" She questioned as Alice tilted her head. "What do you mean?" "This is bitter as hell. Is that even fruit??" Selen questioned, giving Alice the fruit back as she didn''t want to eat anymore. "Just go to sleep soon. We''re heading out early tomorrow since it''s a long trip." Selen shook her head and turned around in her bed. Looking at the fruit, Alice took a bite and once again, a sweet vour burst into her mouth. ''Weird.'' She shrugged. But if Selen doesn''t want any, it was more for her. Finishing the two fruits, she went to sleep, ready for the hunt tomorrow. Chapter 409: Dreadhorn Ravager The Dreadhorn Ravager was located a little closer to the border than the Mortis Necrothrax. It was sighted to be approaching the outpost hence why Torgeir wanted it to be dealt with before it even gets close. Giving her body a stretch on the carriage, Alice could see that Brynja had stopped ring at her now. Well, rather than stopping it''s more so that she wasn''t paying attention to her at all. ''Bo told them they could do whatever they wanted so long as they don''t antagonize me. Seems like this battle should go more smoothly with them being like this.'' Alice thought to herself while pulling out another fruit. Simr to mead, she found herself being addicted to the sweet nature of the fruit even though Selen has expressed that it was bitter. In her words, it tasted like eating worms. Yet for Alice, it was sweet like candy. The home of the Dreadhorn Ravager was usually that of a tall mountainous cave where it could use its natural abilities to the fullest degree in darkness. However, with its strange movements of approaching the outpost, its home was now a shallow groove beside a cliff. Spotting the beast from afar, Bo hid himself in the trees while observing what the party wanted to do. Now that the beast was in sight, Alice took a deep breath and focused her mind. She had already made slight profiles of each member of the party based on what she saw yesterday. Each person needed a different kind of support with Brynja being the hardest to cover. Einar only needed Alice to disrupt the beast, making it easier for Einar to tank. Bjorn needed her to cover his blind spots. To push him out of the way if danger approaches. But for Brynja, since she was kind of an all rounder, it was difficult to pinpoint a specific way of helping. She had her own shield so Alice didn''t need to cover for her that much and her own reactions are sufficient. She has support skills and methods to cover yet if Alicepletely ignores her, she''ll be by deaths door. In terms of focus priority, it was Einar > Brynja > Bjorn then Selen. Alice was confident in Selen''s capabilities of taking care of herself and would only need to interfere if the attacks get too ridiculous or if she needed help to approach the boss. Hesitating for a moment, Einar conjured his weapon. "Brynja cover my left. Alice¡­ Cover my right. I''ll handle things head on but if it decides to go for a side sweep, I''ll be a little slow. Hinder the attacks for a moment will be enough for me to get into position." Einar exined as Alice blinked her eyes before nodding. Since he was going out of his way to exin his requirements, Alice will make sure she remembers it. With the other members not having anything to add, Einar gestured for them to follow behind him as he approached the hideout. Resting by the groove, the body of the beast could be spotted. Itsrge frame wasrger and more muscr than the Necrothrax they fought yesterday with ayer of thick coarse ck and silver fur. The most striking aspect of its appearance was the demonic horns that protruded from its head. Twisted spires of obsidian that shimmered with a deadly light. ted armouryered itself across the Ravager''s body, covering the shoulder, back, arms, legs and spine leading all the way to the tail. Watching as its body heaved up and down from its breathing, Einar gestured for Bjorn and Selen to begin the fight with a sneak attack. Summoning her staff, Selen mmed it into the ground as she framed the beast between her hands. Her Sigils lit up as a barrier began to manifest, slowing down time. Not only that, but she added moreyers to ensure the first attack was a guaranteed ''critical''. While Selen was setting up the guaranteed critical, Bjorn jumped back a few steps and grabbed his bow. Energy gathered into his hand as he reached towards his head and flicked his arm out. A hooded cape manifested behind him as all of his Sigils lit up. Resonance! The storm of energy gathered around his body as mmed the bottom of his bow into the ground. Upon activating his resonance, his weapon grew to berger than his own body while a quiver appeared beside him. His entire body was covered by a dark purple energy that gathered together to form a sort of fabric. Leaning his body back, he stomped down as arrows jumped out from the quiver and nted themselves into the ground. A swirl of violet strands coalesced above his hand as he formed an arrow and nocked the arrow onto the string. Narrowing his gaze, a spectral arm ovepped his own as it grabbed the string and pulled back as far as the bow would allow. Rather than directly at the beast, he aimed towards the air. Space began to twist and warp while sparks flickered from the arrow. *CRACK!!! Firing the arrow into the air, the ground shattered beneath his feet as the Ravager snapped its eyes open but it was already far toote. With Selen''s barrier in ce, the beast could only slowly rear its head as the bright blue sky turned dark. Ayer of violet covered the sky while Bjorn pointed his index finger at the beast and flicked it down. *BANG!!! A solid pir of light descended upon Selen''s barrier. Widening her eyes, Alice noticed that it wasn''t a solid pir of energy. It was in fact, countless attacksnding repeatedly in the same area. ''But it''s not enough.'' Alice frowned. While it may look impressive, the power it held wascking. And if she knew one thing about beasts, it was that they wouldn''t die from something of this level. As expected, the shadow near the tree began to flicker. "It''s using Shadowmeld! Throw lights towards it, it''ll force the beast out of the shadow!" Alice shouted without hesitation. Hearing this, Bjorn jumped into action. This was the best time for him to make up for his mistakes yesterday. Conjuring an arrow of light, he fired it towards the shadow as Alice had exined. Once the arrow came close to the shadows, a pair of horns could be seen protruding from the ground as the Ravager''s body was being forced out. Its wrath filled eyes red at Bjorn as it lunged out of the shadow, ready to kill! *CLANG!!! mming into the best from the right, Einar narrowed his eyes and threw it back with his greatsword. As it was jumping through the air, Alice had already made a path of footholds for Selen to appear above it. Twisting her body, she shed down with her sword but it managed to block it with its tail. However, this was enough. Fester! All of the wounds across the beast''s body burst apart as blood sshed out. Helping Selen get back to the group, they observed the wounded beast. Compared to yesterday''s disaster, this was a far better start. The beast was wounded and bleeding from all of its wounds. Nodding at Brynja, Einar ran towards the beast and grabbed its aggro. Spinning its body, it tried to m its tail into Einar from the left but Brynja reacted ordingly. She jumped between the tail and Einar and slowed it down with her shield. It was long enough for Einar to jump up and m his greatsword into the beast''s head, forcing it to stumble back from the hit. Shaking its head from the strike, the beast gritted its teeth but two more arrows appeared in front of its eyes. Just as the Ravager wanted to jump away, shards pinned its legs to the ground, dying his movement as he was forced to block the arrows with his horns. But by doing this, it has left itself wide open for Selen. *KRK!!!! Releasing another sh, she dug deep into its body and tore out chunks of flesh. "Don''t let it move!" Einar shouted, mming his shoulder into the beast''s chest while chains erupted from the ground, securing it in ce. *URAH!!!!!!!!! Letting out a scream, the beast red at Selen as everyone felt an invisible force restricting their body, stopping them from moving. Strands of energy flowed from the shadow beneath it as Alice gritted her teeth. Even though she knew it was wanting to heal, she couldn''t do anything about it and could only watch as the shadows melded into its flesh, healing it in the process. Its figure bulged and the muscles threatened to burst out from beneath its skin. A new set of horns exploded out from its forehead while red markings stretched across its body. Berserk Regeneration! Now that it was in this state, ording to the advice left by Ragnar, all they needed to do now was to tough it out. In this aspect, it was now Alice''s job to cover for everyone! Watching all of this happen from the trees, Bo was rather impressed by the coordination so far. Bjorn did his job of supporting from afar and dealingrge chunks of damage where it could. Selen was doing fine as usual. Einar was talking and Brynja wasn''t going out of her way to annoy Alice. All that was left was for them to survive thest onught of attacks. However, there was something that was bothering Bo. The Dreadhorn Ravager they''re seeing here was clearly a juvenile from its suspiciously low defences and reaction. Had it been an adult Ravager, the fight wouldn''t have gone this smoothly. This only begs the question¡­ Where did the adult one go? Chapter 410: Killing The Ravager With the Ravager activating its Berserk Regeneration and immobilizing everyone for a moment, the abilities restraining its movement began to falter. In addition to the weakening of the restrictions, its own power had multiplied and soon¡­ *SHATTER!!! Breaking off the chains and the barrier slowing it down, it lunged towards Einar who was slow in recovering. Just as he was about to get hit, Alice''s shards gathered beneath his feet andunched him backwards, narrowly dodging the strike! Cold sweat ran down Einar''s back as if it wasn''t for Alice, he might have just died then and there! With its first target escaping, the beast focused on the second. The woman who had forced it into using Berserk Regeneration in the first ce. *BANG!!! Jumping from the ground, the Ravager lunged towards Selen who activated eleration on herself and tried to get out of the way. But now that the beast was in a berserk state and without restrictions, it could easily keep up! Twisting its body, the beast swiped towards Selen with its tail. "Damn!" Gritting her teeth, Selen turned her body upside down andunched herself down using Alice''s shards and dodged the tail swipe. However, she wasn''t going to dodge without fighting back. Even though the beast had used Berserk Regeneration which should''ve healed all of its wounds, there were still scars left on its body. Selen wasn''t sure if it was a weak point or not but she released three shes towards the scars. Unfortunately, these shes hit empty air as the beast jumped into its shadow. "BJORN!" Einar shouted while running towards Selen''s direction. "I''m already on it!" Bjorn shouted back, firing a light arrow once more and forcefully dragging the beast out of hiding. A set of tforms appeared in front of Einar, allowing him to run up and m the beast on the side of the head! "!!!" Widening his eyes, Einar was shocked to see the beast not even budge despite him using his full force along with enhancement buffs from Brynja. But he couldn''t let his surprise stop his movement. Taking a deep breath, he let out a loud shout as chains erupted from the ground once more. Seeing these chains, the beast jumped out of the way and grabbed hold of the cliff face, suspending himself above the ground. These strange movements and shields that were blocking its attacks. There was only one source! "Oh sh*t." Alice shivered feeling the beast''s wrathful eyes lock onto her. Jumping down into its shadow, the beast rushed towards Alice while Bjorn fired another light arrow. Forcing the beast out of hiding, they could see it mid lunge with its ws swiping towards Alice. Forcing herself to remain calm, Alice created a shield next to her and tried to divert the strike while rolling out of the way. But the beast was ready. No matter what, he had to kill the girl to stop the annoyances! *CRACK!!! mming its w against the shield, it dug its nails into the barrier and used it as a tform tounch itself towards Alice. Dispelling the shield and forcing the beast to lose its footing, Alice managed to buy herself just enough time for Selen to catch up. Flicking her wrist, she summoned her staff and created a new barrier around the beast. *URAHHH!!! Letting out another roar, the beast threw Selen back as the barrier dispelled before it could fully form. "Over here!" Einar shouted, mming his de into the beast''s heel. Just as a tail was about to m into him, Brynja got in the way and tanked the strike. With Einar and Brynja disrupting the beast, Alice was allowed to escape while Bjorn fired an arrow into the beast''s eye. Fester! Blood gushed out from the wound as Selen increased the severity of the damage while taking a deep breath. Entering an offensive stance, she aimed her de towards the beast and charged. Turning into a blur, cuts appeared across the beast''s body while Alice provided Selen tforms to dash around the air. No matter how the beast thrashed and wed, it was unable to take anyone out. Selen was kept safe in the air by Alice, Einar was covered by Brynja while Bjorn took the opportunity to strike whenever a weak point showed itself. They didn''t have anyrge attacks that could fell the beast in one go but this consistent stream of attacks forced the beast back. It was unable to fight back even with its Berserk state and soon, the patterns around its body began to fade as its form started to shrink. Knowing that its end was near, it let out onest desperate attempt. Focusing all of its power on speed, it became far more aggressive than before! Not caring about the attacks it took so long as it could take out the people trying to hunt it. Jumping into the shadows, it baited Bjorn into firing another light arrow before jumping out and lunging towards him. Chains shot out of the ground, wrapping around the beast''s ankles in an attempt to drag it back while Selen locked it in a barrier of slowed time. Even itsst desperate lung was neutralised as despair filled the beast''s eyes. Once its Berserk state ran out, it mmed against the ground devoid of strength. *BANG!!! Without hesitation, Selen mmed down with her de and severed the head, bringing the fight to an end. As its blood seeped into the snow, the group slumped onto the ground while Bjorn jumped into the trees to keep an eye out for any more threats. Panting heavily while lying down on the snow, Alice swiped the sweat from her brow. Even with her shield, she was beginning to see how vulnerable she truly was. If Einar and Selen didn''t cover for her, she would be a red stter on the ground. ''F*ck it I''m fixing my body tonight or tomorrow.'' Alice thought to herself. She was going to ask Torgeir for a sample of his blood and see if she could forcefully spur the regeneration. Alternatively, there was also the Ravager. Narrowing her eyes, Alice forced herself to stand up as she grabbed several vials from her pouch. Climbing onto the corpse, she harvested the heart blood even though the purity had dropped. Naturally, this didn''t bother her since purity never mattered with her physique. The key was to get the Berserk Regeneration so she could heal her body even if its just for a moment. Storing three vials of Dreadhorn Ravager blood into her pouch, Alice noticed them staring at her weirdly. "What? I don''t wanna waste the blood." Alice shrugged. "But isn''t that¡­ impure? Wouldn''t it be better to get someone to filter some vials back home rather than doing it yourself?" Einar asked as Alice froze up. ''Right¡­'' To others, she was acting abnormal. It''s like seeing someone drink pure poison because it had a 1% benefit to the body while the rest killed you. Even if the purity decreases, by having specialists filter the blood, they could reduce the impact of the side effects. Scratching her hair, Alice coughed. "I''m grabbing the heart blood. If I don''t seal it now, it''ll lose purity. I''ll have someone bottle it up properly when we get back." She exined as the others nodded their head, epting this reason. If one wanted to get the most out of the heart blood, it was best to seal it early since the purity would drop faster the longer it''s exposed to the air. "What do we do about the corpse?" Selen asked as it was a bit of a waste to leave it out here. Not only was the blood precious but the materials on its body could be used in weapons. Especially the te and the fangs. "We''re dragging it with us on the back of the carriage. It''ll take a little longer to get back but the money you''ll get is worth is." Bo smiled,nding near the group. Looking at the state of the group, he nodded his head in satisfaction. "See? That wasn''t a hard fight now was it? If only you did this on the first day then we wouldn''t have needed to talkst night. But good job, I''m satisfied with everything you showed today. When we get back, drinks and food will be on me as a reward." Bo grinned as Einar pumped his fist into the air despite his exhaustion. "I''ll make you regret saying that captain." Heughed while Brynja followed suit. Once they had a rest, they tied the corpse to the back of their carriage and made their way back. During this, Alice noticed that Bo was constantly keeping an eye on the surroundings while also examining the wounds on the beast. "Something bothering you?" Alice asked curiously as he nodded his head. "Two things though it''s probably just me overthinking." Bo shrugged as he leaned back. Tilting her head, Alice wondered what was bothering him when Selen spoke up. "It''s the wounds right? It''s got wounds that was dealt a while ago and wasn''t healed by Berserk Regeneration." Selen spoke up as Bo nodded his head. "It had a fight before fighting you. That''s probably why it was approaching the outpost from the border. However, what''s bothering me the most is the fact that it''s still a juvenile. Regardless, it''s not something that you should be worrying about. I''ll report it to Torgeir when we get back and he''ll make the arrangements." Bo reassured with a smile. Yet despite these words, the bad feeling in his heart continued to grow without stop and soon, they returned to the outpost. Chapter 411: Missing Beasts Upon arriving at the outpost, Alice furrowed her brows as she noticed the same situation in the outpost. The ones who hunted the beasts were happy while the captains were concerned. All of the beasts they hunted already had old wounds across their body. Not only that, but all of them were juvenile beasts. "Just tell the tavern keeper to bill everything to my name. I''ll sort it outter." Bo reminded as he jogged towards the main building with the other captains. Seeing them whisper to one another, Alice read their lips and noticed that all of them were talking about the beasts. Themon factor for all of this was the fact that every single beast that came from the frontline had old wounds andcked an adult watching over them. Had it been just one or two, Bo and the others would''ve dismissed it as it wasn''t umon for beasts to lose their parents. Especially near locations where humans frequent. But all of them at the same time? Not only that but they''re also moving towards the outpost? That''s too much of a coincidence. Narrowing her eyes, Alice figured that she probably wouldn''t be able to talk to Torgeir anytime soon since he''d be busy dealing with the new information. "What''s your n with that blood?" Selen whispered over. She knew of Alice''s unique body condition and drinking the blood directly wouldn''t cause her any issues. But with her body barely being able to regenerate, forcing it with a new source of blood might be dangerous. "Depends. But if I have no other alternative, I''ll probably give one vial a test and keep the others as an emergency if it goes well. I need my own trump card after all, can''t go around wrecking sh*t if all I can do is make a shield or two." Alice chuckled while taking out a fruit from her pouch. After visiting the tavern, she wanted to go find old man Ragnar and thank him for his information. Without it, the fight would''ve gone far differently with the beast running away at every possible moment and them not knowing how to deal with that. "Well, the sooner you recover the better it is for me." Selen shrugged as Alice was stubborn. Once she set her eyes on something, it was hard to stop her from doing it. Going their separate ways, Alice skipped to the tavern while buying herself 10 jugs of mead. Spotting Egil sitting by the same table again, Alice jogged over while the staff brought over her mead. Before he could even greet her, Egil froze up at the sight of the mead. Eyes turned towards them but Alice ignored it and rubbed her hands with eagerness. "Seems like you had a pretty good hunt today." Egil remarked as Alice nodded her head with a grin. "Yep, went pretty damn good. Bo had a talk with everyone and people got their sh*t together. Though the beast was a bit weird we still killed it in the end. What about you? I''m hoping they stopped firing random crap at your back now." Alice asked while drinking a jug of mead in one go, shocking the staff. There was only one thought on the staff''s mind. ''How does that tiny body hold all of this mead???'' Regardless, it was not her problem so long as Alice paid for the mead. "They''re a little more careful now but it can''t be helped if a stray attacknds on me because of how I fight. But overall, it''s definitely an improvement." Egil smiled. Chatting away while more and more people arrived at the tavern, Alice enjoyed the rxing conversation after a hunt. It was far more enjoyable to talk to Egil about the hunt than it was with her current teammates except Selen. After all, at least she could talk to him! Outside of the hunt, neither Einar nor Brynja cared to make small talk with her and that was fine so long as they did their job during a hunt. After around an hour and a half, Egil went to resume his training while Alice made her way towards the house with old man Ragnar. In her hands, she held a jug of mead while swaying from side to side. Thinking about how much mead she drank and how much Bo had to pay, Alice began to giggle to herself. She was holding back a little these days since she didn''t have much gold. But since Bo was paying the bill, she didn''t need to tap into her limited supply nor did she need to hold back. The only thing that could''ve made today better was if Ria and Luke were here but the two of them were still in the Abyss. Thinking about her dear friends, Alice couldn''t help but let out a sigh as she missed them a lot. She missed the parties they had, the joy when she forced Luke to drink, the arguments and most importantly, theirpany. "I wonder how they''re doing¡­" Alice couldn''t help but mutter. ''I''m sure they''re doing fine. Kaden probably left some instructions for them.'' Alyss reassured as Alice nodded her head. Knowing them, they''re probably working towards their next target. ''Do you think Kaden would''ve told them to take out branches of the Abyss?'' Alice asked curiously while Alyss folded her arms. Knowing Kaden, that was very likely. ''Either way, I''m sure they''re having a better time than us.'' ''True.'' Alice nodded in agreement. ### "F*CK! F*CK! F*CK! F*CK!" Luke shouted while running as fast as he could. He didn''t even dare to turn around while Ria''s body was thrown past him, causing him to pale. "Yo~ Where do you think you''re running off to." Rosalyn''s voice rang out with a devilish grin. A strand of blood grabbed onto Luke''s ankle and threw him into the air. Since Rosalyn worked with blood, her ability to keep people alive was far stronger than Kaden. With that in mind, her training was more torturepared to actual training! *RUMBLE!!! Lightning crashed down from the sky as Rosalyn blocked it with her hand. Smirking towards Ria, she taunted her with her finger. Just as Ria was about to attack again, a droplet of blood appeared in front of her as Rosalyn''s fist mmed into her face. *BANG!!! CRASH!!! mming into the ground before being kicked away, Ria twitched in the rubble of the wall. "Weak! Too weak! If you attack the branch now the cardinal will kill you with a snap of their finger! Is that how you want to face things?!" Rosalyn shouted and mmed her heel down as blood droplets surged around her. "Promotion! DIE!!!" Luke shouted as his chess piece changed into a bishop and took on Alice''s appearance. Void Flux!!! Energy converged around Alice''s fingertip but Rosalyn was a step faster. Blood spears pierced through the void, stabbing into the bishop''s chest before exploding and shattering it into pieces. "Do you think I''ll just let you fire Allura''s attack off like that?! Dream on lover boy!" Rosalyn cackled. All of her frustrations from being thrown around by Kaden were relieved at this moment while she ''trained'' these two seedlings. "Damn loli hag!" Luke grumbled as she didn''t pull back any of her punches. With each punch, his ribs would fracture and break but her ability kept them alive. "Hah? Did I hear you correctly just now?" Rosalyn''s voice rang out behind Luke as he felt a chill down his spine. Grabbing Luke by the back of the neck, she lifted him into the air and twisted her body. *CRACK!!! mming heels into his back, she heard a pretty nasty crack while helping him heal wounds. Watching his body ragdoll across the ground before falling limp, Rosalyn dusted her hand while puffing up her modest chest. Before she could say anything, she felt her hair stand on its end as she immediately turned to Ria who fired off a full powered lightning strike. *BANG!!!! Crashing down from above, a torrent of destructive energy rained down from above. "Is that all?" Rosalyn''s voice rang out. Punching down, the ground fractured and broke Ria''s stance. In that brief moment, Rosalyn grabbed Ria by the face and threw her into the air. Blood converged towards Ria as Rosalyn clenched her fist. Blood Explosion! *BANG!!!! Looking at the bloody fireworks, Rosalyn let out a youthful cheer as Ria mmed into the ground next to Luke. Both werepletely knocked out as Rosalyn flipped her hair with a smile on her face. "Fufu~ You know got a long way to go if you want to take out the branches of the Eclipse. You''ll have to be close to how strong I was before I ascended to the status of a Lord. Otherwise, you''ll be eliminated by the Cardinals that appear." Rosalyn chuckled as Ria''s body twitched. "Urg¡­ Un..der..stood." She squeezed out, feeling sore all over her body. Even though Rosalyn healed them, it didn''t reduce the pain at all. At this point, Ria was confident that she had seen the pearly gates of heaven multiple times already before strands of blood would drag her back into the living. "Good. I''ll give you two an hour of rest before we resume." Rosalyn pped her hands as Luke pulled out two sets of nkets and pillows. Catching a set, Ria didn''t hesitate to fall asleep as Rosalyn trained them even through the night! They had to get sleep whenever they could get it! It was truly a hellish experience. Even if it''s to get stronger, she was beginning to reach her limit! ''Grandpa!!! I wanna go home!!!'' Ria shed a silent tear as she drifted off to sleep. Chapter 412: Ominous Movements Skipping up the hill, Alice nced around looking for Ragnar but the old man was nowhere to be found. Furrowing her brows, she took another drink of her mead and closed her eyes. After a moment, her lips curled up into a grin as she grabbed a jug from her pouch and handed it behind her. "Wanna drink~?" She asked, clearly drunk. Ragnar smiled wearily and let out augh. "You''re in quite a good mood." Ragnar chuckled, epting the jug and sat down on his seat. Blinking her eyes, Alice was confused when the chairs appeared but didn''t question it and slumped down in one. "Yep~ Capt''n said we could buy whatever and it''ll be on him tonight~ Hehe~ So I bought all the mead I wanted. It was thisssss much." Alice giggled while spreading out her arms. "I see, I feel sorry for your captain now." Ragnar shook his head as the stench of alcohol was extremely pungent on Alice. For it to get to this stage, there was no doubt that she drank an absurd amount. "It''ll be fineee~ he said it was on him tonight so he should''ve thought about this hehe~" Alice waved her hand while taking another drink. Rummaging around in her pouch, she pulled out a fruit and started to eat. "Do you have enough fruit? If you don''t, I have plenty to spare." Hearing this, Alice''s eyes sparkled with excitement as she nodded her head frantically. "Yesh please!" She didn''t hesitate, causing Raganr tough and nod his head. Pulling out anotherrge bag of fruit for her, his gaze softened watching Alice grab one out and immediately started to takerge bites out of it. The fruit was by no means small either. Compared to Alice''s small stature, by Hunter standards, the fruit was practically half of her head in size. What''s more surprising was that she loved the taste. The fruit he gave her was known as the Dreamshade Fruit. A fruit that helped with healing wounds and speeding up recovery. However, the taste was absolutely trash. Garbage even for most people. The only beings that actually enjoy this fruit were Abyss Beasts or humans that have reached the realm of Lord! Only when your affinity for the Abyss reached a certain point would this fruit turn sweet for you. He had already made sure that she was no beast the moment she ate this fruit yet she wasn''t a Lord either. Heck even if she was a beast, she wouldn''t have this kind of reaction as most beasts would just think this was a tasteless treat. ''Her affinity for the Abyss is out of this world.'' Ragnar thought to himself while watching Alice eat the fruit with a bright smile on her face. "So how did the hunt go today? I think there should''ve been more improvements right?" He asked curiously as Alice tried to swallow the fruit in one go but struggled to. Hitting her chest with her hand while using mead to wash it down, Alice coughed violently before giving a goofy smile and nodding her head. Recounting the events of the fight, Ragnar listened silently without interrupting her. "Seems like you fought a juvenile Dreadhorn today." Hearing this, Alice blinked her eyes in surprise. "Eh? Old gramps how did you know?" "If it was an adult, it wouldn''t have been this docile. An adult Dreadhorn would''ve noticed you before you could even see it since it would''ve set up a parameter with its shadows. It would not let you get a surprise attack when it was at its most vulnerable." Ragnar smiled while brushing his beard. "I see¡­ But yeah, it was a juvenile. Bo said it was weird since a lot of the other beasts the other groups brought back were also juveniles. No adults got caught and they all had old wounds too." Alice shrugged while grabbing another fruit to enjoy. Leaning back in his chair, Ragnar contemted in silence while Alice happily ate her fruit and hummed to herself. Shaking his head, Ragnar decided to ignore it for now and turned back to Alice. He nced at the bandages covering her body and saw that there were no bloodstains today meaning the fruit had taken some effect. Yet her body was still aplete mess despite eating so many. "What did you do to get this injured?" Ragnar asked curiously. "I got thrown through the Void and ended up here." Alice replied truthfully as Ragnar''s smile faltered. "You got thrown through the Void and all you got were these wounds? Youngdy, you do not know how lucky you are." He remarked, feeling surprised by her survival since she didn''t seem like the kind to joke about these things. If she truly got thrown through the Void and then expelled, she should be dead right now! She wouldn''t even have tanked the damage enough for wounds to appear yet here she was, eating her fruit happily. Meaning these weren''t the damages caused by the Void. If it was, it would''ve looked far more different and violent. Judging by the wounds, her energy and the state of her body overall, Ragnar concluded that this was probably self-inflicted to some degree. Whether it was through a Ritual or by consuming extremely potent berserk blood, it was clear that this was an issue with Alice''s body itself rather than an outside source. Something must''ve gone wrong inside. "So how do you n on healing it? Or are you going to keep fighting like this?" Rummaging through her pouch, Alice held out the newly acquired Ravager blood. "I wanna say the Berserk Regeneration of the Ravager should be good enough to heal me. My friend tried using healing blood but it didn''t really work. The healing immediately stopped once it got past a certain point." "I don''t suggest that. The Berserk Regeneration the Ravager useses with a steep cost. If a human were to activate it, it''ll permanently decrease your defences and even take a portion of your lifespan. That and I don''t believe this would be a good solution for your situation. It''ll just fade away after a little while and your body goes back to what it is now." Ragnar shook his head as he didn''t want to see a talented youngdy ruin her body further just for a moment of healing. "Is it that bad?" Alice tilted her head. The side effects didn''t bother her but she couldn''t say that in front of him. Not only that, but she was unsure how the second half of the side effects would influence her. "Just keep eating that fruit and your wounds should close up in due time. Though the issue may be somewhere else entirely." Ragnar shook his head, confusing Alice. But there were two things she learned from his response. First, he believes that drinking the blood would indeed ''fix'' her body but the cost was permanent damage and lifespan. Second was that the fruit was enough to fix her. Alice wasn''t sure why he was so confident in this but she had to admit that her body felt a little better than yesterday. If this was yesterday, one movement would''ve been all it took to reopen her wounds and copse on the floor, slowly bleeding out. But that wasn''t the case. Her body healed enough that she could make the same movements bute out rtively unscathed. Thinking about it for a moment, Alice decided to keep the blood for now. If the fruit continued to heal her body over the course of a few days then she saw no reason to charge in blindly. This was also going to be her test for the fruit. Talking for a little longer, Ragnar asked what kind of beast she was going to hunt tomorrow but Alice was unsure. All Bo said was for them to enjoy the night while he asked Torgeir about what was happening. Nothing on their next target so Alice couldn''t even ask for more information from Ragnar. Talking to Ragnar for a little longer, Alice figured it was time to head back and thanked him for the fruit. After which she stumbled away with uneven steps since she was still drunk. ### Sitting in his office, Torgeir could be seen with pure exhaustion in his eyes. Towers upon towers of documents were ced around him as he looked at the current report. Since the teams have returned, he has been doing nothing but going through the reports and trying to figure out what exactly has been going on. When were the beasts sighted? What was their travel path? How long did it take them to get to where they were eventually killed? Pinning everything on a map using strings and needles, Torgeir could see that most of the beasts targeted the outpost. It wasn''t that they were just running from the frontline no. Some of them made drastic curves to their path towards Kvia. Leaning back, he let out a deep sigh and massaged his eyelids. He wasn''t sure if they were attracted to something within this outpost or if it was due to someone else''s interference. If it was interference, he''ll need to reinforce the defences of the outpost. ''I''ll reduce the number of teams going out for Hunts and rotate them around. Half of the teams must be on defence at all times.'' He concluded. The frontlines still need their reinforcements so he couldn''t stop the training of the new recruits but they also need to increase their defences. Overall, it was a headache situation for Torgeir. ''Maybe I should think about retiring soon.'' Letting out a yawn, Torgeir stretched his body and continued to ve away at his desk while everyone had gone to sleep. Chapter 413: Valkoria Bay "Urg¡­" Letting out a soft groan, Alice felt as though Allura was letting out a barrage of punches against her cranium. Blinking her eyes, she noticed Selen nced down at her from above. She was currently sleeping by their door. "Did you pass out the moment you stepped through the door?" Selen asked with a frown. "Hng¡­ Perhaps¡­" Alice whimpered, wanting to throw up. "How much did you even drink???" "A lot¡­" Flipping her body around, Alice crawled onto her feet as she stunk of alcohol. Grabbing some water, she began to gulp it down while Selen could only shake her head helplessly. "Will you even be alright for today? You''re aplete mess." "I''ll manage¡­ HNG!!!" Grabbing a bowl by the side, Alice began to throw up as Selen covered her eyes while letting out an exasperated sigh. How much did Alice drink to make her throw up!? Helping Alice after she threw up, the two made their way to the training grounds. The moment they stepped into the vicinity, they felt a chill down their spine as a pair of eyes snapped towards their direction. Seeing the source of the re was Bo, Alice coughed awkwardly before turning around. "Maybe I''m not alright. Maybe I need an extra long break to get rid of the hangover." Alice forced a smile while trying to escape. However, Bo was a step ahead of her. Literally. *BANG!!! Dashing from the other side of the training ground, he ced his hand on Alice''s shoulder. Veins bulged across his body as he looked like he was about to explode at any moment. Taking the hint, Selen took a step back. "Ahaha~ Captain, seems like you''re pretty energetic today." "It does seem that way, doesn''t it? Say, you won''t mind telling me how much you drank yesterday right? I''m sure a sensible person like you didn''t drink that much." Bo narrowed his eyes. "Erm¡­ teehee?" Alice stuck out her tongue. *PUCHI!!!! Holding back the urge to smack Alice on the head, Bo took several deep breaths to calm his anger. "First of all, please tell me how a person can drink enough mead that the tavern charges me a WHOLE MONTH''S WORTH OF WAGES!!!" Bo shouted, unable to hold back when he thought about the bill he received this morning. To see all of that hard earned money disappear into her stomach was a stab to his heart! In the end, Alice was punished by kneeling on the ground while wearing a sign saying: [I''m an alcoholic and I drank a month''s worth of a captain''s wages in one night.] Naturally, with such a sign around her neck, eyes were turned towards her. They wondered if it was true or not but the moment they saw Bo''s expression, they understood it was indeed true. Which then only begs the question. HOW?!?!?! Blushing from embarrassment, Alice tried her best to ignore the stares but they were getting too much. Waiting for the rest of the team to arrive, they noticed Alice''s¡­ strange predicament and couldn''t help but chuckle. Once Bo made sure everyone had arrived, he cleared his throat and gestured for people to take a seat on a bench while Alice remained on the floor repenting for her sins. "New orders havee in. Half of the groups will be remaining at the outpost to keep it safe since the beast''s movements are weird. The other half will be making their way towards the frontline to act as reinforcement. Guess which group we''re in." Bo smiled. "Are we the reinforcements?" Brynja asked curiously as Bo nodded his head. "Yep. It''s a little earlier than I would like but honestly, your performance is within the upper half of the groups. We''ll be going as reinforcement for the frontline to help retake a strategic stronghold. That way, more supply lines should open up for us and reduce the burden of Kvia. "Valkoria Bay, a port stronghold, unlike Kvia which is next to ake. If we can retake the port, we''ll be able to directly ship supplies from the capital and push back the dogs of Extalia. So far, it''s being secured by a Grandmaster ranked Warrior of Extalia which is why we''ll be working with other groups. "All of you lot will be responsible for keeping the small fries from interfering or if they have any nasty rituals being cast. All of the captains will be responsible for taking out the Grandmaster." Bo exined as he pulled out a map and showed them where the port was. Kvia was to the far south of the Northern Territory while the port was to the southwest. In terms of distance, it wasn''t something that could be covered in a day meaning the outpost will lose half of its power for an extended period. "We''ll be going with standard formation. Get some proper weapons from the armoury that fit your fighting style. Yes, that includes you Alice. When we get close to the port, there will be amanding officering to collect you since he''ll be responsible for everyone that''s not fighting the Grandmaster." Letting them know when they''ll be gathering by the gates, Bo allowed them to get their weapons. Making her way to the armoury with Selen, Alice could see several groups looking nervous as this would be the first time they were properly standing on a battlefield. If they weren''t careful, they could die before they even saw what hit them. A blink and their life extinguished. However, this didn''t really bother Alice since she''s been in situations far worse. Honestly, she would prefer to be on a battlefield like this than to fight against Lords and Gods as she has done before. One wrong step and her journey would''ve ended prematurely in the depths of the Inverted World. Shaking her head, she ignored these nervous warriors and made her way to the section that dealt with bows. Alice wanted to look for a crossbow rather than a ded weapon or a standard bow. With her current physique, if she wanted to defend herself, a crossbow was the best option. On top of the crossbow, she also wanted to grab some poisons for the bolts and a poison-coated dagger. That was the only way for Alice to be able to kill those stronger than her at this moment without being a burden. ''Isn''t our blood just the most potent poison right now anyway? One drop and their side effects go haywire. Though I''m not sure how effective it is with your body in this state.'' Alyss asked as Alice scratched her chin. ''We can probably test it on the battlefield then. But if we are going with this method, we should kill them in one go. Even if they''re enemies, I''d rather not them suffer while being turned into mutated beasts.'' Alice sighed as it was a method that Allura hated. Nodding her head in agreement, Alyss watched as Alice browsed the different assortments of crossbows. In the end, she chose a standard looking metal crossbow that was light in weight. It could hold two bolts at the same time and she could choose to fire it separately or at the same time. Naturally, Alice received some weird looks since a crossbow wasn''t something that was picked often. After all, a warrior could bring out more power through a ded weapon or more range through a bow. While the crossbow was in the middle, not especially good at anything. Ignoring these nces, Alice grabbed the weapon and strapped it to her waist while grabbing some bolts. She took a detour to see if she could buy any poisons but the supplies in the outpost consisted mostly of healing vials, berserk vials and buffing vials. With no other choice, she waited till no one was looking at her and made three vials of her own blood. With three vials of Dreadhorn Ravager and three vials of her own blood, Alice was as ready as can be for this battle. Reconvening with the rest of the group, Alice noticed that Selen had chosen a spear of all weapons. Thinking back to what she did to the poor Necrothrax, Alice couldn''t help but shiver and clench her butt instinctively. Bjorn chose a short bow to keep by his side. Einar picked some armour options and Brynja chose a new shield. With all of their equipment now checked, Bo nodded his head and brought them to the gate where all of the other teams could be spotted as well. Alice even spotted Egil, which wasn''t hard considering his stature, amongst the crowd of Warriors ready to depart the city. Once everyone arrived, they did a final head out and began their journey to the port city. ### Watching therge group of warriors leave Kvia, the silver haired man narrowed his gaze. Based on the direction they were going, there were three potential targets. Snapping his fingers, a scoutnded next to him. "Notify Valkoria, Ravenfjord and Stormhaven to tighten up their defences for a bit. It''s very likely that Kvia is sending strong captains over to retake thend to reinforce the frontlines. Also let the others know to get ready. Once you notify the three strongholds, we''ll set out sights on Kvia and begin the n." He curled his lips into a menacing grin as the scout nodded his head and disappeared. The best way cut off the supply line is not to take over Kvia. No, the best way to cut off the supply line was to make itpletely uninhabitable through a Abyss Break. To lure a constant stampede of beasts to the surface. Once that happens, Verona would be pushed back. They either choose to focus more manpower on Kvia and force the frontline to retreat or they focus on the frontline and doom Kvia. The choice was now theirs. Chapter 414: Path To Valkoria The journey was rather uneventful. Several hours had passed and nothing happened. Eating her fruit, Aliceid downzily in the carriage while snow began to fall. During this time, she focused on getting used to the new weapons that she grabbed from the armoury. The weight of the knife, the recoil of the crossbow and so on. "Are we there yet~?" Alice asked, ying around with the dagger between her fingers. "We''re not going to be there for another day or so. Stop asking." Selen sighed in annoyance as Alice had been asking this question for a while now. Kicking her legs in the air out of boredom, Alice nced at the other party members and saw that they had spent this time sleeping. Since she got plenty of rest due to her hangover, Alice didn''t feel fatigued at all. In fact, she was eager to get into a fight or at least something that gets the adrenaline pumping. However, nothing happened on their journey. Setting up camp for the first night, Alice practised throwing her daggers against a tree. She grabbed four daggers in total. Two of the daggers had wire attached to them while the other two were solely used for throwing. Flicking her wrist, two daggers thunked against the trunk while Alice followed up with another flick, sending the second wave of daggers. Even though she was practising this, Alice knew that she wouldn''t be using this method when fighting. With her current strength, her daggers would just bounce off the body of her target. This was more of a final desperate gamble when her target ran out of defensive options. Her main weapon was still going to be the crossbow. Grabbing the crossbow from her waist, she fired two rapid bolts before reloading. For the time it took to reload the weapon, Alice was rather pleased with the damage it could do. ''It''s not enough to kill a beast with four Sigils but it should be suitable for most foot soldiers. At least with this, I won''t bepletely useless if someone tries to target me.'' Alice thought inwardly. ''That''s only if most of the soldiers are three Sigils or less. We''ll need to run if they''re four Sigils.'' Alyss spoke up. People with one to three Sigils are still rtively ''weak'' in terms of physical defences. For them, it should be doable. ''Mnm. Want toe out and stretch your limbs a bit? The others are pretty distracted with setting up camp so this should be a good chance.'' Alice asked since they haven''t been able to switch that often recently. They were keeping the switch to a minimum since if Alyss stayed out for too long, the body would begin to deteriorate again. ''Sure.'' Closing her eyes, Alice rxed her body as chains began to manifest around her limbs. Opening her eyes, Alyss clenched her fist a few times before twisting her body. *BANG!!! mming her heel into the tree with a roundhouse kick, Alyss frowned after seeing a small indentation. Even though their body was in this state, Alyss could exert more power than Alice. The trade-off was that she couldn''t sense energy at all. Grabbing a fruit from the pouch, Alyss jumped up to the tree branch and took a bite. Surprised by its taste, she could see why Alice would be addicted to it but as for her, she preferred to eat something spicy then sweet. Not wanting to waste the fruit, she finished it quickly and enjoyed the night breeze. ### "AMBUSH!!! AMBUSH!!!" Woken up by the sudden scream, Alice''s eyes snapped open and jumped down from the tree branch. She could see a cloud of smoke billowing in the distance. "Sh*t! What the hell?!?!" Alice widened her eyes as she ran towards the camp. Looking up, swarms upon swarms of flying beasts would swoop down and fire off their abilities while a single draconic like beast seemed to bemanding the weaker beasts. It had a pair of multi-coloured wings that shimmered with a plethora of vibrant colours. Violet,vender, orange, sky blue and so on. A kaleidoscope of patterns and movements almost feeling as though it was trying to hypnotise the opponent. Large jagged scales covered its body while blue and green me would burst out from the gaps. A crown of horns and a trail of fire burning down its neck and spine. Even without Ca, Alice could instinctively sense that this beast was six stars! The sheer power it was radiating despite being this far away sent a chill down her spine. ''It''s probably on the verge of bing a Lord.'' Alice frowned. There was a distinct¡­ strand of energy coiling around the beast. It hasn''t quite formed properly yet but it was something she had sensed in all of the Lords she had directly faced. Especially those who liked to show off their power. A direct connection to the Abyss. *BANG!!! A winged beast lunged out from the trees, interrupting Alice''s thought process. Twisting her body, she dodged the initial lunge and grabbed it by the base of its wing. Stabbing a dagger into the flesh, she pried the wing from the socket before raising her foot and jammed her heel against the beast''s head. *CRACK!!! Twisting her foot to break its jaw, Alice grabbed her crossbow and fired two shots towards its brain. Once she was sure the beast was dead, Alice recovered the bolts and nced towards the camp. She could see several captains fighting off the stronger beasts in the sky. Bo jumped from beast to beast, tearing them to shreds as though the sky was his domain. Arriving at the camp, Alice paused in shock seeing all of their supplies being set on fire by the beasts while Warriors scrambled to put it out. "Alice! Duck!" Selen''s voice rang out. Immediately throwing herself to the ground without hesitation, Alice watched as Selen rushed past her from above and mmed her foot into the stomach of a camouged beast that was about to strike. Releasing a follow up kick to the jaw, Selen sent the beast into the sky before conjuring a staff. mming the staff into the ground, the beast''s body was suspended in the air. *BANG!!! Bjorn''s arrow pierced into the beast, exploding it from the inside out as blood, guts and bones rained down from above. "What the hell is going on?" Alice asked, wanting to get a grasp on the situation. "Camouged beasts invaded the camp and burned our supplies. The big one in the sky seems to bemanding them all and it''s just watching right now. The Captain has instructed us to reduce their numbers and to leave the big one to them." Selen exined while marking more beasts with her barrier for Bjorn to hit. On cue, arrows rained down from the sky, killing the beasts in one go. Looking up at the multi-coloured beast in the sky, doubt filled Alice''s mind. She knew roughly how strong Bo was due to the duel she had with Egil. Based on her gut instincts, he won''t be able to kill that beast! At that moment, the colours of the beast began to shift until it was mostly dominated by a neon yellow. The mes across its body disappeared while crackles of lightning sparked across its scale. Widening her eyes, Alice scanned her surroundings and found all the members of their party. Throwing her shard into the sky, she split it into several fragments and expanded a shield above everyone. *RUMBLE!!! BANG!!!! A storm of lightning crashed down from the sky striking each and every warrior! Those who were weaker and were unprepared were reduced to ashes in an instant while those who noticed something wrong prepared their own defences. Thanks to her shield, most of the lightning was absorbed but without energy, it couldn''t hold itself together. However, her fast reaction bought Brynja enough time as she ran towards the centre and mmed her shield into the ground. Resonance! "FORTIFICATION!!!" Brynja shouted as her body began to shift. White and gold armour manifested around her body as her shield grew in size. A spectral dome pulsed out from Brynja as she gritted her teeth. The dome expanded until it covered the entire camp, saving those who were about to reach their limit. *RUMBLE!!! BANG!!! Lightning assaulted this barrier but it refused to budge. Copsing onto one knee, Brynja''s armour started to chip away with each consecutive strike of lightning. "Good job!!!" Bo roared, turning into a blur that rushed towards the draconic beast. shes of energy rushed out as Bo was being assisted by the other captains, allowing him to bridge the gap between himself and the beast. With Boing this close, it was unable to maintain the lightning strikes and the colour of its body returned to normal. Swinging its tail towards Bo, it wanted to knock him to the ground but Bo''s form flickered and turned into an illusion. Seeing this, the beast narrowed its eyes as it snapped its head to the right and cracked open its jaw. The mes on its back erupted with energy and coalesced in front of its mouth. *BANG!!!! Before the fire breath could hit Bo, one of the captains appeared in front of Bo with a shield. An illusionary avatar far bigger than his own body covered him and Bo while deflecting the attack. Not letting this chance go to waste, the muscles on Bo''s arm bulged as he twisted his body and released two shes at the beast. Dark red energy gathered on the axe des and shot out while the colour across the beast''s body turned silver. *KSH!!!! Deflecting the shes with its physical body, the beast reared its head back and let out an ear shattering roar! Sending out amand, the colour on the beast shifted to a dark violet as the space around it started to tremble before cracking apart. The same phenomenon appeared next to the other beasts who were still alive, giving them a path of escape. Retreating into the Void, the beast gave Bo a taunting nce. Chapter 415: Identity Of The Strange Beast Seeing the beast disappear along with the other beasts, Bo gritted his teeth. "F*CK!!!" He let out a furious shout as hisst attack waspletely ignored. Not only that, but the beast had also taunted him!? Veins bulged on Bo''s neck as he jumped down with the other captain who had helped him block thatst attack. If they had more captains with them, they might''ve been able to kill the beast. But most of the captains were busy protecting the weaker Warriors. A lot of the captains also stayed behind at the outpost so there were more groups than captains on this expedition. Scratching his hair, Bo saw that his group was heavily injured but no one died. Thatst lightning strike had taken out quite a few warriors, trimming down their numbers. No one saw iting. Even if they had people on watch, how could they predict the beast would just open a pathway from the Void and ambush them? It was clear that their target was the supplies all along. With the attack on their supplies, a lot of it had been burned to a crisp. Food, clothing, Abyss Blood and medical supplies have all been reduced by almost half. "Tend to the wounded! Salvage what you can!" One of the captains shouted, reorganising everyone and reducing panic. "How many did we lose?" Bo asked with a frown. "Too many. 15 died at the initial ambush. 30 from the lightning attack." The captain replied with a frown. When they set off, they had 100 Warriors ready to take back the port. With this single ambush, they almost lost half of their numbers. "F*ck¡­" Bo frowned. "Should we go back?" Another captain asked but the first captain shook his head. "We can still do it with these numbers. Frankly, as bad as this sounds, it does resolve our issue of missing supplies. It just means we''ll need to do a little more before facing the Grandmaster." Out of the 55 that were left, they had 7 captains. 4 of which were Advanced Masters with 5 Sigils and 3 were also Grandmasters with 6 Sigils. With this lineup, taking care of the Grandmaster looking after the port should be easy. The difficulty was interference from the rest of the people stationed there. "Even if we call for reinforcements now, it''ll take too long to arrive. We''ll switch up our attack n instead. Since they ambushed us, we''ll return the favour in kind. "We''ll attack at night. Make some adjustments to the squads, have our stealthiest Warriors form a group with the Captains. The rest will attack the gates if we are discovered. The best case scenario is that the stealth unit can take out the guards so we don''t notify the Grandmaster of our presence." The first captain strategized while Bo frowned. "And if the beast from earlier was to return? What then?" Bo asked. "The priority is to take back the port. As long as we seed in killing the Grandmaster, we''ll be able to get reinforcements from the capital. A few casualties are a small price to pay." The first captain shook his head. Clenching his fist, Bo took a deep breath. "What if we form another unit with the people we have left? A unit specifically for slowing down the beast if it was to appear." Bo asked as the captain raised his eyebrow. "You have candidates in mind?" "Two people that I think are perfect for stalling. We can add more to the unit to increase the odds and give them a healer too." Bo nodded his head. "Egil and Selen. Egil has the best defence out of everyone if we''re purely talking about physical reinforcement. If we stack some buffs on him, he''ll be able to keep the beast distracted. Selen has a unique ability of being able to slow time down in a specific zone covered by her barriers. If these two work together with some help, keeping that beast distracted won''t be hard." He exined. He hated the fact that he had to rely on Egil of all people, even if he did acknowledge the fact that he was strong. But if the trade-off was to lose more Warriors, he could only count on Egil to keep them safe. "Alright. Bo, form a stalling unit for the beast. Vilken, get those that pass your test for being stealthy. Everyone outside of these two units will be doing the same as before." He ordered as Bo nodded his head. "Before I do that, can someone tell me what the hell that beast was?" Bo asked as the beast felt like it could do everything It had multiple elements and could even shrug off attacks with ease. Usually, beasts would have extremely high defence and low attack or high attack and low defence. But this? It had both high attack and high defence. "Frida might have a clue but I doubt it." Nodding his head, Bo made his way towards Frida. She was the captain who was most focused on saving the supplies. If it wasn''t for her keeping the beasts away and putting out a lot of the fires, they would''ve lost far more supplies. She had long brown hair tied into several braids, a pair of orange eyes and markings across her face. "Frida." Bo called out as she nced over. "Has Olvir given his order? Are we retreating or are we continuing?" Frida asked, throwing some burnt supplies to the side. "We''re continuing." Bo sighed. "Sh*t. New ns or same crap?" "New ns. Out of the 55 warriors left, excluding captains, we''re making two additional squads. A stalling squad and a stealth squad. Stealth will follow the captains and take out the guards so we don''t alert the Grandmaster. "The stalling squad will be responsible for holding back anyrge beast like the draconic one just now." Bo exined, causing Frida to frown. "You know that once we form these two squads, the ones left are basicallymbs for ughter right? Their numbers are far too little to siege a stronghold.To begin with, this n was already risky even if we had 100 warriors.But now Olvir is telling them to fight with just 55? Isn''t that basically telling them to die?" Letting out a sigh, Bo nodded his head. "It''ll be a small price is what he said. If we can get reinforcements from the capital to the frontlines, it''ll be worth it." "Bullsh*t." Frida shook her head. She couldn''t allow this kind of mission to continue. But seeing as how Bo was here to tell her, it seemed like Olivr had his mind set on this new n. "So are you just here to tell me the sh*tty news or do you need something from me?" "The draconic beast that ignored my attacks. Do you know what it is? If I know what it can do I''ll have an easier time forming a stalling squad." Bo asked as Frida folded her arms and closed her eyes. "Two candidates in mind. Both are very simr so I''m not sure which it is." "Any information is good. At most, I''ll had to ount for both of the candidates if I''m going to form this squad." Bo shrugged. "Alright. First is Twilight Drakorian. Grandmaster level beast. Notable features are an extremely high resistance to energy and elemental based attacks. It can absorb, adapt and even counter. Can channel anything it''s experience before and sent it back. "The more it experiences, the more powerful it bes. In terms of abilities, I can only remember three. Elemental Breath, Twilight Shroud and Cosmic Judgment. Cosmic Judgment takes on the element that it has absorbed before." Frida began to exin as Bo nodded his head and made a mental note. "The second is Aetherion Harbinger. It also has a high resistance to energy and elemental based attacks but this primarily lies with the fact that it can shift itself between an aether state and reality.It can''t absorb, adapt or counter but with each attack it receives, its resistance grows until they''re immune to the caster. "It gains elements based on the beasts and materials it has eaten before and it''s a beast mostly focused on defence. Its main form of defence is tearing apart the Void and escaping when its life is threatened." Hearing this, Bo furrowed his brows. One was heavily focused on attack while the other was heavily focused on defence. Neither sounds like an exact match against the beast he fought against. In fact, pieces of their skills almost seem to be merged together into a single being. "Alright, thank you." Bo nodded. At least this was better than going in blind. With a basic understanding of what the stalling group could be potentially against, their main goal is to just keep its aggro and take the attacks it throws out. If they attack the beast, it''ll either increase the offensive capabilities or defensive ones. "You''re wee." Hesitating for a moment, Frida wanted to tell Bo not to take too many Warriors into the stalling squad since it''ll only cause more casualties for the main group. However, if he was to agree, the stalling squad of some of their finest may die in vain. A choice between the two and Frida couldn''t resolve herself to choose the first option. After all, the if the stalling squad dies, everyone else would follow. Yet if the main squad dies, the stalling squad could still hold on. All she could do was watch Bo leave while looking for potential candidates for the new group. Meanwhile, Alice couldn''t help but kneel in front of a crater caused by the strange draconic beast. Chapter 416: Uncanny Beast Kneeling in front of the crater, she could still see sparks of lightning crackling across the ground. She didn''t know how to describe this feeling except that it was simply uncanny. Like seeing a beast mimic the look of a human but failing. A human that won''t blink, smiles unnaturally wide or their voice and lip movements don''t match up. A creeping dread inside the chest and the feeling of rejection from your own perception. That was what Alice was feeling. She saw what the beast was like, she felt its attacks. Yet now that she was looking at this crater¡­ She wasn''t so sure anymore. But the very thought contradicted itself. Clearly, the being was a beast. It flew in the air, spewed fire and summoned lightning. It cracked open the Void andmanded the lesser beasts. But she wasn''t sure if it was a beast or not? Scratching her hair, Alice frowned in frustration. "Something wrong?" Selen asked, walking up to Alice. "A little. Come here and look at this crater for me. Tell me what you think." Alice gestured. Even though she found it weird, Selen didn''t reject and kneeled down next to her. "Seems pretty normal to me. Just some residual lightning in the ground no?" Selen tilted her head. "That''s what I thought as well at first. Get a better look at it, try to sense what kind of beast released this attack. Once you''ve done that, tell me what you think." Alice rified. Furrowing her brows, Selen let out a sigh and nodded her head. She knew that Alice wasn''t someone who jokes around for something like this. So her asking for this meant there''s something to be found. Closing her eyes, Selen sensed the crater carefully. Just as she was about to give the same answer, her expression faltered as her eyes snapped open. Her face paled with confusion and rejection. "What the f*ck¡­" "Seems like you finally noticed it." Alice nodded her head before standing up. "What the hell is that?" Selen asked, ncing between Alice and the crater. "No clue. But I have a sneaking suspicion that it''s a Zenia family product. The only other possible group is the Eclipse but I don''t see them doing this kind of experiment. So there are two choices¡­ no three. "First, the Zenia family. Second, an unknown group who are doing simr things as the Zenias. Andstly, it could just be an abnormal natural evolution of the beast." Alice shrugged. The unknown group was Nyer. If he was able to create her, then it wouldn''t be a surprise if he had his hand in ''creating'' this strange beast of multiple elements and even the power of the Void. "Three options huh¡­ Tsk, everywhere we go there''s always a sign of the Zenia family." Selen scratched her hair in annoyance. "That''s just how big of a family they are now. Which is to be expected when they created an empire using my body as a foundation for the Abyss Blood they find." Alice shrugged. She was the perfect subject to act as a foundation. A subject that would always return to a neutral state once time passed. And when paired with her current regeneration, when it worked, she wouldn''t even need the cor to keep herself alive. "If the Zenia''s are involved, I''m guessing we might find some at the port stronghold then." Selen narrowed her eyes as killing intent seeped out but she controlled it after a short moment. "Possibly. We''ll have to see when we get there." Alice shrugged. She would like it if there were indeed Zenias there but even if there is, she still wasn''t sure if her poisonous blood worked right now. Noticing Bo approaching with a frown on his face, both Alice and Selen turned towards him. "Selen, I''ll need you for a moment. We''re going to be forming a new group in case that beast shows up again." Bo called out as Selen paused for a moment. She''d rather not leave Alice''s side if she could help it since she still needs to repay her debt. "As expected, we''re not retreating huh?" Alice asked, ncing around them. "As expected?" "It doesn''t look like people are cleaning up to make a retreat. Rather, it looks like we''re salvaging what we can and then continuing to the port." Alice shrugged, gesturing at her surroundings. Since Alice had already deducted that, Bo had no reason to hide things. "Yeah, we''re continuing with what we have left. We''ll be forming three groups from the remnants. A stalling group, stealth group and the vanguard." Exining the new n and what Olivr had decided on, Bo also exined the potential identity of the beast that attacked. Upon hearing about the beast, Alice''s suspicions were confirmed as there was a very high chance that both beasts had been fused together to form this unnatural chimaera. ''How the hell did the Zenias even fuse the two together?'' Alyss asked in disbelief. With the nature of each beast, high elemental and energy resistance as well as their aggression, it sounded almost impossible to mix the two together without losing a lot of manpower. And even if they seed, was it truly worth it? ''I¡­ Might have an idea of how they did it based on everything I''ve learned so far.'' Alice frowned. ''Based on what I know about Selen and the Arachne we killed at the research base, this beast might be a fusion of three. First, Twilight Drakorian. Second, Aetherion Harbinger. Andstly, a human foetus.'' Referring back to the research produced by theb, by mixing beast blood into the foetus with regr doses while it was still within the mother''s womb, it would allow the beast blood to stabilize to a certain extent and even act as the foundation for the child. Hence the unnatural strength of the Red Thorn Arachne. Then there was the case of how Selen was able to use the power of a sealed Lord and how she was injected with Alice''s blood. With everything that she had learned on top of her prior knowledge, she had a general idea of how the beast could''ve been created. First, they needed the new sample of the blood. After extracting blood from both beasts and using her own blood as a stabilizing agent, it would increase the lethality but produce a more stable result if the experiment survives the initial transnt. Such is the case of Selen. The key was the fact that her blood can return to a natural state. By tempering the sample of her blood to ept this new product, it''ll allow the user to develop a form of natural resistance towards the side effects. Not only that, but because the beast inherently has the ability to absorb elements and adapt to it, it was perfect for mixing with Alice''s blood. All three would form a bnced bridge of power where none of the powers could be stronger than the other. Of course, finding this delicate bnce would be difficult on the Zenia family''s side and Alice wouldn''t be surprised if the foundation of this research was already used on her. However, the key fact is that they probably did find it hence this unnatural beast. Thest step was to use the information they gained from the Arachne experiment and nt it inside a mother''s womb. Of course, their methods may have changed since the only detail Alice has was what she found in Verten. But with all of these methodsbined, creating a product with the power of two adaptive type beasts was possible! Once she thought up to this stage, Alice clenched her fist as there was a high chance that the Zenia family was probably nearby. They wouldn''t let such a precious product go without observation after all. Someone must be around to keep it in check. ''They probably have ways to control it too if it tries to run away or fight.'' Alice narrowed her eye. "Selen, we''ll need your time slowing abilities along with Egil''s defences to keep the beast at bay if it was to appear again. But until it appears, you''ll be mixed in with the rest of the group to siege the fort." Bo exined as Selen furrowed her brows. She understood why Bo would want her in the stalling group but she wasn''t sure herself. "Wouldn''t it just adapt to my time slow if we take too long? You saw how strong the beast was. I''d rather not have it also manipte time on top of everything." Selen questioned. Regardless of which beast it was, just the thought of having it adapt to Miralith''s power was questionable. Hearing this, Bo realised his mistake as this was indeed a concern he needed to take into ount. Depending on theposition of the stalling team, the final result may have dire consequences instead. If the beast was allowed to have control over time on top of everything then not even the captains should hope for survival. "Sh*t¡­" Bo scratched his hair. Contemting it for a moment, he decided to risk it. "We still need you on the team. Save your time abilities to thest possible moment if you can. It adapts over time so if you keep it to a minimum, it should be alright. As long as we can finish off the Grandmaster protecting the Fort in time, we''ll be able to help out with killing the beast. "Of course, that''s only if the beast appears. I can only hope we don''t have to resort to this." He sighed, stepping away to inform Egil of the choice. To properly hold off the beast, the stalling group will need to be filled with people that have high defences and abilities that can interrupt the beast. Out of the 55 Warriors left, Bo wasn''t even sure if he could find 5 that matched the description. Chapter 417: Ambush Through The Night Once the clean up operation was done, Olivr regrouped everyone and did a head count. Furrowing his brows, veins bulged on his neck as 3 Warriors had deserted during the time it took for them to salvage all the supplies they could still use. With only 53 Warriors left and only 7 captains, they had to siege and take over a city with just 60 people. Instructing a captain to track down the traitors and deal with them, Olivr began to adjust the groups with the information given to him by Bo. 18 were pulled to form a stalling group with Egil as the centre and the key to stalling the beast if it was ever to appear. 5 were pulled to form a stealth group with the seven captains leaving only 30 warriors to act as the vanguard. And as expected, Alice was dragged into the vanguard group since with her current body, she was of no help to either side. Even though Selen wanted to protest, she knew it was futile and doing so would just cause an unnecessary scene. Hell it might even give the opposite effect and thrust Alice into more danger. With the groups now sorted, they began their march towards the port as many of the carriages were destroyed in the ambush. Naturally, there were still a few that could be repaired and used but they were used for transporting the supplies rather than humans. "Want me to carry you?" Selen offered Alice as she was worried about whether or not Alice could survive the entire journey. "Oh hell no!" Alice rejected it without an ounce of hesitation. If she was to allow Selen to carry her, knowing how she carries people like a sack of potatoes, Alice would die of embarrassment before she even arrived at the port! Shrugging her shoulders, Selen left the offer open if Alice ever wanted to take her up on it. ''Seems like I''ll be able to let loose a little when we arrive at the port.'' Alyss crossed her legs. With the vanguard only being 30 Warriors and the Captains going to fight the Grandmaster, it meant that no one spared the time to look at Alyss. If she was to switch out, she''ll be able to fight to her hearts content. Of course, there were still limitations to what she could do but it''s been too long since shest stretched her body properly. Doing training anding out to eat skewers were fine but Alyss felt like she was about to die of boredom. ''Sure. I''ll find a corner where you can rampage without anyone watching.'' Alice nodded with a smile as she too knew that Alyss had been suffering in silence. She wasn''t able to bring her out as much as she wanted but now that they''re going to the port, this was a perfect chance. Continuing on their journey, they were going to take an extra day since their pace had slowed down with theck of carriages. More rests needed to be taken and supplies were dwindling. There were asional ambushes on the road but the main beast wasn''t in sight. These ambushes served to keep tensions high while giving the group minimal rest. Even for Alice who wasn''t doing much during these fights and only using her crossbow, she was getting exhausted both physically and mentally. Once they set up camp, people began to pass out immediately from the exhaustion while captains took the initiative to take watch order. Most of the Warriors didn''t have the senses needed to prevent an ambush likest time so it was up to the captains to keep them safe. Deciding to sleep in the camp this time rather than a random tree branch, Alice closed her eyes. "AMBUSH!!!" Jolting up from having slept only a few hours at best, Alice felt groggy as she rushed out from the tent and saw a crack in the sky with several cracks surrounding the camp. Everyone became alert as they grabbed their weapons and prepared to fight. However, time passed and the cracks faded away. Seeing this, Alice''s smile twitched furiously as this was a bait all along. There was no ambush merely signs of one to force people awake. ''These motherf*ckers are not letting us sleep.'' Alice thought in annoyance. If they ignored the initial call, there was a chance that it was a real ambush and many of them would lose their lives again. But if they listened to the call, they''d lose precious sleep. With this being a false rm, everyone went back to their tents. Once again, Alice closed her eyes. "AMBUSH!!!" Hearing the shout, veins bulged on Alice''s forehead as she dashed out of the tent and so did everyone else. Once again, the cracks in the sky faded away as Alice felt like throwing a table into the Void. ''You motherf*ckers! If you want to fight just fight! Why the hell are you wasting energy opening cracks but not going through them!? "^%&^"!%*&^"*^¡ê$'' She shouted in her mind as an impressive string her curses were said. Even Alyss had to p her hands in admiration as she didn''t know Alice was able to connect such a long line of swears. Unable to take it anymore, Olivr decided on a new night watch rotation instead. A third of the Warriors will be on guard. Not to keep an eye out for ambushes but rather to listen tomands. If the Ambush was real, they''ll wake the others while stalling for a bit of time. If the ambush was fake, the others still get their sleep. They''ll keep switching with this rotation until everyone''s gotten a decent amount of sleep. Going back to her tent feeling annoyed as f*ck, Alice closed her eyes hoping that there were no more false rms like this. If it continued, she might as well not sleep for the entire night. Thankfully, that wasn''t the case this time. Alice''s group was part of thest watch and the other two had no incidents. Stretching her body, Alice let out a tired yawn while rubbing her eyes. It was still a few hours till daylight and this was going to be the first time Alice got to watch the sunrise. Ever sinceing to the surface, she had been enjoying the sunlight that was absent in the Abyss. In the Abyss, it was perpetual night. The only source of light were strange crystals, beasts, abilities and the moonlight. But the light produced couldn''t bepared to the warmth generated by the sun. Thinking about this, a smile crept onto Alice''s face as she looked forward to the sunrise. Looking for a good spot to sit down, Alice kicked her legs back and forth while counting the stars in the sky. Both Selen and Egil had already done their shifts earlier while Alyss was also sleeping. She had no one to talk to during this shift. Taking out some fruit, Alice enjoyed it in silence. After the first hour passed, cracks began to form in the sky as she narrowed her eyes. She could sense strands of energy coiling around the entrance, threatening to tear it apart but didn''t go further. ''Seems like it''s just another bait.'' Alice thought to herself. They were using enough power so that the realm threatened to burst but not enough to actually burst it apart. Not only that, but Alice couldn''t sense the presence of beasts behind the fake portals. Even if they were to burst open, there was a chance that there was nothing at all. However, the portals were lingering longer than what Alice had expected. The captains weren''t giving theirmands so Alice didn''t say anything and continued to count the stars. Another hour passed but nothing happened. Only the sound of wind could be heard and nothing else. The night was still dark and it didn''t seem like the sun rise was happening any time soon. Furrowing her brows, Alice immediately sat up as she narrowed her eyes at the fractures in space. Just like before, strands of energy coiled around the entrance but it wasn''t enough to tear it open. Looking around her, Warriors were talking to one another, some were doing patrols while the captains kept an eye out on everything that was happening. Logically, it should be fine but the feeling ate away at Alice''s mind. ncing up at the sky, suspicion filled her mind as she raised her crossbow and fired a single shot. *Ding¡­ Widening her eyes, she realised the energy from earlier wasn''t trying to tear open a portal at all. Instead, it was a node for a barrier! She had been looking at it the wrong way since the beginning. If she had considered other possibilities, it wouldn''t have taken this long to notice. Jumping down from the tform, she ran to the captains. "There''s a barrier in ce!" Alice called out, causing the two captains to nce towards her in confusion. "What do you mean?" The captain holding a shield asked as Alice didn''t waste any time exining and loaded another shot into her crossbow. Raising it up, she fired and like earlier, the arrow bounced off. Seeing this the captains widened their eyes as the shield captain took a deep breath. "AMBUSH!!!" He roared, Sigils ring across his body. mming his shield into the ground, a pulse of energy exploded out and formed a threeyer defensive barrier around the camp. The other captain that was on watch mmed her palms together as a earthen spears shot up from the ground. A spiral of energy rushed behind it as the spears pierced into the barrier. *SHATTER!!! Breaking the barrier in one go, they widened their eyes in shock. The thick malevolent energy of the beasts poured into the camp as chills went down their spine. The number of beasts were inferior to the first ambush but they could tell there were two more beasts on the level of the strange draconic beast that took out almost half their Warriors. Chapter 418: Ambush By Two Experimental Beasts Swallowing her saliva nervously, Alice could see two figures hovering in the air on the same level as the strange draconic beast. Their auras are once again on the verge of breaking through to Lord. Had it not been for the barrier hiding their auras, there was no way such pungent energy would be ignored. The first beast had a sleek serpentine body with dark scales covering its entire body. Shard spikes with red tips lined the sides and back of its body while the underside was akin to flowing magma. Through the gaps, a deep crimson glow pulsed as its fierce eyes red at the camp with a hint of mockery and disdain. The beast didn''t have any wings or legs. Only a pair of ws and a tail. The second beast was heavily built with an imposing muscr frame covered by a strange white marble material with gold highlights and cracks that pulsed with a golden energy. It has an elongated neck and head with exposed teeth, small white eyes, a pair of long muscr arms with blue ws and thick muscr legs. Its tail waved behind it but the most prominent feature was the array ofrge crystalline spikes that ran down its spine. They radiated a vibrant pink and purple glow while purple lightning would crackle across the surface, jumping from one crystal to another. One beast looked as though it was built for speed while the other looked like it was built for pure destructive force. Regardless, with Alice''s experience at the crater of the first draconic beast''s attack, she could sense the same uncanny nature on these beasts and understood that they were manufactured products. Beasts created by an unknown party, potentially the Zenia family. With their n now discovered, the beasts nced at one another as energy coalesced towards their location. Realising that they were attempting to break through his defensive barrier, the shield captain activated all of his Sigils. Resonance! Activating his resonance, the shield captain manifested a suit of armour around his body while the threeyered barrier began to transform. A spike of energy woke everyone up in the camp as they rushed out to see the swarm of beasts gathering just outside of the barrier. Little by little, a fortress manifested. *BANG!!!! A torrent ofva shed against the illusionary fortress while theva began to sear away at the energy. Without needing to ask about what happened, Olivr tookmand. "Warriors! Kill them all! Show the might of Verona!" He roared, activating his Resonance. *HURAH!!!! All of the warriors cried out at the same time as they grabbed their weapons and activated their abilities. Frontliners took a formation, ready to sh with the beasts while the casters began to hurl abilities at the swarm. Supports began to buff the casters while Alice made sure no one was looking and took out a vial of her own blood. ''The captains have split into teams of three while the shield captain stayed behind to provide a barrier for everyone. They won''t have time to check out the weird sh*t that goes on.'' Alice thought to herself as she strapped the vial onto her waist so that she could dip the bolts whenever she needed it. It was the perfect chance for her to put her blood to the test and see if it still retains the poison or if it, like her, has lost a lot of its effectiveness. Taking aim with her crossbow, Alice narrowed her eyes at a bird like beast that was preparing to swoop down. *Thunk! The arrow embedded itself into the beast''s cranium and Alice immediately noticed the flesh around the wound begin to bulge. ''Wait already???'' She thought in shock as she didn''t expect such a fast reaction. The rest of its body was fine but the head bubbled and boiled. Letting out screeches of pain, it began to froth from the beak. Its eyes darted around the battlefield and spotted Alice. *KRKK!!!!! Folding its wings, it swopped towards Alice as she fired a second shot. This time, the arrow pierced its shoulder. The flesh bubbled and ck tendrils burst out from the flesh, ripping away at the wing until the bones were exposed. ''Holy sh*t what the f*ck is wrong with my blood???'' Alice cried out inwardly. She had seen what her blood did to people and beasts alike. The mutations that ur over time and desperation. But the bird''s reaction waspletely different to everything that had happened before. The effect was instantaneous despite the small area. Not only that but rather than a mutation, it was more like the hands that Alyss would conjure whenever she activated her ability. These tendrils tore away at the beast and just before it could reach Alice, arrows and abilities mmed into it, sting it apart in the air. Seeing the bird being sted apart, Alice could see the parts of its body that were beginning to mutate thanks to her blood. However, she also noticed another risk that she now had to take into ount. Her blood. While it is the source of this damage, there is also the risk of her blood being taken by her allies. Thankfully, the mes burned away her blood when the beast was killed. But if it was shot by an arrow, her blood could''vended on an ally and the consequences would''ve been dire. ''You probably need a way to dispose of your blood once you use it.'' Alyss suggested. Burning away the corpse after using her blood would be the best option to clean up the mess. ''How do you think our Sigils will change because of our new blood?'' Alice asked with a twitching smile. Her third Sigil conjured blood that could be used as a source for her mes and Void Flux. Meaning, it had the same effects as her standard blood even if it''s at a lesser potency. Alice didn''t know what kind of mutation happened with the blood inside her body but this was clearly different from normal. If she was to summon a wave of her own blood in a fight then¡­ ''I don''t think I should fight near people until I figure out what the f*ck is going on with our body.'' Alice concluded while Alyss agreed. The dangers of dragging other people was too high. Just consuming her blood was a death sentence before the mutation never mind now. Then there was the synergy with her first Sigil. The Sigil that transformed her blood into a hallucinogenic while also having addictive properties. Thinking about all of this, Alice realised her blood was basically a war crime now. One sip and your body will mutate beyond repair, you''ll have hallucinations and even be addicted so you can''t stop. Just the thought sent shivers down Alice''s spine. Sealing the bottle, she ced it back into her pouch. Without a proper way of dealing with the aftermath, Alice couldn''t use it. Especially now that she''s on the surface. If she was to bleed into a water supply she''ll basically doom an entire city. While the Vanguards were pushing back the beasts, Alice took the time to nce towards the captains fighting the experimental beasts. She could tell that the experimental beasts weren''t taking the fight seriously, only focusing on dodging and firing abilities from afar. Bo was keeping up with the serpentine beast butcked the damage to pierce its defence. Captains who tried to attack it would only find their attacks missing since it was simply too fast. As for the bulky beast with white scales, the captain''s attacks were bouncing off its body and failing to do any serious damage. Whenever a big strike was prepared, the crystals on its back would shimmer and reflect it back at the group. The best they could do was stall unless they decided to burn everything for the sake of killing them. But if they did, they wouldn''t be able to take out the fort as nned. Right when Olivr was about to make the call to focus on killing the beast, the space around them began to fracture. Seeing this, the crystalline beast reared its head back and let out a roar. mming both of its fists into the ground, an earthquake erupted, causing the Warriors to lose their footing as the beast began to retreat. Seeing that another beast was about to escape his grasp, Bo gritted his teeth in anger and tried to grab onto the serpentine beast but it managed to dodge and m its tail into Bo''s chest, sending him crashing towards the ground. Even though they failed to destroy the supplies, they still lost a few Warriors from the attack while their losses were superficial. It was at this moment that Olivr knew that they had been caught in a trap all along. Even if they retreated, they wouldn''t be able to survive the journey back. The beasts will keep ambushing and they''ll continuously lose their numbers until no one is left. With them being this close to the port, there was only one choice. An all of nothing gamble to take back the port or die trying. The alternative option was to head back and die on the way. "Gather your stuff! We march!" Olivr shouted as the Warriors couldn''t believe his order. However, all they could do was listen and continue on knowing that this was a death march. To die with honour or die as a coward. For the northerners, this choice was clear but even so, they had hoped it was for something that made a difference rather than something futile. All of them knew deep down that this march had failed. Gathering their supplies, the group continued their journey towards the port. Chapter 419: Arriving At The Port The rest of the journey took them three hours and thankfully, the strange monsters didn''t continue their ambush. But even if that was the case, none of the Warriors could rx their nerves. The feeling of knowing you''re walking towards hell. To face death head on and understand the futility of your actions. Many of them began to doubt and wonder if they should just desert. But with the captains looking over them all, it was an impossible act. If both paths lead to death, should they just take the honourable route? Or should they spit in the face of their tyrants andugh at the fact they cannot use them as pawns? Marching with the group, Alice could sense the discontent of the Warriors. She could tell they were now on a tightrope of choices. To fall and give up or to keep struggling with no end in sight. ''It makes sense. Captain Olivr did just force everyone to keep going without a care for their damages. Not only that but he didn''t care if any of the vanguard dies during the charge. If he tantly shows that he doesn''t care, who would follow.'' Alyss scoffed. It was a very predictable oue. ''Mnm. But we can''t desert either. Most of the captains are watching us like hawks. The moment we make a single move, we''ll die.'' Alice narrowed her gaze. With this kind of ''ally'' who needs enemies? They''ll kill you faster than your enemy. Crossing her legs, Alyss wondered for a moment before curling her lips up into a smile. ''Wanna kill them?'' Hearing this, Alice rolled her eyes. ''Pft just a joke~'' Alyss raised her hands. But Alice knew that part of it was serious. If some of the captains were to survive this ordeal and get back to the outpost, they''d only lead others to their graves. Olivr''s poor choices and dismission of risks were proof of that. So if he were to die, it would be doing others a favour. ''Let''s keep it low key for now. Can''t go around killing people we don''t like for no reason.'' Alice shrugged. Alyss couldn''t understand her. If something''s annoying just get rid of it. Thinking up to this point, a bitter smile showed up on Alyss''s face. ''I guess that''s why we both thought I was the product at first huh?'' Alyss thought to herself. Between the two of them, she was the one who acted the most bloodthirsty. The one who was eager to kill and battle. The one that showed up to handle things with violence. And the one who had her daggers against Alice since the start. Even though she was supposedly the ''real'' Alice, she acted more like Nyer''s product than Alice did. Alice was¡­ More humane. ''Seems like we''re here.'' Alice smiled as the port finally came into view. A thickyer of mist had rolled over the city, obscuring theplete view but within this mist, they could see several ships ready to depart at a moment''s notice. Tall walls protected the borders but Alice could tell they weren''t normal. Each of the sections had a different rune carved into it, forming a ritual circle of sorts around the stronghold. But most importantly, they could see countless civilians walking around the city. Trading,ughing, taking their kids around or walking with their partners. It wasn''t just a defensive stronghold taken by the Extalia kingdom, it was also a city. With so many civilians within, taking it may prove harder than expected with the casualties. "We''ll attack at night." Olivr called out. "???" Blinking her eyes, Alice nced at him in disbelief. Rather than looking at the reaction of the Warriors, he straight up took the initiative to order an attack at night. If battle truly breaks out, the coteral damage was going to go off the charts. Especially if the previous three beasts were to appear. ncing around her, Alice could see the doubt and confusion of the Warriors. The hesitation of attacking a civilian stronghold like this. But what could they do? Rebelling against orders now would simply be a suicide act. Shaking her head with a light sigh, Alice helped set up the camp. ### "Ohya¡­ Seems like they''re still nning on attacking¡­" A girl muttered softly with a pair of tired eyes. Long light blonde hair that reached down to her waist with strands hanging over her shoulders. She wore arge, wide brimmed white hair adorned with a myriad of flowers of different colours. Her outfit consisted of a simple white dress, gloves and shoes. "You should''ve destroyed more of their supplies on the first attack Elowen." Another girl spoke up with augh. She has long dark hair that holds strands of red within. A pair of bright crimson eyes with a wide grin. Her fangs are a little longer than average. She wore a ck and red dress with an off shoulder jacket, a pair of tights and high boots. A ck cor with a flower attached to the side and a flower hair clip gifted to her by Elowen. However, the most distinctive feature of her was the elongated ears that drew eyes wherever she went. "I had hoped that the first attack would''ve dissuaded them¡­ Seems like they don''t have a goodmander." Elowen shook her head with a sigh. "Who cares, they''re on the ropes anyways. Let''s just go and finish them off now. I don''t even know why we''re ordered to y around with them in the first ce." The girl folded her arms in annoyance. "Stop that. You know why we can''t do it." A man frowned as he gave the girl a warning re. He has short white spiky hair that was swept back with a few strands dangling over his forehead.A pair of violet eyes and a muscr physique. Instead of the fancy looking outfits of his peers, his attire was extremely simple. A in ck tight-fitting shirt, a silver ne and a pair of pants with boots. Most would assume he was smoking a cigarette but it was just some candy. "I can just say it''s an ident. Can''t help it if they''re fragile since Elowen took out almost half of them in one go." The girl scoffed with a shrug. Hearing this, the man frowned as he narrowed his eyes and red at her. Noticing this re, veins bulged on the girl''s neck as she red back. "You want to fight? Right here right now? Sure, I can go for a fight you dumb f*ck." She grinned, not taking a step back as scales began to form on the edge of her face. With the girl about to make a move, the man wasn''t going to sit there and take it. Crackles of lightning coiled around his arms as white scales began to form on his body. Energy gathered towards the two as just before they were about to fight, Elowen sighed lightly before closing her eyes. ""!!!"" Both of them froze up in cold sweat as Elowen red at the two. Her tired eyes were now reced by draconic pupils with slits down the centre. Her aura shifted entirely and thick killing intent bore down on the two. "Keira, Troy, stop f*cking around before I send you two six feet under myself. Just because you''re sessful products doesn''t mean you can go around ruining ns and doing whatever the f*ck you want." Elowen warned as there was a low growl hidden in her voice. Swallowing their saliva nervously, the two nodded their heads and sat back down. Seeing that the two had finally calmed down, Elowen nodded her head and closed her eyes. Returning back to normal, her threatening aura disappeared as though it was never there. "If they want to invade let them. It''s of no concern to us since we''ve already fulfilled our tasks. The key is to now get the newly appointed Cardinal of the Moon to join us don''t forget that. "Just don''t do anything stupid that gets in the way of this and you''ll be alright. If they do attack, just watch and don''t act unless orderse down from above." Elowen reminded as Keira nodded her head. "And you Troy?" Scratching his hair, Troy nodded his head as well. "Good." Elowen smiled in satisfaction. The goal of the Zenia family was to get the new Cardinal to view them in a favourable light. The youngest Cardinal to have ever been appointed. The strongest even. The next contender to be personally trained by an Apostle if he proves himself. With all of this going for the young Cardinal, some are even theorising that the Church of the Moon was nning on raising him as the new Pope. But that was just the view of themon folk. To the Zenia who are in the know and are in an alliance with the Church of the Moon, they know that they''re training the young Cardinal into a Lord. So if they could interfere with that, he''ll be another Lord under the Zenia''s control without the Moon knowing. Thinking of this, Elowen''s smile curled up softly as she stood up and decided to roam the city for now. The barbarians of the North won''t attack in daylight, not with the threat of three mysterious beasts above their heads. They''ll wait until sunset to attack but that is also when the Cardinal was most active. The three of them only need to ensure that certain criteria are met. After all, the world isn''t quite ready for their appearance just yet. Who could predict that the Zenias have managed to merge the blood of beasts with humans together to form a new race of beings? Chapter 420: Infiltrating The City Part 1 Resting as much as they could, night soon fell without a single ambush by the strange beasts. Both Alice and Selen were worried about the uing operation since there was a high chance that a lot of the Warriors may change their mind halfway through. Selen noticed that some of the captains were protesting this choice, Bo included but Olivr was firm on his stance. He refused to go back without any results, not when they''ve already lost so many. Now that night fell, they began splitting up the groups. "Are you sure you''re going to be alright?" Selen frowned as Aliceughed. "Don''t worry about it, I prioritise my own survival over everything. I won''t kill myself over a small battle like this." Alice reassured as Selen had no choice but to nod. Even though the stalling group and the vanguard was going to entire the port together, the stalling group are not allowed to fight. They''re expected to sit back and let the vanguard do everything until the beasts appear. With the groups now formed, Olivr went over the n of attack. The port stronghold could be split into four main areas. First was the wall. Each section of the wall acted as a node for a ritual that blocks outrge scale attacks. After wall was the watch towers spread along the inner border. Third was the residential circle and finally, the main hub where the Grandmaster ranked Warrior resided. The n was for the captains to first sneak through the side and into the ocean while the vanguard prepares to take attention front the front. If at any point a signal re is shot into the sky, they''re expected to charge in and grab as many guards as possible. "Use the civilians as hostages if you can. See if the guards hesitate since their lovers or family will be among them. Try to cause them to fight one another because of their different values and stall for time. Whatever it is, as long as you get enough time it''ll be fine. You can even burn the buildings since that''ll have most of the guards trying to put it out." Olivr exined while everyone had a sombre expression hearing his n. Once again, they couldn''t say no to it. After finishing to exin the n, Olivr nted a node on everyone. If they tried to escape, take it off or even sabotage, he''d kill them with a snap of his finger. Now that a literal guillotine was above their heads, the Warriors gave up on the thought of survival, and their eyes lost their vigour. Whatever they do, it''ll just result in their deaths. ying around with this node, Alice wondered if she was allowed to infiltrate the city ahead of time since staying with the main group was practically asking for the enemy to bombard them with arge scale attack. She wasn''t deserting nor was she sabotaging. However, just in case Olivr misunderstood and randomly decided to try and kill her, Alice shuffled over to Bo. "Pst, Captain." Alice called out as Bo nced over. "Do you think he''ll mind if I go into the city ahead of time? Get myself into a more favourable spot ya know?" Alice whispered as Bo raised his eyebrows in confusion. "Why would you even want to go in early?" "Do you seriously think I''ll be helpful in a head on suicide charge? If I was in top condition sure but right now I''m just gonna get hit by a random fireball and die." Alice rolled her eyes. "So I want to go in ahead of time and see if I can take out a tower or something." She suggested. "You realise that to take down the towers you''ll have to kill the guards anyway right? How do you n on doing that?" Alice''s choice was truly baffling to Bo. One moment she''s saying she didn''t want to die randomly and the next she''s saying she wants to enter ahead of time which brings her more harm. "I don''t need to kill people in order to take care of the node holding the barrier together you know that right?" Alice persuaded as Olivr walked over, overhearing the conversation. Thinking about it for a moment, a smile crept up on his face. "Sure, I don''t see why not. Don''t you agree Bo?" Olivr patted his shoulder as Bo furrowed his brows. "However, I''ll only agree if you attack the west tower." ncing towards the city, Alice understood what Olivr was nning. The west tower was the furthest tower from the main hub where the Grandmaster was. If she was to f*ck up, all the guards will rush towards her instead. But she didn''t mind that. "Got any supplies for me then? I only have a crossbow and some daggers after all." Alice shrugged. If he was agreeing on this mission then she might as well ask for some supplies. "Go find Frida for some explosives and traps. Use those to your advantage to take out the tower or make some noise along the way. I''ll keep an eye on you." Olivrughed, patting Alice''s shoulder before walking away. Looking at Alice in disbelief, Bo couldn''t help but sigh and hold back the thought of wanting to smack her across the head. "Why are you this reckless? Can''t you just sit back and wait like everyone else?" Bo asked, unsure as to why Alice even wanted to go on ahead in the first ce. "Like I said, it improves the chances of my survival." Aliceughed. Everything she did was for the sake of survival. And so far, this was the best option she could think of. Joining the main charge was absolutely off the table. Plus, there was another reason as to why she suggested this. Compared to the Zenia prison, the guards here were simply toox! Reassuring Bo onest time, Alice looked for the captain called Frida and asked for the supplies. Five explosives, two fire traps andstly, a set of wires. On top of everything, Alice asked for some more daggers that she could fit into her pouch. Seeing as how Alice was essentially going on a solo mission, Frida gave her a set of 10 throwing knives. With everything packed into her pouch, Alice was about to make her way to the port stronghold when Selen stopped her for a moment. She handed Alice a small orb flickering with a blue energy. "Break if it things get tough. It should give you a cast of my eleration though the effects might not be great. It''s a bit of a gamble since I haven''t used it on anyone else nor do I know if you can withstand it or not." Selen exined. With Alice''s current body, she had avoided using her skills on her if possible but with this kind of mission, they needed a trump card or two. "Thanks." Alice smiled, epting the orb before making her way to the city. ''So what''s the n then? We can''t go through the main gate which is a given and I''m not sure if your body can survive circling around through the ocean.'' Alyss asked curiously. ''Well, there''s only one choice duh~ We climb.'' Alice chuckled. She was going to scale the walls surrounding the city. ''Or are you getting cold feet?'' Alice smirked. ''Hah??? Me? Get cold feet? As if.'' Alyss rolled their eyes. Why would she be getting cold feet from such a loosely guarded ce? For every guard they have patrolling, the Zenias would''ve had 5 or 6 in that same area. All of the guards worked in groups to keep her contained yet Alice was still able to force her way out at certain moments during her imprisonment. Of course, the difference was that she was empowered by beast blood back then and fought her way out. However, it didn''t change the fact that the Zenia prison was far more guarded than this ce so getting in or out should be a piece of cake for Alice. Reaching into her pouch, she changed her attire into one that could hide her better. A ck hooded jacket with a face mask that covered most of her face except her eyes and a full ck attire that covered every inch of her body. After getting down from the mountains, the snow that covered the ground was mostly melted away, especially near the main road. Hiding herself behind the trees, Alice observed the guards on rotation and above the wall. ''The best way to go would be to begin climbing up the main gates. They keep scanning along the walls but not along the gate. Though¡­ Seems like they''re ready for us.'' Alice muttered inwardly. She could see that none of the guards were taking their job lightly as they would constantly keep an eye out, covering any blind spot they might have. ''It''s to be expected. After all, they should''ve been notified by the Zenia''s that we''re going to attack.'' Alyss shrugged as though it was a matter of fact. However, that was not the case since the Zenias had no obligation to the city. But that''s not something they knew and so, Alice kept her guard up while slowly approaching the city. The key was to keep on the edge of their peripherals and stop the moment they turn to look towards her. For that, she needed to n a proper route towards the main gate. There was a river leading to the city from the side with some trees. There were more guards but the trade off was more hiding spots for Alice. Curling her lips up into a grin, Alice began her infiltration. Chapter 421: Infiltrating The City Part 2 There are 4 main hiding spots between her and the wall. Trees, natural grooves in the ground, the river and some rocks as this small river seemed to be used as a small fishing spot. Hiding behind the tree, Alice narrowed her gaze at the guards stationed above the wall. Since this was a little further from the main gate, they were mostly focused on seeing if anything was approaching. Licking her fingertip, she felt the current of the air before plucking a leaf from the tree. Attaching a small fragment of her shard onto the base of the lead, she controlled it to flow with the wind and raised it into the sky, towards the guards. Once they were distracted by how the wind managed to blow a leaf this high up, Alice took this chance to dash towards the rock. She couldn''t go any further as they looked towards the tree after seeing it was a leaf. Closing her eyes, Alice could hear that they were talking with one another,ughing and joking about how the leaf got up there. Recalling her shard and allowing the leaf to fall naturally this time, Alice nced at the distance between her and the wall. One more dash would be enough. Thinking about it for a moment, Alice decided to do something a little risky. Controlling the shards to shake up the tree, the guards above the wall figured that it was something unnatural and called over some guards to go down and have a look. While their attention was focused on the tree that shook a little too much during the wind, Alice managed to reach the wall and wrapped the wire around her hands. Connecting it to her shard, she made footholds on the wall and began to climb up. She had a short moment to make her way from the side of the wall to the section above the main gate. As long as she reached the gates, she would be able to hide herself in the groove while the guards returned. ''The other captains should be approaching the sea by now right?'' Alice thought to herself. Swinging her body back and forth, sheunched herself past a gap and grabbed onto a shard she had ced in position and hauled herself up. With no time to waste, she continued on the path she had mapped out in her mind while making her way to the wall. There were gaps in the brick that she could use as a ledge to grab or hell she could even use the runic carvings. The key was to reach the main gate. ncing back, she noticed the guards were about to finish and decided to hurry up. Creating a pole with her shards, she lunged off the wall and grabbed the pole before swinging herself at full force around the corner. Grabbing onto the ledge by the main gate, she jammed herself in between the groove and prevented herself from sliding by anchoring her foot against the walls that nked her side. The groove wasn''t very shallow so she could still be spotted if they looked up. However, since they were looking for something on the tree or intruders trying to sneak in, they never expected that someone would be halfway through climbing up the wall. Especially when they didn''t even know they reached the wall in the first ce so why would they look up? The wall they''vee to rely on has been clear for so long now. If they were newbies, they would check out the wall but the notion was so iprehensible that the two didn''t even both and Alice let out a silent sigh of relief. In case they were nning to look up, Alice had already ced some shards by the side to make some noise and buy some time for her to climb up. But seeing as how this wasn''t necessary, she began to shuffle herself up the wall. Sweat dripped down her face but there was a smile beneath her mask. This sense of exhration while sneaking past everyone andughing inwardly at the fact that they didn''t look up. It was the first time Alice felt this way. Seeing how her twin was enjoying herself to this extent, Alyss couldn''t help butugh as this would''ve been impossible to experience if she still had her abilities. One disguise, one teleport. That would be all they needed but instead, they''re climbing up a wall and making use of their knowledge of human behaviour as well as prior experience in trying to escape the Zenias. Reaching the top without being spotted, Alice didn''t rush to climb over since there were two guards at each section of the wall. Narrowing her gaze, she stabilised herself between the grooves and gathered her shards. Ripping off a small piece of wire with some dark fabric from her cloak, she made a tail shape while the shards shifted to look like a rat. ''There are two guards above, two to the right and two to the left. If I distract the other two, the third will be looking towards their direction.'' Alice thought inwardly. Adjusting herself, she began to climb towards the right while having her ''shard rat'' wait for instructions on the left. Determining the position of the guards through the sound, Alice made sure she''d be a little bit behind them and had the rat make a move. The moment it began to scurry across, the centre and left guards turned towards the rat and raised an eyebrow. "What''s going on?" The Guard on the right asked as Alice took this time to flip herself over the edge,nding on the wall. While all three guards were looking away, she scanned her surroundings and narrowed her gaze. There were mini spires on each section and above the doors were ledges that she could hide on. But the cover provided was far too little. Instead, she had a better idea and made a short dash to one of the windows of the spire and swung herself around the corner. She was exposed to the other guards right now but they didn''t have any reason to nce over unless the other guards called them over. Letting out a sigh of relief, Alice climbed to the top of the spire and swung herself onto the roof, giving her an excellent view of the entire city. Standing up, she jumped from the roof and did a free dive towards the ground. Recalling her shards that she hid in the crevices, she slowed down her fall with it andnded on the rooftop. Now that she was in the city, it was time to proceed towards the western tower as promised. Closing her eyes, Alice sensed the fluctuation of energy around her and verified the location of the western tower. It was quite far away but since the hardest part was done, all Alice had to do was make her way over. The safest route would actually be on the inside of the wall, where she was now. Most of the patrols were focused around the city, above the wall and outside the city. By sticking against the wall like this, she should be able to avoid most of the detection. Running along the inner wall, Alice forgot to take into ount one variable. Civilians. ncing to her right, she noticed a brat looking out of his window and spotting her. Widening her eyes, she froze up and entered a staring contest with the kid. Panic filled her heart momentarily but she had a n to get out. "Look what''s that?!" She looked up and pointed. The moment the kid also looked up, Alice dashed towards the house and hid in the alleyway so that the brat couldn''t see her anymore. Once the brat noticed that Alice was gone, she could hear his rapid tiny footsteps running through his room. "Mom!!! I found a weird person by the wall!" ''Pft! To think you can avoid guards but not a snot nosed brat.'' Alyss mocked as Alice rolled her eyes and ignored her twin. Continuing her path towards the western tower, she made sure to keep an eye out for the random civilians she woulde across. People who were out drinking toote or even those without a home. Reaching the western tower wasn''t difficult but right before she was came into range, her eyes scanned across a woman who was skipping down the street and the same uncanny feeling assaulted her mind. She was a short woman with elongated ears, ck hair and a ck and red dress. The moment Alice''s eyes lingered on Keira''s body, Alice noticed her mistake and hid herself while Keria stopped skipping and nced over. Seeing that no one was by the house, she furrowed her brows and figured it was probably a random civilian in the house that looked away. Their gaze had lingered momentarily on her ears. Rubbing her elongated ear, Keira shrugged her shoulders. This kind of physical trait was umon in the north but she found it rather cute and had even requested it from the schrs. It was based on the traits of certain knights in Extalia, one of which is Lord Renna of Extalia. Ignoring the strange gazes, Keria continued on her way while cold sweat filled Alice''s back. ''F*ck me our theory was right. The Zenias have f*cking fused humans and beasts together.'' Alice muttered. That uncanny feeling was unmistakable. Same with the strange energy that coiled around her body, it was a direct match to the slime serpentine beast that ambushed them on the second night. After all of their experiments, the Zenias have finally began to mass produce these hybrids! Chapter 422: Taking Out The Watchtower Once Keira disappeared from her view, Alice could finally let out a sigh of relief. If she was to grab her attention now, there was a chance that the other two would also show up. However, if she doesn''t destroy the western tower now, she''ll be telling Olivr to kill her here and now. ''So you''ve shot yourself in the foot.'' Alyss snickered as Alice rolled her eyes. With no other choice, she began climbing up the western tower. The formation they deployed around the city was rather rudimentary as they didn''t even try to hide where the nodes are. Had it been the Abyss, Alice would''ve needed to try a little harder to spot it. As she was climbing towards the top, she could sense the presence of more than 3 guards. If she wanted to do this, she needed to do it fast. Taking a deep breath, Alice pulled up her face mask to make sure her identity was hidden. Not that it mattered but it was good to have a safety. Flipping herself over the edge, she came face to face with the surprised guards. Before they could even react, Alice threw a dagger at each of them before dashing towards the core of this tower. The node of the barrier. But just before she could reach it, one of the guards got between her and the node. Even without Ca, Alice knew he was the strongest here. Without hesitation, he activated resonance as a ck mask and tattered jacket appeared around him. Unsheathing a guardless sword with bandages wrapped around the handle, he shed towards Alice. "You''re no fun, going all out from the beginning." Alice forced a smile, using her Shard of Kara to forcefully block that strike despite shattering immediately. She knew that she wasn''t able to redirect that sh nor was she able to dodge in time so the best option was to block! "Hmph." Ignoring Alice''s attitude, he pivoted on his right foot and mmed a heel towards her. Golden chains manifested around Alice''s body as she suddenly did a handstand on the guard''s foot. Twisting her body, Alyss kicked towards the Guard''s head. She wasn''t surprised that it was blocked with ease since her physical power waspletely ass right now. Hell, they''re only barely managed to dodge because they''re observing the movement of the body beforehand and making guesses rather than reacting! "Catch this." Aliceughed, throwing an explosive towards the guard while shielding herself with her Shard. Since it''s gotten to this point, there was no point in keeping a stealthy operation as long as she could destroy this node. It''s why they gave her the explosives after all. *BANG!!!! Shielding himself from the point nk explosive, the guard quickly looked for Alice but she was already on the way towards the node. "Stop her!!!" He roared as the other guards finally recovered from their stupor and lunged towards her. Sliding under their attacks, Alice tugged on the wire and triggered a fire trap she dropped behind her, setting the two guards on fire as they rolled across the ground. Jumping over the guards, the first guard stabbed at Alice with his de. "Nice try!" Alice stepped to the side before rxing her knees, allowing herself to drop down instantly to avoid the following horizontal sh. Grabbing another explosive, she threw it towards the guard and rolled back. Tugging on the wire, she watched as he tried to knock it aside only for it to drop towards his crotch right before exploding. *BANG!!! "ARGGGG!!!" Widening her eyes, Alice''s smile twitched as she quickly nted the rest of her explosives on the node. Just as she ced thest one, she felt a thick killing intent behind her as she nced back and came face to face with a pair of bloodshot eyes behind that mask. Switching with Alyss, they hastily dodged the grab and flipped back but the man wasn''t done. A string of shes, stabs and sts wereunched at her. Stepping to the side, ducking down then using her Shard, Alyss fended off the attack. She couldn''t help but notice a trail of blood dripping from the man''s pants. ''Why the hell did you have to blow up his d*ck of all things???'' Alyss questioned in disbelief. If Alice hadn''t done that, he might not have gone berserk like this. ''It wasn''t my fault okay!? Who told him to knock it down?'' Alice snapped back as it truly wasn''t her original goal. If she knew this was going to happen, she would''ve just dodged. Once she was far enough from the node, Alice was about to tug on the wire to detonate it when she bumped into something. "How did a rat like you even get in?" A familiar voice rang out as Alice shivered. It was Keira! ''Sh*t! Of course she''s here, she didn''t even get that far.'' Alice cursed, ducking down to avoid the sh but Keria smirked. Grabbing Alice by the armpits, she lifted her up to take the strike. Gritting her teeth, Alice swung herself up to dodge and entered a handstand. "Oh?" Keria''s eyes glimmered as though she found a new toy. Throwing herself back, she mmed her knee into the back of Keria''s head. "!?!?!?" Widening her eyes in pain, Alice felt like she just kneed a brick wall as Keira didn''t even flinch. ''The f*ck?! Why is her head so hard???'' Alice questioned inwardly. While her mind was questioning, her body didn''t stop. Tugging the wire, she wanted to detonate the bombs but Keira was already ahead of her. A thin trail of fire could be seen, burning up the wire and preventing Alice from detonating it. "Well how about that little mousey? Can''t detonate your bombs now can you?" Keira smiled while narrowing her eyes at Alice. Feeling a shiver down her spine simr to the strange feeling she got when she was at the academy, Alice instinctively took a step back. ### "How unfortunate." Olivr muttered while narrowing his eyes. The captains and the stealth group were by the back of the city, ready to climb up from the sea but there were still plenty of guards around. He could sense the orb he gave Alice. She was nked by two presences. One was roughly that of a strong guard and the other a Grandmaster level being. Since the bombs hadn''t gone off, there was only one thing he could do. ''Don''t me me, me the fact that you didn''t seed otherwise I wouldn''t have needed to resort to this.'' Olivr curled his lips into a grin. ### At that moment, danger signals erupted in Alice''s mind. All of her senses warned her of the imminent danger as she could feel her chest getting warm. Widening her eyes, Alice realised what was about to happen. ''F*CK YOU OLIVR!!!'' She shouted in her mind. Gritting her teeth, she grabbed the orb and tried to throw it towards the node while using her spare hand to grab a vial of blood from her pouch. At this point, she couldn''t calcte the risks anymore! She had to survive! *BANG!!!!!! Before she could even let go of the orb, a surge of power erupted from within, copsing in an instant and then bursting out with power. Alice''s arm was shredded in an instant as the explosion began to expand. Even Keria was surprised as scales began to form across her body. The guard was killed in an instant from the eruption as the upper floor of the watchtower was engulfed by a sea of mes and smoke. On top of this, the explosives that Alice had set down earlier erupted thanks to the orb. *BOOM!!! A secondary explosion sted the node apart as a shimmering barrier manifested above the city. Cracks could be seen stretching out from the west before breaking apart. Civilians who were asleep were woken up by the earthshaking eruption as they looked out their window in shock. They paled at the realisation that their defensive barrier had been breached. Panic and fear invaded the minds of the weak as they scrambled for safety. Meanwhile, back at the source of the explosion, Keria pushed the mes aside as anger filled her eyes. Her dress was in tatters and on fire but she was fine herself thanks to the scales. However, this didn''t relieve the annoyance of having an explosion detonate in her face. "F*CK!!!" She roared, looking around her and seeing that all the guards had died. Looking for Alice''s body, she punched what remained of the node out of anger. "That rat f*cking survived!" Walking to the edge, her bestial features began to manifest as she was about to chase down the rat and find out where shended. But recalling Elowen''s words, Keria gritted her teeth as veins bulged on her neck. "Gods f*cking dammit!" She cursed, knowing that she had no choice but to ignore her. If she went after her now, it would be going against her orders. Turning around, she disappeared from the watchtower. As for Alice, her vision was hazy and there was a high pitched ringing in her ears. At thatst moment, she managed to drink the beast blood before the explosion sent her flying from the watch tower. She wasn''t sure where shended but she couldn''t feel her right arm nor could she feel parts of her body. If anyone saw her, they would pale in shock. But despite these injuries, a familiar power flowed through Alice''s body as strands of her flesh began to twitch and tremble. Little by little, her body began to reconstruct itself. Chapter 423: State Of Alices Body [O'' master mine what am I ever to do with you¡­] Ca sighed softly. Alice''s breathing was faint and she was on the verge of passing out but a small smile crept up on her face. ''Wee back¡­'' Alice muttered, feeling devoid of strength. [Thank you but not for long.] Ca shrugged as she sat down and closed her eyes. ''Eh? Why?'' Both Alice and Alyss were confused. [. . . Where do I even begin. But before that, all I can say is you''ve given me a hell of a time trying to keep your dumb behind alive o''master mine.] Ca''s smile twitched furiously. ''Huh? How?'' Seeing that Alice was clueless, Ca scratched her hair. [I want you to think back to everything that happened from you sealing me and the weapon to when you got expelled by the Void. Recall everything that happened to your body and say it one by one.] ''Let me handle this one since I got a bone to pick with twinnie here.'' Alyss narrowed her gaze. Everything that happened to Alice''s body has been annoying her as well since she was reckless. Hell, when she gets out, she has to deal with the body as well! Since she was in the midst of regeneration, Alice could onlyy there and listen. ''First, you sealed Ca so your passive upgrade to resistances dropped. Then you had a reaction with the tree that Nyer summoned since he put some extra weird sh*t on it. After that, you decided to eat Kaden''s feather which did something weird to you. Wait¡­ What else?'' Alyss blinked her eyes as Ca felt like she was dealing with a pair of morons. [You''re not any better.] ''The f*ck you mean by that???'' Alyss felt wrong as Ca sat down and crossed her legs. [First, as Alyss said, you had Kaden seal me. However, it wasn''t just any seal. It was a seal used by the Grimoire of Original Sin. I''m sure since you''ve seen it in action against other Lords but it''s no ordinary seal. It practically cuts off every benefit I give you. I want you to keep that in mind for now. [Next, you met the tree. I don''t know what Nyer did but that resonance you had with the tree boosted the power of your blood. I wouldn''t say it made it more potent but rather increased its volitivity. He also mixed in the blood of¡­ A fallen god into it so your body was being reformed by that waning divinity. [And then, of all the things you could''ve done, you decide to f*cking eat Kaden''s feather without consulting with me. Kaden''s feather is basically a raw chunk of power belonging to the Apostle of Corruption. It''s not something anyone can just handle but since Nyer has inserted the blood of a god into the resonance, your body was being reshaped rapidly to ept that power. This allowed you to survive eating Kaden''s feather without just crumpling to the ground immediately.] Ca exined as Alice blinked her eyes. ''It''s not that bad, sounds like it worked out there, no? I don''t see how it can reduce me to this state.'' [Shut up o''master mine and let me finish.] Ca rolled her eyes. [This increased the potency of the curse Kaden ced on your body. It would''ve barely been fine if you stopped therepletely. But do you recall what else you f*cking did after?] ''Ah¡­'' Both Alice and Alyss reacted. [Your f*cking personal Artifact. I believe I''ve told you how they work before. They resonate with you during the link so you''repatible with one another. The Zenia relic, while it does grow, doesn''t f*cking go backwards! So now you have a gods damned relic that''s trying to ''fix your body'' back to what you were like during the fight. [Pumped full of resonance from the tree, divinity from blood and Kaden''s feather AND amplify the curses Kaden ced on your body. But the cherry on top is you throwing yourself into the Void during the period where your power began to fade. Now your injuries sustained by throwing yourself haphazardly into the Void are also taken into consideration. [O''master mine, do you know how much of a pain in the ass it is for me to constantly fight a tug of war with your personal relic, WHILE HAVING THE CURSES YOU ASKED KADEN TO PLACE ON ME AMPLIFIED?! If I stopped for even a moment, your body would''ve imploded on itself!] Ca ground her finger against Alice''s head as Alice wasn''t able to retort. Now that Caid it all out, it did seem like she had gone a little overboard with her¡­ eagerness. And now, she''s paying the price for it. ''So how are you able to talk to us now? Was it because of the blood Alice drank?'' Alyss asked curiously. *Sigh [Half and half. The boost in regeneration does make my life easier but that''s not the main thing. In fact, you''re making it slightly worse because this blood also drains your vitality after it''s over. What is helping, however, is the slight boost to Sigils. I don''t know what Nyer did with your body through resonance but it seems like you''re considered both human and beast now. [You''re growing through consumption and gaining Sigils. So right now, you''re almost at the same level as the beast you killed. You''re equal to a five Sigil Hunter. Since you got stronger, your personal relic rxed a little and now I''m here.] Ca exined. Realising that it all tied back to her personal relic, Alice''s smile twitched. ''Should I just get rid of it?'' She asked while Ca smacked her on the head. [Are you dumb???] ''Just a little.'' Alyss cut in. [The issue, while tied to your personal relic, is something else entirely. Getting rid of the relic might solve it in the short run but in the long run, you''ve just lost a very, very good weapon for you. I don''t know how the Zenia''s have done this but I''ll admit, this personal relic is way toopatible with you it''s actually insane. If you didn''t royally f*ck up your body when you brought it out, it would be your best friend right now.] Ca exined. [The choice is yours. There are both benefits to keeping it and benefits to going without it. As helpful as it is, I suppose we still don''t know the full story. But knowing the Zenia''s, I doubt it''ll be as simple as just a weapon for you to use.] She shrugged. Thinking about it while her body was regenerating, Alice debated on whether or not she should keep it. In the end, she decided to keep it for now. It was simply too handy with its abilities. Three were focused on Alyss''s fighting style and the other three were for her. Where else would she find a weapon like this? Plus, she promised the core that she''d use it against the Zenia family. However, if her life is endangered, she''d have no choice but to discard the weapon. If she''s dead, how can she bring down the Zenias? Resting on the ground while her body regenerated, Alice could only cover herself with arge jacket she had in her pouch otherwise some random kid might just look out the window and go: "Mommy, there''s a pervert on the ground." If that were to happen, Alice might as well bury herself six feet under. After a minute or so, Alice sat up and quickly reced the clothes on her. She only had one set of full ck stealth gear so she had to change into some less stealthy. Unfortunately, that meant an off shoulder white shirt with a ck skirt, stockings and long boots. Grabbing herself a hooded jacket with fur lining, Alice wrapped it around her and began to stumble away from hernding spot. Even though Ca is able to wake up momentarily, this onlysts until the beast blood runs out. Once that happens, Ca will be forced to go back into a tug of war to keep her body alive. But until that time, she was able to ess her Sigils as long as she didn''t over do it. ''I have¡­ 2 more vials of the blood so that''s two more chances of being able to protect myself. I should get Torgeir''s blood when I head back to the outpost.'' Alice thought to herself. Most importantly, she wanted to deal with Olivr. Things may have worked out but if it hadn''t, he wouldn''t killed her then and there. Not only that but there was also the case of Keira. It was brief but Alice was sure she spotted scales appearing on the woman''s body. Meaning her ''resonance'' or something simr would be to transform into the beast that ambushed them. Whatever it was, it gave her another clue to what the Zenias were doing. They were practically flipping the rules of the Abyss on its head and creating a new system of augments simr to Sigils but not quite. Just like how her body was considered to be both beast and human thanks to the stunt that Nyer pulled in the inverted world, the same could be said for these new beings. If she was the prototype, they could be seen as the next generation. Which begs the question of whether or not Nyer had a hand in this. ''I doubt it. He attacked us during our birthday banquet so I doubt Luthor Zenia would ask for his help. He hates us enough as it is for ''killing'' his daughter never mind Nyer who caused it all.'' Alyss shrugged. Alice couldn''t help but nod her head in agreement. Being careful to avoid the guards, Alice wanted to see if she could find a way to escape this ce before sh*t came crashing down and she''s dragged along with it. Chapter 424: Tristan Countless swarms of guards could be seen rushing towards the burning tower. Civilians peeked through their curtains to assess the situation while Alice tried her best to hide herself. She didn''t need any of this attention. "Urg¡­" Flinching slightly, Alice could already feel her regeneration slowing down as energy began to leave her body once more. The effects of the beast blood could onlyst so long without sufficient purity and volume. In order to fight for a longer period of time, she''ll need to better blood. ''I wonder how Bo is holding up against the Grandmaster now. They should''ve entered the castle right?'' Alice thought to herself while slumping against the wall. Sitting down to catch her breath, she gritted her teeth in pain. Even though her regeneration was temporarily brought back, it was already pushed to its limit by regenerating most of her body. Some of her wounds were still open as they weren''t life threatening so it didn''t take priority. The main thing was regenerating her limbs and her important organs. She was tempted to drink another vial but with only two left in her pouch, she didn''t want to use them all right now. Once she had a quick rest, she''d be able to get out without any issues. At that moment, Alice nced to her right and noticed someone staring at her. Her pupils shrank in shock as she didn''t sense him at all despite having her guard up. He has short blonde hair and a pair of sharp blue eyes. He wore a striking white and gold attire that looked between a blend of nobility and knighthood with armour on his right shoulder and arm along with armoured boots. Gold ents could be seen on the armour and outfit with golden chains linking his armour to a cape. On his waist, he carried a single longsword with a golden cross guard and silver details. Most importantly, Alice could see the crest of the Church of the Moon. The details around the crest signify a high standing. This man was no doubt a high ranking member of the Church of the Moon. Reaching into her pouch, Alice gritted her teeth and prepared to fight if she was pushed into it. ### Tristan nced at the girl in front of him. Eye full of distrust, body positioned in a way to strike whenever he decides to make a move against her. While he was on his way to check out the tower that suddenly exploded, he had sensed arge bundle of cursed energy far more potent than anything he had ever felt before and thus decided to have a look. He thought a beast might''ve snuck into the city but he didn''t think that a girl would be the source of this energy. ''How is she even walking with such a potent curse on her?'' He thought to himself. Blood stuck against her bandages and she was clearly fatigued. "I don''t want to hurt you. I just want to have a look at the curses ced upon your body." He called out slowly. He didn''t want to startle the other person since he truly just wanted to have a look at the curses. If he could figure out what kind of curse this was, he might be able to help more people in the future if this ever appeared again. He could see the hesitation in her eye. ". . . Fine." She nodded, walking out slightly and pulled down her hood. Pausing in surprise, Tristan stared at her split hair and appearance. "What? Never seen someone with split hair before?" She spat, causing him to cough awkwardly before shaking his head. He could see the dark radiance of a curse on her eye, the bracelet on her arm and what seemed to be coteral damage along her body. Furrowing his brows, Tristan realised the severity of this curse the more he looked at it. And frankly, just being able to form words was impressive never mind walking around like she was. A curse like this would constantly siphon energy from the person until they werepletely dry. "Where did you even get a curse like this?" He asked but the girl rolled her eyes. "Have you gotten a good look now? Can I go? This isn''t the doctor''s office." "Ah sorry, give me one moment. Would it be alright if I try and dispel it?" Tristan asked as the girl was clearly surprised. She contemted silently, mulling over the decision before curling her lips into a smile. "Sure, go for it. But if you ask me, you won''t be able to do anything about it." She taunted. Nodding his head, Tristan took a step back as he unsheathed his de. Sigils started to manifest across his body as sparkles of lunar energy coiled around him. ncing around her, the girl could see the strands of lunar energy shing against the curses on her body but to no avail. Sweat dripped down Tristan''s body as this was truly the most tenacious curse he had ever experienced. *BANG!!! Breaking apart the sh, the curseshed out against him as he hastily defended himself with his de. Sliding back a few steps, his hand trembled from the bacsh. Had it been designed to counter, he might''ve been inflicted by the same curse just now! Cold sweat filled his back. "You done? Shall I go on my way now?" She asked, clearly not surprised by this turn of events. Feeling a little embarrassed, Tristan could only nod as he watched her pull up her hood and walk away. He didn''t recall sensing such a potent curse during his time in this city. ''Maybe it''s something that can only be activated at night?'' He theorised but eventually shook his head. He''ll do more research once he gets back to the church. ### "Weird guy." Alice muttered. She wasn''t in any condition to fight so she went along with what he wanted to do. If at any point did he show signs of trying to kill her, she''ll fight back. But strangely, that wasn''t the case. He really did try to dispel her curse then backed off when he couldn''t. Maybe this wasmon on the surface, but she half expected him to try and kill her since she was clearly suspicious. But if that wasn''t the case, she was more than happy to oblige. ''He was simr to the principal in terms of power I''d say. So on the verge of Lord.'' Alyss remarked. [Looked very young too. Shame he''s already been imed by the moon. If that wasn''t the case, it might''ve been a good choice to make a friend out of him o''master mine. His purification powers aren''t at the level where it can take out Kaden''s curse but for most curses, it should suffice.] Ca exined. ''Well, that''s something we can think about if we live. I still have to deal with getting more Sigils so my personal artifact can stop trying to kill me every second.'' Alice shook her head. ''Though that does make me curious. How would you even go about dispelling Kaden''s curses? I know he made this one so that it dispels naturally after a while but if I were to go against another curse user, how would I go about it?'' She asked curiously. [That''s the fun part o''master mine. You don''t. Kaden is the highest pinnacle of curses but that''s only when he uses his grimoire. As the Apostle of Corruption and the holder of the Grimoire of Original Sin, he is the only one in the world who can cast multiple curses of Sin onto one person. Most would requirerge rituals and heavy expenses to cast just one, but Kaden? He can cast all seven and more. Though by then, you''ll be dead already.] Ca shrugged, boasting about Kaden''s powers. [But in terms of fighting against other curse users, I''ll be honest, I''m not so sure. Kaden''s talent as a curse user was already very rare never mind reaching his level of proficiency. It''s a rare upation with even rarer talents. [There is only one suggestion that Kaden has ever said when ites to facing off against a high level curse user. Kill them before they can target you! The more you give them time, the harder the fight bes. It turns into a countdown of whether or not you can end things before it reaches that stage.] Hearing this, Alice couldn''t help but swallow her saliva in shock as she didn''t think fighting a curse user would be this annoying. Thankfully, she hadn''t met an enemy curse user before this otherwise her journey might''ve ended short! [It''s not that surprising in all honesty. Curse users have one ring weakness and that is they''re weak to direct confrontations. They have to choose between having strong curses and not being able to defend themselves, or weak curses and being able to survive. Then there''s the case of having resources, studying material and someone to teach them the ways. [It''s a very expensive upation and rather than a strong curse user, mostrge factions would rather use that money to foster an Anti Army Hunter instead with abilities that are specifically used for wiping outrge groups.] Ca reassured. [Plus there is the battle that wiped out most of the curse users quite a few years ago since they were getting a little too out of control. Most of the important study materials were destroyed with few actually keeping copies.] Before Ca could continue her history lesson to Alice, a pir of energy erupted into the sky from the centre of the port city. ncing over in shock, Alice realised that''s where Bo and the others were. Chapter 425: Mirabella Seeing the pir of energy, Alice understood that they failed at assassinating the Grandmaster ranked Warrior. Gritting her teeth, Alice was at a cross road of decisions once more. She had two choices. One was to try and help them to the best of her abilities with another vial of blood. Two was to just escape and leave them to their fates. If she was being honest, two sounded just lovely right about now but they''ll struggle with the journey back. And even if they returned to the outpost, they''d probably be branded as deserters since the captains died. If that was going to be the case, trying to stay in the north would be difficult. [O''master mine, please don''t tell me you''re trying to overload your body again.] Ca sighed as Alice coughed awkwardly. ''Don''t worry, I''m not going to try something like that. Just¡­ Just resolving some issues okay? I''ll get rid of the Grandmaster then leave. With that pir of light, the vanguard group should be beginning their assault on the main city gates. ''Selen and Egil are there since the weird hybrids haven''t appeared yet. So they''re rtively safe. If the Grandmaster dies, the captains will be able to help the other groups.'' Alice exined as she understood Ca''s worries. But if she could save the captains, even if they don''t know it''s her, it''ll certainly make her life easier. Except Olivr of course, he could die for all she cares after he tried to bomb her. She is a forgiving person. But the moment the other tries anything that takes her life or causes the potential loss of it, she no longer cares if they live or die. In fact, most of the time she''ll ensure they don''t survive the next encounter. Pacing back and forth, Alice let out a sigh and began to run towards the castle. ''Twinnie can you change out my Sigils or is the body too weak for that?'' Alice asked, grabbing a vial from her pouch and unsealing it. Pouring the contents into her mouth, she jumped onto some railings beforeunching herself up the side of the building. ''Should be doable. Which one do you want me to switch?'' Alyss asked. ''Switch out the first one since my blood is too vtile right now. If the fumes make the captains addicted it''ll be pretty bad.'' ''What do you want me to switch it to?'' ''Jester. I''d rather keep my identity a secret after all.'' Alice chuckled,nding on the roof. Crouching down, she made a mad dash towards the castle as splinters of ss began to manifest across her body. Each time the ss disappeared, her appearance would change slightly. Landing on a roof near the castle, Alice''s appearance hadpletely shifted as no one would even expect they were the same person. Long pink hair with two small pony tails at the side while the back flowed freely. Strands of blue could be seen between the pink. A pair of eyes and a toothy grin. Her outfit changed to match her new appearance with pink and ck being the main colours. The underside of the pink was a bright blue like her hair. The design of the outfit was rather revealing and up to Alyss''s tastes with it being a pink bralette top with ck details, a pair of pink frilled shorts, briar thorn bracelets and thigh straps. She wore a stocking only on her left leg with a pair of pink heels including straps on the ankle. "Ah~ Ah~ Ah~" Alice adjusted her voice to be more whimsical and smug than her usual tone. The pitch was higher than normal too. "Nyehehe~ Perfect!" She grinned, seeing no simrities with her usual self. Creatingrge blood staff wrapped in metal briar thorns, Alice dashed towards where the fight was happening. ### *BANG!!! mming against the wall, Bo was forcefully pulled out of his resonance as blood poured out of his wounds. His vision was hazy as he clutched his chest. Everyone in the stealth group was dead except the captains. And even then, out of the seven, only four were left Alive. Olivr was barely hanging on, Bo was heavily wounded, the shield captain was still alive and helping Olivr while thest captain was knocked out from the previous attack. Frida and two others died, one of them being the healer. "Is this the best that Verona can send? How pitiful." The Grandmaster twisted his body and mmed his fist into the shield captain, shattering his shield into pieces. He didn''t wear any armour and only a set of tattered clothes as a result of their fight. However, peaking through the gaps was a refined body packing more power than even Egil. Golden Sigil markings stretched across his arm and torso, pulsing with pure energy. He has medium ck hair that fluttered due to his aura and a pair of bright golden eyes as a result of his Sigils. A golden halo could be seen behind him with a symbol in the middle but Bo wasn''t sure which religion it belonged to. However, he could guess that it was probably one that belonged to the Church of the Sun considering the sparks and mes that crackled around him. Above where his heart would be, a pulsing crest danced with mes. Gritting his teeth, Bo could feel his breathing bing difficult. "Yikers what a mess this is. You feeling alright boss?" A cheerful voice rang out beside him as Bo nced over and saw a pink haired girl looking at him with a wide grin. She was squatting down while hugging her knees. "Ya got any healing vials? Or you out? I don''t got any spare for you." She asked, scanning him up and down as Bo struggled and pointed at the pouch that he dropped after being thrown into a wall. It was close to where Olivr was fighting against the Grandmaster. "So you got some healing vials in there? Gotcha." The girl chuckled. Flicking her finger, a strand of blood shot out and hooked against the pouch before pulling it towards them. "You should be fine now right, boss? I don''t need to look after you or anything like that right? Because it''s gonna be a pain in my ass if I have to." Shaking his head, Bo grabbed a vial of healing blood and poured it into his mouth. Feeling his wounds healing, he let out a sigh of relief before asking what''s on his mind this entire time. "Who are you?" "Me? I''m just a bystander boss. A bystander who can''t help but interfere." She stuck out her tongue before standing up. Looking at the Grandmaster who was fighting Olivr right now, she tapped her staff against the ground and a crack in the Void appeared beneath Olivr. Widening his eyes from suddenly losing his footing, Olivr fell down next to them as the Grandmaster turned his attention to the girl. ### Teleporting Olivr next to them, Alice narrowed her gaze at the Grandmaster. ''Thought you didn''t care if Olivr died or not?'' Alyss raised an eyebrow. ''Of course I don''t. This beast blood isn''t going tost me the entire fight you know? Just using Jester and my fourth Sigil is enough to make me feel drained so obviously I need a battery elsewhere.'' Alice shrugged. She didn''t save Olivr because she wanted him to live. She saved him so that his blood didn''t go to waste if she was to need itter. Twirling the staff in her hands, Alice began to walk towards the Grandmaster. "Are you with these barbarians of the north?" He questioned but Alice shook her head. "Nope~ I mean just look at me. Do I look like I''m from the north?" Aliceughed, giving her body a light twirl. Just as she finished her twirl, she swung her staff towards the Grandmaster who blocked it with his arm. But just as he did that, a spark of energy manifest between the staff and his arm. Void Flux! *BANG!!! Dodging at thest moment, the Grandmaster looked at his arm with a frown. Despite his dodge, the attack still tore off a piece of his skin. He could sense something trying to invade his body from that attack and forcefully expelled the foreign substance before healing his arm. *Whistle~ "You''re no joke are you, big man? First time I saw someone shrug it off like that." Alice remarked. While her personality might be an act, her surprise wasn''t. With the upgrade to her blood that makes it far more vtile, she was shocked that he could forcefully expel it from his body in time. Not only that, but he also dodged a point nk Void Flux! Taking a deep breath, the Grandmaster calmed his mind and looked at Alice. "I suppose even if you aren''t from the north, you are siding with these barbarians." He asked as Alice tapped her chin before nodded her head. "For the moment, yes." "I see. Then you are my enemy. Caelum, Ex Arch bishop of the Church of the Sun, current master of this Port. State your name challenger." Caelum erupted with radiant energy. "Mirabe. Just a cute bystander who decided to intervene even though it''s none of my business." Alice stuck out her tongue and mmed her staff into the ground. Blood manifest around her as several strands shot towards Caelum who mmed his fists together. A pulse of radiant energy pulsed out, burning away most of the blood. However, the blood that remained began to spark as he jumped back to dodge. However, a portal to the Void opened up and Alice appeared. "Peekaboo~" Pointing her staff at his back, she fired another point nk Void Flux! *BANG!!!! With a series of detonations in front of him and a Void Flux behind him, Caelum covered his body with a golden energy and withstood the impact. "Tough guy." Alice whistled. After firing the Void Flux at his back, she dove back into the portal and appeared above the ground, sitting on her staff that was floating above ground thanks to her control of blood. While this was happening, Bo had one thought in his mind. ''She''s strong!'' Chapter 426: Alice Vs Caelum Sitting on her staff above the ground, Alice flicked her finger and several beads of blood manifested around Caelum before detonating into Void Fluxes. However, now that he understood what her blood did, Caelum wasn''t going to let himself be taken advantage of so easily. Twisting his body, he punched towards one of the sparks as radiant energy enveloped his body, protecting him from the st. With a series of punches and kicks, he forcefully detonated the sparks as Alice curled her lips into a smile. She had expected this hence why they weren''t fully formed Void Flux''s but rather, beads focuses on spreading blood mist. The light around Caelum''s body began to flicker and wane, causing him to pause in surprise. Furrowing his brows, mes gathered towards his back as a pair of fiery wings unfurled. Twisting his body, the wings burned away the blood mist as heunched himself towards Alice. Letting out a giggle, Alice allowed herself to fall back into a portal and appear where he had stood earlier. Snapping her finger, motes of blood sparked around Caelum as her violet mes detonated into a sea of fire. Latching onto his wings, Alice grinned as it began to eat away at his energy. She could feel a flow of energy entering her, filling her up as the energy she spent seemed to be replenished. Dismissing his ming wings, Caelum mmed his fists together before sping his hands. From between his palms, sr energy gathered into a singr orb. "What is this foul ability you are using!?!" Caelum roared, throwing the orb towards the ground as it detonated to reveal a painting of the ster skies encircling a singr sun. Flicking his finger upwards, the sun extracted itself from the portal. Alice felt as though her body was being melted just from being in its presence. ''Let me handle this one.'' Alyss called out as Alice nodded her head. Closing her eyes, golden chains manifested and Alyss took over. She stabbed the staff beside her and mmed her hand against the ground. Her shadow began to twist and expand while violet mes danced upon its surface. "It''s not foul, just unique." Alyssughed as ck limbs shot out of her shadow, grabbing onto the miniature sun. A twisting ck and purple energy began to infect the celestial orb as Caelum gritted his teeth in annoyance. No matter what he did, his energy was continuously being drained at an absurd pace. And the attacks heunches would be corrupted and negated by the strange blood and fire. As the ex Archbishop, this was the first time in his entire life that he''d seen something so strange and unholy. Understanding that he must take it into his own hands rather than relying on his Sigil powers, Caelum flickered above the sun and pulled his fist back. *BANG!!!! Punching the sun, he shattered it into a rain of fireballs towards Alyss who smirked while the chains disappeared. With Alice taking over once more, she raised her hand. *Click Snapping her finger, countless sparks of Void Flux appeared in front of the fireballs and consumed them in the blink of an eye. Grabbing the staff, she twirled it around her body before mming it into the ground. Beneath her, arge ritual circle began to expand. Alice had taken the knowledge she gained from seeing Selen fight as well as her previous experiences to form a new attack with Alyss. A ritual to exchange their power. But this time, rather than the mes, she sought out a different aspect of Alyss''s power. Not only that but fresh inspiration from the thought of Kaden, his curses and how he uses his shadows. Inky shadows and tendrils shot up from the edges of her ritual circle to form a cage. Webs of corruptiontched onto one another as the gaps started to close one after another. A sense of dread filled Caelum''s mind. His entire being, his soul was screaming for him to escape this cage. Realising the danger he was in, Caelum gritted his teeth as he plunged his fist into his heart. The golden markings around his body erupted in ster fire as his entire body began to change. Resonance! *Badum!!! Badum!!! Badum!!! His heart began to pulse as the fire grew stronger. Exploding outwards, a red and blue fire wrapped around his body as a cocoon of mes appeared. Raising her eyebrow, Alice was about to act when the cocoon began to break. It suddenly contracted, dragging all of the mes towards the centre, forming a single core. From that core, a body was being constructed. Light and fire became his new flesh as Caelum was reborn in his Resonance. His hair turned from ck to a pristine white. A pair of glowing eyes and a white and gold winged helmet. Armour appeared around his body while a pair of wings unfurled behind him. Summoning a pair of gauntlets bursting with energy and the mark of the Sun God, Caelum pulled his body back before crashing towards the ground. *BANG!!!! CRACK!!!! A pulse of fire shed against the darkness. ''Divinity!'' Alice widened her eyes, recognising that power to be the same that belonged to the Sun god Sris. Just as she thought this, Caelum''s fists were mere centimetres away from hitting her face as she bent her body back at thest second to dodge. But Caelum took that into ount and adjusted his strike into an elbow m. *BANG!!! Opening a portal between them, she created the exit behind his head as he his himself with his own attack, giving Alice the chance to roll out of the way. Recalling the shadows that were draining her energy while being burned away by his current aura, Alice furrowed her brows. "Seems like your heretical power cannot stand against the radiance of My Lord after all." Caelum narrowed his gaze. "Hah! And here I thought you said you were an Ex Archbishop? Howe an ex member of the church of the Sun is using its power? I thought you didn''t get to use it anymore once you leave?" Alice questioned with a brave smile. Refusing to borate, Caelum reached forward and grabbed the empty air. Tugging it, ming chains manifested and coiled around Alice''s neck. Seeing this Alice widened her eyes as veins bulged on her forehead and neck. Her anger reached its peak as Sigils manifested across her body. She may not care for the love of the Zenia family anymore, but this didn''t mean anyone could wrap something around her neck! Resonance! The pattern of a red spider lily blossomed in Alice''s pupil as briar thorns burst out from her body, wrapping around her arms. An obsidian crown crackled to life above her head, floral patterns stretched across Alice''s cheek and lilies blossomed along the wounds caused by her thorns. Wearing a bloodied white dress, Alice grabbed the ming chains with her bare hands without caring about the damage. Biting the inside of her mouth, Alice spat a mouthful of her own blood onto the chains as it began to wither rapidly with thorns and violet mes rushing towards Caelum like a wave of malevolent spirits. Horror filled his heart as he immediately let go of the chains before jumping back. In his resonance, Caelum had be closer to his God to the point he could sense the different energies in people. How many Sigils do they have, what church do they belong to or even if they''re part of the Eclipse. But Alice? She was pure, unrefined corruption dyed in the colour of the Abyss. No, she felt like the Abyss itself. Each pulse of the dark realm matched the pulse of her heart, its authority resting in her crown. With each step she took, a new sense of dread would take root within his body. "What the hell are you?!" He screamed, unsure as to what he was looking at. She couldn''t even be considered human with the aura she was radiating. "You don''t need to know." Alice narrowed her gaze as she snapped her finger. In the blink of an eye, a garden of red spider lilies blossomed within the castle andtched onto Caelum''s body. Briar thorns shot out from his surroundings, piercing into his body, tearing off his wings and stabbing through his chest. Blood drained from his body as it was being siphoned by the briar thorns. The mes around Caelum''s body began to fade as Alice stepped towards Caelum and looked at him face to face. Defiance roared in his gaze despite his current state as Alice curved her lips into a wide grin. She recalled what she had done in the Inverted World and a sadistic joy appeared in her eyes. "Pft, do you think you get to return to your god after you die?" She asked. Hearing this, Caelum froze up. "I remember sensing a little something from a few people that I''ve fought in the past. A precious, delicate connection to their God. But you know, once you partake in the blessing of the Abyss, that connection is weakened somewhat no matter how you try and reinforce it." Alice whispered. Her voice was like the teasing of a demon as it approached its victim. "All it takes¡­" "Is one little snip." Alice giggled softly as she snapped her finger and tapped against his chest. From his ming heart, Alice''s blood dug deep and began to pull out strands of energy. Caelum''s face paled in horror as he wanted to struggle but Alice jammed her left hand into his mouth, stopping him from talking. "Shh~ just watch. Something fun is about to happen." She tugged against his tongue, causing him to choke. mes manifested on her hand as she grabbed the strand of energy. Narrowing her gaze, she revealed a sadistic grin and pulled. *SNAP!!! Breaking the strand of energy, Caelum''s body began to twist and convulse while the mes around him disappeared in an instant. His connection cut off from his God and his soul doomed to be consumed by Alice. Pulling her hand out, she shook off the saliva in disgust while turning around. She was going to let him hang there for a little longer so that she could siphon more of his blood into vials to be usedter. At that moment, Alice felt dread. "Manifestation." A haunting voice rang out from behind her. [Night Breaker Spear ¨C Crystallisation of Myth] Chapter 427: Gods Decent A sacred luminance filled the castle as both Bo and Olivr had to shield their eyes from the attack. The burning against their skin, the innate reverence that welled up within them. The sheer power of the spear sent a chill down their spine as they understood that this was no mortal power. This is a God. "How dare a filthy mortal pilfer the soul of my believer." ''Caelum'' spat out in anger as mes coiled around his arm. A single golden eye oveid his own right eye while his body was breaking apart from hosting this overwhelming well of power. The Night Breaker Spear, a weapon of myth that appeared within Sris'' story. A spear that pierced the night veil and brought down the radiance of the Sun. A weapon that could only be thrown once. *COUGH!!! Hearing a cough from within the dust, ''Caelum'' widened his eyes in shock. "You really decided to use that of all things to try and kill me. Haha¡­ Are you that annoyed your little boy toy doesn''t belong to you anymore?" Alice''s voice rang out. It was clearly forced and even Bo could tell the girl was injured. As the dust settled, they paused in shock. A single spear pinned Alice against the wall but tendrils of flesh, briar thorns and red spider lilies grew around her. Thorns coiled around the spear shaft, hoping to slow it down for even a moment. Lilies that gathered to siphon the power, the twisting of the void and ckened limbs all tried to stop the spear. Yet it was still firmly lodged into Alice''s chest,pletely destroying the right side of her body. Looking down at his hand, ''Caelum'' frowned. Even if his power was restricted, that spear should''ve been more than enough to kill a single mortal. But she was still alive? Alive enough to taunt him? "Who are you?" ''Caelum'' demanded to know as Alice''s flesh began to twist. Jumping back towards her body, she started to regenerate herself. Repairing her eye, Alice looked up at ''Caelum'' and grinned. Raising her right hand, she showed him her middle finger. "F*ck you Sris." Aliceughed. ''Twinnie, can you do it?'' ''Who do you take me for? Of course I can.'' *BANG!!! A dark malevolent energy erupted from Alice''s body as golden chains coiled around her limbs and neck. Seeing these chains and the energy they exuded, Sris froze up. "VELOURIA!!!" He roared, as mes rushed across his body, burning away everything Caelum had to offer in order to bring down more of his power. Pulling her hand back, Alyss punched forward, shattering the Void. In the brief moment before Sris attacked them with the spear, she had drunk Caelum''s energy out of panic to protect herself. But this had another effect. She was now equal to a six Sigil Hunter! Oveying Allura''s Sigil onto herself, she pulled out her personal Artifact. [Ruinous Void ¨C Lance form] When her personal artifact was shifted to a Lance form dedicated to Alyss, it allowed three attacks that gathered the might of the Void. All three were guaranteed hits! Alyss recalled the sensation of mimicking Enris in the Inverted World as the corner of her lips curled up into a devious grin. "Oi, Sun God. Do you believe the weapons of Gods are beyond the reach of mortals?" Alyss taunted as energy converged towards her Lance. The severance effect of Allura, the guaranteed hit of Ruinous Void, siphoning and cancelling ability of their blood along with Tiamat''s Sigil for absolute power thates from gathering the ambient energy around them. As the world lost its colour, Alyss''snce began to change. [Replication ¨C Night Breaker Lance of Ruinous Void] Her artifact shifted to a dark metallic material with jagged edges and a pulsing purple power that could be seen through the gaps. Veins of purple could be seen wrapped by the briar thorns that ran down the body of thence. Holding thisnce, Alyss nced up at the fragment of God that was trying to descend towards the mortal realm. Despite it being night, a singr sun hung in the centre of the sky, illuminating the realm in its brilliance. She didn''t need to kill a God, she didn''t need to wound him. That was not the goal of thisnce. The goal was simple and what they had sought out to do from the start. Topletely sever his connection to this location at this moment! Taking a deep breath, she gripped thence and felt its power flooding her body. ''No wonder this thing was f*cking us up from the inside.'' Alyss thought to herself with augh. The artifact is a sentient being. Juvenile and very eager. It tasted the height of Alice''s power within the Inverted World and had thought that Alice got injured. It''s trying to destroy the ''weakness'' so Alice could reim that power. The sentience wasn''t strong as all it had was its baser instincts but at least for this moment, it had stopped trying to destroy their body. Instead, its attention was focused on the divine being in front of them. To aplish the task that its owner had set out for it. To shatter, tear and destroy the connection! Taking a few steps back, Alyss red at Sris who was gathering his power for a singr strike before he was forcefully expelled. mes burst around thence as runic symbols lit up on the handle. Dashing forward, she twisted her body and gritted her teeth, funnelling as much power as she could to thence. *BANG!!!!! Her throw caused the ground around her to shatter as thence erupted into a brilliant spiral of light. A trial of shimmering stardust left in its wake as the fabrics of space began to twist. The Void forcefully opened up to wee the attack, bridging the gap and appearing before Sris. Two points on a paper, folded in half to reduce the distance to nothingness. With Allura''s power, Alyss singled out the connection and thence flew true. *CRACK!!! Trying to block the spear with his hand, Sris gritted his teeth in anger as memories of Ayr flooded his mind. The divinity held by Velouria and her Apostles has once again appeared before him. Doubt, confusion and disbelief gripped his mind as the spear shattered through his spectral being, colliding with his tether to this realm and shattering to countless pieces. *BOOM!!! A pulse of energy rippled out from his tether being shattered as mes began to melt the stone around them. Shooting to the sky was a single pir of energy as Sris'' figure began to disintegrate. ring at Alyss, Sris showed a face of disgust. "I''ll remember you. Hear me and despair. One day, I will tear your head from your very shoulders and mount it for all to see. The story of a fool who dare take something of mine. "This time, I will properly clean the remnants of Ayr from the face of this world." Sris promised as Alyss rested hernce on her shoulders. "Bold words for a worthless God who can''t even kill a filthy mortal." Alyss smirked as Sris lost hisposure and screamed towards her but his words were cut out. His essence unravelled and the Sun in the sky disappeared, leaving the Civilians wondering if it had all been an illusion. ### Meanwhile, Tristan had a frown on his face. As a Cardinal of the Moon, he could clearly recognise Divine power when it appeared. That was no archbishop, no cardinal or pope. That was the Divine being himself descending. Who could even force a God to descend despite the restrictions? He wanted to investigate but he could feel the intent of his Goddess. She was warning him not to intervene or approach the location in fear of having her beloved Cardinal stolen from her embrace. With his Goddess sending down an order, Tristan didn''t remain and left as she had ordered. ### Three figures watched from the distance as frowns hung on their faces. "Did the family send someone like that?" Keria asked, crossing her legs while floating in the air. The aura they could feel from area was simr yet different at the same time. "I don''t believe they have." Elowen furrowed her brows as this was outside of their expectations. She wasn''t sure what they should do as their ns had been thrown in disarray now. "Maybe it''s a product by a different branch? A Divine being did appear after all." Troy theorised. "Forget it, orders haven''te down from above yet. Let us simply observe for now until new orders arrive." Elowen sighed after a moment. If they took matters into their own hands and it turns out to be another operation by the family, they could inadvertently ruin things. Thinking about the potential punishments for doing so, she paled slightly as the three of them left, not wanting to hang around for too long. ### A man with could be seen sitting on a throne as veins bulged on his temples and neck. His eyes burning with anger as the mes around him grew with his rage. He was already angry enough to find out that one of his followers had been forcefully ripped from his embrace but to make matters worse, he found an Ayrian who has a fragment of Velouria''s power. "After all these years you continue to haunt me with your power." Sris muttered, remembering the fear he felt long, long ago when he faced Velouria. That unrivalled power and control over the Abyss which dwarfed the power of the three Gods. Summoning his apostles, Sris took a deep breath. "Send a message to the Moon and the Eclipse. I''m ordering another gathering of the Gods." Chapter 428: Leaving The Port Stronghold As thest fragment of Sris faded away from the castle, Alyss closed her eyes and the golden chains disappeared. "F*cking hell¡­" Alice muttered, falling back as the disguise of the jester began to fall apart. While the jester was versatile in keeping her identity a secret, one attack is all it needs for it to be dispelled. If it wasn''t for the fact that she had her resonance, her true appearance might''ve been seen by Sris and if that was to happen, it would''ve truly been a bad situation. ''Honestly, I probably shouldn''t have stolen his soul like that.'' Alice''s smile twitched thinking about the trouble she just caused. But after he tried to wrap that chain around her neck, she felt an unstoppable surge of rage within. ''Well, what''s done is done. No point worrying about it now.'' Alyss shrugged with a smile. She felt satisfied being able to go all out after such a long time of not being able to fight. A true stress reliever. Looking at the fadingnce in her hands, Alice had a smile on her face. She was d she didn''t get rid of her personal artifact. A weapon like this that could act as a catalyst for her abilities and match her growth was far too rare to give up. As long as she can weather this period where her body is at its weakest, the results will be unthinkable. A prime Alice with all her abilities avable again. Ca, Void Fang, Ruinous Void and the full capabilities of her blood. The goal of bringing down the Zenia family was slowlying into view and Alice couldn''t suppress the smile on her face. "What the f*ck¡­" "Ah¡­" Pausing in realisation, Alice nced to her left and saw Bo clutching his ribs while walking over in shock. She hadpletely forgotten that the two of them were still here since Sris had taken her attention when he appeared. "Erm¡­ Teehee?" Alice stuck out her tongue. "I¡­ have so many questions." Bo sighed. He didn''t know how Alice was able to pull off everything she had just demonstrated. With the wounds she had on her body, this should''ve been impossible. Not only that, but thest attack sent by Caelum was frankly too devastating. A single spear toss that made him feel like he was going to die just by looking at the attack. Yet here she was, lying on the ground with mild wounds at best. "Maybe you can ask themter when we get out of here. We''re still in enemy territory ya know?" Alice scratched her cheek as she nced past him and saw Olivr''s shocked expression upon seeing her identity. ''I''m guessing that b*stard''s scared now since he tried to kill you.'' Alyss folded her arms. ''Perhaps. Should I deal with him now?'' Alice wondered before nodding her head. ''Of course, I should. Leaving behind loose cannons like him would only cause issues further down the line.'' "Bo, could you move aside for a second?" Alice asked as Bo nodded his head. Stepping to the side, he watched as she aimed her finger towards Olvir''s location. "!!!" Realising what was about to happen, he wanted to say something but a spark of raw energy shot towards Olivr like an arrow. *BANG!!!! Detonating in front of him and erasing him in an instant, Alice let out a sigh of satisfaction. "Thank you~ Had to deal with him before he tried to kill me while I''m weak. Motherf*cker exploded the orb I had on me to drag the guards to the watchtower." Alice figured she might as well exin before Bo misunderstands. "I see¡­" Bo sighed as he could only shake his head. Had Olivr taken a different route, he might be alive right now but this was no time to mourn. "The others are still fighting by the gates. The strange beasts haven''t shown up yet. Let''s get out of here and regroup." Bo suggested, offering to carry Alice considering her current state. "Honestly, if the beasts appear we''re kind of f*cked. I can''t deal with them right now unless I n on taking myself out with them." Alice admitted honestly. With thatst attack that Alyss threw towards Sris, she exhausted all of the energy in her body. On top of everything, she even summoned her personal Artifact! Frankly, it''s a wonder that she was even conscious right now. "Also you probably don''t want to touch my blood. Just a warning for you." She added, throwing a droplet towards what remains of Caelum''s corpse. ncing over, he watched as parts of Caelum''s flesh began to twist and mutate before finally bursting apart. "What kind of spirits did you even attune to???" Bo blinked his eyes in confusion and shock. "The less you know the better. Just drag me along with a rope or something. As long as you don''t touch my blood, you''re safe." Nodding his head, Bo grabbed the bodies of the surviving captains while ignoring the rest. There were only three survivors. Him, the shield captain and a captain who used support skills but didn''t heal. Everyone else died in the fight except Olivr who was killed by Alice because he tried to kill her earlier. Lifting the two captains onto his shoulder, he grabbed some clothes and rope. Bundling up Alice''s body, he carried it on his back. "I know I said that you shouldn''t touch my blood. But isn''t this a bit too much?" Alice''s smile twitched. With the way he had wrapped her up, she felt like she was a worm. Unable to move her limbs and tightly packed into a long roll. Only able to shuffle. "It''s either that or dragging you by rope. And honestly, rope is probably the worse option." Bo joked along, lightening the mood before dashing out of the castle. He could see countless abilities and attacks being thrown by the gates. Dead corpses scattered across the battlefield. A friend who shared a meal with him earlier was sted to smithereens without even seeing where the attack came from. "The Grandmaster is dead! All units retreat!!!" Bo shouted towards the Warrior of Verona. Despite their shallow victory over the Grandmaster, they could not upy a port stronghold with these numbers never mind calling for reinforcements from the capital. Hearing hismand, the Warriors of Verona began to deploy defensive abilities with what little numbers they had left and began to retreat. Alice could spot Egil covering for his allies, taking the attacks using his own body and providing cover while Selen slowed downrge scale abilities. "I don''t suppose we''re continuing the assault after we regroup?" Alice asked curiously. "Of course not. With these numbers, it''s just suicide. We''re going back to the supply base as soon as possible." Bo shook his head as Alice let out a sigh of relief. ### Retreating back to the mountains, Alice nced at the surviving numbers and couldn''t help but frown. Out of the 55 that survived the journey here, only 17 is left not including the captains. None of Bo''s squad managed to survive the initial attack with stragglers barely surviving thanks to being covered by Egil. The enemy targeted the healers and supporters first so they were the first to go. Looking at these numbers, Bo couldn''t help but let out a sigh. He had hoped more would survive but this was probably the best they were going to get. If Alice hadn''t intervened in the battle against the Grandmaster, no one would be left. "Rest up for an hour. After an hour, we''ll prepare for the journey back." Bo ordered, takingmand as the other captains were still knocked out from the battle. Sighed of relief could be heard while many of the Warriors were traumatised by the battle. Their eyes were hollow as friends whom they shared time with perished beside them while they survived on pure luck. Meanwhile, Selen crossed her arms in front of Alice who was bleeding from all over her body due to the wounds that failed to close. "What did you do this time? Your regenerationpletely shut down." Selen asked with a frown. She told Alice to take it easy but only for her to return in this state. "Erm¡­ Things got a little out of control I admit. But I got a clue on how to fix my body now." Alice coughed, changing the subject as Selen rolled her eyes. Reaching into her pouch, she grabbed some bandages and began to dress up Alice''s wounds. Out of everyone, she was the most qualified since her body was somewhat resistant. As long as she keeps contact to a minimum, Alice''s blood won''t do much to her. "I also got some new information on the Zenias for you." Alice whispered, ensuring that no one was eavesdropping on them. "Hm?" "They''ve created a new hybrid simr to the one back in Verten. The three beasts that ambushed us are their new products and they have a human form." Hearing this, Selen froze up immediately as her pupils constricted. "So they finished the experiments." Selen gritted her teeth as she continued to dress up Alice''s wounds. "You know of them?" Alice raised an eyebrow, realising that Selen had information. "A little but not much. Erick wasn''t part of the main family so the information he could get was limited. However, there were two variants of this experiment. First, to create hybrids between humans and sealed Lords. "I''m part of that experiment and the Lord I was matched with controls time to some extent. The second half¡­ is to create a brand new ''race'' of humans. I just know that their fusion starts much earlier than the ones of the first variant. You could even say they''re born that way and no adjustments are neededter down the line." Selen exined as she remembers seeing a few of the prototypes belonging to the second variant when she was still in the Zenia family. Children who couldn''t control their transformation and mutate into malformed beings before they could fully adapt. In one sense, it was worse than sumbing to the side effects of Abyss Blood. There was no easy way to put it. Once they mutate due to ack of control, they be malformed monstrosities with no way of turning back to normal. The only mercy they could receive was being killed. Either die as a monster or live as a weapon of the Zenias. That is the choice offered to this new ''race'' of beings. Chapter 429: Returning To The Outpost On the way back to the outpost, the fatigue of pushing her body finally caught up to Alice as she wasn''t even able lift a single finger. Her wounds continuously split apart and bled with Selen constantly dressing her wounds to the point she got sick of it. However, if she doesn''t take care of Alice''s wounds, she''ll probably die. Even more so now that her regeneration had ceased due to her pushing herself. "I can eat by my self¡­" Alice muttered, feeling countless eyes on her as she blushed in embarrassment. "If you could, you wouldn''t be in this situation would you?" Selen asked, grabbing a spoon and feeding Alice. Right now, she was hung up on a tree with her entire body encased in bandages and clothing to prevent any more damage to her body. Selen got sick of Alice reopening her wounds whenever there was a slight shake on the carriage so herpromise was to treat her like an expensive vase. "Yeah but¡­ does it have to be on a tree??" Alice'' smile twitched while looking at her situation. Those who see her might even mistake her for a stack of clothes randomly thrown onto a clothes hanger. "Stopining. If you''re that against it, next time don''t get injured like this again. I''m not even a physician." Selen rolled her eyes, shoving the spoon in Alice''s mouth before she could retort. As Alice was being fed while hanging on the tree, the captains had another meeting. "Can we even survive the journey back?" Vandil asked. Even though he''s the shield captain, he''s lost his trusted shield. He could make do with spare weapons but his effectiveness has decreased significantly. "The old man''s right. What if the beasts decide to ambush again? This time we don''t have the others to help." Hilde followed. She is the support captain that got knocked out and all of her skills are focused on enhancing others. She had no healing skills that could help them if they get injured. "Even if it seems impossible, we have to try. The port is off limits even if the Grandmaster is dead. The only way to get out of this alive is to make it back to the outpost. How are our supplies?" Bo shook his head before turning to Vandil. "It''s not gonnast. We''ll have to starve for thest day of the journey." He shook his head. Furrowing his brows, Bo sighed as this was to be expected. They barely had enough for a round trip to begin with. But after the ambush, their supplies had dwindled to the point where even after rationing things out, it''ll be difficult to sustain for the rest of the trip. "Can we reduce the rations more so we can cover the journey?" Bo asked but Vandil rejected the suggestion. "We''re already barely eating anything as it is. If we reduce it even more, we might as well not be eating anything." Usually, one day wouldn''t mean much. It''s just one day after all. But right now, everyone was starving, injured and stressed. They can''t perform how they usually would and now, even a normal beast would pose a danger to them. Bo might''ve recovered from his injuries to some extent but he can''t cover for all of them. What''s worse is that the path back was prone to being attacked by five star beasts. Selen and Egil were both exhausted as well so the help they can provide was limited. Bo initially wanted to ask Alice for help but he recalled the injuries on her body. He found it weird how she needed him to represent her during the duel but now it made sense. He wasn''t sure of her circumstances but there''s no doubt that such a tyrannical power as the one she showed enacted a high toll on the user''s body. Thinking to this point, he couldn''t help but nce over at Alice who was shedding a tear of embarrassment while being hung on the tree. She looked like a harmless cat who''s been strung up rather than a powerful Hunter who managed to kill a Grandmaster. But thatst moment when an unfathomable aura appeared¡­ ''Forget it, no use in thinking about it. Curiosity killed the cat.'' Bo shook his head. Regardless of Alice''s circumstances, why she was hiding her powers and what that was at the end, it wasn''t his business. All he has to care about was the fact that she saved him and the other two captains. This was a debt he had to repay no matter what. "We''ll try and speed up the travel to make up for theck of supplies. I''ll use my pouch for the supplies. Load the injured onto the carts, we''ll leave immediately." Bo ordered as both Vandil and Hilde nodded their heads. ### The path back was arduouspared to the journey towards the port. Tension was at an all time high with everyone being on guard against ambushes by stray beasts. What would''ve been taken care of easily became a threat that could easily wipe them out. The main attack force scrapped together was Egil being the frontline with Vandil who acted as his support, Selen and Bo acting as the main damage dealers and Hilde being support for them all. But without any healer to heal their injuries sustained through the battles, their medical supplies began to dwindle. A few of the injured warriors only got a few drops of healing blood to help tide them over this period while they''re being transported. Naturally, this meant that they were in constant agony but they couldn''t do anything about it. However, the one who was most fatigued was Selen. No only did she have to attend to Alice''s wounds but also fight while protecting everyone. Constantly using her time slow barrier while keeping beasts away. In order to not add to her burdens, Alice didn''t say anything and followed her instructions. As the time passed, people stopped talking and even food was eaten in silence. Everyone was reaching their limit but the end was soon. Just a few more hours and they''ll reach the outpost. ### "What¡­ What the hell happened here¡­" Bo muttered with a trembling voice. He could see the scars of battle scattered across the gates and craters within the outpost. The walls that were forcefully broken down and hastily repaired. The corpses of beasts that have yet to be dealt with while their blood seeped into the ground around them. Countless warriors could be seen wounded while broken weapons were stabbed into the ground. With such a sight, none of the Warriors could rest easy as everyone rushed towards the outpost. However, there was one thing that Alice had noticed. The presence of the Abyss. The familiar strands of energy that invaded thisnd like the tendrils of a monster. wing its way out from the ground and dying the realm in its colour. Furrowing her brows, Alice forced herself to stand up while Selen stopped her. "I should be rtively fine now. Just go back to our quarters and rest up. I''m going to get some information." Alice reassured with a smile. Letting out an annoyed sigh, Selen nodded her head since she was in no state to keep looking after Alice. She was absolutely exhausted and hungry. Grabbing a fruit to eat while she made her way to the old man''s house, Alice furrowed her brows seeing the state of the outpost. The concerned looks of the families, those who were heartbroken and those filled with despair. A sight that will be more familiar as they get closer to the frontlines. Making her way through the outpost, Alice soon arrived at the hill. Out of everyone that she''s met in this outpost, the old man was the strangest. She couldn''t tell what level he was nor could she sense him most of the time. He just appears then disappears. He was most likely stronger than Torgeir and possibility on the level or above that of the principal. However, the main thing was still the fruit that he gave her. A fruit that had iparable sweetness and sped up her natural regeneration. It didn''t work that well when she was extremely injured but now that some time had passed, its effectiveness returned. "I thought I told you to savour the fruit rather than use the beast blood?" Ragnar sighed while leaning on his chair, causing Alice to jump as she didn''t notice him on the way up. "It was kind of unavoidable. If I didn''t drink it I would''ve died in an explosion." Alice scratched her hair. Shaking his head, Ragnar gestured for her to sit down on the chair next to him and brought out some more fruit for her. "Even so, I don''t believe the Ravager''s blood would''ve done this much to your body. It''s an absolute mess, even more so than before. You were recovering just fine as well. What a shame." Ragnarmented. "True. But I also found out why that''s the case. I''m not strong enough to host my power yet. After one or two more Sigils, I should recover from something like this." Alice shrugged, licking her lips while grabbing another fruit. Seeing Alice''s nonchnt attitude to her body, Ragnar was in disbelief but didn''t let it show on his face. "So what happened here?" Alice asked curiously. "Why are you asking me? I''m just an old man spending his time on a hill with bitter fruits." Ragnar raised an eyebrow while stroking his beard. "It''s even weirder if you didn''t know. Civilians aren''tposed like you are when they get attacked like this." Aliceughed causing Ragnar to chuckle. "An Abyss Break. Do you know of it?" Chapter 430: Dead Zone "An Abyss Break. Do you know of it?" Ragnar asked as Alice tilted her head. "Nope." She shrugged while taking a bite of the fruit. "An Abyss Break is when the barrier between the surface and the Abyss weakens to a state where it allows a new passage to be created. However, unlike the existing gateways between the two realms, the new passage is unstable. "There''s no telling where it may lead nor do you know how long it''llst for. But the key issue is the corruption it brings to the surface and the permanent effects." Ragnar exined as Alice nced towards the outpost. "I''m guessing that''s the strands of Abyssal Energy." Alice muttered. Hearing this, Ragnar froze momentarily. "You can see that?" "Yep. There are a few strands here and there. It''s not that serious just yet but I can definitely see the effects." Alice nodded before curling her lips up into a grin. "But the real question is how can you see it, old man? I know my method and it''s not replicable. So how can you see it hmm?~" She gave him a side nce as Ragnar coughed awkwardly. "Setting that aside, this should just be the first wave. After your group left, an Abyss Break happened after a few hours just outside of our gates. With the residue left behind by the first attack, the second and third should follow soon and by the end of it, aplete gateway would form here." Ragnar pointed at the centre of the outpost. "That''s the good oue. A bad oue would be that the Abyss Break turns this ce into aplete dead zone." He let out a deep sigh. "What''s a dead zone?" "Exactly as it sounds. A zone that''spletely dead. It''s not a gateway to the Abyss but rather the fractured remains of two realms colliding. The expulsion of energy from the collision fractures the stability of both realms, making it so that nothing can grow or survive. A vtile zone that will slowly expand if not kept in check. Just hope that it doesn''te to that stage." Ragnar shrugged. "Well that doesn''t sound ominous at all." Alice''s smile twitched. She noticed a slight pattern recently. The worse case scenarios happen around her far too often and the more unlikely something was, the more likely it bes. "On the rare chance that it does be a dead zone, is there anything we can do to stop it? Or do we abandon this outpost?" She asked as Ragnar stroked his beard. "What else is there to do except run? The people here will need to abandon this outpost and the frontlines will have to be pulled back. If this ce goes, we''ll lose arge chunk of ournd back to the Extalia Kingdom." Realising how bad a dead zone truly is for a potential Lord to say such a thing brought a new perspective into the mix for Alice. "Then I guess the only thing people can do is to stop the zone before it even forms." Alice leaned back as Ragnar let out augh. "What?" Alice pouted, wondering why her suggestion was so funny. "A dead zone doesn''t give you time to prepare. Even now, we don''t know the exact conditions for a dead zone to form. It just does. The first sign of a dead zone is the destabilization of space and a rapid fusion of both the energy from the surface and the Abyss. But once you sense the first sign, it''s already be unstoppable. "How can you prevent an attack that''s already on its way to hit you? The only thing you can do is dodge. And in this case, it''s to evacuate the city." Ragnar exined as Alice leaned back. If an attack was on its way to reach her, her first instinct was to evaluate howrge it was. Depending on its size, she''ll be able to divert it using her Void powers. But that doesn''t ount for the dead zone. Depending on what kind of phenomenon it is, perhaps avoiding is the only answer. ''You''re being nosy again twinnie. If a dead zone appears and you try to interfere, you''ll set back our recovery.'' Alyss reminded as Alice had a habit of trying to deal with any problem she saw before her. ''Ah sorry.'' Alice scratched her head with a smallugh. She wanted to see if she could unravel the question ced before her, to find an alternative path rather than escaping. "Anyways, enough about what happened in the outpost. How was the expedition? Seeing as how there''s only a handful of youing back, I guess it didn''t go well." Ragnar asked as Alice shook her head. "It went absolutely horrible. We got ambushed by strange beasts that seemed impossible to defeat twice and once we got to the city, the captains struggled with the Grandmaster." Exining the entire journey, and the nature of the hybrids that attacked them while leaving out their true identities, Alice could see slight fluctuations in Ragnar''s expression. Especially when he heard about the powers of the hybrids. "Are you sure they''re beasts and not summons?" He asked as Alice nodded her head. "Summons have a different strand of energy that connects them to their caster. These beasts didn''t have it, all of their power came from themselves." Alice exined. Folding his arms, Ragnar had a deep frown on his face. While he was contemting silently, Alice began to eat all of the fruit. Her stash of fruit that Ragnar gave herst time has almost run out so she was reluctant to dig into it. "Seems like we''ll have to retreat from this outpost sooner than expected." Ragnar sighed. The news of the strange beasts was far too concerning for him to sit still. ncing to the side, he noticed Alice holding out her palm towards him. "Hm?" "Fruit. Gimme more." Alice beckoned as Ragnar''s smile twitched. "Do you know how precious this fruit is? I already gave you arge sack of themst time." "I know. But I want more." Alice smirked. Rolling his eyes, Ragnar stood up and massaged his lower back. "Aiya~ You''re going to work this old man to death. My poor farm is going to suffer because of you." He sighed, gesturing for her to follow him towards his hut. Raising an eyebrow, Alice jumped off her chair and walked behind him. In the times she visited this ce, she never once entered the hut nor did she n to. It was someone else''s house after all. But if he was inviting her, she wasn''t going to reject. Upon reaching the hut, she noticed a strange fluctuation of energy around them. ''It''s probably a defensive measure. Resembles the Void a little so maybe it teleports people away?'' Alyss theorised as Alice nodded her head in agreement. Entering the hut, the inside looked as expected but Ragnar didn''t stop there. Continuing to the back of the house, he opened a door to the garden and Alice''s pupil constricted in shock. A flood of energy exploded into the room as she felt as though she was submerged in a medicinal bath. Just being in the presence of this energy was enough to sooth her body. "It''s the first time someone has shown this kind of eptance." Ragnar chuckled as he stood aside, allowing Alice to step into his garden herself. Stepping through the door, Alice saw apletely new world. No more was the snow that covered thends or the distant mountains. Instead, it was now a mountainousnd with a bright sun overhead. Large patches of farnd surrounded the house with various different fruits and vegetables. Each section of the farm exuded a different kind of energy but all of them felt beneficial. Alice could sense the strands of energy entwining with one another, fusing together and achieving a sense of harmony and bnce. ''He hasn''t nted things randomly. Everything here is ced out intentionally.'' Alice realised in surprise. "How is it? Good right?" Ragnar grinned, clearly proud of his farm. "The energy here is good for you short term but prolonged exposure is bad." If Alice was considered to be a nt, this energy was the water and nutrients she needed to grow. Small doses at a time was fine and would help her but if she were to submerge herself in this, it would only serve to kill her instead of helping. "I know." Alice nodded. She could sense the changes in her body, the increase in regeneration and the recovery of her fatigue. But the benefits ended there. If she received too much of this energy, she''d have no way to expel it and in the end, she''d bloat herself to death. "So why are we here?" She asked curiously. "Didn''t you want fruit? We''re going to pick some now. You ate through my entire supply that''s meant tost several months." Ragnar rolled his eyes, taking the lead through his garden. This entire farm was far bigger than the outpost and even the city of Zadash. Seeing this, it only reaffirmed Alice''s belief that this man is an Abyss Lord. The only question now was why he was in this kind of ce and not doing anything. He simply overlooked the outpost while tending to his garden, far different to the other Lords that Alice was familiar with. Granted, before Allura dragged Gin away, he was a handler working in the ughter Docks. Thinking back to the ughter Docks, Alice couldn''t help but recall the people she met there. Once she reached the level of Six Sigils, Alice wanted to head back. To properly thank Sera for giving her the outfit and to deal with the woman who killed her first friend. ''Hope she''s still alive even after drinking my blood.'' Alice thought to herself as her lips curled up into a cruel smile. Meanwhile, Ragnar was confused as she why she suddenly went from amazement to nostalgia and finally, straight up killing intent. Chapter 431: Torgeirs Blood "The fruit is this way. Since it''s fresh, it''s more potent than the ones I''ve been giving you. Reduce how much you eat usually and the effects should be much higher." Ragnar exined, leading her down the farm until they reached arge tree with crimson leaves. Flicking his finger, Ragnar brought out an empty sack and filled it with fresh fruit for Alice. "Do I need to pay you or¡­" Alice asked, wondering if he was going to demand money from her. While he might possibly be an Abyss Lord, she couldn''t rule out the chances of him wanting some material riches. "If you want to repay the other fruit you''ve eaten then sure." Ragnar smirked. "Nope~ I''ll kindly ept this gift from an old man I''ve only met a few times." Alice shook her head, skipping away with a new bag of fruit in her arms. Shaking his head, Ragnar let out a chuckle as she felt like an unruly granddaughter who only appeared for this fruit. If Alice had known the true value and price, she wouldn''t have even suggested the thought. She might even be tempted to rob the entire tree from him! Following behind Alice, he exited his garden and closed the door. "Again, remember that these are more potent than the usual ones I''ve given you." Ragnar reminded, not wanting Alice to overeat the fruit. "I got it old man, don''t worry." Alice waved as she escaped from the hill, causing Ragnar tough. Stroking his beard, he nced towards the main hall where Torgeir was dealing with the new information that Bo brought back and contemted in silence. ### After leaving the hill, Alice was on her way back to her quarters when she noticed Bo stepping out of the hall with a frown on his face. "Yo! Captain, why the long face?" Alice called out while eating one of the new fruits that she picked. Compared to the previous one, it was far sweeter and addicting but she knew she had to control her appetite. "Let''s sit down and talk. Don''t want too many ears." Bo smiled bitterly as Alice tilted her head before nodding. Making their way to the tavern, they found a corner to sit while Alice ordered some mead. Of course, this time Bo restricted how many she could order after thest incident. "So what''s up? It''s not like you to have this kind of expression." Alice asked. Swinging his head back, Bo took arge gulp of mead. "Torgeir is thinking of retreating from this outpost. But before that, he wants to pave the way for retreat for our allies on the frontline. Once this outpost falls, the battle will be pushed further in and we''ll lose a lot of ournd." Bo exined. Furrowing her brows, Alice understood his frown now. "Is he worried about an Abyss Break and potential Dead Zone?" "???" Blinking his eyes in surprise, Bo didn''t think Alice would know about the Dead Zone. "We know the cause behind the first break and it''s made by the dogs from Extalia. They took the chance the moment we left to create a swarm of beasts. How they managed to do it is the concern. As far as we know, the methods to forcefully activate an Abyss Break should be near impossible. "But the fact that they were able to achieve it and with such confidence, means it''s likely that they have a method to pull it off consistently. With such a threat over our heads, how can we not retreat from this ce?" Bomented as Alice folded her arms in understanding. "Did Torgeir tell you what happened or did it just appear out of nowhere?" She wanted to see if she could get some clues but Bo shook his head. "It took everyone by surprise. It was just one wave but it managed to take out the majority of our defences. Most of the beasts were all five stars with a few even reaching six stars. Rest up for tonight, Torgeir will be making his announcement tomorrow." Bo suggested, taking his leave while Alice finished her drink. Seeing as how he didn''t mention anything about her abilities, Alice understood that Torgeir kept it a secret which was fine for her. ''I should probablypensate him since he''s doing this favour for me.'' Alice thought to herself as she too left the tavern. But instead of going back to her room, she wanted to find Torgeir. Making her way to the main building, she could sense where he was and knocked on the door. "Come in." His voice rang out as Alice stepped through. Pausing momentarily, she was surprised by his current state. "Honestly, if I didn''t know any better I''d say you''re disguising yourself as me with all those bandages." Alice joked but she could see that Torgeir was not in the mood for that. "I heard a bit from Bo, you want to retreat from this outpost?" Alice asked as Torgeir nodded his head. "Go back to your room and wait for the announcement tomorrow." Torgeir closed his eyes and leaned back. Seeing as how he was uninterested in talking, Alice simply shrugged. "Before I go, can I ask you something?" "Go ahead." "Care to spare a bit of your blood? Not much but a vial would do." Alice asked as Torgeir opened his eyes and nced at her with a frown. "What are you nning to do with it?" While he wasn''t sure what his blood would do, he understood that a lot of rituals required blood. Especially those of the Eclipse Cult. Depending on her answer, he might have to deal with her immediately. "Why so hostile? Why don''t we sign a Law of Agreement? I''ll tell you why I need it and you give me the blood. That way we can filter out the lies right?" Alice offered with a smile. "I won''t give it to you immediately but I''ll hear you out. If I don''t find anything wrong with it, I can spare a vial." Hearing this, Alice smiled happily and drafted up a Law of Agreement with Torgeir. The uses are simple. Alice will answer Torgeir''s questions without any falsehood and in return, she''ll gain a vial of Torgeir''s blood if he finds no fault with what she said. "Ask away." Alice smiled, leaning back on her chair. "Why do you need my blood?" Torgeir asked straight to the point. "I need it to protect myself." Alice replied immediately. "How does my blood protect you?" "It lets me use my powers again." "I don''t believe my blood has that kind of power though." Torgeir knew the kind of abilities he''d obtained. And none of them would help reactivate powers or heal someone. "It''s not your power. It''s more to do with mine. You know my injuries, until I''ve recovered, I can''t really fight. But I can use your blood as a catalyst to jumpstart myself and fight for a short period of time. It''s a little risky since I''ll be harming myself more. "However, with the threat of an Abyss Break and possibly a Dead Zone, you don''t expect me to be entirely helpless now do you?" Alice exined. While she may have signed the Law of Agreement to be truthful, she never stated it''ll be to the best of her abilities. This way, she can hide the fact that she''ll be copying his Sigils and how her body works. Hearing this, Torgeir understood where Alice came from. It''s most likely a ritual that uses the blood as a catalyst in exchange for a short boost of strength. "Will you be using it to harm this outpost and its people?" He asked. "Nope, entirely for protecting myself." He could only rx once he heard this. Nodding his head, he resolved the Law of Agreement. "Give me a moment then. I''ll get an extraction kit from the alchemist." He stood up, gesturing for Alice to sit here for a moment. While Torgeir was gone, Alice got curious and nced at some of the files he left on the table. It would be rude for her to flip through the pages, but nothing stopped her from reading what he left out. Most of them were damage reports on everything that had happened while some were calling for reinforcements from the capital. A request to provide a safe path back for those fighting on the frontlines. And most importantly, to call for the help of those who understand spatial abilities to counter the fact that the Extalia Kingdom is using manually activated Abyss Breaks. After a short while, Torgeir returned looking a little pale. In his hands, he held a single vial of blood. "This should fulfil my side of the request." Handing the vial over to Alice, he slumped on his chair. "Can I ask you a question? One that doesn''t require the Law of Agreement so I hope you can be honest with me." Torgeir nced up at Alice who put the vial into her pouch. "Go ahead." Alice nodded. "How strong are you? With your abilities recovered." Folding her arms, Alice tilted her head before shrugging her shoulder. "It depends. But if we''re topare it to the duel I had with Egil where Bo was my representative¡­ Then Egil will die in about two or three moves." Alice admitted. If she had the desire to kill, the process was simple. Hearing this, Torgeir let out a small chuckle before nodding his head. After all, this was someone with the Spiritual status of SS. Her talent for using abilities was out of this world and in the realm of Lords. If she could exert even a fraction of her power with just one vial of his blood, then they might not need to leave this ce after all. But for now, he had to wait for themand from the capital before he made any decisions. "That''ll be all. I hope that when the timees, you''ll help me defend this ce." Torgeir smiled. "Depends." Alice shrugged, giving him a small wave and left the room. Chapter 432: The Price For An Ally Waking up in the morning, Alice stretched her body with a yawn while Selen was still sleeping. After such a tiresome journey back, it was no surprise. Leaving the room carefully, Alice took a deep breath of the cold northern air. Even though Torgeir said he was going to make an announcement, there has been no news about it so far. To Alice, it seemed like just a day off for everyone, with only a few guards on shift. ''Seems like most of the Civilians are already packed up to leave this ce.'' ''It makes sense. Unlike the warriors, they don''t have a means to protect themselves. Who''s going to save them when warriors can barely save themselves?'' Alyss shrugged. If it was her, she''d be doing the same. In fact, she might even be the fastest to escape. ''The fact that they caused an Abyss Break right after we left probably means they''re watching our camp right now. Any thoughts on how to deal with them?'' Alice asked curiously while taking a leisurely stroll around the outpost. ''How about this, we let Torgeir work things out and we don''t push our body further into destruction. Ca''s face doesn''t look too well after our stunt fromst time.'' ''Right¡­'' Alice sighed. The best thing to do would be for her to get her fifth Sigil and sixth Sigil quickly. Thinking about it for a moment, Alice pped her hands. ''Welp, let''s figure out what I want for my fifth Sigil then.'' She grinned. ''Hah?? Already? Didn''t we only recently get your fourth? You haven''t even gotten used to it properly yet. I thought Allura told you to master it before you rush things?'' Alyss almost fell off her bed hearing Alice''s suggestion. ''I know we got it recently but it''s unavoidable alright? The sooner I get Sigils the faster I can fight properly. Plus, our understanding of the fourth Sigil is pretty good I''d say. The power to manipte the Void, I''ve got it handled ya know?'' Alice shrugged. Just like how Alyss has an instinct for physicalbat, Alice found herself to be talented with casting. Even with her fourth Sigil, she was able to replicate certain spatial movements with just her ownprehension and some adjustments. ''Uhuh, so what do you even suggest for our fifth ability then? I know we can switch out Sigils but we still want to choose carefully. There could be a situation where my connection is interfered with and I can''t switch Sigils for you.'' Alyss reminded. She couldn''t get the incident in the Inverted World out of her mind. That resonance between Alice and the tree made it impossible to switch out the Sigil causing the resonance. If something like this was to happen in the future, they needed to be prepared for it. ''Well, it depends. We have plenty of firepower I''d say so something more utility wise? Or defensive. Kaden wanted us to get the lifeblood link but I chose Blood Coil Manifestation instead. So it wouldn''t be a bad idea to get a highly defensive Sigil that keeps us in the fight rather than drowning myself in healing vials.'' Alice contemted as there wouldn''t be chances to drink healing vials in the future. The more powerful her opponents be, the harder it''ll be to catch a break during the fight. ''Plus, even if we have our own regeneration that we can rely on, we''re not sure about the source. Our regeneration is ineffective right now and if we were to keep relying on it, there''s no telling that it might suddenly turn off in the middle of a fight.'' Alice reminded as Alyss folded her arms. Indeed, their source of regeneration was a mystery to them. The only thing they know is that it''s heavily linked to whatever Nyer used to create them. Closing her eyes, Alyss leaned back as she tried to think of a beast that would suit their purpose while Alice did the same. Their knowledge of beasts was still limited to what they knew from their time in captivity along with certain names they''vee across in books. Butpared to Kaden and the others, her knowledge was far too shallow. ''They really need a damn catalogue on what kind of beasts are avable.'' Aliceined. ''Why don''t we go ask Torgeir? I''m sure he knows a method to get information since he''s sending it to the capital right? If it''s him, he should be able to get us what we want.'' Alyss suggested. ''Sure. And if he doesn''t work we can always ask Ragnar. That old man is definitely in the realm of Lords or something simr. There''s no way he has that kind of garden and knowledge without being a Lord. He keeps appearing and disappearing like Allura too.'' Alice nodded. Making their way over to the training grounds to find Torgeir, she soon spotted him with a deep frown on his face. "Why so down first thing in the morning?" Alice asked curiously as Torgeir nced up. "Reinforcement won''t being anytime soon. The Extalia''s areunching ambushes all over the ce and it''s not just us that''s been hit. Unfortunately, we need to figure out a way back ourselves or abandon the frontlines." Torgeir gritted his teeth. Furrowing her brows, Alice could see why he looked so down. "How far are we from the frontlines? What do you think is the likelihood of us actually paving a path of retreat?" Alice questioned. "Further than the port. If we pave a path, there''s a chance that the Civilians will die. If we retreat now, the supplies going to the frontline ceases and they''ll die." Torgeir admitted. Regardless of what they picked, someone was going to pay for that choice. Biting his lip, Torgeir came to a conclusion. "We''ll pave a way to the frontlines. Without the soldiers, protecting this nation will be far more difficult. I''ll have a separate smaller group escort the civilians ind. "However, I''m telling you this because I need your help. You mentioned that with my blood you''ll be able to use your powers for a short period at a cost. Please help me rescue my fellow soldiers on the frontline." Torgeir asked as Alice frowned and folded her arms. "You remember me telling you that ites at a cost and you''re still asking me to help?" Alice pulled up a chair and sat down. Crossing her legs, she narrowed her gaze at Torgeir. "I know what I''m asking for. But the manpower in this outpost is severelycking. We lost most of our forces thanks to the expedition to the port and the following ambush here. I''ll take everything that I can get at this point." Torgeir nced down with a sigh. He knew what he was asking of her and he knew the dangers he was putting her in. But this was his responsibility as the one who''s been tasked to look after this outpost. The capital has given him full authority to choose what to do from now on and his desire was to save his fellow warriors. They''re people who decided to put their lives on the line for the nation. Brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, sons and daughters. They all had family yet they still put the nation in hopes of building a safer ce for them to live. He couldn''t betray that dedication and abandon them. He wanted to save them even if it cost him his life. Taking a deep breath, Alice let out a sigh. "I''ll help out but not without payment. And I''ll continue acting as a shield supporter unless there''s something you absolutely cannot deal with. Remember that I''m vulnerable once I make a move. One assistance. That''s all you''re getting so use it wisely." Hearing this, Torgeir was surprised but happiness filled his heart. "Thank you." He smiled but Alice held up her hand. "Don''t thank me just yet, you haven''t heard what I need as payment." She rolled her eyes. "Right¡­ What do you want as payment?" Torgeir asked. On top of the request for assistance from the capital, he had also sent some information about Alice to them. A rare double S rank in the Spiritual Stat. There was only one order given to him. Bring her to their side no matter what! Even if it''s expensive, as long as he sends a request to the capital, they''ll try their best to meet that demand. Narrowing her gaze, Alice could see the resolve in his eyes. ''Seems like he''s pretty desperate for help.'' Alice thought inwardly. ''Scam him.'' Was Alyss''s first response. Alice was speechless as her smile twitched. The man in front of them wanted to help his fellow soldiers and the first thing that came to Alyss''s mind was to scam him. ''What? Might as well ask for something more than what we originally wanted.'' Alyss shrugged. Rolling her eyes, Alice turned her attention back to Torgeir. Even though she wasn''t a fan of it, Alyss was right. She originally wanted to ask for information regarding beasts and to help her use the Void Hawks to send a message so Ria and Luke knew that she was safe. But if the price she had to pay was to put herself at risk once more, it was far too cheap. Thinking about it for a moment, Alice curled her lips into a grin. "Now that I think about it, I''m not quite sure you can afford me. I had already risked myself to bring Bo and the others back. After all, I''m the one who killed the Grandmaster after he killed the other captains." Torgeir could practically see coins in her eyes as he let out a sigh before pulling out a piece of document. "The capital is prepared to offer you a numbered equipment if you be our ally." Chapter 433: Offer From The Capital "The capital is prepared to offer you a numbered equipment if you be our ally." Blinking her eyes in surprise, Alice didn''t think they would go that far. However, there was one key detail in what he said. "As tempting as it is, I did say I''m just helping out this once. I''m not entirely sure if I want to be an ally of the Verona Queendom just yet. I''m a freedom loving gal after all~ "Plus, I already have weapons and armour that are satisfactory for me. I have no use for numbered equipment. Even if it is made by the Lord of the Forge." Alice shrugged. With Void Fang and Ruinous Void as her main weapons, she had no use for numbered equipment. If anything, she''d prefer a good beast to hunt instead. Meanwhile, Torgeir was shocked that Alice rejected the offer for numbered equipment. People in the north would do anything to get their hands on such treasures but she rejected it? What kind of equipment does she have for her to reject the offer so readily? "If not a numbered equipment then perhaps we can give you something of equal value?" Torgeir asked but Alice shook her head. "No, you''re not getting what I''m trying to say. I don''t want to be an ally of the Verona Queendom. I''m helping you out because the circumstances call for it. If it wasn''t for this, I would be roaming around freely rather than working under a nation." Alice rified. The main thing was still that this was just a simple exchange. She wasn''t giving them her assistance because she wanted to be an ally of the Verona Queendom. That was not on her mind at all. "This is a trade. You pay me for my services and I lend you my power. There are no mentions of bing allies and the whatnot." Hearing this, Torgeir finally nodded his head. "I¡­ Understand. What do you require for your services then?" Since she wasn''t keen on allying herself with Verona right now, he could only wait. And it wasn''t that he didn''t understand her either. Everything she''s seen so far hasn''t put Verona in a good light whenpared to the Extalia Kingdom. Little did he know, his guess waspletely wrong as there was no way Alice was going to ally herself with the Extalia Kingdom. The Zenias have practically taken it over after all. Allying herself with them would just be putting herself in the jaws of death. "What do you think is worth my services? The lives of your soldiers?" Alice asked, throwing the question back at him. All she really needs is information on beasts and a catalogue. Other than that, her requirements are pretty much nothing. Though money would be something good to have since she doesn''t have much on her and she was running out. ### The girl in front of me was mysterious in many ways. She was littered with wounds across her entire body, signs of side effects from having used Abyss Blood and even the stench of curses. However, despite all of these wounds and shorings, she says she was the one who killed the grandmaster. Bo simply said none of the captains could kill him and they were forced to retreat but someone appearedter and dealt with him. He didn''t say who but Alice confirmed that it was her. If that was indeed true then her full power is most definitely above mine. But the most surprising thing of all was her rejection of the numbered equipment. What can I even offer her for her to assist once? Money? Far from it. The thing that people like this need the most isn''t money but equipment and rare materials. Materials that money can''t buy. She wouldn''t be poor to the point of needing money from me. What would someone like her possibly need? "I believe the lives of my soldiers are not something money can buy. But without knowing what you require, I can''t exactly offer you a fitting price." I shook my head. Not even numbered equipment could sway her so the best I can do is to simply let her state what she wants. "Is that so¡­" She doesn''t seem to be very pleased with my answer. Most would want to see what the other party could offer before epting or making suggestions. But everything I''ve stated so far has been brushed off by her so what else could I do except ask her to suggest a fitting price? "Tell you what, I got a perfect price in mind." She leaned forward with a grin. "I want a meeting with the Lord of the Forge. Rather than getting a numbered equipment, I want him to take a look at my current weapon and make some adjustments. If you can do that for me, I will help you save your soldiers." It wasn''t necessarily a high price as the Lord of the Forge takes requests several times in the day. Though that''s normally anything he has an interest in. "I¡­ Can''t say for sure but I can submit a request. Anything else I can do for you in the meantime?" After all, it was uncertain whether the capital would even approve of this request for just one instance of help. "Two things. One, a catalogue of beasts or spirits and their abilities. I''m not sure how you do it in the north but I''m looking to get my fifth Sigil. Two, I want a Void Hawk to help me send a message to the Abyss." ### ''This should be alright.'' Alice thought to herself. If he agreed to this, she''d have achieved her initial goal while also getting an Abyss Lord to take a look at her personal equipment. If she could somehow resolve the link and the issue of it trying to forcefully adjust her body, it would be more beneficial to her rather than numbered equipment. She could ask Old Man Ragnar since she thinks he''s a Lord, but that was off the table. There''s probably a reason why he''s acting like a normal old man so she didn''t want to change that fact. If he wishes to tell her, he would. If he doesn''t, she can''t force him. He might be a Lord after all. "Is that all?" Torgeir raised an eyebrow hearing the second half of her request. "Too much?" "No not at all. That can be arranged. In terms of getting your fifth Spirit, would it be possible to wait till after the rescue on the frontlines?" He rified as Alice folded her arms before nodding her head. "Sure, I can wait that long." It wasn''t like she''d have time to hunt down the beast while they were busy saving people in the first ce. Hearing this, Torgeir let out a sigh of relief. "As for the message, can you let me know where you wish to send it? I''ll make the arrangements immediately." Giving him the details and letting him know to send it to the underground, Alice exined that it was to let her friends know that she''s safe. Even if it''s dangerous for the Hawk to traverse to the Abyss, it is a small price to pay for Alice''s help. With the agreement sorted, Alice took her leave as it had been quite a busy morning. Giving her body a stretch, she made her way back to her amodation as it was about time for Selen to wake up. ### "YOU DID WHAT?!?!" Selen cried out in anger after Alice told her of what happened. The first thing that she heard in the morning was that Alice agreed to put herself in danger once more before her body healed. Not only that, but she also nned to forcefully bring out her power to do so. "Do you know how much I had to work to stop you from dying on the way back?? And the first thing you do is to put yourself in danger again?! Are you trying to kill yourself?!" Selen shouted while Alice wanted to pacify her but it didn''t work. "I wasn''t nning to do so okay? But Torgeir wanted to save his soldiers and seemed honest about it. Plus, it''s not like it''s for free right?" "Great, what are you going to do with the reward when you''re dead? It doesn''t matter what he promised you if you f*cking die while trying to help people. What''s to say they don''t go back on their word once they''re done with you? "What if you go and meet this so called Lord of the Forge and instead, they imprison you? You know his goal is to get you because you have a double S in spirituality. What if they wanted to experiment on you and see how you reached that level? To replicate and mass produce warriors who can do the same? "Zenia''s aren''t the only ones capable of doing what they''ve done! With enough of an incentive, anyone would go down the same path!" Selen gritted her teeth in anger. She''s seen the ugliness within the human heart far too many times now. Yet despite being subjected to the same, Alice wanted to put herself in harm''s way again. "I told you once and I''ll tell you again. I don''t like you. I don''t like the fact that your blood is what turned me into what I currently am. I don''t like that your blood is the reason why all these experiments happen. And most of all, I don''t like that you don''t seem to care about your actions. You don''t take into consideration the risks and consequences. The people you implicate with your stunts." Selen grabbed Alice by the cor. Gritting her teeth, she let go of Alice before mming the door and walking away without saying anything. Sitting on her bed, Alice scratched her hair and let out a sigh. Chapter 434: Mysterious Powder After Selen left, Alice dressed her wounds herself. Her work was messypared to Selen and made Alice understand how much care Selen took in helping her recover. Yet despite that, she continuously threw herself into danger. Anyone would be annoyed and angry not just Selen. In fact, some might''ve even been angrier sooner. ''I should probably apologise to her.'' Alice sighed. ''Really? I thought it was pretty okay though. Danger is naturally part of life and if we didn''t put ourselves in harm''s way, we wouldn''t have saved people back at the port.'' ''I mean for going to the frontlines and promising to help. Even though the chance is unlikely, we''ll need to make a move if it gets out of hand. Selen is worried about that part.'' Alice rified. ''I kind of get it kind of don''t. Risk and rewarde together naturally. There is no reward without risk and no risk without reward. You can''t just expect to get one side and not the other.'' Alyss folded her arms in confusion. ''Yeah, but this is entirely avoidable. I think that''s the issue.'' Alice shook her head before looking through her outfits. Picking out a warm set today, consisting of arge hooded jacket and oversized sleeves with a skirt, tights and warm boots, Alice tied her hair into a twin tail and got some breakfast. Her outfit choice was naturally different from what the northerners usually chose but she didn''t care about the nces. She wanted to look for Selen but she was nowhere in sight. Letting out another sigh, she grabbed the new fruit and ate it slowly. Roaming around the outpost, she took this time to memorise the sight of this location. The mountains, the rivers and the houses that are built here. Soon, they''ll be evacuating this location and the sights will be lost to war. And as expected, Torgeir soon made the announcement at the centre of the outpost. A call for retreat and for all civilians to prepare to leave for the capital. Most of the civilians reacted how Alice had predicted. After the announcement for the civilians came the next order for the Warriors. To pave a path of retreat for the allies on the frontline. This outpost will be abandonedpletely once they depart and rather thaning back, they''ll be travelling ind to the next outpost. While the warriors were gathering all the supplies they could carry in order to pave a path of retreat, Alice tried to talk to Selen but she simply ignored her and helped out the warriors. ''Seems like she doesn''t want to talk for the time being.'' Alice scratched her hair while Alyss shrugged. ''Let''s leave her be for now. Since we''re abandoning this outpost, let''s go see old man Ragnar. I''m not sure how he''s going to move his hut but if he''s a Lord, it shouldn''t be that difficult.'' She suggested as Alice nodded her head. ### Watching Alice leave, Selen let out a frustrated sigh. "Did you have a fight with Alice?" Egil asked curiously. Since the two of them were ced on the vanguard squad during the previous attack on the Port, the two of them have gotten to know each other a little better. "Somewhat. She doesn''t care about the wounds on her body after all." Selen huffed in annoyance while grabbing arge stack of boxes and hoisting it onto her shoulder. "She''s a warrior at heart huh? Sometimes duty calls and you just have to tough it out." Egil let out augh while Selen punched him on the rib, causing him to flinch in pain. The battle by the gates caused wounds on Egil''s body. No matter how durable he is, he still covered for everyone during the retreat. Even after healing blood, some of the wounds remained. Unlike Alice, he couldn''t abuse the healing properties of healing blood. He had to take it in small doses or else side effects would begin to manifest on his body. Every warrior takes care of how much Abyss Blood they drink so the Abyss doesn''t im their body. "You''re one to talk. I have two idiots and neither wants to live with a healthy body." Selen spat out in annoyance as Egil revealed an awkward smile. "I never needed to bother about attacks anyway. This is just an¡­ exception since I had to cover for people." "Can you really call it an exception if it happens more than once?" Selen rolled her eyes. "The world''s changing for the worse. You saw the beasts that ambushed us. Can you really say with confidence that you can take on their attacks without care? Hell, if Alice wasn''t injured, your defences would be reduced to nothing." "Seems a little exaggerated." Egil shrugged, not believing her at all. "I wish. Recall the attack of the beast, one that wiped out almost half of our numbers. Now imagine Alice throwing out tens of them at once without care." Selen scoffed. She could still remember the power held behind Alice''s attack. "Seriously?" Egil blinked his eyes. "Seriously." If Alice was this strong then what caused her to be injured in the first ce? "Whatever, if she wants to heal her body she''ll stop trying to kill herself against strong people. I''m not going to go out of my way worrying about her if she doesn''t give a f*ck herself." The more Selen thought about it, the angrier she got. Was she trying to heal her body or was Alice? Because so far, it felt like she cared more about it than Alice did. Her nonchnt attitude after returning half dead pushed her past the limit. Once was eptable. idents happen. But every battle felt like Alice was going to die. That was taking it too far. "Now now, don''t be like that. People make mistakes and they try to change. Didn''t Alice try to talk to you earlier? Why don''t you at least talk it out since you two are journeying together." Egil tried to persuade her but Selen red at him before jabbing him in the ribs again. "So you''re taking her side in this?" "Hey! Ouch! I''m not taking anyone''s side okay?" Egil rubbed his ribs in pain. He knew how much Selen cared about taking care of the body. Even though she wasn''t a healer or a cleric, she prioritised it more than anyone to an abnormal degree. However, at the same time, he also understood Alice''s side of things. Sometimes things happen and you just have to step up to the task no matter how much damage it may cause to you. Because other lives are at stake. He might not have cared before, but it was different now. He wants to redeem himself for his past actions. To be a better man so that his mother wouldn''t have to worry anymore. Thus he needed this chance to prove himself on the frontlines. To make arge contribution and get the money and manpower he needs to protect her. If it was him, even if he''s on the verge of death, he would do the same as Alice and put his life on the line. "Look, just talk to her and get her to understand when you get the chance okay?" Pouting a little, Selen let out a sigh before nodding her head in agreement. "Later then. She seems like she''s nning to look for someone so I''ll leave her be. I didn''t hit you too hard on the ribs right?" Selen nced over as Egil revealed a grin. "I''m tougher than I look." "Like hell you are. Whimpy as hell when I was pulling the spearhead out of your ribs." Selen pped him on the arm instead of the ribs. "Anyone would be in pain when they have a spearhead in their ribs!" Who wouldn''t yelp in pain with that kind of wound??? Meanwhile, Selen thought back to Alice''s pain tolerance. Even with her wounds, she rarely let out a cry of pain. ### Making her way to Ragnar''s house, Alice noticed Ragnar packing up his luggage. "Back already? I don''t have any spare fruit for you this time." Ragnar waved his hand as though shooing her away. "I''m not here for fruit old man, who do you think I am?" Alice''s smile twitched. "A gremlin who''s emptied out my pantry of fruit and even had to take some from my tree." Alice couldn''t deny it. "Setting that aside, how are you going to take your garden with you? Or is it like a private space or something?" Alice asked curiously. She wasn''t sure if the garden was bound to this hill or not. "I have my methods. Are you going back to the frontline?" "Yep. I got hired to help out after all." Alice shrugged. "With your body? Please do not tell me you''re going to damage it again." He frowned as this girl was far too reckless. "Well~ Only if something he can''t deal with appears. If nothing happens I won''t have to make a single move." Letting out a sigh, Ragnar reached into his pouch and threw a small bag of powder towards Alice. "If you get wounded heavily, crush the fruit and mix it with that powder. Apply it to the wound and it should speed up the healing process. Avoid using it if you can help it since it''s ast resort." Catching the bag, Alice opened it slightly and saw the crimson powder. "What kind of powder is this?" "Trust me, it''s better if you don''t know. It''s pretty gross after all." Ragnar grinned as Alice raised an eyebrow. Since a potential Lord was saying this, she simply epted it as a mysterious powder that could save her life when mixed with the fruit. Just as she was about to thank him, she felt a deep chill down her spine. Ragnar stopped smiling at the same time as flickers of lightning and dark energy crackled across the outpost. Chapter 435: Second Abyss Break Turning around, Alice could see the converging strands of energy towards the centre of the outpost. The power of the Abyss drifting up from below. "You should probably evacuate unless you''re nning to fight." Ragnar suggested as Alice furrowed her brows. "Depends on the danger. Ideally, I shouldn''t but I can''t say for sure considering the damage done to the outpost. An old man like you should leave with the rest unless you can wipe them out with a swipe of your hand." Alice gave him a smirk but it was a silent request for help. The aura she was feeling around her surroundings was one that sent a chill down her spine. When that happens, it''s usually something she couldn''t deal with without some risks on her side. "Fufufu~ I wonder who you''re talking about. I''m just an old man who likes to take care of his fruit. A retired old man far too weak to face off against beasts." Ragnar let out a chuckle as he turned around and gathered his things. Seeing this, Alice understood that he had his reasons. That was probably why he didn''t make a move during the first invasion as well. "Take care old man. I don''t know if Torgeir is nning on gathering everyone together after this but if he does, I''ll see you soon. If not, look after yourself and thanks for the fruit." Alice waved her hand with a smile. Nodding his head, Ragnar watched as Alice left. ### "Sir, the activation is a sess. An Abyss Break should ur soon." A hooded figure reported. Hearing this, the silver haired man let out augh as he massaged his shoulders. "Perfect. Now that all of them are gathered, we''re going to take care of them in one fell swoop. Order everyone to prepare for battle. Focus on taking out the captains, the beasts can deal with the average warrior. I''ll take of Torgeir personally." He cracked his knuckle in excitement. He wanted to deal with Torgeir during thest invasion but he didn''t give him a chance. This time, he wasn''t going to let the opportunity go to waste. With such little manpower, Torgeir will be pushed to the limit. "I''ll rip that damn head off your shoulders myself." ### Running towards the centre of the outpost, Alice furrowed her brows as she watched the vtile reaction of the Abyssal energy merging with the ambient energy of the surface. Weaves upon weaves of energy fusing, stretching, twisting above the outpost. Even those who can''t sense the threads of energy of this world felt goosebumps on their arms. Ripples fluctuated across space as jagged crackles of energy crashed against the empty space. Visions of the clouds began to distort and soon, even the mountains felt like they were about to be pulled into a single point. *CRACK!!! SHATTER!!! Then, apanied by the sound of shattering ss, a fissure was torn open as though an invisible hand ripped a gateway into their realm. An endless void revealed itself while miasma flooded into the outpost. Within the fissure, pulses of energy shimmered as faint glimmers of light slithered in the darkness. Each a different beast of an unknown nature, each sending chills down Alice''s spine. This miasma, this aura, this familiar pressure and sickening chill. There was no doubt about it. Cold sweat rolled down Alice''s face as this was possibly the worst case scenario. ''We can''t let this portal open fully.'' Alyss frowned. ''Agreed. We need Selen''s help.'' Grabbing a vial from her pouch, Alice hesitated for a moment. Gritting her teeth, she stored it away before creating several footholds with her shards. She could hear the panicked orders shouted by Torgeir as he tried to get as many people away from the epicentre as possible. Warriors scrambled for weapons to prepare for the iing swarm of beasts. "Selen!" Alice called out, spotting Selen and Egil who were helping with guiding civilians away from the outpost. "We have to stop the portal at all costs. If this thing opens fully, we won''t be able to deal with the consequences even if I break my body." Alice immediately exined the situation as Selen''s face turned dire. But seeing as how she was speaking to her rather than acting, it seemed like she hadn''t consumed the blood just yet much to her relief. "What do I need to do?" Selen asked, not questioning how or why Alice knew this. After all this time together, Selen has learned to trust Alice went ites to things like this. "Not sure. I''m not entirely familiar with the process either. All I know is that if we don''t do anything, a full gateway to the Terminusyer will be opened. Once that happens, imprisoned Abyss Lords and beasts that roam thatyer wille spewing out." Alice nced up at the ever widening fissure with a deep frown. She would never mistake this sense of danger as she visited theyer personally. This was no doubt Terminus and to make matters worse, she could feel a faint strand of Tiamat! Tiamat might''ve been friendly to some extent in the Inverted World but this was reality. Time changes people and beasts are no exception. With Velouria''s passing, there was a chance that the bindings holding the Old Lords might''ve weakened to some extent. The Will shared his divinity with Velouria after all. But this gamble was far too dangerous for a small outpost like Kvia. "I can try to slow it down but there''s a limit. My abilities can''t exactly cut the space they''re trying to open." Selen suggested as Alice scrambled her brain for a solution. Pausing for a moment, she nced at Selen and hesitated. "Never mind, slow it down for now. I''ll ask Torgeir, maybe he has a solution. If he doesn''t, noints about me using my power right?" Alice shook her head. If it escted to that stage, Alice had to make a move. It was better to prevent the portal from opening than to fight the beasts that cameter. "I don''t like it but if Lords doe spewing out then it''s better to close it early. Don''t overexert yourself and break your body beyond repair¡­ Please." Selen paused before nodding. Hearing this, Alice gave her a grin and a thumbs up before running towards Torgeir. Meanwhile, Egil was confused by their discussion. "What the f*ck?" "Don''t worry about it. Help me set up a few nodes, I''m going to slow this portal down." Selen chuckled, creating several staves for Egil to carry. "Sure but even if I''m confident in my body, I can''t hold back Lords alright?" Egil sighed. He figured Alice and Selen wouldn''t joke about the appearance of a Lord, even if it does sound a little exaggerated. "Don''t worry, we don''t expect you to. I just need someone fast to n these while I hold back the first wave." Selen smirked as Egil paused. Now that she phrased it that way, he felt a little insulted as he prided himself on his body. But this was a Lord they were talking about so he didn''t even want to entertain the idea of stopping it. Letting out a huff of annoyance, he crouched down before jumping away, leaving a small crater beside Selen. With Egil going to nt the staves, Selen narrowed her eyes at the fissure. She could feel several strong signatures already making their way towards their realm. Taking a deep breath, she created another staff in her hand and jumped onto the roof of a building. ''In order to properly slow it down, I have to do more than just slow down the surroundings. I need to infuse some of my power into the fissure itself so they''ll struggle with traversing the two realms.'' Twirling the staff in her hands, she mmed it against the ground and activated her Resonance. A realm of monotony expanded with Selen in the centre. Since this wasn''t a resonance aimed to trap something within but to contain a space, she allowed her power to bleed into their reality. The monotonous boundaries of her personal realm began to mix with the clear blue colour of the sky like two shades of ink in water. Within her realm, a single eclipsed sun hung in the sky and bled towards the rivers around her. Holding out her palm, a ck material formed around her arm as a handle protruded out. Grabbing the handle, she unsheathed a single guardless de and took an offensive stance. Breathing out slowly, Selen narrowed her eyes and began to release a series of shes towards the fissure. Each sh distorted the space around them, freezing it in ce. Once she finished releasing the shes, she stabbed her de into the ground and sped her hands together. Iridescent strands of energy extended from each sh, forming a ritualistic pattern around the fissure. Resonance + Ritual ¨C Kietoma! Kietoma, a skill that takes advantage of Selen''s ability to slow down time to a near halt. Usually, this skill would be used to ''lock'' time in a single second and inflict as much damage as possible. But for this instance, Selen had to adjust the ritual to prolong the duration rather than damage. A pulse of energy erupted from Selen''s body as a semi transparent seal began to form around the fissure. The beasts within began to slow down but their movements couldn''t be stopped. Regardless, she had achieved her desired result. All that''s left now is to maintain this seal while Alice finds a solution for this barrier. Chapter 436: Chaos In The Outpost ncing back, Alice smiled seeing the seal being formed around the fissure. Knowing that Selen was going all out relieved a lot of stress from Alice as she hurried to the training grounds. Immediately, she spotted Torgeir shouting out orders as shended not far from him. "Torgeir!" She called out, catching his attention. "Alice. Go and evacuate with the others." Torgeir nodded before turning his attention elsewhere. "Didn''te here to ask you what to do. I just want to know if you have any spatial maniption abilities that can close this damn fissure? It''s connected to Terminus and if any of the dangerous beastse out from thatyer, we''re all going to die." Alice rolled her eyes as Torgeir frowned. "If I had something I could do I would''ve done it already. I can only assume that''s Selen stalling for time." He shook his head. Hearing this, Alice furrowed her brows. "Wait so there''s nothing you can do?" "I have a spear that can kill stuff. I don''t have anything that can cut off the connection in space. Just treat it as a natural disaster and leave, it''s better for everyone to evacuate." ''Not really if you think about the consequences of having a portal to the literal deepestyer of the Abyss but sure.'' Alyss retorted in her mind. If a passage was fully formed to Terminus then it''ll be hard deal with all of the sealed Lords without a small chance of freeing them all. Terminus was sealed off to be a prison of sorts. To keep the most dangerous beasts locked away and hidden from the world. Only Ayrians know what kind of horrors lurk in the depths. With Torgeir not giving her any options, Alice nced back at the portal and gritted her teeth. She didn''t want to overexert her body if she could help it. But this was a passage to Terminus of all things, she couldn''t sit idly by. ''It''s up to you. Either we push ourselves now or push it when we rescue people from the frontline. Whichever you deem more important.'' Alyss didn''t mind either option as both had their benefits. If they help out here, there''s a chance they''ll miss out on the rewards promised by Torgeir for her cooperation. However, the alternate reward is that no passage is opened into Terminus and the horrors sealed away can''t escape. "For your reference, our deal only applies to your help paving a path of retreat. This disaster can easily be avoided if we simply retreat as we were nning." Torgeir called out, noticing Alice''s hesitation. He somewhat understood Alice''s condition and getting her to use her powers twice was probably unlikely. Especially since she wasn''t even moved by the promise of numbered equipment. Therefore, he wanted her to be in peak condition when they help their allies rather than an uncertain disaster like the Abyss Break. Before Alice could even respond, a cloaked figure appeared above the fissure. They pulled back their arm, revealing the Sigils etched upon their skin. Spectral horns could be seen on their head, forming a twisted crown while malevolent ck and red energy exploded out from their body. *BANG!!! CRACK!!! Punching down, they shattered the seal ced by Selen as Alice widened her eyes in shock. Torgeir was the same. "AMBUSH!!! Warriors! Protect each other!" Torgeir roared, realising the dogs of Extalia must be nearby. "Are you sure you still don''t want me to help?!" Alice nced at Torgeir who struggled with the decision before shaking his head. "No, don''t intervene. Save your strength for rescue on the frontlines. I''ll deal with this." Alice''s smile twitched as she spat in annoyance before dashing away. She wanted to find Selen since she was the closest to the fissure. With the seal broken, she''ll be the beast''s first target. On her way to the fissure, she could see several cloaked figures rushing through the outpost, killing warriors who exposed their backs to them. Even civilians weren''t spared as they killed anyone they could get their hands on. Feeling a chill on the back of her neck, Alice immediately created a shield using her shard. *CLANG!!! "TSK!" Feeling a strike on her back, Alice rolled forward and retrieved two daggers from her pouch. Throwing it at her assant the first chance she got, Alice frowned seeing another hooded figure parry her daggers with ease. "Hitting a cute girl on the back of the neck isn''t a very nice thing to do now is it? Or are you trying to kidnap me? Kyaa~ Didn''t think I was in such high demand." Alice smirked as the hooded figure frowned. "Nonsense!" "Ohya? So it''s a girl under that hood. You jealous I''m so cute lookin''~?" Alice stepped to the side, dodging the stab before punching up against her elbow. Bending her body back to avoid a horizontal sh, Alice kicked up against the woman''s chin. Twisting her body, she followed up with a leg sweep and disarmed her. Since there was no reason to keep her alive, she grabbed the dagger and prepared to stab her neck when a pulse of pink energy burst out from her back. "Urg!" Shielding her body from the st, Alice was sent tumbling back as the woman''s hood was torn apart by the activation of her abilities. She had long ck hair with pink on the inside and a pair of white and pink eyes. Crackles of pink energy flickered around her as she created two daggers and threw them at Alice. Just as she was about to dodge, Alice watched as the Void cracked open to swallow these daggers and position them below her. ''Holy sh*t!'' She cried out in her mind, quickly forcing her body to the side before kicking the daggers away. She wouldn''t have thought someone would do this if she hadn''t seen what Selen had done to the poor beast thest time they fought. But her extra attention to things aimed at her rear had paid off. If she didn''t react in time and kick the daggers away¡­ Alice shivered at the thought as veins bulged on her neck. "Pervy b*tch! Why the hell would you try stabbing someone in the ass like this?!?!" Alice cried out in annoyance as she was forced on the defensive. The woman unleashed a flurry of stabs and shes with her daggers while using powers of the Void to assist her but Alice was too hard to hit. No matter how fast she tried to go, Alice was always able to dodge at thest moment. "Not a talkative type huh? Shame." Alice shrugged, punching her wrist to force the stab off course before jamming her elbow into the woman''s sternum. Following up with a quick double kick against the chest into a backflip, she threw two daggers at the woman but it was swallowed by the Void. ''Tsk.'' With just hand to hand and trying to her best to keep up through observing the way her body moves, Alice was barely able toe to a stalemate. But to kill her would be a tad difficult. ''Wanna let me try?'' Alyss offered. ''Go for it. And make it painful since she tried to take my damn chastity with a f*cking dagger.'' ''Pft¡­ Sure.'' Alyss chuckled as golden chains manifested around their body. Massaging her neck, Alyss nced at the woman with a grin. "Come on, round two baby girl~" Alyssughed. Stomping down, she rushed towards the woman. Taken aback by the sudden change of pace, the woman stepped back and tried to use her abilities to keep Alyss away. However, after watching the fight from Alice''s mindscape, she had gotten a feel for the ''pattern'' of attack. Something of this level was far too easy to deal with even if they didn''t have their Sigils to help. *BANG CRACK!! After dodging the attacks, Alyss released a quick one two strike causing the woman to stumble. After which she grabbed the head and mmed it into her knee. Before the woman could even stumble back from the sudden strike, Alyss twisted her body, hooking her leg behind the woman''s head and threw her to the ground. Learning from Alice''s mistake, she dodged the crackles of energy and grabbed the dagger. "ARG!!!!" Letting out a cry of pain, the woman could feel the dagger stabbing into her spine before all sensations faded away. "And with that~ The end." Alyss narrowed her gaze. Kicking the dagger she stabbed into the woman''s spine, Alyss used it as a lever to pull her head and spine from the body, killing her in an instant. ''I know I said make it painful but I meant for her. I feel like I took more psychic damage than the pain she felt.'' ''If you''re not happy you should''ve ended her yourself.'' Alyss shrugged, giving Alice a smug look as Alice rolled her eyes. ''That''s only because you wanted to give it a try. I had a way to end her ya know?'' ''Yeah yeah~ Sure whatever you say twinnie.'' Alyss waved her hand dismissively while sitting on her bed, feeling refreshed after a bit of exercise. Letting out a sigh, Alice took control once more. Before rushing to Selen''s location, she retrieved the daggers that she had thrown since these were her only weapons right now. ### Upon watching the figure break apart her seal, Selen was prepared to fight. She had to deal with this threat immediately and reapply her barrier or else the beasts wille pouring out. However, what the hooded figure said next caused her to freeze up. "You¡­ I know you." Chapter 437: Egils Assistance "You¡­ I know you." The hooded figure narrowed her eyes at Selen who frowned at this promation. "I don''t believe we''ve met." Depending on who was under that hood, Selen might have to give up on this fissurepletely and take care of them. If they are part of the Zenias, both her and Alice''s safety is at risk. "You''re part of the Zenia family, aren''t you? I''ve heard of a fighter who could manipte the flow of time to a near halt. A woman treasured yet given away as a reward." The woman jumped down andnded not far from Selen. "You were quite the hot topic a while ago. What happened to you? For you to be here in the North and hindering our ns?" She questioned, not showing signs of wanting to fight just yet. Furrowing her brows, Selen was silent. The woman wasn''t part of the Zenia family but the fact that she knew about the incident where she was ''gifted'' away meant that she was somewhat in the know. Not enough to truly understand what''s at stake but enough to hear about certain events. Meaning¡­ If she were to inquire about why she was here, the Zenias would find out that she was still alive. *Sigh~ "Seems like I have to take care of you before I take care of that fissure." Selen sighed as she grabbed her de. Narrowing her eyes at the woman, Selen hopped on the spot, confusing her enemy. ''She doesn''t have her guard up properly. It''s a bit cheap but I can''t afford to let you spread the news!'' *CLANG!!! Flickering in front of the woman, Selen released a horizontal sh at her neck only for it to be blocked by an armoured cor. "Tsk!" "You b*tch!" The woman widened her eyes in shock seeing Selen attack her out of nowhere. Jumping back, she mmed her hand against the ground and began to pull out a metallic material. Not wanting to let her get a chance to recover, Selen rushed forward, activating eleration on her own body. Appearing in front of the woman, she jabbed her hand against her throat before attempting to sh down but it was toote. Pulling out a bestial head from the ground, energy converged around the woman and released a single st of energy towards Selen''s stomach. *BANG!!! Barely blocking the attack with the face of her de, Selen was forced back as the st threatened to break her weapon. "ARGGGG!!!" Letting out a cry, she parried the st aside and watched it obliterate a house and leave behind crackles of lightning energy. Turning her attention back at the woman, Selen noticed that she was now covered with jagged ck armour, looking as though it was freshly carved from the body of a beast. Mounted on her back were two bestial heads, resting on her shoulders and controlled by her hands. Pirs of metal stabbed into the ground behind her, acting as a support frame. Pulses of crimson energy flickered through the gaps of the armour, condensing around the jaw. Forcing the mouth to crack open, two streams of raw destructive lightning energy rushed towards Selen. Widening her eyes, she didn''t hesitate and immediately conjured a staff. While her personal realm my have been broken apart by the woman''s first attack, she could still use the residue power left behind to conjure one more time stop on arger scale! mming the staff down, the sound of a clock could be heard momentarily before colour drained from the sts and it came to a near halt. Crouching down, she rushed forward, twisting her body and kicking the back of her de, sending it towards the woman''s head. Just as she tilted her head to dodge the de, Selen activated eleration on herself for a second time and grabbed the de. Narrowing her gaze, she shed at the woman diagonally, hoping to take out one of the bestial heads but she grinned. From her shoulder guard, several beams of energy exploded out, piercing Selen''s body as she tumbled back from the attack. Blood poured from her wounds. "me yourself for attacking me." The woman aimed her cannons at Selen and prepared to attack. "WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU''RE TRYING TO KILL!?!?" An angry roar could be heard from above. *BANG!!!!! Crashing down from above, Egil mmed his fists into the woman who blocked with a metallic shield. *CRRRR The sound of metal bending cried out as the woman gritted her teeth and pushed Egil away. Landing in front of Selen, he tossed her some healing vials before ring at the armoured woman. "She''s the reason why the seal went down right?" He asked as Selen nodded, drinking the vial and watching her wounds heal. "Alright, let me deal with her quickly then." Egil cracked his knuckles. mming his fists together, he activated his resonance as spectral animalistic traits appeared across his body. "Careful of her cannons. They hurt like a motherf*cker." Selen warned, pping her hand on his back and giving him eleration. "Don''t worry about that, I trust in my own toughness." Egilughed as he twisted his body and punched at the sneak attack the woman hadunched. *BANG!!! Widening her eyes in shock, she didn''t think the barbarian would just punch the energy st apart! With a single step, he left a crater in his wake as he appeared in front of the woman and mmed his fist into her chest. *CRACK!!! The armour began to fracture from the force of his fist while the woman''s eyes turned bloodshot. Crashing into a building from the punch, she pulled herself out from the rubble and red at Egil who blinked his eyes. "Is that it?" With all the defences around her body, he thought she would at least defend herself like Alice would. Redirect his strikes or dodge. But she just sat there and took it. This confidence in her armour was truly astonishing to Egil. For Selen, this kind of opponent was the worse since she didn''t have much in the defensive department. But for him who''s all about physicality, this is probably the easiest match up for him. Hearing his nonchnce, the woman felt like a vein was about to pop. "Is that it huh? I''ll show you what I can do you brainless barbarian!" Sigils red across her body as the metallic armour began to shift and morph. From a stationary turret, her form began to mutate. Unlike the beasts they saw during the ambush, she transformed into a metallic dragon littered with weaponry and mechanical joints. Each segment of the wing held a different cannon while crimson lightning crackled through the gaps and pulsed with eerie energy. Looking at this beast, Egil felt calm. Compared to the aura Alice passively exuded during a battle and the strange beasts during the ambushes, this one felt like a kitten. Baring its tiny fangs and reaching out with its ws to seem frightening despite its size. Giving her a taunting smirk, Egil massaged his shoulder. "Tell you what, I''ll give you a chance. One hit is all you get so hit me with everything you''ve got." Egilughed. "Are you stupid???" Selen cried out. Even if Egil was confident in his body, this was beyond reckless! Right after she lectured him about taking care of his body too! "It''ll be fine~ Don''t worry about it." Feeling speechless, Selen wanted to smack him on the head and crack it open to see if he still had his brain or not. "I swear to the gods you have two brain cells and they''re both fighting for f*cking second ce." Blinking his eyes in confusion, Egil shrugged. "Just watch, I''ll show you something fun." Taking a deep breath, emerald energy began to cover Egil''s body as spectral armour manifested on his arm, waist and shoulders. As for the woman inside the dragon, she prepared her own attack as well. Since he dared to challenge her firepower, she was going to respond in kind. Crouching down, energy pulsed out from each of her cannons while the dragon''s head cracked open to reveal a hidden cannon. Energy coalesce towards the opening, a spiral of multicoloured rays of destruction. The metal around the draconic body began to heat up as the ground beneath her bubbled and boiled. Once the energy reached its apex, the st disappeared momentarily before exploding towards Egil. Watching the torrent of raw destruction rush towards him, he let out a heartyugh and stomped his foot down. *BANG!!!!!! Before the energy could collide, an emerald avatar manifested around them, blocking the strike. With each second that passed, the outline would fluctuate and threaten to break apart but it held on. After a few seconds, the torrent of energy disappeared leaving a line of ss andva on the ground before being split apart to reveal apletely safe Egil and Selen. "Is that it?" Egil grinned as he asked those words for a second time. "ARGGG!!!" Unable to hold back, the woman lunged towards Egil with the mechanical beast but he simply pulled his arm back. All of the damage that his ''shield'' withstood, he''ll send it back to her! Flickers of blue and purple danced across his fist as he parried the mechanical beast''s first strike with his left arm. Twisting his body, he swung his fist from below into a devastating uppercut. The release of energy caused a pir of light to explode from his punch,pletely tearing apart the head of the dragon and piercing the clouds above them. With the sudden explosion of energy came the copse as the sound of an explosion echoed throughout the battlefield, causing everyone to turn their head towards the pir of light with confusion. Meanwhile, Selen was speechless. ''I''m surrounded by powerful idiots.'' Chapter 438: Seeking Opportunities Through Disaster Shaking his hand from the punch, Egil walked over to the slumped remains of the metallic dragon. He could see it slowly falling apart, revealing the bloodied and wounded woman who tried to kill Selen earlier. That hateful re felt like a tiny pinpricks against his skin, nothing serious. "You want me to kill her or leave her be?" Egil nced back. Making a gesture of running her finger across her neck, Selen turned away to look at the fissure above them. Behind her, the sound of bones cracking before popping could be heard. "Did you have to crush her head like a grape???" Selen was speechless. "What? It was painless." Egil tilted his head while shaking off the blood from his hand. Letting out a fatigued sigh, Selen scratched her hair. With the woman breaking apart her seal around the fissure, reapplying it wouldn''t have the same effectiveness since she needed to activate her personal realm. Unfortunately, since the personal realm was forcefully broken apart, reactivating it would take some time and a standard time slow barrier wouldn''t be enough. *Sigh~ "Why the long face?" "ARGG!!!" Letting out a scream, Selen was shocked by Alice''s voice suddenly appearing behind her. "Make a sound when you walk!!" Selen cried out, feeling as though she just had a heart attack. Confused, Alice shrugged before looking at the destruction around them. "So why the sigh?" "Because I can''t exactly hold back the fissure anymore. Please tell me Torgeir has a method to shut this thing down for good." Selen shook her head. "You see, I would be here to deliver some good news but unfortunately, that''s not the case. He''s calling for a retreat rather than closing the fissure since he doesn''t have a method to stop it." Alice replied while peaking through the gaps of the fissure. Seeing the countless beasts squirming inside, aiming to get out while the aura of Tiamat got stronger, she couldn''t help but whistle. The sheer destruction they could bring was going to be quite the spectacle. ''There won''t be anyone left to help those on the frontlines if this thing breaks apart.'' Alyss folded her arms. ''Yep. However, if we stop it, it''s a thankless job. We won''t get the rewards promised to us.'' Alice let out a sigh. ''Honestly, f*ck it. Let it break who cares? It''s not like we didn''t try to stop it in the first ce. If Torgeir is insistent on not closing it, who are we to stop him?'' To Alyss, it was far easier to just let hell break loose so Torgeir understands what kind of decision he made. How are they going to learn if they never fail? Plus, having Alice risk her body twice, once to keep people safe and once to save people on the frontline was a no go for Alyss. She still remembered the consequences of risking her bodyst time. Alice was practically hanging onto strands and if it wasn''t for Selen keeping her safe, feeding her and taking care of her bandages, she would''ve died. Crossing her arms, Alice was a little hesitant. She had the same thought at one point but letting a fissure connected to Terminus break apart was simply off the table. If a permanent passage is created, all the horrors of Terminus wille spewing out, turning the surface into a second Abyss. Furrowing her brows, Alice made a decision. "If I''m going to stop this f*cking fissure, I''m gonna make it worth my damn time. Selen, let it break. Take this time and recover. Set up a perimeter around the opening and slow all the beasts down. Allow more beasts to pop through if you can. "Depending on what happens, I''ll either shut down the fissure or leave it be." Hearing this, Selen tilted her head. "What are you nning?" "What else? I''m going to grab my fifth Sigil." Alice revealed a daring grin as Selen felt like her jaw was going to fall off. "Are you crazy?!" "Fufu~ Just a tad~ But don''t worry, if there''s nothing suitable, I won''t risk my body. I''m only going to make a move if one of the beasts looks useful to me." Alice stuck out her tongue as Selen didn''t hesitate to smack her on the head. "What do you mean you won''t risk your body??? You need to fight if you want to hunt!" Selen huffed in anger. "If I get my fifth Sigil, I can speed up my recovery! So if things go well, I wouldn''t risk my body ya know? Since it would''ve recovered partially." Alice tried to persuade Selen while Egil held her back from smacking Alice some more. "But don''t you need a shaman? How are you going to attune to a spirit?" Egil asked curiously. "Erm¡­ trade secret." Alice stuck out her tongue once more. Taking several deep breaths to calm herself, Selen reluctantly nodded her head. "But if there is nothing suitable, we''re giving up on this ce alright? No heroics of closing the fissure if there''s nothing worth it." "Gotcha~ Now let''s get to work." Alice chuckled. With Egil''s help, Selen began to ce several nodes around the fissure. The space wasrge enough to amodate several beasts without breaking apart so the moment Alice saw something she liked, she''d be able to close the fissure immediately. If there''s nothing, they''ll give up. The time limit was how long Selen''s barrier could hold as the moment it breaks apart, they''ll need to leave or else they risk being dragged into a fight against the beasts. ''I don''t believe we have a full understanding of the beasts from Terminus. Or are you nning on waking up Ca for something suitable?'' Alyss asked curiously. ''Nope, nothing of the sort. Instead, I''m going to provoke a fight between them and see what kind of abilities they''ll showcase.'' Alice shrugged. She was basically going to turn this entire ce into a monster derby to pick her fifth Sigil. If Torgeir wasn''t nning on saving this outpost to begin with, she wasn''t going to hold back. ### Furrowing his brows, Torgeir nced at the spot where a pir of light had just exploded. 80% of the evacuations were done but many of the civilians had to leave without any supplies or their belongings. Meaning the travel towards a safer outpost ind was going to be treacherous with some even possibly losing their lives during the travel. However, since it was the sudden appearance of an Abyss Break, there was nothing they could do. The only thing he could hope for was to save as many lives as he could while also leaving a potential path of return for those still fighting on the frontlines. ''This outpost is going to be a dead route once the fissure breaks. Once the groups are split into two, I''ll need to get scouts to find a secondary path of retreat.'' The ideal situation would be to let Alice close the fissure but there was still the case of the unknown beasts that ambushed the previous expedition. If they were truly as fearsome as Bo had reported, he needed Alice''s power for them specifically and not a fissure they could just avoid for now. At that moment, three figures appeared above Torgeir, each radiating killing intent. The first was a fully armoured man d in ck metal and a fluttering red cape. Pulses of red energy could be seen through the gaps as he wielded arge ck and red scythe. The second was a young woman with ck hair tied into two long twin tails. The end of the twin tails were set aze. She wore a ck uniform, simr to the armour the first man wore but slightly different as parts of it were also on fire. Thest was a man with short swept back ck hair. He wore arge fur lined coat and a uniform like the woman. There were no distinct features on his body except for a floating cube that constantly broke itself apart before piecing itself together. "Seems like you''re not satisfied with losing two of your finest warriorsst time." Torgeir narrowed his eyes. During the previous Abyss Break, he had assassins try to take his life as well but they fell short. This time was going to be no different! Stomping down with his foot, a ritualistic circle crackled to life behind him as armoured bestial limbs wed out from the summoning circle. Beside him, another circle appeared, holding his spear. *BANG!!! Twirling his spear, he parried the first scythe while an armoured wing covered him from the mes. "Are they so desperate that they''ll send weak men to their deaths?" Torgeir questioned as another w came down from above, looking to crush the armoured man. However, a barrier manifested around him with pieces of a cube acting as the nodes for the barrier. ''A frontline, a main damage dealer and one support. A standardposition to fight a beast rather than assassination.'' Pushing the armoured man away from him, Torgeir adjusted his grip on the spear and threw it towards the support. *CLANG!!! It was blocked by the woman who wrapped ming chains around the weapon but Torgeir wasn''t phased. A spear may be his preferred weapon but it wasn''t the focus of his Sigils! *ROAR!!!! Pulling out its upper body from the ritual circle, a four armed winged beast could be seen as four crimson eyes ring at the assassins with glee. Energy converged towards the two horns on its head, condensing into a spiralling orb of power before firing. *BANG!!! The barrier shattered apart in an instant as the support didn''t expect this kind of firepower but Torgeir wasn''t done. To ensure that the fight was short, he recalled his spear while the Sigil on his arm pulsed with energy. Twisting his body, he released one more devasting throw. *KRRR!!! Tearing apart the earth beneath it, the spear pierced the body of the support and the woman before erupting with raw energy, obliterating their bodies. All three were barely stronger than three Sigil warriors which only confused Torgeir. This moment of confusion allowed a gap in his defences as a silver haired man curled his lips into a menacing grin. Chapter 439: Valtor With Torgeir''s back beingpletely open, the silver haired man couldn''t help butugh inwardly as energy gathered towards him. "!!!" Sensing this, Torgeir widened his eyes in shock from the familiar surge and immediately turned back. The beast above him tried its best to protect Torgeir but it was toote. *BANG!!! A st of energy pierced through the wing of the beast, burrowing into Torgeir''s stomach and charring his organs. Coughing up a mouthful of blood, Torgeir rolled across the ground while the beast dissipated due to the damage he took. "Urg¡­ Valtor¡­ How dare you show your face around here! Traitor!" Torgeir roared out in anger. "Traitor? Who me? You wound me old friend. And here I thought you were going to greet me with a smile." Valtor cackled as he snapped his finger. Around Torgeir''s neck, shards of energy flickered to life. *KRK!!! Summoning the beast''s hand to protect his neck, Torgeir jumped back and reached for a healing vial from his pouch. "Tsk tsk tsk, let''s have none of that." Valtorughed, not letting Torgeir heal his wounds. Appearing in front of Torgeir, he twisted his body and kicked him on the wrist, forcing him to drop the vial. Understanding that his oldrade wasn''t someone to let his opponents heal easily, Torgeir gritted his teeth and summoned his spear. Twirling the spear in his hand, he tried to sh towards Valtor but his de phased through Valtor''s body. "Come on, you know this weak sh*t won''t work on me." Ducking to the side, Valtor elbowed Torgeir on the side of the head before snapping his fingers once more. Shards of energy condensed around Torgeir''s leg this time but Torgeir was faster. Destroying one of the shards with his spear, he moved his leg out of the way before the attack tore it off. Sliding across the ground, he mmed his palm against the ground. *ROAR!!!! Summoning the beast''s head, a torrent of energy surged towards Valtor without any dy. Had it been anyone else, it would''ve taken them by surprise but not Valtor. Torgeir knew that this was futile against Valtor but he needed this gap to heal himself. Just as he reached for his pouch a third time, shards of energy gathered by the opening and detonated, tearing off the pouch and almost shredding apart Torgeir''s fingers. "Can you stop that boring sh*t? You already know I won''t let you heal so why try? Or¡­ Are you finally about to kick the bucket? Feeling desperate?" Valtor''s voice rang out as he created a shield using the shards of energy that he conjured around his body. Gritting his teeth in anger, regret filled Torgeir''s chest. "I should''ve killed you when I had the chance! I shouldn''t have let you leave!" He shouted in anger. Ignoring the wound on his stomach, Torgeir let out a shout as he forcefully summoned the full body of the beast and activated Resonance. As their figures ovepped, bestial armour appeared around Torgeir''s body with wings, extra limbs and even a tail appearing behind him. A feral growl could be heard from his helmet as he punched against the ground andunched his body towards Valtor who revealed a twisted smile. "Good~ Good! This is how it should be old friend!" Parrying Torgeir''s spear with a punch, Valtor mmed his elbow into Torgeir''s chest but he wasn''t phased. The extra arms reached forward and grabbed his shoulder as Torgeir headbutted Valtor before swiping his tail into Valtor''s stomach. There was no elegance in their techniques. Just a pure brawl between two people who used to be friends. "I looked forward to today ever since you left me on that battlefield!" Valtor shouted and snapped his finger to create a cage around Torgeir. However, he managed to dash out of the zone and m his fist into Valtor''s face, causing him to slide back. "I tried to convince you toe with me many times but you refused each and every time. You knew the war didn''t look good but you were still stubborn." Valtor wiped the blood from his lips. "I had a family to look after! If Verona won''t save them where else was I supposed to go you dumbf*ck?!" He shouted, conjuring a spiral of energy that exploded towards Torgeir who was forced to block with his wings. Digging into the armour, the spiral of energy tore apart the wings, causing Torgeir to flinch in pain. Blood began to seep through the gaps. Thinking back to what Valtor said, it wasn''t like Torgeir didn''t understand it either. But to doom everyone in the squad back then to switch sides¡­ He hated it. He never had a proper family. Orphaned by war. His fellow brother-in-arms became his family. During that rainy day, when he found the corpses of his family and news of Valtor''s traitorous actions, it broke him. "But whatever, the past is in the past now. I was toote and both my family and my brothers have died. It''s only you and me left and this sted queendom of Verona¡­ "Torgeir! I''m going to raze this ce to the f*cking ground. I''ll give you one more chance soe with me. Don''t make me kill myst brother." Valtor offered onest time to his old friend. Copsing on one knee, Torgeir''s armour broke apart to reveal the wounds across his body. The blood pooled beneath him as his vision blurred. Forcing a smile, Torgeir nced up at Valtor and shook his head. Clenching his fist, Valtor bit his lips before letting out a sigh. "Then I''ll spare you the sight of this Queendom falling to ruins." Just as he was about to attack, the ground trembled as the tyrannical aura of Terminus flooded the outpost. A pressure never felt before crashed down upon them as they felt like they were being red down by several Lord level beings. Slowly turning his head up, Valtor looked towards the fissure as the first beast wed its way out. A gargantuan beast- no, rather than a beast this was more akin to a mountain. A demonic mountain shrouded in darkness and fire. A cloud of miasma followed its every move, obscuring its true form from the eyes. The echoes of metal chains dragged behind it as it wed its way out. The moltenva bubbling across the gaps of its skin formed a stark contrast against the miasma. Each movement was not quite that of a beast but more so the shifting of thend. Each step sunk the earth and each breath exuded dark clouds that blotted out the sky. Even without its full size in view, the outpost was already being shielded in its shadow. Its mere presence tore the fissure apart, forcing it to amodate the beast as it forced its way out of Terminus. The only way Valtor could describe it was simply that this was a living mountain. Even though he didn''t speak it aloud, he questioned the possibility of a beast even growing to this size. Was this truly the beasts that dwelled in the Abyss? With the mountainous demon forcing the fissure to expand far beyond its original size, countless smaller beasts took this chance to slip through the gaps. nt like beasts covered with bloodied thorns and a beating heart, aquatic beasts that shimmered with a myriad of celestial lights and even mechanical monstrosities that are a blend of beast and machine. Jagged spikes that protruded from every part of their body making the act of attacking it harmful to the attacker. Humanoid dolls no bigger than the average human that rode on the backs of draconic creatures. Ghostly beasts that carried the haunting cries of the dead and the spectral glows ofnterns. Even beasts that were almost entirely formed from energy slipped through the gaps. A parade of beasts from the prison of the Abyss. Terminus. Beasts that were sealed away in fear of the destruction they could cause. *BANG!!! Right as the mountainous demon stepped through the fissure, an explosion erupted within the crowd of the beasts, snapping all the onlookers out of their stupor. Now fully understanding the danger that had just escaped from the fissure, they ran towards the exits in panic while the screams of beasts erupted from the horde. An internal conflict as beasts began to battle one another. Around the beasts, a barrier manifested itself, slowing them down the further they got from the fissure and preventing them from reaching the fleeing people. Right when Valtor snapped out of his trance from sensing such horrific energy, he realised he gave Torgeir the chance he needed to drink a healing vial and quickly raised his guard but it was toote. The shaft of the spear mmed into his ribs as nasty cracking sounds could be heard. "URG!!!" Gritting his teeth, Valtor stopped himself from crashing against the ground while Torgeir wiped away the blood from his face. Opening his mouth, Torgeir was about to say something when he decided against it. There was no more words needed between them. Today, only one of them gets to get out of this alive. "No words? Fine by me. I got nothing to say to you anymore as well." Valtor took this chance to drink a healing vial as the Sigils across his body began to burn with energy. Activating his resonance, his silver hair turned ck as his eyes glowed with a radiant white. Countless shards hovered around him while motes of energy danced across the air. Onest calm before the storm. Onest look at an old friend as memories of their past shed through his mind. After this, there will be no hesitation. *BANG!!! Both men erupted with frightening energy as their weapons collided in mid air. With this sh, their brotherhood ended and there were only two enemies on the battlefield. Chapter 440: Candidates For Alices Fifth Sigil Sitting on the roof of a building, Alice swung her legs back and forth while watching the swarm of beasts escape the fissure. Her biggest surprise was therge mountainous beast that crawled through. She didn''t even see it walking up to the fissure before it tore through meaning there was a big chance that it was always there but Alice never saw it due to its size. ''Honestly, I wonder what kind of Sigil that beast holds. Seems fire rted or something¡­ well.. Size rted.'' Alyss wondered in amusement. It would be quite a sight to see Alice suddenly transform into a beastrger than a vige. ''True, but I don''t want something so brutish. Ideally, I want something for my blood control. I need to bring it to the next level, the point I can begin manipting theposition of the blood. And by extension, manipte theposition of Abyss Blood within someone''s body. ''It won''t be at the level where I canpletely sever their ties and contracts but at least they''ll ''look'' normal.'' Alice nced at the beads of blood that gathered above her fingertip. Aside from the power needed to bring down the Zenia family, Alice had the goal of finding out ways to manipte the blood within people. A feat that not even Velouria was able to aplish. If Alice could do this, the second Ayr would be more than just a safe haven. She''ll make it into a ce where people can rid themselves of the power given by the Abyss. A ce of cleansing. ''Not everyone would want that after they''ve gotten used to having so much power in their hands. And unfortunately, if the weak civilians don''t find ways to protect themselves aside from drinking Abyss Blood, it''ll be difficult to convince them to discard that power.'' Alyss reminded. ''I know but I still want to give it a try ya know? I can''t get Allura''s expression out of my mind when I think back to her friend. If I was able to extract the Abyss Blood from his body, she would''ve shown a different expression back then.'' Alice nodded her head with a sigh. Watching Selen erect the barrier around the fissure to keep the beasts contained, Alice kept her eye on the battle that soon broke out within the crowd of beasts. "Weird energy siphoning tentacles¡­ huge defence¡­ fire based attacks¡­ Shadow? No darkness¡­" She muttered, making a note of all the abilities that were thrown around. More beasts spewed out of the fissure but the rate was slowed down thanks to the barrier. Naturally, the more intelligent beasts understood what was happening and sought to take down the caster. Thankfully, Selen was in a rather obscure location so their discovery should take quite a while. And in the event that they should be discovered, Egil was there to cover their escape route. However, as she continued to observe the fight, her frown only grew deeper. "Poison¡­ puppetry¡­ lightning and ice¡­ external ws that have high offence and defence¡­" Nothing she saw interested her nor did it spark some kind of inspiration. Of course, there were potential ideas on what she could do with some of the abilities she saw. But they were only surface level. She wanted something to truly push towards her goals. ''Seems like this is a bust. There''s nothing that I want here in terms of healing. Everything is targeted at killing stuff.'' Alice let out a regretful sigh. Giving the horde onest nce, Alice singled out three targets. All three had abilities that seemed pretty good for her in terms of increasing her offensive power. Her first target was a strange skeletal figure donning dark red armour and a tattered cloak. It had a skull with red thorns piercing out of its head, forming a twisted crown while a blood red halo hovered behind it. From its shoulders sprouted several branches, creating a tree with blood leaves that arched above its head. Much like the mountainous beast, dark miasma drifted from his body, especially the fragmented sword that he held in his hand. Each fragment of the sword hovered within close proximity as though held by an invisible string, barely resembling the shape of a longsword. In all of the battles that this beast was involved in, it would deploy spores that caused the same tree to sprout within others. But that wasn''t the end, this tree would then turn their corpses into zombies to fight for him. Aside from thest part, the rest was very simr to how Alice battled using her red spider lilies. ''Getting the second part of his abilities to create zombies seems helpful if I want to take outrge crowds. But rather than Anti Hunter, it looks like abination of both to be Anti Army.'' Alice analysed. She wanted a Sigil that focuses on Anti Hunter abilities in order to form a synergy with the rest of her Sigils. For the goal of achieving a nine Sigil resonance in the future with all nine being focused on Anti Hunter abilities. The second candidate was an elongated woman dressed in all ck. Long flowing ck hair and a pair of piercing red eyes. But that wasn''t the most noticeable aspect of her. Around her, crackles of energy and tendrils hovered with a myriad of crimson eyes attached to them. Everywhere she looked, beasts would show signs of withering as from their blood, more eyes would appear. ''An eye based attack. Might synergise pretty well with Ca once I unseal her in the future.'' ''Speaking of unsealing, she''s still holding quite the grudge over that twinnie. Kaden said the curse will undo itself in the future but we don''t even know when.'' Alyss chuckled. Alice was pretty reckless when she asked Kaden to seal both Void Fang and Ca but it has helped Alice to be a little more cautious. Just a little. Still far from the desired effect. However, Alyss was rather excited to see what kind of power Void Fang could showcase once it has been unsealed. After all, it was the closest thing to a Personal Artifact other than Ruinous Void. ''Urg¡­ Don''t remind me.'' Alice sighed. She knew that she should''ve talked to Ca about it first but it just kinda happened. Shaking her head, Alice turned to thest and final candidate and the most promising one in her eyes. A white haired woman with half her face being transformed into a carnivorous nt made out of flesh. Flowers decorated her hair while thorns acted as her dress. The key reason why she''s the best candidate in Alice''s eyes is the fact that her abilities are parasitic. From what she could tell, this beast nts a parasite into her target''s blood and begins to consume them from the inside out. Her target will get a boost and begin to fight frantically not knowing that it''s only furthering the beast''s goals and spearing the parasite through the body. Depending on how Alice could modify this ability based on the synergy, she could achieve something simr to her desires but it was a bit of a gamble. To Alice, there were two ways this parasite could work. The first is ability based. An ability based parasite would be the worst kind since it''ll go the opposite direction as to what she wanted. It''ll be very difficult to change the properties and make it useful in separating the cursed blood from the body. However, if it''s the second way, it''ll be exactly how Alice wanted it. The second was user based. The parasite changes based on the user''s requirements and abilities. Meaning, Alice would be able to control it properly instead of just letting it roam freely within her target''s body. If this was indeed the case then there''s a high chance that she could modify it to extract Abyss Blood using her own blood as a ma. There will be lots of experimentation needed to properly calibrate the parasite but it''s a step towards her goal. Standing up, she gave her body and stretch and pulled out a vial. ''You''re really going to gamble for this?'' Alyss raised an eyebrow as Alice nodded her head. ''Might as well. Plus, if I get my fifth Sigil, Ca will have an easier time, no?'' Alice smiled. Once she gets her fifth Sigil, Ca will be able to talk to them while keeping the Artifact at bay. ''Fair enough.'' Alyss shrugged. Opening the vial, Alice drank some beast blood instead of the blood she got from Torgeir. It was going to be a short fight after all. An ambush. Feeling the power returning to her body, Alice revealed a smile as she snapped her fingers and created a bead of blood. Sending towards Selen''s location, she wanted to notify them to retreat since she was going to cut off the fissure first before hunting her target. Once the fissure was closed, no more beasts wille out. ''Help me rece my fifth Sigil with Allura''s.'' ''Way ahead of you.'' Alyss smirked. With how long they''ve been working together, she''s gotten a feel for what Alice needed in terms of Sigils and what she''ll pick. Out of all the Sigils they have, Allura''s was most suitable for this moment. ''Hou hou~ And what if I wanted to use Tiamat''s?'' Alice raised an eyebrow. ''Well, that''s just too bad.'' Shaking her head with a smile, Alice took a deep breath and focused her gaze on the fissure. With her power returned, her senses began to expand. She could sense the strands of energy pulling the fissure apart. The bridge between the two realms and the exact point where it was conjoined. To close the portal, she didn''t need overwhelming power to shut it down in an instant. What she needed was to break one of the ''pirs'' and watch it copse on its own. Just as she was about to make her preparations for attack, Ca woke up from her slumber. Chapter 441: Tenebris [O''master mine¡­ What in the f*ck is this?] Ca''s smile twitched as she was roused from her sleep. The first thing she sensed was the overwhelming pressure exuded by a passage linking to Terminus. The second thing she sensed was Alice gathering her power for an attack. ''You''re awake, good morning.'' Alice greeted with a smile. [Good morning my ass. What the f*ck is happening? I go to sleep for a little bit after warning you not to push yourself only for this sh*t to happen.] Ca rolled her eyes. As she turned her attention to reality, she noticed a strange gathering of all the beasts from Terminus along with arge fissure that was being stretched open. [An Abyss Break???] ''Oh you know? Well that saves the trouble of exining then. Yeah, it''s an Abyss Break. Figured I''d try and get my fifth Sigil while I''m here and see if there are any suitable beasts to kill. Turns out one seems to match pretty alright so I''m going to take this chance and close the fissure as well.'' Alice exined quickly while gathering her power to sever the connection of the fissure. *Sigh¡­ [If myining could''ve changed anything I wouldn''t have been sealed by you in the name of training. So which beast do you want to kill for their Sigil this time?] Ca asked, surprising Alice. ''I thought you''d be against it.'' [No sh*t o''master mine. If it''s not for the fact that we''re on a timer since your body is far from recovered, I would''ve lectured until you went deaf. But since we don''t have all day, I might as well make use of this time to help you filter out the right candidates. So which beast are you thinking of killing?] Ca exined with a shrug. If she had a table, she would''veunched it across the mind realm for all the crap that Alice put her through. But since they''re short on time, she''ll make a table next time. She needed to decorate this ce a little since it was rather barren. ''White haired woman over there with half flesh nt face.'' Turning her attention over, Ca couldn''t help but tilt her head. [Why would you want her? It''s just a Parasitic Rose Chimera. It doesn''t exactly give any Sigils that are useful for you.] ''I''m looking for a Sigil that can help me change theposition of someone''s blood. Isn''t a parasitic based ability good? Or is her Sigil ability based so it won''t let me change things.'' Alice asked curiously seeing Ca''s t out rejection of the idea. [I know that o''master mine. Which is why I''m asking why you want a parasitic ability. It doesn''t matter what kind of ability it is, whether that be user based or ability based, it won''t help you achieve your goals whatsoever.] Ca shook her head once again. ''Huh??? What do you mean?'' [O''master mine¡­ Sometimes you can be frighteningly smart yet other times dumb as a rock. Please think back to all the information you have about contracts, the Abyss, the Will of the Abyss and the Spiritual Heart. Once you thought of all of this, tell me why a parasitic ability wouldn''t work.] Ca let out a sigh as she decided to let Alice figure it out by herself rather than having her provide the answers all the time. Crossing her arms, Alice furrowed her brows and began to think. She went through all the information she''d gathered up till this point. All the experiences she''s gone through, the knowledge she''s obtained and the information she acquired in the Inverted World. At a certain point, she began to see the gaps in her theory and couldn''t help but facepalm in disappointment. [Now do you see why I''m asking you why you want to change the blood? I mean sure you can ''purify'' their blood for a certain amount of time but that change is not permanent. With the state of the Spiritual Heart, it''ll only be a matter of moments before their blood begins to return to its ''natural'' state as the body bnces itself out. [Acquiring the parasitic ability is no different to treating the symptom rather than the cause. It''ll be superficial at best even if they look normal. But I''m 99% sure that this is not what you want for them right? You want a proper ''cure''.] Ca rested her chin on her palm. ''Yeah¡­ Urg I can''t believe I overlooked the Spiritual Heart.'' Alice sighed in annoyance. [Aren''t you d I''m here to tell you before you get ahead of yourself? Give me a moment, I''ll look over this group and see if there''s anything actually suitable for you.] Ca shrugged. [While I''m looking, tell me which candidates you had in mind. I''m sure you had more than one since it''s not like you to limit yourself to just one choice.] Pointing out the candidates she had in mind, the weird skeletal figure and the woman with many eyes, Alice waited patiently for Ca to analyse the beasts. With each passing second, Alice could feel the power leaving her body but it was needed in order for Ca to remain functional. If it went south, she''ll have to use Torgeir''s vial as well. It''s not like she can''t collect more blood from himter while this was a precious chance she might not get again in a long while. To hunt beasts thate straight from Terminus. Meanwhile, Ca was silent. Even though Alice was mistaken regarding her final choice of the parasite due to a small oversight, her three choices were correct. They were the most suitable andpatible to Alice from everything that was here. However, Ca''s gaze lingered on the second target, the woman with many eyes. [Once again, I''m questioning your decision to seal me. If I still had my abilities, it''ll be much easier to figure out what that beast she is.] Ca clicked her tongue in annoyance. ''Can you not tell what beast that is?'' [I can. I''m just questioning what stage of evolution it''s at since it''s hard to differentiate between the stages. You''re either fighting a four Sigil beast or something as high as a Lord Candidate or even higher. Even within the six Sigil stage, there are tiers. Lord Candidates as you have faced before, are beings that are very close to bing Lords. All they need is that onest spark. [But this beast is rather¡­ how do I put it. I guess unique? If this is a Lord Candidate then you can forget about fighting herpletely and just walk away from this ce. I''m saying this with the knowledge of your power and what you can achieve o''master mine so don''t take this as me underestimating you. If anything, I''m overestimating you in this observation. [However, if she is below that, killing her for the Sigil is probably the best thing you can get from this horde.] Hearing this, Alice couldn''t help but blink her eyes in surprise. ''Oh? For real?'' [Yes, for real. The species we''re looking at is a race that''s primarily known as Tenebris. A race of beasts capable of rapid growth based on the danger they''re in so it''s best to kill them in one go. Unless you want to risk dying that is.] Ca nodded with a frown on her face. [Since the power of the Tenebris is rted to what you''re hoping to achieve in the future.] "!!!" Pausing at the mention of this, Alice couldn''t believe what she just heard. ''What do you mean by that? I thought her powers were eye rted?'' [You''re not wrong but that''s not what''s important. The eyes are just a catalyst for the ability. There''s a reason why they''re sealed in Terminus regardless of how strong they are and that''s to do with WHAT their ability does. To put it simply¡­ [It''s an ability that has the potential to nullify contracts.] After saying this to Alice, Ca turned her focus back on the beast. To determine what level this beast was, she had to resort to the original method of identification. The number of eyes it has and how fast it could drain the opponents. But even then, it was still difficult to estimate urately. [There''s a high chance that it has six stars.] Ca spoke up after a brief pause. ''Likely hood of me killing the beast?'' Alice asked curiously. No matter how desirable the beast was, she needed to be able to kill it. [It''s worth the gamble if you use Torgeir''s blood. You need to use everything in your power to kill it in one shot. If you fail, you can only hope it''s weaker than expected.] Ca sighed. It was far too uncertain for her to give Alice a proper answer. This was the best she could say. Leaving the decision up to Alice, Ca waited in silence. After a moment of contemtion, Alice opened her mouth. ''Let''s go for it. You said it''s a beast sealed in Terminus for a reason right? So it''s safe to assume I wouldn''t run into this beast at least not for a long time. If this can bring me closer to my goal, I might as well give it a try now. Nothinges without risks.'' Alice smiled. [Understood.] Pulling out Torgeir''s blood, Alice drank it without hesitation. She needed all the power she could muster to kill the beast in one go before it could turn on her. However, she first needed to seal this fissure. To take care of it with as little power as possible so that the beast won''t take notice of her. And to do that, Alice created a bow in her hand and took a deep breath. Chapter 442: Blackened Heart Taking out the fissure wasn''t a difficult task. After observing it for so long, she''s already gotten a feel for its ''pirs''. If anything, it was far harder to take out the pir for Sris and force him to go back. The difficult part about this mission, however, was that she had to be stealthy about it. Stealth was never her strong point as all of her attacks have always caused some kind ofrge phenomenon. If she were to do the same again, there''s no doubt that the beast''s attention would be dragged towards her included in the Tenebris. ''It doesn''t need to be a powerful arrow. Just strong enough to target the strands of support with the help of Allura''s Sigil and my blood.'' Alice thought to herself. Opening her hand, blood began to coil above it and condensed into a single arrow. ''It needs to be thinner¡­ Smaller¡­'' Focusing her mind onpressing the arrow, it began to twist until it was thinner than a twig. But even then, Alice wasn''t satisfied. Notching the arrow onto the bowstring, she summoned Ruinous Void and transformed it into the unbound form. With this choice, the Personal Artifact broke free of its constraints and transformed into a spiralling ck hole with strands of energy surrounding it before imprinting itself upon Alice''s hand. [Ruinous Void ¨C Casting] Unbound Form: Capable of opening pathways to the Void at will, harnessing the natural forces within the Void to push or pull. *KRR~ Using the power of the Void around the arrow, Alice began to forcefullypress the arrow until it was now wider than a needle. It was only now that she was satisfied with it and pulled back on the bowstring. [Once you take care of the fissure, you''ll only have a small window to attack the Tenebris without giving up your location. Can you recover fast enough for that attack o''master mine?] ''Easy, just gotta make sure the arrow doesn''t notify it of my presence.'' Alice curled her lips into a grin as she transformed Ruinous Void into the Singrity Form. Singrity Form: Transforms [Key of Destruction ¨C Ruinous Void] into a medium for abilities. Significantly enhancing ability power, casting speed and allowing the user to gain high levels of control over the Void. ''Increased casting speed, enhanced ability power and control over the Void. With all of this at my disposal, it''s only natural that I abuse the power of the Void and prevent others from noticing no?'' Alice exined as she fired the arrowpressed by Ruinous Void. *CRACK!!! Breaking apart the space in front of it, the arrow disappeared as Alice dismissed her bow. There was no shy explosion, no torrent of energy no nothing. Just silence as a ripple appeared across the fissure. Then, from the edges, it began to disintegrate, unable to hold its position. Many of the beasts still within Terminus tried their best to w themselves out before the fissure fully closed, but the barrier prevented them from moving at their full speed. They could only watch as their chance at freedom slowly disappeared as the light from the surface faded away. The beasts who couldn''t escape fully have their bodies cut in half by the closing fissure, left to bleed out on the ground. Looking at the beasts that came through, Alice scratched her chin. ''That''s quite the horde¡­ Oh well, at least the fissure is closed now. I''ll notify Selen and tell her to escape.'' Crushing a blood bead so that the Selen knew it was time to retreat, the barrier began to fade away and the beasts started to disperse. [There are three things you need to watch out for when you fight the Tenebris regardless of what level it might be. First is her eyes, the key part of her ability set. Her powers work with vision so when you fight her, be careful not to stay within her vision or if it''s unavoidable, try and blind as many of her eyes as possible. [Second, her umbral domain. It''s an ability that all of them have regardless of level. You can think of it as a Hunter''s second resonance or the blood moon sanctuary belonging to the Maiden of the Blood Moon that you fought before. Within this realm, she gains a power simr to Kaiden and that she can manipte any shadow that she can ''see''. [Not only that, but she also gains a huge boost in all of her powers while draining away the sanity of her enemies.] ''Sanity? You mean I''ll go crazy if I''m in her Umbral Domain?'' Alice blinked her eyes in confusion as this was the first time she''d heard Ca directly refer to sanity. [Indeed o''master mine. The longer you spend within the Umbral Domain, the more you''ll begin to hallucinate. You''ll misjudge the attack, making it seem bigger and scarier than what it actually is. You''ll space out from your own imagination and so on, unable to differentiate between what''s real and what''s fake. [Depending on the level of the beast, she can pair it with an ability she getster that casts a dark mist over the area, increasing the effects of Umbral Domain and making it so that you''re surrounded by artificial darkness that can''t be dispelled.] Ca exined. During the era when Ayr was still around, Velouria had sealed this beast away due to its nature of bringing fear and severing the contracts that bind people. And depending on whether or not they were a Lord or not, they could also nullify to some extent, the rule that Velouria put in ce. Meaning that even if beasts adhere to the rules set by Velouria, they''ll forever remain as a beast. [And thest ability that you should be careful of is ckened Heart. I''ve only ever seen this ability activate once so I don''t know the conditions of obtaining it or the activation requirements. It''s not avable as a Sigil either so I can only specte. But when it does activate, it''ll begin to siphon the lives of those around her. With each life taken, she can survive another lethal attack.] ''The f*ck??? So I can''t kill her in one go then?'' Alice paused in annoyance. With this kind of safety, how was she supposed to kill her before she turned around and just cancelled all of her contracts? [There''s no guarantee that she has this ability o''master mine. I''m just letting you know so you don''t get taken off guard.] Ca shook her head but that only caused Alice''s smile to twitch. ''Ca¡­ I want you to recall my luck. Recall all of the enemies I''ve faced and everything that''s happened. Then, I want you to think to yourself. Knowing my luck, will she or will she not have this ckened Heart ability?'' Alice answered by giving her a question. Thinking about this, Ca was silent. [. . . Fair point.] ''So what now? How am I supposed to one shot a beast that can siphon lives from the beasts around it?'' Alice asked, sitting down with a sigh while she kept her eye on the Tenebris who was taking a stroll through the outpost. Her eyes connected by the dark energy scoured the corners, taking the lives of beasts and man alike and leaving nothing but drained husks behind. [It depends. Her ckened Heart struggles to siphon lives if the target is strong. Or if there''s no target at all. You''ll have to iste her so that she can''t gain lives even after a surprise attack. [Though to do so, it''ll no doubt warn the beast and put her on guard.] ''Can she siphon lives from the dead? So if she''s surrounded by beasts that I''ve killed, would she be able to gain lives?'' Alice furrowed her brows. She needed to create an ideal hunting ground before Torgeir''s blood ran out of effectiveness. She had the option of drinking the blood of beasts but the longer she stayed in this state, the worse the bacsh from her artifact would be once it wore off. [She can''t. But her range is unknown. It might cover this entire outpost or it might just be the area around her.] Ca shook her head. ''After all that, it basicallyes down to killing her while nothing is around her right? Either that or kill her fast enough so that she can''t regenerate and retaliate.'' Alyss replied in boredom. All of this nning and talking bored her as she''d rather just fight and duke it out with the beast. ''I suppose. But it''s good to know what she does. She seems to be the casting kind so flipping her controls might not work as well as we hope. Let''s go for Tiamat as the sixth since it gives us the biggest boost in energy. I''m not exactly worried since the fissures closed anyways and Tiamat''s nowhere in sight.'' Alice gave her body a stretch. Tiamat''s ability of draining colour from the world was mostly a visual effect. The true effect was siphoning and condensing all of the ambient energy into a single orb. ''Gotcha. Switch out with me if it gets hard to dodge.'' Alyss nodded with a smile. ''Of course, we''re two people in one body after all. Can''t p with just one hand.'' Alice chuckled. Activating her artifact, she kept it in the singrity mode and utilized the power of the Void. To iste her existence within a barrier and prevent energy from leaking out until thest moment when she would fire her attack. Resonance! Red spider lilies blossomed across her body but Alice wasn''t done. Partial Bloodline Release! A malevolent aura erupted from Alice''s body but this time, it held a hint of fallen divinity. The final embers of a god. Sensing this, Alice understood it must be Nyer''s doing from the time she was in the Inverted World. The resonance between the current her and the product of the past. But now was not the time to think about this. Taking a deep breath, she aimed her finger towards the Tenebris in the distance that had no idea Alice had locked onto her. A convergence of energy manifested in front of her finger. From a single mote of fire, it copsed into a spark as fragments of the Void oveid the attack. Colour began to drain from her surroundings, reinforcing the spark. Crackles of energy danced from Alice''s body, tearing apart the ground around her but Alice ignored it. "Feast o'' mes of mine." *BANG!!! A bestial figure appeared behind her, cracking open its jaw and funnelling more power into the spark. This was her maximum output. The strongest Void Flux. Chapter 443: Look Upon My Work Ye Mighty And Despair The surge of energy formed a bow within Alice''s hand as the spark transformed into an arrow. Watching the kaleidoscope of energy surging towards her bow, Alice had a frown on her face as she began to struggle with containing this monstrous attack. Bestial energy from her blood, falling divinity from the remnants of Velouria, partial Bloodline Release, Tiamat''s ability belonging to a Lord of the old Age, the vtile energy of Ruinous Void and finally, the ritualistic energy flowing to her body from Alyss and the countless souls they''ve consumed thus far. The arrow notched on the bow string erupted with a blinding light as it began to tremble, threatening to burst apart and take Alice along with it. [Fire it!!!] Ca shouted but Alice shook her head. "Not yet!" All of the energy was still converging towards the arrow. If she were to fire it now, the preparations would''ve gone to waste. Veins bulged across Alice''s arm as crackles of lightning and energy erupted around her. Despite her barrier, the skies above began to rumble. Dark clouds loomed overhead and the air became charged by the energy converging towards a single spot. A single attack. Gritting her teeth, blood began to seep out of her arm and orifices but Alice didn''t stop. She couldn''t stop. Not until she wrangled all of this energy into submission. She recalled the lessons of Kaden on the theory of casting and creating Sigil based attacks. Toyer it and focus on harmonizing the power. How to adjust the different variables to produce the greatest result. Naturally, parts of it were going to take a penalty based on what she increased but that was unavoidable. ''There''s no need for a huge amount of uracy. Allura''s Sigil will skip the travel time so there''s no worry about it going off course. Everything into power!'' Alice thought to herself. In front of the bow, a ritualistic circle spun to life as the icon of Alice''s Sigils started to appear along the edges of the circle. *CRACKLE!!! The energy whipped out from her body, splitting the ground beside her as Alice began to struggle. With her focusing all of it on power, the control, efficiency and uracy waned. ''I need control to harmonise the power to stop it from dispersing. I can''t let the multiple sources collide and cancel out one another. They need to flow down the same route and through the same output.'' *KRKKK!!! The barrier that Alice had ced began to creek as it threatened to burst apart from the sheer amount of energy contained within this small area. Everyone across the battlefield paused their fights as an overwhelming sense of impending doom rushed through their minds. They didn''t know where the source was nor did they sense an attack approaching them. All they could feel was pure despair and a sense of death. Even the world acknowledged this phenomenon with the sky being obscured by ominous ck clouds. A storm crashed against the outpost with high speed winds ripping out houses from the very foundations they were built upon. Some even wondered if this was God''s wrath. Observing the barrier around her, Alice knew she only had 30 seconds at most before her barrier shattered. Once that happened, she could forget about taking the beast by surprise. Even with all of the natural phenomena and the sense of impending doom that was happening, the beast continued to wander the outpost. Curling her lips into a wide grin, Alice made the final adjustments to her attack. *KSHH!!!! Bursting to life, violet mes exploded forth from the arrow whiletching onto Alice''s body. Holding a bow of energy, a Void Flux arrow and the violet mes that flickered on her like a cape, Alice arched her body and pushed the final ounce of her strength into pulling back the bowstring. At this stage, this was no longer a Void Flux. This attack has transcended the limits of her Void Flux and became something else entirely but Alice didn''t have the leisure to give this attack a name. ''SET THE BEAST AS MY TARGET NOW!!!'' Alice roared out, pulling go of the bowstring. [DONE!] *BANG!!!!!!!! Upon releasing the arrow, the explosion of energy detonated beside her, propelling the arrow forward while the ground shattered apart to form a crater. Alice was flung back but before she crashed into the wall, she watched as the Void cracked apart to wee the arrow. *SHATTER!!! With this attack, the barrier was shattered apart with the remnants of the sweeping across the battlefield. Cold sweat filled the backs of those within close proximity. Soaring through the Void, countless strands of energy began to twist and merge with the attack as a shimmering trail of void lights began to follow behind the arrow. "!!!" Sensing a grave threat of death, the Tenebris began to panic but it was toote. The time that should''ve been needed for the arrow to travel was severely reduced thanks to Allura''s Sigil! All of its eyes nced up and constricted in shock. Pushing through the Void, the arrow appeared in the air. A maelstrom of energy erupted within the sky as the clouds twisted to reveal the head of a draconic being. It was only a moment as time seemed to stop for the beast. From its open jaw, a spark appeared dying the world in an apocalyptic red and purple. A single line of energy rushed down, marking the Tenebris in its glow as though dering her to be a sinner who''s to be eradicated from this world. *BOOM!!! With the Tenebris being at the epicentre, an orb of raw energy manifested before unfolding like an untold cataclysm. A swirling mass of ster radiance and Void energy burning with the embers of Alice''s fire, shredding away any blessing bestowed to the beast by the Abyss. Reality began topress, pulling everything nearby towards the beast as houses were torn down until it was nothing but dust. Within a single instant, everything around the Tenebris was reduced to nothingness as the core of the orb reached a critical point. An eruption of hellfire thrashed out, sending out arcs upon arcs of destruction, cleaving beasts in half and burning away their skin, flesh, bones and organs before the mesid im to their very souls. A destructive force that cared not for what was in range and despite not being near the epicentre, the mountainous demonic beast was set ame. Its skin was torn off and the miasma was dispelled, revealing its flesh that was being disintegrated just by being close to the attack. But this was just a signal of the end. Distortions manifested around the attack as cracks began to form. The barrier between realms crying out in pain. Even those from afar could feel the unrestrained force pulling them towards the centre as they clung onto anything they could in a desperate attempt to pull themselves from the jaws of death. Then there was silence. The birth of destruction. *BANG!!!!!! A roaring collum of light and fire surging towards the sky with a swirling vortex of violent energy below. Everything that was caught by the st was reduced to atoms with no exception. Man, beast, building alike. Escape was impossible as despair filled the eyes of all those who witnessed the collum of destruction. As the pir of energy faded away, all that was left was a haunting void. As though a painter had just painted a ck line across their reality, all forms of light were swallowed by the all epassing darkness that stood in the ce of the pir. A cold, hollow silence filled the gaps of the realm. Where the Tenebris stood was now a singrity, hovering above a warped crater that crackled with the remnants of energy from the attack. The air continued to distort around the singrity butpared to the initial attack, this was nothing but dying embers. Around the crater, many corpses of beasts could be seen with half of their bodies missing. Desperation filled their now dead eyes as they tried to w themselves away but were sucked into the st radius in the end. Dark motes of light rained down from above as thendscape was forever changed. No one dared to move in fear of triggering a second impact from that attack. *BANG!!! Slumping over, the corpse of the mountainous beast copsed on the ground with its blood and innards spewing out through the outpost. A flow ofva and blood merged to set fire to the buildings. After the attack, there were no differences between man or beast. There were only spectators to this devastation. Many of the civilians that had evacuated thanks to Torgeir''s early orders kneeled in horror upon seeing the permanent pir of darkness that now resided within the confines of the outpost. Their homes and memories, swallowed by the icon destruction. The warriors who were tasked to escort the civilians felt fear. However, there was another emotion that was far more dominant than fear. Relief. Relief that they weren''t within the outpost. Relief that they were this far away and thus allowed to survive. ### Looking at the pir of darkness, Selen sat on the ground as strength escaped her legs. Her eyes trembled at the sight as she understood this was Alice''s power. Had Egil not grabbed her and pulled her away, she might''ve be one of the many corpses- no, she might not even have a corpse left if she was dragged towards the st radius. At this moment, Selen felt fear. Fear towards Alice and the power she held. Fear towards the monster that Nyer brought into this world. Chapter 444: Apocalypse Looking at the pir of destruction she caused, Alice couldn''t help but cough awkwardly as this was far beyond what she had initially expected. She knew that it was going to be strong but to this extent? Not only that, but this line of darkness that refused to disappear, Alice could tell the barrier between realms was waning around this spot. ''Safe to say even if the Tenebris has the Darkened Heart it won''t revive right?'' Alice asked with a twitching smile. [You don''t say¡­ How did your firepower reach this extent when I was asleep?] There was no shock in Ca''s voice; it was just sheer confusion as to what had happened. One moment, Alice was barely getting out of the Inverted World alive, the next she''s practically making new paths between realms. ''And here I thought I was gonna get a chance to fight. *Sigh~ what a waste.'' Alyssined. This was the first time they ''one shot'' a beast as a Hunter should without things going south. Though the power required was¡­ Intriguing to say the least. Just as Alice was about to reply, she felt the strength escape her body as she copsed in the crater she was in. One attack was all it needed to burn through all the time she had with Torgeir''s blood. Thankfully, she expelled everything with that one attack. If even a fraction of that energy was left behind, there was no telling what could''ve happened to her body. However, to make matters worse, a foreign flow of energy began to seep into Alice''s body. The Tenebris Sigil! Alice wanted to stay awake but she began to struggle. An overwhelming sense of fatigue assaulted her mind but she was unable to pull herself to safety. She couldn''t even hear what Ca and Alyss were shouting at her as a blurry figure came into view. ### ring at one another, Torgeir and Valtor were both on their knees as blood poured from their wounds. Neither had any healing vials left to keep them in the fight and the sudden pir of darkness had also cut their fight short. "I didn''t think you had this kind of card up your sleeve. Is that why you wanted your warriors to evacuate the civilians?" Valtor asked, looking up at the darkness. There''s no doubt that all of his subordinates were swept along with this attack as he was the one who ordered for them to keep people within the city. "Who knows." Torgeir responded. It was true that he didn''t know as this was outside of his calctions. The only person that possibly came to mind was Alice but it felt impossible to him. This level of power and destruction, could the source really be a split haired girl who couldn''t even maintain her body properly? Regardless of the truth, the cmity of the fissure came to an end. Forcing himself to stand up, Torgeir took a deep breath and brandished his spear. The immediate danger may be over but he still needed to kill Valtor. "Seems like you don''t n on letting me live this time." Valtor let out a hollowugh as Torgeir shook his head. "Not this time. You''ve crossed the line." Chuckling softly, Valtor took aboured breath and nced up at the sky. "Say, old friend. Do you know how we were able to cause an Abyss Break?" Hesitating for a moment, Torgeir stopped in his steps. If he were to know the secret behind it, then it could make attacks like this in the future avoidable by noticing the initial conditions. However, this hesitation of his brought a twisted grin to Valtor''s face as he threw something into his mouth and burst into action. "!!!" Widening his eyes, Torgeir expected Valtor to attack him but that was not the case. What he was aiming for was the pir of darkness! ''Sh*t!'' Gritting teeth, Torgeir cursed himself as he ran after Valtor. Knowing his old friend, there was no way he was doing this without a n. Meaning there''s still something he could cause! ''Is he going to open another fissure?'' He thought to himself as he pivoted on his foot andunched the spear. *BANG!!! Sacrificing his right arm, Valtor cackled in a frenzy and showed Torgeir a middle finger. "It''s toote Torgeir!" Valtor grinned as a ck orb could be seen pulsing on his chest. Veins of dark energy stretched out from the orb and dug into his body, causing Valtor to cough up blood but he didn''t care anymore. Since he was thest one left, he''ll make the ne to fruition. An Abyss Break was only the start of the cmity nned for the Verona Queendom. The beginning of the apocalypse. Upon reaching the base of the pir where he could see a fluctuating singrity that was still absorbing the surrounding power, he couldn''t help butugh as the gods had not abandoned him yet. While the attack may have destroyed the fissure, it left behind a seed of destruction that he could use to his advantage. "Valtor!" Torgeir screamed. "I can hear you just fine old friend! Now watch! Watch as I burn this nation to ashes!." Valtor plunged his hand into his chest and pulled out the orb. Strands of flesh clung onto the orb as he pulled his arm back before jamming it into the singrity. *RUMBLE!!! With this, the realm began to tremble once more as crimson lightning crashed down from above. The singrity spun to life as the force of attraction surged out once more. But this was part of Valtor''s n. To fuse himself with this singrity and be the new cmity that will befall this nation. To watch its fall with his own eyes. Around him, the air began to warp, bending the space in impossible ways as it seemed as though the world was flipped on its head. With a deafening silence, the singrity imploded, creating a vacuum where all light and sound were consumed into nothingness. Valtor''s body was broken down right to the very atoms that made up his existence as Torgeir stabbed his spear into the ground, preventing him from being dragged into the orb. A shockwave exploded out, shattering the reality around the singrity and revealing the infinite Void, the chasm between realms. A ster sea of infinite stars and the radiance of cosmic mes. *BANG!!! The sky tears apart, revealing even more fissures leading to the Void as energy began to filter towards the Void. The form of Torgeir''s spear began to falter, unable to sustain itself. Through the singrity, the horizon warped, folding itself to the point where it felt like there were now two worlds. One above and one below. Countless corpses began to float as everyone within the boundaries of the outpost found themselves being lifted into the sky. Even the corpse of the mountainous beast was dragged along as itsva and blood pooled into beads in the air. An unravelling of energy now visible to the naked eye. A kaleidoscope of colour bleeding out into their realm. Their deadly beauty signifying the breakdown of the very realm they live in. "It''s over Torgeir. I''ve won. This power- no¡­ MY power, will be the end of this worthless nation." Valtor''s voice echoed out as the ster seas began to form a figure around the singrity. "And my first act will be to wipe this outpost from the face of this earth!" Valtor roared as his energy soared. The unravelled strands of energy were pulled towards his core as Torgeir was helpless to stop it. At this stage, Valtor has far exceeded the power given to a six Sigil Hunter. The power to warp the very realm they live in¡­ The power of a Lord! Colour began to drain from the world, leaving nothing but the shes of energy from the singrity. Within this maelstrom of energy, Torgeir felt infinitely small as though he was nothing but a speck on a single orb. As though his mind had left his body and he was witnessing everything from above. The energy of the world, no the world itself waspressed into a singr orb and lost its colour. A realm of darkness and mes surrounded them as Torgeir froze at the sight of a being that held the orb within her palm. Wild red hair danced within this darkness, hiding one of her eyes. Draconic horns protruded from her head as she revealed a set of sharp teeth. Her lips curled up into an amused grin. ying with this orb in her hands with Valtor frozen in time, unable to move, the woman narrowed her eyes as mes began to coil around the orb. Licking her lips, she opened her mouth and threw the orb in¡­ *CRACK!!! SHATTER!!! "!!!" Falling onto the ground, Torgeir panicked as he felt like his entire being was consumed by the but he was returned back to reality. What used to be a pir of destruction with Valtor was now missing as a single woman hovered in the sky. She wore an elegant sleeveless ck dress that reached her ankles with draconic patterns along the fabric. A pair of long ck gloves on her arms, tights and thigh boots, the woman let out a charming chuckle. The chains that surrounded her wrist and ankle began to wither and fade while the restraint on her neck remained. But just as the restraints on her wrist and ankle disappeared, golden chains rushed down from above, seeking to bind her once more. "Dead but still a pain in my ass. Don''t you know the dead should stay dead, Velouria?" She clicked her tongue in annoyance. However,pared to before, these bindings were far weaker as she snapped her finger. *BANG!!! mes rushed out and collided with the chains, igniting the sky in a sea of fire. However, a single cuff still managed totch itself onto her wrist. "Tsk, well three out of five seals undone is good enough for now." She sighed before taking a deep breath of fresh air from the surface. Tiamat, Dragon Queen of the Apocalypse, a sealed Lord of old was now free. Chapter 445: Tiamats Freedom Basking in the air of the surface, finally free after centuries, Tiamat folded her arms and nced at the now almost destroyed outpost. Out of everyone here, there was only one girl that grabbed her interest. The split haired one. Not only did she show signs of Allura''s Sigil and Velouria''s bindings, but she also used a trick that only sealed Abyss Lords know. Bloodline release. It was a crude imitation with hints of the true technique but the fact that she knows how to perform this interested Tiamat. Which sealed Lord taught her? How did she convince them? She wanted to know and thus she''ll keep her alive. "Ah¡­ Right she also showed signs of my power. But it seems quite weak." Tiamat tapped her chin. The first arrow that pierced the fissure acted as a node for her. A guiding light to figure out how to get out. In this aspect, the girl has her appreciation. "Now to erase the witnesses of my freedom." Raising her hand, mes began to gather but she paused upon seeing an old man appear in front of her. "May I ask an esteemed Lord not to kill everyone that has survived the cmity?" Looking at the old man in front of her, Tiamat narrowed her eyes as his aura was weak. Weak to the point of practically being non-existent. But strangely, it still held signs of what it used to be. "Hou? And who are you to bargain with me? Or are you saying I should just listen to the suggestions of an old man that appeared randomly?" Tiamat decided to humour him. Centuries of no interaction and being stuck in one ce was unbelievably boring after all. She couldn''t die but it couldn''t be considered to be living either. "I''m just a humble farmer. I merely wish to avoid more bloodshed after such devastation has already urred." He bowed slightly, hoping that Tiamat would take pity on them. Flicking her wrist, a crimson throne appeared behind Tiamat as she sat down and crossed her legs. "And if I don''t want to? Don''t y around with me old man, you can hide it all you want but I can sense it. You have the stink of a Lord." Tiamat chuckled, creating a fan and pointing at the old man. "That¡­ I won''t deny. But I can no longer be considered a Lord." Ragnar chuckled softly. "Oh? I''ll permit you to tell me why. If I feel like it, I might even spare this outpost." Seeing that Tiamat wasn''t making a move for now, Ragnar sighed in relief. He could only hope that the people still within the range of this outpost understood the situation and left as soon as possible. "I made a contract with the Abyss. To give up my status as a Lord in order to seal another from the enemy nation. Had I not done so, we would''ve suffered many losses." Ragnar exined while Tiamat tapped her fan. "To make a contract with the Abyss, especially one that makes you give up their favour, you were close to the pinnacle, weren''t you? The Abyss doesn''t show this kind of favour to just anyone." Tiamat raised an eyebrow in surprise. The Abyss, excluding the Will, favours all with no bias. It doesn''t care if your enemy bes a Lord or not. Once you receive its blessing to be a Lord, everyone could be considered to be of one family. Yet for the Abyss to allow this old man to give up his Lordship to seal another Lord¡­ that''s a treatment she''s only seen when it ''speaks'' to those with nine Sigils in the age of old. "Name and title." Tiamat demanded. Hesitating for a moment, Ragnar opened his mouth. "Agar. Formerly known as the Abyss Lord of Titans. I''ve long passed on my title along with the seventh and eighth Sigil to my sessor and now I''m just Ragnar, an old man who tends to a farm of fruits." Hearing this, Tiamat was silent. To think that people could now pass on Sigils to sessors¡­ She didn''t know why the Abyss allowed this kind of transfer but seeing as how she''s been sealed for centuries, it''s only natural that there are things she didn''t know about. "If you gave your Sigils away, that means you have six Sigils right now, am I correct?" "Indeed, it is as you say." Ragnar nodded, unsure as to why that was important. "I was going to make us fight to see if you can save the outpost if you were still a Lord. But if you just have six Sigils then it''s going to be boring. I''ll give you one chance. Give me your best attack. If you can wound me even by a little, I''ll leave this outpost be." Tiamat smirked. After so many years, she could finally get the entertainment she craved. Ragnar was surprised that Tiamat would be this lenient as doubt filled his mind. He knew what some Lords were as all they wanted to do was see the desperation in someone''s eyes. But even if this was a trap, he had to do it. "I''m not as young as I used to be. One strike is all I can manage anyway." Ragnar shook his head as he took a few steps back. "I sincerely hope that I can meet your expectations." sping his palms together, an aura burst out from Ragnar''s body. Sigils burned across his skin as the remnants of what belonged to a Lord seeped out. Standing up, Tiamat dismissed her throne and gave off a light yawn. She hoped that he wouldn''t make her wait with this attack. As he was no longer a Lord, Ragnar couldn''t muster up the power he had in his prime. The power he used to seal away a Lord. However, if it''s just one strike, he''ll aplish it. Even if it''s just a fraction of his power, he''ll drag it out no matter what. Opening his palms, a condensed array of symbols could be seen as he threw it into the air, expanding into arge ritual. *RUMBLE!!! Breaking open the clouds, a single golden de could be seen as mes danced on its edge. It was a simple strike. Just a simple stab with everything he''s got in hopes of damaging the body of a Lord. ncing up at the de, Tiamat felt bored. She gave him this challenge because she thought he would be able to show something exceeding that of a six Sigil user considering his previous identity. But this? This could be suppressed by even those with a little bit of talent using just five Sigils. It''s all size and no substance. A strike that looked intimidating butcked proper power. ''I suppose that''s all this old man can muster up right now. His body is clinging onto life in desperation.'' Tiamat sighed in disappointment. She could sense the state of his body but still wished for a miracle and entertainment. Since he wasn''t able to give her that, then it was time to end this farce. Just as she raised her hand to block this strike, her pupils constricted. *drip¡­ A single bead of blood rolled down the corner of her lips as the energy within her body was in turmoil. *BANG!!! Violet mes burst out from her arm as it began to bite against her skin. It wasn''t able to damage it but it hindered the gathering of her power. Furrowing her brows, Tiamat gritted her teeth as she had little time to expel whatever was doing this within her body before the de would hit. *CLANGGGG!!!!! As the de collided with Tiamat, an explosion of dust pulsed out, obscuring Ragnar''s view and causing him to stumble back. ncing up at the Lord, Ragnar held his breath. He knew his power had waned but he still dared to hope. Standing in the sky, she held the de between her index and middle finger. Twisting her hand, she snapped the de in half but a single cut wound could be seen. Looking at the regeneration that was hindered, a vein bulged on Tiamat''s neck as she tilted her head back and reached in with her hand. From the pits of her stomach, Tiamat ripped out a condensed orb that was burning with violet mes. Within the orb, ck blood bubbled. ''What the hell is this¡­'' Tiamat frowned. It was consumed by her during the first instance where she decided to interfere. A left over of the attack that shook thends. The source, no doubt, was the split haired girl. But then the question changes. How is she able to live with this kind of blood inside her? Gritting her teeth, she crushed the orb before throwing it aside, burning it with her fire. It was a little difficult with her current power but soon the violet mes and blood disappeared. Looking back at the old man who was staring at her with an expectant gaze, Tiamat felt annoyed. Even if it wasn''t him that caused the damage to her internally, his de still caused a slight cut on her finger. "Tsk, fine. Now get out of here before I''m sick of your wrinkly ass." Tiamat scowled as she walked towards Alice''s location. She wanted to figure out what the hell that blood was. Seeing this, Ragnar sighed in relief but dread soon hit as he realised she was looking for Alice. ### Landing in front of the crater where Alice wasying down, Tiamat walked towards the unconscious girl slowly. The multitude of energies that raged within her body¡­ Had it not been its strange property that Tiamat couldn''t digest, she''d be half tempted to eat her now and take it all for herself. But it''s a risk she wasn''t willing to take especially when she''s just been freed. Kneeling over Alice, Tiamat stared at the curse on her body, the golden chains and finally, the aura of Allura''s Sigil. Thinking to herself for a moment, Tiamat''s lips curled up into a grin. Chapter 446: Crown Of Eyes ". . ." Standing in an empty Void, Alice wasn''t sure when she became conscious after the transfer of power wasplete. All that was left was to choose the Sigil she wanted and she''ll wake up from this mental space. Looking around her, Alice noticed a figure that was standing not far from her. Simr to Velouria yet different. Simr to Ca yet not quite the same. She had long silver hair with a pink hue while wearing the dress that Velouria usually wears. Turning around, she nced at Alice. "Ca." Alice called out as Ca nodded her head. "You''re looking¡­ a little different." Unlike before, where she took the form of Velouria, she was beginning to take on her original appearance. [It''s to be expected. The stronger you be, the more my original power returns. Though you can''t ess it since the seal Kaden put in ce is blocking it.] Ca smiled as a mirror appeared next to her. She used to have a pair of bright blue eyes but now that she was looking more like her true self, one of the eyes turned a dull grey while the other maintained its bright blue colour. "That''s true. But hey, we''re matching a little now. I got split hair and you got split eyes." Alice scratched her cheek at the mention of seal. [Very funny master. I may hold a grudge over being sealed but being blinded in one eye is arguably worse you know that right? In the future, Kaden''s seal wille undone. But at this point, Nyer has already be one with the power he stole from me. [Even if we get it back, I won''t be able to make the most out of it.] Ca shook her head. "Errr¡­ Alright I guess I shouldn''t say anything about it then." Alice coughed awkwardly. "But setting that aside, you''ve stopped calling me o''master mine now. Did you take lessons from twinnie?" [It''s quite the mouthful to keep calling you that so I changed it.] Ca chuckled while holding her hands behind her back. Turning around, she flicked her finger and four paths appeared before Alice. [But I''m sure master would rather figure out what ability to take as your fifth rather than talking about my eloquent speaking patterns right?] Shrugging her shoulders with a smile, Alice walked up beside Ca. "So what are we working with here?" [Two Anti Hunters, an Anti Beast and the fourth is Anti Army. The Tenebris we killed was indeed on the verge of bing a Lord. If you didn''t kill her in one shot, she would''ve activated her ckened Heart and revived herself.] Snapping her finger, Ca created four disys in front of Alice that exined the abilities in detail. The first was the Anti Beast as she figured her master was least likely to choose this one. Her goal was to aim for the legendary nine Sigil resonance that many have failed to grasp. Even in history, there have only been a few who seeded and they could be counted on one hand. Allura and Kaden were not among those few. [Umbral Domain ¨C Anti Beast] Allows the user to conjure the Umbral Domain around you. While the Domain is present, the user is able to manipte the shadows that you can see along with arge boost to overall physical power. In this domain, enemies will lose up to one sanity per second. The stronger the enemy, the slower the build up. Upon losing 100 sanity, they''ll enter a berserk state, losing grip on reality and attacking anything and everything. In this state, the user''s attack will deal more damage against the enemy. The boundaries of the domain can be adjusted. The smaller the domain, the more concentrated the effects are. A veil of darkness will descend within the domain, increasing the rate of sanity drain. The user can see through this darkness. Reading the effects of the Umbral Domain, Alice felt a little tempted but it didn''t match what she wanted at all. If she went a different path and had Anti Beast Sigils then this would sound suitable. Being able to make her opponents go crazy during a fight was insanely helpful since their guard would be down. However, upon further analysis, Alice realised this was a Sigil that''s strong against the weak and weak against the strong. The key is the part where the build up bes slower based on her enemy. Meaning those with strong willpower or high Sigil counts would just shrug off this ability. Eliminating the choice, the path disappeared as Alice moved to the second choice. [Crimson Skies, Thousand Eyes ¨C Anti Army] Activating this Sigil will invoke a ritual upon the battlefield. Eyes will begin manifesting in reality with each kill you make against the opposition. With each eye manifested, sanity will begin to drain while you siphon their life force. Within this ritual, with each eye that manifests, your perception of the battle will increase and you''ll gain a natural defence against sneak attacks. The more corpses that pile up, the stronger you be. Burn away lifeforce to recover from attacks and take more lives in retaliation. For each thousand eyes you manifest using this ritual, you''ll get to summon a Nightmare Warden that massively drains sanity upon its summoning. Eyes can be stored to summon a Nightmare Sovereign instead who immediately drains sanity and inflicts berserk. Reading this skill, Alice could see why lots of people would cultivate Anti Army focused Hunters rather than using standard Sigils. Just by activating this skill, she essentially bes a one woman army with infinite lifeforce. Not only that, but she could also cause confusion in their ranks by draining their sanity. Then there''s the summoning conditions for the Nightmare Warden and Nightmare Sovereign. She wasn''t sure what kind of beings they were but the fact that the Ca didn''t specify the sacrifices needed for the Sovereign meant that the cost was astronomical. Especially if it''s a beast that''ll immediately drain sanity to inflict berserk. If she were to activate this against one person, it would do nothing. But against an army? Sheer destruction. "I thought Allura said I had to get multiple Sigils that synergise, howe this one just appeared?" Alice asked curiously. [Because you do have multiple abilities that synergise. The Crimson Skies, Thousand Eyes isn''t a Sigil that belongs to the Tenebris. It only appeared because your Sigils resonated with the abilities of the Tenebris to create the Anti Army ability.] Ca shook her head. Even though she didn''t say this, the Crimson Skies, Thousand Eyes was probably the strongest Anti Army skill she had seen at this level. Most would only achieve this kind of effect during their second resonance with Anti Army but Alice? She aplished this with her fifth Sigil. This just proved how absurd her initial Sigils were along with the abilities that she carries in her body. Crossing her arms, Alice was hesitant but in the end, she shook her head and gave up on the Anti Army skill. She wanted it, she wanted it badly but it didn''t match her desires. There was only one thing that she wanted from the Tenebris. The ability to potentially cancel out contracts. That was the main reason why she listened to Ca''s suggestion and hunted this beast instead. Dismissing this Sigil, the path disappeared leaving just two. [I figured you didn''t want those, though the second one was a shame. It''s quite rare for a Sigil of this power to appear as your fifth. But if it''s not fated to be then there''s no point dwelling on it.] Ca smiled as Alice nodded her head. [Thest two can go either way. So take your time choosing.] Raising an eyebrow, Alice was confused as there was only one choice and that was to cancel contracts. What kind of Sigil was enough to make her change her mind? [Crown of Eyes ¨C Anti Hunter] Manifest the crown of eyes around your body. Everywhere you look, you''ll begin to siphon the life force of others. From their corpses, more eyes will begin to appear. [Now this is where I need toe in since there isn''t much else that needs to be said about this ability.] Ca interrupted as Alice was just thinking about the short description. [The Crown of Eyes siphons the lifeforce of others. But more specifically, it siphons the energy that is filtered through the Spiritual Heart. Through this, it is able topletely nullify the contracts which usually means death for your target.] "But there''s more to it, isn''t there? Otherwise, you wouldn''t say that this is what I wanted." [Indeed. You are able to cut off connections and iste them using your fire and Allura''s Sigil. If you iste the Spiritual Heart from the user, you can potentially nullify the contracts without killing them outright. However¡­ I don''t know what kind of reaction the Abyss will have if you were to rip someone from their embrace. You can think of it as stealing someone''s soul from a God which you''re very familiar with.] Ca exined. Furrowing her brows, Alice tilted her head back. Ca was right in that this was indeed the Sigil she wanted. Depending on how well she could control this ability, nullifying contracts and potentially reverting the damage done to the body was possible. Its potential is capable of reverting the changes and turn them back to normal humans. However¡­ If she was to anger the Will and the Abyss at the same time, then it''s practically a death sentence. Not only that, but there was no guarantee that they''ll live. Maybe it was just idealistic expectations for this ability to be able to revert changes. Either way, Alice wasn''t going to rule out the option since it was the closest to what she had wanted. The deciding factor now lies in what the fourth Sigil ability was. Chapter 447: Scarlet Wings, Demonic Descent [Before you read the fourth choice, I want to offer a word of warning. It''s¡­ Quite the anomaly. The reason why I said it could go either way was because it''s up to you whether or not you want to take the risk of choosing it.] Ca warned as Alice raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Anomaly? How so?" [Because it''s not a skill that should''ve been part of the Tenebris. Rather, I don''t know where it''s from.] Ca shook her head with a sigh. Hearing this, Alice was a little surprised as there was little that Ca didn''t know about. Yet for her to be like this over a single Sigil made Alice curious about what the power was. [Scarlet Wings, Demonic Descent ¨C Anti Hunter] Upon activation, the power of your blood will manifest as a pair of scarlet wings behind you. In this state, you are able to tap into power that is restricted by your output. Once this skill is activated, the user will be ced on a timer as a rift will begin to form between the user and the world around them. The longer you sustain this power, the harder it bes to anchor your being. "Isn''t this more of a restriction than a blessing?" Alice nced at Ca as the description of this skill was rather ominous. The longer she uses her power the harder it bes to anchor her being? And what does it mean by a rift between her and the world around her? [Please finish reading the skill before youin to me master otherwise I''ll hit you.] Ca sighed as Alice coughed and kept reading. While the Scarlet Wings, Demonic Descent is activated, the user can use two sub skills. Crimson Immtion and Halo of Ruin. Crimson Immtion: Enter a berserker state where all of your abilities are automatically raised to the next level. During this state, the timer will burn faster in exchange for unyielding power. Halo of Ruin: While basking the Halo of Ruin, the enemy will continuously get their maximum energy capacity reduced until only 10% is left. Their capacity is transferred to you temporarily as a second container. The more you reduce, the more resistant you be to their attacks. Folding her arms, Alice was still confused as to why it had such arge drawback if this was all it did. Noticing her master''sck of understanding, Ca couldn''t help but sigh. [Sometimes I wonder if you hit your head too hard. Master, think of it like this. What kind of skill lets you automatically upgrade all of your abilities?] Ca pointed out. "Isn''t that no different from killing a stronger variant of the beast and taking their Sigils?" Alice blinked. [. . . Yes and no. Then let me change the question master. If you kill a nine Sigil beast for their power, how would you upgrade it?] "!!!" Widening her eyes, Alice was beginning to understand what Ca was talking about. This was an unconditional upgrade, one that allowed her to improve her skills even if it''s at the threshold of what is possible for Abyss Lords. [And if you are to take up Velouria''s mantle as the Goddess of the Abyss, how will you get stronger from there?] With this kind of understanding, it''s no wonder that a rift will be created between the user and the world around them. This was practically breaking apart the rules of the world after all! "Is it really that strong? How is this kind of thing in a Tenebris?" Alice asked with doubt. What Ca was suggesting was that a Sigil belonging to a six star beast was enough to transcend the limits of divinity! [That''s exactly why I''m saying I don''t understand where it came from. Even though I''m sealed, I can still verify the truth using my prior knowledge. Yet everything I know about the Abyss and how the Sigils work is backing up this answer. It can indeed transcend the limits.] Ca sighed. [So it''s up to you. I will tell you the consequences of using this ability though. When it speaks of a rift, it means banishment. After a certain point of using this ability, you''ll be a stranger to the world. Once that happens, you''ll be forced out from the surface or anything realm you''re currently residing in. It''s not temporary either, it''s permanent. [Every time you use this skill, you''ll have to wait a prolonged period to ''reset'' the damage or else you risk reaching the threshold. Then there''s the case of Crimson Immtion which speeds things up. It''s a powerful skill with an equally powerful drawback.] Ca warned. Folding her arms, Alice wondered if she should stick with her initial choice with the Crown of Eyes or risk it with this fourth Skill. For the Crown of Eyes, there was also a risk but she knew what she was getting into. There''s no doubt that cancelling a contract would cause the Abyss to be pissed while the second one not only had a dubious origin but also had the risk of banishing her from the realm. [I''ll leave the decision to you master.] Nodding her head, Alice closed her eyes. Allura had always taught her to think outside the box. If that was the case¡­ "Say, Ca." Alice called out. [Yes master?] "What do you think would happen if my mes reached the next level? The purification part of it at least. One that burned away the powers of the Abyss." Hearing this, Ca understood what Alice wanted to verify. [Depending on thebination of skills and Abilities along with the level up, I''m certain that you''ll be able to find a solution. Though you''ll still have to deal with the consequences of cancelling a contract.] Ca smiled. "Then there''s no need to think anymore is there?" Alice chuckled. "This Sigil, I''ll take it. Scarlet Wings, Demonic Descent shall be my fifth." Taking a step on the path, Alice immediately passed out as pain shot through her body. Crimson lines began to appear on her back as it slowly formed into a Sigil. ### Blinking her eyes, Alice found herself staring at the white and grey sky while snow slowly drifted down. Despite waking up, Alice couldn''t feel the rest of her body or gain the strength to sit up. All she could tell was that she was currently lying down on a carriage. "Ah, you''re finally awake." A voice called out as Ragnar came into view. ". . .I swear you northerners like that greeting far too much. I''ve heard that so many times now every time I cked out." Alice sighed but revealed a smile. "It''s a rather standard greeting so I don''t see what''s weird about it. But I have a lot to say to you, youngdy." Ragnar shrugged before tapping her shoulder. "!!!" A jolt of pain shot through Alice''s body as she wanted to move but couldn''t. "I''ll save my questions as to how you released that kind of attack. But considering the damage done to your body, I''d say it''s an adequate price." Ragnar pulled out a sk and took a drink while Alice began to drool. However, Alice couldn''t help but think that if he was to realise that this kind of attack could be released without a cost, what kind of reaction would he have? All of the abilities that went into this attack were basically her maximum output with all of her skills. "Speaking of which, where are we?" Alice asked curiously. She couldn''t help but wonder if she was being taken to the front lines in order to help Torgeir as she had promised before. Even though she''d gotten her fifth Sigil and Ca''s awake, she still needed a bit of time to recover after exerting herself. Immediately heading into action was a little impossible. "We''re heading towards Esna, a town that''s next up on the supply chain from the capital. We''re not heading to the frontlines yet if that''s what you''re wondering. That Torgeir brat''s too injured and our supplies are a mess." Ragnar exined. "And the outpost?" "Destroyed. The fact that we kept our lives is a miracle." Ragnar signed recalling the might of the red haired woman. Even if he was at his peak, he doubted he could injure her. "What do you mean? I thought most of the beasts were killed and the fissure was closed?" Alice blinked her eyes. [He means Tiamat master.] *COUGH!!!! Upon hearing Tiamat''s name, Alice coughed in shock as she didn''t think the dragondy would actually escape Terminus. ''The f*ck do you mean Tiamat??? I thought nothing else came out!'' Alice''s smile twitched. ''We wanted to warn you but you f*cking passed out right as she arrived. Thankfully she didn''t seem THAT hostile so we''re alive.'' Alyss yawned. Seeing their nonchnce, Alice felt like she wanted to pull her hair out. This was Tiamat of all people of course they should be worried. But instead of worrying, they''re treating it like it''s just a walk in the park. ''What else do you want us to do? If you pass out it''s not like I can take over your body and get us to safety. Regardless of what Tiamat would''ve chosen, we wouldn''t have been able to do anything.'' Alyss shrugged. ''Now don''t disturb me, I''m gonna sleep some more.'' Turning over, she wrapped the nket around herself while Ca was silent. She knew that Alyss was bitter over that since she couldn''t help them run even if she wanted to. The overwhelming sense of powerlessness thates with not even being able to fight back no matter how much she wanted to. Scratching her cheek, Alice wondered what to do while Ca simply shrugged and shook her head. Taking this as a note to leave them be for now, Alice focused back on reality. "Did you hit your head too hard?" Ragnar asked. "Rude." "Look who''s talking? Ask me a question then you begin to randomly make faces while ignoring everything I''m saying." Ragnar flicked Alice on the shoulder again causing her to tense up. "And Selen? How is she?" "Safe. Both Selen and muscled with her are fine even though they were pretty close to the st. Though¡­ No never mind. Just focus on recovery for now." Ragnar shook his head. Taking a deep breath and letting out a sigh, Alice looked up at the sky. She was just d that Selen was safe after she released the attack. Chapter 448: Ideas For Training After a few hours, movement began to return to Alice''s body as she could feel the flow of energy from within. Seeing Alice sitting up and moving her arms, Ragnar was surprised by the rate of her regeneration considering her previous state. "Oh I missed this feeling." Alice smiled, giving her body a good stretch while conjuring a bead of blood freely without the need for Torgeir''s blood. "You recovered? That fast?" Ragnar asked doubtfully. He couldn''t help but wonder if she was forcing herself. "Yep. Let''s just say the battle was rather fruitful. Now I don''t need to break my body if I want to fight." Alice puffed out her chest with a confident grin. "Ah! But I''m not giving you back the fruits. They''re mine now." Alice hid her pouch as Ragnar felt like smacking the girl over the head. "Why would I fight a youngster for fruit I gave away myself?" He rolled his eyes. "I dunno, maybe you wanted to get the seeds to rey your garden or something." "If I had no other choice then yes. But seeing as how you''re fine, this old man is going to rest by myself." Ragnar massaged his shoulder. Even though it was just a small showcase of what his power used to be when he was ''fighting'' against Tiamat, that was enough to give him internal injuries. When he gave up his contract to be a Lord and passed on his power, he practically severed the connection he had with the Abyss. All he has left are remnants of what used to be. A dying ember. "Before you go, take this." Alice called out. Turning around, Ragnar caught a bottle that Alice threw over gently. "What''s this?" "A bottle of mead you can''t get anymore. It''s priceless ya know? If it wasn''t for your help I wouldn''t even have taken my baby out. This sh*t is actually limited okay? Can''t get more." Alice shrugged. She was indeed indebted to this man for the fruit, advice and just in general, the care he''s shown. It''s only natural for her topensate him with something valuable of hers and the only thing that came to mind was Ayrian mead. Raising his eyebrow, Ragnar chuckled softly as he nodded his head. "Alright, I''ll save it for a good asion then." He stored it away before giving her a wave and making his way to another carriage so he couldy down and sleep. Now that she was alone in her carriage, Alice was tempted to give her new power a try. But it was probably not a good idea to do so with so many people around. Not only that, she wasn''t sure what kind of effect it would cause. What phenomenon would appear if she were to create a rift between her and the world? She wanted to test it out when she was alone so she could keep it a secret. ying around with a bead of blood between her fingers, Alice nced around in hopes of finding Selen and Egil but they were nowhere in sight. ''They''re probably in one of the carriages with a roof over their heads.'' Alice thought to herself. Since that was the case, Alice decided to explore her body a little more. Now that she''s gotten her fifth Sigil, her body experienced some reinforcement naturally. Not only that, but it felt as though her control had improved to another level. Rather than just controlling one bead of blood to dance in her hand, Alice began to multitask with two, then three and then four. Each one was going through different motions. ''Actually¡­ Do you think my resonance changed now that I''ve gotten a fifth Sigil? I know that my three Sigil resonance technically changed after I got my fourth with me and twinnie having one each.'' Alice asked curiously. [Unlikely. The change in resonance was a unique effect created by your constitution. Once it''s been created, the likelihood of a resonance changing is very very small. So if things are to remain as they are, then no, your resonance wouldn''t have changed master.] Ca replied. But knowing Alice, normality was never on the table and abnormality is her best friend. No matter how unlikely, she couldn''tpletely rule it off just like how the Tenebris had ckened heart. Folding her arms, Alice began to tap her heel. She couldn''t quite sit still now that she had recovered to some extent. Of course, she still couldn''t use her full power without copsing since it wasn''t like the Artifact had stopped trying to ''improve'' her body. However, it was enough for her to use her Sigils and experiment. Pulling out some fruit, Alice passed her time but boredom gnawed at her mind. ''I wanna fight!'' She threw a tantrum in her mind while Ca nced at her with dead fish eyes. To think she''d see the day of her master throwing a tantrum on the groundining about wanting to fight. ''Ca~ can''t you make some illusions or something for me to fight? Don''t you have a bunch of illusions that show me what the beast looks like?'' Alice pouted. [Master. . . Even if I could, who''s the one who sealed me?] ''Right¡­'' [But no, I cannot. I''m apendium of knowledge and a tool to get knowledge. I''m the Eyes of the Abyss not the training ground of the Abyss.] Ca sighed. She was helpful and had a lot of capabilities but she wasn''t an omnipotent being who could just do things on the fly. ''But why not thought? If you have knowledge of what they look like and their abilities, can''t you reliably estimate how they''re going to move and disy it? Like how you disy the illusions of what they look like at me, just link them up quickly and it''ll be a training illusion no?'' Alice suggested. Ca wanted to retort but no words came out of her mouth. The more she thought about it, the more feasible it sounded. All she needed to do was slightly change the ''pose'' of the appearance and then have it y back one after the other. If she does that, it would indeed feel like fighting an illusion and getting training. However¡­ [Master¡­ I''m sealed.] ''. . .'' Silence dawned in the mental space as Alice truly wanted to jump off a cliff. All of her ideas were being blocked by the consequences of her choices. ''Tsk, and here I was getting excited for no reason. If you can give me illusions to fight, I wouldn''t have to be bored all the time. I can just punch some f*cker in the face or something.'' Alyss grumbled in annoyance. While she was listening to the two talk, she could feel excitement bubbling in her chest but now she''s just been doused by the cold water of reality. Scratching her cheek awkwardly, Aliceid on her back trying to think of ways to make this possible. But with so many of Ca''s abilities sealed, it was hard to say. ''Do you know when you''ll be unsealed?'' [If I did, I would''ve told you already. Kaden didn''t mention a time either, he only mentioned that it''ll unseal naturally in the future. But considering the current state of the seal, you can be assured that it won''t be anytime soon.] Ca shook her head with a sigh. Hearing this, Alice wanted to cry. ''Stupid stupid stupid! Me and my stupid mouth.'' She cursed herself while letting out a big sigh. Since asking Ca wasn''t an option, Alice could only sit still in her carriage while drinking mead and eating fruit. Truly a slothful lifestyle. She wasn''t going to tap into her reserve of Ayrian mead since she had no way of replenishing it. Instead, she chose to go through her other assortment of mead. But even herrge supply had a limit and she had to replenish her reserves soon. After a few hours, it was time to camp as Alice stumbled out of her carriage with a blush on her face. Those that were curious had a look at all the bottles that were left blinked their eyes in disbelief while Alice cleaned up and put them away in her pouch. Swinging her head back, Alice took another drink as she finally recalled something. ''Actually¡­ now zhat I think¡­ aboutz it¡­ Where did Tiamat go?'' Alice asked as Ca sighed. [Disappeared. We don''t know where she went but she''s free from Terminus.] ''Zat so¡­'' Seeing the state of Alice, Ca doubted she could even test out her new skills in secrecy as she had initially nned. All she could do was watch as Alice zoned outpletely doing her own thing. Grabbing the materials needed for her tent, she pulled her hand back and¡­ *CLANGGG!!!! Smashed down with the hammer using the might of God. The sudden sound of Alice smashing the nail like it''s her worse enemy caused more eyes to turn towards her but they dismissed it as the actions of a drunk. Many were annoyed but they didn''t say anything since Torgeir had warned them of it previously. With Alice making so much noise with her tent, it was hard for people to concentrate. ". . . Why are you drunk." Selen''s voice rang out as she looked down at the state of Alice who sat on the ground. "Ohhh itz Selen¡­ You no injured zats good¡­" Alice gave her a goofy grin as Selen sighed and massaged her eyes. "I can''t even leave you for a day and you make a mess out of yourself. How do you n on surviving?" "It''ll be fineee~" Aliceughed, throwing the hammer into the air and catching it before preparing to m it down once more. Rolling her eyes, Selen poked Alice in the ribs causing her tough before falling on the ground once more. "I''ll set up the tent. Just go to sleep." She relented as Alice gave her a thumbs up before falling asleep. Seeing this, Selen couldn''t help but reveal a helpless smile. No matter how destructive or how much of an anomaly Alice was, at the end of the day, she''s still just a girl who likes her mead a little too much. A goofy drunk brat. Chapter 449: Sunrise "Urg¡­" Waking up with a headache, Alice clutched her head while rolling around on the ground. "How much did I even drink¡­" She groaned. She could remember herself bing bored and deciding to drink and snack on the carriage. After that, things might''ve gotten a little out of hand and it became a blur. Alice could remember wanting to test out her Sigil in secrecy at night but seeing as how she was in her tent, that was probably forgotten. ncing around her, Alice noticed Selen sleeping by the side and understood she must''ve helped out. Thinking about this, Alice couldn''t help but smile before taking a step out of her tent. It was still early in the morning as the sun hadn''t risen yet. The biting cold night air stung against her skin yet it was also strangely refreshing. Looking up at the sky, it was different to the skies of the Abyss. The Abyss felt¡­ like an artificial sky. A perpetual darkness that doesn''t change no matter what. But this? This felt soothing. Looking for a chair, Alice found a small hill nearby and sat down with some fruit. Since she was up this early, she might as well watch the sunrise. Of course, there was the option of doing more training and testing out her abilities early in the morning but Alice didn''t want to ruin her moment of peace with that. It''s rare that she''ll just feel like sitting down and doing nothing. Feeling the cold morning winds, Alice closed her eyes. She felt as though she stood atop a great mountain, the gale brushing against her skin. Before her was the world. Around her, a sea of clouds rolled across the horizon as the shimmers of the moonlight radiance bounced off its ever changing surface. Alice lost herself in this feeling momentarily before opening her eyes. The sun peaked over as the darkness was dispelled by the luminescent purples, oranges and reds. The soft cries of birds, the swaying of grass roots. Away from the fighting, the schemes and the thoughts of vengeance, this felt like paradise. A paradise in the northernnds, watching the sun rise. As the sun continued to rise, a rainbow of colours reflected across the skies, a burst of dazzling brilliance to wee the beginning of a new day. The clouds parted the skies in two, radiant mes from the sun and the soothing cold blue of the moon bnced itself across the canvas of the skies. Alice sat in silence as her eyes memorised this view. She began to recall the desire for freedom when she was locked away in her prison. The desire to escape from behind the bars and run across the grass field while blue skies hung above her head. Curling her lips into a small smile, Alice once again remembered what she was fighting for. She was fighting to bring down the Zenias so that no more like her would be created. No more like her would be imprisoned by them and robbed of their freedom. To her, freedom was the best gift anyone could get. To be able to explore this world to their heart''s content. Standing up, she gave her body a stretch and prepared for the journey ahead. Since she was recovered to some extent, it was time to get to work. ### After eating breakfast, Selen had Aliceid down in their tent while she examined her body. Seeing as how she was able to move her energy around without coughing up blood and how all of her previous wounds have now stitched itself up, it was safe to say that Alice didn''t need anymore help when it came to keeping her safe. "Your regeneration is active again, same goes with your abilities. Doesn''t seem like you''ll have any issues just fighting normally" Selen muttered seeing Alice control an orb of blood. "And all because you got your fifth Sigil right?" Nodding her head, Alice adjusted her clothes since they got rid of all the bandages across her body. "Then I''m guessing once you get your sixth Sigil, you''ll bepletely recovered or something simr." Selen asked curiously. "Should be the case. Though¡­ I did eat the mote of energy an Abyss Lord gave me. So maybe it''ll require me to be a Lord myself." Alice tapped her chin as Selen froze up. She knew Alice ate something strange during the fight in the Inverted World but a mote of energy from an Abyss Lord??? "I can''t tell if you''re brave, stupid or suicidal." Selen let out a deep sigh of frustration. "I treasure my life okay?" Alice coughed. "Doesn''t look like it from the way you act. So what does your fifth Sigil do? Is it going to ruin your body further?" "Well¡­ I wouldn''t say ruin." Alice scratched her cheek. The Crimson Wings, Demonic Descent is a Sigil that exiled her from the realm if she wasn''t careful with how long it activates. Not only that, but the berserk state burned the time she has left faster. Depending on how the berserk state works, she might have to keep it as a final, final resort. Exining how her Sigil works to Selen, Alice watched as Selen''s face go from confusion to disbelief. "What the f*ck did you even kill???" "A Tenebris. Though this Sigil is a bit of an anomaly since it shouldn''t be part of their skill set." Alice shrugged. ". . . Forget it. But if you are exiled from this realm, how are you even going to take out the Zenias? Are you able toe back after a while or is this exile permanent?" Selen questioned as this was the first time she heard of a Sigil that could exile the user from the realm they''re in. "Errm¡­ You know what? Good question ahahah-ARG!" Unable to hold herself back, Selen smacked Alice on the head midugh as she couldn''t help but wonder how a reckless girl like her even got this far. Originally, she was nning on going her own way now that Alice could protect herself. But with things like this, she''ll idently banish herself if Selen wasn''t around. Pouting her lips, Alice rubbed her head as Selen disposed of the bandages before cleaning her hands. Even though Alice''s wounds have healed up, there was still some dried blood on the bandages and she didn''t want to take the risk. She knew full well how potent Alice''s blood is, dried or not. "What''s the n once we reach Esna?" Alice asked curiously. "Depends. People are still trapped in the frontline with no supplies. Kvia can still be used since the dead zone that was going to form disappeared. I think Torgeir will get us to resupply in Esna before making a beeline towards the front to pave a path out. "Personally, I''d prefer if we didn''t get involved since the Zenias are rather involved in matters regarding the frontline. Then there''s also the weird hybrids not to mention the fact that one of the assassin''s knew my identity." Selen reminded. The fact that there are people who knew who she was is rather concerning. Especially since she wants to disappear off the radar for a while so the Zenia''s don''t bother with her. Granted, she hasn''t exactly made it easy to disappear with all the things she gotten involved with after the Inverted World incident. Folding her arms, Alice tapped her chin. ''Say, is there a Sigil we can use to disguise Selen as well? Or is it just limited to us?'' ''None. The rest are at most illusionary effects that are worse than the Mirror Jester. Selen won''t be able to fight without her disguiseing off. As for the Mirror Jester, you already know it disappears after one wound.'' Alyss rejected the idea. Furrowing her brows, Alice let out a sigh. "It might be better for me to go on a solo mission then since I have a way to disguise myself. Plus, my existence isrgely hidden in the Zenia family. Only the main family and the schrs who worked on me know who I am. As for the guards¡­ well Kaden already killed them and I doubt they''ll be on the front lines." "Absolutely not. Who''s going to carry your paralysed body back if you push yourself?" Selen rolled her eyes. If Alice was left paralysed on the battlefield then everything they''ve worked for would''ve gone to waste. "I mean¡­ I don''t n on pushing myself like I did in Kvia. It''s not like another fiss- never mind I''m not even going to say it in case I jinx it into reality." Alice shook her head, cutting herself off. "Why do you even want to go in the first ce? I''m pretty sure Verona can just send reinforcements themselves or something." Selen asked curiously. "Pity and I suppose curiosity. Torgeir did promise me a meeting with their Abyss Lord of the Forge to upgrade my equipment if I ept this task. Well¡­ I wouldn''t say promise but you get the idea." Alice shrugged. She had to admit that getting an Abyss Lord to upgrade her stuff was rather enticing. Especially if they can fix the gloves that Allura gifted her. It was due to her own negligence and recklessness that the gloves were damaged. However, if she was able to fix it, there were countless ideas she wanted to put into ce with these wires. Folding her arms, Selen looked at Alice before letting out a sigh. "Fine. See if you can rope me into the deal then. If I can get my stuff upgraded, I suppose it would indeed be worth the risk." Selen nodded. Hearing this, Alice grinned and gave her a nod. Stepping out of her tent, she went to look for Torgeir. Chapter 450: Esna Finding Torgeir in the main carriage, Alice could see him surrounded by reports and mails sent from the capital. Raising her eyebrows, she couldn''t help but wonder if he was getting overworked considering his sunken eyes and deep bags. "You''ve recovered, congrattions." Torgeir forced a smile as he was still covered with bandages. Unlike Alice, they couldn''t abuse the properties of Healing Vials without caring about the side effects. Thus, he drank a vial that sped up his natural healing and let his body do the rest of the work. "Thank you~ Though it seems like your state is far worse than before. You still want to lead the expedition to the frontlines like this?" Alice asked curiously as she sat down and crossed her legs. "My brothers and sisters in arms are still stuck on the frontlines. I can''t stop now. If I do, who will pave a path back?" Torgeir shook his head with a sigh. "But aren''t there othermanders? I''m sure they can lead the charge no?" "They''re responsible for their own section. Since a retreat has been called, everyone will be busy. The queen has already sent down the order so we must obey." He exined while reading through some new letters. Folding her arms, Alice thought about it for a moment before opening her mouth. "You still need my help right? I''m pretty confident I can help since my body''s recovered more than expected. Aside from that, has the request been approved by the capital or has it been ignored for now?" Alice asked. Previously, she was promised assistance for her fifth Sigil, a catalogue, and a letter for him to send. Since she no longer needed help with the fifth Sigil, she wanted to get some information on her meeting with the Lord of the Forge. "How do I put it¡­ It''s up for debate right now. They have a favourable impression of you considering the stats that you showedst time. However, this is still a meeting with a Lord so it''s also up to the Lord if he wants to ept." Torgeir admitted truthfully. With the authority behind Abyss Lords, it was hard to have any nation force them to do what they wanted. After all, they have the option to just switch sides. Thus, any request involved with a Lord is also heavily dependent on their mood. "Well that''s fine. If you can arrange a meeting I can convince him myself. Though if we''re to do that, how about having my friend tag along? On the off chance that I convince the Lord, it wouldn''t be bad to have Selen''s equipment upgraded too." Alice grinned. Hearing this, Torgeir''s smile twitched. It was already one thing to have a Lord meet a person of unknown origin but now she also wants her friend of unknown origin to tag along? If it wasn''t for the fact that she had an absurdly high spirituality stat, this kind of request would''ve been rejected in a heartbeat. He was sure that once Alice reached the capital, the elders would probably want to foster her into a Lord of Verona but knowing how Alice is, Torgeir doubted that was going to seed. If anything, he wondered if Alice was going to cause a mess. Just thinking of it gave him a headache. "I''ll pass on your request but no promises. As for the bestiary, it''s still being made as we speak." Torgeir sighed. "Fufu~ thank you~" Alice grinned, pulling out a fruit to eat while sitting in the carriage. "So how long are we staying in Esna?" "Few hours then we''ll be moving in a small but powerful group. We don''t need that much manpower since we''re paving a path." Torgeir shook his head. Speed was key to helping those on the frontline. They needed a small group that could travel fast enough while being powerful enough to wipe out any beasts that might get in their way. "Any candidates in mind aside from myself?" Alice asked, taking another bite of the fruit. "Please swallow properly before you speak. But yes, the group will consist of Me, you, Bo, Selen, Egil and Alfva who''s the best healer we have right now. It''s the best group I can think of without making it too big." Hearing these names, Alice pieced together the formation in her mind. She recalled bits of Torgeir''s fighting before she took down the fissure so it wasn''t hard to imagine that he''d be on the frontlines behind Egil. Egil will be taking the vanguard spot while Selen will be supporting with her time slows if things get out of hand. Out of all of them, Selen and the healer probably have the weakest offensive power. Though¡­ Considering the fact that it doesn''t seem like Torgeir thinks the attack on the fissure was her doing, she''s probably taking the role of support instead. "Am I supporting from the back or acting as an attacker?" Alice asked as Torgeir contemted for a moment. "Where do you want to go?" Alice was the one who knew her own strengths the best. Therefore, it was best to ask her since he never saw her fight. "Give me the frontline position then. I''ll help you pave the way." Alice grinned, finishing her fruit. "And you said that speed was key, right?" Tilting his head in confusion, Torgeir nodded his head. "Alright, I''ll go test out of a few things while we wait then. See you soon." Alice chuckled as Torgeir felt a chill down his spine but he didn''t know why. ### Licking her fingers, Alice created a small hollow orb above her hand and snapped her finger. A tether appeared in front of it as the orb was flung into the Void thanks to her fourth Sigil. An opening appeared a little further out as the orb was spat out far faster than it entered. But she wasn''t done. Creating another anchor and having the tether link to it, the orb was spun around before being thrown into the Void once more. Recalling her experience from escaping the Inverted World, Alice had wanted to make some adjustments to her¡­ Transport system. With her understanding of the Void improving a little thanks to her uses of the Artifact, she understood a new concept that she''d like to call warp nodes. Compared to reality, the Void was far more confusing as two points might not necessarily be next to one another. One step might take you countless miles while sometimes travelling miles may only result in half a step. For others, it was hard to properly pinpoint where the Void may take you. Which is why Alice had an idea. To send out pulses of energy to these nodes and send them out to reality. While this is happening, she''ll anchor a node where they entered thus she could judge how far they travelled and in what direction. With this system of constantly referencing where they entered and where they exited, she''ll be able to fling them across thend in record breaking speeds. Of course, since this was still a prototype, there''s no telling what could happen. There wasn''t any safety put in ce either so passengers will feel the full effects of being flung around reality and the Void. But if she could handle it, she''s sure the others can as well. Just thinking of it reignited the sadistic fire within her as Alice giggled to herself. "That''s not f*cking ominous at all." Selen''s smile twitched seeing Alice making her way back while giggling to herself. "Ah ahem~ Nothing~" Alice waved it off. "Bullsh*t." But Selen wasn''t buying it at all. "You''ll find outter ahah. But Torgeir mentioned that it''s up to the Lord of the Forge if I can bring you along or not. So we''ll just have to do our jobs and see how it goes." Alice changed the subject. Selen was still a little suspicious but it didn''t seem like Alice was going to reveal what she''s been nning so Selen didn''t say anything. After a short break, the caravan resumed their journey towards Esna as no beasts ambushed the them at all since this was a protected route. It''s been regrly maintained and beasts have learned to avoid this ce. ### Upon arriving at Esna, Alice could see that it was simr to Kvia with a river next to the outpost. However,pared to Kvia, it was farrger with more routes branching out to more parts of the frontline. Alice noticed that many of them were rather injured as well and came to the conclusion that Kvia wasn''t unique in the case of the ambush. Though unlike Kvia, the other locations didn''t have someone nuking the fissure. As they pulled into the outpost, Torgeir immediately got to work procuring supplies for their rescue mission while Alice gathered some information about what had happened in the other outposts. Just by eavesdropping, Alice already understood that most of the outposts were attacked. Though their fissures were temporary since they were able to stop it rather quickly. Kvia had it the worse since not only did it lead to Terminus, they had also lost a lot of their men due to the attack on the port stronghold. Had it not been for that, they might''ve had an easier time. [Ah¡­] Ca suddenly spoke up as Alice nced over. ''What''s up?'' [I just realised something¡­ Perhaps the Abyss Break led to Terminus because you were there¡­] Hearing this, Alice paused. ''What do you mean?'' [Well¡­ You do have the Heart, the Crown and the Eye of the Abyss all in one body. While I might be sealed, the others are not.] Ca coughed. If it wasn''t for Alice''s presence, the Abyss Break would''ve just picked a randomyer instead of the deepest prison. ''You''ve got to be kidding me¡­'' Alice''s smile twitched. If this was true, it meant that it was probably going to be impossible to avoid abnormal situations. At this point, all Alice wanted now was just a normal adventure with nothing abnormal for a holiday but it seemed hopeless. Abnormality was in her veins after all. Chapter 451: Transport To The Frontlines After finding out the reason for the fissure to lead to the Abyss, Alice continued to eavesdrop as she gained a bit of news of happenings from across the world. News of recently popr Abyss Blood, incidents betweenrge families, groups from the east and even a strange case of burry happening in Extalia. News had even gotten to them that someone had been stealing some of the most prized possessions of the different churches,rge families and even the royal armoury at one point. They imed some as exaggeration but the fact that news spread this far meant it was more than just a hoax. Hearing the news about the burry, Alice couldn''t help but think back to her first meeting with Kaden. The entire reason why he even found her was because the prison was heavily guarded to the point he thought there was a treasure inside. ''You don''t think that it''s Kaden robbing all these ces do you?'' Alice asked curiously. [I can''t say for sure but I doubt it''ll be him.] Ca shrugged as Alice nodded her head. However, her senses were telling her that the likelihood was high. Regardless, most of the things she overheard were rather misceneous in nature with few actually being of interest. Since that was the case, Alice made her way to a tavern that she found and tried out their mead. It wasn''t the best that she''s tasted but it wasn''t bad either. Good enough for her to resupply her diminishing reserves for the time being until she could afford better mead. With her supplies now full once more, Alice had a skip to her steps while making her way back to the group. It should''ve been enough time for them to resupply. While making her way back, Alice couldn''t help but notice that there were several people with cors on their necks. It wasn''t the aesthetic kind either¡­ ''ves.'' [Indeed. They don''t seem to be war ves either. I''d imagine they are probably debt ves or something simr.] Ca shrugged. [Do you pity them master?] ''Hmm¡­ good question. I''m not sure.'' Alice sighed. It felt a little like looking into a mirror except with slightly different circumstances. Her life was¡­ guaranteed to some extent thanks to her uses. But these ves? They can die at a moment''s notice and no one would care. ''Just ignore them. It''s not like we have the time and effort to free every single ve in the world. If we save a few, we''ll have to save others. Plus, we can''t take responsibility for their lives can we?'' Alyss leaned back with a shrug. ''That''s true.'' Alice nodded. Though a part of her wanted to help. To help them like how Kaden helped her. *Sigh ''Twinnie look at it this way. Do you know why they''re a ve to begin with? What kind of crime did they do? Do you have the time to find out the truth and see if it''s bad luck or actual crimes? Just freeing them without care could lead to a situation where a serial killer is free.'' Alyss reminded as she knew her twin''s nature. If she didn''t say anything, this''ll keep eating away at Alice until she makes a move. Thus, it was better for her to make it clear here and now before anything takes root. ''That''s fair¡­'' Alice nodded. Alyss made sense. Some of these ves could be justified depending on their crimes. She didn''t have the kind of leisure and time to find out about each and every one of them. This kind of situation was out of her hands. Shaking her head, she stepped away and stopped having thoughts about them while Alyss and Ca sighed in relief before high fiving one another. ### Waiting by the gathering spot, Alice could see Torgeir approaching with his group while Alice was waiting with Selen and Egil. Alice spotted a woman following behind him wearing a backpack and figured she must be Alfva, the new healer for their group. She had short wavy ck hair with hints of light purple and grey near the edges. A pair of golden eyes that seemed to glow in the dark and a flower pin on her hair. Simr to Alice, she didn''t wear any thick fur cloaks or heavily padded armour. Instead, she wore a rather standard Hunter''s attire with belts and pouches on her waist. She wore a brown hooded jacket with a white shirt, white pants and a pair of brown boots. Leather armour covered her shoulder, arms and chest. "This is Alfva, she''ll be responsible for our healing while we fight. As long as it''s not life threatening, she should be able to get you back on your feet rather quickly. But this doesn''t mean you should just run head first into attacks without care." Torgeir introduced as Alfva bowed slightly. "Erm¡­ Hi¡­ I''m¡­ Alfva. I erm¡­ have five spirits¡­ please take care of me." She squirmed under the gazes as her voice got quieter the longer she talked. Seeing this, Alice couldn''t help but feel like she was a bunny shy and scared of everything. "As you can see, she''s a little shy. You already know about Bo and I''ve told Alfva about all of your fighting styles. Except Alice since I haven''t seen it for myself yet." "You don''t have to worry about that, she can take care of herself better than you and me." Bo shrugged with a grin and a thumbs up at Alice. Rolling her eyes, Alice didn''t deny it as Torgeir was once again reminded that Bo was the one who vouched for her to begin with. "I''ll take your word for it. Now if there''s nothing else we need to do in Esna, we''ll be making our way to the frontlines. Depending on our travel speed, we should be able to get there in about 3 days at most. I''ll get us some horses that we can use." "Ah, don''t worry about that. Just tell me which direction we need to go in a straight line, I can sort the rest out." Alice stopped Torgeir, surprising all of them as none of them expected Alice to have a travel skill. As for Selen, she tilted her head trying to recall when Alice used something simr. The only incident she could remember was¡­ Widening her eyes, her pupils constricted as she wanted to say something but Alice gave her a side nce. "Urg¡­" Groaning softly, Selen let out a stressed sigh. "What''s wrong?" Egil wondered. "Don''t worry about it. Just take care of yourself once we begin the journey." Hearing Selen''s cryptic warning, Egil couldn''t help but scratch his head. Getting Torgeir to exin the journey and where they needed to go, Alice had him pull out a map showing the location of Kvia and Esna in rtion to the frontline. Folding her arms, Alice could still use Kvia as a waypoint of some sort due to her initial attack. It had left quite a mark on the world even after Tiamat cleaned it up. By focusing on the residual energy and the wound done to the Void, using that as an anchor wouldn''t be an issue. Just thinking of this caused Alice''s mouth to curl up into a grin as she snapped her finger, causing a pool of blood to expand beneath her. *Ahem~ Clearing her throat, Alice grabbed a hat from her pouch and turned to the group. "This is your captain now speaking. Please hold onto your personal belongings and grab onto the railings~ we will be departing soon." Behind each member, a metal railing appeared as they looked at it in confusion while Selen immediately tied herself to the railing so she didn''t fling around. Knowing that Selen wouldn''t do something so useless if there wasn''t a need, Egil did the same. After a few seconds from her initial warning, Alice pped her hands together and a bloodied orb coiled around them. It was semi transparent so they could see the outside world despite the red tint. "We should be reaching our destination in a few hours, during this time I hope you have a pleasant journey~" Before they could even question her introduction, Alice mmed her hand down as ritualistic symbols manifested across the surface of the orb. Seeing the flood of energy being exuded from Alice, Torgeir instinctively grabbed onto the railings out of survival instinct the moment she did this and just in time too. Beneath them, a crack into the Void was torn open as a wall of energy mmed into them, forcing them down. "ARGG!!!!!!" The force of the impact pinned Bo against the barrier of the orb as tethers shot out to the anchors, swinging the orb through the Void. Even Egil was also flung from the railing as he didn''t hold on tight enough while Selen''s body waved around like a g due to her tying herself down. "YAHOOO~" Aliceughed seeing the reactions of the group while they were flung through the Void. Using the turbulence and the warp points to her advantage, they were thrown in all sorts of directions while Alice was perfectly fine since she secured herself beforehand. One moment they were being thrown up, then down, left then right. Despite the mesmerising sight of the Void, none of the passengers could enjoy the scenery. "WAHHHH MOMMMY!!! GET ME OUTTA HERE!!!" Alfva screamed with tears in her eyes as her body was tossed over Alice''s head. asionally, passengers could see a bloodied orb flying through reality before being zipped back into the Void. Within this orb, aughing woman was surrounded by people who were being tossed around like clothing in a washing machine. The mix ofughter and cries rang out before disappearing like a phantom. And so, a new rumour began to circte the north, fueled by the word of travellers who had seen this strange urrence. Chapter 452: Arriving At The Frontlines *Whistle~ "Is that the frontline?" Alice asked curiously seeing the multiple smoke clouds in the distance. The countless abilities that are flying through the air with a myriad of arrays and weapons echoing their song of destruction. A constant barrage of war every second of every minute with hardly a rest between the attacks. "That is¡­ URG¡­ So." Torgeir squeezed through his teeth as he felt like throwing up. Everyone else was paralysed on the ground with Alfva already thrown up over the cliff. Egil was pale but he managed to hold it in while Selen was out cold. As for Bo, he took it the best since he was used to fast speeds but this was still a little difficult for him to stayposed. "So how are we supposed to even help them? I''m not sure if you''ve noticed but there''s a constant barrage of attacks hitting them back. The moment they show signs of weakness or retreat, the opposition will probably attack harder than before." Alice asked curiously while making a small orb. Oveying the power of the Void from her fourth Sigil and the power granted to her by the Artifact, she used it as an ''Eye'' to observe the situation. She had it float through the Void and manifest in reality, showing her the state of battle. Countless corpses littered the battlefield as even those who might''ve shown promise at one pointy unmoving in the cold dirt. The haggard appearance of those on the defence, deep bags under their eyes and the emotionless stares as they watch the next attack, the next barrage. Seeing this, Alice couldn''t help but feel a slight chill as it was rather unnerving to see this kind of person. A person who felt like no matter what would happen in the world, nothing would scare them. "It doesn''t matter¡­ We still need to get them out of there as soon as possible since there is no longer any support from the supply lines." Torgeir groaned. "Honestly, I don''t think we can retreat without any casualties. That''s a lot of people we need to help. Even if we pave the path back, I don''t think we''ll outrun a barrage." Alice frowned. With just a rough estimate, Alice could guess that there were more than a thousand warriors stationed in this ce alone. They were all spread out along this border hurling abilities when they could and fighting skirmishes if the enemy approached too far. If there was a silver lining, it would be the fact that this ce wasn''t in the direct centre of attack. Otherwise, the number of warriors they need to help would easily exceed five digits. "So what''s the n boss? I did promise my help because you said you could handle it unless something abnormal showed up." Alice asked with a slight frown. No matter how confident she was in her own instincts and reactions, war was something else. Even if she''s on guard, she could be easily hit by an ability she didn''t notice and die in the process. "You already know the n. Fight to a path of retreat. We draw the enemy ind and send out messages to the other branches next to us and have them copse in. Depending on the number of enemies that follow, we''ll wipe them out and continue the retreat as arge group." Torgeir exined, feeling a little better. Folding her arms, Alice furrowed her brows before nodding. Of course, she had an idea as well but it waspletely unfeasible no matter how much she wanted to overestimate herself. "Most of the soldiers will be exhausted from fighting. I''ll talk to the Commander responsible for this ce and organise the retreat. For now, follow me and wait for orders." Torgeir nced back at the group and sighed. While Alice''s transport method did help them reach the frontlines faster, the impact of doing so was¡­ rather costly. If he could choose, he would rather not ept this method of transport unless it was truly the final option. Helping Alfva first, Torgeir had her begin healing the others while they made their way to themand post. ### "I''m boredddd." A girlined while watching the battle in front of them. She wanted to join in and cause some chaos but her orders were to simply observe and ensure nothing went wrong. "me yourself. You already caused quite a mess because you couldn''t take care of a single rat back at the port. Now we''re stuck here as punishment." A man snapped in annoyance while doing some push ups. These two were Keira and Troy, hybrids created by the Zenia family. "Hah?? My fault?! Don''t me me if the guards of the port can''t do one f*cking job right!" Keira gritted her teeth in annoyance. "If Elowen was here do you still dare to me the guards for your mistake? Just shut up and do what you''ve been ordered to. We''re not supposed to reveal ourselves in the first ce unless we''re ordered to." Troy shook his head before resuming his workout. "Tsk, boring." Keria clicked her tongue. Due to the incident at the port, the discussion regarding the newly appointed Cardinal of the Moon was dyed by his request. With this dy, all of their ns had to be halted until further notice. And all of this was because of a single rat that managed to get through. There was no doubt that the rat survived the final suicidal explosion too. Had it not been Elowen''s orders stopping her, she would''ve gone after the rat and cleaned up the loose ends. But even if she were to do that, it doesn''t change the fact the rat still managed to take out the watchtower even though she was there. ''If only I can get my hands on her again¡­'' Keira narrowed her eyes as scales began to appear on her body. "Hold back your killing intent. Scales are showing." Troy interrupted. "Tsk! I know!" ring at the battlefield, Keira could only hope that an abnormality urred so that she could vent the frustration in her chest. It was fine as long as she didn''t reveal her bestial form after all. There was nothing stopping her from killing the enemy as long as they didn''t find out. ### "The Commander died yesterday, I''m the vicemander that''s taken over for now due to protocol." Hearing this, Torgeir froze up as his pupils trembled. Biting his lip, he took a deep breath andposed himself. "Alright. Bring me up to speed on everything that''s happened and whether or not we can facilitate a retreat sessfully." Torgeir ordered as the two went into the room to discuss the next steps. Meanwhile, he had already ordered Alice and the others to stand guard for now. Leaning against the wall, Alice nced over at the battlefield. Thoughts ran through her mind as this was potentially what she''ll have to go against if she was to fight the Zenia family. Would she be able to survive against this kind of bombardment? It was unlikely but she was tempted to try. To throw herself on the frontlines and see if she could push them back on her own. ''Seems like you have the same thoughts as me twinnie.'' Alyss chuckled as she too wanted to throw herself in there and see how long she couldst. She wanted to see how her power measured up against the armies of the world. To see where she stood on the food chain and how far she still needed to go. [. . .] Ca was speechless seeing these two wanting to go wild. She wasn''t the only one either as Selen noticed Alice''s gaze towards the battlefield and leaned next to her. "Whatever you''re thinking of doing, don''t." "What do you mean?" Alice stuck out her tongue, acting dumb. "Don''t y dumb with me. I''ve seen that gaze wayyyy too many times t be ignorant of it. You want to throw yourself in the middle and go wild don''t you?" Selen rolled her eyes. Overhearing this, Alfva nced over in confusion. Surely there wouldn''t be anyone that wants to do that right? Right? "Tee hee~ you got me. I wanted to see how many of those attacks I could push back on my own. I''m pretty much recovered after all, gotta limit test a little." Alice chuckled while Alfva almost tripped over after hearing that they weren''t joking around. She thought Egil was going to be the scariest one considering his stature and his notoriety as someone who argues with his teammates a lot but that didn''t seem to be the case here. If anything, he''s the most calm out of all of them! The scariest one in the party so far was no doubt Alice! After a short while, Torgeir left the room and pped his hands. "We''re going to prepare the retreat immediately. We''ll be slowly reducing our attacks on the frontline so the warriors can conserve some stamina. In the meantime, I want Alfva to help out with the healing since you''re suited for this. "Bo, I want you to scout around the frontlines, see if you can gather some information from their side since you''re the fastest. Selen, help dy the condition of those seriously wounded so we can save them. Alice¡­ just enjoy yourself but don''t tire yourself out since we''ll need you to help pave the path back. Egil, cover for her in case her condition acts up again and she needs someone to carry her back." Torgeir ordered as Alice cracked her knuckles with a grin. Now that she was given a reason to y around, she wasn''t going to reject the offer. It''ll also be a decent chance for her to test out the potency of her fifth Sigil amidst the confusion on the frontlines. With the roles now distributed, the group split up as Alice, Egil and Bo made their way to the battlefield. Chapter 453: Egils Motivation The battlefield was split into three sections. The bases that have defensive barriers put in ce, the no man''snd and then the enemy base. In order to protect the base''s defensive barriers, Warriors need to fend off the attacks sent by the opposition along with taking out any stealth teams that are trying to infiltrate. Tobat this, there were teams designated to scouting enemy units while watch towers would mark them if they came close. It was abination of stealth attacks and barrages from the main battlefield in an attempt to breach the barrier or take it down from the inside. "You don''t seem surprised by the state of the battlefield. Have you been to one before?" Alice asked curiously while standing on the roof of a building overlooking no man''snd. The wind from attacks colliding caused her split hair to flutter behind her as she took in the atmosphere of the frontlines. "I''ve been a few times. But not because I was a recruit or something like that." Egil shrugged. "Oh? What happened then?" "My old house used to be closer to Extalia. But the war has been going on for quite some time and they''ve already taken that part of thend. Naturally, I had to retreat but since I have a better physique than the others, I was helping out the warriors. So I''m not unfamiliar with what happens on the frontlines." Egil exined while looking at the sea of attacks raining down from the sky. Most of them were intercepted by the attacks thrown out by warriors on their side but the few that managed to get through shed against the shimmering blue barrier that manifested in defence. "Seems like you''ve had a pretty rough time growing up then." Hearing this, a soft smile appeared on Egil''s face. "Nah. Looking back, I had it far better than the others. It''s a good childhood that I had." Usually, Alice would be rather confident in reading other people''s expressions and emotions. But Egil''s current emotion and expression? Unfamiliar to her. "Seems like you have fond memories of your past." She replied, assuming that he''s looking back with fondness rather than regret. "Yep. Which is why it''s more important for me to make a name for myself helping out the nation. The sooner I can prove my worth, the sooner I can help my mother out." Egil nodded as determination red in his eyes. No matter the job, he''ll take them all. Even if his teammates doesn''t like him, even ifmanders reject him, as long as he is given the chance he''ll prove himself. Any kind of humiliation is fine as long as he can help her in the end. That''s all he wanted in this life. Hearing the word mother, Alice froze up momentarily as she couldn''t help but think back to what she had seen in the Inverted World. The care that should''ve been shown to her was instead given to a fake. But soon, those thoughts were reced by the time she spent with Allura and a smile appeared on her face. She had already given up her attachment to the Zenia family and the need for their approval and love. As long as she could make Allura proud and thank her for the life she and Kaden had given to her, she would be more than satisfied. "Seems like she''s the reason you''re wanting to change despite the bad rumours about you. It''ll be tough since most don''t know about the effort you''re putting in." Alice patted his shoulder. "Doesn''t matter if they know or not. I just have to prove it with my actions." Egil shook his head. "Though¡­ Can''t you help your mother out even without proving yourself to the nation?" Alice asked curiously as she didn''t see how getting a medal or recognition would be better than just helping her directly. Pausing at this answer, a bitter smile appeared on Egil''s face. "Because she got swept up by the pandemic. It was quarantined quickly but she still got caught in it at thest moment. She''s getting treatment but¡­ she''s not a priority. If I can make a name for myself, I can request for her to be ced further up, to get the help she needs. "I''m pretty stupid, I can''t do any to help. The only thing I can do is take hits and throw them back. So the best I can do is use this talent of mine to repay her for everything she''s done for me." Egil clenched his fist. "I see¡­" Taking a deep breath, Alice looked towards the battlefield. She knew a little about the pandemic but that was just from the rumours. She could guess that it was part of the Zenia''s n to get ess to the Inverted World. But that was about it. Alice hasn''t seen the victims of this pandemic in person yet nor does she know about the actual symptoms. Perhaps it was about time for her to properly begin experimenting on how to use her mes to heal people. To perform an operation and purge the side effects from their body. "Anyways, sorry for bringing the mood down like this. I know you want to go wild on the battlefield since you''ve recovered." Egil chuckled. "Oh don''t worry about it." Alice waved her hand. Hesitating for a moment, she contemted on whether or not she tell him about her ns but seeing as how it was uncertain, she decided against it. She didn''t want to give him false hope, especially since she wasn''t sure of the results. "Now let me ask you a question. How strong do you think I am?" Alice grinned as the shards floated around her while the Sigils started to glow. Folding his arms, Egil closed his eyes and recalled the attack he saw at the outpost. The one that took out the fissure and left a mark on reality. "Enough to kill me in one shot?" He forced a smile. He didn''t even want to imagine himself taking on that attack head on. In that kind of situation, he either needs to get out of there as soon as possible or take out the caster and interrupt the cast. Alice already had remarkable reactions and fighting instincts while injured and restricted on what she could do. No matter how confident Egil was with his physique, he knew that he would lose to Alice 99 times out of 100. That one time he''ll win will probably be pure luck or if Alice imposes a strange restriction on herself. "Bingo~ Though I can''t use that kind of attack often without just copsing from the bacsh of overtaxing my body." Alice shrugged. "With this in mind, how do you think I''ll deal with the next wave of attacks that''s thrown at us?" Alice asked, pointing at the sea of mes, thunder and destruction raining down from above. Tilting his head, Egil wasn''t sure since he wasn''t familiar with her Sigils. All he knows so far was that she had extremely high destructive power and Void maniption. With just these two in mind, he made a guess. "Are you going to send them to the Void?" "That is a method. But personally, I prefer to do something else instead." Curling her lips into a devilish grin, Alice activated her second and third Sigils. There was no need to activate her Resonance on top of everything, same with her partial Bloodline release. After all, these were just standard attacks thrown out in hopes of draining the stamina of those defending. There was no need for her to go all out in taking these attacks out. Blood began to manifest around her as Alice raised her fingers towards the sky. *Click Snapping her fingers, the blood disappeared from around her and at that moment, a wall of violet mes detonated in the sky. The attacks that collided was consumed and burned away while the spectral imagine of a draconic creature could be seen running wild. All of the attacks were either deflected or straight up negated as the mes faded away, acting like it was never there to begin with. Blinking his eyes, Egil felt like he hallucinated the attacks for a moment. One instance they were there and the next, it was gone. However, that was just the beginning of Alice''s demonstration. Some people may have the wrong idea about her fighting style since she often got into hand to hand. Of course this isn''t to say her hand to hand was bad, but as Kaden said, it, Alice was more of a caster. Creating an orb in front of her, Alice made a finger pistol as mes converged towards her. A singrity forming above the tip of her finger before erupting into a blinding spark of light. Even though he wasn''t the main target, just being in the vicinity of this attack gave Egil chills. "Target locked on." Alice grinned. Just like how she was scouting out the battlefield using an orb of blood through the Void, she could also use this to locate her target. That way, she can throw the bomb at them using the warp points of the Void. A near instantaneous attack without the need for Allura''s Sigil. This time, her target was the watchtowers that reveal people in stealth. It should give Bo an easier time scouting if she was to take them down. Void Flux!!! *BANG!!! Firing the spark, energy coiled around it and threw it into the Void. Egil couldn''t see the exit point but the energy appearing in the distance told him his answer. In the silence of the battlefield, one of the watchtowers exploded in an array of violet mes and crackling energy. A copsing singrity that left nothing behind. *BOOM!!!!! Moments after the visual spectacle, the sound of explosion echoed out as Egil''s smile twitched. There was only one thought on his mind. ''Selen has been travelling with this kind of monster?!?!'' Chapter 454: Basic Skill Looking at the spire of mes and smoke in the distance, Egil was speechless. He has seen many warriors in his short lifetime but this was the first time he''s seen such an oppressive firepower. From someone with fewer Sigils at that! But with this kind of power, she''ll have to wait a little before attacking again, right? RIGHT? *Whistle~ "A little off target since it''s harder to make adjustments for warp points, not that too bad if I had to say so myself." Alice smiled. If she had been using Allura''s Sigil, it would''ve been a guaranteed hit without her needing to manipte the warp points. But she couldn''t keep relying on Allura''s Sigil especially since her own Sigils have additional effects that help her out. The more Sigils she gets, the riskier it''ll be to rece them with unfamiliar ones. Example being her second Sigil. She cannot rece that unless absolutely necessary since all her attacks focus on utilising the passive benefits. She had some leeway previously since she didn''t possess a four, fifth or sixth Sigil. But now, she only had the leisure to rece one unless she wanted to get rid of her current Sigils. And if that were the case, only the first could be consistently reced since the hallucinatory effects have a niche use. Granted, the passive effect synergised well with her blood as it''ll make it addicting and poisonous. Regardless, there may be a time when this ability bes sealed simr to what happened during the Inverted World so Alice needed to master her own Sigils. "There''s another watchtower along the defence line. Though it is being protected so let''s see how sturdy their barrier is." Alice grinned, aiming her finger pistol towards the enemy as Egil froze up. "Wait you can fire again?" "Huh? Well duh, of course I can. It''s my most basic attack after all." Alice tilted her head in confusion. If she was using Allura''s original Nova Core then maybe not. But Void Flux was adjusted with her in mind. With her current power, she could fire off her Void Flux''s and even her Void Flux ¨C Cleaves without much difficulty. As for Egil, the words kept repeating in his ear. "It''s my most basic attack after all~" This spark of raw destruction that obliterated a watchtower and anyone that might''ve been inside was her most basic attack??? Not only that, but if he recalled correctly, it seemed like her previous counterattack in the sky was made up of countless sparks. If she was to shoot all of this towards the enemy then¡­ *Crack Egil felt something breaking in his mind but he wasn''t sure what it was. All he knew was that he should begin reevaluating what he considered as powerful. After all, he had no confidence defending against a single spark never mind a full wave of them. *BOOM!!! While he was spacing out, Alice fired the second strike as the collision against the barrier exploded out. mes and smoke climbed up the barrier but struggled to pierce through it much to Alice''s surprise. Rather than a constant barrier, it was one where the outeryer would constantly be reced and dissipate, making it hard for her mes totch on and eat through it. Since that was the case, Alice needed something that could prate rather than damage over time. Unlucky for the enemy, she had already thought of such possibilities in the past. Her training with Kaden produced a variant of Void Flux that could even destroy the training room that he was so proud of. The Void Flux variant focused on pration power thanks to absorbing the ambient energy and the energy of her target while using a spiralling motion. With this, it''ll dig through the defences and detonate from within. Just as Alice was about to resume her attack, she felt something lock onto her as she snapped her finger and created a shield with her shards. *BANG!!! In front of her, an arrow detonated into an explosion of lightning and mes yet the shard stood firm. Previously, her Shardcked the proper defensive capabilities due to her injuries. But now that she could circte her energy once more? The Shard of Kara has restored its true defensive properties! Dismissing the lightning and mes with a wave of her hand, Alice sent out a blood eye and spotted the archer from the other side. A Sigil burned on the archer''s eye as Alice understood it must be a ranged skill that lets her hit her target urately. If she didn''t block with her Shard, that arrow would''ve hit her head. "Not bad." Alice mouthed, knowing that the archer could see her. Her taunt clearly worked as she could see the archer showing anger and annoyance before preparing a second glowing arrow. "I''ll go for a walk." Alice turned to Egil before walking towards no man''snd. "Huh?" Blinking his eyes, Egil was about to run after her but Alice shook her head and waved for him to just wait for now. She wanted to see what kind of firepower the enemy could bring if she was to give them the chance to demonstrate their power. ### "What the f*ck is wrong with this chick???" Mymanding officer muttered as he watched my arrow get blocked by her attack. This split haired girl that came out of nowhere took out a watchtower in one shot! Despite its defences, even if it wasn''t within the barrier, it should''ve been able to block against strong external attacks. Yet it was destroyed in one hit. If the officer hadn''t ordered the barrier to be put on full power, that second attack would''ve breached the barrier and taken out the watchtower we were in! Just thinking about it gave me a chill down my spine but that wasn''t all. In response to my arrow, the girl had actually told me that it wasn''t bad. Could she have a Sigil like I do? It wouldn''t be surprising considering her uracy but this power¡­ "Tsk, she must be a hidden weapon made by those barbarians in the north. Someone who focuses on taking out barriers. Otherwise, that wouldn''t exin her firepower." The officer beside me theorised but I didn''t think that was the case. Her confidence and willingness to fire a second shot so quickly after the first meant that this wasn''t strenuous for her. She isn''t someone who focuses on taking out barriers. She''s just simply strong. "Prepare the second shot. I authorise the use of the thunder roaring arrow." Nodding my head, I followed the orders I was given. The thunder roaring arrow, an arrow that can even breach the defences of the strongest beasts. It''s an arrow that gets stronger depending on the defences of the enemy. Since she was able to block my first strike with a shield, the officer must''ve came to the conclusion that she wouldn''t dodge. Once again, I doubted his conclusion but I couldn''t say anything. I''m just an archer that could be reced at any time. Pulling back on my bow, energy spiralled towards the tip of the arrow. I wasn''t afraid of missing, I was simply afraid of what this woman would do. *BANG!!!! Firing the arrow, I watched as it began to speed up before disappearing. Surely, she can''t react to this kind of speed and power. But my expectations fell t as a screen leading to the infinite unknown appeared in front of her, swallowing the arrow before closing. "You''re kidding me¡­" I couldn''t help but mutter. Not only does she have the offensive power to destroy a watchtower easily and even threaten the barrier, but she also possesses a shield and the power to open up a gateway in order to swallow attacks. How are we supposed to kill someone like this? Snapping her fingers, I noticed her mouthing more words. "Bye bye?" Feeling a chill down my spine, I instinctively nced up and saw a gateway open up for a second time. "Ah¡­" I finally understood. I was watching the approach of my death. Scenes of my life shed before my eyes as I recalled my happiest memory. The memory of drinking the soup cooked by my brother. How nice¡­ If only I could just drink it one more time¡­ ### *BOOM!!!!! Watching the explosion in the distance, Alice couldn''t help but whistle as her n had worked. Rather than having a Void flux that prated before detonating, she wanted to see if she could breach the barrier to leave a node behind. To mark down that coordinate before reopening the portal and allowing that attack to be returned to them. Seeing as how it was a sess, her knowledge of how the Void works improved once more as ideas flooded Alice''s mind. Of course, having her waltz out in the open attracted quite a lot of attention from both sides but she didn''t care about that right now. This was the time for limit testing and a perfect ce for her to go wild. Countless attacks rained towards her but Alice simply raised her hand and snapped her fingers. Portals leading to the Void opened up and swallowed the attacks. She wanted to send them back but even for her, tracking where all of them came from was a little difficult and thus she simply let them fly around in the Void. While Alice was preparing the perfect battlefield to test out her fifth Sigil, she didn''t notice a pair of eyes locking onto her since there was a lot of attention ced on her. "That rat¡­" Keria muttered as veins bulged on her neck. Chapter 455: Keira Vs Alice "Is she the one who messed up the nst time?" Troy asked, finishing his push-ups. He could see the split haired girl blocking attacks by sending them to the Void while firing off sts with her fingers. Each st that collided with the barrier caused it to tremble and drain more energy in order to sustain itself. Not only that, but her appearance didn''t stop the northern barbarians from stopping their onught either. Countless abilities still rained down from above. However, this time it was harder to fend it off since the girl was keeping them upied so more attacks managed to get through their counters. If this were to keep up, it would only be a matter of time before their barrier falls. "Yes, she''s the b*tch that should''ve died but instead lived after blowing herself up." Keira narrowed her eyes. She wanted to just rush out there and tear off her head from her shoulders but she couldn''t disobey orders. Her value had already dropped because of the mess up at the port. Even though it shouldn''t have been her fault, she was still there when the watchtower fell. If she had sorted it out silently, their deal wouldn''t have fallen t. "We can make a move right? The family ordered for us to take care of the barbarians if something abnormal happens." Keira nced over to Troy. "I believe they meant it looks like our side is about to retreat. It''s still up for debate but seeing as how the barrier is faltering, it shouldn''t be an issue so long as you don''t reveal your beast form." Troy shook his head. As long as their nature as hybrids wasn''t revealed, they could do whatever they wanted on the battlefield. If anything, he felt grateful to the split haired girl. If it wasn''t for her, he might''ve needed to keep hearing about how Keira was bored. Cracking her knuckles, Keira grinned. "Great! I can finally vent this anger in my chest. Just make sure the soldiers don''t interfere with my fight, she''s mine." Keira stretched her body before jumping towards the battlefield. Letting out a light sigh, Troy passed on the message to themander and had him focus on preserving the barrier first. ### ncing up, Alice tilted her head in confusion as the barrage of attacks suddenly stopped. "Did they get bored?" Alice muttered in confusion and annoyance. Right when she was getting excited, they decided to give up. Just as she was about to turn around and leave, a familiar aura approached her at rapid speeds along with a thick killing intent. Widening her eyes, Alice''s smile curled up into an excited grin as she created a spear and twisted her body. *CLANGGG!!!!! Colliding with Keira''s arm which was covered by obsidian andva, Alice let out augh. "Yo! It''s been a while hasn''t it? I''m d someone knows how to keep the fun going instead of stopping!" Alice greeted, kicking the spear and pushing Keira back. "Didn''t think you were a fun lover you rat! Weren''t you so scared of fightingst time? Are you gonna blow yourself up again?" Keira taunted back, mming her foot down as an arena of mes was created in an instant. "Don''t worry about an arena, I''m not nning on cutting the fun short." Alice chuckled. Since a hybrid decided to bring herself to her doorstep, she was going to make it worth her time. A perfect target to limit test the powers of her current Sigils and her body. "I wouldn''t be so sure. If you''re not going to cut the fun short then you don''t have to worry about it." Keira flipped her hair before snapping her finger. At that moment, a crimson circle appeared around Alice''s body before locking down and fading away. Furrowing her brows, Alice was about to say something when Keira jumped out of her shadow. Bending her body back, Alice countered by creating a blood de but Keira was one step ahead. mes coiled to life above her palms as she stabbed a mingnce down. *CLANG!!!! Forced to use her shard to guard, Alice rolled to the side. "Hah! Dirt fits a rat like you after all." Keira sneered. *BANG!!! Stomping down with her foot, inferno chains shot out, seeking to restrain Alice. Now that it''se to this, Alice snapped her finger and created several portals into the Void before cutting it off, forcefully severing the chains. Wiping the dirt from her face, Alice narrowed her eyes and created a spear in hand using her third Sigil. Seeing that Alice wasn''t retreating, Keira grinned as she entered a slightly rxed stance before taunting Alice to make the first move. Since she was humiliated by this ratst time, she was going to pay it all back and more! ''So you want to be arrogant huh? Let''s see how you can keep this upter.'' Alice rolled her eyes as she dashed towards Keira while keeping her body as close to the ground as possible. Right before colliding, she adjusted her footwork and used the ground to her advantage. Sliding on her left foot, she ducked under Keira''s counter before shing up with her spear. Dirtunched towards Keira''s eyes as mes erupted from her body, burning the dirt away and then caught the spear between her fingers. "ying dirty now are we? As expected of a rat." Keira sneered but Alice didn''t respond and simply smiled. Void Flux!!! *BANG!!!!! A spark detonated behind Keira as her body was flung forward and away from Alice. Crashing across the ground, she quickly got back onto her feet as veins bulged on her neck. The st had seared her outfit but her skin was unharmed. "Seems like I''m not the only one suited for dirt." Alice stuck out her tongue, snapping her finger as Keira braced herself for the next Void Flux. However, to her surprise, no attack appeared. Instead, a portal opened under her foot, disrupting her bnce as Alice twisted her body and mmed the spear shaft against Keira''s head followed by a kick in the face. ring at Alice with bloodshot eyes, Keira was about to use her mes when Alice jumped back and a Void Flux detonated beside her face. *BANG!!!! Watching the ball of mes do nothing to Keira''s body, Alice couldn''t help but whistle. "You''re one sturdy motherf*cker aren''t you? Gonna make me break a sweat at this rate." Alice chuckled. However, despite her confident words, Keira''s toughness indeed worried her. The Void Fluxes that she used, while not at maximum output, weren''t something tough at either. It should''ve been more than enough to leave a mark but all it did was damage Keira''s outfit. Brushing the smoke aside, Keira stood unharmed with anger written all over her face. Even though Alice didn''t do any damage to her, all of her attacks only served to heighten her anger. On the side of her body, Alice spotted scales that were glowing with a golden red hue. Cracks appeared on the side of Keira''s cheeks as she took a deep breath. "!!!" Instinctively, Alice felt the threat of death and opened a portal as fast as she could. *BOOM!!! A torrent of mes rushed towards Alice, colliding with the half opened portal and shattering it in an instant. What she couldn''t teleport away using her fourth Sigil crashed against her left arm, turning it to ash as Alice gritted her teeth from the pain. Behind Keira, she could see the visage of her bestial form as the air around her mouth sizzled from the heat of her breath attack. "Tsk, I should call you a cockroach instead of a rat. Slippering f*cker." Keira growled in anger. However, now that Alice had lost her arm and suffered mortal damage, all she needed to do now was to finish her off. Creating ance of mes beside her, Keira walked up to Alice who was clutching her shoulder while kneeling on the ground. "It''s over." Raising her hand, Keira stabbed thence down. "Gotcha." Alice grinned. *KRRR!!! Her flesh twisted as bones, flesh and skin reformed in an instant and Alice grabbed the mingnce with her bare hands. Even though her skin sizzled from the head, violet mes burst out and fought back. Golden chains manifested across her body as her aura shifted into that of a more violent nature. *BANG!!!! Releasing a devastating right hook to Keira''s body, Alyss twisted her body and sent Keira crashing across the ground as she shook her right hand. "Ssss! You''re not wrong twinnie, she''s a tough motherf*cker! Broke my hand punching this b*tch!" Alyssined, taking a sharp breath as she healed her right hand. ncing up, Keira was shocked speechless. That speed of regeneration, it was absurd! Even amongst the hybrids, there were few who could match this speed. Hell! Even those focused on regeneration might not even beat Alice in terms of raw speed alone! After seeing this, Keira made her choice. No more ying around! Alice couldn''t be allowed to leave today! Her hair red up as mes manifested on the edges of her hair. Around her, the ground began to crack apart asva sttered past the gaps and the air began to distort from the mes. However, Alyss was unphased. Summoning Ruinous Void, she transformed them into their gauntlet form! The power of the Void surged around her arms as it condensed into a pair of purple crystalline gauntlets. Pulses of energy could be seen radiating from the weapon as violet energy exuded from the surface like mist. Hopping on her foot a few times, Alyss disappeared from her spot and appeared right in front of Keira, her arm pulled back and ready to unleash a devastating punch! Chapter 456: Alyss Vs Keira Appearing in front of Keira, Alyss grinned. She adjusted her footwork, twisted her hips and mmed her fist forward. Instinctively, Keira raised her arms to guard. *BANG CRACK!!!!! Widening her eyes in shock, Keira watched as the obsidian armour on her arms broke apart to reveal the bruised flesh inside! She wasn''t able to hide the shock on her face as Alyss''s eyes gained a sadistic gleam. The gauntlet variant of the Ruinous Void allowed her to nt ''bombs'' wherever she punched and detonate them for armour piercing damage. Seeing as how Keira''s arms were bruised inside, she was rather happy with the effects. Not letting Keira a moment to recover, Alyss stomped down on Keira''s foot, preventing her from escaping before unleashing a flurry of attacks against the torso and the head. When she would guard her head, Alyss punched her in the ribs. If she guarded her torso, Alyss gave her a right hook left hook against the head. Anger filled Keira''s mind as she gathered energy around her but Alyss was one step ahead. Grabbing Keira by the wrist, she twisted her body and threw Keira into the air. "I''m counting on you twinnie!" Alyss shouted, giving back control momentarily as Alice already knew what kind ofbo Alyss wanted to do. Snapping her finger, she created a portal behind her and jumped through. As Keira reached the apex of the throw, she turned her body to try and find Alyss but it was no use. A portal opened above her as Alyss dropped down and kicked Keira in the side. Another portal appeared below Alyss as she appeared in front of Keira and gave her a uppercut. Onest teleport above Keira before grabbing her arms and stomping down on her back, sending them crashing towards the ground. *BANG!!! Jumping out from the smoke, Alyss furrowed her brows. She could see that her shoes were being melted byva as she kicked them away. All the damage she did to Keira during thisbo could mostly be ignored as she started to cover herself with the same armour around her arms. "How dare a rat¡­ Do this to me¡­" A low growl could be heard as Keira pulled herself from the rubble. mes,va and obsidian could be seen all over her body as scales began to show up. ''Seems like she''s nning on transforming.'' Alice frowned. ''Seems like it. She''s definitely the skinny wingless dragon from the ambush. Theva breath and fire powers exin it. However¡­ her human form seems pretty weak. The only thing noticeable is her durability.'' Alyss agreed as she didn''t n on letting Keira transform easily. Without giving her a chance to keep speaking, Ruinous Void ¨C Axe Form! The strongest form of Ruinous Void made for raw destruction and power. In exchange for this power, it does make her slower but the trade off was the fact that each hit would increase damage! A stacking ability along with obscuring regeneration was a great trade off in Alyss''s opinion. Granted, this would struggle against fast enemies since it''s mainly targeted atrge beasts. Bringing her centre of gravity low to the ground, Alyss dashed towards Keira as each step would crush the ground beneath her. Twisting her body, she was about to release a horizontal sh when Alice forcefully took over and created a portal in front of them. *BANG!!! Returning back to their original spot, Alice had cold sweat down her back. If Alyss had continued their attack, they would''ve been eaten by the molten dragon head that shot out of the ground. "I''ve had enough of this. You''re dead you f*cking rat!" Keira shouted. Her eyes turned draconic while scales continued to manifest across her body. The aura around her soared, forcing Alice to take a step back from the pressure. Resonance! *BANG!!!! Just as Keira activated her resonance, a burly mannded next to her, punching her in the face and causing her to crash against the ground. The mes around them faded as Alice was confused by the sudden appearance of another. Seeing as how he possessed the same uncanny aura, Alice realised that he was probably another hybrid like the woman. "Stupid b*tch." Troy clicked his tongue in annoyance. If he hadn''t interfered, everyone would''ve seen them for what they truly were. Hybrids. Should such a secret get out, they can forget about returning to the family. ring at Alice, he was somewhat surprised that someone could actually harm the defence of a hybrid. But with Keira being someone who focuses on speed, an attack like that wouldn''t harm him who focused on the defensive aspect of his new evolution. So it was nothing to worry about. Throwing Keira over his shoulders, Troy began to leave when a spark appeared in front of his face. "Are you really so eager to throw your life away?" Troy warned in a deep voice as he red back at Alice with killing intent. Hearing this, Alice gave a charmingugh as she snapped her finger once more, detonating a spark next to his face. "Don''t worry, I treasure my life. But you two~ Seems like you don''t want your secret discovered by the Kingdom. Aren''t I right?" Alice taunted with a grin. Since two hybrids brought themselves to her doorstep, she wanted to see how far she could push them. To push them to reveal their true natures that they seem desperate to hide. "Don''t push your luck. Your time wille." Troy frowned, stomping his foot down as the ground fractured before an earthquake erupted, causing Alice to lose her footing. Without wasting another second, Troy crouched down before jumping away, leaving Alice alone on the battlefield. "Tsk, what a mood killer." Alice frowned. It would''ve been the perfect moment to test out her fifth Sigil against two hybrids but they weren''t intent on fighting to the end. Not only that, but seeing his stature, Alice presumed his was the white bulky beast. One that none of the warriors could harm. Without trying herself, she wasn''t sure of his defence but it didn''t worry her too much. This was just a taster of what was toe. After all, neither of them used their resonances. Since her fun was cut short, there was no more reason to stay here on the frontlines where everyone could see her. She might as well help out the northerners a little and take out this annoying barrier so they can''t chase them while they''re retreating. "Let''s see¡­" Alice muttered, scanning her eyes across the barrier to look for a weak point. She could see the array of energy coiling with one another, shifting through the barrier and gathering into certain nodes around the base. In order to dismantle the barrier, she''ll need to topple it over by getting rid of these weak points. Just as she summoned her artifact, Alice could feel her hand tremble as she understood she must''ve overexerted herself a little. Constantly using the abilities of the artifact drains her stamina quickly and pushes her body to the limit. Without fully recovering, she couldn''t use it freely without consequences. ''Seems like I got a little carried away.'' Alyss scratched her cheek as she was the one who kept on using the Artifact. ''Don''t worry about it. As long as you had fun.'' Alice reassured with a chuckle. Since her body was nearing the limits, she''ll scare them a little instead of taking out the barrier. Damaging one node should be enough. Taking a deep breath, Alice gathered her mes into a single spark and turned it into an arrow. Creating a bow using metal and blood, she arched her body back and fired the arrow. *BANG!!! Without seeing what had happened, Alice turned around and made her way back to their side of the battlefield. After the fight with Keira, parts of her outfit were burned to ash much to her annoyance. Her favourite pair of shoes were also destroyed leaving her to walk in the dirt with her socks. Even though she bought a lot of outfits, she couldn''t go around destroying them with every fight. The costs will eventually stack up. Meanwhile, a sea of violet mes exploded out and began to eat away at the node. "I''m back~" Alice greeted Egil who wanted to say something before sighing and giving up. There were many questions in his mind but he doubted Alice would answer them. "Wee back. Seems like I don''t have to drag you away to safety." He chuckled. "Nope~ The fight ended before it turned interesting. Killed my mood." Alice shrugged, letting out a disappointed sigh. Hearing this, Egil''s smile twitched once more. The intensity of their exchange was clear for all to see. It was short but many would''ve died 20 times over! Especially that fire breath attack that the other girl used. Then there''s therge man and the killing intent he exuded. It was far away but Egil could feel his hair stand on end. But Alice? She stood in front of him and shrugged it off. With each demonstration, Alice only proved how much of a monster she is when ites to power. It made Egil begin to question if he even chose the right Sigils up till now. ### "Urg¡­" Clutching her head, Keira sat up and noticed that Troy was sitting not far away from her. "What ha-" "You''re a f*cking idiot." Troy cut her off as veins bulged on Keira''s neck. "HAH?!" "You almost exposed our identity as hybrids. Do you hate that rat so much that you''d rather kill her then have the family kill you?" Troy spat out in annoyance as Keira couldn''t respond. Gritting her teeth, she stood up and punched the wall behind her in anger. Next time, next time for sure. She''ll drag that rat where no one can see and finish her off for good. Chapter 457: Alfvas True Face With Alice returning back to their side of the battlefield, they decided to rest up while Torgeir finished their preparation for retreat. Attacks from their side began to slow down while the enemy was preupied with the damaged barrier thanks to Alice''s stunt. Since there was nothing else for her to do right now, she decided to go for a little walk around the frontlines. To see how Selen was doing as well as to get familiar with the healer girl who seemed a little too scared. Thinking about Alfva, a question appeared in Alice''s mind. How did she even get five Sigils if she''s this scared? The more she thought about it, the more confused she got. After all, Alfva wouldn''t have picked weak Sigils if Torgeir had chosen her out of all the healers they had. There must be something else about her that Alice didn''t know about. Shrugging her shoulders, she made her way to the medical bay. ### "OI! SLOW MOTHERF*CKERS! MOVE THE INJURED IN ALREADY AND GET THOSE WHO''S BEEN SORTED OUT OF HERE!!! I NEED THE F*CKING SPACE!" ". . ." Blinking her eyes, Alice wasn''t quite sure what she was looking at. Selen was frantically running around, casting barriers while throwing up in a bucket asionally due to over-exerting herself. The medics on the field scrambled to follow orders as stretchers carried bandages warriors in and out of the area. Alfva was covered head to toe in blood while standing on a table and shouting out orders at the top of her lungs. There was not a single sign of the timid Alfva from earlier, only a warlord who only expected you to follow her orders and nothing else. "Selen! I need you to freeze his condition now!" Alfva jumped down from her table. Rolling up her sleeves, she grabbed a fresh pair of gloves as Selen conjured her staff and created a time slow zone focused on the patient. Without hesitation, Alfva grabbed a scalpel and tore into the man''s body. Digging out some punctured organs along with rotting flesh, she activated the Sigils on her arm. Emerald energy surged towards her as crystalline butterflies began to fly out from this stream of energy. Latching onto the wound where she pulled out the organs, the butterflies shattered apart, turning into crystalline copies of the organ. Once they were in ce, Alfva activated another Sigil and the crystals melted away, revealing new functioning body parts. Shoving the flesh and organs back into the body, she had her butterfliestch onto the opening and seal it up. "Undo." She ordered while Selen followed. Once the barrier was undone, Alfva pped the man in the face as a Sigil mark appeared on his cheek. Green energy flooded his body, rejuvenating him. "Now get this f*cker outta here! BRING THE NEXT ONE!" Alfva shouted, gesturing at the on-field medics to carry him away while another was brought in. The next patient was missing an arm, a leg hanging on by strands and burns all over his body. "What the f*ck are the third rate medics doing?! DID YOU EVEN GET HEALING SPIRITS?!" Alfva screamed in annoyance as she tossed the gloves away before grabbing new ones. "Barrier, now!" Holding back the urge to throw up, Selen created another barrier. It faltered momentarily but managed to stabilize itself. Once again, Alfva waited for the barrier to stabilize before getting to work. Grabbing the leg, she forcefully tore it off and threw it over her head as itnded in the arms of another medic who panicked and dropped it. Stomping down, a ritualistic circle spun to life around her as butterflies appeared once more. Lining up next to one another, they broke down and turned into bones, attaching themselves to the stump before melting and turning into real bones. Repeating the process with the flesh and eventually the skin, she had Selen drop the barrier and pped him on the face. A marking appeared and his burns began to heal. "Tell the dumbf*ck who''s supposed to look after him to not let him walk or use his arm for at least a week. Let my crystal flies adapt to his body before he uses those limbs. Otherwise, he can forget about having them." Alfva wiped the sweat before screaming for the next patient once more. Both Alice and Egil didn''t know what to say. It was the first time either of them saw Selen pushed to this extent while Alfva did aplete 180 turn in personality. "Erm¡­ Maybe we shouldn''t stay here." Alice''s smile twitched. She was afraid that if they blocked the flow of patients, Alfva''s anger may be turned towards them. "Agreed. Though¡­ Selen looks like she''s at the end of her ropes." Egil nodded. Noticing Alice and Egil, Selen wanted to run over and cry for help when Alfva stuck out her leg and tripped her over. pping a mark on the back of her head to heal the wounds, Alfva grabbed her by the ankles. "You''re not going anywhere, you''re too good of a help to go. You two! F*ck off if you can''t help!" Alfva red at Alice and Egil who shivered and nodded their heads without hesitation. "Don''t leave me here!!!" Selen cried out for them, breaking her stoic nature as she didn''t want to stay in the med bay anymore. But neither Alice nor Egil wanted to annoy Alfva right now as they simply apologized to Selen and ran away. Leaving the med bay, they ran into Torgeir who was looking over some documents while making his way over. "Ah, you''re back. Did you have fun on the battlefield?" Torgeir asked with a small wave. "It was alright. Fun got cut short. But setting that aside, I don''t suggest you go to the med bay right now. Alfva seems a little¡­ on edge." Alice coughed. Hearing this, Torgeir tilted his head for a moment before realising what she was talking about. "Ahahaha, seems like you saw what Alfva''s like when she''s doing her job. She get''s like this whenever ites to healing people but you get used to it. As long as you don''t obstruct her, you''ll be fine. "Here,e with me." Torgeir gestured as both Alice and Egil swallowed their saliva. As they made their way back to the med bay, they stepped through. "What now?! I''M BUSY!" Alfva snapped as she nced back. "Should Ie back another time then?" Torgeir asked as Alfva froze up. Gesturing for Selen to dispel the barrier, she pped the woman on the operating table with a marker and sent her off. "Ahaha¡­ Erm¡­ nope¡­ What do you need?" Alfva squirmed as her voice got quieter. "????????" Both Alice and Egil blinked their eyes in disbelief while Selen ignored what just happened. She immediately found the closest bed she could use and copsed on it, getting as much rest as she could. "How are the injured? Do you think you can get all of them prepared for travel? We''ll be retreating from this location soon." Torgeir asked as Alfva thought about it for a moment. "I''ll still need¡­ Erm¡­ 2 hours if you want them to survive travel... Though they won''t be fully healed." Alfva replied quietly as Torgeir folded his arms. "Hmm¡­ That''s fine. The key is to get them out of here. We''ll be moving our supplies onto carriages and having our casters set up an illusion as well as timed attacks to make it seem like we''re still here. The faster we get this done the better." Torgeir nodded. "Let me know if there''s anything you need help with okay?" He smiled as Alfva nodded her head eagerly. Turning around, Torgeir checked his list for the next location he needed to go. "See? Not that bad once you get used to it." Torgeir chuckled while Alice and Egil was left stupefied. Looking back at Alfva, the two couldn''t believe she could just flip her personality like that of a switch. For Alice, she had a literal second soul inside her so it made sense. But Alfva? It confused her. "The f*ck are you looking at? I thought I already told you to help or f*ck off!" Alfva snapped as Alice and Egil jogged out of the tent. Walking away, the two began to piece together the situation. "Torgeir?" Alice asked. "Torgeir." Egil nodded as he too had the same guess. Since their interaction with Alfva was short, they couldn''t say for sure as they never saw her elsewhere. But with all the clues they''ve gotten, it was probably more so due to Torgeir''s presence rather than work. But considering how Torgeir seems oblivious of it, the two couldn''t help but sigh. After a while, Bo came back with some good news. Thanks to Alice''s initial barrage of attacks, battle and her final attack that damaged a node, the members of the Extalia army was faltering since they weren''t sure when Alice will appear on the field again. Even now, they still haven''tpletely doused out the mes that appeared on the node and were panicking. Not only that, but some of them even gave her the moniker of split hair demoness. The power that she showcased was enough to leave asting impression on their minds. Hearing the nickname, Alice hid her face from embarrassment and tried her best to ignore the stares. As for Torgeir, this new was indeed good for them. "Since they''re preupied with Alice''s attack, let''s speed up the retreat. Alfva, I''ll need you to treat the injured while we''re traveling. I can''t give you the full two hours that you wanted." Torgeir apologised but Alfva shook her head. "That''s fine¡­ I can heal them while we''re travelling." "Good. Alright, gather your things, we''re preparing for the retreat now." Torgeir ordered as everyone got to work. Chapter 458: Path Of Retreat Watching all of the casters gather to form a ritual, Alice couldn''t help but observe in silence. Her understanding of rituals was basic since she never dove deep into the concept. All she knew was that it was an act of equivalent exchange. One where she would make a ''contract'' with the opposition in order to bolster her abilities. For her, it''s a unique situation where she can exchange some power with Alyss since a lot of it is sealed thanks to Velouria''s power. But for others, the target of exchange is usually the Abyss itself or a powerful entity with a prewritten contract. Of course, it wasn''t limited to just these. ording to Ca, all of the high ranking members of the church can form rituals in order to gain some divine power from their gods. The Eclipse sacrifices via battle or blood rituals to gain power and it''s a simr case with the other religions as well. However, it''s a little different for the Moon and Sun since their doctrines does not include killing the masses and inciting chaos. Little by little, Alice could see the illusion being constructed by the casters while others prepared timed attacks that would go off in intervals. She would''ve helped out but her illusions are based on people inhaling her poison blood mist. It wouldn''t help out in arge scale illusion like this one. The only task she was given was to help with defence if the enemy noticed and sent attacks their way. ncing down, Alice could see Selen sleeping on the seat as she waspletely exhausted having helped out Alfva at the med bay. Without Selen being around to help speed up the process and make it easier, Alfva became more quiet and focused on the treatment. She couldn''t just brute force it without the time slow. Shaking her head, Alice turned her attention to the caravan. Compared to the other groups that she''s been part of, this was far bigger. The injured were in the middle, healers next to them, casters lined up front and back while tanks covered their rear and paved the path home. Thanks to Alice''s transport skill, they were able to arrive far earlier than intended at the cost of not fully checking the path back. However, if they came toote, the damages would''ve been far worse. To Torgeir, it was better toe early and figure out a way back than toete and see ruins and destruction. There was one issue however and it was that the casters were absolutely exhausted except for a small handful and Alice. They were already exhausted having to keep up with the enemy barrage. But after casting the illusion and setting up timed attacks, they werepletely empty and had to rest. Even if they pushed for it, they couldn''t use their Sigil power. As for the small handful of casters¡­ they were a littlecking. Even without Ca telling her how many Sigils they have, Alice could already guess by seeing the energy around their body. They could probably fend off one or two waves of attacks but after that, they''ll also be exhausted. "Tsk." Clicking her tongue, Alice let out a sigh. She knew that she was supposed to help out with the retreat but she didn''t think it was going to be this bad. Taking a deep breath, Alice calmed herself. In order to defend this whole caravan properly, Alice had to make an efficient system for countering attacks quickly. Her reserves weren''t endless so she couldn''t just keep throwingrge scale attacks out without care. Especially if she''s the only one responsible for their safety. The most energy efficient method was to use her violet mes. But using the mes might take a little too long for it to take effect. It takes time for the mes to properly consume the attack after all. She could try to block by opening pathways to the Void. But this method was the most exhausting. Especially since most barrages are slightly off time to prevent one ability from blocking them all. Furrowing out brows, Alice let out an annoyed sigh. So far, it seemed like she''d have to try her best to brute force it. There''s still the method of drinking blood to upgrade herself to six Sigils but in front of this many people? Absolutely not. Therefore, she had to figure something out with just the five Sigils she had on herself. Once the casters have finished their set up, Torgeir ordered the group to begin retreating. Looking towards the timed casts, Alice decided to modify them a little in order to buy them some more time. Making a small portal, she created small sparks of violet me and nted one in each attack. That way, the moment they explode, her mes will begin eating away at whatever it hit. Plus, she adjusted her me to be the tenacious type. One that hung on so long as there was energy to consume. With this, it should trouble the enemy quite a bit and make it harder for them to follow up even if they discover the truth. ### "They''re moving." A scout reported as themander curled his lips up into a smile. "They are truly desperate if they''re preparing to leave this quickly. Such arge scale illusion must''ve taken quite the toll on their casters." With Torgeir being so preupied with saving his allies, he didn''t even notice that some of them were spies nted by them in order to keep track of their movements. "Prepare the next wave of attacks, we''ll take them out once they leave their barrier." Themander ordered. Leaning not far from themander, Keira narrowed her gaze and walked away. "What are you nning?" Troy grabbed her shoulder but Keira smacked his hand away. "One attack. That''s all I need. I just need to make sure they don''t see me right? I''ll wipe out the entire group in one attack." Keira red as Troy furrowed his brows. "For you to be this insistent, she must''ve really gotten under your skin huh? Go for it, I''ve already warned you plenty. If you''re not satisfied after one attack and expose yourself, you only have yourself to me." He clicked his tongue in annoyance. "I can take care of myself." Keira ignored his warning and stepped away. Shaking his head, Troy let out a sigh as he''ll probably have to bail her out again. As long as she leaves after one attack, regardless of what happens, the family wouldn''t me them. But if she was to push her luck? He''ll be assigned a new partner for future missions. *BANG!!! Hearing a loud explosion, Troy furrowed his brows and nced up. He could see the first wave of attacks colliding against the barrier as it was able to defeat the Extalia''s counter without any issue. Violet mestched onto the barrier and began to spread rapidly while frantic shouts echoed out. "What are you idiots doing?! How can you let this attack hit the barrier?!" Themander shouted in anger. But the barrage wasn''t over. As the second wave of attacks was released, the Extalia was too slow in responding since they were preupied with the faltering barrier and once again, violet mestched onto the barrier. After the previous damage caused by Alice''s attack, the barrier had already lost a lot of its structural integrity. Itcked the same defensive properties as before and these violet mes have be far more deadly. With this being the case, it was going to be harder for the Extalia army to chase after the fleeing barbarians with their counterattack. Meaning¡­ "Seems like luck is on your side Keira." Troy chuckled. Without the eyes of the army on her, she can go wild so long as she takes care of the witnesses. He wasn''t afraid that she''d fail the surprise attack. But the split haired girl still worried him. Her confidence shook him. She seemed to know all about them yet they didn''t know anything about her. She showed power capable of wounding Keira to the extent where she''s pushed to transforming or risk dying, all without resonance at that. There were far too many secrets with the girl and an anomaly they needed to be careful with. But to ensure there were going to be no witnesses to Keira''s rampage, Troy ced his hand against the structure behind him as iridescent crackles of energy shot through the base. The nodes around the barrier began to crack apart, weakening their defences further as they had to focus on blocking the counter attacks with their full force rather than preserving power to go after the barbarians. Meanwhile, Keira noticed the situation and saw that Troy interfered with the barrier. Knowing that this meant there were no witnesses, Keira curved her lips into a grin as scales began to appear on her face. Sigils manifested across her body as they slowly lost their shape, covering her entire body in ayer of energy. Within this cocoon of energy, a silhouette of her body could be seen twisting and stretching. Her eyes emitted a piercing red glow as cracks began to form across the surface of the cocoon. *BANG!!! With an explosion, the cocoon broke apart to reveal the bestial form of Keira, an elongated serpentine dragon with obsidian armour andva all over her body. She already saw how Alice struggled with diverting her breath attack. Now that she was at her full power, her death was guaranteed. Just thinking of it brought joy to Keira as she shot into the sky and hid herself amongst the clouds. Chapter 459: Staying Alert Watching the bombardment of timed explosions hit the enemy barrier, Alice folded her arms. They had expected the enemy to prevent them from retreating but that doesn''t seem to be an issue anymore. If anything, they''ll be lucky if they could extinguish the mes. However, despite all of this, Alice couldn''t settle down the bad feeling in her chest. Even though there was no visible danger, it felt as though she was walking into a trap. All her senses were warning her, telling her to run. A bad gut feeling that she couldn''t get rid of. Yet no matter where she looked, she couldn''t find the source. ''Are they in the Void?'' Alice theorised as she created a small opening and sent a blood eye through the gap. Observing the ever changing scenery of the Void, Alice couldn''t spot anything out of the ordinary so she doubted it was the first hybrid that ambushed them. That one was able to transport their beast army from the Void and send them out the same way. She tried the same thing herself when she helped everyone get to the frontlines quickly but after one try, she knew how taxing it was. And to transport an entire army? It was impossible for Alice. During the travel, there will be many who get idently detached from the group and be doomed to float through the Void unless another opening appears. Since she was unable to get rid of this bad feeling, Alice decided to set up some precautions. She needed a passive defence that would warn her if anything was to approach, even in stealth. There was no guarantee but it was better to have something than to sit out in the open. A grid system simr to what she did when she was predicting how Bo would move. But unlike before, she now had ess to her Sigils meaning the range could be expanded a lot more than what is limited by her shards. This grid was going to stretch in a 50 meter radius around the caravan and move along with them. Each grid is going to be filled with tiny metal shards and blood so if anything in stealth was to walk past, it''lltch onto them and reveal their silhouette. She was tempted to add some blood threads but if she were to do that, it''ll make the grid too obvious. Right now, you couldn''t see the grid unless you focused on it. It was good enough of a warning system but next was actual defences. Once again, Alice ran into the issue of energy consumption and speed of her defence. ''What if¡­ you use slightly enhanced Void Fluxes so a singrity forms and sucks in the attack to be destroyed?'' Alyss offered as Alice shook her head. ''Consumes too much energy if I want the singrity to stay and eat the whole attack. If I do it that way, even if the size is small, I can only throw out like ten of them at most.'' Alice sighed. That was her limit right now with her current body. The more she added to her attacks, the faster she''ll exhaust herself. It''s why she was holding back on her Resonance. The moment she activates her Resonance her stamina will begin to drain like a bucket with a hole in it. She''ll be out ofmission after one fight and that was not what she wanted right now. Unless absolutely needed, she was going to deal with all of her issues without using Resonance. [Perhaps you don''t need to cancel out the attacks Master. What if you focused on diverting it so it misses the caravan instead?] Ca asked curiously. ''That''ll depend on our surroundings. Diverting it could cause the road to be unstable or even copse on itself. Though it wouldn''t hurt to try.'' Alice tapped her chin. In order to divert the attacks, she''ll need something to shift the course of the attack. Before, that would be her shards. But for arge scaled attack, would it even be enough? Controlling the Shard of Kara to float above her palm, Alice expanded it into the shield form so that the iridescent blue barrier could be seen. Expanding it further, the barrier began to weaken before breaking apart. Simr to the barrier that the Extalia kingdom employed, these shards acted as nodes and anchor points for the barrier. Too far apart and it''ll begin to weaken before shattering. Thinking about it for a moment, Alice created metal shards in a simr shape and ced it in the middle of two shards. She wanted to see if the metal shards could reinforce this barrier by acting as a bridge for the barrier totch onto. But even though she sessfully increased the range of the barrier, allowing it to hold on without any issues, the barrier itself has be much weaker. Unlike the other Shards of Kara, the metal piece had nothing it could resonate with. All it aplished was plugging itself into the weakest spot. It still hasn''t solved the issue that the barrier became weaker the further it was from the original shard. As they continued to travel, the bad feeling continued to gue Alice''s chest as she couldn''t drop her guard for even a second. On the other hand, it seemed like the Extalias had given up on stopping their retreat, causing many of the warriors to cheer out in happiness. Even Torgeir had a smile on his face as he rxed himself. If the Extalias had given up, it meant that his brothers and sisters in arms could now return to their families in one piece. Soon, the atmosphere of the caravan became a joyful one but Alice couldn''t allow herself to even crack a smile. The happier her surroundings became, the worse this feeling in her chest became. There was now no more doubt. Someone was hunting them down and observing their every move. But who? "Why the long face? Shouldn''t you be drinking some mead and passing out by now?" Egil asked curiously. Even the mages responsible for taking care of the enemy attack have started to rx their guard and joke around with their friends. "I wish. But someone has to keep guard while people are enjoying themselves. Plus, I need to make sure I don''t break my body or else a certain someone would be annoyed at me." Alice chuckled, ncing down at Selen who was snoring a little due to the fatigue she felt in the med bay. This was the first time she had to use her time slow abilities so many times in a row so it was only natural that she was exhausted. Seeing that Alice wasn''t willing to rx, Egil could only shrug his shoulders. It wasn''t like he had anyone he could rx around like Alice and Selen, so he simply stayed near them and kept them guarded in case something did happen. Time passed and soon they began to settle down for food. But Alice''s expression was still as dire as the moment they set off on this journey. Warnings gued her mind, signalling at the danger toe. The unknown enemy was waiting in the darkness with their mouth curled up in a beastly grin, waiting for the moment everyone dropped their guard. *Yawn~ Sitting up slowly and giving her body a stretch, Selen scratched her hair while looking around in confusion. "Good morning sleepy head, we''re stopping for camp right now." Alice nced back with a smile while still keeping her attention on the grid around them. "Oh we''re camping? Let me sleep some more then. I''m not hungry." Selen yawned a second time before preparing to lie down. However, before she could, someone rushed over to their carriage and grabbed her by the shoulders. A chill shot down Selen''s spine as she slowly turned around and saw Alfva with a pair of bloodshot eyes. She had been treating patients nonstop for thest few hours without Selen helping her. In order to get through the rest of the injured that needed help, time slow was a must. "You, me, heal, time slow, NOW!" Alfva ordered. Without giving Selen a chance to reject, she dragged her away with surprising strength as all Alice and Egil could do was watch with pity. "I''m d I don''t have time slow abilities." Alice couldn''t help but mutter. If she did, she would be in Selen''s position right now. "Agreed." Egil nodded his head as the food was soon distributed to everyone. Their meal consisted of meat soup, bread, and some other snacks that you get to choose from. Compared to the food you get in a tavern, this was a littlecking. But for the warriors who''ve been eating nothing but rations, this was a heavenly meal. Finishing her food quickly, Alice began circling the camp and cing nodes properly without having to maintain all of them consciously. That way, it''ll lighten the burden as she nned on keeping this up until they returned home. She couldn''t rest easy knowing something was potentially hunting them down. There were still a few days left of their journey. To maintain concentration throughout, she needed to have slight breaks every so often while keeping the grid up. It was going to be difficult but for their survival and safety, she had to hold on. ### Observing everything in silence, Keira felt joy. Even though Alice''s senses were abnormally strong, it was only a matter of time before she fully exhausted herself from keeping this up. All she had to do was wait while observing everything. And soon, one attack will end it all. Chapter 460: Plans For Sikha While Selen and Egil went to sleep, Alice stayed away throughout the night. They tried to convince her but it was no use. She couldn''t rest easy when her gut was screaming warning signs at her. Only when they returned to safety would she sleep. Continuing through the night, Alice found herself on the verge of drifting off a few times but kept herself awake through various methods. asionally, there would be people waking up out of a panic before falling asleep straight away. Of course, Alice wasn''t the only one staying awake since there were people taking shifts and keeping watch. But they weren''t maintaining an array like she was. "Working hard I see." Torgeir chuckled, sitting near Alice once it was his turn to keep watch. Even though he was themander, he couldn''t allow himself to sleep peacefully while others worked hard to keep watch. "Someone has to. The others aren''t maintaining this array after all." Alice shrugged. She could tell that Torgeir noticed this since she spotted him observing it earlier. "I figured that was the case. Something on your mind? It''s gotten you quite on edge." "You could say that. Just a gut feeling for now, nothing more. It shouldn''t be an issue to keep this barrier maintained until the end of the journey." Alice dismissed with a wave of her hand. "I see¡­ would you like a light spar then? To get the blood pumping." He offered. Thinking about it for a moment, Alice nodded her head. "Sure, why not. No abilities, just pure physical sparing." Nodding his head, Torgeir stood up and took a few steps away from Alice. This light spar was going to focus entirely on hand to handbat. He got a rough idea of how strong Alice was from her little walk on the battlefield but even he knew she was holding back. A spar would give him an idea of her reaction speed and fighting style now that her body wouldn''t bleed whenever she did anything. Giving her body a stretch, Alice hoped this spar would wake her up a little. Bouncing on her feet, she made some light jabs in the air. "Ready when you are." Alice smiled. "Seems like you''re confident. Alright, let''s begin-" Just as Torgeir finished the words begin, his pupils shrunk as Alice''s foot was already inches away from his face. *BANG! Blocking with his arms, he was surprised by the force and power behind her kick but she wasn''t finished. Twisting her body, Alice followed up with two more kicks before a downward heel, forcing Torgeir on the retreat as he tried to counter. However, Alice kept herself close to him and manoeuvred through his blind spots. Her physique was already small so her doing this only made it harder to hit her. Since this was pure hand to hand without any abilities, Torgeir couldn''t lock Alice down. Going into a handstand, Alice kicked up, breaking Torgeir''s guard. "What''s wrong? Don''t tell me you''re only nning on blocking?" Alice smirked. Rolling his eyes, Torgeir took a deep breath and stomped down with his foot. Alice was mid handstand and this stomp disrupted her bnce, causing her to flip back as Torgeir followed up with a punch. *BANG!!! Smacking his punch to the side to divert the direction, Alice''s smile twitched as she heard the air crack from the force. "Is this a spar or are you trying to kill me?" Alice asked as Torgeir shrugged. "I''m sure this is nothing to you." No denying that, Alice jabbed him in the sides before kicking off his knees to jump into the air. Releasing a quick one two kick to the head, she grabbed him on the arms and tried to knee him in the face. However, Torgeir managed to break free of the grapple and blocked the knee. Grabbing the ankle, he mmed her into the ground. Rolling to the side, Alice did a leg sweep but it felt like hitting a brick wall instead. Torgeir was stupidly stable and wouldn''t move a step. This back and forth exchange continued a few times as Torgeir got a grasp on Alice''s fighting style. Her style mostly revolves around using her legs to generate as much power as she could while using her fists to disrupt her opponent. Jumping back, Alice took several deep breaths. "I''m going to change it up a bit." Alice chuckled as chains began to appear on her arms and neck. "I thought you mentioned no abilities?" Torgeir raised an eyebrow. "Don''t worry about it, it''s not an ability." Alyss''s voice rang out next to him as Torgeir''s pupils shrunk. Instinctively, he raised his guard. *BANG!!!! Sliding back from the force of the punch, he felt as though he was hit with a hammer. ncing up, he could see Alice with a maniacal grin. Stomping down, sheunched herself towards him as Torgeir could sense that something changed within her. Taking a deep breath, he stabilized himself as he prepared to defend against her kicking attacks. "Wrong, I don''t use kicks that often." Alyss chuckled, giving him an uppercut. Following up with a left hook, she mmed her elbow into his chest before punching his abdomen, pushing him away from her. Just as Torgeir recovered, Alyss appeared in front of him again. *BANG!!! Tanking another solid right hook, questions flooded Torgeir''s mind. How could someone''s fighting style change so much so quickly? It''s not just a change of styles either. Habits as well. It''s like he''s fighting someonepletely different. However, just as he was getting used to the punches, the chains disappeared and her foot appeared in his vision. *BANG!! Stumbling back from the kick, Torgeir theorised that the chains were the sign of her style changing. With Alice continuously switching styles, it took longer than expected for Torgeir to adapt to it. In the end, it ended a stalemate. Alice couldn''t deal enough damage to be dered a winner while Torgeir couldn''t quite catch Alice. But it achieved their initial goal of giving Alice something to do. Sitting down on a log, Alice reached into her pouch for some mead. However, her hand froze as she eventually decided against it. She wanted to drink it after a good spar but the danger was still present. She could still feel the gaze of the enemy down her neck and drinking would only expose herself. Especially since she''ll struggle to control herself once she had a drink. Instead, she opted for the fruits that Ragnar gave her instead. ''Twinnie, I think we have a major issue that we need to sort out sooner rather thanter.'' Alyss spoke up as Alice nced over in confusion. She could see Alyss clenching and unclenching her fists. ''What is it?'' ''Our fighting styles are too simple and predictable. We''re just using raw strength which we''re at a disadvantage in. Aside from that, it''s also just instincts. Too many wasted movements and unoptimized attacks. You also saw how easy it was for Torgeir to deal with us right? Even though he''s a caster just like us.'' Alyss exined. Thinking about it for a moment, Alice nodded her head in agreement. She didn''t have any specific style or attack n. She merely attacked in a way that felt ''right'' based on her instincts. While her instincts have indeed saved her from death many times, it''s also true that she struggles withnding substantial blows without just relying on her Void Flux or other attacks. ''I think it''s about time we figure out a proper fighting style. Didn''t Ria mention in the past that the eastern Hunters use Sigils with their martial arts and fighting styles? Since we''re on the surface, it wouldn''t be bad to travel east for a bit and visit the Land of the Blistering Heat, Sikha.'' Alyss suggested. Furrowing her brows, Alice contemted this choice. It''s a slight detour and it''ll take longer to regroup with Ria and Luke. However, doing so could improve her power substantially. ''I don''t see why not. Once we finish things in Verona, we''ll head east to Sikha. I''ll need to buy a map and get some travel funds too.'' Alice began making ns. [There''s probably one thing that you need to be wary of Master if you n on visiting Sikha.] Ca spoke up. ''And that is?'' [The Sun God Sris. If my memory is right, the east doesn''t follow any of the three God religion closely but Sris has always had an influence over there. I don''t know how it''s changed but considering your recent¡­ conflict, it would be wise to stay vignt when visiting the country.] Ca warned. Nodding her head in agreement, Alice could almost imagine a pir of mes shooting down from the sun the moment she makes herself known. Sris now knows that she holds traces of Velouria''s power thanks to the chains along with the fact that she could ''steal'' one of his believers from him. She could expect him to send a crusade or something of that nature to capture and kill her if she wasn''t careful. ''Seems like I''ll be making use of the jester Sigil more than I thought.'' Alice chuckled. While she was making ns regarding her visit to Sikha, hours passed and soon, Torgeir woke everyone up to resume the journey home. Throughout the night, the cold chill of a predator observing their move never disappeared and Alice maintained the grid at full function. Minutes turned to hours, hours into days. asionally, one or two beasts would approach but the other casters dealt with them easily. It didn''t require Alice to make a move since her focus was on the grid. After going without sleep for so long, Alice could feel herself reaching her limit but she ignored the fatigue to the best of her abilities. There was only one night left before they reach Esna. Onest rest and onest journey through the day. Safety was close. Once they''re back in Esna, she can drink her mead and sleep. Chapter 461: Limiter Removal While Alice and the others were slowly closing in on Esna, Keira hovered above the clouds while a ming aura flickered around her body. During this entire time, she wasn''t just watching. No, she has been umting as much power as her body could contain. If she was a normal human, she would''ve long reached her limit. But as a hybrid, the benefits of being a beast allowed her to umte far more energy than what should be possible. In fact, it is because she''s a hybrid that she could get the benefits of both sides. The control and utilisation of Abyssal Energy of a human and the capacity and adaptability of a beast. A constant tether to the Abyss that funnelled power directly into her body. Breathing in the air around her, Keira could feel the pulse of energy running through her body. After all this time of umting energy, her appearance had changed somewhat. Three pairs of ming wings had long unfurled behind her. Its radiant aura shrouded by the light of the sun. A halo of mes spun behind her and on the halo, miniature stars orbited. One attack with all her might. Topletely erase the existence of Alice. An attack that she had been preparing for thest few days. "Ah~ I can feel it." Keira muttered, raising her hands towards the sun. The apex of her power, the absolute limit. sping her hands together, she shattered her bestial form and activated her second resonance. Human Beast Hybrid! Around her, obsidian armour and ming cloth decorated her body. A fusion of red, purple and orange. Ribbons of energy danced around her while the spectral visage of her bestial form hovered behind her. Should Alice see this with her own eyes, she''ll recognise it to be the fully manifested version of the Bloodline Release! Tapping into her bestial bloodline, Keria''s pupils turned draconic while scales and armour appeared along her arms and legs. Now that she was in her second resonance, she activated a ritual. Beneath her, a ritual circle manifested. "Energy levels exceed regtion. Second Resonance activated. Subject 12, designation Keria, requesting for limiter removal." Keira muttered as mes exploded from her back. Around her, the mes coalesced into humanoid figures. Her aura spiked as the figures stood in silence and soon, one stepped forward. [Failure is not allowed. Eliminate the enemy at all cost.] "epted." [Your identity shall not be divulged and secrets shall not be revealed.] "epted." [Leave no survivors. Eliminate all witnesses.] "epted." A smile appeared on the humanoid''s face as their figures began to disappear. [Limiter removal approved.] *CLANG SHATTER!!!! The sound of chains breaking could be heard as her aura increased by threefold. Golden lights converged from around the world as Sigil markings shimmered across Keira''s body while he rapid pulsing of energy through her veins could be seen. The ultimate power that she could harness, one that rivalled that of a Lord! *BANG!!! mes erupted from her eyes as the obsidian armour around her body shattered leaving only the garment of fire. Flying up until the world around her became a bnce of the infinite cosmos and the realm of man, Keria hovered and nced down at the world. Behind her, the ming wings began to expand. The spectral beast behind her cracked open its jaws as the energy from her wings began to dissolve into strands of energy that gathered into a singr orb. Opening her mouth, she swallowed the orb. At that moment, her body began to immte as she fell towards the impact zone. mes continuously gathered around her, transforming her into a devastating meteor of destruction. ### As they approached thest stretch of the journey, Alice let out a sigh of relief. Around the next mountain, they''ll finally be able to see Esna. Even though her the warnings in her gut never faded, it''ll soon cease to be her problem. "Maybe you should sleep for a bit. You haven''t slept at all thest few days." Selen furrowed her brows in worry. She had tried to convince Alice previously but she was stubborn, saying that she couldn''t rest while still feeling the danger. But no matter how they scouted, nothing was nearby. Yet despite this, Alice still maintained the defensive grid around them. "It''s fine. It''s just one more mountain." Alice shook her head with a smile. She could feel a cold chill from within her body, it wasn''t the chill from her surroundings but rather the chill from not sleeping. No matter how powerful she is, she still has to respect the limits of her body otherwise it''ll copse from stress. "We''re basically home already. Even if something happened, can''t they send reinforcement quickly?" Egil followed up as Alice was somewhat swayed. He wasn''t wrong. With the retreat of the frontlines, Esna had be a hub of warriors. Any incident this close to Esna would have the warriors rushing over rather quickly. But at the same time, this was a Hybrid that they were talking about. It wasn''t something that the average warrior could handle as proven by the ambush when they were journeying to the port. If the Hybrid that could manipte the Void better than she could were to appear once more with an army, how were they supposed to respond? What if the Zenias send more hybrids? After all, she didn''t know how many there were. In the end, Alice nodded her head and retrieved her grid. Fatigue immediately flooded her body as she had continuously fuelled the grid for thest few days. But even so, she couldn''t sleep. The grid may have disappeared but she still wanted to stay awake at least until they reached Esna. Pulling out some fruit, Alice gave it a bite. The fruit''s healing effect was soothing as usual but wasn''t as effective as she expected. Granted, the fruit was more for the body rather than mental exhaustion. "I feel like I can sleep for 24 hours." Alice groaned, causing Selen tough. She would prefer it if Alice indeed slept for 24 hours after everything that has happened. *Drip¡­ Furrowing her brows, Alice noticed that she was sweating. In this weather? ncing around her, she noticed that people had taken off their fur coats. The snow around them was slowly melting and the warning signs were screaming in her mind. "I didn''t know the north had a summer thiste into the year. Isn''t it close to winter now?" Selen asked Egil who tilted his head. "Hmm¡­ it is a bit strange. It''s not supposed to get this hot." Hearing this, Alice immediately stood up and expanded her grid once more, trying to pinpoint the anomaly but it was no use. Once again, there was no danger around them. ''Ca, is it Sris?'' Alice questioned. The first thing she thought when it came to heat was the sun God but Ca shook her head. [There is no sign of divinity. This isn''t Sris'' doing.] Furrowing her brows, the bad feeling continued to grow. At this point, even Torgeir was concerned about the sudden increase in heat as the snow around them hadpletely melted away. Shielding her eyes, Alice nced up at the sky. It felt as though she was suddenly transported to the desert with this heat. But the way the temperature was climbing up was clearly abnormal. It wasn''t a gradual climb, no. It was as if someone was turning up the dial. At that moment, Alice noticed a slight fluctuation within the sun''s radiance. Upon noticing this fluctuation, the uncanny feeling returned to her heart as her pupils shrunk. A shock went through her system as she was jolted awake immediately. "BARRIERS! DEFENCES! NOW!!!" Alice shouted at the top of her lungs, shocking the people around them. Without hesitation, Selen immediately activated her time slow barrier. Torgeir nced around for signs of danger but questions flooded his mind. "Where?" "It''s not the sun! It''s the enemy''s attack!" Alice shouted back, activating her Sigils. She wasn''t a defensive fighter so the only thing she could do was try to offset the attack with an equal or greater power. However, she wasn''t sure if there was even enough time to prepare something powerful enough. Not only that, but the flickering orb of fire was still gathering energy with each passing second. Upon hearing her shout, everyone nced up and saw the spiralling orb of mes that began to dye the sky in a deep red. ck, red and purple mes twisted to be an icon of destruction. Many of the defensive warriors wanted to create barriers but as the meteor came closer, the difference in energy rooted them in their spot. Even if they were to put barriers, it would be akin to using a piece of paper to stop the crashing tides. It was inevitable. Gritting her teeth in anger, Alice created a bow and gathered her mes into a single arrow. Resonance! Briar thorns and spider lilies manifested across her body but it still wasn''t enough. Partial Bloodline Release! "Feast!" Activating both the bloodline release and her ritual with Alyss, the ming arrow on her body exploded with power but it was stillcking in the face of this attack. Even with the embers of a fallen divinity, shecked time to properly gather this power. Hell, even with the proper time and preparation, the flood of energy from the meteor from this distance was enough to tell her that it was far beyond her capacity. Trying to contest it was simply foolish but it doesn''t mean Alice was willing to roll over and die. There was only one choice left. A Sigil that allowed her to increase her maximum capacity while draining those near her. Since they weren''t going to prepare a barrier anyway, they have no use for their energy! Fifth Sigil activated! Scarlet Wings, Demonic Descent! Chapter 462: Meteor Incarnate Upon activating her fifth Sigil, Alice felt a stabbing pain in her back. Gritting her teeth, mes and blood erupted behind her as it began to twist itself into a pair of scarlet wings. However, it wasn''t limited to just herself. The world around her seemed to bend to her influence. A malevolent aura spread out, dying the world around them in crimson. Everyone who looked at Alice felt a chill down their spine. It felt as though looking at her for too long would siphon the soul from their body as none of them dared to look for longer than a second. Killing intent oozed out of every part of Alice as she activated the second skill of Scarlet Wings, Demonic Descent. The first skill was Crimson Immtion which she didn''t need right now. She needed to keep her sanity rather than go into a berserker state. The second skill, however, was why she needed this skill at this moment. Halo of Ruin! Energy converged above Alice''s head as a crimson halo started to manifest. A crimson ornament that radiated a malefic light. With this light, Alice''s entire body seemed to be covered by a deep shadow, leaving only her eyes, spider lilies, halo and wings visible. A contrast of ck and red. Within this light that covered the caravan, semi invisible handstched onto the soldiers and began to siphon their energy before funnelling it into Alice. Immediately, the arrow in her hands exploded out with power like never before. The energy of countless soldiers funnelling into her caused blood to seep from her eye and mouth but Alice maintained her concentration. Even with this boost in power, it was still inferior to the meteor descending upon them. If she were to release the arrow now, it would only shatter apart in the collision! While Alice was gathering power, her aura continued to spread as the world seemed to shift. It felt as though a personal realm was being expanded but that was not the case. It was simply her aura distorting the realm around them. At this moment, Alice felt a cold hand touch her shoulder. A rift was beginning to form between her and the surface. Simr to how one feels when they are jumping off from a tall building, Alice could ''see'' where the ''ground'' was. If she was to reach that, she would be expelled from this realm. Biting her lip, Alice pulled back harder on the arrow as ck tendrils of energy started to slither out of her body. Countless crimson eyes could be seen within these tendrils as their scarlet light helped Alice siphon more energy from her surroundings. The more Alice siphoned, the less ''human'' she felt. Even Selen felt a chill like no other as it seemed like Alice was going down a path that no human should walk down. *Badum¡­ Badum¡­! Badum!!! The Abyss Heart began to beat in Alice''s chest. With the increase in energy, a portion was filtered into the heart, awakening it from its slumber. Behind her, another pair of wings sprouted while fragments of obsidian emerged from her chest and fused with the Halo of Ruin. Its scarlet light was dyed a deep ck as the world seemed to freeze. *RUMBLE!!! The essence of the Abyss flooded out from the tip of Alice''s arrow. Torgeir''s pupils shrank in shock as he was familiar with this energy! Abyss Break! Instinctively, he could sense that Alice was causing a fracture to manifest between the dimensions as suspicion filled his mind. Is she the reason why they were able to use the Abyss Break in Kvia? No, it wouldn''t make sense. After all, an Abyss Break happened while she was away. But then what is her connection to the Abyss? Or at least, how was she able to utilise its power? *BANG!!! A fissure exploded in front of Alice as strands of energy from the Abyss began to coil around her arrow. Countless weaves twisted together as a spiral of energy drifted down from the arrowhead. With how much energy was now flooding through Alice''s body, her skin began to tear apart as her blood only fuelled her attack further. However, no matter how eager Alice was, she knew that this was her limit. If she was to go beyond this, her body would break apart before her arrow even left the bow. Void Flux!!! Releasing the arrow, a moment of silence followed before a torrent of energy shot towards the meteor. The ground beneath Alice shattered apart as a pulse of energy exploded out, shattering the trees and wagons around her. Warriors were flung into the air while those who reacted fast managed to stabilize themselves on the ground. However, the ground they stabilized themselves upon was ripped from the earth and disintegrated from the residual energy of Alice releasing her arrow. Above, the meteor tore through the clouds. A sh of light blinded the world before dying it in a horrific shade of ck and red. Within the meteor, the silhouette of a serpentine beast crafted from mes roared out. The loud whistle of the meteor entering the world and shattering the sound barrier roared out as Keria collided with the arrow. *BANG!!! Upon collision, several rings of fire pulsed out, obliterating the mountains that hid Esna from view. Following the rings of fire, a wave of heat melted the snow and withered the trees. Gritting her teeth, veins bulged on Keira''s neck as she couldn''t believe that a single arrow made in a panic had enough power to hold her back. "ARGGGG!!!" Letting out a shout, she raised her right foot before mming down, causing a secondary explosion to erupt as she gained another boost in power. *CRACKLE!!! Detonating beneath her, the Void Flux erupted into a maelstrom of energy, forming a singrity beneath Keria''s feet as raw energy exploded out, threatening to consume everything in its path. Bolts of energy crashed against the surroundings with no care of who it hit as several Warriors couldn''t even scream before they were reduced to dust. Above them, reality began to warp. On one end, the unstoppable power of a meteor incarnate and on the other, the wrath of the Abyss that attempted to swallow anything and everything. *CRACK!!! Cracks began to form across the singrity as Alice widened her eyes. She had already deactivated her fifth Sigil. If she continued to siphon energy, her body would break! "It''s not enough!" Alice gritted her teeth. It was only a matter of seconds before Keria was to break through the resistance of the arrow. Within this time, she needed something to reduce and eliminate the force of the collision! But no matter how Alice scrambled her brains, she couldn''t find a single solution. All of her abilitiescked the definitive power to stop this cmity as the sense of death flooded Alice''s chest. *SHATTER!!!! Shattering the firstyer of the singrity, the fabrics of reality cried out as a tertiary explosion erupted, breaking apart Alice''s arrow while overwhelming heat and energy crashed down towards them. A roaring collum of light and fire signalled their end. Raising her other foot, Keria stomped down as another explosion roared out behind her, shattering thestyer of resistance. A victorious smile appeared on her face as this was the end. She won! Gritting her teeth, the thought of defeat crossed Alice''s mind but she refused to go out like this! Onest attack! Onest attempt with everything she had on the line! mming her hand down, the energy of Ruinous Void exploded out as Alice activated its Singrity Form. But she wasn''t done. Raising her spare hand, she grabbed the Ruinous Void and attempted to activate the Unbound form at the same time as Singrity. The energy from the Artifact tore apart Alice''s arm in an instant but she didn''t care. Bones and flesh regenerated instantly as she grabbed hold of her personal Artifact and activated its power. The unbound form was capable of opening pathways to the Void at will, letting her harness the forces of push or pull while the singrity form allows her to use it as a medium, enhancing her power, casting speed and gaining high levels of control over the Void. Pain flooded Alice''s body as the meteor travelled closer. She could feel the heat boiling her body but this was do or die! Fractured Form! The third form of Ruinous Void''s casting forms. A form that unleashes the chaotic nature of the Void and allows it to ovep reality. *COUGH!!! Vomiting out blood, Alice felt her insides being torn apart as both Alyss and Ca frantically tried their best to maintain Alice''s body long enough for her to fight back. With the three states of the Ruinous Void now unleashed, Alice could feel the piercing coldness of the Void assaulting her body, threatening to swallow her in its infinite expanse. At this moment, Alice recalled everything she had learned in this life. Every speck of knowledge, every speck of theory. All for the chance of survival. She recalled how the Sigils worked, how it bnced out the power. How resonances form. She recalled the strands of energy, the flow of power. A gateway in her mind opened up as a flood of theories filled her mind. A single sentence. A sentence from her mentor, her mother figure. "50% of a Hunter''s growth lies in experimentation. Finding the conduit of your power, how the Sigils manifest their abilities and how far these abilities extend." And most of all, the biggest advice that Allura had for any Hunter. To think outside the box. "Find the conduit of power, how it manifests its abilities and how far these abilities extend..." Alice muttered. At that moment, a metamorphosis urred within her mind. Connections formed between ideas, theories into reality. The gates of her limits and potential were punched open as Alice sped her hands together. Across her body, the icons of her Ruinous Void began to glow. The spider lily within her eye shattered apart before forming into a singrity. A grin appeared on Alice''s face as pure ecstasy filled her mind in the face of danger. Blood dripped from every orifice but Aliceughed. Artificial Resonance! Ruinous Void! Chapter 463: Artificial Resonance Resonance, the power of harmony between three Sigils. In the past, she had attempted to create a single Sigil resonance but that tipped the bnce in her body, leaving a permanent side effect. If Resonance was the harmony between three Sigils, then couldn''t she do the same with her Personal Artifact? Especially since it has the passive effect of adaptability. If she were to imbue each form with a different Sigil and force a harmonic reaction between all three, wouldn''t that be the same as a Resonance? All three forms grant her an aspect of control over the Void. Should she seed in fusing all three, it would give her dominion over the forces of the Void. On top of that, since it used the basis of resonance as a reference rather than her risky single Sigil resonance based on the ability of beasts, it should be far safer to execute. But considering her current predicament, there was no point worrying about safety when her life was at stake. Feeling the power of the Void flowing through her body, Alice could sense the changes urring from within. To shape her into a better vessel so that she could ept the power of the Void. Gritting her teeth, Alice raised her hand. She couldn''t spare the energy for a perfect transformation since that would take too long with a literal meteor above their heads. One attack. One attack to empty out all of this energy within her body. *BANG!!! A singrity spun to life above Alice''s palms as ck and white energy coiled around her. Stars flickered while the golden rings of her personal artifact wrapped around her wrists. There was only one thing that Alice wanted to do right now. And that was to send Keria into the Void! Golden strands began to form around the singrity as she pulled back her hand beforeunching the attack into the air. *BOOM!!! Expanding into a cosmic array of ster radiance, the meteor collided with this barrier as a spray of blue mes sshed out from the collision. Clenching her fist, Alice utilized the pushing force of the Void to slow down Keira but it wasn''t enough. Even though she was using the power of the Artificial Resonance without it being fully manifested, it was still far more powerful than what she used initially. Yet she could still feel Keira''s power eating away at the resistance and forcing a path through. *BANG! BANG!!! From the struggle, she could hear the sounds of explosions as Keira punched her way through theyers. "Even this isn''t enough?" Alice gritted her teeth as sweat rolled down her face. sping her hands together before opening it, a spectral array could be seen as Alice attempted topress the space that Keira resided within. The array was an advanced version of her grid formation that she used with her blood and metal. Only this time, she was utilizing it with the abilities of the Void. To mark down grids onto reality so that she could make it easier to manipte. ss fractures began to appear around Keira... *SHATTER!!! Alice''s hands were forced apart as her pupil shrunk. Keira''s resistance was simply too strong. A truly unstoppable force that Alice couldn''t hold back. But above all, Alice could sense hints of corrosion from Keira''s attacks. The effect of eating away at the opponent''s energy. "YOU CAN''T HIDE ANYMORE RAT!!!" Keira''s voice howled out as she shattered the final resistances of Alice''s attack. With mere moments away from a collision, Alice let out a shout as ss fractures appeared around them. The mes from the meteor condensed into a single pir that stretched into the sky before disappearing. And from the impact, a dome of gold, red, white and purple expanded in a single instance, burning away everything within the vicinity. Lightning crackled down from above, the clouds parted and thends trembled. The nexus of destruction tearing a hole in the reality they resided within while a blinding light flooded thends. A secondary pir of destruction pierced the skies, dying the world in a purple and red radiance. Sparks shot into the sky while rings of destruction shot out. What used to be and of beauty, and of snow was reduced to a ming disaster. Mountains crumbled in the face of such power. Those from Esna could see the pir of destruction as a maelstrom of wind crashed into the city, tearing houses from their very foundations and sending people flying through the air. A wave of debris from the mountains crashed against the walls while smoke and clouds rolled out like a tsunami. Despite the barrier around the outpost, it was shattered by the residual energy of the attack. Following the expansion came the implosion as the air was sucked back towards the explosion. A secondary barrier was hastily activated by any captains who could still stand as they turned towards the mountain range that had disappeared. In its ce, a column of smoke and fire with thends bubbling from the head as though it were liquid. However, as the mes cooled rapidly, what remained shocked anyone who saw. A geometric marvel of cubes and straight edges. Pieces of thend looked as though it was ss shards oryers uponyers of crystals. In the ce of mountains, a forest of crystals now stood. Yet strangely, there was no one in sight. Not a single person, carriage or debris from the fight. Complete emptiness without a single sign of life. ### "Urg..." Groaning in pain, Selen felt a sense of weightlessness as she opened her eyes. She believed that she''d see the light of the sky but instead, she was greeted by the sunless ster expanse of the Void. Sitting up in a panic, she tried her best to remember what had happened as shes of battle appeared in her mind. The final collision as Alice tried her best to destroy the meteor. Remembering this, Selen widened her eyes as she quickly looked around for everyone. She could see debris floating in the Void with many passed out around her. There were several floating inds and it seemed like everyone was dragged into the Void. Countless questions flooded Selen''s mind such as how were they alive if they were stuck here? Then there''s also the question of how long they were passed out for and what happened in the end. Forcing herself to stand up, she limped around the ind, hoping to find Alice or Egil in the masses but they were nowhere to be seen. In the distance,rge serpentine beasts with and otherworldly appearance could be seen ''swimming'' in the sky. Its body was segmented and covered in fluorescent blue spikes. There was no head to the beast nor eyes from what Selen could see. If anything, rather than serpentine, it was more akin to a worm. Yet strangely, they didn''t approach them at all. However, Selen wasn''t going toin since it was better that way. She could still recall the experience she hadst time with Alice, how they travelled through the Void. Walking to the edge of her ind, she gave a light hop as her body floated through the air andnded on the secondary ind without any issue. Spotting Egil''srge stature in the distance, Selen let out a sigh of relief before looking around for Alice. Most of the Warriors that were part of the caravan was here but Alice was still nowhere to be seen. Even after going to the third ind, Selen could only see Bo and Torgeir who she recognised. ''Where is she?'' Selen frowned. The cluster of inds they were on consisted of threerge inds and a few smaller ones. The smaller ones didn''t have anyone on them. After checking through every ind, there was only one left that Selen hasn''t checked and that was the small ind a little further away from the cluster. Aiming her jump carefully, sheunched herself up and grabbed hold of the ledge. Pulling herself over, her pupil shrunk in shock as she saw a giant crystal situated in the centre of the ind. What''s more shocking was that Alice was inside that crystal! "Alice!" Quickly running over, Selen looked for a way to get Alice out of there but there was nothing that she could see. Furrowing her brows, she pulled her arm back and prepared to punch it in order to chip off small pieces. But just before her punch couldnd, a long smoking pipe blocked her punch. "!!!" "I wouldn''t do that if I was you." A charming voice rang out as Selen jumped back in shock. She could see a woman sitting next to Alice''s crystal while holding a smoking pipe. But rather than smoke, it seemed like entire gxies were being exuded from the pipe. The woman had ck and blue hair with the back being weaved into three braids. A pair of charming crimson eyes and dark lipstick. She wore a tight fitting asymmetric attire with silver decorations and weaves of multicoloured fabric that seemed to shift with every passing second. One arm had gloves that went up to her bicep, the other had silver ornaments and same with her legs. "I assume this is your friend?" She asked, tapping her pipe against the crystal that Alice was encased within. Furrowing her brows, Selen nodded her head. "Who are you? What have you done with Alice?" Raising an eyebrow, the woman took a deep breath from her pipe before exhaling a cloud of ster smoke. "Hah! Why would I do anything to your friend? I don''t see a reason to do something so boorish." Sheughed in mockery. "As for who I am? A little rude to not recognise the owner of the house. The Void is my realm, young one." Chapter 464: Ruler Of The Void "As for who I am? A little rude to not recognise the owner of the house. The Void is my realm, young one." The woman rolled her eyes as Selen recoiled back in confusion and shock. ''The Void is her realm? Is she a God?'' As though reading her thoughts, the woman sighed, tapping Selen on the back of the head with her pipe. "!!!" Jumping forward in surprise, Selen didn''t even know when she appeared behind her. She was just sitting next to Alice a moment ago. "Just because I''m the owner of this realm doesn''t mean I''m a God. I swear all of you humans are the same. Everyone I greet thinks I''m a God even though you lot already know of the actual Gods above." She exhaled a mouthful of smoke. Taking a step, she blinked out of existence and manifested back on her seat next to Alice. "What do you want?" Selen questioned. Now that she understood the identity of the woman, it''s only natural to wonder why she''s even here. "Let me put it in a way that you humans will understand. I am enjoying my time in my house, rxing my body and eating some food. "Suddenly, someone throws a brick into my window, I''m concerned but nothing more. After all, this happens often. "Next, I see a building being thrown into my house. I go what the f*ck. I''m now more concerned than before as it''s always been limited to bricks. But since my house isn''t a major realm, it shouldn''t be an issue and I ignore it. "Lastly, I have the roof of my house torn off, several buildings thrown in and people barge into my realm. Now you''d think it''s over but it''s not. Next, these people decide to try andy im to a portion of my house before falling asleep. "As the owner, isn''t it natural for me to see what kind of intruder appeared this time?" She summarised with a shrug. "So what happened to Alice?" "Your friend?" ncing at the crystal, the woman thought for a moment before tapping it with her pipe. "I don''t know what she did but she tried to resonance herself with my realm. Basically suicide. Humans aren''t built for this realm after all." Sheughed. "Look over there, you saw that worm right?" The woman gestured at the beast swimming through the sky. Nodding her head, Selen couldn''t help but wonder why the woman wanted her to see it. "Now look back at me." Flicking her wrist, she opened a fissure before pulling out a small earthworm. Throwing it into the Void, she tapped her finger five times as it began to rapidly mutate and transformed into the same kind of beast that Selen saw. "This is what happens if you stay in the Void for a prolonged period. Of course, natural resistances extend this safety period but that''s highly dependent on the individual. Now what do you think would happen if your friend tries to resonate with this realm of mine? Her safety period is basically negated." The woman chuckled before crossing her legs. "I do wonder what kind of beast would appear once shees out of the cocoon. You lot, on the other hand, are far luckier than her. She managed to create this sanctuary for you lot so you don''t sumb to the effects. Once all of you wake up, I assume there will be a way for you lot to escape." *CRK!!! Pausing for a moment, the woman nced at the crystal and saw a single fracture across its surface. From that fracture, a malefic energy leaked out, causing a chill down her spine. Instinctively, she stood up and took a step back as more cracks began to form. Within the crystal, a heartbeat could be heard as a crown manifested above Alice''s head. Red spider lilies and briar thorns coiled around her limbs as patterns bled across her body. Little by little, she started to open her eye as the crystal began to crack further. *BANG!!!! As the crystal shattered, both Selen and the woman jumped back in surprise. Rather than a red spider lily, a singrity could be seen in Alice''s eye. "She''s not fully conscious yet." The woman muttered with a frown. But the most shocking thing to her was Alice''s adaptability! As the owner of this realm, she was clear on the influence it had and its energy. And right now? Alice was beginning to exude the same form of energy. She had sessfully resonated with her realm and ignored the mutation effects. Though considering her ''scent'', it''s more urate to say that the mutation couldn''ttch on. "Kill..." Alice muttered. Selen''s pupils shrank as she immediately conjured her staff and activated a time slow barrier. Just as the barrier was formed, she saw Alice''s fingers right in front of her eyes. However, Alice was stopped by the woman pushing against her head using the pipe. "Why don''t we calm down a little young one." She narrowed her eyes, tapping down with the pipe. At that moment, Alice''s body was flung back as a fissure opened,unching her across the sky before mming into the ground. But the woman didn''t drop her guard. She could sense Alice trying to use the forces of the Void against her, causing her to scoff. The Void is her realm, she is the Void. Thinking that it could even work on her wasughable. Snapping her finger, Alice appeared in front of them as the woman kicked Alice in the chest, throwing her back once more. Twirling her pipe, several worms lunged out from the Void in an attempt to restrain Alice using their tendrils. *KRKK!!!! Briar thorns whipped out as violet mes roared, above them, Alice stood with blood covering her entire body. "KILL!!!" A crimson halo spun to life above her, merging with her crown while crimson wings unfurled. *BANG!!! Rushing towards the woman, Alice created a de in hand and imbued it with all the energy she could. Void Flux - Cleave!!! Letting out an exhausted sigh, the woman tapped her pipe against Alice''s sh, sending it phasing through them before flicking Alice on the head. *CRASH!!! Tumbling across the ground, Alice crashed into the debris left behind by the previous crystal. "How annoying. I''m not even the one you were fighting against, you sent her elsewhere in my realm." The woman spat out in annoyance. Not only did Alice and the others intrude into her house, but she''s now making a mess of it. No matter how patient she was, there was still a limit. Before Alice could go further, the woman snapped her fingers. The power of the Void flooded around Alice as she wrapped herself in violet mes. "???" Raising an eyebrow at these mes, the woman was rather surprised but it was no issue. Isting the mes in their own ''space'', she separated it from Alice. mming her hand down, Alice activated her partial bloodline release, granting herself another boost in strength. "You seriously have too many tricks in your sleeves." Shaking her head, the woman tapped her feet against the ground in front of her. A ripple rolled out as the entire realm seemed to change. *BANG!!!! A cloud of dust erupted where Alice stood as Selen couldn''t even process what the woman had just done. However, she could see Alice knocked out cold in a crater. "Jeez, youngsters these days are exhausting." The womanined while pulling her hair back a little. However, there was a frown on her face. Right before her attack hit, Alice was actually able to react and even attempt to offset it. All while she''s half conscious too. Ridiculous instincts and skills to match that, she couldn''t help but wonder what kind of person taught this monster how to fight. Somehow, she felt like the Void wouldn''t be peaceful while this girl was still here. Just thinking of it gave her a slight headache as she valued her peace and quiet. It''s why she became the ruler of this ce to begin with. ### *BANG!!! A torrent of mes tore apart a Void Worm a figure could be seen walking out from the burning flesh. Veins bulged on her neck as her eyes were bloodshot. Right before her strongest attack struck, Alice was able to somehow drag them all into the Void. If it was a standard fissure, it wouldn''t be an issue since her attack would still hit. But Alice targeted only the people meaning her attack hadpletely missed the target. She knew this when she crashed into the ind without any mes around her. All the energy that she gathered disappeared and the ritual was now enacting a side effect upon her body. Lightning crackled across her body, forcing her to kneel down in pain. In order to get rid of this punishment, she had to get rid of Alice and the others. Toplete the requirements set for her during the ritual. A corrupted wyrm jumped out from the ground in an attempt to take Keira by surprise but she had long sensed its presence. She turned her bloodshot eyes towards the beast as a thick wave of killing intent roared out. Scales appeared across her body as mes gathered in her mouth. *BANG!!! Releasing a breath attack, the entire upper half of the beast was eradicated as Keira kicked its corpse aside. She had to find Alice within the vast expanses of the Void. But considering how Alice transported them hastily, it shouldn''t be an issue for her to find them. She just needed to be quick. Activating her resonance, she transformed into a beast form and soared through the Void. Chapter 465: Paradoxical Energy Alice walked in the dark. Countless strands of energy filled her surroundings. There were some that she recognised and some she didn''t. Power from the Abyss, her Violet mes, her Sigils, the Heart, Crown and Eyes of the Abyss, Bloodline Release. The energy from her strange constitution created by Nyer, hints of Velouria''s fallen divinity. And finally, the foreign strands that appeared. The power that belongs to the Void. These strands were¡­ Strange. They moved differently from the ones she has control over. Strands from the Abyss are dominant, vtile and aggressive. Her Violet mes are greedy and vicious. The energy from her Sigils is passive, weaving themselves with the other strands and hardly seen on their own. The trio of Abyssal relics are all epassing. They act as a foundation, and for her other strands to reside on. Bloodline release was simr to the strands of the Abyss except they''re less vtile and aggressive. But the most dominant of all, is the energy from her constitution that now holds hints of Velouria''s divinity. It''s the glue that holds everything together, the chains that bind the contradicting energies and stopping it from tearing her body apart. The safety that keeps her safe. And finally, the energy of the Void. Ephemeral yet strangely persistent. It bobs and weaves through reality, leaving behind its mark before disappearing. It''s both there and not there, a paradoxical energy. People harness the power of the Void to bring it into reality. But that''s¡­ "Inefficient." Alice couldn''t help but mutter. After her Artificial Resonance, she synchronised herself with the energy of the Void and understood its true properties. The Void isn''t meant to exist in reality for an extended period of time. It simply cannot sustain itself that way. By forcing it to manifest in reality, whether that be for her artifact forms or creatingrge portals, the cost of the skill increases exponentially. The key essence of the Void is to keep it in short bursts. To retain its ephemeral nature and utilise its properties in that split moment where you have control. The reason why Alice hasn''t been able to fully bring out the powers of the fourth Sigil despite thinking that she has, was because she''s been trying to control it over a long period of time. Unless she''s in the Void realm, that''s the incorrect way of using her power. Even the Seraphim only used the Void in short bursts. In order to ''swallow'' that meteor, what Alice should''ve done was expand the portal in a single instant. A single moment of pure concentration and power. Only then, would the Void manifest itself true and obey her orders fully before disappearing. Had she done that, she wouldn''t have needed to send everyone into the Void forcefully. But it worked in her favour. The moment before impact, the split second where she had to make a singr choice, Alice managed to tap into the power of the Void fully for the first time. It allowed her to perform the astonishing feat of sending everyone and even Keira into the Void. Ideas flooded Alice''s mind, ways of utilizing her abilities to the maximum. The awakening that she experienced without knowing had lifted the veil in her mind. The only thing she wanted to do right now was to test out her theories and ideas but she was trapped in this space. She didn''t know why she was here or how she could get out. All she could do was observe her energy. "My my, so many sources of energy. The human greed knows no bounds, don''t you agree?" A voice rang out, shocking Alice as she immediately jumped away and turned around. She could see a featureless figure except for a wide grin on its face. The Will of the Abyss. Furrowing her brows, Alice wondered why he was here. Letting out a chuckle in amusement, the Will strolled through Alice''s internal world without caring that Alice was observing him. Stopping in front of the energy that represented her constitution that held hints of Velouria''s divinity, the Will gave it a gentle caress. "It''s good that you''re greedy. If you weren''t, I''d be disappointed. But don''t overestimate yourself. After all, despite all the work Nyer has put into you¡­" The Will trailed off before turning back to Alice. "You''re still iplete." Before Alice could question what he meant, the Will waved his hand as Alice was flung from her internal world. "ARG!!!" Sitting up in shock, Alice looked around her in a panic. Right after her shock, confusion filled her mind as all she could see was the infinite expanse of the Void. "What the¡­" Furrowing her brows, Alice saw that she was alone on an ind. Closing her eyes, she tried to look for Alyss and Ca but found the two sleeping while sprawled out on the ground in pure exhaustion. Considering the risks she was taking at the end, it didn''t surprise Alice as she allowed the two to sleep. Standing up, Alice felt a flow of energy that she never felt before. A connection to the realm around her and a constant stream of power going through her body. Just as she was looking down, a pair of fingers opened her eye wide and Alice could see a woman observing her. "You''ve really gone and adapted to this realm. Has anyone told you that your adaptation is rather impressive?" She asked. Registering that someone was able to appear in front of her without her notice, Alice swung her leg out of instinct but the woman disappeared and reappeared on a shard of crystal nearby. "Who are you?" Alice frowned. The energy coursed through her body as she prepared to fight if needed. "Tsk, why do all of you youngsters prepare to fight the moment I appear? Do you always break into someone''s house and demand to know the owner''s name?" The woman scoffed in annoyance. Hearing this, Alice''s smile twitched. "Do old people just like to touch others without their consent and appear two inches from them without a warning?" Alice pped back as the woman blinked her eyes. "Feisty little sh*t aren''t you? I preferred it when you were half conscious." "Can''t exactly help it when I don''t know what''s going on and who you are." Alice shrugged, ready to activate her Sigils at a moment''s notice. "I thought I told you that already. This is my house, my realm. And I''m its owner." The woman''s voice rang out beside Alice''s ear. "!!!" Alice''s pupils constricted in shock as she kept her eye on the woman without blinking but she still traversed that space in an instant. It wasn''t speed but more so teleportation. Just as she was about to swing out of instinct, a pipe tapped against her hand, preventing it from moving further. It felt as though Alice was trying to move a mountain. "So you''re the owner of the Void? Then I must apologise. I assume you want me to leave immediately." Alice forced a smile as cold sweat dripped down her back. Just one short exchange told Alice everything she needed to know. This woman outssed her! "Naturally. I''m a woman who enjoys three things in life¡ªpeace, sleep and food. As long as these three aren''t missing, I''m content. However, your little stunt dragged quite a few disturbances into my realm so I would indeed prefer it if you were to leave. However¡­ "I don''t suggest that. At least not for you." The woman shook her head. Hearing this, Alice frowned. "What do you mean?" "Are you perhaps familiar with being exiled from a realm?" She asked, surprising Alice who paused for a moment then nodded her head. "That makes my job easier then. I don''t know how you did it, but you were slowly being exiled by your realm. With such a gap ''inside'' you, you then filled it by resonating with my realm. Now, what do you think would happen if you were to go back into your own world?" She asked, taking a deep breath of her pipe. "Bang~" She exhaled. "A collision of two realms because of what you did, tearing a hole through the barrier and allowing the energy of my realm to flow out into your realm. Naturally, as the person in the centre of that, I don''t have to exin what kind of effect it''ll have on you." She smiled. Seeing Alice''s shock, the woman nodded in satisfaction. "I''m only joking. You won''t break the barrier if you were to go back but you should''ve seen your face." Alice''s smile twitched. ''Is this woman serious???'' "But I still don''t suggest going back. The first half of what I said is partially true only that it''ll affect your body rather than the realm. You have the essence of two realms inside you, going back now would only cause one side to be torn out. You won''t die but it won''t be pretty." The woman shrugged. "And you''re telling me this because?" Alice asked, understanding that she must have a goal if she was being this patient with her. "You''re one smart little cookie. Here, have a treat." The woman pped her hands lightly as a piece of rock flew into Alice''s mouth before she could react. Just as she was about to spit it out, the rock began to melt and an assortment of vours flooded out. One would think these myriad vours would conflict with each other but strangely, it was harmonious andplimented the different tastes. Alice couldn''t put her finger on what it tasted like either. Sweet but not quite sweet, sour but not quite sour. Spicy yet mild. A contradiction like the state of energy that flowed in this realm. This burst of vour caused Alice to ignore the fact that this woman practically read her mind. "While you''re waiting for the right time to go back, I want you to deal with the little annoyance you brought with you. Do that for me and I''ll patch you up and send you back, how about it?" Chapter 466: Void Steps Hearing the woman''s offer, Alice couldn''t help but let out a sigh of relief inwardly. She thought this woman would''ve asked for something absurd but in fact, all she wanted to do was have Alice take out Keira. It was already something she was nning to do once she recovered but this just makes it easier. "Sure, I''m assuming she''s still roaming the Void right? Or did her friende and get her?" Alice asked curiously. "Nope, she''s still going around in the Void, killing everything in sight and looking around for you. She doesn''t have a clue where you are though." The woman shrugged. Based on her estimates, if Keira were to continue aimlessly, it''ll only be a matter of time before the mutations hit and she''ll change into a monster of the Void. If that happens, she''ll be reduced to her baser instincts and wreak even more havoc in her realm. At that point, she''ll have to take matters into her own hands which she''d rather not do. That requires her to make an effort after all. Just thinking of it tired her out as she let out a groan of annoyance. "If you can take care of the trouble you started, I''ll patch you up and send you back. In fact, if you do it quickly I''ll even teach you how to control that Void energy of yours considering you''ve already fused with it." The woman offered. Blinking her eyes in surprise, Alice couldn''t help but wonder what she was going to teach her and how the control would affect how she used her abilities. "With enough control, you can do something like this." She chuckled, appearing behind Alice. Just as Alice turned around, she disappeared once more and reappeared at her crystal. "Impressive right?" She gave Alice a smug smile. Folding her arms momentarily, Alice closed her eyes. Leaning her head against her hand, the woman nced at Alice in amusement. She could tell that the girl was trying to figure out her trick. This skill of hers wasn''t something based on speed, it''s purely about control and understanding. With Alice being such a novice at Void energy, it was impossible for her to grasp it. *BANG!!!! A loud collision rang out beside her as she froze up for a moment. Slowly turning right, she could see Alice in a rubble of crystals while clutching her head. One of her legs was missing as she seemed more annoyed than in pain. Stretching for a moment, she regenerated her foot. "Okay, maybe it''s a bit harder than I thought. If I''m not careful more of my could be shredded." Alice mumbled. The woman no longer had a smile on her face. There was only shock in her eyes. "How did you just do that?" "Hm? I thought you would know since you''re the one who showed me no? You''re sliding the energy and creating friction between the Void and reality aren''t you? It''s a half opened portal and forcefully propels me in a direction. Though stopping is a bit harder than I thought." Alice replied while standing up. She could see that the woman was making use of the Void''s ephemeral nature. A split second of control to open a path back to reality. By having it copse almost instantaneously, the two realms rub against one another and creates a warp point within the same realm. It''s akin to trying to leap into reality but being squeezed back into the Void because the portal disappeared. But with enough control, it doesn''t severe whatever was in the way due to a protective barrier. It''ll push them out instead. With these conditions in ce, a near instantaneous teleportation technique is born though there are other issues with this. First was how to control the destination of the teleport and the second was how to stop. If it wasn''t for the crystal in the way, Alice might''ve been flung further out into the Void than intended and left to drift. While thinking of ways to make some modifications, Alice didn''t notice the woman looking at her with pure disbelief. Even if Alice was able to adapt to the energy of the Void, this was too fast. Her understanding of it should be shallow at best. But in order to aplish this skill, it''s a requirement to understand how this energy works and make the most out of it. Since Alice was able to trigger the reaction despite failing to stop, it meant that her understanding had reached the necessary level! Above all else, it meant that Alice could see how the energy moved when she performed the Void Steps just now. Never in her life has she seen someone more absurd than Alice. Someone who soaked in the knowledge around her like a sponge, someone who was this sensitive to the flow of energy and someone who had adaptability levels that were off the charts. Once again, she was left to question what kind of monster raised this kid. "Stopping after triggering the Void Steps is a little harder to execute than just controlling the energy. I''ll show you how once you do the job for me okay?" She tried to convince Alice. After all, if Alice were to stall, it would get to the point where she''d need to make a move. "Honestly¡­ That''ll be a little boring. I think I can figure it out myself if I have enough time with it." Alice replied after a short pause. There was a devilish grin on her face as there was only one thought in her mind. Scam the sh*t outta this woman. It''s rare that she bumps into anyone with such in depth knowledge of how the Void works. Since that was the case, she couldn''t pass up this opportunity to gain as much as she could from her! Hearing her response, the woman''s smile twitched as she had to hold back the urge to smack this girl over the head. "Fine, if you can resolve this quickly without me needing to make a move then I''ll teach you something else other than the Void Step." "Deal!" Without giving the woman a chance to back out of this, Alice epted the agreement while making her way over to the edge of the ind. Earlier, she had expanded her senses and recognised that Selen and the others were below her. Since they were all safe, Alice didn''t have to worry much about them. They just needed a short break to recuperate. Since she needed to deal with Keira, she''d send them back first. It''s not like she could go back to begin with. That brief contact with reality, even with a barrier around her was enough to tear her legs apart. She didn''t even want to imagine what would happen if she were to fully teleport back to reality. Just the thought alone was enough to give her shivers. "So where do I need to go?" Alice nced back at the woman who curled her lips into a grin. "I don''t know, you''ll have to find out for yourself. Me helping out would be considered as making a move after all." Alice''s smile twitched before shrugging her shoulders. After her near death experience, it felt like her mind had opened up to more ideas than before. Right now, she had a theory she wanted to test in order to track down the hybrid. Taking a deep breath, Alice sat down at the edge of the ind. All three of the Abyssal Artifacts had their own uses. But what Alice discovered was that it could replicated to some extent. While not to the same degree of effectiveness, it was still far better than not being able to use it. With Ca sealed, her methods of obtaining information was limited. But Alice could still remember the sensation. Now that she had achieved a simr resonance with the Void, replicating it could be possible. But only if she was in the Void. Summoning Ruinous Void, she activated the Singrity form. Unknowingly, her eye began to change as a singrity appeared in her eye rather than red spider lilies. Her senses expanded rapidly, resonating with the strands of energy within the Void realm. It felt simr to arge spider web where Alice would sit in the middle and feel the vibrations through the strands. The signs of battle urring throughout the Void. Conflicts between Void beasts, colliding inds, fissures being opened momentarily, pre established portals that are being maintained and even vaults. Blood began to drip from her nose but Alice wiped it away and focused her mind. This was too much information. She needed to categorise and filter out the unnecessary things and focus only on the uncanny energy that the hybrids exude naturally. While Alice was replicating Ca''s method of gathering information despite the strain on her mind, the woman watched with an interested glint in her eyes. She didn''t even think of this method of gathering information. Despite being the owner of the Void, she had to do things manually which exhausted her. Eventually, she gave up and decided to bezy, letting people do whatever they wanted as long as it didn''t disturb her. But if she had thought of this method many years ago, she would''ve had an easier time managing this realm. Of course, she wasn''t about to tell Alice. After all, if the little greedy minx found out she had learnt something from her, she might turn around and demand payment. ''Absolutely not.'' The woman thought to herself while smoking her long pipe. Alice had already learnt the method of Void Step while demanding something more. If she had to owe the girl another favour on top of that, she''ll be exhausted by the time she''s done. At that point, she might as well take care of the strange beast herself. After all, azy life is the best life. Soon, Alice stood up and stumbled a little but recovered. There was a glint in her eyes as she curved her lips into a grin. She found Keira. Chapter 467: To Stare At Ones Reflection Sensing the uncanny energy from the hybrid all the way to the west, Alice''s lips curled up into a twisted smile as killing intent began to radiate from her body. From Keira''s current path of travel, if Alice was to do nothing, Keira will be lost in the Void having missed them entirely. But that was a fate too good for her. She could still remember the sense of death, the desperation she felt as she watched the meteor. Of course, the brush with death allowed her mind to be opened to more theories and her potential unleashed but Alice wasn''t about to let Keira have an easy way out. No, that''s far too good of a fate. Three times they''ve encountered one another. The first was her loss as she was forced to escape at the watch tower. The second was her win as her friend came and saved her in the nick of time. And thest? A tie for neither of them managed to severely hurt one another and was transported into the Void. Alice had never fought a proper opponent four times but she was going to end it now. Standing up, Alice gave her body a stretch as she took a deep breath. But patience is key. She was going to get Selen and the other''s out first before attacking Keira without a care for spectators. She''ll use everything of hers to thoroughly crush Keira''s soul and spirit before killing her. Sensing the malicious thoughts from Alice, the woman shivered. ''Twisted little sh*t.'' She couldn''t help but think to herself. "If I deal with her quickly, you''ll teach me something new right? And is there a limit to how much damage I can cause to the realm?" Alice asked, wanting to make sure the owner was fine with her trashing parts of the house if needed. "Go wild. It''s not like the Void can''t recover from the damage anyways. It''s mostly just floating rocks, debris and Vaults. If anything, I''d be more concerned about you destroying some random family''s vault and they send their goons to you." The woman shrugged while smoking her pipe. Nodding her head, Alice jumped down to the inds below. She could see that most of them were resting while Torgeir was trying to organise things. Seeing Alice, he quickly ran over as he learned from Selen that she was the one who sent them here. "Before you ask anything, I''ll make a portal so you can take everyone out of here. I need to finish what I started and deal with the f*cker that tried to kill us with a meteor." Alice held up her hand as she was sure that Torgeir had plenty of questions. Overhearing Alice, Selen frowned. "Are you seriously fighting again right after breaking out of that crystal???" Selen shouted over, while Egil tried to calm her. "Ehehe~ Just one fight. I need to get revenge for the sneak attack after all. And surely you don''t expect me to leave her be after almost killing all of us?" Alice stuck out her tongue. Wanting to retort, Selen choked on her words as she too wanted vengeance against the hybrid. Plus, having this kind of ticking time bomb trying to track them down was going to be annoying. It was no wonder that Alice forced herself to stay awake all this time. If it wasn''t for her, they wouldn''t even be here right now. "Fine. How confident are you?" Selen sighed. After all this time, she understood that stressing about Alice''s choices would only age her. Alice was stubborn after all. "I''m feeling pretty confident. This is practically home ground after all." Alice gave her an ok hand sign and a grin. With her recent adaptation to the Void, she felt stronger than ever. It felt as though the entire realm moved to hermand. Naturally, that''s not the case since the woman earlier is the true owner but it was just a feeling. "Just don''te back unable to move and I''ll be happy." Selen waved her hand as Alice nodded her head. Meanwhile, Torgeir stood there in silence with countless questions in his mind. There''s one thing he understood though. To nod and have Alice send everyone back. There''s no point trying to understand the weird split haired sadistic war machine over here. Gathering everyone onto one ind, Alice activated her personal Artifact and used the Singrity mode. Using it as a catalyst, she created a bridge back to reality and had Torgeir lead everyone out. Waiting until she was thest one, Selen turned back and make a cut on her arm. Filling a small vial with her blood, she threw it towards Alice. "Use it if you need." "Will do." Alice chuckled, giving Selen a wave. Once she was gone, Alice closed the portal and sat down. Sweat dripped down her body as keeping a portal open long enough to send everyone through was rather exhausting. But now that they were gone, she could take this chance to recover and take her time with preparing a sneak attack. One attack on the level of the meteor that Keira unleashed. However, she also needed to make sure she could fight after unleashing that one attack. She needed something powerful but not disable her right after. To measure out her current limits and work within that boundary. She couldn''t replicate the attack that she did back in Kvia, doing so would leave her defenceless if Keira survives. ''I need something powerful. Something that can guarantee a solid hit against that armour of her''s and destroy it to pieces. Void Flux isn''t enough anymore. Even if modify it for the piercing variant the damage it deals will be healed in an instant.'' Alice thought to herself. She thought about all the Sigils she had. All the powers, all her knowledge and even the new ideas that she executed earlier. The paradoxical energy of the Void that flowed through this realm. She was going to use it all to create a new attack. One that belongs to Alice Agnelia. Not a variant of Void Flux, not a enhancement of her cleave. A brand new strike designed to pierce through armour. In order to do this, she had to remember the origin of Allura''s Nova Core. The skill created for her by Kaden. It''s a skill designed to contain all of Allura''s power with all of her Sigils. Therefore, Alice must think of something that encapstes all of her powers. Fire, Blood, Metal, Void and the newest addition, Ruin. mes cancel and eat away at abilities. Blood acts as the outline, a malleable shape for her skills and creations. Metal acts as reinforcement. Void tears apart the target between two dimensions and navigates space. Ruin¡­ Ruin siphons, adapts and enhances at the cost of creating a rift. A double edges sword with a powerful strike. Aside from her Sigils, she has her Resonance and the Artificial Resonance from her personal Artifact. Closing her eyes, Alice began to piece together the skills like a puzzle. The benefits of each ability, how it would synergise, how the energy flows and how it may conflict with one another. Even with her awakening, she struggled tobine them. This only further increased her respect for Kaden as she understood just how hard it was to create something from scratch. She couldn''t just throw all her energy in one direction either, without a proper idea of what she wanted to do, it''ll just be wasted effort. *Drip¡­ Hearing the sound of a water droplet, Alice opened her eyes and found herself in an empty realm of white. She recalled the lesson she had with Nanna, the Apostle of Immortality. To observe one''s reflection and see the truest part of your soul. It was at that moment that she saw her twin. The soul of the original Alice. But if her twin was to sleep, what would she see within herself? What is the Soul of Alice Agnelia? Product of Nyer, student of Kaden and Allura. Slowly, a mirror appeared before her and Alice slowly raised her hand. She could see a slight tremble. She was still afraid to see herself, to see what Nyer had created. Letting out a small chuckle, Alice took a deep breath and reinforced her gaze. She had already made a vow back in the Inverted World. Whatever the answer is, she is Alice Agnelia. She knows her family, she knows her purpose. Thus, her path is clear. ### Noticing the fluctuation of energy around Alice, the woman couldn''t help but raise an eyebrow. There were several influences in her meditation right now. Methods of the Moon, ideologies of the Abyss and the nature of the Void. But she wasn''t getting lost in this information. In fact, she was thriving in this. Her aura was experiencing changes as she reflected on her own soul. A new metamorphosis different to the adaptation to the Void. *BANG!!! The ground fractured around Alice as the woman felt a chill. A chill from looking at something so unnatural that your body and mind rejects every notion of that ''thing'' existing in the same ne as you. A primal repulsion from seeing something so unholy you cannot ept that it exists. But the strangest aspect was that Alice''s energy started to condense behind her. A spectral woman began to form. Her body was created from the Void, a ster darkness filled with glimmering stars. Long flowing white hair that danced as though it was underwater. Imprinted upon the hair was a crown like silhouette. Slowly, her eyes began to open. On the left, the icon of red spider lilies. On the right, a singrity. From partial to full, Alice activates Bloodline Release! Chapter 468: Alices New Skill Opening her eyes, Alice slowly nced up at the spectral visage of a woman behind her. Clenching her fists, she could feel the flow of energy through her body as her physical powers were being reinforced. She could finally feel what a true Bloodline release felt like. But more than that¡­ "Uwahh my soul looks freaky." Alice muttered. She could see ck blood pooling at the edge of the spectre''s eyes before dripping down into ck blood tears. If she were to see this in a dark hallway, she''d probably try to run into sunlight before trying to fight. Just looking at it gave her the shivers but it was her own soul after all, she couldn''t hate it. Frankly, she could understand why it took the form it did. With Nyer forcefully resonating and fusing fallen Divinity into her body, taking on aspects of Velouria''s appearance was to be expected. But all of this was just Alice activating one form of amplification. She still hasn''t created her own skill yet. Most would be happy with this but Alice wanted more. She felt greedy. What kind of skill can she create with her fully unlocked bloodline release? What kind of powers did it offer? What else can she add to the puzzle that she was trying to solve? In her eagerness, she remembered a key detail regarding Bloodline Release. A stable connection had to be formed with her spiritual heart and by extension, her soul. In the past, she failed to achieve this kind of state because of Velouria''s restrictions, holding back Alyss''s soul. It prevented a proper channel from being opened and thus could only be a partial release. Looking back at her Soul Form, Alice furrowed her brows. Did Velouria''s restrictions loosen up or possibly disappear? Impossible. Alice could still feel its presence. She could still feel the restraint ced around her twin, around the mes to prevent it from consuming her. So how was she able to unleash a full Bloodline Release? There was only one answer that Alice could think of. Her own soul. After all this time, her own soul had matured to a state where it could finally be used as a basis for a Spiritual Heart. The connection between her and Alyss had always been Alice controlled the physical while Alyss held the key to the soul. Conjoined and never to be separated. But after the Inverted World, it was clear that they were two beings trapped in one. And following the awakening and reflection she did just now, her own soul became unique enough to ''detach'' from her twin. She had be a ''person''. Both Soul and body. Even her mind recognised herself as an individual. Right now, she is a prison for Alyss despite their connection. To put it cruelly, if someone were to take Alyss away right now, there is a chance that Alice could survive with her own soul. But in the past, this would be impossible since Alyss was her lifeline. A sense of guilt and bitterness welled up in Alice''s chest but she set it aside for now. These questions can be answered once the fight was over. All she needed to know right now was that she could tap into her own soul and use it for Bloodline Release. While she could feel the flow of power from her Bloodline Release, she could also feel the limit rapidly approaching. It exhausted far more stamina and powerpared to the partial variant. Alice estimated that she could probably maintain this state for around 1 minute at most. 2 minutes if she pushed with everything she''s got. Letting out a deep breath, Alice focused her mind. "Let''s see what you''ve got." She muttered, giving her soul a side nce. At this moment, her soul revealed a freakishly wide smile as blood continued to pour from her eyes. Spider lilies began to bloom across the body with the tips of her fingers being dyed a deep purple that bordered on ck. Alice could sense the world warping around her as her vision began to distort. She felt as though she was travelling through the Void at high speeds despite not moving and soon, her vision locked onto Keira who had just finished killing another Void creature. Instinctively, she felt like she could travel this gap and attack Keira instantly. If Allura''s skill set could be summarised as half focused on mes and half focused on severance, right now Alice would be half violet mes and half Void. For Nova Core, Allura''s mes acts as the foundation while the main ''attack'' was her ability to ignore defence. In Alice''s case, she too will use her Violet mes as a base. Its ability to eat away at Abyssal abilities wille in handy when ites to ignoring defence. As for the Void? It''ll help her bridge that gap and by using the friction between two realms, she''ll use it to tear her opponent''s in half! A formation of ideas condensed in Alice''s mind as the new skill was beginning to form. As for the catalyst, naturally, it had to be in the form of a singrity. A miniature ck hole that can be reced by either her own Void Control or her personal Artifact. That way, it could be used even if she didn''t want to activate her Artifact. *KSHH!!!! Lightning crackled around Alice''s body as energy surged towards her palm, converging into a singrity with an retion disk. However, this was no ordinary disk. Violet mes flickered around the singrity, transforming into a circting de of energy that tore apart anything rted to the Abyss. *BANG!!! The spiralling energy jumped off from the singrity, shattering a piece of the ind that Alice was standing on. Right now, in this form, the attack was highly unstable. The rotation of the disk wasn''t helping it either as one moment of blunder would cause a piece of this energy to whip against her surroundings and in the worst case, even harm her. Taking a deep breath to focus her mind, Alice crouched down slightly as she held the rampaging singrity next to her body. The path ahead was clear, the route was secured. Resonance! Briar thorns wrapped around Alice''s body while red spider lilies blossomed. Her dress fluttered against the gale kicked up by her attack as she then activated the Seraphim''s power. A ritualistic circle manifested beneath her feet as lightning crackled in front of her, transforming into a warp point. "Bloodline Release activated¡­ Resonance activated¡­" Alice muttered as her personal Artifact appeared next to her. "Artificial Resonance activated!" A singrity spun to life in her eye as the Violet mes sparkled with the light of the Void. The three forms of her Artifact embedded themselves into Alice''s body as the ck hole trembling above her palm began to warp the world around it. "All conditions met. Let''s f*cking do this you hybrid f*ck." Alice twisted her lips into a maniacal grin. *BANG!!! Stomping down, the ind shattered beneath her feet as the singrity above her palms condensed into a single thumb sized orb while maintaining the disk around it. Her body shed into the Warp Point, disappearing from the ind and taking the malefic energy with her. ### Landing on an ind, Keira took several deep breaths in her bestial form. She could feel the energy of the Void assaulting her body with each passing moment. An attempt to mutate her further and force her to be a monster of the Void. If she were to revert back to her human state, it would only be a matter of time before she loses her sanity and be a mindless war machine. It also doesn''t help that her ritual earlier was still backfiring. She could feel the power tearing through her insides the longer she waited. She had to find Alice and soon. Biting her lips, Keira was thinking about whether or not she should risk another ritual in her current state. To track down her target and finish two rituals all at once. But if she didn''t activate a second ritual, her fate was practically sealed. There''s no guarantee that she''ll be able to track down Alice within the infinite expanse of the Void. However, the Ritual to track down her target wasn''t a guarantee. There were countless conditions and variables mixed together and the sess rate was low. Even if it fails, a price still needs to be paid. Once again, Keira found herself at the end of her sanity thanks to a certain rat. Blinking her eyes, Keira froze up. Right in front of her, a woman with two strange eyes stared at her before warping her mouth into a smile. The illusion disappeared like a phantom but what came next sent Keira''s body into a frenzy of panic. There was no fighting instinct. Only the instinct to flee and not turn back! But by the time she felt this instinct, it was already toote. She couldn''t even register when Alice had manifested in front of her but the roaring singrity collided against her scales. A single palm strike to bury the singrity into Keira''s chest. *BANG!!! Pain was none existent. Rather, there was no time to register this pain. In an instant, a cavity formed in her body and carved out her back. An unstoppable vortex of shing disks sliced apart everything within this maelstrom of destruction. Every sh of light that whipped across the realm would eradicate whatever it brushed past and warp Void. There was no extravagant phenomenon, just raw destruction and the copse of space within a single point. Whatever pride Keira had towards her identity as a hybrid disappeared and was reced by anger, fear and denial of Alice''s existence. She simply couldn''t fathom how it was possible for such an anomaly like Alice to exist. Wasn''t she part of the honoured few that actually survived? Wasn''t she part of the glorious new race? The new rulers of thisnd? She should be standing at the apex of the food chain with the other hybrids. But if so¡­ Then what the hell is this monster in front of her? Chapter 469: Keiras End With the eruption of the singrity within Keira''s body, both of them wereunched from one another as Alice furrowed her brows and revealed a slight frown. The initial stages of her skill were fantastic. To traverse all this space in a split second and hit her enemy with an attack that they practically can''t dodge. However, the second half disappointed her. Too much of the energy was wasted and instead of harming her enemy, a lot of it took out the surroundings instead. There were still plenty of improvements to be made to this skill before she could give it a name and use it consistently. But for now, this was enough since it achieved the purpose of breaching Keira''s defences. ''I don''t have the energy to use this attack anyway and it takes too long to charge. It''s more of a skill to open a fight rather than be used throughout one.'' Alice thought to herself as she stood up and created a de from blood. Even though Keira was missing arge chunk of her body, the flesh still writhed, aiming to regenerate. "I believe this is our fourth meeting now isn''t it? I don''t think we should go for a fifth so why don''t we end this here?" Alice asked with a smile, rushing towards Keira as she unleashed an upward sh. *KRRR!!! From her de, a wave of energy tore forward towards Keira. Violet me surged from the wave and crashed against her bleeding flesh, causing her to cry out in pain. "YOU! F*CKING!!! RATTTTT!!!" Keira roared as her flesh bulged. She refused to let a rat like this kill her! "Why do you keep getting in my way?! Why couldn''t you have just died at the tower!?!?" *BANG!!! mming down with her fist, a pir of energy erupted from her body as her form began to shift. Second Resonance! Human Beast Hybrid! "Why are you able to survive my attack?! Why are you standing in front of me unharmed?! Why? WHY? WHY!?!?!" Keira screamed as the flesh bulged around her wound. Purple veins reached down from the emptiness of the Void and melded together with her flesh. Realising that this was the Void mutating Keira further, Alice wanted to step in but the tsunami of energy erupting from Keira prevented her from pushing ahead. "I''m a member of the new glorious race! How dare a filthy rat stand before me!" The spectral image of a beast appeared behind Keira as Alice understood that she too was using Bloodline Release. ''Did the Zenia''s get a sealed lord to teach them?'' However, considering how Selen has the power of Miralith, it is only natural. Each time she ran into a member of the Zenia''s, the deeper this rabbit hole went. However, with Keira''s unstable state, her second Resonance began to break apart, revealing the purple spines digging through her flesh. There was only one thing on her mind and that was to kill the rat in front of her. *BANG!!! Disappearing from her spot, she appeared next to Alice with her arm pulled back. mes erupted on her fist as she punched toward Alice who flipped over the punch with ease. Her physical prowess had increased tremendously after unlocking a full Bloodline Release. Right now, she was a bonafide five Sigil Hunter with the physique to match! Hell, she was actually stronger physically due to the passive enhancements that her Sigils granted her! Twisting her body, Alice was about to release a Void Flux ¨C Cleave when spikes shot out of Keira''s back. Abandoning her n of attack, Alice released a horizontal sh and parried the spikes. Digging her hands into the ground beneath her, Keira threw a boulder at Alice. Furrowing her brows, Alice snapped her finger and warped herself away from danger. Right now, Keira was panicking and Alice could see that. It felt like a child throwing whatever she could at the danger she was perceiving. Seeing that Alice had dodged, Keira snapped her head towards Alice''s direction and cracked open her mouth. A torrent of mes fired at in an instant but Alice wasn''t phased. mming her hand down, the Shards of Kara gathered as Alice funnelled her Bloodline Release into it as well, reinforcing the shield and blocking the breath without any issues. "Is this all you''ve got? For a proud member of the new race, you are sorelycking. But I suppose that''s only to be expected when you''re nothing but a cheap copy." Alice taunted while stomping down with her foot. Briar thorns jumped out of the ground, whipping around Keira''s limbs and securing her in ce. From behind her shield, Alice gathered her energy into a tiny spark in front of her finger and fired a Void Flux. *BANG!!! "ARGGGG!!!" Feeling the explosion on her shoulder, Keira let out a cry as her arm was torn off. Her flesh twisted and writhed before regenerating once more. A forced smile appeared on Keira''s face. "You''ll never kill me. I''ll keep regenerating! This is the difference between us!" Hearing this, Alice couldn''t help but find it ratherughable. But more than that, there was something familiar about Keira''s body. Now that she''s been weakened to this stage, Alice could sense it clearly. A hint of her own blood inside Keira. While it was present within her, it was extremely diluted. "PFT!!! AHAHAHA!" Realising this, Alice couldn''t help but let out augh, confusing Keira. "Do you even know what they did to your body?" Alice asked curiously but her question only served to confuse Keira. Ignoring Alice, Keira unfurled a pair of wings behind her as her speed increased drastically. Disappearing from where she stood, she appeared behind Alice and punched towards her head. Tilting her head to the side, Alice dodged easily before creating a singrity in her palm. mming the singrity against Keira''s elbow and ripping it off, Alice grabbed what remained of her arm and threw her away. With Keira in the air, Alice snapped her finger and several sparks manifested around Keira''s body. *BANG!!! An explosion of violet mes erupted as Keira''s body was sent crashing towards the ground. Her regeneration hindered by these mes as confusion filled her eyes. But Alice wasn''t about to give her a break. Dashing in front of Keira, Alice swung her leg and kicked her in the face, breaking several teeth before grabbing her by the hair. Creating another singrity in her hand, she jammed it into Keira''s mouth, ripping off her jaw and throwing her away once more. *BANG!!! Crashing against the wall, Keira coughed up blood as she struggled to regenerate. She could feel the Void digging deeper into her mind and body, stripping her bare as tears ran down her face. "Why!? Why couldn''t you have just died!?" She screamed. Flesh burst out from her wounds, transforming into the mutated flesh of Void beasts as Keira slowly lost her resemnce to that of a human. The mass of flesh began to expand as Alice was silent. She watched as Keira became this colossal beast of flesh, bones and spikes. She had no distinct form as her mind was still wrestling against the influence of the Void but even Alice could tell that it was over. If she was to leave now, Keira will devolve into a mindless beast with no future. But that''s not what she was about to do. After all, she promised that Keira would die by her hands. Taking a deep breath, Alice activated her fifth Sigil as a crimson halo appeared above her head. Scarlet wings unfurled behind her as she closed her eyes. To release one burst with everything she''s got. To exhaust the remaining time she had left of her Bloodline Release. *BANG!!! A crimson aura burst out of Alice''s body as she aimed her palm towards ''Keira. Sparks began to manifest around her, transforming intorge crosses of energy that circled the beast. Fear dominated Keira''s mind as the mass of flesh tried to escape but she couldn''t move her body. It felt as though the weight of a thousand buildings crashed down upon her, securing her in ce. "No¡­" Her voice trembled. She could sense the energy converging towards her location as the Void around her began to warp. "NO!!! LET ME OUT!!!" She roared, realising her death was approaching. The mass of flesh exploded into countless limbs that mmed against the barrier that Alice had put in ce with the Shards of Kara but it was no use. Artificial Resonance! Motes of darkness formed around Alice as ck blood began to drip from her eyes much like the image of her soul. Reality began to distort. The space around them copsed into a hybrid of three realms. Fragments of each warped and blended into one another as iridescent energy coiled around Keira. "I WANT TO LIV-" Before she could even finish her final cry of desperation, energy erupted into a brilliant disy of armageddon. Energy copsing towards a singr point creating a darkness that swallowed all. Lightning crackled down from above as the realms cried out in pain. A swirl of violet, blue and red energy dyed the realm in ster ze as all traces of Keira was swallowed away by this attack. What was left behind was only the phenomenon of Alice''s attack. A symbol of raw destruction control over the forces of the Void. Within this singr point, all uses of Abyssal Powers were stripped away by the violet mes, leaving one defenceless against the countless forces tearing against your body. Having witnessed all of this, the woman who ruled the Void was silent. She contemted a single thought after seeing the power that Alice wielded. Whether or not she should get rid of this anomaly before she bes the bane of the realms. The archon of destruction that brings about the end. Chapter 470: Feris *CRACK!!! Breaking the ss in his hands, Troy frowned as veins bulged on his neck. Next to him, Elowen was sitting on a chair with aposed expression. "Troy¡­ I believe you told me that Keira was just going to take care of them rats beforeing back?" She asked slowly, her voice calm and devoid of anger. "That''s¡­ What she said yes." Troy replied after a light pause. His voice was strained as he was holding back his anger. "So why is she dead? Why has a precious hybrid died in battle? We don''t even know who she fought." Elowen asked. A dark creeping aura began to exude from her body. Even those outside the room felt suffocated by the pressure but they dare not speak a single word. Silence dominated the room as Elowen let out a fatigued sigh. "Forget it. What''s done is done. We''ll need to monitor the north a little more carefully after this." Elowen stood up as she adjusted her dress. "Don''t do anything stupid and follow orders like what you''re supposed to do." She nced back at Troy who bit his lip and nodded his head. After Elowen left the room, he gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. "Stupid idiot¡­" He muttered, recalling Keira''s confidence only for her to die when he wasn''t around to cover for her. ### Looking at the mark left behind by her attack, Alice folded her arms as her Bloodline Release and Resonance faded away. Exhaustion kicked in but Alice managed to remain on her feet. There was onst problem now. The woman who owned the Void. It was brief and barely noticeable but Alice definitely sensed an inkling of killing intent. Her guard was up as she nced towards the top right and spotted the woman sitting on a boulder. "I don''t suppose you''re going to teach me the thing you promised now. I did finish the task rather quickly if I can say so myself." Alice smiled despite the danger she was feeling from the woman. Narrowing her eyes, she blinked from her spot and appeared behind Alice. "Of course. But first, a few questions." "Go for it. But every girl has her secrets so whether or not I answer might depend on what you ask." Alice nced back but the woman had already disappeared and reappeared near the singrity she had left behind. "For what reason have you gained all this power?" She asked, confusing Alice momentarily. "Why does anyone get power? I got it because I wanted to keep myself safe and get revenge on those who wronged me. I also want to rebuild my mother''s old home." Alice replied honestly. Her reason for power had always been to keep herself safe from the Zenias and prevent more like her from appearing. Hearing this, the woman was silent. She contemted Alice''s words and the truth behind it. Eventually, she nodded her head. "Alright. Just don''t make a mess out of my realm or the realms connected to it." Waving her hand, the Void began to repair itself at a visible ce. While Alice was impressed by the owner''s control over her realm, she didn''t know the woman was actually shocked. The attack should''ve been repaired instantly with nothing left behind. Instead, it was healing slowly with the realm struggling to piece itself together. ''If I didn''t do anything, this would''ve been left like this.'' She thought to herself before turning to Alice, hiding her surprise. "So what do you wanna teach me?" Alice asked with a grin, seeing that the slight moment of hostility disappeared. "Greedy minx¡­" The woman''s smile twitched before letting out a sigh. "You already know Void Steps, what else do you want to know? Unless you want me to teach you how to stop yourself." She asked, blinking to a boulder and sitting down. With the question thrown back at her, Alice paused for a moment before folding her arms. She wasn''t sure what she wanted to know from the woman considering a lot of the knowledge can be self taught through experimentation. Seeing as how Alice was struggling to say something, the woman smoked her pipe in boredom. "Can''t think of anything?" She called out. "Can we¡­ postpone this? I''lle back another day or something when I think of what I want." Alice asked with a smile. "Hah??? Are you stupid? Why would I burden myself with keeping an eye on you whenever you appear in the Void? Either think of something now or shoo." The woman clicked her tongue in annoyance. Coughing awkwardly, Alice furrowed her brows and scrambled her mind for anything she wanted to know about. "Actually, rather than teaching me something what about some assistance instead?" Alice asked as an idea appeared in her mind. "Hou? What do you need assistance with? And don''t you dare tell me it''s a favour for the future because I''m not honouring it if it is." "No no, it''s nothing like that don''t worry ahaha. I just need your help withpleting my surprise attack that I used earlier. When I collided with the hybrid, a lot of the energy was lost. How can I prevent that?" Alice asked. Since she was trying to create a personal skill for herself focused on using the Void, who better to ask than the owner herself? Blinking her eyes, the woman nodded her head. "If that''s what you want then sure." After all, how hard could it be? "I wasn''t looking properly earlier. Show me how you activate this skill." She gestured. "Erm¡­ I''m a bit exhausted right now. Activating it is a tad impossible." Alice scratched her cheek. "Just do what you can, I''ll piece together the rest." Seeing as how she was confident, Alice nodded her head and closed her eyes. She began to move her energy while hints of her Resonance showed signs of activating. The control of the different forces within her body and the visualisation of her attack. After a short demonstration, Alice stopped and opened her eyes. She could see the woman furrowing her brows. "So? How is it?" Alice asked, waiting for her response. "Take this. If you need my help or if you think of anything else in the future just channel it when you''re in the Void. Okay bye~" She threw over a small tablet to Alice before disappearing. She''s the ruler of the Void for gods sake not the master of energy. With so many sources of energy within Alice''s body, it was a miracle that she wasn''t blowing up on the spot yet she wants her to help her? Impossible. She''d rather let Alice call back this favour in the future than try to figure this sh*t out right now. "Huh???" Blinking her eyes, Alice caught the tablet hastily as she was confused as to why the woman ran away so quickly. "At least tell me your name before you go!" Alice called out. However, the woman didn''t reply. Instead, the tablet began to glow and a name appeared on the surface. [Feris] Seeing this, Alice couldn''t help but shake her head and stored the tablet away. Seems like perfecting her skill was going to be harder than she expected if even Feris didn''t want to help. "WAIT! DIDN''T YOU SAY YOU WERE GOING TO HELP ME GO BACK TO REALITY?!" Alice widened her eyes just as she was about to make a portal. If Feris wasn''t going to help, who knows how long it''ll take her to go back. But there was no response. Not even the tablet glowed as Alice was met with silence. Her smile twitched furiously as she grabbed the boulder that Feris was sitting on earlier and threw it into the infinite Void out of frustration. She was now forced to wait before opening a portal back. During that time, there was no doubt that Selen is going to be worried and give her a lecture once she returned. Just thinking about the lecture gave Alice a headache. ### Folding her arms, a tall woman frowned as she looked at the traces of battle left behind. The mes have already extinguished but the mark of energy was unmistakable. "Tiamat." Allura muttered, brushing her hands against the charred ground. Even now, she can sense the destructive energy left behind by the attack. How did she even get out? Did a hole appear in Terminus? Were the barriers broken? Who opened the path? Questions flooded Allura''s mind but there was no one to give her answers. "I''m guessing this is a bad sign?" Gin asked while looking at the reformedndscape. Just standing here gave him chills. "Just a tad. A sealed Lord broke out of Terminus and she''s gathering energy quickly. It''ll only be a matter of time before she''s back to full power." Allura shrugged. If she was to fight Tiamat right now, she might be able to force a draw. But if Tiamat gets any stronger, Allura understood that it''ll be near impossible to pull her back into Terminus. "The fact that you didn''t give me a confident response is already plenty to worry about. My old bones can''t handle this sh*t." Ginined while opening his sk to take a drink. With Allura being unable to give him a proper response, Gin already knew the kind of danger this sealed Lord could bring. The two of them were definitely not enough and it didn''t help that they were being pursued by a bunch of fanatics from the different churches. They had to draw attention away from Alice after all. "It''ll be fine. I''ll just need to find a few old friends to help us if Tiamat does indeed recover. And¡­" Allura trailed off. She didn''t want to say it out loud but she''ll need to find Kaden if Tiamat recovers. The only issue was¡­ if she was to see that face again¡­ She might kill him by ident. Chapter 471: Leaving The Void Sitting in the Void, Alice waited until her energy was recovered. However, she still wasn''t sure if her body was suited for going back to their realm. Opening a rift back, she decided to test it by sticking her arm through. *BANG!!! Almost immediately, she could sense a slight rejection from the realm as her arm was blown apart in an instant. Blinking her eyes, Alice looked at the stump left on her arm. Her smile twitched as she regenerated her arm and let out a sigh. "Stupid Feris. At least tell me when it''s safe to go back if you''re not going to help." Alice mumbled. Since it wasn''t safe to go back, she decided to practice her Void Steps. Right now, she understood the activation conditions but stopping the charge was difficult. To begin with, the Void Steps required her to step on a portion of the realm that was rubbing against another realm. It''s the friction between these two realms when done right that can propel her forward. Narrowing her gaze, Alice activated the Void Steps once more. Stepping down where she manipted the realm, Alice immediately felt an overwhelming force throwing her body forward as she struggled to maintain her posture. No matter how she tried to exert her strength, the moment she isunched, her posture breaks. *CRASH!!! mming into some rocks, Alice let out a frustrated sigh. ''I wake up and the first thing I see is you mming yourself into a rock. The f*ck is going on?'' Alyss yawned. ''Just learning some new skills. While you were sleeping, I met the ruler of the Void and killed the hybrid.'' Hearing this, Alyss blinked before nodding her head. At this point, she wouldn''t be surprised if Alice was to randomly meet one of the Gods never mind the ruler of the Void. ''So what''s the skill you''re trying to learn?'' ''Void Steps. By stepping on the friction between two realms, I can propel myself forward. Basically, teleportation if I do it properly.'' Standing up, Alice did another demonstration as she activated the skill. Once again, her posture folded the moment she teleported and mmed into some rocks. ''Isn''t it just a case of keeping your posture though? Seems easy enough.'' Alyss asked while resting her chin on her palm. From a third person perspective, it looked easy to execute. ''Yeah, easy for you to say. But I''m a caster you know? I don''t have a freakishly strong body.'' ''Debatable. I don''t see casters throwing hands and trading punches with someone specialised in close quartersbat. But setting that aside, let me give it a go. When we switch, more of the power is diverted into reinforcing the body than casting so my physique should be better.'' Alyss retorted with a smirk. ''Go for it.'' Rolling her eyes, Alice activated the skill and switched ces with Alyss. She wanted to see how quickly her twin''s confidence would shatter once she felt the overwhelming force throwing you forward. Just as Alyss was about to step onto the skill, she noticed something strange with her body. However, she wasn''t able to adjust herself in time and was flung into a rock just like Alice. ''So what''s this about being easy enough?'' Alice revealed a smug grin seeing her twin upside down. ''Didn''t count! I wasn''t ready! Also what the hell did you do to our body?'' Alyss pouted, feeling embarrassed by her mistake. The overwhelming urge to punch Alice''s face with that smug grin was growing by the second. ''I unlocked the full Bloodline Release. Turns out my soul is unique enough to be used as a base now. I don''t need to worry about Velouria''s bindings.'' Alice exined offhandedly. Hearing this, Alyss''s smile twitched as this wasn''t something you should gloss over. Switching back with Alice, she had her show the full Bloodline release. Seeing the spectre that represented Alice''s soul, Alyss found it rather charming yet freaky at the same time. And honestly, a good representation of what Alice is like as a person. One moment she could be this fluffball who''s indulging herself on mead and the next she''s ripping someone''s heart out from their chest. Both cute and deadly. Not to mention a strange enjoyment for white and pink clothes even though Alyss herself preferred darker colours. Long sleeves also. However, with Alice''s Bloodline Release fully unlocked, there were some passive benefits to their body. They still not quite at the standard of other strong five Sigil Hunters but passively, they were around four Sigils worth of physical strength. Activating her Bloodline Release would push her past the boundary and bring her closer to six Sigil levels of physical strength. Once Alyss figured out their new strength, she prepared herself for another attempt at the Void Steps. ''No excuses this time okay?'' Alice grinned. ''It was just a coincidencest time. This time I''ll show you how easy it is.'' Alyss scoffed. Preparing herself, she took a more stable stance and had Alice activate Void Steps. *BANG!!!! mming into a rock, all Alyss could hear was Alice''s howlingughter. The sudden increase of force propelling them forward was not to be trifled with. No matter how Alyss braced herself, it felt like having a rug pulled out from under them. ''So how the hell did this Feris woman or whatever she''s called do it sessfully.'' Alyss mumbled in annoyance while trying to hide her embarrassment. ''Who knows. But it was just a coincidencest time huh? Seeing you falling on your ass doesn''t seem to be a coincidence for me.'' Alice replied, not wanting to give up this moment to bully her twin. Their little scuffle eventually woke up Ca who saw the two arguing about who can do the Void Steps better. Seeing this, she let out a sigh before going back to sleep. ### Practicing some more while asionally checking if she could go back to reality, they found a slight gimmick to the Void Steps. A way to prevent them from falling t on their ass while teleporting. Unfortunately, stopping was still an issue but at least they now looked good while mming into a rock. Some of the rocks even have Alice''s outline imprinted onto the surface. But soon, she saw that her arm wasn''t blown to pieces and understood it was time to head back. Giving her body a good stretch, she gave the Void another nce before stepping through the portal. Shielding her eyes from the Sun, Alice furrowed her brows and looked around her. Right now, she was in the middle of a crystal cluster. The sun reflected off the countless mirror life surfaces as confusion filled her mind. If her coordinates are correct, this should be where she teleported them before Keira''s attacknded. Yet none of this was familiar to her. "Don''t tell me this is the result of her attack¡­" Alice muttered in disbelief. Searching for the highest point, Alice jumped up and scouted around the ce. She could see Esna in the distance. Meaning, this was indeed the mountain range they crossed before teleporting. If Keira''s attack packed this much power, Alice didn''t even want to imagine what would''ve happened if she didn''t teleport them. Just thinking about it caused cold sweat to roll down her back as Alice was d she could deal with Keira before she got another chance to attack them. ''Should''ve woken me up if you were fighting the Hybrid. I wanted to get a few good hits in myself ya know?'' Alysszed on a throne while sitting up side down. ''You and Ca were both having such a good time sleeping so I didn''t want to wake you two up.'' ''AH! That reminds me you piece of sh*t! Me and Ca almost worked ourselves to death trying to keep your body from falling apart! I know it was a life or death situation but at least give us a heads up before you go ape sh*t and start trying out crazy stunts!'' Alyss raged, remembering why she was sleeping in the first ce. Trying her best to pacify Alyss, Alice made her way to Esna as Selen and the others are probably waiting for her. ### "Say, do you think Alice is having a better time than us?" Ria asked as she swung her legs back and forth. "Probably." Luke sighed, doing the same. Right now, the two of them were locked in a cage dangling above a sacrificial altar that the Eclipse Cult has crafted. "It''s not like she''s getting herself captured or being prepped for sacrifice is she?" "True¡­ Though knowing her she''ll probably be fighting for her life regardless. Urg¡­ I wanna go to the surface too." Riamented while looking at the countless hooded figures filtering towards the altar. "At this point, I don''t think the loli hag is going to let us go without torturing us properly." Luke shivered, thinking back to Rosalyn''s training. Hell, even calling it training was being generous. Rather than training, it''s more like torture for Rosalyn''s amusement and an outlet for her frustration against Allura and Kaden. "If she hears you say that she''ll deep fry you in blood." Ria warned. "Let me have a break. It''s not like she''s here anyways." Luke shrugged. "Who said so?" Freezing up, Luke nced to his shoulder and saw a tiny red bat staring at him with its head tilted to the side. Its beady eyes staring at him unblinkingly while a menacing grin could be seen on its face. "Who said I wasn''t here, Lulu? We''re going to have some fun once the two of you are finished with this mission." Rosalynughed. "HUH?! Why me as well?!" Ria felt wronged as she didn''t even say anything bad about her. "You didn''t defend my honour and allowed this dumbass to nder me. All of them are here now. You have an hour to wipe this branch clean." Rosalyn shrugged before waving her wing. Feeling her anger build up, lightning crackled across her body as Ria tore apart the cage around her. All her frustrations, all her anger, she''ll take it out on these cultists! She wanted to finish Rosalyn''s training quickly so she could reunite with Alice soon and gamble her days away in the arena! Chapter 472: Returning To Esna Waiting by the bar while tapping her heels, Selen felt nervous as the fight took much longer than she had expected. "Don''t worry too much, she''ll be back before you know it." Egil reassured but Selen wasn''t convinced. She could still recall the destructive power of Keira''s attack against the mountain. If Alice wasn''t careful, she''ll suffer. "You know how she is. She''ll probably try some weird sh*t and then injure herself again. I wouldn''t be surprised if it''s taking her this long to get back because she can''t leave the goddamn Void." Selen grumbled. Grabbing a jug of mead, she swung her head back and drank it all in one go. "Urg¡­ How does that girl drink so much mead???" Selen questioned as one jug was already a lot for her. But for Alice, she could drink throughout the night and be rtively okay the next day. "Don''t question an alcoholic how they can drink so much." Alice grinned. "ARGG!!!" Crying out in surprise, Selen jumped out of her seat as she turned back and saw Alice standing behind her with a smile and a light wave. "Wahaha~ Behold~ I am back with no injuries." Alice gave Selen a peace sign before calling the waiter over and ordered herself a few jugs of mead. "What took you so long?" Selen huffed, sitting down in annoyance. "Realm wouldn''t let me back in. If I rushed it, I would be blown to bits the moment I stepped out ya know? I''ll have to be careful about when I use my fifth Sigil." Alice shrugged. Rubbing her hands in excitement, she drank her mead with a happy smile and grabbed some fruit. Some rxation and mead after a tough fight was the best way to rx. "I guess I should be happy that you didn''t pick up any new injuries." Selen sighed before smiling. "By the way, did you know that they''re bringing a cartographer from the capital with the next caravan that''sing? They need to redraw the map after the mountain got erased." "Oh for real? Now that I think about it, if thendscape changes, they redraw the map and leave, then it gets changed again, do they have to do two quick updates back to back?" Alice asked curiously as it seemed to be quite a hassle. The chore of constantly updating the map whenever two strong Hunters fight sounded rather tedious. "Well it''s their job so they can''t exactly say no to it." Selen shrugged. "Do they at least get paid well?" Alice asked curiously. If they have to continuously go and redraw maps, with some ces even bing extremely dangerous, the pay should match the danger. "Average wage. Sometimes even less." Egil spoke up as he knew someone who was a cartographer. "Jeez, life is unfair I guess." Alice muttered. If it was her, she wouldn''t want to be a cartographer if her pay was going to be average. At that point, she might as well just do a standard job behind a desk or be a receptionist at the guild. Though thinking about her own temper and habits, perhaps being a receptionist at the Hunter''s Guild wasn''t a good choice. She''ll probably start her own fights. "Where''s Torgeir? I thought he''d be rxing since everyone''s back now?" Alice asked curiously. After she got out of the Void, she wandered the outpost a little but couldn''t see Torgeir anywhere. "He''s¡­ busy. Even though a lot of people came back, a lot of them also died on the frontlines. Themander on the frontlines also died so it''s now up to Torgeir to sort through a lot of the post-battle processes." Egil answered. After all this time, he managed to build a bit of trust between him and Torgeir. Enough where Torgeir feltfortable enough to rant about his annoyances at times since both of them have gone through life or death battles together. A bond forged through battle. "Sounds like a pain." "He needs to write up a report of everything that happened too." Egil chuckled. Catching up on everything that''s happened while she was stuck in the Void for a while, Alice asked them what their current n was. "I''m going to visit my mother. Since the frontlines are retreating, there''s a short break where nothing''s really happening." Egil revealed a sombre smile. "I want to visit her before we''re called back to action. It''s just a guess but the capital will probably call for a counterattack to reim some of ournd." Nodding her head in agreement, Alice wanted to help him but she still wasn''t sure how she could resolve the issue of the pandemic caused by the Zenias. Her control over her powers was stillcking and she hadn''t experimented enough to put it into practice on someone as important as Egil''s mother. If she wanted to help, the first thing to do was to get information regarding the pandemic. ''There''s probably a research base or something in the capital.'' Alice thought to herself. She was already nning on visiting the capital to meet the Abyss Lords of the north if she could. She''ll simply make a detour to see if she can find out any clues. "And you?" Alice turned to Selen. Leaning back, Selen was silent. Since Alice''s body was now pretty much fixed, there wasn''t much of a need for her to keep babysitting her. If anything, it''s counterproductive to what she wanted to do. That being to disappear for a bit so the Zenia family forgets about her and then begin to dismantle their branches. Knowing the things that Alice has been running into, conflict with the Zenias is guaranteed. "I''ll probably follow you for a bit before roaming the north some more. I need to make some preparations for the next step of my journey." Selen smiled. "It''s about time I look for my sixth Sigil since I''ve been on five for a while now. Originally, it was meant to be sorted after the Inverted World but you know how that ended." She turned to Alice who nodded before freezing up. Since Ca had been sealed for a long time, she had forgotten that Selen only had five Sigils. She hasn''t even unlocked her second Resonance yet. But despite that, she was keeping up with strong opponents using the power of Miralith. "Anything you got in mind or are you just going to see what''s avable?" Unlike her, normal Hunters have a much harder time organising proper Sigils for them. The process requires them to go to a shaman, see their options and pick one. Or if they''re not happy, they need to wait and train themselves for more opportunities. They can''t just pick whatever tickles their fancy in the moment like Alice. "I''ve had my eye on something though I never got the chance to pick it. It just never showed up. Though I think this time should be different." Selen shrugged. After reviewing all the fights she''s gone through, Selen understood arge weakness of her''s. She doesn''t have a pure offensive skill that can help her end a fight despite being a caster. All of her skills can bergely focused on supporting rather than being the vanguard. To finish a fight, needed that extra push. "Do you need help to kill the beast or do you have that sorted?" "I''ll be fine. I''ve been preparing for this after all. But that''s only after we''re done with the capital right?" Selen waved her hand dismissively. Her final preparation will be done in the capital since they''ll be meeting the Lord of the Forge hopefully. If she could get a better weapon while she''s there, it''ll help her out immensely. Partying for a little longer, they decided to look for Torgeir in his office. But rather than seeing him, all they could see were paper towers upon paper towers. Torgeir was even using his Sigil abilities to stop the paper towers from falling. "Ah¡­ It''s you three. And wee back Alice, seems like you didn''t run into any issues." Torgeir forced a smile as his eyes were hollow. Seeing this, Alice almost felt guilty about what she''s about to ask next. The key word being almost. "So¡­ Now that everything''s done and I''ve helped you bring yourrades back, what about the promise?" Alice asked with a smile. *Sighhhh¡­ Letting out a long sigh, Torgeir searched around his desk before pulling out two letters. "First letter is what I promised you previously. Write what you want to write and give it to the person in charge of the Hawks. He''ll see the stamp and know to what to do. The second letter is your appointment in the capital. This includes Selen. "With the testimonies of the Warriors as proof, they know that you saved all of them from an Extalia ambush near Esna. I''m not sure if they''ll let you meet the Lord of the Forge just yet but they didn''t mention a reward so it''s probably still up for debate. "As for the third item, the book on beasts in the North, that''s still beingpiled in the capital. When you go to the appointment in the second letter, they''ll give you the book. Or at least that''s what I''m assuming." Torgeir exined while holding out the letters. epting them with a grin, Alice put it away in her pouch. "Thank you~" "You''re wee. If anything, it should be me thanking you. If it wasn''t for you¡­ I don''t even want to imagine how many warriors we would''ve lost. Not just at the frontlines but in other ces as well." Torgeir nodded with a smile. Alice was truly a blessing to their outpost. A strange one but a blessing nheless. "Ohou~ is that so? Then don''t you think this kind of feat deserves some mary reward?" Alice grinned while rubbing her fingers together. The gesture for money. ". . ." Torgeir retracted his unspoken thoughts. Chapter 473: Cartographer "What the hell is this¡­" A man muttered while looking at the forest of crystals that now stood where a mountain used to be. "The collision site of the attack." Torgeir replied as though it was nothing weird. However, for the cartographer, this was the first time he''d seen such a drastic change ofndscape outside of battles conducted by Abyss Lords. The most shocking thing was that no one died to this! "And you say the threat has been dealt with?" He asked, feeling rather doubtful. If someone could unleash this kind of destructive power despite not being a Lord, how were they even able to take care of the enemy? How were they able to survive the surprise attack? "Indeed. Alice isn''t one to lie about something like this. And I''ve seen personally how strong she is when she protected everyone from this attack." Torgeir chuckled, expressing his trust in Alice. Even though they didn''t see the battle, he believed her words. Furrowing his brows, the cartographer was doubtful. From what he''s gathered, this Alice Agnelia only has five Spirits attuned to her. For her to fend off this kind of danger sounded impossible. Especially considering the fact that she''s an offensive warrior rather than defensive. Unless he sees it with his own eyes, he didn''t believe that she could do this kind of thing. However, his job was not to question the legitimacy of this five Spirit warrior being able to stop this attack but rather to redraw the map. Shaking his head, he pulled out a device andnded near the crystals. Pouring in a vial of blood, he watched as the numbers began to change. "Doesn''t seem like there''s any major contamination or corruption so we can leave this ce be. Earthen beasts may flock to this ce more often and smaller fissures will open to the Abyss, popting this zone. For the short time, I''d advise civilians to avoid this route or find a long way around. "We still need to determine the level of beasts that appear here so we can judge the danger of this zone." The cartographer muttered while writing down notes into a notepad. "For now, there doesn''t seem to be any major threats." He closed his notes and pulled out a map of the area. "Just protect me if anything pops up, I''ll focus on adjusting the map now." He sighed while ncing back at Torgeir who nodded his head. While this may be a little boring just escorting the cartographer, it was a much desired break from going through paper work. ### *BANG!!! The sudden sound of something crashing into a fence caused people to look over at the cloud of dust. From this cloud, they could see Alice wing herself from the rubble while coughing and waving away the dust. "As you can see, the skill is not exactly easy to stop once you start." Alice rubbed her butt in pain while looking at the broken fence. Thankfully, she had already gotten permission from Torgeir so she didn''t need to worry too much about the damages. As long as its not destroying literal buildings or tearing a chunk out of the outpost, she was given the green light. "So any clues on how to stop?" Alice asked. She figured that if she was struggling, she might as well see if Selen or Egil had any ideas on how she could master this skill. Alyss tried to brute force it and well¡­ it didn''t go well. "Hmm¡­ I mean I don''t have much knowledge on how the Void works so I don''t even know where to begin." Selen scratched her hair as it was beyond her. "You said you were slipping right?" Egil asked. "Yeah. The moment I step down to activate the skill, my posture just breaks apart. But when Feris did it, she''s doing it effortlessly. It doesn''t even look like she''s straining." Alice nodded. Granted, Feris is the owner of the Void so it''s only natural that she finds this easy. Not to mention the fact that she''s probably the one who made this skill. "Have you tried to keep your centre of gravity low?" Egil suggested. "Been there done that. Still fell over in the end and imprinted myself into a rock." Alice sighed. "Are you able to carry people with you? Maybe it''s easier to understand if we tried it ourselves." Thinking about it for a moment, Alice decided to give it a go as she hadn''t tried this method before. *BANG!!! *BANG!!! After two more collisions, the three of them sat on the ground while folding their arms. "Yeah it''s tough. I couldn''t keep my bnce either." Egil sighed. Even with his physicality, the force of the skill was akin to someone just grabbing his ankles and throwing him over. Practically impossible to keep himself upright. On top of everything, there''s still the issue of Alice trying to stop herself at the right point as well. Right now, she''s akin to a bullet. Not stopping unless she hits something. "You think if you grabbed a spear or something, you can just throw yourself at them with this skill?" Selen joked as Alice rolled her eyes. If she wanted to do that, she might as well use her Void Flux or the new skill she''s trying to develop. One that even scared off Feris from helping out. With neither Selen nor Egil being able to help out, they decided to leave it forter. With the caravan arriving from the Capital, there were new supplies and merchants that tagged along. Selen and Egil decided to check out the caravan while Alice figured she might as well take this time to write the letter to Ria. She''ll write a letter, have the Void Hawk send it to the Abyss and find an Underground branch. Either that or have it sent towards the Silver Wind valley branch and have the branch manager there take care of it. As for the fee¡­ Ria can pay for it. Agreeing to meet up in about an hour or so, the group separated for now. ### "Alice is getting monstrously strong now." Selen sighed as the two of them looked around the temporary market set up by the merchants. "She is. That new skill of hers¡­ If she can master it, I don''t think anyone would be able to hit her unless they take her by surprise." Egil agreed with a nod. "IF they take her by surprise. I fought her before. That instinct of hers is practically cheating. Any sign of hostility and she''ll react instinctively and fight back. Her survival sense is out of this world too. To take her by surprise while she''s focused, you have to hide everything without a single bit of intent leaking out." Selen shrugged. "So pretty much impossible then." "I wouldn''t say that. There''s been times when Alice drops her guard even though she doesn''t know it. I don''t know what triggers it but safe to say it''s difficult for most to capitalize on it. Plus, even if you surprise her, she might still be able to react on time." Selen shook her head. "The meteor surprise attack proves it. Shecked sleep, was exhausted and even dropped her guard because we were close to safety. Yet despite all of that, she was still the first one to react to danger and give out orders. Then, if it wasn''t for her teleporting us, we would''ve all died in that attack." She sighed. "How am I supposed to keep up with her?" Hearing this, Egil was silent. He thought about the powers that Alice could control and realised how tough she truly was as an opponent. But that didn''t mean there was nothing they could do. Granted, there were easy ways of countering her and hard ways. For Egil, Alice was probably the worst opponent he could ask for. Not only could she keep up with his speed and power thanks to her instincts, but her attack power was off the charts. Trying to defend against her attacks would be suicide for him. But Selen? Her control over time gives her an edge that other people don''t have. In his life, he has only seen or heard of one person who can control time and that''s Selen. "Maybe¡­ You can change your approach with your time powers. So far, you''ve just been using it to slow down attacks right? Are you able to use it to slow down your opponent? If Alice can react quickly, can''t you just slow down her body?" Egil suggested. "I mean¡­ I can but it''s a bit more difficult than just targeting her. The easiest way is for me to speed up my own time or slow down my surroundings. Focusing on someone requires them to stand still while I lock onto them. And even when that happens, the skill can be broken apart pretty easily with brute force." Selen exined. Had she inherited the full powers of Miralith then perhaps she could pull this off with ease. But her body couldn''t handle that kind of transnt. "Then what about the area around them?" "If the time slow isn''t centered around me, it''s harder to pull off and takes more time. It''s not impossible just difficult to execute during a fight." Selen shook her head once more. Just as she finished this sentence, Selen paused in her steps as an idea appeared in her mind. An idea that seems ridiculous but if she could pull it off then¡­ "Egil look over here for a moment." Selen called out. "What is it?" . . . "Egil? Egil? Hello~" Selen waved her hand. "Huh? Sorry did you say something, I didn''t quite catch that." Egil blinked in confusion. "Nothing, don''t worry about it." Selen grinned, patting him on the back as she went on ahead with a skip in her steps. Scratching his cheek in confusion, Egil followed behind her, unsure as to what had just happened. He felt like she had said something but couldn''t quite remember. Chapter 474: Alcohol After finishing the letter, Alice handed it off to the office and decided to roam around the market for a bit. Since everything she needed to do had been sorted, she had some time to herself. Most of the merchandise avable was just supplies and clothing. The weapons were mostly negligible especially since she can make her own using blood and metal. Granted, it might be weaker than the high grade gear but it served its purpose. Plus, when it came to high grade gear, Alice had her sealed Void Fang and Ruinous Void. Both weapons acting as core parts of her fighting style. Just thinking about the Void Fang made her smile as she waited dearly for the moment her seal broke. She wanted to see how the weapon would change uponing into contact with her new skills and energy control. But that was in the future. For now, she wanted to focus on her mastery over the Void. Wandering around the market, Alice decided to buy some street snacks while seeing if there were any cute clothing she could buy. But the aesthetics of the North were mostly focused on keeping you warm rather than cute. Thick hide coats,rge shirts and so on. Everything was made with the intention to keep you warm. ''Well duh, who''s gonna focus on looking cute when they''re about to freeze to death?'' Alyss rolled her eyes. ''Who knows, maybe someone wants to look cute.'' Alice stuck out her tongue. For Hunters, the natural cold wasn''t something they needed to worry too much about. Of course, it still affects them to some extent but not enough to wear overly warm outfits. Aside from the supplies, the next most popr thing in the market was sending and receiving letters from loved ones. Not everyone could afford a Void Hawk service so they chose to send letters the traditional way. With her interest of the market dwindling, Alice looked around for Selen and Egil. It''s a little earlier than nned as there were still half and hour to go before the hour passed. However, her thoughts were cut short as she caught a whiff of a mesmerising scent in the air. "Ohya? Ohya ohya?" Alice blinked her eyes as she began to drool. Swallowing her saliva, she followed the scent to a small stall that seemed to be selling alcohol. The stall was hidden between tworge stalls focused on selling supplies so not many took notice of it. Sitting on the floor, an woman could be seen sitting cross legged while slowly falling asleep with her head on her palms. She had long blonde hair, a pair of mismatched eyes simr to Alice should she unseal Ca. The left was white while the right was red. She wore a rather standard northern attire to keep herself warm but the most noticeable part of her appearance was the ''side effects'' on her body. A pair of small horns, elongated ears that drooped down and sharp canine teeth. Perhaps the reason why most ignored her stall was also because of her appearance though Alice didn''t understand the dislike towards people with side effects. It''s not like they''vemitted a crime, merely drank too much Abyss Blood. Plus, it''s not too different from people acquiring Sigils for power. Though¡­ Perhaps the north take it more harshly when its done by people who aren''t warriors. They consider these people devil worshippers who sold their souls for power after all. "Miss? Are you awake?" Alice waved her hand in front of the woman as she snapped awake. "Huh? Oh sh*t a customer. Wee to my store where I brew the best beverages using Abyss Blood. Guaranteed to give you a small boost to fertility, enhance power in bed and makes sure your partner won''t be able to walk tomorrow mornin''. I have other stuff but the boost in fertility is no joke young miss." The woman introduced as she tapped each of the containers with her finger. ncing around her for a moment, she leaned forward and whispered towards Alice. "If you really want a good time you can go for this one too. I guarantee that your partner will leave you begging for more after round 1." She smirked while making suggestive motions with her fingers. However, Alice only blinked in confusion. "Round 1? Ohhh you mean like increasing stamina?" Alice folded her arms as she looked at the selection avable. "Exactly! You get it young miss hehe~" The woman pped her hands. "Does it boost energy and control as well?" Alice asked curiously. "Huh? I mean it boosts energy but control¡­ If anything it''s more loss of control and losing yourself to desire." The woman tilted her head, feeling a bit confused by Alice''s response. "Hmm¡­ That''s no good. If I lose control then there''s not really any point." She wanted more control without losing too much power if possible. But if this only boosts stamina and energy while sacrificing control, there''s no reason for her to make this trade. "Ohhh I get you now young miss. You''re the hardcore type huh? Don''t worry, I gotcha covered too. You just gotta use a few tools to offset it so you have a good time ya know?" The woman pped the knee. "Oh? What kind of tools?" Gesturing for Alice toe closer so the others couldn''t see, the woman grabbed a suitcase she had in the back and opened it slightly for Alice to see. However, the sight of these elongated objects only confused her further. "How is this supposed to help with energy control?" ". . ." The woman was speechless. ''. . .'' Alyss face palmed. Alice blinked her eyes feeling confused by the conversation. "Miss¡­ I must ask¡­ how old are you?" The woman''s smile twitched. Considering she was wearing the uniform for the army, she figured the girl in front of her was an adult. But if she was this clueless and innocent then¡­ "A bit rude but I''m 20." Alice furrowed her brows. "Have you ever been¡­ Told about the birds and the bees?" The woman asked nervously. "Are they specific beasts that''ll help energy control?" ". . ." ''Alice, twin, my dear sister and whom I share a body with. Please tell me you''re joking and you''re not actually this stupid.'' Alyss was practically begging at this point. ''Hah?! What do you mean am I actually this stupid???'' Alice felt offended. If anything, she thought she was pretty smart all things considered. Hearing this, Alyss almost fell off her bed as she ran over to Ca who was resting and shook her awake. [What is it?] Ca groaned, feeling annoyed by Alyss shaking her. ''We''re gonna have to teach Alice about the birds and the bees.'' [Oh f*ck no.] Ca went back to sleep. Alyss''s smile twitched as she tried to wake up Ca but she refused to budge. While Alyss was trying to get help from Ca, the woman who owned the stall put the suitcase away and coughed awkwardly. "Erm¡­ yeah. But I don''t have that kind of alcohol here." "You don''t? Then what do you have? I thought you said the drinks boosted energy." Alice asked, feeling scammed while the woman choked on her saliva. Thinking about it for a moment, she decided to show Alice a selection of three drinks. These were¡­ standard drinks that weren''t enhanced aphrodisiacs. Giving Alice a small sample from each of them, she waited for her reaction. Licking her lips, Alice folded her arms. These were good but they weren''t what attracted her attention in the first ce. Closing her eyes, she tried to track down which container held the correct drink and soon pointed to one of them. "What''s in this one?" Seeing what Alice was pointing to, the woman''s pupils constricted as she wanted to cry. ''Miss, young miss, out of all the ones you could''ve picked, why did you pick the strongest aphrodisiac that I have?!?!?! So you wanna die for your first time???'' "I¡­ I don''t suggest buying this one." The woman cleared her throat awkwardly. Hearing this, Alice blinked her eyes. What kind of merchant suggests that the customer doesn''t buy? In the end, the woman relented as Alice seemed rather insistent on buying it and wouldn''t take no for an answer. There was only one suggestion that the woman had for Alice and that was to get someone to teach her about the birds and the bees before drinking it. A rather strange requirement in Alice''s opinion but she stored the vial away and made her way through the marketce in search of Selen and Egil. ### "You want me to tell you about WHAT???" Selen wanted to punch a wall while Egil couldn''t look Alice in the eye. "Well I found some nice smelling alcohol but the woman said I needed to learn about the birds and the bees first. Is that ng for a beast or something? If it is then it should be fine no? it''s not like¡­ well ya know." Alice hinted as she nced at Egil. Selen understood that Alice was talking about side effects but this isn''t really a case of side effects but rather who the hell asked her to find out about the birds and the bees. But more than that, how the hell does Alice not know about it??? She was excited to tell Alice about her new idea for a skill but this one question hadpletely taken her by surprise. The girl in front of her could drive away gods and flip conventional wisdom on its head but she didn''t know about the birds and the bees. ''Gods help me¡­'' Selen cried internally. For the first time in her life, she didn''t know what she should do. Chapter 475: A Spar Between Alice And Selen Selen''s smile twitched while looking at the clueless Alice. Even if she was locked away by the Zenia family, surely she would''ve overheard something about the birds and the bees right? RIGHT? Thinking about this, Selen suddenly recalled the time they went to the banquet in the Inverted World. During that time, she clearly recalled Alice making something under her skirt to scare off the people flirting with her. "Didn''t you¡­ ya know, make something under your skirt when we were at the banquet? How do you not know about the birds and the bees?" Selen questioned, grasping at straws so that she didn''t have to exin it to Alice. "That? I heard a schr do it and the person seemed really scared. Like, really really scared and started to beg. It''s probably a punishment, right? I even copied the tone and everything." Alice tilted her head, trying to recall the exact scene in her mind. Meanwhile, Alyss froze up. ''Twinnie, switch with me for a moment and let me talk to Selen. And while I''m doing so, don''t eavesdrop.'' Alyss requested as Alice furrowed her brows. ''Huh? Why?'' ''Look, just do it okay? It''s not like I ask of this from you often.'' Finding it a little weird, Alice eventually nodded her head and agreed. Golden chains appeared on her body as Alyss took over while Alice blocked her ears and stopped herself from eavesdropping. "Selen." Alyss called out. Hearing the unfamiliar tone, Selen frowned. "Just think of me as someone who lives with Alice. I think I figured something out about that." Alyss scratched her hair. "She''s doing a monkey see, monkey do kind of situation. So unfortunately, she doesn''t know f*ck all about the birds and the bees." Alyss exined while letting out a sigh. "That¡­ still doesn''t exin what little information she has though." Selen decided to question Alice about this womanter. But for now, she wanted to figure out the level of knowledge that Alice has. Looking around for a moment, Alyss gestured for them to follow her. "You know roughly about how Alice was raised right? Well¡­ At least somewhat of an idea." Alyss opened her mouth while ncing at Egil. She needed to word her words carefully as to not tell the whole story. "Somewhat, yes." "She spent 10 years there. The only thing she could learn was whatever she overheard and what the guards talked about. She may have some vocabry that leans towards the¡­ advanced level of the birds and the bees thanks to this but she has no foundation. "And I''ll be honest, I do NOT want to talk about the birds and the bees with her." Alyss''s smile twitched imagining such a situation. She already found it weird a while back. Alice didn''t have the same reaction when she pulled the prank at the banquet as her. There were only three possibilities at that point. She found it enjoyable, she didn''t care about it or she didn''t know what she was doing. Like a child who didn''t know waving a knife around was dangerous, she didn''t know that what she was doing was rather¡­ vulgar. But never did Alyss think that it was the third option. She had always just assumed it was the second option. "So what are we supposed to do? There''s no doubt that she''ll be asking about what the birds and the bees mean now." Selen asked with a sigh. "There''s one thing we can do." ### ''Twinnie you can take over again now.'' Alyss tapped Alice''s shoulder. ''What did ya talk about?'' ''Nothing important, just someints on how reckless you are. But Selen wanted a spar with you since she''s making a new skill. It seems pretty advanced so she wanted your reaction on it.'' Alyss chuckled. Hearing this, Alice''s eyes began to sparkle as she immediately jumped up. ''Selen got a new skill? What is it about?'' If Selen was making a new skill, there was a good chance that it could serve as inspiration for her own skill or give her a chance at breaking through her current bottleneck. ''If I say it, it''ll be a spoiler, won''t it? You''ll find out when you fight her.'' Just before Alice took over, Alyss turned around and gave Selen a loud high five. The action signifying that Alice hadpletely forgotten about their earlier talk just as nned and was now interested in the spar. There were only two words on Selen''s mind. ''Thank f*ck!'' As the chains disappeared, Alice blinked her eyes. "Wee back~ So who was that anyways?" Selen asked, pretending like nothing ever happened. "Oh you mean Alyss? She''s like my twin. How do you put it¡­ Two souls one body? She pops out asionally when I''m fighting or if she wants to do a bit of shopping too." Alice exined as Selen recalled the first time they fought. There was a moment where her body controls kept flipping while these chains manifested on Alice''s body. "Ahh¡­ I see. So that''s what it was." Selen mumbled. "But setting that aside, you said you wanted to spar right? With your new skill." Alice grinned. "Yep. But I don''t think this area would be good considering there are too many eyes." Folding her arms, Alice thought about it for a moment before suggesting that they should go to the crystal forest that was created thanks to Keira. Since the ce was already destroyed, they might as well make use of it. With the arrangements sorted, they began to discuss the rules while making their way over. "Since this is a spar, I''ll be limiting the stuff I can use. I''ll be honest, a lot of my skills are made for killing after all, not quite suitable for a harmless spar." Alice scratched her cheek with an awkward smile. After all, if she was to take Selen by surprise with a Void Flux, she wouldn''te out of it unscathed. "I mean¡­ I think you can still use it. Just not the crazy stuff please. I can handle the standard variants." Selen chuckled. If Alice were to use the attack she used back in Kvia then¡­ There won''t even be a crystal forest left to look at. "Alright. So no variants of Void Flux. I''ll probably avoid using my fifth Sigil too. Don''t need to create another rift between me and the realm for just a spar otherwise my body might explode." Alice nodded. For this fight, Alice was going to limit herself to the first four Sigils, Resonance, Bloodline Release and the Shard of Kara. "What about your artifact and the weird Resonance that you did when the meteor came down?" "Oh that? I mean I could but I''m not sure about the lethality of it yet. I haven''t had much practice with it after all." Alice folded her arms. There were still a lot she didn''t know about her Artificial Resonance. Thus far, all she could tell was that it worked simr to her Artifact in that it significantly enhanced her control over the Void. It seems to also boost the potency of her Void based abilities but that could also just be a cebo effect. "It''ll be fine though. I still got plenty of cards up my sleeve for the spar so don''t worry about it." Alice reassured with a grin. Now that her Bloodline Release has been unlocked, even if its just for her own soul, her physical power was boosted to a level where she should be able to keep up with Selen. Arriving at the entrance of the crystal forest, the three of them made their way towards the heart. Since they were rxed, they didn''t notice the cartographer and Torgeir on the opposite end. Finding a clearing within the heart, the two stood opposite one another while Egil acted as the referee for this spar. "I''ll have to warn you though. If you let your guard down, you''ll lose in an instant." Selen gave her body a stretch. "Ohya? Confident are we? But if you say that, it''s going to be harder to make me drop my guard ya know?" Aliceughed. Her curiosity was at an all time high. If Selen was this confident in her new skill, she must have a n to end the fight in an instant. Alice was dying to know what kind of skill could give Selen this much confidence. "Oh I know don''t worry. Why don''t we make a bet about it?" Selen offered. Hearing that Selen wanted to make a wager, Alice curled her lips up into a grin. "Fufu~ What kind of wager are we talking about now?" "If you win, I''ll buy you some mead from the tavern. Enough to replenish the supplies I sawst time in your pouch." "!!!" Alice''s eyes practically radiated fighting spirit as she wasn''t about to give this up. "But on the ''off chance'' that I win¡­ Why don''t you do me a favour?" Selen asked as Alice tapped her chin. "What kind of favour?" "I can''t think of one for now so why don''t we postpone until I need?" Selen shrugged. "Sure, I can do that." Alice nodded. With the rules and wagers now put into ce, they got ready for the duel. Taking a deep breath, Alice focused her mind. Even if it''s a spar, she''s not one to just take it easy on her opponent. Plus, she understands that Selen is a strong fighter. The fact that she lost/drew to Selen in the past when they met was indicative of that. A woman who''s incredibly strong with her time powers and body control. "BEGIN!" Egil called out as Alice immediately activated her Resonance. . . . "Eh?" Blinking her eyes, Alice froze in shock as she didn''t even know when Selen had ced a de against her neck. Chapter 476: Secret Behind Selens Skill Blinking her eyes, confusion filled Alice''s mind. ''Wh did she get this close? Wh did she pull out the de? What happed?'' One momt, the spar began. The next, Sel was in front of her and the spar ded. Seeing the confusion on Alice''s face, Sel had a smug smile on her face as she withdrew her de. "Hehe~ Seems like ev the great Alice is tak by surprise. So what do you think? A pretty good skill if I have to say so myself." Sel puffed up her chest with proudness as this was a de facto one sided win for her. Revealing a smile, Alice nodded her head. "Yeah it is. I don''t think anyone can defd against that if you try to assassinate them. Only issue I can see is with the oppont''s defces but it shouldn''t be an issue if they can''t react." "Yep, that''s still an issue I hav''t figured out yet. During the time I''m using this skill, it''s hard to put a lot of power into my strike so it''s rtively weakpared to what I can usually do." Sel admitted, twirling the de in her hands. "Let''s go again, I wanna see if I can figure it out." Alice suggested. "Sure, though I don''t think you''ll figure it out with that mindset." After all, the more her oppont focuses, the stronger this skill bes. Taking their stances once more, the two stared at one another as Alice narrowed her gaze. Since Sel is able to traverse the space betwe them in an instant, she needed to set out a grid to protect herself. A grid that''ll let her react instinctively. She knew that this wasn''t a case of time stop either since Sel''s power doesn''t stretch that far. Otherwise, she would''ve mtioned it already. However, despite creating a grid, Alice still lost with Sel appearing in front of her. ''Let me give it a try.'' Alyss spoke up as she too was extremely interested by this skill of her''s. ''Sure.'' Switching out, Alyss cracked her neck while taking an offsive stance. During these fights, Alice had be the passive one so she was going to take a differt approach. She''ll attack Sel before she can use this skill. "BEGIN!" Egil shouted. . . . "EHHHH???" Alyss blinked her eyes, realising that she was t on the g with Sel pointing her de towards her. "How the f*ck???" Alyss waspletely baffled. "Want me to tell you two the secret?" Sel grinned, resting the de on her shoulder. "Nah, let me try and figure it out some more." Alice shook her head as she took over once more. So far, neither brute force nor passive styles have worked against this skill of Sel''s. Furrowing her brows, Alice understood that it was something to do with Sel''s ability to control time. The question now is what exactly does the skill do. For this attempt, she''ll read the flow of ergy! "BEGIN!" . . . "??????" Alice lost before she could ev see the flow of ergy. "Fufu~ Shall I give you a hint to try and figure it out?" Scratching her hair, Alice relted as she nodded her head with a sigh. "The hint for you is perception and focus. I''ll give you¡­ 5 matches to figure it out." Sel challged. Alice''s smile twitched as her fighting spirit was ignited. "Deal." Standing opposite Sel, Alice dwelled on Sel''s words. Perception and Focus. The hint to how Sel''s skill worked. First match ¨C ded in an instant. Second match ¨C Alice tried to close her eyes and use her ears to focus on Sel. No use, ded in an instant. Third match ¨C Alice tried to switch with Alyss midway through in order to dispel the skill but once again, it was no use. Alyss was also caught up in the skill. Fourth match ¨C Alice sured herself with blood mist to try and block the skill. No use, instant loss. Fifth match. Taking deep breaths, Alice tried her best to calm her mind. So far, nothing had worked. She tried everything she could think of wh it came to her Perception and Focus but it was no use. The issue was that she didn''t know what was going on in the skill. It''s like someone just snapping their finger and the match ds. None of the process could be se. If she can''t see the process, she can''t figure out how to counter it. Thus, this time, she was going to go all out in defding herself. As the match began, a singrity appeared in Alice''s eye as she created a defsive circle a herself. A zone using the properties of the Void to stop attacks. However, halfway through activating her defces, it copsed from destabilization while Sel tapped her on the forehead. "And that makes five wins." Sel chuckled. Revealing a helpless smile, Alice gave her body a stretch a sighed. "You really made something impressive. I seriously have no clue on how it works." Alice shook her head and admitted her defeat. For the first time, Alice suffered a convincing defeat from someone with the same number of Sigils as herself. She understood that the abilities of the Abyss are vast and numerous. No matter how she may consider herself as powerful, there will still be a momt where her skill set ispletely countered. Hell, a situation where someone with less Sigils defeating her could happ. "Because this skill is probably the worst emy for someone like you with extremely high instinct and focus." Sel chuckled. "Oh?" "Basically my skill messes with your perception of time. The more you try to focus, the more the momt of focus is dragged out. Esstially, I ce you in a state where you focus so hard you begin to space out. During that instant, you are not digesting any of the information you''re seeing and thus can''t react. "Th it''s just a case of activating my eleration on my own body to bridge the gap while you can''t react. No matter how strong your instincts are, you can''t use it if you can''t process the information." Sel exined. Hearing this, Alice blinking her eyes in disbelief. If that was indeed the case, th whever anyone is in a high stress situation where it requires conctration and focus, the stronger this skill bes and the easier it is to pull off. The more Alice tried to figure out the skill during the battle, the harder it became to break out of it. A cruel loop that''s unbreakable unless one knew how the skill worked. Heck, ev if they knew how the skill worked, how do you stop yourself from focusing wh death is so close at hand? "How the hell did you ev think of something like this???" "I got a slight hint wh I was talking to Egil about my abilities. I had to rethink my approach and I got an idea wh I recalled your instincts and focus. Though there is a downside to this skill." Sel shrugged. Thinking about it for a momt, Alice realized what it could be. "Let me guess, it depds on whether or not the oppont keeps their atttion on you." "Exactly. If their atttion is turned away, the skill is brok and all of my movemts became clear as day to them. Once that happs, reapplying the skill bes a pain in the ass and it''ll ev give them a hint on how it works. "Since you never looked away or turned your atttion to something else, I was able to keep the skill activated on you. But if I was to use it in a situation where there''s a lot of things to focus on, such as multiple people to fight against, it bes a waste of ergy." Sel chuckled. She was testing this skill out while walking a the marketce and noticed the ws early on. But in a one vs one situation where all atttion is focused on her? Unbreakable! "Let''s have one more spar, you can see how the skill works that way." Sel was the one who suggested it as Alice nodded her head. Taking a deep breath, Alice stood opposite Sel. Since she needed to divert her atttion to something else in order to break this skill, Alice needed to find something to focus on. There were two options for this. One, find something in her surings. Two, focus on her own actions. "BEGIN!" *BANG!!! Sel shot forward as Alice found herself spacing out momtarily before taking back control. Ev though she knew how this skill worked, it was still disoritating ev if you managed to react to it. Creating a blood de in her hands, Alice twisted her body and parried the de. Hitting Sel''s wrist to try and disarm her, Alice kicked towards Sel''s stomach only for the skill to reactivate. Immediately turning her atttion towards making a conctrated orb of blood, Alice mmed it down, pushing the two of them away from one another. However, just before Alice couldnd, a portal oped behind her as she appeared behind Sel ready for the finishing strike. But this momt of focus was ough for Sel as she activated her skill. The two stood with des pointed at each other''s necks as a smile could be se on their faces. "I''ll be damned. Ev after knowing how your skill works it''s still annoying as all hell to go against." Alice smiled as Sel chuckled. "Of course. I have to figure out something to keep up with the sh*t you get yourself into." In a high level fight against a strong oppont, ev if it was just for a split momt, thispse in focus could be extremely deadly. A deadly trump card that can save a life or take one in a split momt. Chapter 477: A Demonstration Of Power Messing a with the skill some more, the two took a break and got some snacks to eat from their pouch. While they were resting, they noticed the cartographer making their way a the area. "Torgeir!" Alice called out with a wave. Since they ran into Torgeir, she might as well invite him for a snack too. "I thought you three would be joying the market. Howe you''re here?" Torgeir asked curiously while the Cartographer followed behind him. "We were testing out new skills and stuff. Since this area is already like this, it shouldn''t be an issue to mess a here right?" "As long as you don''t make any major changes, it shouldn''t be an issue." Torgeir chuckled. However, the Cartographer only raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Ah before I forget, this girl here is Alice Agnelia. The one who saved the warriors. The girl next to her is Sel and the tough guy over there is Egil. They all contributed heavily to helping the outpost." Torgeir introduced before introducing the Cartographer to them. A man named Jonas was doubtful of Alice''s power. Furrowing his brows, he observed Alice and scanned her from head to toe. No matter what Torgeir says, he just can''t see this small girl being able to fd off an attack that could tt this mountain. "Are you sure you''re the one who took care of the person behind the ambush? Perhaps you could''ve teleported everyone like they said but I don''t see how you can kill her if they were able to do this." He expressed his doubts while gesturing to the crystal forest. Hearing this, Torgeir frowned in annoyance. Despite all the evidce, he still doubted. A rude question despite just being here to draw the map. "Hmm¡­ an attack of this scale isn''t that hard to pull off ya know? If you have the right Sigils and ough time." Alice tapped her chin while looking a her. Torgeir raised an eyebrow at Alice''s calmness as he thought she''d be annoyed that the cartographer was doubting her and esstially calling her a fraud who didn''t actually kill the person responsible for the ambush. "Bold words. An attack of this level isn''t something a mere four spirit Warrior can replicate." Jonas scoffed. "Alright that''s ough. You''re here to do your job as a cartographer, not to nick pick what you believe or don''t believe." Torgeir interrupted as he couldn''t let this man continue to nder Alice after she saved them. "Tsk." Clicking his tongue, Jonas nodded his head. However, one could still see doubt in his eyes. "I just have to show something on a simr scale right? It''s not that hard. I''ll show you what I used to kill the person behind the ambush if you want." Alice stretched her body as she stood up. This was a good chance for her to get more practice with her skill. Furrowing his brows, Torgeir was about to say no wh he saw the glint in Alice''s eyes. ''She''s eager.'' His smile twitched as he nodded his head. "Sure, just keep it within the boundaries of this area." At this stage, she wasn''t going to take no for an answer. "Alrighty~ Stand back everyone, you don''t want to get caught in the st radius now do you?" Alice chuckled, waving for both Sel and Egil to stand back. Sel took the hint and began to jog away with Egil. Meanwhile, Jonas thought they were exaggerating. Seeing as everyone was far ough away to some extt, Alice smiled before taking a deep breath. *RUMBLE!!!! Immediately, her ergy soared as the clouds began to crackle with lightning due to the excess of ergy surging from Alice''s body. Resonance! Briar thorns and spider lilies blossomed as a ck dress appeared on her body. Bloodline Release! Her shadow began to shimmer as motes of darkness floated up, converging into the spectre of a maniacal womanughing while crying tears of darkness. Ruinous Void ¨C Artificial Resonance! A singrity appeared in Alice''s eye as the realm began to warp a her. The sudd explosion of ergy shocked ev Torgeir as she had gott far stronger than thest time he''d se her! It''s to the point where ev he was fearing whether or not he was far ough away. *CRACK RUMBLE!!! The g fractured a Alice as it began to float upwards. The convergce of ergy coalesced into a singrity floating above her palm as a disk of pure ergy began to materialize. Holding it out to the side, Alice crouched down as her target was locked on. The heart of this crystal forest. She was going to eradicate it from the ctre! Activating her fourth Sigil, a ritualistic circle appeared beath her as sparks of ergy jumped from her body. Little by little, the realm in front of her twisted into a warp point. A single line of pure speed where she rips through both reality and the Void to reach her target. At this point, Jonas began to panic but it was toote to tell her to stop. *BANG!!!! Shattering the g beath her, Alice condsed the singrity into a single minuscule orb and disappeared from her spot. It wasn''t like Sel''s perception maniption. No, it was raw speed from traversing the realms for one goal and one goal only. To reach her target in the shortest time possible! *BANG!!!! From the heart of the crystal forest, a ck hole spun to life, carving out a cavity within the earth as shes of light whipped against the suring structures, severing them with the power of two realms shing and tearing. In an instant, the top half of the crystal forest was cut away while arge crevice could be se in the heart. Crackles of lightning and micro tears that allowed the ergy of the Void to leak out flickered across the crystals near the impact spot. Standing in the ctre, Alice flicked her hand as she held back ough to not tear a hole into the Void otherwise Feris might be rather annoyed. These micro tears will heal up in due time naturally. Creating a portal back, Alice appeared next to Torgeir and Jonas. Jonas was on the g as he stumbled back from the explosion and tripped over. "So how is it? I believe that''s ough proof as it is." Alice smiled. "Every day you bring new surprises. But thank you for keeping it within the area." Torgeir chuckled. While he was surprised by what Alice could do, it made sse once he attributed it to her being an anomaly. ''Yep,mon sse doesn''t work with this girl.'' "You''re wee. We''ll be taking the caravan to the capital now so I don''t think we''ll see each other again unless a coincidce urs. Since that''s the case, I might as well give you a parting gift." Taking a deep breath, Alice activated her second and third Sigil to make a blood orb above her hand. "If you''re ever in danger, channel a bit of ergy into this and throw it towards your emy. It''ll blow up and should seal up their ability to use Sigil powers for a bit." Alice exined. Creating a second orb, she threw it casually to the side to demonstrate. *BANG!!!! A torrt of violet mes erupted as the crystal was decimated. A miniature orb holding a Void Flux that''ll explode on impact and coat the target with Violet mes. A one time use item to turn the tides and save Torgeir''s life if it ever came down to it. Seeing the destructive power of the orb, Torgeir was almost afraid to ept it in fear of it just detonating in his hands. However, if it indeed worked as Alice had exined, it was a priceless life saving tool. "Thank you." Waving goodbye to Torgeir, Alice left the forest with Sel and Egil. Arranging for a carriage, it was time for them to make their way to the capital. ### After finishing with marking down the change in the forest, Jonas bid his farewells to Torgeir. "Seems like Verona has gott some annoying people." Jonas muttered as his skin began to peel away, revealing his true appearance beath the disguise. "But thatst attack¡­ It''s not something a four Sigil Hunter should be capable of." He muttered as more of his disguise began to disappear. Massaging his neck, he flicked his hand and created a small wood bird. "Keira didn''t fulfil her ritual so she took a punishmt. In that state, if she was to take that kind of attack, it''s no surprise she died. Elow should be pretty happy though, the culprit has be found." He smirked. Embedding a message into the bird, he threw it into the air and watched as it flew away towards the south, where Elow was waiting with Troy. "But to think themander would sd me out for this kind of boring errand. I should probably lodge aint." Shaking his head, Sigils began to light up on his body. His form began to twist and crack, extding his limbs as wood burst out from under his skin. A skull formed over his head with tworge wood antlers attached to the top. A wood beast with bones and ck spiked fur. Taking a step, he sunk down into the g and disappeared as though he was never there. ### Sitting by the window, Elow waited. Soon, a wood bird appeared by her window as she read the message and stood up. With the culprit now found, it was time for them to make a move. An attack on the capital to d this war and seal up any news they may pottially have on the hybrids. Ev if the Lords are there, so what? The Zia family is not scared of a few Lords. Chapter 478: Tumultuous Era The journey towards the capital was going to take roughly a week or so. The caravan already had guards assigned so all Alice, Selen and Egil needed to do was just rx for the journey. All provisions were provided for so they didn''t need to hunt either. For this week, Alice had to just rx and enjoy herself. "I''m boreddd." Aliceined while lying on a seat and kicking her legs up. "We haven''t even set off yet." Selen''s smile twitched. "Yeah, but it''s gonna be a week of this. No fighting, no hunting, just sitting and doing nothing. It already sounds boring. What if I ask them where the capital is and I''ll warp us over there?" Alice asked as her eyes gleamed with sadistic light. Recalling what it was like to have Alice warp them to the frontlines, Egil paled and quickly shook his head. "It''s a peaceful journey and a good chance for you to see what the scenery is like in the north. You two aren''t from around here right?" Egil asked as Alice and Selen nodded. "The north is mainly known for therge mountains and frozenkes. We''ll pass by some of the more famous ones on the way to the capital so it should be something pretty interesting to see." Egil exined. Folding her arms, Alice thought about it and nodded her head. She was surprised ces like this still exist when Lords are running around, dismantling the surroundings and so on. Soon, the caravan began to move as Alice dangled from the ceiling. Sitting by the window, Selen couldn''t help but roll her eyes with a smile. Alice was like an overly excitable kid who was trying to keep herself entertained. Exhaling hot breath against the window and drawing with her finger. Leaning her head against the window and letting it bounce whenever the carriage would shake. At one point, she even began to juggle miniature singrities that she would create that are no bigger than a fingertip. Since the journey was long, Egil decided to have a nap and so did Selen. Seeing the two napping, Aliceid on the sofa with a bored expression. Ca was sleeping and Alyss was having a light nap as well. With nothing else to do, Alice decided to have a few drinks before sleeping as well. Reaching into her pouch, she chose her medium quality mead for now. The limited supply of Ayrian Mead was not to be touched unless it''s a special asion. The high quality mead were few and far between with Alice not finding something that could qualify for that rank in the north just yet. Well, with the exception of the weird one she bought at the market but she needed to learn about the birds and the bees first before she could drink it. Recalling this, Alice remembered that she forgot to ask about it since she was busy sparring with Selen. Shrugging her shoulder, she decided to ask themter if she remembers. With that out of the way, the only things she had left were medium quality mead and the fruits that Ragnar gave her. Thinking back to Ragnar, Alice couldn''t help but wonder where he went. After going their separate ways in Esna, she couldn''t find him anywhere. And here she wanted to get more of the fruits if she could. ### Walking through the frosty mountains of the north, Ragnar looked to the side and observed his homnd. Taking a deep breath, he let out a sigh as he couldn''t help but recall the power of Tiamat and the power of Alice who was somehow able to affect the Abyss Lord. For a retired Lord, his power has waned drastically. Revealing a bitter smile, Ragnar shook his head and continued up to the peak. That fight was a cruel reminder of the passage of time. He was no longer young nor did he have the power of his prime. Hell, even in his prime, he wasn''t sure if he could defeat Tiamat. Perhaps if he was to resolve himself to die, he could slow her down to some extent. That was the power different between them. Raising his hand, golden energy converged but scattered almost immediately. He was nothing but an empty husk. A reminder of what once was. He may have Sigils but he had no power to fuel them properly. Reaching into his pouch, he brought out the bottle of Ayrian Mead that Alice gifted him. A rare mead that she imed to not be made anywhere else. Opening the bottle, he could smell the fragrance of this mead. He found himself standing in a field of flowers while silken weaves would brush against his body. Just one smell was enough to invoke such feelings from deep within. "Truly a good mead." Ragnar smiled, taking a sip before sealing the bottle. Since this was limited, he''ll take his time with it. Upon arriving at the peak, Ragnar could see arge muscr man meditating with ayer of snow on top of him. "After all these years, you still like to meditate here." Ragnar chuckled. Hearing his voice, the giant man trembled as his eyes snapped open. "Master! You''re back!" Urigar called out in surprise. How many years has it been since his master hadst graced these peaks? "For the moment yes. It seems to me that you''ve been diligent. Good job." Ragnar smiled, praising his best student and whom he had left everything to. His power, his title, his legacy. Sitting down, Ragnar took a deep breath and looked at the sea of clouds spread out around them. "What has brought you back to these peaks?" Urigar couldn''t help but ask curiously. Years ago, after passing down his title, his master decided to separate himself from everything that was going on in the north and retreat to a ce no one knew about. "A tumultuous era has be, Urigar. It''s gotten to a stage where I can no longer neglect the world and sit idly by. I''ve recently met a youngster. A youngster so full of life and excitement I couldn''t help but get excited myself." Ragnar chuckled. Stands of golden energy started to appear around his body. "After a fissure to the Abyss was opened, a monster unlike any I''ve seen before appeared. A dragon Lord holding untold amounts of power within her body. Even after pushing myself to the limit and exhausting all that was left within me, I couldn''t even make her flinch. "However, the youngster was able to hinder her. It was the youngster who allowed me to win a bet between me and the beast. But it was a reminder of how much I''ve fallen. In this chaotic era, one must rise to the asion no matter what or die as coteral." Ragnar smiled as sweat dripped from his forehead. Sigils lit up across his body as he attempted to gather energy but it was akin to filling a bucket full of holes. Futile. Regardless, he still wanted to do something. Anything. "I understand. I too have noticed a change in the breath of the world. Disorderly energy now weaves amongst the masses. Energy of the chaos God, mutated energy from the Abyss and the conduct of men who seek a heretical power. "There are signs of a new faction master. Outside of the core three. A faction of blood who revel in acts of heresy far worse than the Eclipse." Urigar exined his findings while standing behind his master. cing his palms against his back, the energy of a Lord flowed into Ragnar in an attempt to help seal the holes within his body. "So what do you n to do?" "I continue what I have been doing. Seeding your mantle as the War God of the North. I will defend our homnd to my veryst breath." Urigar smiled. Letting out a chuckle, Ragnar reached into his pouch and pulled out the Ayrian mead. "This was a gift I received from the youngster. A precious mead that is no longer made. It''s truly a high quality liquor that''s should be shared. Since it''s been many years, why not a drink with this old man." Ragnarughed. "It would be an honour." ### The caravan slowed down as it was time to rest for the night. While food was being prepared, Alice decided to have a light spar with Egil since they haven''t spared with one another in a long while. Plus, Alice wanted to restrict herself and focus on practicing the Void Steps rather than any other skill that she had. Once she mastered the Void Steps, it''ll be a key part of her fighting style, a set of footwork that''ll surprise her opponent and take them by surprise. Not to mention the fact that it can act as a life saving skill as well, dodging an attack at thest moment. The only issue being¡­ *BANG!!!! Crashing into a tree, Alice held her nose in pain while Egil let out an awkwardugh. "Do you want me to continue?" He asked as she nodded her head. The spar was to have Egil use his full speed to try and attack Alice without holding back at all since her regeneration was now unlocked. She wanted to use Void Steps in a stressful situation in order to see if she could get any ideas. Waiting for Alice to recover, Egil stomped down as illusionary spirits appeared around him. *CRACK!!! Stomping down, his figure rushed towards Alice like an unstoppable train. In the blink of an eye, he was already in front of him as Alice''s pupils constricted. Activating the Void Steps, her form flickered out of sight. ''Did it seed?'' Egil wondered. But just as he finished this thought¡­ *BANG!!! Alice crashed into the side of a carriage and dented it. "MY CARRIAGE!!!" A shout could be heard in the distance. Chapter 479: Hand To Hand Combat Practice Sitting on her knees, Alice was forced to repent after breaking one of the prized carriages and the damage was paid by the three of them. She was banned from using the skill until they reached their destination in fear of breaking more carriages. "Look, I''m sorry okay? I didn''t realise the carriage was that delicate." Alice pouted. Hearing this, the owner of the carriage felt the urge to smack this girl on the head. "Girlie, this carriage is sturdy enough to block an attack or two from strong beasts!" He scolded while folding his arms. The force of which Alice mmed into the carriage had left a human sized dent on the side, making it unusable since the seats were blocked by folded metal. The most they could do with this carriage now was simply to let it store some goods while the people who were meant to sit there sat with the other supplies. Since Alice was the one to break the carriage, they lost theirfy seat privileges and sat on rock-hard boards. Crossing her legs, Selen red at both Egil and Alice with annoyance as the two didn''t dare to look her in the eye. Just seeing the vein bulge on her temple was enough to tell them how annoyed with was to be forced to sit on these seats for the rest of the journey. Not only that but how much money they had to pay because Alice broke the carriage. That money could''ve gone into new equipment, food, lodging and so on. Yet it was spent to pay for a stupid carriage. ### After the incident on the first day, Alice spent the time focusing on hand to handbat instead as it''ll avoid the possibility of destroying more things. Rather than with brute force, she wanted to practice the more delicate part of hand to hand. Parrying, countering and striking. Dashing into Egil''s range, Alice tried a jab to the neck but he dodged with ease. A counter strike towards her chest that she then pped away to the side. Using her spare hand, she grabbed his wrist and went in for a neck chop but Egil could see iting from a mile away. Ducking down, he punched up in an attempt to break Alice''s guard. However, her flexibility was far greater than what Egil had expected as she stomped down against his fist, using it to propel herself back. Right before she couldnd, Egil rushed in with a punch aimed at Alice''s stomach. *BANG!!! Parrying the fist by pushing it to the side, Alice winched as she could feel her palms stinging from the force behind the punch but they weren''t done yet. This spar wasn''t one focused on power and Egil was holding back as much as he could. This spar was on focused on technique. ''Time to go on the offence!'' Alice rushed in. Rather than ps and parries, Alice twisted her body for a devastating jab towards Egil''s head that was blocked by his arm. Right jab, left jab, a hook towards the head. Egil''s footwork was surprisingly light as he weaved through the jabs easily. Noticing this, Alice adjusted her fighting style once more. Kicking up with her foot to break his guard, she twisted her body and released a downward heel kick towards his shoulder. *BANG!!! Missing her target, Alice wasn''t fazed as she pivoted on her heel and mmed a spinning kick to his chest which was blocked by his arms. Sliding back a little, Egil was surprised by how quickly Alice could adapt. From a parrying style of mostly ps and chops to a boxing style of jabs and hooks and finally, a kicking style. While he wasn''t sure of the source, all he knew was that Alice made ''bridges'' in her mind and linked the styles together into one singr form. However, right now, it felt a little iplete. ''Let''s push it a little.'' Egil thought to himself, rushing in for a jab towards her head. Blocking with an open palm, Alice diverted his punch down before going in for a jab of her own. But with a counter attack already closing in on her head, she changed this jab to a palm strike, pushing the second punch away. Using her spare hand, she aimed for an uppercut but Egil leaned back and dodged. He grabbed Alice by the shoulder and went in for a headbutt, surprising Alice as she found it hard to move her body. But it wasn''t as though she was out of options. Dropping her body down, she loosened the grip by a little before sliding her arms out, pushing up the grip so that her arms were free. Using his arms as a bar, she swung herself down, avoiding the headbutt and transitioning into a kick against Egil''s jaw, forcing him to stumble back. Recovering from his stumble, Egil opened his eyes and saw Alice face to face with him. Out of instinct, heunched a jab forward but Alice slid back and grabbed his wrist. Pulling him towards her guard, she parried his second punch with another open palm. With both of his fists out, she brushed it to the side then mmed her palm against his sternum. Unfortunately for Alice, Egil''s physicality was higher than expected as this time, he didn''t even stumble. With her guard now open, he mmed his arm against her head. Alice waste in the block and was forced away from the hit. Shaking her hand from the pain of thete block, Alice narrowed her gaze. Despite hisrge size and muscles, Egil was shockingly fast. She knew this when they fought the first time but his speed wasn''t limited to just one direction. He was nimble even in close quarters. Truly, if her stats weren''tpletely skewed towards using Abyss abilities, Egil would probably be an insurmountable wall for her. A wall that was not only fast but could also defend against abilities thrown at him. The perfect frontline. Rushing in for round three, Alice sought to end this spar. Compared to Egil, her body stature was far smaller than one would expect. Thus, she was going to take advantage of it! Keeping her arms close to her chest, Alice weaved into his guard as she unleashed a double palm strike against his chest. A punch came flying down from above but she was prepared. Two kicks, one to the side of the knee and one to the stomach. The first broke his stance and the second caused his punch to misspletely, bringing the giant down on one knee. Just as she went in for a jab against the neck, Egil curled his lips into a smile and ducked out of the way. Forcing her to go for this jab was his n all along! From below, a devastating uppercut came rushing towards Alice''s head as she aimed for a palm block once more. Stopping his punch, Egil grabbed her arm. Twisting his body, he threw her over his head, aiming to m her against the ground. Unable to correct her posture without dislocating her shoulder, Alice gritted her teeth and tried to twist her arm. However, Egil''s grip was secure and immovable. *BANG!!! mming against the ground, Alice felt the air being forced out of her lungs as she waved her hand in defeat. "Urg¡­ You got me." She groaned. She thought she was doing pretty well and victory was in sight. But at the end, Egil was about to turn the tide and win. "I noticed that you lock yourself into a single style if you''re not given enough time to react. I''m pretty sure others will notice too if you prolong your hand to handbat. In that kind of situation, all they need to do is to bait out a parry from you and they''ll be able to catch you off guard. "Of course, there are things you can do but in a pure hand to handbat situation, you don''t have enough experience." Egil exined while helping her up. "Where did you even learn your style from? There''s a lot that''s mixed together." He asked curiously. "Observation. I just look at how people fight and see which movements feel alright. I got a few more in my brain but they don''t suit me. I''m a caster after all." Alice shrugged. "I''ve never seen a caster this proficient in hand to hand aside from you and Selen." Egil chuckled. Most casters would keep range and would constantly fire skills. For opponents like this, all Egil needed to do was to rush towards them and break their guard. But for Alice and Selen, these two have devastating hand to handbat on top of ranged skills. Especially Alice. If skills were allowed and he was an enemy, during thatst moment, there''s no doubt she would''ve broken her arm just for a point nk Void Flux. She had her regeneration backing her up after all, making it hard to properly capitalize on the mistakes that she makes. Which is why these spars are all the more important. To thoroughly reinforce her foundations so that bad habits wont cause any rudimentary mistakes that could cost Alice her life. Most people would have this sorted out early but it was different for Alice. While Alice and Egil were discussing how they could hammer out her bad habits and reinforce her foundation, Selen was practicing her new skill. She wanted to see if she could use it to influence others aside from herself. Example being if someone was fighting Egil and Alice, she wanted to see if her skill could be set on people other than herself. If she could do that, she''ll bring far more benefit to the battle than being half focused on attack. Chapter 480: Capital Of Verona Thankfully, there weren''t any more incidents after the first day. No more mming into carriages and breaking them. During the break, Alice and Egil would spar with hand to handbat, fixing Alice''s bad habits while Selen practised her new skill. At night, they''ll eat the food prepared by the caravan and go to sleep. As for what happened during the day, Alice was like a hyperactive monkey jumping all over the ce. From sitting on the roof to dangling herself off the edge and so on. With their seats being rather ufortable, neither Selen nor Egil could catch some sleep to pass the time. Just like this, a week passed uneventfully. Even the rare instances of beasts approaching the caravan would be dealt with swiftly and no abnormalities urred much to Alice''s slight disappointment. With the capital of the north just around the corner, Alice sat on the roof and waited eagerly. She wanted to see what kind of city the northern nation would have as its capital and the home of several Abyss Lords. Alice could still recall the feeling she had when she saw Ayr for the first time. ''I wonder if I''ll get a simr vibe from this ce.'' She chuckled inwardly. ''Don''t get your hopes up. Ayr is a city made by a Goddess after all. Unless Queen Verona is someone simr, I doubt it''ll have the same ''vibe''.'' Alyss shrugged while Ca nodded in agreement. However, as they turned the corner, Alice found herself at a loss of words. A paradise of crystal and light sat between the depths of a frozen canyon. Tall spires of ice stretching high into the dazzling northern sky with an array of lights above. A cascade of gentle lights filtered through the ss spires, coating the city in a mesmerising shimmer of northern beauty. Frozen waterfalls frozen in motion, sparkling cold mist and rolled from below and in contrast, the warm orange glows of lights within the houses. Abyrinth of buildings lined up beneath the protection of the castle with bridges connecting two sides of the city together. Down the middle, a frozen river where children could be seen skating around while adults supervised. However, this was just a small part of the city. From the canyon, Alice could see hints of the true scale peaking over the top. A pyramid of buildings and structures leading up to a main structure that stood higher than everything else. Arge while tree with snow white leaves. Pulses of gentle blue energy could be seen dancing through the gaps of the trunk, rising to the top before being transformed into a protective blue film that draped over the capital. But most importantly, there was something about this city that stuck out to Alice. The protective film over the capital¡­ It held traces of divinity! [It doesn''t seem to be a full divinity. But rather, a divinity in the making. An incubation stage if I had to describe it.] Ca analysed as she was the most familiar with the energy emted by divinity. ''Is she trying something simr to Velouria?'' Outside of the three natural Gods, Velouria was the only one that was ''manufactured'' in a way. She wasn''t born a God but rather made into one by the Will. If there were traces of nascent divinity in the barrier protecting the capital then perhaps Queen Verona was trying to be a Goddess herself. [Perhaps. Outside of the three main Gods, there are the outer Gods. But aside from them, I haven''t seen or heard of anyone else trying or even seeding in joining the ranks of Divinity.] Ca frowned as this was outside of the knowledge she hadpiled over the years. [If anything, I''m more concerned about you. You hold traces of Velouria''s fallen divinity. If the Queen was to sense this, I''m not sure what she''ll do considering the fact that she''s trying to be a God.] She warned. Realizing that an apex Abyss Lord might set their eyes on her because of Velouria''s Divinity, Alice couldn''t help but swallow her saliva nervously. As much as she was confident in herself, even she knew that she couldn''t match against an apex Abyss Lord. Hell, even a normal Abyss Lord could kill her never mind one that''s trying to be a God! The sensation of being suppressed by Enris''s power and divinity was still fresh in Alice''s mind. If someone simr to that was to target her here¡­ ''Yeah, I''ll be careful this time.'' Alice nodded. As they approached the gates of the city, they went through the process of ID checks and luggage checks to make sure they weren''t bringing any prohibited items. While entering, Alice marvelled at the beauty of the city as her eyes sparkled at the sight of the attire these people were wearing. The city was by no means warm but at the same time, it wasn''t as cold as the outside. Just the right temperature to wear casual attire without worrying about warmth. But most importantly, big sleeves! "Selen, how much spare coin do we have? Do you think we can spare some so I can go shopping?" Alice asked as her eyes sparkled with excitement. "After the carriage, we don''t have that kind of leisure money." Selen replied coldly as Alice''s eagerness was instantly quenched. Tears formed on the edges of her eyes as she looked like a wounded puppy. Since the carriage was expensive, most of the reward they got from Torgeir was used to pay for it. The money they had left was reserved for lodgings and food. "Urg¡­ Do you think they run a gambling arena here? Maybe I can fight and earn some money." Alice asked while feeling regretful. She could see all the different outfits that people were wearing and wanted to buy some immediately. s, she was broke. "There are arenas, but Northerners take it more as a challenge rather than to gamble money. We pride ourselves with honour so cing money on two warriors is seen as disrespectful." Egil exined as Alice let out a devastated sigh. "We still have rewards that haven''t been given to us yet. If we get a decent amount of Coin, you can have some to buy mead or clothing." Selen sighed, feeling like a babysitter as Alice nodded her head happily. "Alright, let''s get the appointment over and done with then." Alice decided. The sooner she deals with this appointment, the sooner she could go enjoy herself. ### An ethereal woman could be seen sitting on a throne. She had long flowing white hair with streaks of a deep blue. The edges of her hair shimmered with a crystalline glow, reflecting the lights around her. She wore what seems to be a dress made from ice and iridescent blue energy. A pair of cold eyes and whiteshes. Despite her casual appearance at this moment in time, there was a passive aura of authority around her. Noticing something strange, she nced up with her crystalline pink eyes and furrowed her brows. A foreigner has entered her city. And not just any foreigner. A foreigner who felt like an amalgamation of energies woven together in an unnatural fashion. A chimeric being showing signs of artificial power. "Abyss¡­ Void¡­ Human? No¡­ She can''t be considered a human." The woman muttered. Tapping her finger against the armrest, she closed her eyes before opening her mouth. "Frida." She called out. Beside her, an elegant woman kneeled. She had long flowing pale blue hair shimmering like the lights filtering through ayer of ice atop ake. She wore a flowing gown dyed with hues of blue and white. Floral and icece patterns could be seen oveying the edges of her gown as the underside glowed with a gentle blue. "My queen." She replied, voice gentle and calming. "Can I trouble you to take a look at the guests that just appeared in the city? One of them feels¡­ unnatural." Verona requested as Frida nodded her head. "Unnatural? Can I presume her to be an agent of Extalia?" Frida narrowed her gaze. "Let''s not jump to conclusions. Observe and report, that''s all you need to do for now." Verona shook her head. Recently, there''s been moments where strange beasts and ''unnatural'' energies began to invade her nation. In other words, man made abominations that only know how to follow orders and a tant disregard to life itself. But they weren''t the only threat. Beasts of blood and fanatics to a new cult have been making themselves known near the borders. There were too many things to deal with and not enough capable people to help her sort it out. Urigar was retraining himself after the expedition to the Abyss. Unfortunately, he wasn''t able to obtain a solution to the pandemic. Sigurd was busying himself in the forge, hoping to create a new weapon. Though, it''s not like he was someone to help outside of making equipment. The fact that he was even staying here and making equipment was already a blessing. -exclusive Had it not been for Sigurd, this nation would only have three Abyss Lords including herself. Frida was the only one she could rely on at this moment. As for herself, she was still trying to cultivate a divinity that refused to crystalise. However¡­ Even if she was to seed, it could bring about more trouble than expected. She wasn''t sure how the other three Gods will react to the birth of a new divinity. If things go wrong, it could be a case where they''re besieged by an alliance of all three. Letting out a sigh, she could only hope that wouldn''t be the case. Chapter 481: Exploring The Capital Opening the letter for her appointment once more, Alice could see that the time for their appointment was at 1pm. But right now, it was 10am giving them around 2 hours of free time with 1 hour to find where they were. Even though Alice was eager, she couldn''t change the fact that they still had to wait. In the end, they decided to understand theyout of the city first. Egil decided to be their guide for the time being even though the appointment didn''t include him. The first thing Alice and Selen did was to acquire a map of the city due to its sheer size. ording to Egil, as shown by the map, the city first began as just a singleyer around the centre. But as Queen Verona gained power, the capital began to expand. There was once a point where despite being a new nation after defecting from Extalia, the Queendom of Verona couldn''t be targeted easily. The war on the border was a more recent thing that''s been urring after Extalia revealed ambitions to reim thend lost in the coup. From the firstyer around the centre, the city was split into five sections. Residential, Market, Factories, Research and Barracks. Currently, they are at the intersection between residential and market, as these were built into the canyon itself. "Aren''t they afraid it''ll melt?" Alice asked curiously. With the city being created inside the ice, she couldn''t help but wonder if they''d be bothered by the fact that the ice could be melting. "A lot of people whoe here for the first time wonder about the same thing. But these canyons don''t melt. In fact, people will sooner die than see them melt since they are held in a kind of stasis thanks to Lord Frida''s power." Egil chuckled. Though if it wasn''t for Lord Frida, none of them would dare to live in such a dangerous spot after all. "What happens if she was too¡­ Ya know, stop focusing on it?" Alice whispered over. She didn''t want to be seen as disrespectful asking about something so ominous. But in the event that Frida does forget or was to fall unexpectedly, what happens then? ncing around for a moment, Egil leaned in. "The public can''t exactly imagine a Lord passing especially when the title can be passed on. But this case is rather special and even if Lord Frida were to disappear, the ice would remain. It''s not something that can be melted naturally." Hearing this, Alice nodded her head. While it''s good news that the ice can''t be melted naturally, it meant that people can directly sabotage it. Her mes for example, it burns away Abyss Energy. Alice could imagine what kind of chaos she could cause if she was to unleash it here. Just thinking about it made her shiver as doing so would make her the enemy of Verona and that was not something she wanted. Especially when there are three Lords in the capital with the Queen even looking to be a God. ''Yeah I should probably avoid using my second Sigil if I can.'' Just as she thought of this, she got curious about something else. "Howe it''s¡­ not cold then? With all this ice I thought this ce will be colder than what it is." Alice blinked. "That''s due to Lord Sigurd. His powers of the forge is what gives the capital its warmth. The closer you get to the factory section, the hotter it''ll get. Compared to here, the ice there is to cool down the section instead of decoration purposes." Asking some more questions, Alice got a general understanding of the city. Out of all the sections, the factory was in most risk of ''melting.'' Not because of the enemy or natural causes but rather due to Lord Sigurd''s hobby of making numbered equipment. Each time he makes something of that calibre, the heat created by his smithing would cause the surroundings to melt. One look at the canyons told you everything you needed to know. After all, it was caused by him. During the early days of the capital, Sigurd crafted a piece of equipment dedicated to the Queen. The effects of doing so melted thends around them, forming a spider web of canyons and cracks. This was during the time where Frida had just be a Lord so she wasn''t able to mitigate the damage. However, in a strange turn of events, the civilians loved it so much they decided to make it a part of their capital. With her history lesson of the capital concluded, the three of them began to explore the city. Alice got to see the homes hidden within the canyons, the crystalline walls that protect them and the transport around the city. Ice slides and metal carts. One would think that safety was going to be a concern but as Alice rode in one of them, she was somewhat disappointed by how stable it was. It wasn''t an exhrating rollercoaster but more of a gentle cruise. However, if she was to consider the fact that civilians will be riding this, it made sense. It would be more concerning to see civilians being flung from one canyon to the other via slide after all. After visiting the Residential and market sections, the next ce they went to was the factory section. Compared to the other sections, it was indeed different as the harsh metal structures collided with the gentle icy paradise. A contrast of metal and nature. The factories were ced in/above the canyons while the buildings on the bottom would send the supplies on carts and have them sliding down their own supply slides towards the marketce. Once she finished exploring the factories, Alice looked at the map and decided the next stop should be the research section. "Actually¡­ Can we save it tillst?" Egil requested. Tilting her head, Alice thought about it for a moment before remembering and nodding her head. ''He probably has to prepare himself a little before going there.'' With that being the case, they took a little detour and found the slide to visit the barracks. The instant they arrived at the barracks, Alice was assaulted by a sense of coldness. "What the hell?! I thought they were keeping the ce warm so what''s this???" Alice questioned while hugging her arms. "Training." Egil chuckled. It was all he needed to say. In order to prepare the soldiers for some of the harsh environments of the north, this kind of training was mandatory. They had to learn how to keep themselves warm and ready to fight at all times in this kind of scenario. "A bit simple but it does have its uses." Selen spoke up as Alice jumped up in shock. "Holy sh*t when have you been here???" ". . . Bit rude. I''ve been here the entire time." Selen''s eye twitched in annoyance. "I''ve just been practicing my new skill and see if I can blend in with your peripheral vision. As long as I keep out of direct sight, it should allow you to pretend I was never here. Though the target kind of needs to be a little preupied with something else first." She shrugged. She tried this earlier with someone else and they immediately asked why she was standing so close behind them. A small embarrassment but it allowed her to make some more notes on this skill of hers. The more practise she gets, the easier it is to know the limits of her skill and when she could take advantage of it. "You can do that?" Alice blinked her eyes. "It takes a bit of practise but I have the theory in mind already. All it takes is to put it into action. At least now, even if I can''t make then space out, I can still camouge myself. I could probably use this for stealth as well if I do it right." Selen mused. So long as she keeps herself to the peripherals, no one would be able to notice her even if she was to walk in the middle of a hallway. Of course, there were other factors that go into survailence but this was a good start. "I see¡­" Seeing Selen''s rapid improvement and development of her skill, Alice couldn''t help but feel eager to perfect Void Steps herself. While she may be ahead in brute strength, there were plenty of aspects that Alice found herselfcking. She didn''t want to fall behind after all, not when she has the goal of rebuilding Ayr and taking out the Zenia family. Once they were done with exploring the barracks and seeing the warriors train and spar, they made their way to the final slide that led to the research section. The research section looked average with norge buildings, no contrasting elements or even temperatures that was different to the other sections. All it had were in buildings scattered everywhere. Walking through the streets with familiarity, Alice and Selen followed behind in silence as they noticed a sombre expression on Egil''s face. Upon entering the building, Egil began to talk to the receptionist as Alice and Selen stood back a little. "You know what happened right?" Selen asked. "Mnm. Do you?" "Yea, he told me." Selen sighed. Opening her mouth, Selen wanted to question the motives of the Zenia family. Why they were willing to go this far just so they could''ve gotten their hands on the Inverted World. But asking Alice wouldn''t give her the answer. She knew the greed of the Zenias, their desire for power and lust for control. The schrs that found ectasy in ying the role of God, dictating life and death. Following behind Egil, they took an elevator deep underground as white walls and ss windows could be seen. Seeing this environment, Alice instinctively shivered as her finger traced her neck. It was simr, very simr yet at the same time different. Standing in front of a window, Egil ced his hand against it and looked at the woman inside with sadness. There she was, lying in bed as bestial limbs and mutations protruded from her body. Tubes and life support connected to her arms. With each passing second, the infection seemed to grow and expand. Biting his lip, Egil opened his mouth as his voice carried a tremble. "I''m back¡­ mum." Chapter 482: Governor Of The Capital "I''m back¡­ mum. I managed to join the army and stopped fighting my squad mates. I even got recognition from the captain of all people. You know how I wasn''t on good terms with them before." Egil smiled as he began to recount all the things that had happened thus far. Standing behind while listening to all of this, Selen felt like her heart was about to break in two. Seeing how Egil was talking to his mother even though ss and walls separated them, she felt the urge to help. But how? She didn''t have a way to help his mother. She wasn''t able to revert the mutations on her body. Thinking of this, she turned to Alice. Noticing the pleading in Selen''s eyes, Alice didn''t even need to ask her what she wanted to say as she already knew the question. "I don''t know. I''ve been working on a cure so far but I haven''t figured out anything yet. And¡­ I don''t think you''ll want me to experiment on Egil''s mother of all people." Alice sighed and replied honestly. She didn''t want to give him false hope, especially when the results of her experimentation may cause more grief than what he''s going through already. "Is there nothing we can do though? Maybe help relieve her pain a little or something like that." "I don''t know. I haven''t had much chance to test my theories out. Trying to separate the influence of the Abyss and mutations from the body is like trying to unmix two colours that have been thoroughly blended together." Alice shook her head. She understood Selen''s desire to help Egil as she too felt the same desire. Over the course of time and through the battles they shared together, she could see the kindness in Egil as well as his desire to help his mother. When faced with that kind of determination and resolve, it was hard to say no. And even harder to fail the trust he''d put in her if she was to say she had an option to help his mother. Biting her lip, Selen took a deep breath and sighed. If it was anyone else, Selen would''ve kept asking, hoping for a miracle. But since it was Alice, she knew that it wouldn''t change no matter how much she asked. Alice is someone to take in as many variables as possible when making a decision like this, especially when ites to a precious friend like Egil. It was times like this when Selen wished the Zenia family could''ve taken a different path in life. If they focused their efforts and research on helping people. But if they were to do that, Egil''s mother wouldn''t be in this kind of situation in the first ce. Listening to Egil speak to his mother, the two were silent as he stood and soon ran out of things to say. Looking at the state of his mother from beyond the ss window, he clenched his fist. "I''ll be back soon mum. After a short break, I''ll be deployed to the frontlines again. I''ll make a name for myself and ask them to fix you." Egil promised before taking a deep breath and calming his emotions. "Shall we head up now?" He asked with a forced smile. Without saying anything, Selen walked up and gave him a hug. Egil''s smile faltered as he bit his lip, turning his head away. While Selen wasforting Egil, Alice walked up to the window and looked at Egil''s mother with a sad expression. [I''ll memorise the energy pattern and work on some theories based on the abilities that you can use.] Ca spoke up as Alice nodded her head. ''Thank you.'' The current state of Egil''s mother was simr yet different to the people suffering from extensive use of Abyss Blood. If anything, it was closer to the hybrids than side effects. The uncanny energy was mutating within her body andtching onto the connections of her spiritual heart. Ironically, it''s due to the fact that she isn''t a warrior that she was able to survive this long. Had she gotten more Sigils, this energy would''ve attached far more aggressively and tried to break her down from the inside in a much more violent manner. ''If you have more Sigils, this disease hits fast and deadly. If you don''t have that many Sigils, you''re left in a vegetive state and left to rot while it takes over your tether to the spiritual Heart. What a brutal disease.'' Alyss frowned. Even a slight understanding of this disease left them stumped on finding a potential solution. However, no matter how difficult it is, they had to start somewhere. After a few moments, the three of them made their way up as Egil excused himself for a bit. He wanted some time to himself and clear his head. Watching him walk away, Selen felt sorrowful. Despite hisrge stature, his shadow felt small right now. "I''ll try my best to find a solution." Alice patted Selen''s shoulder as she nodded her head. After exploring the city and meeting Egil''s mother, they spent most of the free time they had avable. The appointment wasing up and they had to go to the centre of the city, near therge ice tree. The journey there was silent and the mood was heavy. Selen didn''t feel like talking, not when she thought back to what''s happening with Egil''s mother. Alice was upying herself by trying to figure out a solution for the corruption. In order to save Egil''s mother, she had to be careful if she was to operate on the spiritual heart. With a heavy heart, Alice wasn''t able to fully appreciate the cial sanctuary beneath the tree and arrived at the building where the meeting was going to take ce. "Let''s see¡­" Alice muttered, rereading the letter to make sure she had it correct. Rather than meeting the Queen and the higher ups of Verona, she was going to meet a proxy. The assigned governor of the capital city. Waiting outside the office, they were soon weed in as Alice couldn''t hide her surprise at the appearance of the governor. She had dark grey hair that would flicker with a light silver due to the lights. A pair of sharp crimson eyes and a scar on the corner of her lips. Her outfit consisted of a turtleneck ck jacket/dress with a belt and several pockets scattered across the surface. A pair of shorts and long boots. The governor''s entire attire practically screamed ughter as Alice noticed a dagger just behind her waist. But the most noticeable feature of the governor was the wolf ears atop her head. Feeling Alice''s gaze, the ears twitched as the governor narrowed her eyes in annoyance. Noticing her rudeness, Alice coughed and apologized before sitting down. ''I wanna touch them¡­'' She thought to herself, seeing the fluffy ears twitching every time her eyes scanned up. "Are my ears that much of an eyesore to you?" The governor asked with annoyance in her voice. "Ah! Nope! Sorry, they''re very fluffy ma''am." Alice instinctively responded, causing Selen freeze up. ". . ." Deciding that it was in her best interest to just ignore this weird girl, the governor opened a file and quickly scanned through the contents. "I see. So you''re the one who helped our warriors return from the frontline. Thank you for your service. The rewards allotted to you are apendium of beasts that frequently appear in the north and a meeting with Lord Sigurd of the Forge, yes?" She asked, ncing up. Nodding her head, Alice watched as the governor spun her chair around and stood up. She reached for one of her cabs and pulled out four books. However, Alice wasn''t focused on the books. Her gaze was pulled by the fluffy tail behind her. ''I wanna touch it¡­'' Taking a deep breath to calm her annoyance, the governor mmed the books on the table, jolting Alice from her staring as she coughed awkwardly. "Here are the books that you requested. But before I give it to you, I have to verify something first. Tapping her finger, Alice felt as though she''s been transported into a frozen forest while snow drifted down from above. In front of her, stood the governor and wolves began to surround the two of them. "I will ask you two questions. First, are you affiliated with Extalia?" She asked with a re. A girl with a far too mysterious background making so many contributions so quickly? Suspicious. Realising that this was a trial, Alice scratched her hair. "Nope I''m not. I''m more affiliated with the Abyss than anything. It''s simply coincidence that I found myself in the north." Alice replied truthfully. Giving her wolves a quick nce, the governor nodded. "Second question. Did you orchestrate the incidents that allowed you to gain arge amount of merit?" She asked. Once again, Alice shook her head. "Nope. I was just there when it happened." Alice shrugged. Staying silent for a moment, the governor nodded as Alice realised she was back in the room. "Alright. That''s everything. Take the books and this medal. Go to the factory department and ce it into the elevator. It''ll allow one meeting with the Lord of the Forge but whether or not he''ll actually listen to your request is up to the Lord." Alice was tempted to ask about any mary reward but seeing as how they managed to get a meeting with the Lord, it was probably best not to be greedy for more. Just before she left, Alice couldn''t help but nce up at the ceiling before furrowing her brows. ''Weird.'' She thought to herself before closing the door behind them. ### "Did she notice me?" Frida frowned. She had ced a small snowke within the room, barely noticeable so that she could keep an eye on the new guests. -read-first For her to be this sensitive to even a small snowke, Frida concluded that the assessment of her spiritual stat was probably incorrect. A double S didn''t justify this kind of sensitivity. With this in mind, she decided to keep watching for a little longer. ### Meanwhile, the governor couldn''t help but rub her ears a little. "They''re¡­ fluffy?" She muttered. It was the first time someone had called her ears fluffy¡­ A strange feeling. Behind her, her tail was waving back and forth. Barely noticeable but it was indeed doing so. The governor is in a good mood. Chapter 483: Sigurd After leaving the appointment building, both Alice and Selen made their way to the factory section while looking at the token in their hands. Compared to the other tokens that she''s gotten in the past, there wasn''t a wisp of Abyssal energy on it. Rather, it''s apletely man made key with moving parts and shimmering crystals housed in a smallpartment in the centre of this medal. "The governor was pretty scary wasn''t she?" Selen suddenly spoke up as Alice nced up in confusion. "Was she? I thought she was rather chill." Alice replied, recalling the twitching ears and fluffy tail. Once again, the desire to pet them arose in her chest but she managed to suppress the feeling. "You call that chill? I thought she was going to bite my head off if I wasn''t careful." Selen shivered. Sitting in front of the governor felt akin to sitting beneath a guillotine. A primal sense of fear was instilled in her despite everything she went through. A passive fear of an unknown source that she couldn''t get rid of. Perhaps it was part of her Sigil power or perhaps it was something else. But regardless, Selen didn''t feelfortable in front of the governor. Yet despite this, Alice had the courage toment on how fluffy her ears were?! It baffled Selen. She was focused on trying to maintain herposure but Alice was more distracted by the ears and tail. "I''m not sure how to put it¡­ But I guess she looks tough outside? I mean when she was asking me the questions wolves began to appear. They seemed pretty threatening but I didn''t sense any killing intent from her." Alice shrugged. When ced side by side next to some of the enemies that she''s been put against, their pure hatred against her, Alice didn''t find the governor to be threatening. If anything, her mind was still thinking back to the fluffy tail and ears. She couldn''t help but wonder how it was attached to her and what the sensory was like. Plus, since her hair was in the way, Alice wasn''t sure if the governor had human ears on the side or not. If she did, was her hearing improved? With all the weird questions out of the way, the two made their way to the factory section. A few of the workers who noticed the medal in Alice''s hands couldn''t help but cry out in surprise before whispering to his colleagues next to him. There were a few eyes locked onto Alice while they entered the elevator but Alice ignored it for now. She didn''t notice it before but there was indeed a strange groove perfect for the medal she was holding. Following the instructions, she inserted the key and watched as a crimson energy pulsed through the elevator. She could hear the gears turning and the elevator began to descend rather than ascend. "The Lord of the Forge is below?" Selen raised an eyebrow, feeling a little surprised. She thought the Lord would prefer arger working space than the ustrophobic underground. But as they descended deeper into the bowels of the earth, her questions were soon answered. Facing the gentle coolness of the ice caves around them, a wave of blistering heat caused her to stumble back. Both of them widened their eyes as a chaotic fusion of ice and mes danced before them. A realm crafted from conflicting elements, a boundary line of shing forces surrounded a single building that supported the ceiling of this cavern. Towering ice crystals housing flickering mes hung from the ceiling, illuminating thend. Looking above, a crystalised sea of radiant mes. Looking below, the jaws of piercing ice. It is within this harmony that a single towering forge stood unyielding. Surrounding the forge, a graveyard of myriad weapons and equipment. *CLANG!!! Each strike of the hammer sent a pulse of energy rumbling out, causing the ming crystals above to flicker before holding their me true. Each strike caused the chains hanging down from above to sh against each other, orchestrating a harmonious choir as though to wee the next masterpiece. Each strike pushed the energy out from the centre before copsing in and condensing. Alice stared at the forge in silent awe. While the dazzling nature of this forge blinded others, Alice saw whaty beneath. The raging sea of energy, a chaotic spiral of energy forced into submission and put to work. Enved and sealed beneath the ice. There was not just one aura of a Lord here. No, there were two. "F*cking hell¡­" Alice couldn''t help but mutter. Within this forge, a sealed Lord slumbered! Reaching the bottom of the elevator, the two them cautiously stepped out as there was only a single path and that path led towards the forge. Swallowing her saliva, Alice took the lead as her eye couldn''t help but track the energy downwards. There was only a singleyer of ice separating them from a sealed Lord. However, the biggest question she had was why it was on the surface! To her knowledge and Ca''s, all the sealed Lords were locked away either in Terminus or the otheryers of the Abyss, forever tortured for their ''sin''. Yet for one to be on the surface¡­ Being used as the mes to a forge at that¡­ [Simply illogical.] Right as they were about to walk up the steps leading to the forge, a pulse of energy pushed out, preventing them from advancing. "After you ring a bell, wait for the owner to respond before walking in. It ismon courtesy." A deep voice bellowed out from the heart of the forge. Taking this as a warning, both Alice and Selen waited just outside the forge as the sounds of shing metal began to speed up. Even though they couldn''t see what was happening, sparks continued to fly as the ice above reflected the moment of impact. A sh of light with each crash of metal. *TSSSS!!!!! "Tsk, trash again." The voice grumbled. *BANG!!! Before either of them could react, a chunk of metal mmed into the graveyard behind them as the metal began to melt before reforming around the weapon, shattering it in the process. thanks for reading on m|v|l|e|m|p|y|r "Alright, what''s going on here. What the hell do you two want?" The voice grumbled as it was clear the owner was in a bad mood. And soon, a frowning man came into view. Contrary to his deep bellowing voice, the owner of which looked like a fearsome young man with his arms folded. ck hair and a pair of sharp golden eyes illuminated by what seemed to be the light of a flickering me. A well trained muscr physique with scars, burn marks and tattoos of Sigils. He wore a set of loosely fitted white and ck clothing with bandages around his arms. Baggy pants and thick boots. Alice wasn''t sure what she was looking at considering the¡­ strange flow of energy. Or rather, theck thereof. This ''Lord'' in front of her didn''t feel like a Lord. In fact, he felt like a normal human right now. "Well? Or are you two mute?" Sigurd asked in annoyance. The mismatch of the voice and appearance caused both Alice and Selen to freeze up before Alice took the lead and opened her mouth. "We''re here as a reward for our recent exploits. We wish the esteemed Lord of the Forge will craft us suitable weapons." Alice replied. Silence dominated the cavern as Sigurd narrowed his eyes at Alice. "Are you mocking me?" He asked, clearly annoyed and confusing both of the girls. "Huh?" "I can see the weapons you have on you. A personal Artifact and a sealed weapon that clearly shows signs of growth. Even if I make you something, you''ll sooner default back to these two am I right?" Sigurd appeared next to Alice, lifting her arm and ring at the bracelet. "So why should I make something for you if you''re just going to toss it aside in the first ce? Is this not a mockery of my craft? Well?" He asked, lifting Alice up so that they could look at one another at eye level. Surprised by the fact that the Lord of the Forge actually recognised Void Fang on her wrist, Alice quickly recovered and shook her head. "Ah you misunderstood me, my Lord. I meant my friend here a suitable weapon. If anything, I just want the gift from my mentor fixed." Alice chuckled despite her current position. Reaching into her pouch, she pulled out the damaged wire gloves. Narrowing his gaze at Alice, he was silent for a long moment, long enough for Alice to wonder if he was spacing out. "Depends. You, what''s your name." Sigurd nced over at Selen who pointed at herself. "Yes you! Who else is here??" Sigurd snapped, feeling as though these two were a bit slow in the head if their reaction was this dyed. "It''s Selen, sir." "Alright then Selen, I want you to show me what you can do. Use every trick you have, every ability you canmand. If you interest me enough, I''ll consider it." He gestured as thoughmanding a jester to perform. While she was a little annoyed by his attitude, she didn''t dare show it considering he''s a Lord and began to demonstrate what she could do. Meanwhile, Sigurd was giving Alice a side nce with a slight frown. He wasn''t even sure what he was looking at. It felt as though he was staring into a bottomless hole of impurities and corruption. A foul mixture of energies oveyed by a heinousyer of curses enough to kill a man. What did she do to require such a vile curse? And most importantly, who was strong enough to apply such on a lowly warrior? Chapter 484: Forging Equipment Keeping his focus on the two girls, Sigurd couldn''t help but fold his arms in silence. This was the first time he''d seen such a strangebination. With each move that Selen performed, he could see the strange influence her Sigil produced in the area around her. How she would slow down time to a near halt or elerate it. "I''m still watching, keep going." He spoke out. Selen had slowed down a little out of concern once she noticed he wasn''t giving her his full attention. But Sigurd didn''t need to. Just reading the flow of her energy and the way she manipted her surroundings was giving him plenty of information to deal with this. ''She can''t make the time move back but slowing it down or speeding it up is no issue¡­'' He''ll admit it. After seeing this kind of power, his interest in making a weapon for her grew. All that was left was now to figure out the most optimal set of abilities or ''skill paths'' to follow for this weapon. When he looks at someone''s ability, he sees it as a tree. The more they show, the more branches this tree grows. As he takes a step back to look at this tree, all of the possibilities will manifest as branches that have yet to take form. Synergies and a flow of ideas frombining multiple aspects of the skills they show. When he makes a weapon for a specific person, Sigurd will take hold of one of these skill paths and optimize it as much as he can. In essence, a fake personal Artifact. However¡­ There was something off about Selen''s skill paths. He could see the tree growing and showing more paths, but thergest part of it was missing. "You''ve been practising something else recently, haven''t you? Since it''s your focus, demonstrate it even if it''s not finished." Sigurd called out. Hearing this, Selen nced over in surprise. "Don''t ask questions, just do as I say." Sigurd interrupted before she could question how he knew. Furrowing her brows, she eventually nodded her head. "If it works on you, you''ll be surprised." Alice chuckled next to him as he nced at her with doubt in his eyes. Making sure that Sigurd was focused on her, Selen activated her skill. As Selen activated her skill, Sigurd unfolded his arms. "What the f*ck?" He couldn''t help but mutter as Selen appeared not far from him. It was only a brief moment, far shorter than what Alice and Selen expected. But the fact that it even worked to begin with showed that Selen was on the right path! A skill that can affect Abyss Lords despite her having five Sigils! "Oi, girl, do it again." Sigurd demanded as his eyes began to glow with a radiant gold. Sigil markings appeared on the corner of his eyes as Selen nodded her head. This time, she wanted to see if she could traverse the distance between them tounch a surprise attack. Activating the skill, she rushed towards him but he was faster. Appearing in front of Selen, he ced his palm against her stomach and stopped her in her tracks. Leaning down, he stared into her eyes and furrowed his brows. ''Erasure of time? No¡­ not quite. The energy doesn''t stop nor does it freeze. It continues to flow and reappears where it should be if time flows as usual. Meaning¡­ She''s somehow jumping the time ahead. But there doesn''t seem to be signs of maniption. ''So it can only be me.'' Sigurd concluded. "Perception huh? I didn''t think you could use your powers on my perception rather than the time around you. Not bad." He offered her a rare praise. The skill tree that he could see for her split apart, revealing a new branch of skills that could be made depending on how she wanted tobine her attacks. Ideas flowed into his mind like a waterfall while strands of energy began to unravel from his body. However, before it could get out of control, he snapped his finger and reigned it in. "Alright, I have a few ideas. Rejoice girl, you''ve inspired me enough to make you a new numbered equipment." Sigurd smirked as Sigils began to light up across his body. Massaging his shoulders, he walked towards the forge while gesturing for Selen to follow him. Alice tagged along after noticing the strange movement of energy from his body. Despite originally feeling like a normal human, his aura was beginning to climb. From one Sigil all the way to six before breaking through to seven and reaching the realm of Lords. *BANG!!! Taking a step past a boundary, his figure immediately exploded into a ball of mes as his body transformed into a towering icon of raw strength. Ayer of molten rock and mes flowed across his body as his Sigils transformed into ming tattoos. Standing in the presence of such a being, both Alice and Selen felt like they were going to melt from the heat. However, Alice couldn''t move her eyes away. This flow of energy, the colour of his aura, it matched the radiant dance of mes sealed by the ice crystals above. There wasn''t a Lord sealed here. No¡­ He was the Lord bound to this ce! Raising his hand, mes converged from his surroundings as he condensed it into a single hammer. *BANG!!! mming it down, the collision of his hammer against the anvil fractured the realm around him as a pulse of mes rushed out, colliding against the boundary but failing to break through. "Beautiful¡­" Alice muttered. One strike was all it took for Sigurd to unravel the weaves of energy that bound the reams together. One strike to strip away what he didn''t require and gather only the necessary materials. Raising his hammer once more, Sigurd struck down. *BANG!!! A swirling vortex of weaves danced beneath his hammer, converging into a storm of energy that threatened to tear apart everything that approached. Yet strangely, within this swirl, a sense of harmony and bnce could be sensed. *BANG!!! Before the swirl could calm, he struck down once more, inviting chaos into the moment of peace. "You two should back off, it''s going to get dangerous from now." Sigurd warned as he nced back. But what he saw caused his pupils to constrict in shock. Selen was shielding herself from the mes and was blown back. But Alice? story source m vl e mp yr She stepped through the boundary without care. The mes tore away at her skin but her regeneration was far stronger! But this wasn''t what shocked him. The way she was staring at the swirl of chaos beneath his hammer¡­ That concentration¡­ ''She can see the flow!!!'' The gift of being able to see energy was something he gained after sacrifice. A gift to help him forge the masterpieces he wished to bring out to this world. Yet a girl who''s not even a Lord could see the strands? *Badum! Clutching his chest, Sigurd couldn''t hide the smile on his face as his heart beat with excitement. How much could she see? How much could she understand? He could finally share the view of this world that had enamoured him for so many years! ''Keep looking, don''t get distracted. With that eye of yours, witness the hidden truths of thesends!'' Sigurd roared out inwardly as his aura soared with his excitement. Reacting to his emotions, the mes around them broke free of the ice as a maelstrom of inferno rushed towards their area but Sigurd didn''t care. These mes were not there to harm but rather to allow his techniques to match his mental image. A pathway to his desires and the fuel to give life to this equipment! ''Watch carefully young one!'' *BANG!!! mming down with his hammer, Sigurd let out augh as all light in this realm was exhausted for a split second where only a single source existed. The impact point of his hammer. *BANG!!! Each strike birthed a waterfall of sparks and new weaves of energy that Alice had never seen before. The strands of his Sigils weaving together with the foundations of this realm to bring forth a new material. *BANG!!! From this material, golden lights illuminated the centre, filling the empty shell with power. *BANG!!! The ice around him began to shatter as the echo of energy breached the boundary and pulsed towards the surface. Before the wave could reach the civilians, Frida intervened. ''What is this idiot doing?!'' She gritted her teeth. For a simple reward, this was going far beyond what should''ve been allowed. Something must''ve happened for Sigurd to go this far. At this rate, the equipment he forges could rival the masterpieces he created near the start of his journey! That moment when his inspiration was at an all time high and his desires burned brighter than the cosmic star. The burning will that caused the great God of the Eclipse to ask him for a weapon! *BANG!!! With the final strike, mes burst out, engulfing the entire cavern. But this was not the mes of destruction. No, this was creation. The mes of birth that will bring forth Sigurd''s newest masterpiece. *RUMBLE!!! From above, lightning crackled as strands of energy weaved into a cosmic figure. From his hands, mes birthed forth as he wrapped his palms around where Sigurd stood. At that moment, a vacuum began to greedily suck in the energy from around them. An ever growing ck hole that refused to stop. *BANG!!! The final strike of his hammer. With this final strike, the equipment wasplete. Time seemed to halt in this world as the all the energy condensed into a single ring. Number 247 - Aeternum Vow Chapter 485: Aeternum Vow Looking at the floating ring, Sigurd couldn''t hold back the smile on his face. The ring was crafted from a dark metal that shimmered with the boundless weaves that were fused together to grant it form. An ever changing, ever glowing faintyer of energy danced across the surface of this ring. Located in the centre, a small intricate design resembling that of a sundial could be seen with patterns surrounding it on the side. Along the ring, wings of flowing ribbons wrapped in a loop, forming the main body. Engraved on the inside of the ring was the name he had granted this equipment. Aeternum Vow. A Vow of Eternity. The perfect name for Selen who''s skill is to mess with time and perception, dragging it out so that one feels as though they''re stuck in eternity for that moment, unable to register what had just urred. "Girl,e here and attune to this equipment so it can recognise you as its master." Sigurd called out as Selen had barely recovered from the recoil of Sigurd forging the ring. "What do I do?" She asked curiously, standing in front of the ring. Even without attuning to it, she could sense the power it was radiating. "Drop your blood on it. It''lltch itself onto you. Unlike the split haired girl over there, this aint no personal artifact so don''t get your hopes up. It''ll only be suitable for the skills you''ve shown thus far. If you decide to go down a different path in the future, it might struggle to keep up in regards to what you need." Sigurd warned, taking a step back and holding his arms. Nodding her head, Selen grabbed a dagger and made a small cut on her finger. Squeezing out a single drop of blood, she watched as strands of energy jumped up from the ring, infecting her blood and travelling into her finger. A foreign force wormed its way inside. Selen could feel her insides burning up with this energy as her Sigils began to glow one by one. From this weave, strands could break off, linking with her Sigils and forming a resonance! While Selen was trying her best to attune to the ring with her eyes closed, Sigurd walked over to Alice. "What do you think girl?" He asked with a small smirk. "Huh?" "The energy. You can see it right?" Sigurd rified, gesturing towards Alice''s eye. "You saw the way the energy moved to mymand, how my hammer forged it a new form." He grinned, twirling the hammer with one hand before dismissing it. "Maybe, maybe not. Who knows." Alice shrugged. However, her guard was already raised. The fact that Sigurd is even mentioning the way energy moved meant that either he could see it as well or he had a rough idea. But if he could see it, then the question bes how? The only two people who could see energy or at least to her knowledge were herself and Velouria. And that was only because they both have the Eyes of the Abyss, a blessing that lets them see the truth of the world. Ca''s power. So, how can a Lord of the north possess the same or a simr power? "Hah! Keep your secrets then. I know the truth anyway. So what do you think? Do you think you can replicate it? If you do, I''ll give you something good. I''ll even fix that glove of yours free of charge." Sigurd offered. Furrowing her brows, Alice wondered if there was a catch with this offer. From not caring about her to suddenly offering a reward and even a free repair. [Suspicious.] ''Suspicious as f*ck.'' Alyss agreed. ''Definitely suspicious.'' Alice nodded. However, if this was a true offer with no catches then Alice would be stupid to reject this offer. Plus, she wanted to try it out to begin with. "I don''t think I can replicate it. Especially since the way you forge requires all of your Sigils to work at the same time. But I''ll give it a go." Alice shrugged. But her response caused Sigurd''s smile to grow as he told her everything he wanted to know. The fact that she could even tell he was using everything meant that she could see far more than what he initially estimated. This gift, this talent¡­ this eye. She was perfect for the role of a cksmith! Finding an empty spot, Alice closed her eye and recalled the scenery that she saw. That magnificent scenery of energy and the way Sigurdmanded it. If Sigurd''s method was forceful, she''d go for a more gentle approach. *Badum At that moment, Alice felt a beat in her chest. From her core, a dark energy surged forth, wrapping around her heart. Above her head, energy began to converge into obsidian shards that took the rough shape of a crown. Without even activating her Resonance, the relics of the Abyss began to harmonize. Unfortunately, this harmonization was stopped. A thick wall of curses prevented the link from being linked up. A resonance between the crown and heart was formed while excluding the eye. Activating her second and third Sigil, violet mes burst forth from her hand. Around her, blood pooled into a whirlpool. Sparks danced across this pool as Alice furrowed her brows. The scenery that she saw was clear in her mind yet the surge of energy began to go out of control. She couldn''t reign in the violet nature of this whirlpool. "You can''t be gentle when using this method. Asking a bull to move slowly while you jump onto its back is asking it to throw you over and stomp on you. Wrap your hands around and grab tight. Go with the flow but don''t let it dictate the pace. Use its momentum against it and reign that b*tch in." Sigurd called out after seeing Alice struggle. Taking a deep breath, Alice gritted her teeth. Veins bulged along her arm and neck but she didn''t give up. She didn''t need to make an earth shattering weapon. Even if it''s a shell, she just needed to follow the rough theory and the process behind Sigurd''s method of creation. Naturally, there were gaps in their abilities that Alice had to somehow bridge herself. Snapping her eyes open, a singrity swirled into existence within her pupil. Creating a ck hole above her palm, a vacuum began to suck in the flow of energy. Sigurd recognised this step immediately. While it was slightly different, it was no doubt the same method where he could create a vortex with his hammer strike. ''Now she needs to introduce bnce and harmony within this chaos.'' He thought to himself, observing her actions with amusement and focus. This was probably the hardest part of the entire forging process. To create chaos and introduce peace within the centre. Then before this peace can settle, throw it back into chaos once more. From one extreme to the other, it''s this reinforcement process that will truly allow his equipment to shine. Wrapping her hands around the ck hole, Alice narrowed her eye as she began topress it own to a single bead. The swirl of chaos around her raged but her focus didn''t waver. *BANG!!! Crashing the orb, mes, briar thorns and spider lilies exploded out from the centre of this maelstrom, creating a field of malevolence around her. Rather than peace, it''s more akin to a harrowing forest that''s been set ame. *CRACK!!! Unfortunately, a ss crack appeared in the middle of this forest and the scene was torn apart. The convergence of energy could no longer be stopped as Alice understood that she had to condense it into a shape now or else all this energy would''ve gone to waste. Bloodline Release! The image of her soul burst out from behind as ck tears began to fall. Taking hold of this energy, Alice created another vacuum, sucking in all the energy around her and condensing it into the shape of a sword. Taking deep breaths to calm herself, the crown disappeared and so did the singrity in her eye. She returned to her base form. ncing at the sword in her hands, she could tell that it was far better than the haphazard weapons that she made in the past. With her spare hand, she created a blood de using the method she used previously. Even without testing it, the answer was clear. But to see the exact difference, Alice tossed the newly created de into the air before infusing energy into the blood de. Void Flux ¨C Cleave!!! *BANG!!! A trail of ster mes followed her sh but upon colliding with the newly forged de, her blood de shattered into countless pieces and the energy used for the cleave dissipated without striking the target. "A little rushed but not bad for an initial product. Seeing as how you controlled it with such familiarity, seems like this power isn''t something recent for you." Sigurd pped his hands. While the new de was an unfinished product, the foundations was there. All she needed was time. Time and guidance. With these two, she could be a cksmith far better than he could ever be. A girl with talent that far surpasses his limits. "Takes a bit too long to use it in a fight though. I doubt they''ll wait for me to forge something good to use against them." Alice shook her head. There was no doubt that this de is strong. Far stronger than what she used before but it took too long to form. In the thick of things, when every second counted, she couldn''t afford such a blunder as doing so meant death! She needed something both fast and strong. For this reason, this method didn''t suit her. Waving her hand, Alice dismissed the de as it crumbled apart. "So now that you''ve seen this, what do you want?" Alice asked. It was clear that Sigurd wanted to see her capabilities with his method of forging. The only question left now was why. Curling his lips into a grin, Sigurd stopped in front of Alice. "What do you think about inheriting my title of Lord?" Chapter 486: Aeternum Vows Properties. "What do you think about inheriting my title of Lord?" Sigurd asked with a grin as he folded his arms. "Hah?" Alice blinked her eyes. "My title as Lord of the Forge. Do you want it? Be my student and I''ll pass everything to you. My techniques, my knowledge, my blueprints. Everything, I''ll give it to you." Sigurd rified. ''With such an offer given to her, it''ll take her a moment to fully digest everything.'' He mused to himself. But that was fine. After all, Alice is the first one to show such promise of inheriting his technique. "Nah, I''ll pass." Alice yawned, waving her hand dismissively as she turned to Selen. "That''s right, who would pass on this opport- What?" Sigurd blinked his eyes. "I''ll pass. I''m not interested in bing a Lord of the Forge." Alice scratched her head, wondering if Sigurd heard her wrong. Which shouldn''t be the case since the physicality of Lords, even for those that aren''t focused on the body, should transcend human limits. There was no chance of him mishearing her. "I''m offering the status of Lord! Do you even know what that entails?" Sigurd questioned, catching up to Alice. He didn''t think anyone in the world could reject the offer of bing a Lord. After all, this was the apex of humanity they''re talking about! The strongest beneath those that are blessed by divinity! "Of course I do. But I don''t see why I would want to be the Lord of the Forge. It''s not like I''m a cksmith or have an interest in making weapons and equipment. It''ll just be wasted on me." Alice shrugged her shoulder. Making weapons out of blood was never her main focus. If anything, it''s more of a temporary measure put in ce by her due to Void Fang being sealed. She still needed a weapon to fight with and this was the easiest option rather than continuously buying weapons. Doing so would waste far too much money when she could be using it for something ACTUALLY important like mead. Blinking his eyes in disbelief, Sigurd was speechless while watching Alice walk up to Selen who slowly opened her eyes. The ring hadpletely attuned to her now and a new source of energy could be sensed flowing through her body. "How you feelin''?" Alice asked, scanning Selen from head to toe. "A little tired but pretty good in general." Selen chuckled, holding up her hand and showing off the ring. "That''s good. So how does it feel to have proper equipment of your own?" All this time, Selen had been conjuring a staff to act as a medium for her abilities or a sword simr to what Alice would do. But the difference between them was the fact that Alice was mainly a caster to begin with. She didn''t need the weapons while Selen did. If Alice is a caster, Selen could be better ssified as a spell warrior. Someone who fights using their body while weaving spells between each attack. ''Going off by that logic, wouldn''t you be ssed as a spell warrior too twinnie?'' Alyss questioned. After all, Alice liked jumping in and throwing jabs at people. One of her main attacks was even a physical enhancement on a sword strike! ''That''s just personal preference.'' Alice stuck out her tongue. ''Plus, Selen has always been a monster with her body control. It''s just that she never really got the chance to use it aside from the time she''s been fighting against us. Now that I think about it, aside from being a spell warrior, Selen is probably an Anti Hunter focused fighter right? She''s been struggling hard with fighting beasts.'' Alice paused as she recalled the three ssifications of Hunters. Anti Beast, Anti Hunter and Anti Army. Alice thought that these ssifications are mainly limited to the Sigils they''ve obtained but that wasn''t the case at all. Depending on how you utilise your abilities and your experience, you could be a ''Anti Hunter'' type Hunter that is specialized as Anti Beast. In Alice''s case, she was a strange fusion of the two due to the skills that she''s copied from her mentors. The destructive power to take outrge beasts with high defence and the Sigil abilities to counter the power of Hunters. The only thing shecked now was Anti Army. Thinking back, with all of her experiences, Alice figured she could probably organise the three into a rock paper scissors format. Anti Hunter beat Anti Beast as they are able to release devastating attacks that focus on taking the life of an individual. Anti Army beat Anti Hunter as they releaserge scale abilities that is hard to avoid, especially with some abilities being airborne. Anti Beast beats Anti Army as they are proficient with defending againstrge scale attacks and may even take charge against opponents focused on Anti Army. Of course, there were probably better ways to categorise these with more context behind their strengths and weaknesses. But this worked as a rtively urate representation of the general power dynamic between these three skill sets. Setting aside her own thoughts for now, Alice focused on Selen. "It feels¡­ A bit weird? Not quite ufortable but also not exactlyfortable either." Selen scratched her hair, lifting her hand. "I''m not sure what this ring does either. It just feels like another reservoir of energy." Recovering from the shock of having Alice reject one of the most sought after statuses in the world, Sigurd walked over with a deep sigh. "Number 247 ¨C Aeternum Vow is Legendary grade and its specifically designed on enhancing your time based abilities." Sigurd grumbled. Pulling out a sheet of parchment, he grabbed a pen and began to write down the abilities. [Aeternum Vow ¨C Legendary Grade] Upon intaking time attributed energy, will significantly reduce the energy needed to cast. Upon intaking time attributed energy, increases potency of eleration or deceleration of time. Upon intaking time attributed energy, will enhance time based Sigil abilities. Enhances range and targeting of time based abilities. Reduces enemy resistance to time based abilities. Grants skill ¨C [Truth Seeker], twice per day. [Truth Seeker] Makes a prediction of enemy movements based on the actions, habits and abilities shown thus far. This statests for 10 seconds. Superior Durability. "Give it a try at your own time." Sigurd waved his hand, gesturing for the two to leave him be. "Ah before we go, didn''t you say you were going to fix my glove if I replicated that skill of yours?" Alice grinned, pulling out the damaged gloves from her pouch. Seeing this, Sigurd''s smile twitched as a vein bulged on his neck. ''Youe into my home, demand my equipment, copy my technique then reject me when I offer my status and NOW you''re wanting more from me???'' Sigurd screamed in his mind but didn''t vocalise it. After all, he is still an Abyss Lord respected by all. Losing his temper to some youngsters would be unbefitting of him. "Tsk, pass it here, I''ll sort it out." Sigurd clicked his tongue. Grabbing the glove, he examined it for a moment before furrowing his brows. While the use of this glove was rather simple overall, the contraptions needed to pull this off was rather ingenious. On top of that, the crafter was even able to fit it all into a small inconspicuous glove. Depending on the skill of the user, the glove could either be something extremely deadly or a something useless. A high skill weapon for a high skill user. This only annoyed him more as the damage done to this has made it pretty much irreparable. At least for him. He wasn''t suited for this kind of delicate work. "Yeah I don''t think I can-" Before he could finish his sentence, he saw the smug provocative grin on Alice''s face. It practically screamed "Yeah I thought so. I didn''t think he could repair it.". Just this thought alone caused his blood pressure to rise. "I don''t think I can leave it as it is. You''re a high level warrior now so using a glove that isn''t enhanced by Abyss abilities wouldn''t be good." Sigurd adjusted his words. "Come back in a day or so. I''ll have it sorted by then. Now shoo!" He rushed them out. Once that he was left alone, Sigurd let out a huff in annoyance. "Come out now. They''re gone." He nced to the side and watched Frida step out of the shadows. "For a reward, didn''t think you''d go out of your way to give her a Legendary equipment." Frida folded her arms. "Can''t me a craftsman on giving his best when inspiration hits. If I miss this, then I''d regret itter." Sigurd shrugged. "Plus, how often do you see time maniption?" "And how about the split haired girl then? Any particr reason for you to try and give up your status as a Lord?" Frida raised an eyebrow. His offer to Alice took her by surprise. Had Alice epted, it would mean this nation could''ve potentially lost a Lord level being, putting them at a big disadvantage. "I just felt like it. She''s got even more talent than I do to the point it makes me wonder if she''s able to create Holy grade equipment with enough time, practice and tutoring. Don''t you find the thought exhrating? A mortal creating weapons on par with that of Gods." Sigurd grinned as killing intent began to seep out from his body. Hearing this, Frida sighed. There was only one goal that Sigurd had when it came to creating equipment. God yer! To create a weapon capable of killing a God! Chapter 487: Inspiration From The Forge Leaving the forge, Alice couldn''t help but recall the forging method that he showed her. The vibrant scenery as the world was bent to his will. How he wrestled the energy under his control and used it to forge Selen''s ring. This kind of tyrannical forging method¡­ She wanted to see if she could modify it and make it hers. To adjust the fundamentals and change certain properties to match her needs, just like what she did with Allura''s Nova Core and Executioner''s de. Both of which were transformed into Void Flux and Void Flux ¨C Cleave. However, this was not the time to try it, she''ll find some spare timeter to experiment. ncing to the side, Alice could see Selen ying around with the ring as she''s slowly getting used to the new vessel of energy within her. "Seems like you''re pretty eager to test it out." Alice chuckled as Selen nodded her head. "Of course I am. After all, it''s the first proper equipment I''ve ever got. The other times have just been spare weapons that the guards use or I create it myself using my Sigils." Selen shrugged. Waving her hand, energy weaved together into a staff. Observing this, Alice noticed a change. She noticed her gaze focusing more on the strands as the small details that were previously looked over now became clear to her. A single instance of exposure to a truly marvellous forging method developed by Sigurd was enough to open her mind to a new world of detail and focus. If she had to describe it, it would be akin to a person who needed sses all their life finally got their hands on a pair that were suited to them. From a life of seeing everything blurred and muddled to seeing true rity. Looking down at her own hand, Alice began to wonder. If she could see the true flow of energy that she unconsciously skipped over before, what else could she see? What else could she modify? Clenching her fists, Alice was ready for a spar. Hell, not even a spar would suffice at this point. She wanted to just iste herself and do aplete overhaul on the skills that she''s learned over the course of her journey. To reflect and modify the flow of energy to be more efficient. To recall the lessons that she''s learned. But there was something else she wanted to test before any of that. "Hold out your staff for a moment." Alice asked as Selen tilted her head before nodding. She wasn''t sure what Alice was wanting to do with this but with what she''s been doing recently, Selen figured that Alice was probably about to make a breakthrough. Scanning her eye across the body of the staff, Alice could see the flow of energy and how it weaved together to form this staff. It was a simr construction method to how she made her own weapons. Very basic and rudimentary but fitted the purpose. However, after experiencing how Sigurd forges his weapons, Alice could see the shaky foundation of such a creation. Gathering a small mote of energy on her finger, she paused for a moment before tapping it against the shaft of the staff. *KRK! A crack stretched across the entire body before shattering apart. One tap, one spark of energy to disrupt the flow. One tap was all it took to disassemble the staff. Despite being shocked, Selen didn''t say anything as she noticed that Alice had entered a flow state. Her eye lingered on where the staff had been and Selen could tell Alice was forming new theories in her mind. A smile appeared on her face as she couldn''t help but sigh inwardly. The mental state of a hunter/warrior was the most important part of their skill set. A free minded hunter can make a myriad of skills from the building blocks of their Sigils. Most would be able to create one or two specialised skills based on what they know. But Alice? She''s like a sponge. No matter what you showed her, she would break it down in her mind, understand it as best as she could and see if she could replicate it. One nce was all she needed to see the truth of the skill and the theory behind it. This was what caused Selen to create her new skill in the first ce. A counter measure against those who are simr to Alice, those who are extremely perceptive and focused on the details. A smile curved on Alice''s face as she closed her eye. "Selen, have you ever wondered about how the day is far too short?" Alice asked. The ideas that flooded through her mind, even if she was given a week, it wouldn''t be enough time. "Not really. But with my powers, it''s not hard to extend my perception of the day." Selen shrugged. "Fair point. I''m simplymenting that there is only 24 hours in a day as there is too much to do for this short period of time." Aliceughed. After leaving the forge, the two of them looked around for a ce to spar. Making their way to the barracks where warriors could be seen training, Alice and Selen booked a training room sealed by ice. A room dedicated to those with a minimum of five Sigils and designed to contain as much destruction as possible thanks to Frida''s reinforcement. With such a perfect sparring spot, Alice gave her body a stretch and changed into a different outfit that didn''t restrain her movements. A sleeveless white and ck one piece dress with the icon on Ayr on the chest. The dress reached down to the thighs. Gloves that reached up to her bicep and a pair of long boots reaching past her knees. Tying her hair into a ponytail, Alice gave her neck a light massage before entering an offensive stance. In the distance, Selen created a new weapon that Alice had never seen before. "What''s that?" Alice couldn''t help but ask curiously. In Selen''s hand, she held a single de while her spare hand controlled an orb that seemed like it was removed from the head of her staff. "Just testing some things out, don''t worry about it." Selen chuckled. Creating a small blood orb, Alice tossed it into the air as the two waited for the start signal. ### I can feel the sweat gathered on my palms as I faced Alice. Despite her appearance and joking nature, she''s the most fearsome Hunter I have ever seen. That thick killing intent, the instincts and the adaptability. She was in a ss of her own. However, there are still weaknesses that I can exploit as proven by my skill. With the addition of Aeternum Vow, the chances of victory should be much higher than before. Yet even with this new equipment at my disposal, my heart couldn''t rest easy. I recalled her words in the elevator, her quick demonstration as ideas entered her mind. Every time Alice had been eager for a spar, she''s always showing something new. Therefore, I was going to go all out from the beginning. To end this fight as soon as possible before she could test it out. This is a Hunt and I have only one goal. To Hunt Alice! Taking a deep breath to calm my mind, an action that I''ve seen Alice perform many times, I focused my gaze on Alice''s body as energy flowed through my body. ''I must use everything at the start. Resonance, perception maniption, eleration and even the new skill Truth Seeker.'' If I don''t do this, there was a high chance that the fight will end before it can truly begin. *BANG!!! With the detonation of the blood orb, it was my cue to begin. [Truth Seeker!] Usually, Truth Seeker should make a prediction based on what its seen so far. But because this is the start of the battle, I''m going to use my own knowledge and understanding of her to supplement the gap in information! In the split moment when Truth Seeker was activated, I could feel blood drip from my nose as a flood of information assaulted my mind. All the possiblebinations that Alice could do, all of her preferred routes of attack and how even the slightest movement from me would overhaul the predictions that Truth Seeker has made due to Alice reacting to me. Truly, this skill showed me just how monstrous Alice''s instincts are. A perfected honed weapon for battle. However! If she can''t react then the movements won''t change. I know that Alice is familiar with my skill so it wouldn''tst for long but even a slight moment would be enough. Perception Adjustment + eleration! Power from the ring flowed into my body as an iridescent blue aura wrapped around me. I felt my mind open up from the flow of energy as the world seemed to slow down around me. Resonance! To make the most of the abilities of the ring, I dragged Alice into the monochrome world. Right here, right now. I will defeat her! ### "How many hybrids do we have gathered?" Elowen asked as she nced at the mountain range in the distance. Even from afar, she could sense the powerful barrier that Queen Verona had erected around the capital city. Even for them, infiltrating and unleashing the disease was not going to be easy. "6 Hybrids have gathered in total. Two of which are still on the way." Troy replied. "Good, we attack at nightfall." Elowen curled her lips into a menacing grin. It will be a banquet of blood and horrors as they watch their loved ones turn into malformed beasts. Chapter 488: Third Version Of Alices Skill Upon being dragged into the monochrome world, Alice immediately reacted and activated her personal Artifact. Fractured Form! Even after unlocking the artificial Resonance, Alice could still use each of the forms individually. For this instance, the Fractured Form was perfect as it interrupts the usage of domain like abilities that seal her in a certain space. *CRACK!!! ss cracks webbed through the boundaries of this domain as Alice could see the flow of energy being cut off and interrupted, preventing it from forming properly. However, in the time that it took for her to interrupt the cast of Selen''s domain, Selen had already activated her perception maniption along with eleration! *CLANG!!! Right before the attack could hit, Alice had instinctively activated Void Steps, throwing herself back. Even if she didn''tnd, just dodging Selen''s strike was good enough with how dangerous it was. Rolling across the ground, Alice recovered from the haphazard void Step and mmed her hand down. In an instant, a blood pool expanded outwards as Alice surrounded herself with a forest of blood briars. However, time began to slow as Alice noticed her movements bing sluggish. "Even though I''ve only been using perception and eleration, don''t forget I can designate targets for deceleration as well!" Selen reminded with a grin. Landing in front of Alice, Selen prepared a horizontal sh to finish their spar. But right before Truth Seeker ran out of time, she saw Alice reacting and instantly jumped back. *BANG!!! The space in front of Alice erupted as cold sweat dripped down Selen''s back. If she continued her sh, the one who lost would''ve been her! "Seems like you caught a glimpse at thest moment." Alice chuckled, standing up and breaking out of the deceleration. A singrity spun to life in her eye as the flow of energy around her became clear. Artificial Resonance! Snapping her finger, the space around them began to crumble. Even with Selen''s time slow, preventing the destruction of space was still beyond her. *BANG!!! mming her staff down, Selen created a barrier to slow down the destruction of space as much as possible. While prevention may be beyond her powers, a dy is still within reason. But in a spar against Alice, reason wasn''t going to be enough. A maelstrom of energy converged around Alice as she created a singrity between her palms. Recognising it to be the skill Alice was developing, Selen wondered if this was still safe. "Originally, I wanted my new skill to be something that can ignore defences simr to my mother/mentor''s skill. But without certain pieces in my skill set and certain blessings, it was always going to be impossible. "Then I began to wonder. If I could supplement thisck of blessing with something else. My unique body for example. But it wasn''t quite what I was looking for either. My mes burns from the outside and carves away theyers one by one. Useful but not the same as breaching the defensiveyer in one go. "So I adjusted the skill. To reach from point A to point B in a split moment. Using this momentum to forcefully imnt the skill as deep as I can before exploding it out. But this method has its faults too. So what do you think the next iteration of my skill will be?" Alice asked as a smile crept up on her face. Bloodline Release! Behind her, the soul form appeared as ck blood bled from the eyes. After seeing Sigurd''s forging method along with her own brief experimentation, Alice had a new idea in mind. An attack that specifically targets the ''foundation'' of each object in front of her. A nket of mes to see which part crumbles first while the rest of the attack assaults the weakness. In her hands, the singrity began to explode in size as the retion disk formed around it. Around her, violet mes transformed into a dress before slowly shifting in colour. From a bright violet, it began to fade until only darkness remained. ck mes surged around Alice''s body, converging towards the singrity, fuelling it. With all the conditions reached, Alice took a step forward. *BANG!!!!!! "What do you think you''re doing?" A voice rang out. At that moment, both Alice and Selen were transported into a different realm. A realm constructed solely of ice and snow. Large crystalline trees decorated thendscape while northern lights could be seen hanging above them. Ice chains locked around Alice''s wrist as the skill was forcefully imprisoned in ice. "The sparring rooms are for sparring and small scale abilities. Are you perhaps trying to destroy this facility?" Frida narrowed her eyes as her aura crashed against the two, pressuring them. Despite sealing the skill in ice, Frida could feel its destructive nature trying to break out even now. Layers were being destroyed at a rapid pace and she had to constantly update the prison to contain the skill. "Sorry sorry~ got a bit carried away. Though I wasn''t nning on destroying anything ahaha~" Aliceughed awkwardly. Just from the aura alone, Alice could tell this woman was an Abyss Lord. Out of all the possibilities, her being the Lord of Winter was the highest. "I was nning on firing this skill then disassemble it before it could hit anything. It''s a hollow form after all, not the full attack. If anything, it''s more of a proof of concept." Alice exined. Within the ice prison, she flicked her finger as the skill dissipated without any issue. Seeing this, Frida''s pupil trembled for a moment beforeposing herself. However, her mind was in turmoil. She couldn''t believe that skill was ''just'' a hollow form. Something that could be cancelled easily. If that was the case, what was the true form of the attack? "Fine, just don''t do anything to damage the city." Frida waved her hand, recalling her domain and her chains. With nothing else she needed to take care of, she disappeared with a swirl of snow. Now that Alice and Selen were alone again, they copsed on the ground. "Jeez, for a moment I thought you were trying to kill me." Selen sighed out. Just being in the presence of that skill was enough to freeze her in her spot. She didn''t dare use the perception maniption either as there was a chance the skill could just implode. "Why would I be doing that? Like I said earlier, it''s just a proof of concept. It still holds some power but not enough where I would lose control don''t worry." Alice reassured with a chuckle. "So what does this new iteration do exactly?" Selen asked curiously. "Hmm¡­ If I had to put it simply then it''s a f*ck everything in that direction attack. I was nning onunching it using Void Steps so it reaches the target even faster. Simr to what I did to your staff, it basically unravels and deconstructs the energy used to maintain form. So defences reinforced by Abyssal Energy will be unravelled, artificial shields and so on." Alice exined as she held up her hand. She could still see the lingering of energy that she had gathered. Calling it a hollow shell wasn''t wrong though since the skill was still iplete. In this variation, it would''ve breached the defence but wouldn''t have enough power to kill. If she had to exin it, would be such. The first iteration she used against Keira had High power, medium pration while also being rtively avoidable if the enemy is prepared. Later, she adjusted it for slightly more pration and slightly more speed but the power dropped. This time, it had low power but extremely high pration and extremely high speed. Just like when she was training her casting with Kaden in the Inverted World, she had to find a bnce between the three for an optimal attack. Regardless, she was satisfied with being able to adjust the values to this extent. Realising that Selen was silent, Alice nced up and saw a bitter smile on Selen''s face as she contemted in silence. "Something wrong?" Alice asked but Selen shook her head. "Don''t worry about it. Just speechless at your improvement." Selen sighed, leaning back. She couldn''t help but wonder if it was simply the gap in talent or circumstances. The way Alice thought, the way she perceived the world. Everything was different at a fundamental level. While she hasn''t reached the limit of her power, she couldn''t help but despair at the sheer difference in talent. Even though she couldn''t see the peak, she could already tell Alice will reach greater heights than her. She felt small when standing at the base of this mountain. Even when she thought she had caught up using her newly developed skill, Alice sped ahead in the blink of an eye. How was she ever supposed to keep up? If this was the talent needed to go against the Zenia family, what was she supposed to do? The more she thought about this, the more her smile faded. Alice didn''t know what to say. She knew that Selen was extremely proud and happy when she won using the new skill she developed. But now? "Shall we get something to eat then? I''m pretty curious of what the food is like in the capital." Selen suggested, changing the subject. "Sure." Alice nodded, sitting up. She wasn''t sure what she should do but regardless of the results, Alice didn''t want to hinder her own improvement. She had to keep moving forward. Without sufficient strength, she cannot rebuild Ayr. She cannot take revenge against the Zenia family. She cannot avenge her first friend back in the ughter docks. She cannot avenge Velouria who''s corpse was being defiled by Nyer. Without strength, she cannot do anything of this. Thus, she must keep moving forward. Chapter 489: Shadows In The Mind After getting some food, they decided to book separate rooms at the inn. Using the excuse of clearing her mind, Selen decided to have a walk around the city. Countless thoughts swam around in her mind as the feelings of self-doubt and inadequacy gued her. No matter how much she wanted to convince herself, it simply won''t disappear. A permanent shadow in her mind, lingering, watching, smirking. For the brief moment when she felt proud of the skill she created, that pride was instantly shattered with Alice finding new ways of improving. ncing up at the sky, Selen took a deep breath and sighed. "Why am I even trying?" She asked herself with a bitter smile. No matter what she does, no matter what she tries, she simply can''t keep up. Frustration. Gritting her teeth, tears began to form in her eyes as Selen wiped it away with her sleeve. Closing her eyes, she tried her best to calm her emotions. A simple task considering what she had to go through before. Reaching back with her hand, she traced the scars that painted her back and a burning fury rose up in her heart once more. However, this fury was quickly dosed once she remembered the power of the hybrids. The Zenia family could have made hundreds of these abominations. She was simply a failed product that did slightly better than the rest. Selen could still remember the disappointed gazes of the schrs after she failed to truly adapt to Alice''s blood. While she''s gained some form of resistance, it was still far toocking. To them, Alice is the perfect specimen of what they''ve been striving for. They only needed a bit more work before she was ''perfect''. But she escaped. Thinking about this, a self-mocking smile appeared on her face. ''It''s to be expected. I''m just a failed product after all, how can I even dream about catching up with the original.'' ### ''Shouldn''t you go after Selen? She didn''t look well.'' Alyss asked whileying upside down on her throne. ''Even if I go, I''m not sure what to say to her.'' Alice sighed. Hugging her knees, she nced at the floor in contemtion. This has been something that''s happened with both Ria and Selen now. Their gazes of uncertainty as she improves at a rapid pace. ''I suppose that''s true. She might even take it as pity which will be the opposite result of what you want.'' Alyss scratched her hair. It wasn''t going to be an easy issue to resolve considering it''s an issue regarding the mental state. There''s only so much help that they can give Selen and the rest she has to resolve herself. ''It is wrong of me to improve so quickly?'' For her goals, she needed to be stronger. But the faster and stronger she gets, the more it seems like she''s pushing the people around her away. To do things solo. Even though she had already told herself that she had to keep moving forward¡­ Seeing her friends drift away¡­ It hurts. Biting her lip, Alice clutched her chest in pain as tears welled up in the corner of her eyes. Seeing her twin like this, Alyss gave her a hug from behind. She didn''t have the answer to this question either. Between the two of them, Alice was the more unstable one when it came to emotions. Despite her power and the brutality of her actions, she''s someone who''llugh, get angry and be sad like everyone else. She''s still just a girl on the inside. Watching this, Ca was silent. Alice''s fate was going to be a lonely one. Upon gathering all the relics, she had already solidified herself as the future ruler of the Abyss. The next generation queen and Goddess. Not only that, but her body is a product of Nyer''s designs. A fated sh was unavoidable thus she had to get power in order to protect herself. She couldn''t hold herself back. But even so¡­ Ca hoped that Alice could spend her time as a normal girl before any of that happened. Seeing her master like this broke her heart as she wished she could give her the answers she desired. [Where are you Allura¡­ Your daughter needs someforting.] Ca sighed inwardly. This loneliness, perhaps only those at the top could rte to. Both Allura and Kaden had lived countless years, reached the pinnacle of strength and experienced partings. They may have taught her how to fight and survive, but she still needed guidance as a human. ### Sitting by a bench, Selen held a bottle of juice in her hand as she slumped back and wondered why she was even doing all of this. No matter how much she tries, the day goes on regardless. The morninge and go without care or worry about what the humans experience. "Are you feeling alright?" A familiar voice rang out as Selen nced back and saw Egil standing behind her bench. "I''m fi- Nah never mind. I''m feeling a bit sh*tty right now." Selen originally nned to put up a brave front but anyone could tell she wasn''t doing great right now. "Want to talk about it?" Egil asked, jumping over the bench and sat down next to her. "Dunno. Want to get something to drink first?" Selen offered. "If you''re offering I won''t reject." Grabbing a bottle of juice for Egil as well, the two sat down on the same bench. "So what''s been on your mind?" ". . .Have¡­ have you ever thought about how no matter what you did, it was futile?" Selen asked, causing Egil to choke on his drink. "Hmm¡­ Yep, I have. The thought never leaves my mind." Egil chuckled, taking another sip. "How do you deal with it?" "I can only assume this is about Alice, unless I''m wrong. I''ve never told you about my childhood have I?" Egil scratched his chin. "No you haven''t." "I see¡­" Leaning back for a moment, Egil closed his eyes before a smile appeared on his face. "You know about my physique right? I wasn''t always this bulky. In fact, I wasn''t even supposed to grow this much you know? "I was quite the shrimp growing up. I wouldn''t say malnourished since my mother made sure I was fed. But rather I was born sickly and weak. I was always jealous of those who could run around and smile like nothing because I could not do the same. "My father, however, was a proud warrior with a strong physique. He simply couldn''t understand how his genes created such a shrimp like me and med it on my mother. The two didn''t have a single peaceful day after I was born." Egil smiled bitterly while swirling the juice in his hands. "I couldn''t take it anymore. I was jealous of the people around me, jealous of my father and you could even say I was resentful of my mother at one point. I believed my father''s words saying that my mother was the cause of my weakness. I said some pretty nasty things to her back then." Clenching his fist, Egil swung his head back and drank a mouthful of juice. "So I cheated. I couldn''t change the weakness of my body so I decided to cheat. I drank Abyss Blood and modified my body in order to be ''healthy and strong''. You know how us northerners are with our perception of the Abyss." Egil sighed while looking up at the sky. "You can imagine how my father treated me afterwards. Hurling all kinds of words my way while the people I was jealous of before called me a monster. I became quite hateful after that you know? I began to fight everyone who said anything bad about me and refused to y nice with my teammates. That''s how I got my poor reputation ahaha." Egil scratched the back of his head. "But my mother never gave up on me. The only thing she cared about was who I was on the inside. I may have walked off the right path but she guided me back." While Selen''s situation may be different, he''ll try his best to help her. Just like how his mother helped him get over his jealousy and inferiority, he''ll dispel the doubts in her mind. ### ''Sorry¡­'' Alice mumbled, wiping her tears away. The corners of her eyes and nose were red and swollen. ''Don''t be sorry. As long as you''re feeling better.'' Alyss waved her hand dismissively. ''Mnm¡­ I didn''t think I would feel that bitter about it ahaha¡­'' Alice smiled sadly as Alyss scratched her cheek. ''I''d say it was a long timeing. If you didn''t feel hurt or emotional, I''ll be more worried about that instead. Just proves you''re human like the rest of us on the inside. Not just an experiment or a product.'' She couldn''t stand seeing her twin like this. She wanted to see Alice bounce around happily while shopping for cutesy clothes, struggle to manage her money as she bought too much mead andugh when she makes a breakthrough in her skills. Alyss didn''t want to see her twin cry. Hearing Alyss''s response, Alice was silent as she dwelled on the words. To feel these emotions is to be human. She wasn''t just a product who''s only purpose was to fight. Just thinking about this brought a smile to her face. ''Thank you.'' Aliceughed. ''Yeesh, has anyone told you that you got a goofy ass smile after crying? Tears and snot everywhere, such a brat.'' Alyss stuck out her tongue but there was a hint of relief in her eyes. ''Shaddap! You try and smile nice after crying.'' Alice pouted. ''Hah! I look fabulous all the time, My smile, perfect. My looks, immacte.'' Alyss flipped her hair. ''We look the same jackass!'' ''This is where you''re wrong my dear twin. It''s all about the elegance.'' Alyss grinned. Seeing the two arguing like nothing happened, Ca chuckled. Things were going to be fine in the end. After all, Alice had a caring twin by her side,forting her, teasing her and backing her up. Chapter 490: Egil And Selen Listening to Egil''s story, Selen was silent. She nced down at the floor and contemted in silence. "Afterwards, my father left and it was just me and my mother. For a period, I was still harbouring a hatred but at one point, it was my ego that got in the way. I was still being rude to her despite knowing everything she did for me. "Then the pandemic hit and she was left bedridden. I realised how foolish I''ve been this entire time." Egil sighed, finishing his drink. Looking at the people walking around hand in hand with their parents, a small smile appeared on his face. "When you ask me if I ever thought about the futility of my actions, I can only say yes. I question why I drank that vial of blood, why I wasn''t nicer to my mother and why I couldn''t be a better son for her until she was bedridden. "And when you ask me how I deal with it? I think back to my mistakes and how I don''t want to make it again. How I want to be a better son for my mother. When I think of these, I feel a fire in my chest, burning, urging me forward. To do my best without regret so I won''t make the same mistake as I did with my mother. "Once everything is over, I want to stand in front of her with a proud smile. Telling her that I''ve changed my ways and that she doesn''t have to worry anymore." Egil smiled but tears welled up in his eyes. "Ahaha¡­ Sorry¡­" He apologised, wiping his tears away as Selen gave him a hug from the side. "I''m meant to be the oneforting you yet you''re helping me instead." He let out a small chuckle while Selen patted him on the back. "It''s fine. But I never knew you had that kind of childhood, must''ve been tough on you." Nodding his head, Egil took a moment to calm his emotions before recovering a smile on his face. "Enough about me, back to you. Are you¡­ afraid of Alice''s improvement?" Egil asked with a slight pause. Without saying anything back, Selen nodded her head. "I don''t me you for thinking that. I still remember what we saw in Kvia you know. That attack sheunched made me realise how much of a monster she really is. All that while she''s injured too. So just imagine what she''ll be like at peak condition." Egil chuckled. "But there''s something else you need to think about before that. Should a frontline worry about how to heal? Should a damage dealer worry about how to keep the beast''s focus on them? Should a healer worry about how to deal damage? Everyone has their roles in life. Focusing on yourself is far more important than looking around you. "If you spend all the time looking at the people around you, you wouldn''t even know when you step off the path you''re meant to take. In my eyes, Alice is raw power while you focus on control. Of course, that''s not to say you don''t have power. But just like how Alice defaults to power, you default to control. "How many people have you seen can manipte the perception of enemies? How many have you seen that can slow down or speed up time? Believe me when I say both of you are menaces in your own right. I don''t think you need to be jealous of Alice''s growth when you also improve at a rapid rate." Egil reassured. There was one more thing he wanted to say but hesitated. It was the same thing that his mother did for him. Even if it was a little embarrassing, he wanted to do it. To support her like his mother did for him. At that moment, Egil hugged Selen and patted her head. "Your efforts, I''ve seen it. I''m proud of you so don''t worry about what other people think or say. I will always support you no matter what." Selen''s pupils trembled for a moment before a smile appeared on her face. Such a simple answer but Selen didn''t know why when Egil says it, she felt like she could do anything. The fire that burned in her chest, her desire to improve so live up to his support. "You said that you cheated when you were younger right?" Selen asked as Egil nodded. "You''re not the only one. I''m also a bit of a cheater." Grabbing his hand, she hesitated for a moment before allowing him to feel her back. Her body trembled the moment his fingers traced her scars but she wanted to be truthful to him. He exposed his past, his weaknesses and his doubts just tofort her. She wanted to do the same for him. She wanted to believe that if its him, he''ll ept her past for what it is. "I''m also a cheater since my powers are a product of experimentation. None of it was earned by myself." Once she started, Selen couldn''t stop. She began to tell him about the experiments, the truth of the Zenias, the things she had to do. The experiences that she had to endure, the humiliation caused by Erick. How he dirtied her body even more. Even thinking about it made her feel sick. But not once did Egil''s hug falter. He continued to hold onto her, acting as a protective barrier. Running out of words to say, Selen hugged Egil tightly. She feared his response, his rejection. But at the same time, he wanted to hear his words offort. His eptance. Her heart crashed against her chest as thoughts rushed through her mind. She waited and waited, patiently for his words. But silence. ''Ah¡­ He must be disgusted¡­'' Selen thought to herself as sadness crept into her heart. "Sorry, that was a lot wasn''t it." Selen apologised as she tried to pull away from his hug but his arms didn''t budge. "I''m an awkward guy. I''m not good with my words. I¡­ just didn''t know how to say what I''m feeling. But¡­ I''m sorry that you had to go through all of that. I''m sorry that I couldn''t be there for you sooner. No matter what happens in your past, you''re still Selen to me. If you need an extra pair of hands to help get your revenge, I''ll be there. If you need someone tofort you, I''ll also be there. No matter what, I will keep supporting you as I have been." Hearing this, Selen''s pupils trembled as a smile appeared on her face. Punching him lightly on the chest, she pressed her head against his body. "You made me wait that long for this kind of response ahaha¡­ What a jerk. It sounds like a confession you know?" "That''s because it is one." Egil scratched his cheek. "!!!" Sitting back, Selen widened her eyes as she nced up at his face. Despite his tough appearance, she could see a blush on his face and an awkward smile. Immediately, Selen could feel blood rushing towards her cheeks as well as she began to stumble over her words. "Eh?! But?! Huh!? I-I mean... I told you about what I did in the past didn''t I?" Selen held her arms as she could still remember the disgust she felt from Erick. "You did. But that still doesn''t change what I said. I will keep supporting you as I have been this entire time." Egil nodded. "Idiot! Jerk! Stupid! You''re supposed to care about these things though?!" Selen pouted, hitting him on the chest but couldn''t hold back the blush on her face that extended to the tips of her ears. "But I don''t. Because it''s you. I know what you''re like on the inside, you''re a wonderful woman through and through." She couldn''t believe he could say something like this without hesitation but it brought a warm feeling to her heart. It''s like all of her doubts have been dispelled. "If you''re gonna confess, at least bring me some flowers next time dummy." Selen chuckled. "Ah¡­ So is that a no?" Egil sighed. ncing up in disbelief, Selen''s smile twitched as she saw the sadness in his expression. Rolling her eyes, she couldn''t helpugh. "That''s- Forget it. Look over here stupid jerk." "Hm?" ncing towards Selen, Egil wondered what she was going to say when she leaned in and kissed him on the lips. The kiss felt like itsted an eternity before Selen pulled away, making Egil desire that warmth again. "Is my response clear now?" Selen asked, licking her lips with a seductive gaze. "Should I bring some flowers?" "?!?!?!" Selen wanted to smack Egil on the head. "I''m kidding. Even I know what you mean if you make it that clear." Egilughed, pulling Selen in for another hug. "Jerk." Selen smacked him with a pout but it was soon reced by a happy smile. Sitting on hisp, she enjoyed Egil hugging her from behind. They enjoyed each other''spany as Egil rested his head on her shoulder. "You really are cute." Egil couldn''t help but mutter as Selen blushed in embarrassment. "W-Where did thate from???" She replied, her voice a little higher than usual from the embarrassment. "I just felt like saying it." Egilughed. A joy like no other filled his heart. He was truly d to have met Selen. ### Standing on the mountain overlooking the capital, Elowen couldn''t restrain the smile on her face. Everyone had gathered and all preparations were now done. Activating her resonance, scales began to form on her body as transformed into her bestial form. With a single p of her wings, the Void began to tremble. Tonight, the capital will be the new host of the disease. Chapter 491: Living Shadow Enjoying their time on the bench, Selen nced up at the sky. "How do you think I should improve? Even if I''m good at controlling stuff, there''s still a limit to what I can do. It kind of worked on the Lord of the Forge but he broke out of it quickly and basically disarmed me." Selen asked, hugging her knees. "Wait what?" Egil blinked. Since he had gone for a walk to clear his mind after seeing his mother, he didn''t know that Alice and Selen had gone to meet the Lord. Not only that, but she also used her skill on him? And it worked?!?! "Well the Lord wanted to see what I was capable of so he asked me to demonstrate everything I know. After I did, he said I was holding back since I didn''t use my new skill. Once I showed it to him, he nked out for a moment. Just a moment and not long enough for me to do anything with that time." Selen exined, showing Egil the ring. "Afterwards, he made this ring for me. Number 247 ¨C Aeternum Vow. Equipment designed to help boost all of my time based abilities and even lets me see a bit into the future based on predictions." Handing him the sheet that Sigurd had given to her, detailing the effects of the ring, Selen nced up at Egil who was silently contemting. Perhaps its because she epted his confession but she couldn''t help but focus on each of his movements. The way his eyshes trembled as his gaze flickered across the sheet. How he would furrow his brows or how he bites in the inside of his mouth when he''s thinking. "You''ve done eleration, deceleration and perception. Have you ever tried to speed up the passage of time in a small area? Like withering someone''s hand or something?" Egil asked, looking down, and saw Selen staring intently at him. "A little. But I didn''t really focus on that aspect since it was exhausting to do." Selen nodded her head. "Maybe with the ring, it''ll be easier now. But in terms of controlling a battlefield, I think just hindering their movements and stopping them from being able to do what they want would be enough." Egil handed the sheet back to Selen. In his opinion, Selen was already a very annoying opponent to deal with. eleration, deceleration and perception adjustment was things that are hard to avoid. No matter what, one of these WILL affect your performance. Once that happens, it''s up to the damage dealer to do the rest. Of course, there were things that she could do to ensure her crowd controlsted longer. But for now, just disrupting the flow of battle was good. Rubbing her finger across the ring, Selen had a few thoughts in her mind. Certain ideas that were yet to sprout. All she needed was a little push but that veil refused to budge. While she didn''t know it, it was a simr state to Alice before she had her awakening. All it takes is a moment of inspiration. "Argggg, how does Alice keep up with thoughts like this? I dunno, there''s just too many things to consider but I don''t even know when to begin." Selenined with a pout,ying down on Egil''sp. Chuckling softly, Egil patted her head. "Just take your time with it. There''s plenty of chances to try." Curling her lips into a smile, Selen nodded her head. But just as she was about to say something else, she noticed a faint sparkle above the capital. ''Is it a star?'' She couldn''t help but wonder. However, that wonder soon turned to dread. The fabric of space cracking apart. Lightning ripped open the curtains to an army of beasts with a familiar figure at the forefront. A dreadful pair of multi coloured wings that shimmered with a myriad of vibrant colours. Jagged scales hindering the outburst of white blue and green mes. A beast on the verge of bing a Lord. A Hybrid!!! Sitting up immediately, questions filled Selen''s mind. Didn''t this city have a barrier? Weren''t there Lords here? How did they even get in?! Why are they attacking with Lords defending this ce?! But before she could even contemte the answers to her questions, the beast reared its head back. Cracking open its jaw, rings of fire bloomed out in pulses, dying the sky in countless rings of blue and green. From the centre, a single pir of light shot down in an instant. *BANG!!!! Before the light could crash into the ground, ice materialised into a crystalline barrier that reflected the attack towards the sky. "Foul beast! How dare you attack the capital!" A woman''s voice roared out as Selen recognised it to belong to Frida, Lord of Winter. sping her hands together, a blizzard erupted out, enveloping the skies in frigid destruction. Yet strangely, despite thismotion, the people around them didn''t even know what was going on. If they weren''t looking at things from below, they wouldn''t even have noticed this fight! From the portal that the hybrid opened, an army of beasts crashed down. Each beast had a different size with some only rearing their heads through the portal. Watching this happen, veins bulged on Frida''s neck as her anger reached its peak. "Since you dare attack the city of my beloved queen, don''t even think of leaving!" Pulling her arm back, she punched down as a pulse of ice energy erupted from her body. Resonance + Second Resonance! The world began to tremble with reality beginning to distort. An array of northern lights decorated the sky. This time, she wasn''t going to drag the beasts into her realm since there were simply far too many. Instead, she''ll make the entire airspace her realm! *CRACK!!! SHATTER!!! Frida''s pupils shrank as she watched her realm break apart before it could fully establish itself. "Delicious." A voice rang out nearby. Twisting her body, Frida released a sh of ice energy behind her out of instinct. *CRUNCH!!! Crushing the energy between its jaws, a beast could be seen cackling with joy. A nightmarish twisted amalgamation with flesh whips protruding from its body. A beast of writhing shadows and blood. Its form, forever shifting and twisting as if it were living shadows. The beast''s head is a grotesque twisting of strands, barely forming a semnce of a bestial head with a pair of glowing beady eyes. The jaws hung open with a malefic crimson energy leaking out. ''A Lord!!!'' Frida gritted her teeth as the energy was unmistakable. While it was a little stranger than most, there was no doubt that the beast in front of her was a Lord. "Why the caution? Weren''t you excited to introduce us to the city a moment ago? You didn''t even want us to leave." The Lord level beast narrowed its eyes with a sharp grin. *BANG!!!! Before it could say another word, a hammer of mes mmed into its body, sending it crashing back. "If you''re going to visit the city, please do the proper procedures. Entrances are closed at night." Sigurd stood atop a tower with a war hammer hoisted onto his shoulder. He narrowed his eyes at the army as a bad feeling dominated his chest. An uncanny sensation. mes glowed around his eyes as he observed their flow of energy. Yet the sight of which almost caused him to hurl in disgust. This unnatural flow invoked a feeling of rejection. A rejection that stems from the fact that his mind couldn''tprehend the existence of such beings. "Frida and Sigurd. The Lord of Winter and the Lord of the Forge. Two Abyss Lords tasked with protecting the Capital of Verona. If I recall, Urigar doesn''t live in the Capital so it should just be you two with the Queen. Am I correct?" A voice rang out next to Sigurd. "!!!" Sigurd wasn''t even sure when this man appeared next to him but cold sweat dripped down his back. Rather than a man, it was more urate to call it a ''shadow''. A humanoid figure cloaked in a tattered jacket while dark tendrils of energy whipped around his body. His head was obscured by a hood but instinctively, Sigurd understood that there were no facial features to be seen. Much like the twisted beast that he hit, this man felt like a living shadow. Pulses of red and ck energy formed the majority of his body. A colony of strands that fused to form the outline of a man. Behind him, a crimson halo spun slowly. Before Sigurd could even reply, a torrent of tendrils mmed into him as he crashed into the cliff face. "If the queen appears, I''ll keep her busy." A womannded gently next to the shadow. She had long dark hair and a pair of violet eyes. Stiches could be seen across her body with scales on the corners of her face. Wearing a ck dress with long sleeves, the woman nced towards the giant tree situated in the centre of this city. "But it seems she won''t be making a move. At least not for now." "Doesn''t that work better for you? You''re the most unstable one out of all of us after all." The living shadow stood up and nced towards the direction of Sigurd who wed his way out of the cliff face. Nodding her head, the woman sat down and waited patiently. ### "It''s an ambush! We need to tell the guards immediately!" Selen gritted her teeth as her body trembled from the aura of three Lords in the sky. On top of everything, their uncanny nature proved that they were also Hybrids! ''The Zenia''s have seeded in making Lord level hybrids!'' Panick filled her mind as she nced back at Egil but her pupils constricted in shock. Little by little, blood began to drip from his orifices as Egil copsed on his knees. Scales began to form on his arms as bestial side effects manifested across his body! Chapter 492: Outbreak Egil felt a wave of dizziness strike his mind. A hallowed whisper echoing in his ears. He could feel a foreign energy invading his body, changing him, corrupting him. A sensation not unlike the feeling he got when he first drank Abyss Blood. The touch of corruption that changed him on a fundamental level. Raising his hand, he could see the scales breaking through the topyer of his skin while ck blood filled his veins. He saw Selen calling out to him with a panicked expression. Instinctively, he understood what this was. He had seen many patients with these symptoms after all. ncing up at the destructive battle taking ce in the sky, Egil gritted his teeth as his Sigils red with power. Several spirits wrapped around his body, and their forms began to distort due to the ck blood infecting him. However, by burning his power, he was able to maintain a semnce of sanity and defence against this disease. His senses began to clear up but the corruption burned through his energy much faster than what he had expected. Compared to the disease thattched onto his mother, this was far worse! "No¡­ No, no, no, no!" Selen gritted her teeth as she watched the side effects manifesting across his body. Her pupils trembled in panic as she didn''t know what to do. She only had resistance to this kind of poison thanks to the innate abilities that Alice''s blood provided to her. But that was to her alone. Even if she was to feed her blood to someone else, there was no guarantee that they''d be able to adapt to such a potent poison. At that moment, Egil hugged Selen, calming her down. "It''s alright. Everything will be fine. It''s a little tough but I''ll manage. The important thing is to take care of the beasts above, right?" Egil forced a smile as Selen bit her lip. She recalled the conversation she had with Alice. How things were uncertain but Alice was still in the midst of developing a cure for this disease that the Zenia family unleashed. Activating her Sigils, Selen imprinted a marker onto Egil''s body. Deceleration! Slowing down the progress of time within Egil''s body, Selen supported his arm on her shoulder. She had to get him to Alice immediately! For the first time in her life, Selen felt truly happy. No matter what the Zenias has done, no matter what she had to experience, it was fine for this moment of happiness. But she refused to let the Zenia''s rip that away from her! ncing up at the beasts that were pouring down through the portals, Selen gritted her teeth and dashed towards their inn with Egil leaning on her. ### After the discussion with Alyss, Alice decided to focus a little more on the technical skills and properties behind each of her abilities. Sitting by her desk, she had a sample of her blood in a vial while she observed the reactions based on what she did. Her second Sigil manifests the properties of her blood, that being negating Abyssal Abilities, in the form of fire as that was her ideal image in her mind. Allura''s power. However, if her mental image of this skill were to change, there were perhaps more variations of her second Sigil that she hadn''t seen before. One instance of this was her spider lilies. None of her abilities should''ve manifested the spider lilies yet they still appeared. Alice had no doubt that it was her second Sigil at work. Every time she experiences a change, an awakening, an epiphany, the Sigil reacts and changes. ''Allura''s impression on you is pretty big after all. It''s no wonder it keeps defaulting back to fire.'' Alyss folded her arms. For her, the Sigils manifested as darkened limbs that grab and tear apart anything they get their hands on. A reflection of all the torture she had to endure in Alice''s ce. The hands of schrs that rummaged through her body, pinning her down. It had forever left a mark on Alyss''s mind and thus, the second Sigil solidified this power into limbs. Spinning the pen on her fingers, Alice furrowed her brows. She closed her eye and recalled Kaden''s power. The power of shadows. As her saviour, the one who sent her into the Abyss to meet Allura, Kaden had just as big of an impact on her as Allura did. But unlike Allura, his power was more¡­ conceptual in nature. The power of curses, shadows and adaptation based on his understanding of the world around him. To manifest aspects of his power through the second Sigil was going to be difficult unless Alice had a clear visual imprint of his power. "It''s difficult." Alice muttered with a sigh. Out of all of her Sigils, her second one held the most potential as it synergised with the blood inside her body. A Sigil obtained from a modified beast. Activating her fourth Sigil to tap into the power of the Void, the blood within the vial began to shift as the liquid began to shimmer with an otherworldly glow. She could see the energy of the Void travelling through the blood while it began to adapt to the change. Tapping her finger across the table, Alice closed her eyes and tried to imagine her ideal self. An ideal self capable of cleaning out the Zenia family. First of all, she needed a cleansing or resistant type ability. If she was to take out the family, she needed to ignore their control type abilities. If she can''t, she''ll be a sitting duck. Next was a way to kill them withoutpletely exhausting herself. This was going to be a one vs many situation and if she''s alone in the matter, she needs to have a way to replenish her stamina. Right now, she had firepower, plenty of it. But her stamina was sorelycking. Her fifth Sigil offset this to a certain degree but it was still far too little. Most importantly, she needed information. A way to scout. This could mostly be resolved via Ca but she was sealed right now so there was nothing Alice could do about it. ''You realise that the others will be more than happy to help you out right? You don''t need to take revenge solo. Selen hates the Zenias as much as we do, Ria will be happy to assist and the same with Luke. They know that we''ll help them in a heartbeat if they need it against the Eclipse Cult after all.'' Alyss reminded. Trying to cover everything alone was rather ambitious even with their unique skill set of being able to rece Sigils. They still had to take into ount the fact that each Sigil can only be reced once per day and once it''s done, they can''t undo the change. ''I know, but it''s more of a precaution in case we''re in a situation where the others can''t help.'' Alice nodded. She knew she had people she could trust in but she had to consider the worst case scenario. If she prepares herself for the worst case scenario, things will go more smoothly. ''First Sigil bolsters strength and poisons blood, second adapts to my blood and grants me Abyss negating mes. Third grants me blood and metal maniption. Fourth grants me Void control and fifth¡­ Fifth gives me the biggest boost while risking the chance of being exiled from the realm.'' In terms of the pattern of her getting Sigils, it was leaning towards the Void while removing the influence of the Abyss. Rather ironic considering the fact that she has obtained all three key relics of the Abyss and is destined to be the next Velouria. However, what the Abyss gives, the Abyss can take back. In order to take care of those abusing the gifts of the Abyss, she must first rid them of the blessings. Creating a singrity above her finger, she thought about the Skill she was trying to create. A personal skill that only she could use. It was stillcking that final touch, that final re before it could truly be called a skill. The go to ability and her trump card. Before she could continue indulging in her thoughts, the door was kicked open. *BANG!!! ncing over, Alice noticed that Selen was the one who kicked the door. Her joyous surprise soon disappeared as she saw the panic on Selen''s face while Egil was leaning on her shoulders. In an instant, Alice understood the situation. The side effects manifesting across his body despite Selen trying her best to hold it back, the dark strands of energy invading his body and most of all, the familiar flow of energy that she saw coursing through his mother''s body when they went to visit her. "Get him on the bed. I''ll see what I can do." Alice gestured as she had Alyss wake Ca up. "What happened?" She asked while activating her Second Sigil. Violet mes began to worm its way through Egil''s body, hindering the progress of the disease. She had to be careful with the strength of these mes. Too strong and it''ll permanently damage Egil''s body. Too weak and the disease will continue to spread. "An ambush, by hybrids. Lord level ones. Egil he- he just copsed. They''re spreading the disease through the capital. People aren''t realising what''s going on." Selen tried her best to keep things short but her mind was in chaos. "Leave him with me, I''ll try my best to stop the disease. Go help the city. Since your skill works on Lords, even if its for a moment, you should be able to help them get the upper hand. The sooner we drive them back, the faster we can deal with this outbreak properly." Alice ordered. She wanted to rush out and stop the invasion but she couldn''t leave Egil alone. Not when so much time had passed. If she was to leave him alone, it''ll go past the point of no return. The only one that could dy them while she figures out a solution for the outbreak was Selen. Hearing this, Selen clenched her fist. Looking down at Egil''s struggling expression, she gritted her teeth and nodded her head. "You have to help him, please." Selen practically begged as Alice nodded her head with a reassuring smile. Turning around, Selen rushed out the door. Her eyes were bloodshot as Sigils lit up across her body. In her hands, energy gathered into a single staff. Right now, she only wanted one thing. To tear off the heads of these hybrids! Chapter 493: Cur(s)e Jumping onto the roof of a building, Selen nced at the destruction around them. Beasts tearing apart houses while guards try their best to fight back. But with this outbreak, many of them were having trouble just standing never mind fighting back. "Hounds! Come to me!" A voice roared out as Selen noticed that it was the governor whom they met earlier. Behind her, several figures flickered into existence as all of them had the distinguishing feature of animalistic ears and tails. "Burn Spirits at full power! Do not let the corruption take hold! Kill the beasts and believe in the Lords! That is all!" The Governor ordered as six Sigils lit up across her body. "UNDERSTOOD!" All of the Hounds shouted in response. Without a moment''s dy, they rushed towards the beasts, each of them activating their Sigils and all of them had six! Already, Selen could see the unwavering faith they had towards Frida and Sigurd, the Lords tasked with protecting the capital. ''They''re targeting normal beasts while the hybrids aremanding the airspace. The Lords are dealing with the Hybrid Lords and there seems to be another prepared for Queen Verona.'' Holding back her anger, Selen calmed her mind. If she was to let anger take hold, she''d lose her advantage. That being the hybrids don''t know she''s here right now. There were two options for her. First was to act as support for the Lords. However, choosing this method could cause the third Lord to enter the fight. And if she was to help them, the other hybrids would be left unattended. That brings in the second option. To assassinate the hybrids before joining Sigurd and Frida! Can you even do it? A doubt crept into her mind. Her doubt towards her own abilities. Could she pierce the defences of the hybrids that even Alice struggled against? She didn''t know. But! Even if she didn''t know, even if she wasn''t sure, she had to do it. Just the image of seeing Egil struggling on the bed was enough to light a fire of anger in her chest as Sigils lit up across her body. ''I have less damage than Alice and I''ll struggle to get through their armour. But with perception maniption, I should be able to disrupt their formation and chain ofmand. Even if I can''t do that, I should be able to be a nuisance to them. I just need to buy time for the right moment.'' Selen thought to herself. This battlefield was not for her to stand out in. That was reserved for the Lords. But where the eye can''t see, she''ll do what she can. ### Laying the me across Egil''s body, sweat rolled down Alice''s face. "F*ck¡­ How the hell did the Zenia even make something like this." Alice gritted her teeth. Compared to the disease she saw guing Egil''s mother, this was far more destructive. Far more violent and vtile. Even the slightest stimtion was enough to drive it into a frenzy. Had Egil not instinctively protected himself with his Sigils, the disease would''ve invaded his spiritual heart already. If the disease in Egil''s mother could be described as an infection that''s slowly spreading, then Egil could be described as being dunked into a tank of curses. Side effects that assaulted every part of his body without stop. Not only that but there was even a slight hint of Alice''s own blood within this mix. ''It''s simr to your blood mist. I just didn''t think they would actually go this far and make it into a weapon.'' Alyss frowned. In the past, Alice had entertained the idea of doing something simr. But to see it in action was truly horrific. Just dealing with Egil was enough to give her an idea of the chaos urring in the capital right now. People sleeping peacefully only to be woken up by the horrific transformation. Biting her lip, Alice decided to do a small gamble. ''Don''t even think about it.'' Alyss shut it down immediately. Even though she wasn''t at the heart of the battle, her twin was still trying to attempt something truly stupid without caring about herself. ''Why not though? I think it''ll work pretty well. I have my hands tied with trying to figure out a solution anyway.'' Alice pouted. ''It''s not a matter of you being upied or not. It''s the fact that you''re exposing yourself if you do. What do you think the Zenia''s will do if they realise that their outbreak was hindered? And what if, I''m just saying what if, a Hybrid sees that it''s you doing it?'' Alyss frowned. ''Alternatively, what if Verona owes me a debt of saving her capital from falling to ruin.'' Alice grinned with a peace sign. ''. . .'' Letting out a deep sigh, Alyss face palmed. ''Then you can tell Ca of your n and see if she approves or not.'' She suggested as Alice nodded her head. Not far from them, Ca was sitting on the floor with several sheets spread out around her. In order to track her thoughts and findings better, she manifested her theories, tests, and results on sheets. Noticing Alice approaching, she paused while listening to the n she had in mind. [Alice¡­ Did you hit your head? Or are you drunk right now?] Ca asked, making an expression of disbelief. ''I''m not drunk! If I do this, things will be far more advantageous for us don''t you agree?'' Alice folded her arms. [Advantageous yes. Downright stupid? Also yes. Reckless? Very much so. How do you even guarantee that you''ll be able to keep your consciousness if you were to lose so much blood? I get that you have regeneration but losing focus for a moment while exposing yourself will get you killed. Also, you need to think about Egil''s condition while you do it.] Ca scratched her hair. Between Alice and Velouria, Alice was no doubt the most reckless one. However, both had simr thoughts when it came to helping people. Simr to the extent that Ca couldn''t help but to relent to these ideals and try her best to help her aplish it. [If you regte your power slowly, you should be able to do it without passing out.] Ca smiled as Alice grinned. ''Huh??? I told her to talk to you so that you can dissuade her not encourage it!'' Alyss blinked her eyes in disbelief. [Just look at Alice, does it look like my words would''ve dissuaded her? If anything, it''s more like she''s trying to persuade us so she doesn''t feel bad about doing it.] Caughed as Alyss let out a fatigued sigh. ''Just do what you want.'' Alyss relented. Her twin was always like this. Stubborn to a fault. But she knew that Alice wanted to do this since her blood was the root cause. To see this level of destruction, if she didn''t do anything, it would haunt her conscious. Upon getting approval from Alyss, Alice created a portal next to her as she transferred Egil to a floating blood bed. Stepping through the portal, she appeared near the top of the giant tree situated in the centre of the city. "I''m going to apologise before hand for this your majesty. But this isn''t a situation where I can wait for your approval okay?" Alice called out as she understood that Verona was probably watching everything that was going on. It was still a mystery why she hasn''t made a move yet but that wasn''t Alice''s focus. With the tree in the centre of the city, it was the best ce for her to be since this way, her ability could reach every corner of this capital. Taking a deep breath, Alice set Egil aside. She kept a sliver of her focus on him to ensure the disease didn''t progress further. After trying to resolve the issue in his body, Alice got a slight hint on what she should do. It wasn''t enough topletely purge the disease but halting the progression was enough. Resonance! Activating her resonance, spider lilies began to blossom around her as a pool of blood swirled into existence. To hold back the disease, she needed to use her own blood to counter it. Poison vs poison. While it had its benefits, it had an equal amount of risk. That being how much blood could she actually use without people just dying from the dosage. The only advantage she had over the outbreak was the fact that she could control her own blood. One misstep and it could be pure destruction. But¡­ Within the dangers of destruction,es the chance of creation. She will use her destructive blood and forge a cure. Bloodline Release! Behind Alice, her soul manifested itself. Strangely, she was not crying tears of ck blood. Instead, a pool of blood began to expand with spider lilies blooming in crimson. Silken strands of energy began to emanate from Alice, stretching far into the sky. What Alice wanted to do, what she had to do, was spread her blood across the entire capital. And the best way to do that was from the tree. Raising her hands, energy and blood converged into a single orb. She recalled her previous experiment, recalled Kaden''s power. She couldn''t visualise his abilities properly but there was a feeling that she wanted to grasp. A sense of warmth within the curse. Just like how she was going to use her blood to fight against this poison, she''ll use the curse as a catalyst for her cure. A cur(s)e for the people of the capital. Upon her body, the Second Sigil began to glow as Alice fired the orb into the sky. A single trail of red shot up before detonating into a spider lily amidst and of snow and ice. A single red lily that stood unyielding as blood mist enveloped the capital. Chapter 494: Neia Dashing across the different rooftops, Selen nced towards the tree and saw the giant spider lily. Her gaze trembled in surprise before furrowing her brows. With such a big phenomenon hanging over the city, it was clear that everyone was going to be distracted by it. eleration! She had to use this opportunity to the best of her abilities. To deal as much damage as she could before stopping them from going to Alice! ### Seeing the spider lily blossom in the capital, Elowen couldn''t help but furrow her draconic brows. For some unknown reason, she was feeling¡­ Enamoured by this strange source of energy. A warmth that was strangely familiar yet at the same time foreign. Not only that but from this warmth came the paradoxical sensation of disgust and repulsion. She wasn''t sure what the source of this energy was but it was no doubt a bad sign. So far, they have 8 hybrids on their side excluding the Lords. With the 8 of them, they''ve brought an army of beasts along with the airborne disease that was recently developed by the Zenia family. Rather than developed, it was more urate to call it a failed product. A failed attempt to recreate and resupply the already dwindling supply of sacred blood. Instead, this failed attempt brought forth a weapon far deadlier than what they had produced before. "Neia, go and check it out." Elowenmanded as she nced back at an ethereal figure that hovered nearby. Her form was shrouded by a thick darkness with no distinguishing features behind exposed except for a pair of hallow white eyes. Her ''jacket'' was a strange liquid like energy that shimmered with a light blue. It trailed behind her in strands simr to the tentacles of a jellyfish. The jacket itself was grafted onto her body with a few strands fusing with the darkness. "Do I have to¡­" Neia groaned, her voice soft andcking energy. "Can''t we just let it be? We just need to spread the disease and make sure the Lords are dead right?" She asked but Elowen gave her a re. Jolting up from the re, Neia sighed and nodded her head. "Fine¡­ I''ll go check it out." A stream of energy stretched out before her as she jumped up slightly before diving in, joining the stream and rushing towards the Spider Lily in the distance. Watching Neia leave, Elowen wanted to massage her eyes but it was a little difficult in her current form. Neia was the best one out of them when it came to scouting due to the unique properties of the beasts that she''s fused with. It allowed her to join the energy stream, avoiding most attacks and detection. Not only that, but it allows her speed to increase exponentially, letting her arrive at the target location practically in an instant. "Elowen Elowen~ What should we do?" A cheerful voice asked behind her as a young girl bobbed her head up. The girl had softvender coloured hair and a pair of mismatched eyes. The right was ck with a white cross while the left was white with a ck cross. "Don''t bother the captain. She''ll tell us what to doter." Another voice rang out as a young boy smacked his twin on her head. Much like her, he had softvender coloured hair and mismatched eyes. But instead of the right being ck with a white cross the left being white with a ck cross, it was the opposite. If one were to put these two in front of each other, some might even think there''s a mirror between them. "Laura, Kagen, I''ll let you two have funter. For now, we need to see how Verona responds to the situation. If she were to make a move, I can send all of us into the Void quickly." Elowen chuckled. Laura and Kagen, a pair of twins who had a unique resonance effect due to the status of their birth. When experimented on using the hybrid protocol, the schrs discovered a fantastic reaction. They were able to fuse to be one beast. It meant that they could insert twice the number of beast blood since there were two hosts while creating one strong beast containing a myriad of properties, far more than the standard hybrid. A pair who saw everything as a game and had fun while killing the people she told them to kill. Products that are broken in the mind. But even if they''re broken in the mind, they made fantastic weapons that the Zenias are more than happy to put to use. "I''m guessing you want me to be the one probing around for a bit while the rest of you watch." A familiar tree beast asked as Elowen nodded her head. It was the same beast that had transformed into the cartographer and sent the information regarding Alice being the one to deal with Keira. "Probe around and see if you can find the girl called Alice. If she can deal with Keira, aside from the Lords, she poses the biggest threat." Elowen ordered. "Roger roger boss." Folmar gave her a joking salute before transforming into a bundle of roots and diving down towards the capital. She was their guarantee for escape, Troy and Haldir acted as their defence. Haldir being another hybrid that''s been built to focus on defence. Laura and Kagen are there as their trump cards. Aside from the Lords, thest member was the wild card, in case anything unexpected happened. A, the one who they brought to deal with Queen Verona. A perfect ambush with pawns to react to any change in situation that may ur. In Elowen''s mind, there was no single chance of failure. Unbeknownst to the hybrids, a single woman hid on the rooftops and eavesdropped on their conversation. A woman who eliminated herself from their perception. ''The tree hybrid is looking for Alice while the ghost looking one is already rushing towards her. The group is split.'' Selen thought to herself as she activated eleration on herself. This made her job easier as she just needed to deal with the ghost and the tree before targeting the others. ncing towards the Lords, she could see a dance of fire and ice painting the sky while the twisted malefic lord level hybrids responded in kind. Eldrich streams of energy, tendrils and pulsating shadow collided against the mes and ice, swallowing them in the darkness. Neither side could drag each other into their second Resonance as doing so would leave them open to a sneak attack. With a third Lord watching by a nearby rooftop, Sigurd and Frida dare not expose themselves even for a moment. As much as Selen wanted to help them out, she couldn''t let the other hybrids move freely for now. ### Gliding through the stream of energy, Neia approached the tree. There were a few barriers in the way thanks to Verona but she could bypass it rather easily due to her unique trait. What''s more confusing for her was the fact that Verona was observing things with her barrier but not making a move. Regardless, if she didn''t want to make a move then it''s better for her. ''Let''s see what we''re dealing with I guess¡­'' Neia sighed. Materialising not far from the stem of the spider lily, she paused in shock upon seeing Alice who was kneeling with a spectral figure hovering behind her. A constant pool of blood flowed from her body with her face being pale and sweat rolling down the side of her face. A haggard appearance despite the power that was emanating from her body. Even from this distance, Neia felt her control waning, her connection being tested. However, what''s most shocking was Alice''s appearance. That face, that form¡­ It was unmistakable. ''Alya? No¡­ Alya was made as a failed clone of the original that was then ced in the hybrid experiments.'' Neia frowned as her pupils trembled. A thought crept into her mind as her heart pounded against her chest. If this woman wasn''t Alya nor was she part of the Hybrids that came with them then¡­ "She''s the original that went missing¡­" Neia muttered. Countless thoughts rushed through her mind as she immediately turned around and prepared to leave. She had to report this! The original that the family has been scrambling to find with their ever dwindling resources was here in the north! There was no doubt that she''d survive the outbreak due to the property of her blood. Rather than Verona, they had to focus on taking her back! "Where do you think you''re going?" A voice rang out above her as Neia widened her eyes and nced up. *KRK!!!! Catching sight of Selen right before her de was plunged into her back, Neia gritted her teeth and released a pulse of energy to push Selen away. However, before her attack could go through, it scattered apart before the pulse could fully form. Selen had also disappeared from above but the wound remained. ''Where?!?!'' Looking around her in a panic, Neia wanted to dive back into the stream and run but doing so would expose her back again. "Don''t bother looking around." "ARGG!!!" Feeling a de stab directly into her face, Neia cried out in pain as she couldn''t even register when Selen appeared. She wanted tosh out around her but none of her attacks seeded in activating. It''s as though the activation was cut off frompleting at thest moment. ''What is going on?!?!'' Neia iled to no avail. No matter what she did, no matter what she tried, nothing seeded. Selen continued to phase in and out of existence while stabbing Neia across the body. Even though she tried to regenerate her wounds, it failed to seal up as blood continued to flow. Fear dominated Neia''s mind as death wrapped its hands around her neck. In ast ditch gamble, she focused her power on a energy web around her in an attempt to find Selen before she could strike. Just once was fine. As long as she can find Selen, it''ll be over! ''Eh? Why is the world spinning? Why can I see my own body? Why am I missing my head? Why is she on my back?'' . . . ''How did I die?'' Chapter 495: Folmar Throwing away Neia''s head, Selen took several deep breaths as she could feel her heart pounding against her chest. During the assassination, she had to exert more energy than initially expected as Neia''s regeneration was far stronger than what she had theorised. In order to slow down the closing of the wound and speed up the blood loss, it drained roughly 40% of her energy. Just thinking about how she still had to kill the others gave her a headache as she nced down to see Alice giving her a smile. Selen had questions in her mind, one of which was why she was even out here with Egil. But knowing Alice, she had her own ns and Selen wasn''t going to question it. At least not right now. ''There are still seven hybrids left and I only have around half of my energy remaining. Even if I take it slow, I can only drag it out for 2 more fights at most if I push it. I need to change my options for attack.'' Selen thought to herself as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail. She needed to be more efficient, more logical, more deadly. To discard the wasted movements and kill with minimal ws. Right now, she needed to be an assassin. ### Halfway through their conversation, the hybrids stopped. Veins bulged on their necks as their auras began to shift with killing intent. "Is that girl at the root of that flower? The one who killed big sis Keira." Kagen asked as scales began to form across his body. "She must''ve killed big sis Neia too." Laura agreed. Both of their aura''s soaring. Elowen took a deep breath and held back her anger. Even if Neia was suited for scouting, her regeneration and escape capabilities are not to be trifled with. But she still died. Was there something hindering their regeneration? Was there someone who had the overwhelming power to kill her in one go? "Don''t be rash. We don''t have enough information. But ultimately, she is just one woman. Let Folmar return first, he shouldn''t sensed Neia''s demise as well. ### "F*ck! Neia''s dead?! How?!" Folmar hissed in anger as hended on a rooftop while roots spread out from his feet. Awork of information spreading through the capital with him at the centre. He could see the battle of the Lords, warriors of Verona fighting back, especially the Hounds that were keeping the beasts in check. The governor of the capital was no joke as she was able to drag tens of beasts into her second resonance and even redeploy it rapidly. It was the first time Folmar had seen anyone repeatedly activate their second resonance even if they have arge reserve. It was clear that the governor was someone who focused on utilising her personal realm rather than individual skills from Sigils. However, the biggest abnormality he was witnessing right now was the progress of the outbreak. Ever since the spider lily blossomed by the tree, the progression of the outbreak slowed down drastically. Through their estimations, the outbreak should''ve wrought havoc in the capital by now with beasts bursting out from homes. Mothers killing sons, fathers killing daughters and so on. But that was not the case. They struggled on the bed while briar thorns and spider lilies blossomed on their bodies. The thorns dug into their flesh while the lilies used their blood as their fertiliser, linking their vitalities together. Before he could continue with his theory, he detected something approaching his location rapidly. "!!!" Yet before he could fully understand what was approaching, he already felt a de stab against his neck. Out of instinct, he bent his body back and avoided having his head torn off. Instead, a chunk of his neck was cut off but was soon repaired by roots. It wasn''t a regeneration so Selen''s skill failed to take effect. "Tsk!" Gritting her teeth, Selen was surprised by Folmar''s reaction as he was far faster in recognising her approaching him than Neia. Scanning her eyes around the field, she noticed the roots weaving through the ground and understood that he must be obtaining information through them. Landing on the ground, she mmed her hand down as a ritualistic circle expanded outwards, decreasing the speed within this zone and hopefully reducing the speed of which he could get his information. ''Again!'' Activating her perception maniption, Selen rushed towards Folmar. "Ah~ what a freaky ability. If I focus too hard, you disappear like a ghost." His voice rang out next to her as Selen''s pupils shrank in shock. *BANG!!!!!! Barely blocking a kick, Selen crashed against a wall as she could feel her body crying out in pain. Blood dripped from her lips as she nced up in disbelief. There were now two Folmar''s standing in front of her with one of them slowly breaking down into roots. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to stand up as her mind began to think up of solutions for her predicament. The main question that lingered was how he was able to find out! After one interaction at that. ''Roots? He must be sharing his senses with his roots. Rather than focusing on me, he must be perceiving the information of the entire space.'' Against her perception maniption, this was probably the worst matchup. Her perception works on people focusing on her rather than the space she resides in. Therefore, with Folmar''s ability of perceiving the space through roots rather than on the person, it essentially eliminates the effectiveness of her skill. However, there was a way to bypass this. sping her hands together, Selen activated her personal realm. Monochrome World! The space around them immediately began to distort as a ck material escaped from Selen''s palm, forming a single guardless de. Furrowing his brows, Folmar attempted to disassemble the monochrome world through understanding and logic but notice that the space around him had paused. A segment of space that''s been frozen in time. But rather than frozen, it was slowed down to a near halt. *BANG!!! The instant he understood that her ability was to manipte him, Selen appeared in front of him and jammed her de into his chest. Folmar noticed his movements being slowed down by time but adjusted by having roots shoot towards Selen from below. Not bothering to dodge, Selen froze them mid attack before twisting her body and mming her heel against the handle of her de. Cleaving down diagonally through Folmar''s body, she furrowed her brows while seeing the roots stitch his body together. Rather than a living being with a body, it felt more like Folmar was an amalgamation of materials. Roots, flesh, bone and so on. It was hard to pinpoint where his main body was for her tond an attack he couldn''t recover from. ''If Alice had my powers, what would she do right now.'' Jumping back, Selen conjured her staff and mmed it into the ground. A bell toll sounded out as symbols appeared above her. ''A ritual!'' Wanting to interrupt this ritual, Folmar mmed his hands down as thorns burst out from the roots around him, stabbing into Selen''s body. However, she curled her lips into a grin. The roots that touched her body began to wither and break apart. "I knew it." Selen grinned. In order for Folmar to avoid a ''wound'', his body was constructed of materials rather than ''flesh.'' Thus Selen''s ability of prolonging a wound and making it worse didn''t work since Folmar could just ''rece'' the damage. However, if she was to take that into ount, then this ''body'' of his was more of an object than flesh. And if it''s objects, then her eleration, when boosted by her realm, would wither it! The roots that Folmar spread across the ground began to wither as he jumped back in shock. While the ability to manipte time to this extent surprised him, what truly shocked him was what urred on the inside when his thorns pierced her body! A resonance of the original''s blood! The girl in front of her was a product of the Zenia family! "Traitor!" Folmar howled as vines shot out of his body. A flood of green energyshed out but in his panic, he had ced his entire focus on Selen rather than the space around them. "Gotcha~" Selen grinned, disappearing from his view. ''SH*T!'' Stepping back, Folmar was too slow as Selen appeared behind him. Pulling her arm back, energy converged towards her fist as she funnelled it through her staff and unleashed an explosion in front of her. The detonation of the energy began to wither Folmar''s body at a rapid pace, leaving him screaming out in horror and panic. Layers uponyers of material were stripped away as his imposing form was torn apart, revealing the defenceless being that had hidden itself within the bundle of vines. A small sapling that tried to escape as Folmar attempted to revert back to his human form in order to fight. However, with the barrier that Selen put in ce, his movements were slow and she wasn''t going to give him the chance to live. Raising her foot, she crushed the sapling under her heel and twisted it. *CRUNCH!!! With the tree hybrid now dead, Selen made onest check before dispelling her personal realm. Sweat rolled down her face as she copsed onto one knee. Bags could be seen under her eyes as she was struggling for breath. Two quick fights back to back were taking its toll on her as her energy was running on empty. To fight the other hybrids would be pushing her luck. But she had to push on. Stumbling onto her feet, she reached into her pouch and grabbed a vial of healing blood. Right as she was about to take a drink¡­ *BANG!!! CRASH!!! A colossal being of ice and snow crashed into her body, breaking several bones beforeunching her into the opposite building. Coughing up a mouthful of blood, Selen peered through the smoke and debris and saw the silhouettes of two hybrids walking towards her. Chapter 496: Rails ''Ah¡­ What a mess¡­'' Selen thought to herself. She could feel the strength fading from her limbs, the blood pouring out her body. She could feel her heartbeat slowing down. After killing two hybrids, she was already on the brink of exhaustion. But to bring two more without even giving her a break? "What a joke¡­" She squeezed out her lips. ncing down, she could see metal beams sticking out of her stomach. She could feel the sharpness of metal against her back. A familiar sensation to the days where she was being modified. The cold touch of the schrs, the bright rays of light. Their cold indifference even if she was to call out for her parents. She couldn''t help but wonder if it was because she''s on the verge of death that she thought back to her birth parents. The two who sold her to the Zenias only to be killed soon after. Their greed for money. She understood that the family was struggling¡­ but to sell off their daughter for some money. But strangely, before meeting Egil and Alice, her time with her mother and father were perhaps her happiest times. A period where she didn''t need to worry about the next experiment. If she would lose herself to the Abyss due to the blood or whether or not she''ll survive the next culling. Even if you could adapt to Alice''s blood, there was no guarantee that you could survive. They still needed to weed out the useless ones without talent. Selen could remember a boy who was sold roughly the same time as her. Someone who also had an affinity for Alice''s blood. Since they were part of the same ''batch'', they hung around one another rather frequently. They talked about their fears, how they were scared of the next experiment. She could still remember himforting her, reassuring that everything will be fine. However¡­ She also remembers strangling him and seeing the light leave his eyes. The first time she killed a person, the first time she partook in the culling. ''What a sh*tty life this has been. Though¡­ I guess it wasn''t all bad.'' Selen''s vision began to distort. The joy she felt tonight before the invasion¡­ Just a little more, she wished she could drown herself in that emotion once more. ''I''m tired¡­ So¡­ very tired.'' Closing her eyes, Selen thought about letting go. ''Ah¡­ Egil will be sad wouldn''t he¡­'' Just earlier, he had promised to keep supporting her. To be the extra pair of hands that she would need if she wanted vengeance. He epted all of her yet she was here thinking about giving up. ''What a selfish woman I am.'' Selen smiled bitterly as Sigils flickered across her body. Their power nearing the brink of being exhausted but she squeezed out thest bit of power. To slow down her death. ncing to her right, she saw arm crushed between two pieces of debris, leaving only her left arm free. ''I''ll take a page out of your book Alice.'' Taking a deep breath, Selen gritted her teeth and twisted her arm. Tears formed around the corners of her eyes from the pain but she bit down harm and continued to pull. "ARGGGGG!!!!" Letting out a scream, she tore her arm out of the debris as blood, flesh and shards of bone flew everywhere. Using her left hand, she pushed herself free from the metal jutting out of her stomach as she could see the hybrids walking towards her. She felt as though she could see a crossroad in front of her. Two paths. [Give up?][Push Forward.] There was only one choice that she could make. One choice that''ll leave her with no regrets, one choice that''ll make Alice and Egil praise her. ### "Seems like we''re still toote." Troy gritted his teeth as he nced other at the corpse of Folmar who was slowly withering away. Haldir, who had mmed Selen into the building, picked up some of Folmar''s roots and watched it wither away. He had arge muscr physique covered by fur, ice and snow. A pair of giant curved horns and a head simr to that of a bull. White fur extended from his jaw, mimicking a beard while arge pair of arms reached all the way down to the floor. "And another one of our brethren disappears." Haldir sighed. "Which we why we need to take her back and make her pay for it." Troy narrowed his gaze. In one expedition, he had to feel three of their brethren disappear. That feeling of sensing your brother and sisters die¡­ Gritting his teeth, he red at the pile of rubble where Selen should be. Her death will note easily, they will torture her to the end of her days. Just as he approached the rubble, he noticed a pool of blood but Selen was nowhere to be seen. In fact, he couldn''t even sense her aura. "!!!" A bad feeling dominated his mind as he jumped back and mmed his fists down. *BANG!!! Crystaline towers erupted around them, forming a defensive barrier. "Ah¡­ So close. If only you didn''t put up that barrier of yours." Selen''s voice rang out as they looked up in shock. They could see Selen staring at them with a pair of cold eyes. Her de radiating a dark aura was halted by the barrier at thest moment. With both of them focusing on her, Selen curled her lips into a grin and faded away like a phantom. Raising his hands, Haldir created a blizzard around them, freezing anything and everything in hopes of catching her. But she was nowhere to be found. ''She should be on the verge of death after that hit. I felt it.'' Haldir frowned. Selen should''ve been in no state to fight back. But more than that, he clearly felt the bones breaking from his punch. However, if she was the one to kill both Neia and Folmar, it''s only expected that she could do this much. *BANG!!! Turning around ready to punch, Haldir frowned seeing nothing behind them. The barrier clearly trembled from something attacking yet there was no one in sight. "Oi, what the hell is going on?" Troy questioned. With each passing second, he could sense the crystals he created beginning to crack from some sort of outside interference, forcing him to expend more energy to repair it. But no matter what he asked, Haldir couldn''t give him an answer. Right now, his survival instincts were screaming at him to run! ### ''Ah~ I feel great.'' Selen thought to herself as she nced down at the two from the rooftops. A spark of inspiration, an idea that urred on the verge of death. Time. Her powers manipte time whether that be deceleration, eleration or even dragging out a single instance for a prolonged period. Her perception maniption. There''s also manipting time in a certain space, halting attacks or speeding herself up. This got Selen thinking. She had been ''logical'' about her appliance of time for all her attacks and skills. But what if she was to think more on a conceptual scale. Time moves as a railway, always going in on direction. Even if she was to slow it down, it never stops. Her experience with her skills told her this much. When she drags out someone''s perception in order to erase herself, she''s essentially stretching out the rails so that the distance between point A and point B is increased. However, what if she was to manipte the rails itself. To take a fragment of that rail and bring it to the ''future''. Even if its just for a short instant, even if its only a few seconds into the past, it''ll be as though she''s turned back the time in her own body. Crouching down, Selen narrowed her gaze at the two beasts that were still looking for her. She only had a fraction of her energy left, not enough to use the skill again but it was fine. Rather than being the one to kill these two, it was far more efficient to have them harm one another. To pave a path forward and wait for an opportunity. While the beasts fight, the Hunter profits! Unbeknownst to Selen, the faint outline of a beast could be seen slowly manifesting behind her. Faint but noticeable. A beast with a pair of jagged horns and two pairs of eyes. The head belonging to a wingless draconic body that she was familiar with. The sealed Abyss Lord of time ¨C Miralith. Curving its lips into a grin, the eyes slowly closed before the visage disappeared. ### Folding her arms and crossing her legs, Verona kept her eyes closed. She observed the movements of Alice who slowed down the progression of the outbreak. The battle between Lords. The hounds who are keeping the beasts at bay and Selen who killed two of the hybrids and fighting two more. A precarious situation. However, even with this, she couldn''t make a move. If she was to make a move, everything they''ve worked towards would''ve gone to waste. There was only one thing that she was hoping for and that''s Alice and Selen being able to help tide them over this difficult time. "Is this nation of yours about to kick the bucket, Verona?" A woman asked as she walked towards the Queen. Jumping up, she sat on the railing of the throne above Verona and leaned down. "If it''s about to kick the bucket then maybe I should leave." She mused while ying around with some gadgets. The woman had light blue hair fading into a light pink. A pair of strange crimson eyes with even stranger circles around her pupil. A familiar face that Alice had seen in the Inverted World. Adjusting her sses, the woman nced at the reflections of ice around Verona. "This girl, she seems interesting. A little familiar and simr to what you''re trying to do." She pointed at Alice. "You mean¡­" Verona opened her eyes and nced up. "Yep. She''s also got divinity in her. Plus that method of casting¡­ No doubt Kaden''s work." She frowned. That familiar casting method and even the way she looks. It brought up old memories in the woman''s mind. A home long destroyed. Ayr. Chapter 497: A Resonance With The Infected Keeping her eyes closed, Alice gritted her teeth as this was harder than what she had initially expected. The resistance of the disease and its progression was too hard to hinder. Plus, with her spreading out her power like this, it reduces the effectiveness of her current ''solution''. But she couldn''t stop. Egil wasn''t the only one she wanted to help. If she were to drop her current skill, the progression of the disease would immediately end the capital. Taking a deep breath, Alice forced herself to calm down. She needed to adjust her way of confronting the disease. ''Any updates?'' Alice asked as Ca was working hard on a solution. [None. It''s more resistant than I initially thought. Any changes I impose on it short ofpletely severing the connection to the spiritual heart is healed.] Ca scratched her hair in frustration while tossing the sheets aside. She didn''t know how the Zenia''s were able to make something so horrific but it essentially gives everyone Alice''s physique. Even if its just for a brief period before they die. Upon being infected by this outbreak, the diseasetches onto the energy flowing through your body and connects itself to the spiritual heart. From there, it begins to drain you dry while your body suffers countless side effects. [You have to think of it as dealing with your own body. The cure we''re trying to concoct is like Abyss Blood. The moment we apply the cure, it dissolves.] Furrowing her brows, Alice sighed before sitting upright. ''Wait a f*cking moment¡­ There''s no way¡­ Would it work?'' She muttered. In her entire life, there was only one instance of a permanent change enacted onto her body. A change she couldn''t get rid of until she ''updated'' herself. Single Sigil Resonance! A dangerous method that causes an imbnce within the body, leading to a permanent change. If she was to forcefully activate this kind of resonance within the body of the victims then¡­ a cure could be applied! ''Wait no¡­ They still need a Sigil for this to work. If they don''t have a Sigil then this method falls t.'' Seeing as how Alice was beginning to piece together the clues, Ca decided to stay silent. In these types of situations, it was best to let Alice contemte on her own. ''Sigils¡­ Spiritual Heart¡­ Permanent change¡­ Spiritual Heart? Bloodline release¡­ Two Spiritual Hearts¡­ Catalyst? Maybe¡­ No, that wouldn''t work¡­ Crown¡­ Heart¡­'' Alice continued to mumble away as her eyes darted from Egil to herself before back at the city then finally, at her own soul hovering behind her. ''Resonance¡­ Artificial¡­ Bnce¡­ One? No one would be too little for civilians¡­ They''ll die before the effect takes ce. Three? Anchors¡­'' Taking up, Alice''s eyes began to widen as a smile appeared on her face. ''F*cking hell I''m a genius.'' Alice grinned. ''I''ve got it, the way to break this curse!'' mming her hands down, Sigils began to light up across her body. The crown began to manifest above her head while the Bloodline Release behind her started to bleed. Chains of bloodtched onto the spider lily as Alice took a deep breath. In order to thoroughly dismantle this curse, there were certain requirements she had to first achieve. First, a three link resonance. But not a traditional three link resonance, no. A resonance between the infected, ''herself'' and the Bloodline Release. With this, she can achieve the bnce of a three way resonance while also getting the power of a one Sigil resonance within their body. A split moment, an opportunity to modify her target in order to carve out this curse. But if it was just the resonance, it wouldn''t work either. As she thought earlier, there was a chance of death before the resonance could end. Which is why she needed her Bloodline Release, her own Spiritual Heart. She needed a secondary heart for this curse totch on so that it releases the grip on the civilians. In essence, she was transferring this outbreak to herself. However, as the source of this blood and the original host, it''ll do nothing to her! Not only that, but I''ll also remove the side effects umted by the curse. With this, it''ll be as though the outbreak never took ce. Unfortunately, this method only works with the outbreak since it''s her own blood. If she were to attempt to ''heal'' people using the same method, it wouldn''t work since the target now bes their innate connection to the Abyss and the contracts that they''ve made. But she couldn''t be too greedy. The fact that she had a solution for this predicament was already a miracle. Blood began to pour out of her hands as crimson symbols manifested around Alice. A ritual to expand the targeted area to be this entire city. Each infected Civilian will be Sigil A, she will be Sigil B and her Bloodline Release will be Sigil C. For the Civilians, they''re forming a connection with one person, Alice. But for Alice, she''s forming tens of thousands of connections. But even if it''s a connection with tens of thousands, Alice will do it. She''ll dismantle this curse that the Zenia''s have made with her blood! ### "Heh~ that''s a pretty interesting method." The blue haired woman muttered while observing Alice''s movements from the top of the tree. She had already retrieved a sample of this curse and she had to admit, it was far more potent than anything she had seen before. Even if she was given years, she might not have a good solution for it. Her only answer would be to dy it as much as possible. But this girl? Using her own skill set, she formed a resonance between three targets. While she wasn''t sure what Alice was gunning for, she had to give points for her imagination. That being said, her attention was captured by the crown above Alice''s head. It''s no wonder what she thought back to her old destroyed home when the sessor was right in front of her. The question for her now was if she''s a pawn of the Will. ''If Kaden went as far as to teach her, she should be her own individual rather than one serving the Will.'' She adjusted her sses. After all these years, she finally saw the gears turning. ''Is it time to fulfil the promise?'' Thinking back to the pain she felt watching her home being destroyed by the Gods, the peace of the Abyss shattered and the expansionmanded by the Will, veins bulged on her neck as anger filled her mind. However, she soon calmed down as she continued to watch Alice. If the nation was going to fall, she''d leave as she had promised Verona in the past. The only reason why she was staying in the north was to see if a new God could rise from mortals like what Velouria did. Though her situation was a little unique. But with Alice here resolving the curse, this nation would not fall. So there was no reason for her to leave. All she had to do was to keep an eye on Alice and ensure that she wasn''t interrupted. Leaning back, the woman let out a sigh. The wave of nostalgic memories continued to flood her mind without stop. A pain of longing stabbed her heart. She missed the days where she would joke around with her assistants in theb, causing trouble and asking Kaden for a raise in budget. They did everything they could to make life better in the Abyss, for those who sought to be human despite beings beasts. To protect the paradise created by Velouria. But it was futile when the army of Gods came crashing down on them. None of the Lords in the city could fight against the Gods with Velouria dead and Kaden was in a panic saving Allura. With their Goddess dead and the Apostles unable to help, the city couldn''t hold on for long. Almost everyone was killed with a few stragglers managing to survive thanks to the sacrifices of others, including herself. Her assistants who held back the enemy from reaching her, their final farewell as she was thrown into the teleporter to the upperyers. After all these years¡­ she had forgotten their faces. Faceless silhouettes that smiled as they sacrificed themselves. She had always thought of this as a curse. A curse of the Will to all those that survived the culling of Ayr. To continue living so long as the Abyss persists. To watch the invaders desecrate their belovednd. But no more. With the appearance of the Sessor, vengeance is at hand. A full Armageddon with no care of the casualties. She wished destruction towards the followers of the three Gods. She wanted to Alice to be the new God of the Abyss and kill the false idols who killed their beloved goddess out of jealousy and fear. She will give the rightful sessor everything she can give. Her theories, her creations, her genius, her soul, her body, everything. Everything will given to the new Goddess in name of vengeance. To kill the eclipse, to kill the sun and moon, to kill those who believe in them. To bring hell upon them and make them feel the anger and fear they felt in the past. She wanted Alice to bring down the wrath of Ayr! "Ah~ How long as it been since Ist felt alive? The beating of my heart~" The woman smiled as she raised her hands to the sky. "I, Caera, will give you my everything. So that the world will bathe in the blood of Gods." Chapter 498: Selens Mutation Everything in the world has a ''time limit''. Nothing is eternal. Even for those deemed as cursed, immortal or even the Gods, time limits exist for everyone. Some may not be the standard type of ''time limit'' that one would think of, but nothing trulysts forever. For the Goddess known as Velouria, that time limit was the Will of the Abyss. Sooner orter, the expansion of the Abyss would''ve taken her life if the Gods failed. When the sealed Abyss Lord of Old, Miralith, taps into the powers of time, she interferes with this time limit. That''s the key goal of the ritual performed by Selen when she ''summons'' Miralith. A barrier is formed around the target and within that barrier, time slowlyes to a halt. Once time is fully halted, the target is removed from the flow of time and erased. But rather than halting time, it''s better to describe it as forcefully dragging the time limit towards the current time. By exhausting all of the ''time'' they have allotted to them, they''re removed from this life. The stronger the opponent, the harder it is to drag the time limit. *CLANG!!! "HAH! You puny sh*t! You''ll never get through our defences like this!" Troy roared as he stomped down and punched towards Selen. Bending her body, she dodged easily before disappearing like a ghost once more. They couldn''t kill her, but she couldn''t kill them either. It''ll only be a matter of time before the otherse here to deal with her since it was taking too long. Sweat dripped from her face as shended on the roof and took a few breaths. However, her break was short as Haldir appeared next to her with his arms raised. "!!!" *BANG!!! Jumping back just in time to dodge, Selen narrowly avoided the fate of being crushed into the roof. ''My perception maniption is losing effectiveness.'' It wasn''t a case of her opponents adapting but rather her energy was almost reaching rock bottom. Ducking down, she avoided the sneak attack by Troy before shing up with her de. *KRKKK!!! Once again, she couldn''t pierce his skin and her de was deflected. Gritting her teeth in annoyance, she slid through his legs and rolled to the side, avoiding the tail m. *BANG BANG BANG!!! Footsteps heavy like cannon shots roared out as Troy jumped to the side, revealing Haldir who was charging at her with his horns first. A barrier of energyshed out around him, making it hard for Selen to dodge. eleration! *CRASH!!! She didn''t want to have to cast eleration since it exhausts a lot of energy but there was no choice. Even she could tell that charge was dangerous and if she was to allow herself to get hit by that, she didn''t have another safety to rely on. Right now, she had no healing vials and no energy. She had to kill these two with what she had avable to her. But their defences were still arge issue that she couldn''t deal with. If she can''t deal with the defences, she''ll never kill these two. One other option would be a ritual with Miralith. But considering she needed to set up the perimeter and stand still, she doubted it would work. [We can make a different kind of contract if you desire.] Miralith''s voice growled in her ears as Selen widened her eyes. Rolling away to avoid Troy''s attack, she frowned. The only other time Miralith has taken the initiative to talk to her was the first time they were ''fused'' to a certain degree. The moment her blood was infused into her body and granted the power to manipte time. That was the only time they talked and the moment she established the first ritual of utilizing her strength. ''A bit suspicious that you''re offering it to me now. You''ve been watching haven''t you.'' The timing was too good to be a whim of the sealed Lord. [You expect me to rot here and die silently? After the b*stards fed you my blood? Hah! Fat chance.] Miralithughed as Selen flipped back and avoided Haldir''s m. Running up his arm, he tried to stab him in the eye but Troy was ahead of her. He jumped over Haldir, ready to punch Selen but she swung herself from his horn and avoided the blow. ''So what do you want from me then?'' Selen asked as she could feel her heart crashing against her chest. [If you desire the power to kill these two, I can help you out. A contract to connect me to your Spiritual Heart. I''ll funnel the power into you and in return¡­ You allow me to take over from time to time. A fair trade don''t you think? After all, I''ve been stuck here for so long. I too long to take a breath of fresh air.] If it was before, Selen would''ve said yes. However, after her recent awakening and understanding of Miralith''s power, this was clearly a trap. A vile trap designed to take over her bodypletely. The moment she allows Miralith to take over her body, she''ll use her powers to stretch out the time she had with it and find a way to eliminate Selen from the equation. Essentially, her body bes an avatar for the sealed Lord. ''I''ll pass. I''m not so desperate to give up my body like this. It''s not like I''mpletely out of ideas either.'' Selen narrowed her eyes. There was still something she could try, something she learned from Alice and her reckless ns. Sometimes, it is within the danger that one will find the path to survival. Adjusting the de in her hand, Selen crouched down and dashed towards both Haldir and Troy. Without her perception maniption, both of them could see hering from a mile away. Curling his lips into a grin, lightning sparked through his crystals as Troy mmed his hands down to get into all fours and cracked his jaw open. Truth Seeker! Activating the skill of Truth Seeker, Selen''s view of the world began to shift. After fighting these two, the information she''s obtained and the habits she''s observed gave her all the tools she needed for a perfect prediction. The next 10 seconds waspletely in her grasp! A torrent of raw destructive energy. Stepping to the side, Selen used her de to swing herself away from danger, dodging the initial and fastest part of Troy''s breath attack. After witnessing it missing, he swiped it to the right in an attempt to catch Selen but she dodged over it with ease. Throwing her de towards Troy''s eyes, Selen watched as Haldir blocked it for him but it was fine since she just needed one opportunity for him to lose sight of her. Grabbing her de, she ignored Haldir''s grab towards her as she shed at the corner of Troy''s mouth. Stopping his breath in anger, Troy grabbed Selen by the arm and held her in the air. *CRUNCH!!! His jaw crashed down on her torso, the sound of bones shattering and blood oozing out could be heard but there was no scream. Onlyughter. A fearful feeling crept into Troy''s heart as he nced towards Selen''s face and saw her grinning like a wild woman while blood dripped from her lips. "Yo hybrid, have you ever heard of your predecessors?" Selen asked as Haldir and Troy were immediately on guard. They remained in their beast form this entire time so how did the girl know that they were Hybrids? "Failed products who couldn''t fully adjust to the blood of the original. So instead, they gave us the blood of sealed Lords to try and offset it. But you guys¡­ hehe¡­ You guys have more of her blood in you don''t you?" Selenughed as the wound she cut in Troy''s mouth pressed against her wounds. The blood of the hybrids and her own blood began to mix. The concentration of Alice''s blood within the Hybrid''s body was far higher than Selen''s and she could already feel her body burning up from the inside. However, after she was forced to take care of Alice during her weakest period, consistently exposing herself to the full concentration of her blood, Selen''s resistance had increased drastically! "Spit her out!" Haldir roared as Troy swung his head and tried to throw Selen away. "Toote!" Selenughed. Grabbing one of his crystals the moment Troy let go of her, Selen swung herself onto his back and stabbed towards the back of his head with her fingers. Troy tried to st her off his back using the sparks of electricity but it was no use, Selen ignored it all. A dark energy wrapped around Selen''s hand as her fingers came into contact with his scales. At that moment, Selen could see a strand of green from the contact point. A frail strand, flowing with the progression of time. *KRK!!!! Ripping that strand in half, Selen''s hand tore through his scales as it began to wither. "ARGGGG!!!" Letting out a frantic scream, Troy wanted to m Selen into a wall as Haldir punched towards her. A pulse of energy erupted with Selen in the centre. Everything around her began to slow down as she took hold of Troy''s brain. A cold light glimmered in Selen''s eyes as she clenched her fist and crushed it without hesitation. Before Troy could hit the ground, Selen threw his brain matter towards Haldir''s eyes, blocking his view. Jumping up, she grabbed him by the horns. She tried to wither him earlier but Troy always got in the way. But now? There was nothing covering for him. Rather than wither, she had a better idea in mind. She was going to ''steal'' his time! A maniacal grin appeared on Selen''s face as runic patterns appeared above her head. From Haldir''s body, strands of green energy could be seen escaping his body and entering Selen as he began to age and decay rapidly. His speech, an incoherent mess of panicked screams and cries. Soon, he copsed on the ground as a dried up husk with old white hairs all over him. Letting go of Haldir, Selen stumbled towards Troy. Haldir was a lost cause but Troy still had Alice''s blood in him. Licking her lips, she grabbed a knife and carved out his heart. Miralith was silent while looking at the husk left behind by Selen. After increasing the concentration of Alice''s blood within her body, a mutation had urred! The ability to steal time from others... At this point, Miralith could no longer call it an extension of her powers. It was simply... Demonic! Chapter 499: Lost Lamb Of The Family Raising the heart above her head, Selen curled her lips into a menacing grin. There was a strange light in her eyes as she crushed the heart and opened her mouth. *Gulp Drinking the blood, her body trembled as Alice''s blood diffused into her body. "Haha¡­ Hahahahaha!" Letting out aughter from the depths of her soul, Selen tossed the heart away. She felt a high like no other. Seventh heaven. She could feel her energy replenishing as strength coursed through her body. ncing down at Troy''s body, she giggled to herself. It was too much of a waste to leave this be. *KRK!!! She dug her hands through the corpse and began to drink what blood she could get her hands on. Aughter howled out in the area as those who were curious felt a chill down their spine. Illuminated by the moonlight, Selen dressed herself in a outfit of blood, scales and innards. Twisting the flesh above her, she bathed herself in blood. A pair of bloodshot eyes scanned around for her next targets but she couldn''t find anyone. "Ah~ I want more~" She giggled. Standing up, she wanted to leave when her smile faded away. Gritting her teeth, anger filled her chest as she gathered energy into her fist and turned around in one swift movement. *BANG!!! Punching Troy''s corpse so that pieces of him flew everywhere, Selen let out a scream of anger. Kicking pieces of Troy''s body while panting, tears began to fall. She kneeled down and cried a river of tears that mixed with the blood around them. Her mind spun in turmoil as ck feathers and spikes began to manifest across her body. Clutching her eyes, Selen felt the urge to w them out as a pin like pain stabbed against the back of her eyes. Countless strands of energy representing the flow of time stretched out in front of her. A blinding swirl until colour began to fade from the world. She could see her flesh writhing beneath the skin as though a thousand insects were crawling through her body. Raising her hand towards the moon, Selen let out one more cry of pain before deafening silence. ### Floating in the air, Elowen gritted her teeth as things deviated from their initial expectations. Things were quickly spiralling out of control as four hybrids have now died. Half of their numbers were gone! "Captain, are you still going to ask us to stay here?" Kagen asked as a dark aura exuded from his body, hiding his appearance as only a pair of crimson motes could be seen, representing his eyes. His tone was calm with a hidden anger. "His words have some merit. Perhaps it is time for you to consider a different n." A womannded next to them gently. It was the same woman who appeared next to the living shadows that were sent to deal with the Lords. The wild card brought to deal with the queen herself, A. "Are they not here as a trump card to begin with? Or are you suggesting that you''re going to take care of the anomaly?" A asked with a small smile on her face. Furrowing her brows, Elowen sighed. She was here to make sure all of them had a path back. "The anomaly is taking care of us one by one. Even though both Troy and Haldir are dead, it''s clear that she took much longer to deal with it than Folmar and Neia. Sticking as a group will make it much harder for her to single us out." Elowen replied. Even though she wanted to see what was happening at the base of the strange flower, that was the domain of Verona. Even if A was here to deal with her, it was still risky to fight on her home turf. They had to be careful. With the Queen not even showing her face, it only raised more questions. What was she waiting for? Was she hesitant about being infected? Why was she doing nothing while chaos filled her capital? Or was she confident that things would end just fine? "So in the end, we''re still just waiting then? Even after she killed our family?" Laura gritted her teeth as her aura began to match her twin. Frustration and anger. "That''s¡­" Hesitating for a moment, Elowen couldn''t deny it as there were too many unknown variables at y. With her being their only way out of the capital, she couldn''t risk it. It was already enough that they lost four hybrids. At this point, they should just cut their losses. Right as she turned around to tell them her decision, her pupils constricted in shock. Standing silently in the middle of them, a woman stood with a wide grin on her face. Feathers and spikes decorated her body with a pair of wings folding in front and hiding her eyes. Long ck hair that fluttered in the wind and the thick stench of blood filled the air. On top of all that, it was only now that Elowen could feel an unstable aura simr to the Hybrids. Rather, her aura had traces of Troy mixed into it. One thought came to mind. ''She''s the one that killed Troy and Haldir!'' "One¡­ Two¡­ Three and four¡­ Seems like this is all of you." Selen tilted her head slightly. With Elowen noticing Selen, her presence became clear to the hybrids around her. The twins immediately attacked with Laura releasing a torrent of white mes and Kagen shing towards her with a w coated by a ck mist. However, before their attack couldnd, it was frozen in mid air. "Tsk tsk tsk, I''m only saying hi, why so hostile? Unless¡­ you wanted to die? Oh you poor souls, should I liberate you from this life?" Selen asked, disappearing and reappearing behind the twins. Her hands slowly reaching towards them but Elowen managed topose herself. A Void fissure cracked open in front of Selen, pushing her back while the twins were teleported next to Elowen. Tilting her head, Selen nced at her fingers before turning her head to the Hybrid that controls the Void. "I remember you¡­ You''re the one that ambushed us when we were going to the port¡­" She muttered. "!!!" ncing to her side, Elowen felt sweat drip down her back as Selen appeared on her shoulder with her hands stroking her draconic face. "Whatever should I do with you¡­ Thanks to your ambush, we went through quite the trouble you know?" Selen let out a soft giggle as the scales slowly began to wither. Elowen wanted to move but instinctively, she knew that she if did something hasty, Selen wouldn''t hesitate to kill her. The cold hands of death wrapped around her neck, slowly tightening with each passing second. "Get your filthy hands off the captain." Kagen warned with gritted teeth as he prepared to attack but Selen held up a finger. "Let''s not get violent here. If anything, I should be the one angry you know? You barge into this capital, release your disgusting disease andugh as people are transformed. But when I kill your allies responsible for this, I''m disgusting?" Selen''s smile slowly faded as her aura began to climb. In the next moment, she disappeared from everyone''s view and reappeared next to Kagen, dispelling his aura and halting his transformation. Her hand wrapped around his neck as green strands of energy could be seen pulsing on his neck. "It doesn''t really sound fair now does it? Don''t you think life should be repaid with life?" Selen asked as Laurashed out. But before her attacknded, a hand grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her back. In front of her, time halted and pieces of her clothing that were caught withered into dust. "Lucky gal~" Selen chuckled. A was the one who pulled Laura back before she was killed. For the twins to show their full strength, both of them needed to be alive. Just having one half would significantly decrease their fighting power. "Lostmb of the family, should I congratte you on your upgrade? To go from a failed product to bing part of the new order like us." A smiled. She could clearly sense that Selen''s body was undergoing changes thanks to Troy''s blood, the blood of a hybrid. Even now, something shifting inside her mind, inside her body. But¡­ If there wasn''t a foundation to work with, this wouldn''t have happened. Meaning, she was a product of the Zenias. Only a product would have the foundations necessary for an upgrade like this. "Lostmb? No¡­ I''m not lost. I never wanted to be part of this family to begin with. Ah~ How infuriating. To think you would even think of me as family¡­ Disgusting." Selen frowned as veins bulged on her temple. Her grip began to tighten around Kagen''s neck but soon, she calmed down. "You may not like it but you cannot deny the power it has given you. Are you not drunk from its excellence right now? The feeling of bing a hybrid. The power at your fingertips, it draws the true you out from all of that fa?ade." A slowly curved her lips up into a smile. Darkness spread out from her like tentacles, dyeing the world in darkness as Selen furrowed her brows. There was something... Eerily family with this woman. Little by little, the feathers and spikes around her eyes began to peel away, revealing a pair of darkened eyes simr to Ca''s true form. The sclera was ck while the pupil shimmered with an ethereal green and blue. With her sight partially restored, Selen''s gaze trembled at the sight of A. "Alice?" Chapter 500: Evolved Monochrome World "Alice?" Selen muttered upon seeing A''s appearance. Simr yet also different at the same time. The scars across the face, the way she dresses, those mannerisms¡­ Selen knew that the woman in front of her wasn''t Alice. Her brief moment of distraction was enough for Kagen to break free of her grip and kick her in the stomach, forcing her back. Elowen wanted to take this chance to attack but noticed A paused on the spot. Her smile faltered as her eyes were focused on Selen. The appearance of the original host was not known very well through the family. Even for the hybrids, they don''t know exactly what happened. But A was a recent addition to the hybrids. An attempt to recreate the original host. She knew whom she resembled and what her name was. If the woman in front of her was able to urately say the name upon seeing her appearance then¡­ "The original host still lives¡­" On top of that, the woman in front of them knows her! "Elowen, a change of ns. We''re capturing this woman in front of us alive." A smiled. "Huh?!" Laura looked over in shock. "Why are we taking her back with us alive? She killed our family!" Kagen questioned with a burning rage. "Because her knowledge will be a great asset to the family. It is her knowledge that''ll let the family achieve their goals." A exined. Hearing this, Kagen and Laura gritted their teeth in anger. But if its for the family, then they had no say in the matter. "Taking her alive is fine. We can beat her up a little right?" Kagen asked. "Go ahead. Just don''t kill her." A nodded with a wave of her hand. While the hybrids were talking, Selen came to her own conclusion. First of all, they don''t know that Alice is alive. Second of all, they still don''t know where she is. Third of all, most of them didn''t know what Alice looked like. Selen understood one vital fact from these three truths. Even if she was feeling the high of power, even if she felt like the world was spinning around her, she refused to let the Zenias hurt Alice any more than they already had! To achieve that, she had to kill all witnesses! Feathers and spikes covered her eyes once more as a malevolent aura burst out from Selen''s body. Monochrome World! However, after her mutation, her realm experienced a few changes. Above them hung a swirling chaotic spiral of clouds and rampaging energy. A single bleeding eclipsed sun connecting the skies above to thends below. Scattered throughout the monochromends stood broken decayed clock towers, each one surrounded by a pile of ruin. Each clock face had countless cracked ss with the clock hands jumping back and forth around the same number, perpetually stuck in one moment of time. Dark twisted trees with clocks fused into the trunk. Warped bases coated by spikes. Branches that melted while barely maintaining their form, leaving dark liquid strands hanging off the trees. Some trees didn''t have branches, only a trunk leading up to a single broken clock face. A river of darkness created by the bleeding sun meandered through this nightmarish hellscape. Even without fully understanding Selen''s realm, Elowen could sense that it was unstable. ''If A''s words are right, she''s still trying to adapt to the changes in her body. We have the advantage!'' Elowen reared her head back as the energy around her body shifted to a neon yellow. *BANG!!! Lightning crashed down from above but Selen disappeared from her spot. "Captain! Permission!" Kagen shouted. "Granted!" With permission finally granted, Kagen and Laura rushed towards one another as their aura began to soar. However, before they could reach one another, Selen appeared in the middle of them. Twisting her body, she released a spinning kick andunched them away from one another. It didn''t take a genius to realise that these twins had something up their sleeves. The fact that they asked for permission only solidified this thought. Thankfully, Selen had already gained a rough understanding of her opponents. Elowen seemed to be more of the utility kind,cking proper damage. While it may be good against weaker targets, itcks the lethality to kill someone like her. The twins were rather weak while they were separated. As for the Alice lookalike, Selen didn''t have any information on her so she had to keep an eye on the wildcard. "ARGGG!!!" Releasing a torrent of white mes in anger, Kagen tried to hit Selen but she disappeared like a ghost. *BANG!!! Appearing next to him, she mmed her knee up into his jaw, forcefully closing his mouth andunching him up. She then grabbed him by the ankles and mmed him onto the floor. Summoning her sword, a dark energy wrapped around the de as the clocks around her began to toll. But before she could stab down, a portal opened next to her with Elowen rushing out in her hybrid form. She was dressed in a flowing white gown that shimmered with the same radiance of her mes. Smoke that formed a raiment that weaved through her armpit, over her shoulders and behind her head. Her blond hair shifted to the same white as her scales and in her hands, she held arge white scythe. Leaning back, she shed up with the scythe as Selen faded from her perception and reappeared not far away. The space that she had upied earlier was torn apart with hints of the real world leaking through before repairing. Furrowing her brows, Selen understood that there was a risk of Elowen dismantling her realm skill. "Laura! Kagen! Do what you need to do, I''ll keep her upied." Elowen ordered, adjusting her stance. Hearing her deration, Selen burst out inughter. "You? Keep me upied? Pft! Ahahahaha! Alright, try if you can. Keep your eyes on me and don''t let me escape your notice now~" Selen giggled, tilting her head with a wide grin. Furrowing her brows, Elowen wanted to attack when a sh wound appeared across her torso. "!!!" Widening her eyes, she didn''t even know when Selen got so close to her! Twisting her body, she wanted to push Selen away but she disappeared once more and another wound appeared on her back. "What''s wrong? I thought you were going to keep me upied? What if I was to disappear and hit the twins instead~" Selen taunted. Confusion filled Elowen''s mind as she couldn''t work out what Selen''s powers were. Turning around, she looked towards the twins and saw Selen raising her de in hand. Reaching out with her hand, the space around the twins began to distort. *KRK!!! shing down with her de, she appeared next to Elowen and cut her arm in two. Flinching from the pain, Elowen was a littlete in blocking as Selen twisted her body and kicked her in the stomach, throwing Elowen back as she crashed into the twisted trees of this realm. The twins that she saw weren''t the real twins but rather a ''recording''. A reflection of where they were a few moments ago. The real twins were already suspended in a prison of time by Selen, unable to reach one another despite the short distance between them. *p p p~ ncing towards A, Selen could see the girl pping her hands. "Simply remarkable. I don''t understand why you don''t feel gratitude in your heart after the family has granted you such power. Do you think you could''ve attained such a feat had it not been for the family?" A asked, crossing her legs and resting her chin on her palm. "I never chose this path." Selen raised her sword towards the girl but didn''t make a move. Her opponent was too confident to the point it was eerie. There was something about this girl and she couldn''t rush in blindly. "You never chose this path? Stop lying to yourself. You could''ve stopped at any point the moment you left the family. But you continue to use this power have you not? And¡­ To seal the deal, you even bathed yourself in the blood of us hybrids. You wanted more power didn''t you?" A grinned. Selen wanted to retort but it was the truth. She was already at her limit during the fight against Troy and Haldir. If she didn''t gamble with her life and infuse herself with the blood of hybrids, she would''ve died then and there. She hated the Zenias but had to admit that their research and experiments had created beings with immense power. If it wasn''t for this, for the power to control time, Selen probably wouldn''t be able to contend against these hybrids without a perfect set of Sigils. "I don''t feel gratitude because there wouldn''t be a need to have this power if the Zenias didn''t create freaks like us." "Still denying your saviour to the end. No matter, I simply need to guide the lostmb back to the family." A sighed as Sigils lit up across her body. From her back, three pairs of wings began to unfurl itself, wrapping her in a cocoon of white feathers. Not wanting the girl to finish her transformation, Selen conjured a staff to halt the time but a frown appeared on her face. Around the girl, there existed an invisible barrier that her powers couldn''t bypass! As the feathers unfurled, A''s bestial appearance revealed itself. She had a skeletal form with pieces of silver armour adorning parts of her body. Flowing white hair that reached to her ankles and a tattered red cloak that contrasted the white bones and hair. Behind her, six wings unfurled, revealing their pristine white feathers. Ominously, eyes decorated the centre of these wings as two golden halos spun to life above A. In her hands, she held a single bloodied white spear. In front of Selen now hovered an angel of death. A blend of holy and demonic. "Allow me to guide you back to the right path." Chapter 501: Avatar Of Winter Sitting by the base of the spider lily, Alice''s body was covered by countless strands of red and ck. Flowers and briar thorns. Even with her resistance, she could feel the energy of the curse coursing through her body as parts of her would mutate before returning back to normal after a short moment. She could see the red link formed between her and the infected, a cage that spiralled through the capital. She could see the pulses of energy rippling from the infected to her own body. It was a strange sensation. A disgusting familiar sensation. Like the days in theb as blood was pumped into her body. Yet strangely, it was¡­ warm and soothing after a short while. It was her own blood in the end but Alice disliked this feeling. Sweat rolled down her face as Alice gritted her teeth. Within the warm sensation that is her blood, she could feel something else. Something else that spurred her blood to mutate in such a vile way. Totch onto the target''s spiritual heart and consume them from the inside. ''Enris? No¡­ it''s too different to be Enris. But it does hold traces of Eclipse. The moon? Not quite either.'' Alice made a guess but this foreign feeling didn''t match either of these two. There wasn''t even a need to consider the Sun seeing as how there was not even a speck of resemnce. [It''s probably Nyer''s handiwork then.] Ca dismissed while continuing her work of analysing this curse. She wanted to see if there was a better way to break it rather than just having Alice ept it all into her body. If the curse was to break out in multiple areas, it would be an issue since she wouldn''t be able to reach all of them. ''Fair point.'' Alice chuckled, distracting her mind from the pain of having all these curses flooding her body. At certain moments, her flesh would twist and writhe beneath the skin, threatening to break out and mutate. But she held strong. While epting the curses in her body, Alice could sense the space around each of the victims. Through this resonance, their senses were shared with her. The panic of the Hounds as they find themselves slowly being backed into the corner by the ever increasing beasts. Guards who trembled as they tried their best to protect the civilians. The fears of children as they watch the swarm of beasts approach. Even though the outbreak has been held back, they were still struggling with the beasts. None of the warriors could fight at full power, not when the Hybrid Lords were pushing Sigurd and Frida back. ''Selen also needs help¡­'' Alice thought to herself. She watched Selen kill four of the hybrids before drowning herself in the blood. Just to make sure that Selen wasn''t consumed by the side effects, Alice attached her into the resonance as a patient. However, even for Selen and her new abilities, fighting against four at the same time might be beyond her. Especially considering the fourth that felt eerie even for Alice. After dragging them into the personal realm, Alice lost connection and could only hope that things were going good. With Selen dealing with the hybrids all by herself, Alice turned her attention to the Lords that were facing one another. Both living shadows were hard to push back as Sigurd and Frida were also careful with their abilities. Careful so that the city doesn''t take any unnecessary damage. Unfortunately, the living shadows didn''t have the same worries. They fired off their attacks without care, carving thendscape and killing hundreds in the process. Alice may be able to hold back the curse but healing people from mortal wounds was beyond her. She needed a bit more time before she could cut off the connection to the infected. A little more time before she''s thoroughly removed the curse from their bodies. If she wasn''t careful, even a tiny bit left over could spiral into the death of the infected. She could only pray that they could hold on for that extra bit of time¡­ ### *BANG!!! Gritting her teeth, Frida was covered with wounds as all of her attacks were being ''consumed'' by the shadow in front of her. All she could do was slow him down while wounds piled up. Worst of all, these wounds had special properties. ck tendrils writhed in her flesh, digging into her body. Even if she was to freeze them in an attempt to expel the foreign entity, they would break out from the ice and prevent her wound from closing. "What''s wrong? Running out of gas already? Come on~ Gimme something more to eat." The bestial living shadow cackled as he unhinged his jaw. From inside him, a swarm of writhing ck mass spewed out towards the city. "B*stard!" mming her hands down, an ice barrier prevented the mass from crashing down on the city but this moment of distraction allowed the living shadow to appear in front of her. shing down with its ws, he watched as Frida was barely able to move back in time, suffering only a light scratch on her skin. However, this light scratch was all he needed to ce more of his parasites into her body. Coughing up a bit of blood, Frida furrowed her brows as things weren''t looking too great. "Frida!" Sigurd shouted out as she nced back while keeping her guard up. "I''ll defend! Go all out!" Sigurd roared, twisting his body and mming his hammer into the body of the humanoid living shadow. The collision caused his body to stter before returning back to normal. No matter how Sigurd tried to burn and break him, he would always recover before counter attacking with the same attack if not stronger. Raising his guard, he braced himself for a hammer strike as the humanoid shadow mmed a writhing mass in the form of a shadow into Sigurd''s body. With Sigurd telling her to go all out, Frida nodded her head. sping her hands together, all of her Sigils lit up across her body as blue markings spread out. A blizzard erupted around her with the bestial living shadow lunging forward to stop her. But before his jaw could reach, Sigurd appeared, bloodied and bruised. Leaning back, he uppercut the beast using his hammer, throwing him back before creating a barrier of mes to fend off the attacks of the humanoid living shadow. Around them, the blizzard continued to rampage as space itself was frozen before shattering apart, revealing a woman with skin as white as snow and white silken hair. A pair of pristine blue eyes and a flowing garment of white. The Avatar of Winter. Raising her hands towards her mouth, the Avatar took a deep breath before exhaling towards the shadows and the city by extension. A tsunami of cold mist rushed down and both of the living shadows felt a threat of death. Meanwhile, Sigurd jumped down, spinning his hammer and mmed it into the ground. *RUMBLE!!! From below, mes slithered through the ice and began to melt through theyers. *BANG!!! Breaking out of the ice, a ming serpent coiled upwards, letting out a loud hiss as glowing red markings appeared across Sigurd''s body. Avatar of the Forge! A wave of mes crashed up, colliding with the tsunami of cold mist. With extreme heat on one side and extreme cold on the other, the two living shadows writhed in pain. However, Sigurd''s goal wasn''t to kill the two. Rather, his goal was to stop the ice from reaching the city!!! *CRACK!!! Copsing on one knee, veins bulged on Sigurd''s arms as he was struggling to hold it off. Ever since he was cursed by the Enris, his Avatar of the Forge had been weakened considerably. While he continues to maintain his powerful defence, his offensive capability practically disappeared. At this point, it was no different from a sealed beast. But as long as he could hold off the cold mist from reaching the city, they can win! "Ku! Hahahaha!!!" A shrillughter could be heard as a chill ran down Sigurd''s spine. He snapped his gaze up and saw a mass of darkness within the collision of mes and ice. Within this mass of darkness, tendrils could be seen harvesting this frozen energy. Many were frozen and destroyed but double the number was regenerated. In mere moments, a barrier of writhing mass was formed and Frida''s attack failed! Seeing this, Frida instinctively took a step back out of disbelief and fear. What kind of beast was this? That they could ''consume'' her strongest attack meant to freeze even the Lords and extinguish their vitality? "F*cking¡­ Delicious." The bestial living shadow grinned as his form had increased by several folds. All of the tendrils across his body was in a state of excitement as he cracked his jaw open. In an instant, a thin line of raw energy shot out, piercing Frida''s shoulder. "ARHG!!!" Letting out a cry of pain, Frida was barely able to shift her body in time out of instinct. If it wasn''t for this, this beam would''ve hit her heart! Panting heavily, she froze the wound and nced at the beast with sweat dripping down her face. The Avatar above were started to fade away as cracks formed across the surface of her body. But before she could fully fade away, a dark hand gripped her neck. *BANG!!! "!!!" Grasping at her neck, Frida choked on her breath as her gaze nced up and saw a dark avatar slowly appearing from the ripples in space. A dark twisted amalgamation of limbs and shadow grasped her avatar by the neck. Its head, a mass of flesh began to split open, revealing countless rows of teeth and writhing tendrils. A horrific thought filled Frida''s mind as fear revealed itself in her eyes. It was trying to consume her Avatar!!! Chapter 502: Aylas Powers What is an Avatar? The Avatar of a Lord is a crystallisation of their powers and title that''s been granted by the Abyss. An icon for them to channel the full extent of their abilities to the extreme. In essence, it''s their ''third resonance'' without getting 9 of the same type of Sigil. However, crystalising your power this way has its risks as it weakens the Lord when they don''t utilise it. It''s a separate reservoir where they keep their power. Repairing a damaged Avatar was easy. All they needed was a bit of time and effort. But if it was to bepletely destroyed or ''consumed'' in this case? Fear lingered in Frida''s eyes as she watched the bestial Avatar approach her own. Its jaw hung open with countless rows of teeth within. *CRACK!!! Crunching down with its jaw, it bit down on the Avatar''s neck as Frida cried out in pain. Wounds appeared on her body matching the wound of the avatar. "FRIDA!" Sigurd roared, jumping up in an effort to assist but the humanoid living shadow was already prepared. Intercepting Sigurd, he twisted his body and released a hammer swing, sending him crashing back into the ground. Coughing up a mouthful of blood, Sigurd gritted his teeth. In order to help Frida, he had to get through this humanoid living shadow first! This damn curse of his, restraining his powers! All because of Enris! Punching the ground, Sigurd let out a shout from the depths of his soul as mes burned around him. ### Watching everything unfold, Verona had a frown on her face. She knew she had to make a move and soon. But if she did¡­ She was at a crossroad of choices. Frida and Sigurd''s life or their dream. Could she really sit by and do nothing? Biting her lips, Verona contemted. She weighed the options. If she was to make a move now, the nation was going to be doomed regardless. One move and everything they worked for would be for nought and an army of the three gods will invade their nation and raze it to the ground. But if she didn''t do anything, it would be razed to the ground regardless. If she didn''t make a move and Frida was to lose her avatar, it would give their enemies an incentive to just attack. They wouldn''t be able to defend the nation with just one Lord. Sigurd was cursed and Frida would only be ssed as half of a Lord. Making up her mind, she was about to stand up and leave when a spider lily began to drift down from above. ### shing her de towards A, Selen gritted her teeth as her attacks weren''t working. Every time her ability was to reach A, the space she upied seemed to shift and her attack would dissipate. This wasn''t limited to just her direct attacks either. Something was warding off her perception maniption. None of her time based abilities worked. She couldn''t be slowed, elerated or even held in ce. "Such futile struggles, is it not a waste of effort? Just rx your body and allow me to guide you to your rightful path." A sighed. Jumping up slightly, she batted her wings as a pulse of energy rippled out. Raising her guard, Selen was confused when she didn''t feel any pain. But one nce behind her caused her pupils to constrict. A spectral figure of simr to her unchanged form could be seen floating with her eyes closed. Curling her lips up into a devilish grin, A flicked her finger and an arc of lightshed out, cutting off the arm. "!!!" Feeling a sting of pain on her arm, Selen nced down and saw her arm being cut off by an invisible force. Immediately activating her new skill, she recovered her body back to the state it was before A cut off her arm. Jumping back, Selen could see her spectral form slowly dissipate and reenter her body. ''Abilities doesn''t seem to work on her, she can push out a spectral form and any damage done to it is reflected onto me.'' Selen made a mental note as a frown appeared on her face. She could tell that A was ying around with her right now. Selen was keeping the twins and Elowen in check so the moment she gives up her focus on them, it''ll be a 1 vs 4 again. In that kind of situation, her death was guaranteed. ''Those eyes on the wings are creepy too¡­'' Taking a deep breath, Selen forced herself to calm down. In her current state, her mind was filled by a myriad of voices. Some angry, some sad, some jubnt. But she had to be the one in control. Letting those voices dominate her mind will only elerate her death. "My dear, are you still thinking of a way out? Isn''t it easier just to give up?" A''s voice whispered in Selen''s ear as she snapped her gaze to the right but no one was there. "I''ve already marked your soul for redemption, you can''t escape my voice anymore." This time, the voice seemed to exist in her mind as Selen twisted her body andunched an arc of energy towards A. Not making a single move, A watched as the de dissipated before it could even reach her. "How about you stop this futile resistance? Seeing you put so much effort is exhausting even for me when it alles to nought." A sighed. The eyes on her wings twitched for a moment before focusing on Selen. Spectral chains shot out of the ground as red energyshed out towards Selen. mming her hands down, she froze the time in the space around her and jumped out of the way beforeunching another arc of energy towards A. "Trying the same thing over and over won''t yield you a different result. Things simply don''t work that way." "No, but it distracted you didn''t it?" Selen grinned. While throwing the attacks and dodging, she had slowly inched towards where the twins were so that she could finish them off for good! She ced her hand on the twins as green energy could be seen flowing from their bodies into Selen''s. Her wound began to patch up while the two slowly dried up into husks. "Oh my¡­ How vicious." A remarked. The death of the twins didn''t affect her at all as she didn''t care about their life or death. All she cared about right now was the recovery of the original. If she could get that, all of the lives they used in this expedition could be forgiven. If they could get their hands on the original, another army would rise. "If you want to grant dear Elowen a peaceful death then please, go ahead. I''ll wait. I''ll wait and let you understand your futile defiance of your fate." A gestured, leaning back slightly. Furrowing her brows, Selen walked over to Elowen who gave her a hateful re. Grabbing her by the head, Selen didn''t give her a second nce before stealing her time into herself. Now that it was truly a 1 vs 1, Selen could focus everything into killing A. Since abilities don''t work on her, she''ll have to rely on the physical! eleration! Blinking from her spot, she appeared above A who slowly turned to her with a smile. shing down with her de, her pupils constricted after noticing her attack phased through A''s body. *BANG!!! Before she could register what had happened, A''s wing mmed into her body, sending her crashing towards the ground. It felt as though an entire building had crashed into her as blood seeped from Selen''s lips. She wanted to recover her wounds but A was faster. *BANG!!! mming her heel down into Selen''s chest, A smirked as she lifted Selen by the hair. "The mes of life still burn in your eyes¡­ How rebellious." Lifting her up slightly, A twisted her body and punched Selen in the face before grabbing her ankles. mming her body into the ground, she gathered energy into a white orb and jammed it against her stomach. Blood sttered everywhere as A lifted Selen once more. She could see that Selen was barely breathing. Her lips trembled as A wondered what she was trying to say. "You¡­ Finally got¡­ close enough." Selen squeezed out as a small smile could be seen on her lips. At that moment, A wanted to let go but it was already toote. Her hand withered in an instant as she let Selen go and kicked her away. Furrowing her brows, she tore off her arm and threw it away before the withering could get to the rest of her body. "You''re different from Alice after all. An inferior copy. You might be able to negate abilities thrown at you but once it hits your body, you''re no different than the rest of us." Selen cackled as blood poured out from her mouth. Unfortunately, she could only roll back her wounds by a small degree since it took too long. Forcing herself to stand straight, she looked at A''s twisted expression of anger while her arm was missing. "Struck a nerve did I?" Selen taunted. She understood what the Zenias were aiming for when they created A. They wanted to use the properties of Alice''s blood to fight against people who focus on casting. Naturally, she had her own countermeasures to physical attacks but once she grabbed Selen''s hair, that countermeasure disappeared. It allowed Selen to directly inject her abilities into A''s body, stealing her arm in the process. Seeing A''s arm bulge and writhe, Selen understood that she probably had her own form of regeneration but it was far inferiorpared to Alice. Unable to hold her anger back, A rushed forward ready to kill Selen. ''Seems like 7 was my limit¡­ Did I do good?'' Selen asked in her mind despite knowing that neither Alice not Egil could hear her. Closing her eyes, she waited for the final strike. *BANG!!! But the pain never arrived. In front of her stood an armoured knight donned in ck ting and demonic horns across his body. Red energy fluttered through the gaps as he grabbed A by the hand, preventing her from reaching Selen. He stood as an imprable wall, protecting the woman behind him. Chapter 503: A Zenia Experiment Sitting in silence, the spider lilies around Alice glowed with a mesmerising crimson hue. The side effects have stopped manifesting across her body as most of the patients were now ''cured''. Despite forming a resonance to bnce out the effects of the curse, there were still lingering aftereffects that she couldn''tpletely get rid of. Simply put, they were infected for too long. Their soul had been permanently dyed and she did what she could to return them back to ''normal''. Most of them will spend their life feeling a little on edge around Abyss Blood and develop some form of slight resistance. It''s a good and bad thing considering side effects are harder to appear on them but at the same time, healing vials will be less effective. Alice could drink healing vials and they maintain their effectiveness. These folks will find the vials losing their effectiveness after a few drinks. Meaning, that every time they get injured, they''ll have to worry about spending more money to heal injuries next time. However,pared to losing their life here and now to the side effects, this was a very, very small price to pay. The bigger worry for Alice was¡­ The warriors who were burning their energy to fend off the curse. Because they were burning their energy, most of their natural resistances were being burned away and reced by the curse. To put it into perspective, their body and spiritual heart was a canister. Every time they burned energy to fend off the curse, the energy inside the canister was being disced by the curse once it''s been expended. Meaning the longer they fought while being infected, the faster they were damaging their body. The effects may be warded off momentarily but that''s only on the outside. They were rapidly burning through what remains of their life. She managed to offset this through the resonance since she''s recing the energy she burned with her own that couldbat the curse. But it''s not a long term solution. They''ll no doubt exhaust it eventually and be left with a permanently half empty supply of energy. After tonight, they''ll never be able to fight the way they could before. ''What a pain in the ass¡­'' Alice sighed. The toughest part was now resolved but it was still hard to deal with the lingering effects. As of right now, it was going to be impossible for her. "Urg¡­" Groaning out in pain, Alice turned her gaze towards Egil in surprise as she didn''t think he would wake up this early. She didn''t know why but his body reacted far more aggressively to the curse. If others were reduced to 50% of the normal capacity, Egil was reduced to only 20% of his overall capacity. Meaning, unless something was done, his life as a Warrior was over. "Where¡­ Where¡­" He stuttered, feeling pain across his body as his vision blurred. "You''re safe. We''re at the big tree right now." Alice replied, thinking he was asking about where they were. However, he shook his head and sat out in pain. Clutching his head, he took several deep breaths before turning to Alice. "Where''s Selen? Is she safe?" He asked as Alice let out a small sigh. He wasn''t even worried about his own safety. Rather, the first thing on his mind was Selen''s safety. "She''s fighting the hybrids right now. Killed 4 of them before I lost contact since she dragged thest few into her personal realm." Hearing this, Egil nodded his head before trying to stand up but his body copsed beneath him. "You''re in no state to fight right now. The curse did a number on your body. If you go now, you''ll only be a hindrance." Alice let out a deep sigh. *BANG!!! Punching the ground beneath him, Egil forced himself to stand up. "Just be honest with me Alice. My body isn''t looking good is it? I can feel it myself. The spirits I''ve attuned to can''t be manifested." Egil smiled bitterly. All of his Sigils refused to activate and every time he tried, a stinging pain would assault his chest. Considering the state of those who were infected by this curse, Egil understood that it was quite a miracle for him to even be standing right now. But he was greedy. He didn''t want to just fall down and call it quits. Not when Selen was risking her life killing hybrids. Even if he was to die, he wanted to be a shield for her in hisst moments. ". . ." Hesitating for a moment, Alice gave the back of his leg a light jab, forcing him back down. "Yes, it''s a mess. You only have 20% of your usual capacity. You kept burning it to keep yourself alive. Honestly, after tonight, you should probably think of doing something else other than being a Warrior." Alice told him truthfully since he is a friend. For Egil, his Sigils consume a lot of energy to activate but are highly efficient once it''s been activated. But that activation cost was the issue. With just 20% of his capacity, Egil couldn''t activate any of his Spirits. Hearing Alice''s assessment, Egil''s eyes trembled for a moment before letting out a fatigued sigh. "Is there nothing I can do about it?" "I¡­ Don''t know." Alice turned her gaze down. If it wasn''t for her Spiritual Heart taking on his burden, his capacity would be at 0 right now and he would likely be dead. For Egil to resume fighting¡­ Alice wasn''t sure how. His main issue was capacity. If he didn''t have a way to increase his capacity, even artificially, there was no way for him to return to fighting condition. But in order for him to make an artificial container for energy, he''ll have to form a resonance effect. To use the bnce of three sources to form a container. Just using his Sigils won''t be enough since his Sigils work on his main container. Closing her eyes, Alice was hesitant. There was an idea in mind. But doing so would be¡­ Simr to what the Zenia family does. To use her blood and take advantage of the marks left behind by the curse. By fusing Egil with her blood, she''ll allow him to ess his full capacity one more and perhaps even expand it. But thenes the question of resistance. How well can he resist the transfusion? However¡­ Is she really willing to go down the same path as the Zenias? Would it not be hypocritical of herself to hate them for what they do only to turn around and do it herself? Alice struggled with the choice. Egil noticed his hesitation. "Please Alice, I don''t want to lose Selen. Please let me go help her." Biting her lip, Alice scratched her hair. If he was to ask her like this, how could she say no? If she was the in same position, she wouldn''t hesitate to gamble either. But that''s only because she''s in a position to gamble! Her own body helps offset the side effects but Egil doesn''t have the same boon. [If you''re worried about resistance, why not introduce a third source so that he can bnce it out like you do?] Ca suggested. She knew that Alice wanted to help Egil out but without a way of resisting the side effects, she couldn''t go ahead with the idea. ''A third source? Hmm¡­'' Furrowing her brows, Alice considered the sources avable. ''Can''t you just teach him the Bloodline Release like what Tiamat did for you? His powers are based on summoning Spirits to ovep his body right? Sounds like he''ll do just fine with manifesting his own.'' Alyss cut in. ''Right! That''s true! Tiamat never said I couldn''t teach it to anyone else.'' A glimmer appeared in Alice''s eye. However, even with the right conditions, it was still going to be risky so Alice needed to let Egil know the consequences of failing. "I have a way for you to fight again. But it''s¡­ How do it put it. Risky isn''t even doing it justice. With this method, you''ll have to learn a new technique. One that''ll let you fight but only when you activate it. Because if you don''t, your body will crumble from the inside out from the effects of my blood." Alice warned. If they were to form a resonance between Egil''s current energy source, Alice''s blood and the Bloodline Release, it''ll help him bnce out the effects and maintain a state of fighting capability. But if he were to try and only use his current energy source with the damage done by the curse, her blood would only elerate the ''infection'' in his body and cause side effects to manifest, killing him in the process. Therefore, unless he''s able to use Bloodline Release properly, he''ll struggle. "I''m not talking about an ordinary death. It''ll be extremely painful and far worse than what you experienced from this curse. If you thought this curse was painful, just know that it only holds a small fraction of my blood. But what we''re doing is injecting you with the undiluted source. Are you sure you want to do this?" Alice questioned. Closing his eyes, Egil recalled the eptance he felt from Selen. The warmth that spread through his chest. He wanted to protect this. If other people saw the choices he was given, they may call him stupid to ept. However, he wanted to be there for Selen. Through the good times and through the bad. If she was fighting against four hybrids right now, he wanted to be there as her shield. To make sure nothing bad could happen to her. "Yeah, I want to do this. Plus, I trust you Alice." Egil grinned. Letting out a sigh, Alice nodded her head. "Sit up properly. I''ll show you the technique. The rest will be up to you." ### Grabbing A''s hand, Egil red at her with bloodshot eyes. Anger assaulted his mind as the living armour around his body twitched. There was only one thing on his mind right now¡­ To ughter the woman who tried to kill Selen! Chapter 504: Selens Shield Jumping back, A furrowed her brows as the feeling she was getting from Egil was strange. That aura¡­ No doubt it belonged to a Hybrid. But it was unlike any Hybrid she had felt before. It''s something far more¡­ Raw, primitive. Not to mention the high concentration of blood within his body. Even now, he''s still mutating but something was keeping him in check, stopping him from tipping over the line of no return. "What are you?" A questioned, unable to wrap her mind around Egil''s existence. *BANG!!! "!!!" Widening her eyes, she felt Egil''s fist collide with her face. Crashing back from the hit, she quickly recovered and saw him charging at her once more. Adjusting herself so that his attack wouldn''t work, she revealed a confident expression only for it to freeze up as his fist mmed into her chest. "WHAT THE HELL!?" She roared, unable toprehend the fact that Egil could hit her! As a Hybrid, she was able to shift herself through two states. One is the soul state where physical attacks cannot harm her whatsoever. The second was the physical state where there was a barrier around her that prevented the Abyss abilities from harming her. Even after shifting to the soul state, Egil could still punch her?! Letting out a bestial growl, Egil red at A with crimson eyes before crouching down. *BANG!!! Leaving a crater beneath his feet, he zipped next to A and twisted his body. Unleashing a roundhouse kick, he sent her flying into the air as she adjusted herself with her wings. Gritting her teeth in anger, the eyes on her wings locked onto Egil who was flickering through the realm through raw speed alone. Quickly suppressing the joy of seeing Egil alive and well to some extent, Selen forced herself to stand up and took a deep breath. eleration! Since she couldn''t affect A, the best one to use this one right now would be Egil! *BOOM!!! Getting a sudden boost in speed, Egil flickered above A and pulled his arm back. *CRACK BANG!!! Punching her down from above, he watched as she crashed into the ground and coughed up a mouthful of blood. A re of pure unrestrained anger could be seen. She was sent here to deal with the queen, knowing that she was a pure caster. Her entire skill set was engineered to counter that. And just in case she had to fight before the Queen appeared, they even gave her the ability to avoid physical attacks. However, this random armoured knight appeared out of nowhere and was able to hit her despite physical nullification? Absurd! She simply couldn''t ept this kind of oue! ncing around her, she noticed the corpses of the other Hybrids and curved her lips up into a grin. Creating a barrier of energy around her, she dashed towards the corpses. Egil tried to stop her but spectral chains burst out of his body, restraining his movements. The eyes on A''s wings continued to focus their gaze on him. "Care to stop looking at my boyfriend?" Selen asked as she stabbed her de into the barrier, breaking it apart. With A worrying about Egil''s punches, she had kept herself in the soul state and forgot about Selen who was looking for an opportunity. Twisting her body, she blinded one of the eyes with her de. One of the chains around Egil''s body broke apart. A''s anger reached its peak as she didn''t even have anything to say to Selen. Swatting her away with her wings, she flinched upon seeing the feathers beginning to fall out as the flesh withered. With one of her wings now withered, the chains around Egil were reduced by half and he managed to break out of the restraints. Landing on the ground, he rushed towards A with a burst of speed. His ws aimed towards her head. *BANG!!! Before his ws could tear that head off her shoulder, the space in front of her distorted and prevented Egil from getting closer. A could be seen with blood dripping from her hand as the corpse of Elowen slowly stood up next to her. Her expression was hollow and one could assume that A had turned her into a zombie. Regardless, her abilities could still be used. With Elowen now revived, A dashed towards the twins as Egil wanted to follow. However, Elowen ignored him and ran directly towards Selen who was still recovering from her wounds. Thatst attack was already pushing things as blood poured out of her stomach. When given a choice, it was clear what Egil would choose. *BANG!!! Punching Elowen away, he stood in front of Selen as her shield. Blood seeped out from the cracks of his armour as Selen could hear him struggling for breath. "I¡­ Stall her. Take this chance to run if you can." Egil squeezed out. It felt like the armour was eating away at his flesh. The longer he stayed in this state, the harder it was to avoid crossing the line of no return. Alice had already warned him. Because he wasn''t used to the Bloodline Release, the duration was going to be short. Once it''s exhausted, he''ll be returned back to his base state unless he wants to risk death. The instant the armoures off, his capacity will return back to what it was. Unable to even activate a single spirit. Therefore, he wanted to use what little time he had left to help Selen run if possible. "Don''t be stupid. Even if I run, I can''t go far in my current state. It''s better for us to stick together right now. She''s spooked. The fact that she had to rely on the corpses of the twins and the Void controller means she''s desperate. I''ve noticed that aside from being defensive, shecks a lot of offensive attacks. It''s all just control." Selen revealed a small smile. The myriad of emotions that clouded her mind seemed to have calmed down now that Egil was here. The high she felt upon drinking Alice''s blood disappeared, reced by a warmth from knowing someone precious was next to her. She felt calm. Hesitating for a moment, Egil sighed and nodded his head. He had one more attack left in him. One final all out attack in hopes of driving her away. ### Standing by the base of her spider lily, Alice stood with her arms crossed. She let out a small sigh, wondering if it was the right choice to modify Egil like this. ''Don''t let it bother you. You''re doing it to save him and by his request. You''re not like the Zenia''s who do it out of greed and ambition.'' Alyss tried tofort but it did little to help. Alice only revealed a bitter smile and nodded her head. Seeing Alyss struggle to convince her twin, Ca sighed and closed the book she was working on. She wanted to document the results she''s gathered but there was more important matters right now. [Alice. What makes the Zenia evil for you?] Ca asked as Alice nced over. What makes the Zenia''s evil? Well it was clear for Alice. The way they use lives without care all in the name of experimentation. The way they locked her away for half her life and abused every part of her body. Their clear negligence and dismissal of the value of life and the choice of freedom for the individual. How they ignore morality to experiment in ways that no human should. All of it was reasons for why the Zenias are evil to her. Seeing as how Alice had the answer in her mind, Ca nodded her head. [Then let me ask you this. Did you have the same objectives when healing Egil? Power is ultimately a tool. How you use it determines whether its good or evil. [Granted, there are some things that should have never been created in the first ce. But we can''t turn back time so we must live with it. You''re not the same as the Zenia family, you didn''t transform Egil into a hybrid because you wanted to see what kind of weapon you could make. [You did it so that your friend could protect something dear to him. It''s different to what the Zenia''s do.] Ca smiled as Alice let out a sigh. ''I get that. But that''s not the issue. It''s not a issue of whether or not I did it with good intentions or not. It''s about the line I crossed the moment I did the same as the Zenia family.'' [Pardon mynguage but would you rather Egil live as a cripple then? You know as well as I do that his life was over the moment he got infected. Your journey with him would''ve been cut short. Would you rather not cross that line and ignore his request, or would you help him? The fact that he''s helping Selen out now is proof of your choice.] Ca replied. Seeing the hesitation to ept the truth, Ca sighed. It was no doubt hard for Alice to ept. Only because it was the Zenia family method. Had it been anything else, she would''ve been fine. Just as Ca was about to say something else, Alyss grabbed her shoulder and shook her head. ''Twinnie, you feel sh*t that you had to use the Zenia method right?'' Alyss asked as Alice nodded her head. ''Good, keep that feeling close to your heart and don''t lose it. It''s what separates you from them. The fact that you have this feeling means you still have morals and think deeply about the consequences and whether or not you should do it. But the Zenia''s don''t think of this at all. To them, this is just part of their everyday life. ''The moment you be numb to this feeling is when you should worry.'' Alyss reassured as Alice paused. She ced her hand over her heart and after a brief moment, a small but noticeable smile appeared on her face. ''Thank you and¡­ sorry for the trouble.'' If this feeling is what separates her from the Zenias then she''ll never forget it. Chapter 505: A Reunion/First meeting Taking a deep breath, Alice nced out at the city. After being cheered up by her twin and Ca, she felt as though the burden in her heart had been lifted. As long as she keeps this feeling close to her chest, then she won''t step down the same path as the Zenias. That is enough for her. ncing towards where the Lords were fighting, she could see Frida struggling. Depending on what Sigurd chooses, there are two things she could do. First was to assist to the best of her abilities. The second was to help out the other Warriors who were reaching their limits. She had already given him an¡­ Opportunity. ''What are the chances that he''ll ept?'' Alice asked curiously. ''Hmm¡­ Pretty high I''d say. I don''t know why the Queen still haven''t made a move yet but it''s safe to assume she probably wouldn''t unless the city is literally about to be destroyed.'' Alyss shrugged. [It entirely depends on what he prioritises right now. He has impressive defensive capabilities from what I''ve seen butcks the offensive power. If Frida was to die, he''d be able to handle two Lords without threat of death.] Ca replied while going back to her notes. She doubted that Alice wanted to turn the other Warriors into hybrids. Not to mention the fact that they''ll most likely struggle with bloodline release. Meaning, she needed an alternative method to ''fix'' their energy reserves. ''I think he''s probably going to ept.'' Alice chuckled. Right before sending Egil off to help Selen, she offered Sigurd an opportunity. A contract. In order to fight against the two Lords who are negating what they''re doing, Alice offered him the usage of her Violet mes. After all, the source of the Hybrid''s poweres from her. In return, Sigurd would need to give her a sample of his blood. A small fragment of his soul so that Alyss could mark it down as a Sigil. An even trade. All that was left to see was whether or not Sigurd was willing to take this trade. *BANG!!! Watching a torrent of Violet mes rush up into the sky in the distance, a smile curved up on Alice''s face. ''Seems like he took the contract after all.'' With Sigurd epting the contract, the Sigils belonging to the Lord of the Forge were now open to her. "As expected of the true sessor. To bring a man back from the brink of death, invigorated by a new power and to offer a contract bearing mes of such potential. Simply remarkable." A voice rang behind Alice as she furrowed her brows. Judging from the aura that she was feeling, the woman behind her was no doubt someone stronger than the average Lord! But there was something strange about her. There was ack of¡­ Abyssal energy? ''If there''s ack of Abyssal Energy then why does she feel like a Lord?'' Right when Alice was about to turn around, a finger poked her cheek, stopping her from turning her head. "Keep your eyes forward dear sessor. If you don''t mind, can I ask some questions?" She chuckled as Alice frowned before nodding. Since the opponent got the upper hand right now, she decided to y along. "How''s Kaden? Is he still brooding and being depressed or has he gotten better? I want to assume he got better since he''s taught you how to cast." Hearing the woman mention Kaden, Alice''s guard was immediately raised. "Don''t be so stressed now sessor. I''m not asking because I want to do something bad to him. If I did, Allura wouldn''t let me hear the end of it. That is if she finds me of course." The woman chuckled. "Who are you?" Alice asked. Energy was slowly converging towards her palm. [Be careful. Even if she used to know Kaden and Allura, I''m not sure if she''s a friend or foe. The only ones I know are friendly are Kaden, Allura and Nalem.] Ca warned. There have been moments when Kaden had to put down old allies because their objectives were changed with the passage of time. Nodding her head, Alice waited for the woman''s response. "Hmm¡­ me? Well¡­ I''m just someone who wants to see if a second Velouria can appear. You sensed the divinity in this ce, right? That''s part of my doing." She chuckled. "But you have some divinity as well. There''s also Kaden''s curse on your eye and the bracelet." Lifting Alice''s arm, she observed the bracelet. "Yeesh it''s a pretty heavy curse too. Not something that can be unsealed at will. Did you piss him off or something?" "It''s by my own request." Alice replied. "Are you a masochist???" ". . ." With such a fast response by the woman, Alice was speechless. "Ah forget it. I''m not one to judge. So how well do you know Ayr? Do you know the different departments and what they''re responsible for?" She asked with a chuckle. "To some extent." "Oh~ This makes it much better then. Have you heard of the research department of Ayr? The home of geniuses." Alice could practically hear the grin on her face as she recalled her time in the Inverted World. Out of everyone in the research department, there was only one who made a big impression on her. Caera. The genius who created the teleport gates through the differentyers and someone many struggled to understand. Rather than replying with words, Alice raised her right hand and created a blood mirror. A familiar experiment, one that she used to show Caera her understanding of the gates in the Inverted World. Creating a dagger in front of the mirror, its form twitched for a moment before disappearing while the reflection in the blood mirror remained. There was a long silence as the woman grabbed Alice by both of her shoulders and turned her around. There was a glimmer in her eyes along with a wide smile. Seeing the strange eyes, and the vibrant hair, Alice let out a chuckle. "Nice to see you again Caera. Though I suppose this is more of a nice to meet you than anything." Alice greeted. "Oh my oh my~ Sessor are you out to steal my heart? How long has it been since someone understood what I do?" Caera squealed as she lifted Alice up and spun her around. "You get how my gates work, don''t you? They''re a little out of energy but with the right stimtion you can still activate them and punch a hole to the differentyers." Caeraughed. "Ah, but what do you mean by nice to see me again? Did you meet a version of me in the past? A spectre? The only way that can happen with the amount of knowledge you have can only be¡­ Inverted World right? How many of them still exist? And even if they do, how did you even get one to link you back to Ayr? "Oh the mysteries you carry~" Caera let Alice down while circling around her. "Ah I''m getting carried away. Almost forgot what I wanted to talk to you about." She coughed before kneeling down in front of Alice. "Dear sessor, do you know how Ayr fell?" She asked, looking up at Alice who was silent. There''s a sadness in her eyes as she recalled the death of Velouria, the state of Kaden and Allura in the past and the army of the Gods. She remembered Nyer''s betrayal and him stealing the power of the Apostles. "Yes, I know." Seeing her reaction, Caera''s heart began to pound against her chest. "Dear sessor, may I ask what you intend to do? You who have inherited the divinity of my fallen Goddess and the hopes of those that survived Ayr?" ncing up at the sky, Alice paused before looking down at Caera who was kneeling in front of her. She could see the expectations in her eyes. "I want to rebuild Ayr. It might not be as good as what Velouria once created but I still want to rebuild her home. A home for Allura and Kaden." Clenching her chest, Caera couldn''t suppress the smile on her face. "Ah~ And what about the fate of the traitor who caused the fall of Ayr?" There could only be one traitor. The man who started everything. From the fall of Ayr to the creation of ''Alice'' and the blood that flows in her veins. There was only one fate in store for him. "Death." Alice replied with a coldness in her eyes as Caera''s body trembled in joy. ''I''m d. I''m d the sessor is everything I thought she is. I''m d that she will be the de of vengeance that cuts down the traitor and the will.'' Caera thought to herself. If Alice provedcking¡­ She might''ve had to do something that both Kaden and Allura would''ve hated. But if they can make one sessor, they can make another. All so that they can get vengeance for the death of their Goddess and the fall of their home. To achieve this goal, no line was too low for Caera. Even if she has to stoop to the levels of Nyer, she''ll get the revenge she desires with every fibre of her being. "For you, my master, I give you my everything. The knowledge I have umted, the tools that I have created, my genius, my soul and my body. For my new master, I, Caera, will offer all that I have. So that Ayr may rise once more. So that the traitor be granted the most painful death." Caera bowed down. She will help refine the de of vengeance that both Allura and Kaden have found. To help Alice walk down the path of destruction and create the city of Ayr from the ashes of the new civilisations. A culling WILLmence. She will make sure of it. Chapter 506: Retreat Scratching her cheek from Caera''s promation, Alice coughed awkwardly. "Erm¡­ Yeah sure. Setting that aside, are you sure you should be out here? You know there''s a curse in the air right?" Alice asked, wondering if Caera was aware of the dangers. "Oh I''m aware. It doesn''t bother me." Caera reassured with a grin. "I noticed it when I helped create a stabilizing agent for those who were previously infected in the outbreak. It''s a little hard to get out of your system but there are ways to prevent it from spreading. Naturally, I made sure I was safe beforeing out. Though I must say, you''repletely unaffected aren''t you?" Caera asked as her eyes flickered for a moment before changing colours. Sweeping her eyes over Alice''s body, she could see no sign of destabilization or side effects trying to break out. In fact, Alice''s body was ''enjoying'' this curse. Seeing the fervent gaze that Caera was looking at her with, Alice couldn''t help but shiver and remember a certain department head who was just as excited by Abyss Blood. A certain someone whom Arunya warned her about. ra. "Setting that aside, how do you suppose we can helpbat the side effects caused by the curse? Their capacity is reduced and reced by the curse, ending their lives as warriors." Alice asked. Since Caera was a genius, she figured that Caera might have an idea about this. After all, she made the stabilizing agent for those already affected by the first outbreak. "It''s hard to say. Honestly it''s easier to stop people from getting infected in the first ce than it is to cure them." Caera sighed while folding her arms. Join us at m v le mpyr now "Is that so?" Right before Alice was about to tell her about her findings using her blood, she snapped her head towards the direction of Egil and Selen. "No time to talk. Give me a hand and help out the Lords. Sigurd has my contract so his fire now negates Abyss power. Avoid that if you can. Don''t let Sigurd die." Alice ordered, creating a blood mirror in front of her and diving in without hesitation. "Of course my master, have a safe trip." Caera waved with a smile. After Alice left, Caera swallowed her saliva as her eyes spun with excitement. Contract? mes that negate the Abyss? I want to see it! "How many years has it been since Ist fought? Ah~ I might be a little rusty but children of this era shouldn''t be too difficult to put down." Caera massaged her shoulders as a menacing grin appeared on her face. In the past, she was never a fighter. She purely focused on research and only got Sigils when shecked energy tomence her experiments. But after the culling of Ayr, she understood just how helpless she felt without strength. Only with strength can she continue to experiment without obstructions. Only with power could she protect the assistants that helped her during her research. Therefore, she sought the title of Lord. However, the idea of bowing down to the Will disgusted her so she thought of an alternative way to achieve the title. In the Abyss, there is only one way to reach the apex. To gain the recognition of the Will and obtain a title that encapstes the path you walk. Most who gain recognition will obtain a title that someone has uncovered in the past. Then there are rare geniuses who can manifest a title never seen before. One instance is the yer. A man so talented in the art of killing that the Abyss saw it fit to not even give him the title of Lord. He was not someone who could be fully described even when calling him a Lord. But even if it is the Abyss itself that grants the title and power, Caera understood that the Will is an extension of the Abyss. To some degree, it has an influence on what the Abyss does. Therefore, she refuses to be acknowledged by the Abyss. Instead, she sought out a different kind of power. Eyes began to open in her shadow as a strange power wrapped around her body. Her figure began to fade into nothingness. ### *Pant¡­ Pant¡­ Pant¡­ Egil copsed on the ground as his armour broke apart. Around him, the corpses of Elowen and the twins were scattered and Selen was nearby, passed out. She had exhausted everything to help him fight. Whether that be speeding up his movements or slowing down the enemy. With him acting as vanguard, the two formed a two person party and fought against the three hybrids. He was able tond a few devastating blows against A but in the end, he couldn''t finish her off. Next to him, a portal opened up as Alice stepped through with a frown. She nced at the two hybrids before turning her attention to the traces of Void energy left behind at the scene. One of the Hybrids escaped. "Are you alright?" Alice kneeled down next to Egil and grabbed a few healing vials from her pouch. *COUGH!!! Coughing up some blood, Egil forced himself to drink the vial as the wounds started to close around his body. However, the recovery rate was extremely slow, a side effect of having Alice''s blood in his body thanks to the curse. "Yeah, thanks." Egil forced a smile as Alice nodded her head. She was d that the two were safe. When Selen''s realm barrier dropped, she sensed the two on the verge of death and rushed over as fast as she could. Egil''s condition was unstable while Selen''s aura was simr to that of a Hybrid. Helping Selen sit up, Alice fed her a healing vial. "Urg¡­" Groaning in pain, Selen had already returned to her natural state but there were traces of her hybrid form across her body. ck spikes protruded from parts of her body. What was surprising, however, was the scars on her back had now disappeared. Perhaps it was because her entire body underwent a transformation once she became a hybrid. Regardless, Alice was rather happy that the scars disappeared. "You¡­ You have to chase after¡­ her." Selen groaned. Even with the healing blood, her body was extremely fatigued after killing seven hybrids solo. "She, she knows who you are Alice." Hearing this, Alice furrowed her brows as it was a little toote to look for the hybrid now. "The Zenias have made a clone of you. Not an exact clone but she knows your name and found out that you''re in the north." Selen warned but Alice patted her hand. "It''s fine. They''re bound to find out anyway. Plus, it''s toote to look for her even if I wanted to. I''m just d the two of you are safe." Alice smiled. Hearing this, Selen let out a sigh and nodded her head. With Alice reassuring her, she fell asleep from the fatigue. "Can you carry her to the Inn?" Alice nced over to Egil who forced himself to stand up and nodded his head. "The curse might''ve reduced my energy capacity but my physical power is still the same." He grinned, flexing his bicep. "Then I''ll leave her to you. You two should rest up now since the fights areing to an end. There''s only the Lords left to deal with." ### Sigurd recognised these mes. They''re the same mes that Alice used. mes that repelled the Abyss. "OUT OF MY WAY!" He roared, creating a violet me serpent that rushed towards the humanoid living shadow who was surprised by Sigurd''s sudden boost of strength. Just as he created a barrier of writhing shadows to block the strike, his pupils constricted in shock as the shadows were burned away without any resistance. Confusion filled his mind, creating a gap for Sigurd to exploit. mming his hand down, ming spears shot out from the ground, piercing towards the Bestial living shadow. "DODGE!!!" The humanoid living shadow shouted. However, the beast ignored his warning. He simply opened his jaw and tried to consume these mes. "ARG!!!" The messhed out in his mouth, burning away the ''flesh'' that made up his body while the spears he didn''t eat stabbed into his avatar. ming symbols appeared across his body, forcing him to let go of Frida who took this chance to retrieve her avatar before it''s destroyed. "How?! How do you have our power?!?!" The beast roared, confusion filling his mind. The mes cancelled out his ''consumption, allowing Sigurd''s power to run rampant through his body. There was only one source from which this could possibly be. The Original''s blood! ring at Sigurd with bloodshot eyes, he dove into his shadow and tried to ambush Sigurd but he was ready. Creating a ming spear, he stabbed down into the ground as violet messhed out around him, forcing the beast out of his shadow. Neither the beast nor the humanoid dared to take Sigurd lightly with the new addition of these mes. Thankfully, Sigurd wasn''t used to it. Copsing on his knees, he felt his vision bing blurry as these mes exhausted far more power than he expected. Seeing this as a chance, the beast lunged forward only for ice to appear around Sigurd, protecting him. Frida could be seen weaving energy into a spear to assist Sigurd from above. "We''re killing Sigurd. No holding back. The others are already dead and A retreated. Once he''s dead we''re leaving." The humanoid furrowed his brows as his shadows began to fuse with the beast. Their bodies broke apart before being reformed into a single entity. A single horned demonic beast with bone white ting across its body. A pair of piercing white eyes and a set of crimson ws. Underneath this te was the familiar writhing shadows that made up their body. Without hesitation, the beast mmed its ws down and rushed towards Sigurd. He wasn''t even able to react in time as the beast had already pierced the barrier and the ws were on the verge of piercing his eyes. "Be sure to thank my master when you get the chance okay? But kids these days are pretty rowdy, taking on all kinds of poisons into their body. Ugly looking thing." Caera chuckled, sitting on Sigurd''s shoulder while stopping the w from getting any closer with her finger. "Who are you?!" The beast red at Caera. But the moment he made eye contact with her, a chill went down his spine. He had to run! "Bye bye~" Caera grinned. *BANG!!! A tentacle erupted from the beast''s shadow, crushing him into a pasted as mouths ate up his corpse before disappearing. In one move, two Lords were erased. Chapter 507: Clean Up Of The Capital Looking down at the smear that used to be two abnormal Lords that gave him and Frida a lot of trouble, Sigurd couldn''t help but shiver as his gaze slowly turned up to Caera. She had a sadistic grin on her face while flicking her hand. What kind of power does one need to get in order to reach this level of power? There was no sign of Abyssal Energy too! Was this power artificial? Or was she simply that much stronger to the point he couldn''t even sense it? Sigurd didn''t know. All he knew was that an absolute monster was sitting on his shoulder. "Why the cold sweat mr cksmith? I''m not going to kill you. You''re an ally after all." Caera chuckled. Most have this kind of reaction after seeing her attack. "Caera!" Frida called out in surprise. She knew about the Queen''s attendant who''s been helping her with certain tasks but she didn''t think she was this strong! The two have met a few times after all. But never had Frida ever sensed the power of a Lord from her. "Seems like having your Avatar broken hasn''t reduced your spirit at all. Since I''ve dealt with the problem, I shall go back. The Queen is rather worried but the danger is now over. All that''s left are stragglers which I''m sure you two will have no issues in subduing right?" Caera asked, hopping off Sigurd''s shoulder. Nodding her head, Frida wanted to say something when Caera disappeared from her spot. While she was grateful for Caera''s help, a question popped into Frida''s mind. What caused her to act? In the past, whenever there was an issue, she would always be the first to ask if the nation would fall and if she should leave. Never has she offered to help or took the initiative. But what changed? What made her help out? If she had this kind of power, they wouldn''t have needed to lose a Lord in the past. Letting out a deep sigh, Frida took this chance to recover her wounds while helping Sigurd up. Aside from Caera, there was another abnormality. Sigurd''s new mes. ''What is going on¡­'' ### The clean up of the battlefield was handled swiftly. All of the beasts that were released by Elowen was dealt with by Frida using what remains of her power. Wounded or not, dealing with beasts was an easy task for the Lord. However, what was not easy was the fact that everyone in the capital had their maximum capacity reduced. A majority of the Hounds and guards could not activate more than three Sigils which severely hindered their fighting power. As for the civilians, they were spared from that fate since it was rare for them to get even one Sigil. The biggest mystery was the red spider lily that blossomed beneath the great tree. A lily that broughtfort and relief while the curse rained down on the capital. It was this lily that saved them from experiencing a hellscape of monsters crafted from the bodies of their people. As for the source of this lily¡­ She was currently sitting in Caera''sb. "What is this??? It''s simply¡­ marvellous! This adaptability, this repulsion towards the Abyss, isn''t this the perfect weapon to fight the Will?!" Caera remarked as she observed the movements of Alice''s blood under a microscope. She had toolsid out around her, each with a sample and recording down the values and reactions of Alice''s blood depending on different stimnts. "Don''t get too excited by it. No normal human can consume even a fraction of my blood unless you dilute it." Alice reminded. Both Egil and Selen were heavily exhausted and wounded after their battle and the two of them were still resting. She brought them to Caera''sb for further observation since there''s no telling what her blood would do to them in the long run. "I''m aware. One drop and even the most resilient flesh was turned to mush." Caera waved her hand while adjusting the microscope in her hands. "How did you even get blood like this? A body that can resist it?" Caera asked as Alice fell silent. Her eyshes trembled for a moment before a coldness appeared in her eyes. "Human experimentation. Someone you''re familiar with injected something into my body and turned me into this. I still don''t quite understand the source of my power myself." "Oh? Someone I''m familiar with? Someone else from Ayr?" Caera paused, sitting up in confusion. In her mind, there was no one who couldpare to her in the department of research. If so, then who was this familia- "Nyer." *CRACK!!! Breaking the microscope in her hands at the mention of Nyer''s name, Caera cleaned up the mess in silence. "So Nyer was the one who made this blood?" Caera asked, her voice cold like the northern winds. "Yep. I don''t know what he''s nning but despite us being enemies, he''s still gunning after the Will. It''s pretty likely that he''s joined hands with the God of the Eclipse too." Alice nodded her head, giving Caera some of the information that she''d gathered. "How unpleasant." Caera frowned. The fact that the traitor of all people was able to create such a marvellous weapon infuriated her. It should''ve been her! It should''ve been her to create the de against the Will but he was a step ahead. However, just because he''s the one who created it doesn''t mean it''splete. As much as she loathed to carry on his research, in order to make a proper weapon against the Will, she needed to refine this blood so that the sessor understands how to use it properly. The first step would be to master the anti Abyss effects. And the perfect opportunity was here. "Do you think you can make a proper cure with my blood? For the curse that infected everyone who fought." Alice asked, changing the topic. "A proper cure? I thought you had one already." Caera pointed to Egil and Selen who were sleeping. "That''s not a proper one. It involves turning them into hybrids. I''ll be honest, I''m not too fond of the idea." Alice sighed. Even though she wasn''t fond of the idea, she might have to resort to it in the end. While they won this battle, there was one major issue she had to deal with. The Zenias now knowing she''s in the north. With them losing so many precious hybrids and two Lords, there''s no doubt they''ll be wanting to get a bit of revenge. In fact, even if they didn''t lose hybrids, the moment she was discovered to be still alive and in the north, it''s already put this nation in great danger. ''The Zenia''s probably don''t care about the rtionship between nations so long as they get their hands on us. Everything else can be dealt with at ater date.'' Alyss reminded as Alice agreed. She was their top priority, the origin of their blessed blood. With her in their grasp, they''ll be able to make more hybrids. ''We''ll need to warn the Queen and think up of ways to fend them off. But it''s not going to be easy.'' Alice massaged her eyes. She still didn''t have a full grasp of what the Zenia family could do. In fact, just the demonstratiost night was enough of a worry since it''s no doubt a small portion of their overall forces. Precious no doubt but small in number. Tapping her finger against the arm rest, Alice struggled to think up of any counter measures. "If you don''t want to turn them into hybrids, why not simply increase their resistance? Even without taking the offensive power of your blood into consideration, the defensive capabilities are already absurd." Caera suggested, swirling some blood in the test tube. Taking a small bite of her finger, she dripped her own blood into the tube and watched as the two began to fight. In the end, her blood lost to Alice''s and was assimted into the mix. Even with her unique blessings¡­ her blood lost? Narrowing her eyes, Caera simply couldn''t understand what Nyer put into the mix to create such a horrifying and tyrannical blood. "How would I even go about increasing their resistance? The moment I inject my blood into them they''ll die." Alice frowned, it didn''t seem feasible to her. "They''re already infected right? Just treat it simr to hydraulics. A push pull mechanism within their body. It''s a little hard since you need the right amount of blood totch onto them. Every time they take a hit, m the bnce tilts. Then they need to zap it with their own stuff to push back the bnce. "It''s a bit difficult with all the factors taken into ount but overall, it should be possible. But that''s only because the curse has already created a structure for you totch onto within their body. It''s not going as far as hybrids but they can''t be ssified as ''pure'' humans either." Caera shrugged. Granted, they aren''t really pure humans either since they have Sigils in their body. Blinking her eyes, Alice thought about the feasibility of such an idea and it did seem possible. But what''s more surprising was that Caera had be much better at exining her ideas. If it was in the past, it''ll probably be a jumbled mess of words. "Do you think you can make an example for me? If I have a structure in mind, it''ll be a lot easier to replicate." "Of course. I''ll need a specimen to demonstrate it on though I suppose we have plenty of subjects to choose from. It''s not like the capital survived unscathed from that attack after all, plenty of corpses to use." Caera nodded her head as Alice furrowed her brows. Using the corpses of civilians dragged in the crossfire was a little¡­ "Leave the corpses be. Just draw me a diagram if anything." Alice sighed. They were innocents dragged into battle. She didn''t want to desecrate their bodies in the name of experimentation. "If you wish." Caera shrugged but she couldn''t help but think it''s a bit of a waste. There were plenty of resources to choose from yet she chose the hard path. ''Truly a waste.'' Chapter 508: Beware The Approaching Ruin Swallowing her saliva nervously, A kneeled in front of a figure with sweat running down her back. Her heart beat against her chest as the fear of death gnawed at her mind. Only the man in front of her could invoke such fear, the man who prodded and poked within her body. The man who created her from the blood of the original. "You lost¡­ 7 of my precious Hybrids. And two of my proto Lords? All for the Capital to be safe and sound. All for the culprit who killed one of the Hybrids and learned of your existence to still survive to this day?" He asked calmly. Yet it was this calm that shook A. Biting her lip, she didn''t dare look up and nodded her head slowly. "Did you learn nothing of value? Or are you here just to disappoint me?" He asked as A could feel the man''s gaze narrow. "Ah! Tha- I discovered something that''s- of gre- great interest to you!" She stammered as the man stood up and leaned over her. "I don''t believe I created you with a speech defect. So why are you stuttering?" "I''m sorry!" mming her head against the ground, A tried her best not to tremble before this man. "Don''t bore my ears with words of apology. Tell me the information you got and pray that it''s enough for me to spare you of punishment." Hearing the word punishment, A''s pupils constricted as her shoulders trembled. Each part of her body itched as she wanted nothing else but to just run away but she understood that it was futile. "The original lives! I heard news of her in the North!" "!!!" Pausing in surprise, the man was silent as he stood up straight. A sighed in relief inwardly. "The original¡­ lives... you say? And she''s in the North? Do you have any proof of this matter?" "Yes! There was a woman, a traitor of our kind. Not quite a Hybrid but had traces of the original''s blood. She turned herself into a Hybrid by ingesting the blood of two subjects and when she saw me, she questioned if I was ''Alice'' or not." A reported. "A littlecking to call it proof but regardless, it gives your im some foundation to work with." Scratching his chin, the man walked past A. "If it''s truly the original, then we must utilize everything to get her back. But if it isn''t¡­ And you simply used it as an excuse to justify the loss of resources¡­ I''m sure I don''t need to exin the rest to you." The man chuckled. pping his hands lightly, A widened her eyes as she threw up a mouthful of blood. Join us at m v le mpyr now Her flesh beneath her skin began to writhe as spikes pierced out. Clutching her chest, she gurgled on her own blood while tears formed in the corner of her eyes, mixed with the blood seeping out. She wanted to tear apart her skin, to dig out whatever was crawling inside of her so that the pain would stop. Around her neck, a ''Sigil'' appeared as veins bulged around her body. Her wounds began to rapidly recover only to be torn apart once more. "ARGGG!!!" Letting out a cry as tears rolled down her face, A squirmed on the floor, stuck in a constant cycle of recovery and destruction. "Tears only from this much¡­ truly a failed copy of dear Alice. Even at the tender age of 13, she could handle this much pain with ease and even try to fight back." The man shook his head before waving his hand. The writhing of flesh stopped as A was finally given a break. Her body twitched while her vision blurred. "This should suffice for a light p on the hand." Leaving behind the failed product, the man left the room with an unrestrained smile on his face. How long has it been? How he dreamed of torturing that body again with his own hands. These new subjects simply couldn''tpare to the resilience of Alice. The way she squirmed, the way she red at him with a defiant gaze as he broke her down bit by bit. The climax as he finally saw the light in her eyes fade along with her resilient will! After all this time, she must''ve regained the will to live once more. Meaning, he could experience the joy of breaking her apart again! A clue had finally been found and he will not waste this opportunity! He MUST track her down! To feel the height of his joy once more! ### Listening to Caera''s lecture on how she could create a ''cure'' to the curse, Alice found herself feeling distracted. She didn''t know why but she couldn''t concentrate at all today. Which was rather strange considering she never had issues with concentration. "Perhaps we should take a break." Caera suggested as Alice nodded her head. It wasn''t that she didn''t want to make the cure but something was keeping her distracted and she didn''t know what. She couldn''t process the information at all. Reading yet not reading. Listening but not listening. Alice felt out of it. "Oh actually, you should probably go visit Sigurd. He''s been¡­ preupied with the contract that you''ve given him." Caera paused as she remembered seeing Sigurd reporting back to Verona. "Alright." Nodding her head, Alice nced at Egil and Selen briefly before stepping out. Currently, they were in Caera''s personalb situated near the centre of the capital. Taking a few slides, she made her way to Sigurd''s forge. On the way there, she could see the people trying to salvage what they could from their homes. Families reassuring their children that it''s going to be alright. Mournful wives, husbands, mothers and fathers. The light of despair in the eyes of children who lost their parents. Even though the capital reacted fast with the deployment of the Hounds and guards, they couldn''t avoid casualties. Yet this was the ''better'' oue. Had it not been for Selen dealing with the Hybrids and her holding back the curse, they wouldn''t even be walking around right now. The entire capital would be submerged in despair. But the danger isn''t over yet. Just the fact that she left a mark of her presence here meant that the Zenias must''ve caught wind of it. Subconsciously, Alice reached for her own neck. She could feel a creeping itch as the desire to scratch it dominated her mind. Taking a deep breath, she held herself back and took the lift down. She didn''t have a token likest time but Sigurd did tell her toe back after a while for her gauntlets she so used that as the reason for visiting. Descending into the bowels of the earth, she could sense the presence of her violet mes. The power of these mes were a little weaker than during the night they made the contract since the important catalyst of her blood was missing. During that night, the curse drifting through the air along with the cure wasposed of her blood, acting as fuel for these mes. Without it, it''ll no doubt be highly taxing for Sigurd to manifest it. "DAMMIT!" Hearing his shouts of frustration, Alice shrugged her shoulders since it was as she expected. Reaching the bottom, she saw Sigurd sitting on the ground with sweat across his head. A spark of violet me flickered in front of him but judging by his expression, this was far from what he wanted. "Having some difficulties?" Alice called out as Sigurd nced over. "What the f*ck is wrong with your fire? How the hell does it take so much energy to make???" Sigurd questioned. As a Lord, his capacity for Energy far surpasses Alice. Even if it has been reduced by a certain amount thanks to the curse, it''s still something that should surpass Alice. Yet a spark was the best he could do. On top of the exorbitant energy cost of using this fire, maintaining it drained his reserves like crazy! Using everything he''s got, maintaining this spark was his limit. "If you don''t give it the proper fuel of course it''s going to drain the sh*t outta you if you try to make it." Alice remarked, making a small blood orb and flicked it into the spark. *BANG!!!! The moment her blood orb came into contact, the spark detonated into a maelstrom of mes that Sigurd had to quickly restrain before it burned down his forge. "See? Right fuel and it doesn''t cost that must energy now does it?" Alice smirked, finding a crystal for her to sit on. "Can''t help but feel like I got scammed now. Trading a small piece of my soul for fire that I can''t even use properly." Sigurd''s smile twitched. On the night, there was no doubt regarding the fire''s effectiveness. The way the living shadows reacted when these mes cancelled out their abilities. He understood that if he used this to fight his enemies, they''d struggle to use their Sigils. He simply couldn''t understand why Alice was able to use these mes effortlessly. Was it something to do with the blood? Furrowing his brows, he tried to use his own blood as a catalyst but it was futile. Once again, the energy cost shot up. "I wouldn''t say scammed. In fact, wasn''t the contract the reason you managed to survive long enough for Caera to help you?" Alice shrugged her shoulders with a smug grin. Sigurd''s smile twitched as he wanted to smack that grin off her face this instant but he knew that light in her eye. "Tch, tell me what you want. I''ll consider it." Sigurd leaned against his forge in frustration. "How about another contract? This time I''ll offer you the fuel you need to use these mes." Alice narrowed her gaze. Chapter 509: Fuel For The Fire Furrowing his brows, Sigurd contemted the possibility of another contract. He had to admit that these mes were extremely enticing for him. He had already traded a small fraction of his soul for these mes so what else could she want? "Don''t worry, I''m not asking for the rest of your soul. One fragment is more than enough for me." Alice winked with a smile. With the previous contract established, she was able to get ess to all of Sigurd''s Sigils. As for how they work, she was unsure. But it wasn''t something that she should waste this opportunity to find out. Instead, she had a different reward in mind. "How do you feel about making equipment whenever I ask? I have a few friends that need equipment. And as you know, good stuff is hard to find especially if you''re powerful. Outside of Personal Artifacts, most of the equipment breaks after a few uses." Alice offered but Sigurd immediately shook his head. "Do you have any idea how expensive it is to make a weapon? I still have to supply weapons for our Warriors. If I go around at your everymand then that''ll disrupt the flow of production." "I''m only asking you to make a few when I need it. It''s not like I have hundreds of friends either, just a few." Alice raised an eyebrow. "Limit it to one per person and not more than 5. And as for the funds, either you give me rare materials to work with or cough up the money needed." Sigurd suggested the terms. The fact that he had given Selen a numbered equipment for free was already insane considering how expensive these things are. Crossing her arms, Alice furrowed her brows. If it''s five, then that''s Ria, Luke, Allura, Kaden and Gin. eptable but thenes the issue of material costs. "By rare materials, I don''t suppose it''s things that can be easily obtained. Even if I kill strong beasts." Alice asked as Sigurd nodded. "Do you want to know how long it took to find the materials for your friend''s ring? Three years. It took three years to chase for that specific type of metal and store it in my vault. I only grabbed it out because her skills were interesting enough and resonated with it." Sigurdined as Alice''s eyes sparkled for a moment. "So what you''re saying is, you already have the materials?" "What kind of cksmith do you think I am? Of course I''ve stocked up on¡­ materials." Sigurd frowned, feeling Alice''s gaze lock onto her. "Then how about this? Rather than procuring materials for you, why don''t we go down the money route? But since I saved your life, Frida''s, and the lives of everyone in the capital that was infected, we get a ''little'' discount." Alice smiled happily as Sigurd scratched his chin. "What kind of discount are we talking about?" If it was just 10% off or 20% off then it was eptable. These were materials that he spent blood sweat and tears to get after all. With his curse, it''s been harder to get them since he can''t leave his forge for long. "80% off." "F*CK YOUR MOTHER! 80% OFF? ARE YOU HIGH YOU DAFT GIRL?!?!" Sigurd screamed as he didn''t think Alice would be ballsy enough to ask for a whole 80% off! If he gave her this kind of discount then it might as well be free! "Is saving lives worth so little? Aiya I''m sure the civilians will be hurt hearing that their precious Lord thinks their life isn''t work a measly 80% off." Alicemented as Sigurd wanted to smack the brat in front of him immediately. "This isn''t a matter of what their life is worth nor is it ''measly''. Why don''t you just go and lose 80% of your body and see if it''s still measly!" "Is that a bet?" Alice narrowed her eyes and licked her lips. For an 80% off on numbered equipment, she''ll dly blow up 80% of her body. After all, she can regenerate it all anyways. Remembering her regeneration when he was forging, Sigurd shivered and quickly scratched the idea. "Bottom line is I''m not doing 80% off!" "70%" Alice changed her offer. "20%" "65%" "20%" Sigurd refused to budge. "90%" "Why did you go higher???" "Thought you might say yes." Alice shrugged. "The f*ck I am. Girl are you trying to bankrupt me?" "If I was trying to bankrupt you I would''ve let you die. Then I could''ve just wandered in here and got the stuff I want." Alice chuckled. She had his forging method in her mind. With part of his soul also at her disposal now, all it''ll take is a bit of experimentation and some trial and error before she can start forging equipment as well. Gritting his teeth, Sigurd was frustrated. The key issue he couldn''t ignore was the fact that he did indeed owe his life to her. If it wasn''t for her, Frida would''ve lost her avatar, he would''ve probably been killed and the civilians dead. "30%. I can''t go any high-" "60%" *PUCHI!!! A vein bulged on Sigurd''s temple as his smile twitched furiously. "Girl, how are you even sure this ''fuel'' of yours is worth this discount to begin with? Let''s set aside the matter of what lives cost and what I owe. This contract is for me to get the fuel after all." Crossing her legs, Alice thought about it for a moment. If they do go ahead with this contract, she''ll need to be careful with how she phrases it and how he obtains this power. With the Zenias now hot on her trail, if they find out he can get her blood through the contract, it''ll be pretty bad and it''s likely he''ll be dragged away by them. Meaning, she has to limit the blood to be immediately detonated into the mes. But as for whether or not this fuel is worth the discount¡­ "Obviously it''s worth the discount. You saw how the mes negated Abyss abilities right? Even for the followers of the three Gods, they use Sigils. Just having my mes gives you an edge over them. Heck, if you experiment a bit, who knows what you can potentially forge with these. Maybe a weapon that can cut through Abyss abilities." Alice shrugged. While she wasn''t sure if Nyer has seeded in making more beings with the same me as her, she understands that it was entirely unique as of this moment. The closest thing she''s seen has been the hybrids but even then, they had their draw backs. "35%. This is seriously the highest I can go." Sigurd sighed and gave his final offer. At 35% discount, he barely breaking even. "40%" ". . ." ### Leaving the forge with a skip in her step, Alice had a grin on his face while ignoring the string of curses behind her. With the contract now established, she''ll get a 40% discount when asking him to forge equipment. The limit was five and in exchange, he was able to use the mes at a higher efficiency. With the way she worded the contract and how the blood is given to him, there was no risk of people being able to extract the blood from him. However, whether or not he could actually use these mes to forge was another question in itself. But that wasn''t her problem to figure out, it was Sigurd''s. ''The gloves still need a day or so before they''re ready. I guess I should do some clothes shopping but¡­'' Looking into her wallet, Alice shed a silent tear. She was broke. At this rate, she might have to cut back on the mead she has to buy. Pausing mid step, Alice shook her head. How could she even have such a heinous thought! It''s not an issue with mead but rather she''s been doing favours without being paid most of the time. She''s been hoping that she''ll get paid for her achievements. Folding her arms, Alice contemted on ways she could earn more money. ''How did Kaden and Allura not run out of money?'' [Kaden robbed people. Allura also kind of robbed people.] Ca shrugged. While Kaden was more of a physical robbery, breaking into their vaults and so on, Allura basically got everything for free since people owed her a lot. Not to mention her helping out with the establishment of many organisations such as the Underground, making them owe her big time. ''So what you''re saying is that I should rob people?'' Alice. [. . .Forget I said anything.] Joking around with Ca, Alice eventually decided to see if she could find any jobs that''ll pay her. It takes a lot of money to travel after all not to mention the need to buy rations and so on. ### Sitting in his chair, Luthor Zenia had a open letter on his table. A report regarding a failed operation in the North. Yet despite this failure, they managed to uncover potential hints to Alice''s whereabouts. But that was it, simply a hint. No sightings, no confirmation, no nothing. Just a hint and a mention of her name after seeing the clone. ''After all this time, you still live.'' Luthor thought to himself, caressing a pocket watch with the picture of his wife inside. Even though they were losing resources and running out of her blood, he didn''t care. If all traces of her disappears from this world then so be it. But she lives. "Get Albert to visit the north. Tell the doctor to be patient. If A-¡­ if that monster has lived this long, she won''t die easily. Don''t expose us more than they already have. A trump card loses its value once the enemy knows what it is." ncing up at the sky, he let out a fatigued sigh. Chapter 510: Caeras Cure Spending the day looking for odd jobs that could pay her well, Alice let out a sigh and settled on just helping out. After the disaster, no one had the thought of offering jobs but rather doing all that they could to piece together what used to be their daily life. Countless buildings were destroyed and no matter how Frida tried to erase the damages, it was impossible to forget. "Ah Alice dear, can you help out in district 2? They''recking a bit of manpower over there." An olddy called out with a soft smile. Alice was currently carrying two logs of wood on her shoulders while using her blood to carry the rest. "Got it. Can you point me in the direction? I''ll drop off these logs first." Alice nodded her head. Snapping her finger, she created portals and ced the logs next to a broken down house before following the old woman. Listening to her instructions, Alice hopped over to district 2 and greeted the workers there. With this district being close to the workshops, there wererge beams of metal crushing houses and so on. Many of the guards had their maximum capacity reduced so activating Sigils was quite the burden, leaving most of the heavy lifting to Abyssal Engineering contraptions. Mostly just rope and gears that''ll help move heavy objects. But at the end of the day, it couldn''t beat having a warrior help out. Marking down where all of the metal beams were, Alice tapped her foot against the ground as a pool of blood expanded beneath her. Letting her bloodtch onto the beams, she activated her fourth Sigil and used the gravity of the Void to lift them up through portals. Once they were suspended in the air, she had them lifted away from the buildings and set aside to be repurposed at ater date. "Anything else you need help with?" Alice asked as the workers took off their hats and shook their head with a grin. "Nope, with you around a whole day''s of work can be done in an instant ahaha." One of themughed as Alice shrugged her shoulders. "If there''s nothing else, I''ll check and see if there''s anywhere else that needs help." Giving them a wave, Alice left the district before helping elsewhere. With her being unable to focus on Caera''s exnations, this kind of distraction was perfect for Alice and soon, a day went by before she knew it. ncing up at the setting sun, Alice wiped away the sweat and nced at the capital that was slowly regaining its former glory. "Alice! We''re going to the tavern for a party after this, want to join us?" One of the workers called out. Hearing the words tavern, Alice''s eyes shimmered with excitement before calming down. "I can''ttt~ I''m t broke." Alice stuck out her tongue. "Come anyways ahaha, you''ve helped us plenty today. A drink or two is the least we can do!" Curling her lips into a grin, she jogged over. "Well, what are you waiting for then? Common!" She''ll never turn down a free drink. ### "F*ck¡­" Letting out a groan, Alice sat up slowly and nced around her. She could see countless workers passed out on chains and she was one of them. Last night, things got wild after the first drink. From gambling games, arm wrestling to drunk singing. After a point, they began to shout their grievances about Extalia. After that, there was confusion and anger regarding why the beasts attacked and doubts towards the Lords and guards who failed to make a proper stand. Even if Alice wasn''t there to see if, lots of lives were lost as coteral damage and she knew it. She could feel the connections severing after all. Each severance meant another life lost. As for how much she drank¡­ Looking at the mountain of mugs around her, she couldn''t help but feel sorry for the people who had to pay for this. Thankfully, it wasn''t limited to one person otherwise they might''ve gone bankrupt. When they arrived at the tavern, there were others that Alice helped and they decided to split her bill amongst them, letting her drink as much as she wanted. Letting out a yawn, the aftertaste of mead could still be tasted as Alice grabbed a coat from her pouch. Her outfit was soaked in mead and the chilly morning air didn''t help at all. Even with the barriers that Frida put in ce, it was still cold in the morning. "Urg¡­ my head." Alice groaned. Making her way back to Caera''sb, Alice figured she should be able to concentrate on the lessons now that she had a break. Perhaps it was the umted stress from linking herself to everyone in the capital. Regardless, she didn''t want to dy any further when ites to making a cure. As she entered theb, she noticed Caera sitting with her eyes closed. There was a dark aura simmering around her. To Alice, it felt¡­ abnormal. Otherworldly in fact and didn''t resemble the feeling she got from the Abyss or the Void. A third source? ''It''s not divinity either¡­'' Alice folded her arms. Her observations were noticed by Caera who opened her eyes and greeted Alice with a smile. "Wee back, did you enjoy your break dear sessor?" "It was a good change of pace. What was that just now? It didn''t feel like it belonged to the Abyss or the Void." Alice asked curiously as Caera tapped her chin. "It''s a small secret~ You see, I do not wish to bow down to the Abyss or the Will that controls it. Just the thought makes me want to throw up so I figured out a different way to be a Lord. Are you perhaps interested in it?" "To an extent. But I''m still waiting for the right chance to get my sixth Sigil. It''s too early to consider bing a Lord." Alice shrugged, sitting down by her usual seat. "Then this is something I will tell you when you''re on the doorstep to bing a Lord. On a side note, I''vepleted a diagram of what might work as a Cure. As I stated, the warriors that are infected will suffer from two states once the cure is activated. "A ''berserker'' state where their resistance of the Abyss is increased but so is their bloodlust. They''re able to enhance their physical prowess to a rather impressive degree. I''ve tried to work out a form that gets rid of this berserker state but it''s kind of necessary. Without this, they won''t be able to discharge the curse fast enough." Caera handed over several sheets as Alice gave it a read. Indeed, it''s as Caera said. Without the berserker state constantly burning the curse to give them physical reinforcement and resistances, the consumption won''t be fast enough to bnce out the scales. Once a bnce is reached, however, they''ll naturally exit the berserker state and be able to use their usual Sigils without worry. On top of that, Alice was rather impressed by the methodical details that Caera had noted down. It''s been short but Caera had taken into ount everything that Alice had told her thus far and even made back ups in case certain methods didn''t work the way they wanted or failed. This was how a researcher should be rather than her own self taught method. However¡­ "Caera, I''m sure you know as well as I do that prolonged use of this method will make it harder and harder for them to leave the berserker state. Eventually, they''ll be stuck in that state, unable to regain sanity. No different from beasts wearing the skin of man." Alice narrowed her eyes as Caera stood with an unflinching smile. "And? I don''t see an issue with that. Isn''t the most ring problem the potential for a secondary attack by the unknown forces? In order to prepare for a counter offensive, this is the best they can hope for." Caera replied, not finding anything wrong with her proposal. Furrowing her brows, Alice tapped her finger. There were probably a better way to go about this but the reality of the situation was that she was not prepared at all. She was not prepared for the evolution of the curse nor was she prepared for the sudden attack. The warriors were exposed too much and this was the best they could hope for outside of turning them into hybrids. Both had their risks. Choosing Caera''s method had them risking their ''mind''. Choosing Alice''s method had them risking their ''body''. The hybrid operation was stillrgely unfamiliar to Alice. She was only able to pull it off thanks to Egil''s innate talent for spirits and his ability to activate the bloodline release. Without these two factors, the operation would''ve never been considered, especially with her own blood that hasn''t been diluted. Even the hybrids that the Zenias are proud of had diluted blood! Massaging her eyes, Alice let out a sigh. In this situation, she could only choose Caera''s method! "We still need to let the queen know. Overall, the choice must be given to the individual. They need to know the risks of using this power otherwise it would not be fair to them." It was Alice''s way of giving them a way out. They had already risked their lives to protect the capital. "Shall I ask the queen to schedule a meeting then?" Caera asked as Alice nodded her head. It was about time she met the queen and now was a good time. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 511: Recovery Having Caera go and arrange a meeting with the Queen, Alice took this time to familiarise herself a bit more regarding the solution. Aside from the¡­ moral implications of making those who ept into berserkers, Alice had to admit that it was a good solution. Not only does it resolve the issue of having the curse in their body to some extent, but it also gives them the option to keep fighting if they want. Naturally, they can choose to get this cure and not fight. But¡­ ''They''ll still suffer the effects of the curse. They need to ''expel'' the curse often enough to maintain a bnce once they go through with this.'' The moment they ept this operation, their fates will be sealed. Either die on the battlefield or be a berserker. They can run and deny it but there wille a time when they''ll be forced to activate the berserker state and this will continue until they lose their minds. If it was Alice in their positions, she didn''t know if she would ept this or not. The trade off was simply¡­ too high. What if she didn''t achieve her revenge in time and lost her mind? There''s also the small possibility that one use could be the limit for some people. If they cannot bring themselves back from being berserk, they''ll be stuck in that state. "Urg¡­" Hearing a groan, Alice ced the sheets of research down as she nced over and saw Selen sitting up while clutching her head. After bing a hybrid, even though her scars have disappeared, new ''scars'' have appeared across her body. The most prominent scar was the ck feather peaking out from her hair, above her ear. "You''ve been knocked out for almost two days. Must''ve been quite stressful fighting 7 hybrids huh?" Alice smiled, feeling d that Selen woke up without any issues. "Almost two days huh? Honestly, I don''t mind that. I really thought it was over for me." Selen let out a chuckle as the fight was one that truly pushed her beyond her limit. Had it not been for her momentary awakening and turning herself into a hybrid, she would''ve died after fighting the two defence focused hybrids. "But you survived and that''s all that matters." "Right! What happened to Egil? What''s with the ck armour?" Selen asked as Alice gestured with her head. Looking to her right, Selen noticed Egil sleeping next to her. "ARG!!!" Letting out a yelp in surprise, Selen rolled out of the bed with a blush. "What''s wrong with you? Caera didn''t have a spare bed so we just threw you two on it to observe any lingering side effects. I had to teach Egil how to manifest his soul in order to form a bnce with the curse. "Though¡­ his manifestation is a bit different." Alice shrugged. Activating her own bloodline release, her soul state hovered behind her. "Egil''s soul state is his armour. It''s merged with the curse due to the damage he took but it does bring out quite a bit of his power." Alice exined, waving her hand and dismissing the bloodline release. Coughing awkwardly, Selen adjusted herself. "And what about the one that escaped?" "No clue. She''s probably gone back to report about my existence. Since I was focused on you and Egil, I wasn''t able to track her down properly. And even if I did, I was in no state to fight at full power after linking myself with everyone who got cursed." Alice shrugged. "Then the Zenias are probablying to the north right?" Selen frowned. "Most likely. In fact, if they trust the words of that hybrid, it goes from likely to certainty. Which is why I want to do something for the north before leaving. Take a look at this and tell me what you think." Alice grabbed the research and handed it to Selen. Giving it a read, Selen''s frown only deepened as this was quite risky in her opinion. This operation might let them fight in the short term but it dooms anyone who says yes. Reckless andpletely unlike the research that Alice would usually do. "You didn''t make this did you?" Selen asked, knowing Alice''s habits. "No I did not. I asked a friend to give me a hand and this is what they came up with. The way she sees human life is a little¡­ disagreeable. But you can''t deny her genius." Alice sighed as she was still hesitating a little on this approach. Though if there was no better alternative, then they could only choose this method. "I see¡­ What about those without Sigils? Do you think you can cure them? Like¡­ Egil''s mother for example." "Of course I can." Alice nodded her head. ncing at Egil for a moment, Selen curled her lips up into a smile. "Then let''s give him a surprise." Raising her eyebrow, Alice shrugged and went along with it. ### Egil felt like he was drifting in the Void. The words of his father ring out in his ears, calling him a fake, a cheater. A disgrace. He could remember the res of disdain, the chills he felt and the fear that dominated his mind. Then came the anger. The period of his life when only violence was his answer. ''Am I dead?'' He couldn''t help but wonder. After asking Alice to help him, he was able to reach Selen in time to stop her from being killed. But everything after that was blurry. He could vaguely remember the fight but most of it was him acting on instinct. When using the ''armour'', his consciousness drifted. He became a rampaging beast. Looking around him, he understood that this was no void but rather the maw of a giant beast and what he was floating in was blood. Trying to sit up, ck chainstched onto his body, carving into his flesh. Pieces of armour ripped apart his skin, fusing with his flesh. However¡­ Egil didn''t feel pain. In fact, it felt soothing. Like this is how it should''ve been from the beginning. Maybe¡­ Maybe he should just float in this blood river forever. Maybe he should just let the armour take over. What was he fighting for again? Ah he can''t remember¡­ At that moment, Egil felt a gentle hand touch his head. A touch he hasn''t felt in a long¡­ long time. A sense of nostalgia overwhelmed him and memories flooded his mind. Little by little, he opened his eyes and tears began to form. "No matter how many years that pass, you''re still my baby on the inside." Egil''s mother stroked his hair slowly and wiped the tears from his eyes. Without saying anything, Egil sat up and hugged his mom. Despite hisrge stature, he looked like a small child in his mother''s arms. His shoulders trembled and he tried to hold back his tears but they continued to flow without stopping. Revealing a small smile, Egil''s mom patted his back while Alice and Selen gave the two some space. "Seems like he likes his gift." Selen revealed a warm smile while ncing back at the room. "Yep. Though I do think it might be a little stressful on her body since she has just woken up from her owna." Alice shrugged. The way she looked at Egil and the way sheforted him made Alice a little jealous. She wanted to see Allura again. To jump into her chest and hug her with everything she''s got. To talk about her journey so far, the troubles she ran into, the new friends she made and how she''s feeling happy about her life. "Well the moment you mentioned Egil, she forgot about recovering and immediately asked us to bring her to him." Selen chuckled. "Fair point. I think a short walk should be enough time for them to talk about what''s happened right?" "Might need to go for a longer walk with everything Egil''s been bottling up." Selen wanted Egil to enjoy this moment to its fullest. Even if you run out of words, sometimes just being in their presence is enough to heal someone. The mutual understanding and enjoyment of each other''spany. For a mother and son, this was the moment he could feel peace without any distractions. "Alright." Nodding her head, Alice joined Selen for a long walk around the city to give Egil plenty of time. ### Walking through the throne room with a slight skip to her step, Caera could see Verona talking with Frida. "Hope I''m not interrupting anything." Caera called out as Frida nced over. Giving Verona a bow, Frida left the room. "Seems like I did after all." Caera chuckled, leaning against the throne. "Not exactly. Though I''m surprised you made a move. I thought you were more of an observer." Verona shrugged before giving her a side nce. "Situations change. And in that moment I figured it was appropriate for me to save your assistant." "I doubt that''s the case. Is that girl what you''ve been working towards?" Verona asked curiously but Caera shook her head. "Nope. It''s honestly a coincidence." "So are you leaving the north then?" Verona nodded her head. Caera wasn''t someone to beat around the bush so if she says it''s a coincidence then it was a coincidence. "Depends on what Alice says. I still have research I need to do and seems to me like she doesn''t want to rush into things. I''ve already offered her my everything so I will do what shemands." Caera twirled her hair. It wasn''t like she was part of the northern defences in the first ce. "But that''s not what I''m here to talk about. She wants a meeting with you. To talk about a¡­ proposal for helping those affected by the curse. The side effects are a little devasting so it''s best you understand the full picture before we do anything." Staying silent, Verona contemted before nodding her head. "Alright. But after the meeting, can you help me out? I think it''s about time we start thinking about the next stage. I can''t just sit here doing nothing while my nation is attacked." Hearing this, Caera curled her lips into a wide grin. "Of course." Chapter 512: Egils Rematch After taking a long walk around the ce, they came back to the room and saw Egil sitting by the bed while his mother was sleeping. "I wanted to take her somewhere to eat since she''s been stuck in a bed for so long. But her body couldn''t take it so she''s resting now." Egil spoke up with a smile on his face. He continued to hold her hand as she slept and watched over his mother. "It''s to be expected. The cure I gave her helped remove a lot of the curse from her system but there''ll be lingering side effects. Healing blood won''t be as effective and using Sigil powers to heal her will also have reduced effectiveness. She''ll have to rely on her own recovery most of the time." Alice nodded, pulling a chair next to him. "Thank you." Egil smiled. "You''re wee." Hesitating for a moment, Selen also pulled up a chair next to Egil but turned her head and looked at the wall. Alice found it a little strange but shrugged. "With your mother now recovered, I assume you''re going to look after her in the capital right?" "Yeah. She only has me to look after her. Now that she''s recovered from the curse, I want to make sure she''s feeling better before I do anything." Egil nodded. "Then I find it necessary to warn you about a possible fight. The Zenias are probably going tounch a stronger attack thanst time since they now know I''m here. I don''t n on staying for long because the longer I stay, the more they''ll target the north." Alice exined while getting some dried salted peanuts from her pouch. A snack to have with her mead that one of the workers introduced to her. Hearing this, Egil furrowed his brows. One surprise attack by this family and the capital was already in a big mess. If they decide to send their main forces, what would it look like? Egil didn''t want to know nor did he want to find out. "What do you think are the odds of this capital surviving unscathed?" He asked. Thinking about it for a moment, Alice shrugged her shoulders. "I don''t know. But the chances of people surviving aren''t high, even if I''m here. I don''t know why the Queen didn''t make a move but the Lords are not going to cut it." Opening her sk of mead, she took a drink and narrowed her gaze. Those strange living shadows¡­ They had ess to her blood so if the Zenia''s have more of them, Sigurd and Frida will no doubt die. Caera would be fine but Alice understood one thing after interacting with Caera. This was not the same person she knew in the Inverted World. More than that, she only moves based on her own self interest. Everything else is of not value to her. A dangerous quality to have with someone close to her but Alice couldn''t deny her usefulness right now. The only thing she could really do is try her best to make sure Caera doesn''t cross any lines she shouldn''t do. But even if that were to happen, it''s not like she can do anything to harm Caera in the first ce. If anything, it might even work against her. ''Even though she said she''ll give you her everything, you still can''t trust her huh?'' Alyss smirked while sitting on her throne. ''Of course not. Trust isn''t something you can get with just words. I''ll have to keep an eye on her.'' Alice sighed. "Do¡­ Do you think it''s possible to keep my mum safe with the power I have now? If the Zenias attack." Egil asked after a pause. Blinking her eyes, Alice tapped her chin. "If it''s just one person, yes, yes you can. But that''s assuming you can leave. With you having my blood now flowing through your body, I don''t know if the Zenias will be able to track you down or not. In a direct confrontation, there are still things to improve on but it should be feasible." With the new abilities that Egil unlocked, he''ll be stronger than most people. While she didn''t know his full capabilities, she''s at least certain that he''ll be a pain in the ass to kill. ''That kind of tenacity should help him escape with his mother if danger arrives. But¡­'' "Egil, let''s have a spar. It''s been a while and I want to see what your armour is capable of. If it matches what I think, you should be fine. Ande to think of it, technically our fight ended as a draw during the Warrior''s Honour. Let''s call this a rematch." Alice offered with a grin. Egil wanted to ept but hesitated since his mother was still recovering. "Just go, I''ll look after her while you''re gone." Selen spoke up. "Alright." Nodding his head with a smile, he gave Selen a hug before standing up and following Alice. ### Standing in the arena that was empty, Alice gave her body a stretch while Egil did the same. Everyone was being treated for the curse so no one was here to interrupt them. They could go a little crazy. "The main drawback that I''ve noticed when you go into that armour is a berserked state. Your mind is only focused on one thing. We need to deal with that if you want to use it to the full extent. "Since I didn''t fight you, let''s see what you can do." Alice gestured as Egil nodded his head. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath as the Sigils across his body started to flicker. His energy capacity isn''t enough to activate them so he needed an alternative source. Enjoy exclusive chapters from m-v l''e-NovelBin Bloodline Release! From his shadow, a great armoured beast jumped out, looming over him like a guillotine. Even though this is the second time that Alice had seen it, she had to admire its aura of destruction. Just standing in the presence of this mutated soul was enough to trigger her fighting instincts. Its flesh was constructed from the same dark jagged armour that ate away at Egil''s body. Beneath the helmet, a blood red mane of hair fluttered in the wind while a pair of crimson eyes red at Alice, exuding a thick wave of killing intent. On the crown was a pair of curved jagged horns. Cracks could be seen forming across the body of the beast as it shrank in size, wrapping around Egil''s body. "ARGGGG!!!!" Letting out a shout of pain with the armour growing teeth and digging into his flesh, Egil mmed his arms down, creating a dust cloud. *BANG!!! Bursting out from the cloud, Egil could be seen trying to stab Alice with his w. "Control your mind Egil. This state is powerful but your killing intent is too strong. It''s easy to tell what you''re aiming for." Alice bent her body back and dodged his strike effortlessly. Twisting her body, she punched him in the ribs but he didn''t move at all. "I get that you''re a berserker in this state but brute forcing things are a stupid move." Alice rolled her eyes. *BOOM!!! A void flux detonated where Alice punched andunched Egil tumbling backwards. While the explosion was able to send Egil flying, Alice noticed theck of substantial damage. There was a constant moving barrier around Egil''s body, deflecting and negating any abilities thrown at him. "That''s gonna be useful. But only if you have the brain to put it to work." Alice flicked her hand as she could see the bestial re that Egil was giving her. *BANG!!! His speed had increased tremendously but with his killing intent being so clear, Alice could predict where he would be. Once again, she dodged his strike with ease and grabbed his wrist. Using his power against him, Alice tossed Egil into a portal and mmed him down from above. Crashing into the ground, Egil was about to attack again when a singrity appeared in front of his face. *BOOM!!! "Hou~ You managed to get away in time. At least your instincts of self preservation isn''t fried. If it was me a few months back I would''ve just ran into that singrity head first." Alice chuckled. Reaching out with her hand, Alice activated her Sigils as blood and metal converged towards her palm, forming a spear. A bit of practice was all she needed to modify the forging method of Sigurd, to make it more efficient for her own use. Repurposing and removing some parts to shorten the forging time. She didn''t need a masterpiece that won''t disappear. What she needs is a tool that can do its job in that moment. "I''m gonna have to be a bit rough now. I was too preupied with helping people the other night that I didn''t even get a chance to fight! Can you believe that? So I''ll need you to help me out a bit alright?" Alice narrowed her eyes with a grin. Egil summoned his own spear and lunged at Alice. *CLANG!!! Their spears shed as Alice directed it into the ground and used it as a vaulting stick. Landing two kicks against Egil''s chest, she spun her body around and fired a point nk Void Flux that was deflected by his innate barrier. Grabbing his spear, Egil wanted to take advantage of Alice being in the air but it was already seen through. A portal opened behind Alice, teleporting her behind Egil andnding another kick to the back of his head. Stumbling forward, Egil hastily shed his spear backwards but missing his target. *BANG!!! A spear mmed into the side of his head, forcing him to copse on the ground. But what awaited him wasn''t the floor of the arena but rather a portal. "And herees the finishing hit." Alice smirked, teleporting Egil above her. Enveloping her hand in a spiral of violet mes, she punched, up, shattering the barrier around Egil''s armour and punching a hole through it. Throwing Egil to the ground, Alice leaned over him with her spear over her shoulders. "Too early to rest ya know? We''re just getting started." Alice giggled as Egil felt a chill. Chapter 513: Evaluating Egils New Power Looking at Egil who was twitching and writhing on the ground with barely any strength to stand up, Alice stabbed her spear into the ground and leaned against it. "There are four issues we need to immediately resolve. If we don''t resolve it, you''ll only be stronger in strength than the old you but you''ll be weaker overall." Alice spoked as Egil nced up, listening closely. "First, linear movement. With the increase in physical power, you''re not used to it. You can''t make adjustments in your movements as you did before and all of your attacks are in a straight line. "Second, open killing intent. With you bing a half hybrid using my blood and the bloodline release, your killing intent is far too potent. It''s too obvious. Your opponents can easily detect where you''re looking or what you n to do. Unless you resolve this, it''ll be hard for you to take people by surprise or even hit them despite your physical power. "Third, mental state. With the armour, you''re too¡­ How do I put it. Reckless? You can''t rely on your physical defence as you once did with your own body. While it may have heightened your speed and power, your defence definitely took a hit. More so with that armour constantly eating away at you the longer you keep it on. Any hit you take will hurt more than usual and do more damage. "Thest one is the worst one it''s not something we can change easily. Stamina. The armour eats away at your stamina at a ridiculous pace and uses your own blood to keep itself running. Even if you increase your stamina, you''ll die of blood loss." Alice crossed her arms. With this kind of drawback, it''ll be hard for Egil to fight for a long time. "I¡­ I don''t think that fourth one is urate." Egil forced himself to stand up before copsing on his knees. "If I was limited by stamina and blood, I wouldn''t have been able to fight the weird winged hybrid for as long as I did." Hearing this, Alice raised her eyebrows in curiosity. If the armour needed his blood to remain activated, then it wouldn''t be strange for him to extend the duration by absorbing the blood of others. "Put the armour on again, I want to test that theory." Nodding his head, Egil forced himself to activate the armour but it was barely able to form. Seeing the armour struggle to wrap itself around Egil''s body, Alice snapped her finger and conjured a storm of blood around them. Directing the blood to enter the armour, she watched as it began to regain its vigour andtched onto Egil''s body. Strangely, the more Alice fed the armour her blood, the calmer Egil was. It waspletely opposite to the berserker state he was in earlier. But while Egil was calm, his armour began to react differently. The way it twitched andshed out to consume blood, it''s as though it had a mind of its own. "Urg!!! It''s not listening to me!" Egil gritted his teeth, trying his best to wrangle the armour under his control but it refused to settle down. Snapping her fingers, Alice dismissed the blood and folded her arms. "Hmm¡­ When consuming blood, you maintain your sanity but the armour is hard to control. Without consuming blood, the armour harms you and puts you into a berserker state so that you can get blood for it to feed on. Maybe the duration was short because you couldn''tnd a good hit on me." Alice theorised as the armour slowly disappeared, leaving Egil exhausted on the floor. "What can I do then?" "What else? You just have to get better at hand to handbat so you can actually draw blood. But I''m more of a caster so I''m not suitable in teaching you." Alice sighed. "So there''s nothing we can do." Egil sighed as well but Alice shook her head. Continue your adventure at m|v-l''e-NovelBin "When did I ever say that? I''m going to tag out for a bit. Someone else is more suited to teach you than me." Closing her eyes, golden chains manifested as her aura shifted. "Yo berserker boy~ Shall we start punching?" Alyss grinned. ### ''Thoughts?'' Alice asked while looking at the twitching Egil. ''Not great. He''s basically fighting a war on two fronts. His armour is telling him to go left when he wants to go right, it''s messing with his rhythm and habits. He can''t fight how he usually fights on top of being very predictable thanks to the killing intent.'' Alyss folded her arms with a frown. The consensus the two have reached was that this was more of a downgrade for Egil rather than a upgrade. Of course, that''s only at the start. Once he learns how to control the impulses and how to use his strength properly, it''ll be a powerful weapon rather than a downgrade. "Let''s stop here for today. I don''t want to go overboard after you just recovered." Alice helped Egil up. "You call this not going overboard?" Egil''s smile twitched. "Of course. If I was remotely focused you would''ve been sted to kingdome the moment the fight started." Recalling Alice''s power, Egil let out a sigh. "Fair point." "Now let''s head back, I''m sure Selen is feeling pretty lonely with us two going away for so long." Alice chuckled. There was something else they had to discuss. Travel ns. Even though the Zenias might be attacking, Alice had no ns of staying in the north. She just wanted to make sure they could tide over this difficult time before she left. Ultimately, it was partially her fault that they''re focusing on the north now. But once she dealt with this, she wanted to travel south east to visit Sikha and broaden her horizons. She wanted to explore the surface a little before heading back down to the Abyss. Once she''s done with the north, she''ll have to go separate ways to Egil. The time they spent together was short but a sweet one. She trusted him with her back and if he was ever in trouble, she wouldn''t hesitate to help. Which is why it was important for her to make sure he could survive whatever wasing to the best of her abilities. So that he could keep his mother safe. ### "Master, you don''t have toe to the north with me. It''s a mission given to me by my father." A young man sighed while sitting in a wagon with his mentor. He had short brown hair tied into a rat tail and golden brown eyes. A person that Alice used to consider her brother. Albert Zenia. "The north isn''t a ce you young bloods can just survive on your own. I don''t know what your family is doing sending you to a dangerous ce like that nor do I care. I just don''t like you going alone with that crazed mad scientist as your ally." An woman could be seen speaking with a de of grass in her mouth. She looked to be in her mid 20''s yet her way of speaking was simr to that of old people. "Plus, with your heart in constant turmoil and unable to calm down, how am I supposed to keep teaching you? Just focus on reflecting on yourself rather than some mission given by the family." She waved her hand dismissively. However, Albert revealed a slightly bitter smile. He wished he could but it''s not something he could ignore. "I''m sorry." "Bah! Hearing you say sorry all the time is making my ears itch. But you know¡­ Nevermind. Forget it, go a meditate." She narrowed her gaze and scanned her surroundings. Nodding his head, Albert closed his eyes and did as his master told. There was a part of him that felt guilty. Guilty for the things he''s had to do, guilty at the fact that his master didn''t know anything yet still taught him with everything she''s got. He wanted to tell everything to her if possible. If he was to do so. . . Letting his thoughts wander, Albert felt a sword pommel tap his head. "You''re distracted again. Focus up." "Sorry." Looking at the face of her disciple, the woman scratched her hair before spitting out her de of grass. She wasn''t sure what''s going on in the Zenia family recently but it felt¡­ Dangerous. Like the raging currents beneath a calm water surface. To the outside world, the Zenias were taking their time with their next Abyss Blood discovery. But she knew that something was going on. Many of the schrs were annoyed recently and now even Albert was being sent to the north. There was no one in the world without skeletons in the closet. But the Zenias might not be hiding just one or two. Especially that new wife of Luthor. She didn''t know why but that woman gave her the creeps despite not being a fighter. There was an aura around her that just¡­ felt wrong. Shaking her head, she decided to not look into things too deeply. Those who are too nosy dies first. She only had one job and that was to teach Albert. Once she pays back the favour she owes the Zenias, she''ll go her separate way. No matter how many skeletons they hide, she''ll simply follow along for now. ''What a pain.'' She groaned inwardly. This was why she never wanted to get involved with noble families. ### "You what?" Alice blinked her eyes. "I erm¡­ I think I want to stay in the north for a bit." Selen scratched her cheek. Chapter 514: Staying In The North "I erm¡­ I think I want to stay in the north for a bit." Selen scratched her cheek. Blinking her eyes, Alice''s brain stopped working for a moment as she nced to her left, towards Egil who was looking after his mother. "Is that so?" Alice muttered as she began to put together the pieces. Feeling a shiver down her spine, Selen nced at Alice''s expression and saw a smug grin. "Hou hou~ So you want to stay in the north huh? I wonder if it''s because of a certain somebody? You were pretty worried about everything that he was doing after all~" Alice shifted closer before nudging Selen with her elbow. "Erm¡­ We''re kinda¡­ ya know. Erm¡­ dating." Selen admitted as Alice froze up. She wanted to tease Selen a little longer but if they''re already dating then it''s no fun. "If that''s the case then it''s only natural that you stay in the north. Plus, you know about the Zenia family so having someone like that here will help out a lot." Alice chuckled. "You''re not annoyed?" Selen raised an eyebrow. "Why would I be? Honestly I wouldn''t have been surprised if you left me to die after being expelled from the Inverted World. The fact that you''ve looked after me for this long is more than enough already." Alice smiled. "So if you want to stay in the north then be my guest. It''s not like we''repletely cutting off our connection. You can still send letters to me and vice versa." Alice patted her shoulder. "Will you be alright on your own though?" With Alice nning on journeying to the south east, having a travelpanion would make things far better and split up the responsibilities. "Pft, don''t worry I''m never on my own. I got the voices in my head no?" Alice grinned, pointing at her head. ''The f*ck you''re calling a voice in your head. I''m your damn twin!'' Alyss rolled her eyes. "So don''t worry about me. If anything, having you here gives me a way to keep track of the things happening in the north. Especially since the Zenias might target this ce even if I''m gone ya know?" Thinking about it for a moment, Selen nodded her head. "Alright. But if you go to the south east, make sure you find a reliable healer okay? With how reckless you are, if you don''t have someone with some degree of medical knowledge next to you you''ll break your body beyond repair." "I''ll see what I can find." Alice agreed. Her close encounter during the battle by the port was a reminder for her that she couldn''tpletely trust her regeneration. The fact that she almost died when her regeneration wasn''t working was a wake up p to the face. Just as she was about to say something else, Alice noticed the doors opening and saw Caera walking in with a swagger to her steps that wasn''t there before. There was a grin on her face as she threw her jacket onto the coat hanger and threw herself into her chair. "Seems like you''re in a good mood." Alice chuckled. Spinning on her chair and sliding across the room, Caera nodded her head. "I am indeed. You got your meeting with the Queen and I got a greenlight for the next step of my experiment." "Speaking of the Queen, do you know why she didn''t make a move during the attack?" Alice asked curiously. "Of course I do. I''m the one who made her that way after all." Caera nodded while ying with a strand of her hair. "But I can''t help but notice there''s someone else in here. This is a Lab my dear master, not an Inn." She peaked her head over Selen''s shoulders and nced at Egil''s mother who was sleeping on the bed. "Sorry about that." Alice scratched her chin. "No need for apologies, I''m not ming you ahaha. But back to what you asked, yes, I do know. When ites to cultivating divinity, I''m still a novice at it and the Queen is the first target of this experiment. She couldn''t make a move as she''s in the delicate process of making a cocoon for herself. "In order for her to attain a stable divinity, she needs to break out of her mortal shell first. But if she was to make a move and exert her power, this cocoon that she''s building will break apart and her divinity will fail. In essence, if she was to make a move, she''ll only be a demi god rather than a full god." Caera exined. "The second reason is the other Gods. I don''t believe I need to exin how petty the three gods are so you can imagine their reaction the moment they sense a divinity that doesn''t belong to any of them in the north. The moment the Queen makes any kind of move, her cultivated divinity will leak out. It bes a beacon that lets the gods know a new god is appearing." Hearing this, Alice furrowed her brows. If this was indeed the case then it was no surprise that Verona didn''t want to make a move. If she did, she fails to be a god and remains as a demi god. In that state, she''ll be unable to fend off the three gods from repeating what happened to Ayr. "So what you''re telling me is, she''s in our debt because we helped her survive the attack without her making a move?" Alice grinned. "Pretty much." Caera shrugged. "Interesting, how very interesting indeed." Seeing Alice like this, Selen already knew that she was nning on scamming the Queen. "So when do I meet the Queen?" Alice asked. "We can go now if you wish." Tapping her fingers, Alice nodded her head. She didn''t want to prolong her stay in the north. The sooner she sorts out this new cure for those that are fighting, the better it is for her. That way, she can leave the north and there''s a higher chance of the Zenias leaving the north alone. Standing up, she had Caera show her the way. ### "Distraction again. What are you thinking about so deeply?" The woman tapped her pommel against Albert''s head. "Sorry." Albert sighed. "I''ve heard sorry too many times now, tell me something else." The woman rolled her eyes and leaned back in her seat. "Have you¡­ Ever wondered about what my family does?" Albert asked after a brief pause. "I have. But it''s not part of my pay check to find out. Once I finish teaching you, my connection with the family ends there." She replied honestly while grabbing a de of grass and cing it in her mouth. Albert was the only connection she had with the family and she''d rather keep it that way. "I understand. But in the future, if you were¡­ to find yourself disagreeing with my family, what will you do?" "Boy, do you want me to fight this family of yours or something? After dealing with you, I''m going back home. There''s no reason for me to keep sticking around. But in the event that I do find myself disagreeing with your family¡­ Well depending on what happens I''ll probably let my sword talk rather than me." The woman raised an eyebrow before shrugging. She''s noticed that recently, Albert has been more and more concerned with this family of his. Maybe it''s the source of the unrest in his heart, maybe it''s something else. Regardless, if he askes for her opinion, she''ll answer him truthfully. That''s how she''s been and she won''t change that. "Anyways, stop thinking about it too deeply. There''s a reason why I''m not investigating or finding out about your family." She suggested as Albert nodded his head. Letting Albert resume his mediation, the woman closed her eyes as well. The scientist that is supposed to tag along with Albert for the next mission. He was¡­ a strange person. Someone that only saw others as specimens and she couldn''t figure out his morals. The way he looked at her felt as though he wanted to just cut her open and see what''s inside. To see what makes her body strong and so on. ''I should probably distance myself from this family sooner rather thanter.'' The bad feelings she''s been getting from this family has increased over the past few months. And it all began with an incident at the prison when it was broken into. Continue your saga on m|v-l''e -NovelBin She didn''t know what was hidden there but clearly it was the beginning of everything. Shaking her head, she cleared her mind. They''ll be arriving at the meet up point soon and after that, they''ll enter the north. Their goal is to infiltrate the capital. She didn''t know the details of the mission but her only goal was to keep Albert safe. The woman caressed the sheath of her de and imagined herself fighting against the Lords of the north. Sigurd, Frida and Urigar. Out of the three, only Urigar stands as a slight annoyance. Even for Lords who have the same number of Sigils, the quality of the Sigils differ based on what they''ve done leading up to this point. Urigar inherited his title so his power was limited. While Sigurd and Frida may have gotten a title approved by the Abyss, it wasn''t a ''new'' title so their powers were rather predictable. In summery, it''ll be a one sided ughter in her favour. So long as it was only against these three. Then there was the issue of the Queen and any unknown variables. However, she''ll cross that bridge when it appears. ### Approaching the throne room, Alice watched as Caera pushed open the doors before standing off to the side. She could see a woman sitting on the throne and her aura around her body. The clear sign of divinity. Queen Verona, the one who is aiming to be a God. Chapter 515: Reward For Saving The Capital Standing before the Queen, Alice couldn''t help but stay silent and observe the woman in front of her. She''s had two situations where she''s met the ''rulers'' of a nation. First was Velouria. The second is Verona. When she first met Velouria, it was when she was sitting amongst a sea of energy strands. The smile on her face as she joked about her own fated demise. In that aspect, Velouria didn''t feel like a ruler but rather a neighbour. She felt like a normal girl you could meet on the street. Yet strangely at the same time, it felt as though there was a veil between them. As though Velouria was living in her own world, knowing things that only she knew. Seeing sights that only she saw. A rose in a ss case. Slowly withering but no one could help. Verona on the other hand feltpletely different. The way sheposed herself on the throne, how her gaze observed Alice, judging her internally. It was theplete opposite of Velouria. On top of that, there was a cold air around her as she was scrutinising Alice. To Verona, Alice''s appearance was too¡­ coincidental and useful to the point it was suspicious. An outbreak that only her blood could hold off and heal, allies that pushed back the strange human beast hybrids, a contract with Sigurd that lets him use strange fires that negate Abyss abilities and finally, Caera''s acknowledgement that Alice was someone she had been looking for. Far too many events urred around her and it was only natural that Verona was suspicious of her origins. Did the enemy send her as a spy? To earn merit and rewards? Information on her current state? She didn''t know. Was the ''favours'' she''s done for the nation truly favours or did she have a hidden intention? "Aiya~ Hostile res already when you two have only just met. Common~ Rx a bit okay?" Caera spoke up. She couldn''t handle the silence and decided to jump in after all. Even though her original intention was to just wait outside. Jumping next to Verona, she gave her shoulder a pat. "Alice has been wanting to organise a¡­ ''curing event'' for the people who fought during the attack. The curse ced on them basically stops them from continuing as Warriors but with this method, they can fight for a little longer." Caera exined, handing a stack of paper to her. Reading through the contents, a frown appeared on her face. "This is definitely your doing isn''t it?" Verona gave Caera a re. "Why do you say that?" "Who else treats life like this that can make a report of such quality?" Verona sighed. The benefits of this cure were in to see. It''ll help her defend her nation if another attack was to ur and in fact, might even make her defences stronger. But the drawbacks¡­ She''s essentially dooming everyone who says yes to the procedure. Turning away from Caera, she looked at Alice who was distracting herself by looking around the throne room. "Alice, is there no way for them to live without the side effects of bing mindless beasts?" She asked as Alice nced over. "There is. But they''ll have to give up the fight and be normal civilians. The curse decreases theirbat potential to an absurd level. Either keep fighting until you lose your mind and die or live normally. It''s a choice between the two. I don''t rmend the cure honestly since I''ve already stabilized their bodies when I used my lilies." Alice shrugged. However, she understands that some would rather control their own fate with their own hands. They would rather fight on the frontlines and try to make a difference rather than waiting at home. This was the reason she didn''t fully reject Caera''s proposal. Hearing Alice''s reply, Verona was silent. She could see some of Alice''s notes on these sheets and it was clear that she tried to eliminate the side effects as much as possible. But in order to retain their fighting prowess, somepromises had to be made. "Do we know how many¡­ ''transformations'' it''ll take before they lose their mind?" "Nope. It''s entirely dependent on the person. You can kick the bucket after one go or you can go on for tens maybe even hundreds. The moment you go down this path, you won''t be able to stop." Caera spoke up. Flipping the sheets, she tapped her finger on one of Alice''s notes. After the first transformation, they''ll keep umting this ''curse'' within their bodies. Only through the transformation can they discharge it and maintain a bnce. If they don''t¡­ "And about this second method then. To use our enemy''s weapon against them." Verona asked as she noticed that there were notes regarding Alice''s ideas on making hybrids. Notes saying that Caera risked the mind while her method risked the body. "Can you exin that a little more for me?" Scratching her hair, Alice nodded her head. She began to exin the method of bloodline release, to manifest the soul and turn it into an anchor. By forming a bnce between the Sigils, curse and the user''s soul, they''ll be able to achieve a fake hybrid state. However, the duration of this state is entirely dependent on how long they can maintain their bloodline release. Those who can''t maintain it for long can''t fight for long. Of course, there might be hidden conditions that she doesn''t know about. In Egil''s case, he requires blood to keep fighting. And of course, the biggest risk of this procedure is that even if they have the talent for bloodline release, they still need to be able to withstand the corruption of her blood. It was a fine delicate bnce that had to be achieved. Compared to Caera''s cure, Alice''s had a much higher chance of death. Massaging her forehead, Verona contemted the choices. "Is there any way to reduce the chance of death?" "None that I''ve found so far." Alice replied truthfully. It was entirely up to Verona and her warriors on what they wanted. "I see¡­" In the end, Verona had one request for Alice. If the Warriors agree to keep fighting, Verona wanted Alice to test if they have any potential to be a hybrid first. If they do, she''ll give them the option to undergo the operation. With this, they''ll be given three paths. First, live normally. Second, live as a berserker andstly, live as a hybrid. The ideal scenario would be for them to live as a hybrid or as a normal civilian. After all, berserkers are fated to lose their minds with no way out. There might be a solution in the future but for now, it was impossible. "Alright. I''ll test them for the potential of being a hybrid first." With the main talk out of the way, it was time for rewards. Licking her lips, Alice revealed a smile. Verona knew what wasing as well and let out a sigh. "Is there any particr reward that you wish to have? I''ll try my best to supply it if it''s within my control." She offered. After everything Alice had done for the North, choosing a reward for her wasn''t exactly fitting considering the fact that she didn''t have anything worth the lives of all of her subjects. The best thing she could do in this situation is to just let Alice have her pick. The North wasn''t exactly wealthy either and in terms of a reward for a fighter, Sigurd''s weapons are probably the best choice. "How good are the mead makers in the north?" Alice asked with a smile. Her question baffled both Verona and Caera as they thought she would''ve wanted to get a weapon, armour or even medicine. But her question was¡­ on how good mead makers are in the north? "Mead making has never been a priority in the north, but if you wish to hire some mead makers, I believe their skills are on par with those from the other nations." Verona replied, unsure as to what Alice was aiming for. "My request is a simple one then. I want them to replicate a certain type of mead for me. One that is lost to time and cannot be made by anyone anymore. I want them to reverse engineer it and supply it only to me." "And what mead is that?" Verona raised an eyebrow. What kind of mead was good enough for Alice to choose it as a reward for saving the capital of a nation? "I believe Caera is familiar with it. Here, catch." Alice chuckled. Grabbing a bottle from her pouch, she pushed it through a portal for Caera. Tilting her head in confusion, she saw the familiarbel on the bottle and froze up. Her fingers trembled as she opened the bottle and breathed in the scent of Ayrian mead. Taking a sip, a small tear rolled down her cheek as she was reminded of her home. "Yes, indeed this kind of mead is lost to time and cannot be made by anyone. Deploying an entire nation to figure out the recipe and reverse engineer it might not even be enough." Caera chuckled. "If that''s what you wish then so be it. I''ll have it arranged but I believe we need samples to recreate such a drink." Verona sighed and waved her hand. Caera was already entric with her demands and now there was another one. "I can spare three bottles but what I have is limited in quantity. I hope they can figure it out with just these three." Alice handed over three bottles as Verona nodded her head. They discussed the requirements of her reward. Once the Ayrian mead is done, it is only to be supplied to Alice. It cannot be sold elsewhere without Alice''s knowledge and if it is to be discovered, Verona will dispatch warriors to figure out the culprit. Anyone involved with the production once the recipe is done will be ced under a Law of Agreement. The final and most important requirement for Alice was a limitless supply of Ayrian mead for free once it was done. While this was happening, Ca was speechless. This was the first time in her life that she had seen anyone mobilize an entire nation just for¡­ mead??? Who the hell does that??? Chapter 516: Eryn With everything now sorted, Verona had Caera prepare tents so Warriors could go for the treatment if they wish. They''ll give the soldiers a briefing and they can begin around dinner time. Watching Alice leave with Caera, Verona couldn''t help but sigh. "What''s your opinion of that girl?" Verona asked as Frida materialised next to her. "Strange¡­ probably doesn''t do it justice. Everything she''s done points at her being a spy. Her senses are a little absurd to be just a random Hunter. But her choice of reward is¡­ Peculiar." Frida replied honestly. To her, Alice was like a jumble of weird quirks and absurd powers. It didn''t make sense at all. "I don''t think she''s a spy seeing as how she genuinely wants to help those affected by the curse. Perhaps choosing the mead is a sign of goodwill." Verona massaged her temples while rereading the notes again. "Ah actually I have something else to report on that. Sigurd has¡­ made a contract with her. An exchange. She gave him part of her power and in return, Sigurd promised five pieces of equipment." Hearing this, Verona''s smile twitched for a moment. "For free?" "No, for a price with a 40% discount." ". . ." Verona wanted to throw the research away right now and smack Sigurd on the head. Thankfully, it wasn''t for free. However, even if you have the money for materials, you might not be able to buy them. So whenever Sigurd is making equipment for Alice, that''s one less rare material for their nation. "I''ve already lectured him on his decision. But I will admit that his new power is¡­ Rather unique." Frida''s eyelids trembled as she recalled the brief experiment they had done together. With Sigurd controlling the violet mes, no matter how she tried to use her ice to put it out, it only burned with greater intensity and even decreased her control over her powers. "I see¡­ Seems like I''ll have to take a look at it in due time. For now, can you make these arrangements?" Receiving a note of things to do, Frida nodded her head and disappeared in a cloud of cold mist. ### "Ah young master! How nice of you to join me in the North." The schr smiled and gave Albert a small bow. He wore a ck top hat, a golden monocle, arge flowing ck cloak tattered on the ends and a thinyer of snow on the shoulders. Beneath the cloak, he wore a stylish ck suit with golden essories and a pair of gloves. Sturdy ck leather boots crushed the snow beneath his step as he had a walking stick in his hands. "And for Miss Eryn to join us as well, always a pleasure to see you." Eryn, an Abyss Lord unaffiliated with the Zenia family aside from being Albert''s master. A woman of unmatched swordsmanship and a physicality that makes him question the limits of human strength every time he sees her. She has long flowing silver hair tinted reaching down to her lower back. The tips of her hair trimmed neatly to form a line. A pair of crimson violet eyes that seemed to cut everything she stared at. Despite the cold, she wore a rather revealing outfit consisting of ck straps wrapping around her body. Connected to the straps were pieces of ck fabric that covered her waist. Her left arm was leftpletely exposed, revealing a scar that ran all the way up to her shoulder. Her right arm was reced by a prosthetic made from ck metal. A pair of ck boots and on her waist was her de that was almost taller than her. A left handed swordswoman. "As always, your gaze disgusts me, doctor." Eryn spat in annoyance, holding back the urge to unsheathe her de. "Apliment for a man of my upation." The Doctor grinned before turning around. "Allow me to escort you to our temporary residence. I will give you the information we haveter tonight young master, for now, please make yourselffortable." He chuckled. Following behind the Doctor until they reached the camp, Albert was expressionless as he saw the northern people being dragged to the camp. He knew the fate of those people while Eryn had a frown on her face. "Is this the first time you saw this kind of scene master?" Albert revealed a bitter expression. Eryn''s grip around her de tightened for a moment before loosening up. "No." She shook her head. She''s seen scenes like this plenty of times before. It wasn''t anything new. "But I thought you already have information on what you want to find." Eryn asked but the Doctor shook his head. "Oh this isn''t for information Miss Eryn. You see, before we received the retrieval mission, we had lost quite a few of our forces in the north. I''m merely replenishing our ranks." He chuckled but Eryn raised an eyebrow. Who would dare use the enemy civilians as soldiers? Setting aside theirck of power, it''s clear that they''ll run away or betray you the first chance they get. "Are you concerned about their loyalty to the northern nation? If so you do not need to worry Miss Eryn. I have my ways and they will not be an issue whatsoever." He reassured as Eryn nodded her head. "I''ll rest in my tent. Do whatever you need to do. I''m just here as a guard so don''t involve me in anything." Eryn turned around. "As you wish." The Doctor bowed. Watching Eryn walk away, he turned to Albert. "Young master, I believe Miss Eryn should start being aware of our glorious objective if she is to continue being your master/bodyguard. Having to dance around topics and certain keywords is rather bothersome." "I know. Father hasn''t mentioned anything yet. But she''ll know in time." Albert nced down at the floor and kicked the snow aside. "If that''s what you desire then so be it. I will let my assistants know to be more careful with what they say and what they show." "Good. So how reliable is the news around Al- the monster? Is she really in the north? Did someone see her?" Albert asked. "It has a high chance of being reliable, young master. Though¡­ there''s a slight possibility that the subject may flee the north considering our previous failed assault. There is no doubt that she''s aware of our existence that''s approaching the north." The Doctor replied, gesturing for Albert to enter his tent. Stepping through, Albert frowned seeing A squirming on the floor while muttering something incoherent. Tears could be seen in the corner of her eyes as her body twitched from the pain. The fact that this failed product resembled his sister and the monster annoyed him as he looked away. "I apologise for the disgusting decoration. I had not expected you and Miss Eryn to be so fast so I was unable to clean things up. I''m merely punishing her for the losses that urred because she was preupied with two people." "Don''t mind it." Albert shook his head and sat down away from A. Every time he saw the failed product and the monster that used to be in the prison, he was reminded of his sister''s cries. Her cries as the monster consumed her and wore her skin. The hatred that burned in his heart couldn''t be quenched. But what''s worse is that it wore her appearance as a shield and used her memories as a weapon. Find your next read on m_v l|e-NovelBin How dare a monster call her brother, how dare she look at him with those betrayed eyes as though she didn''t eat his sister. "So the n?" "We are nning to scout out the situation a little first. ording to the failed product, the Queen didn''t see fit to intervene at all, leaving the work to her subordinates. The initial chemical attack failed to achieve the effect we had initially expected so there are unknown variables to theirbat power. "Lord Zenia only tasked me with one objective and that is to retrieve the subject. If we can avoid a fight that would be ideal. However, it also allows us to observe and judge the state of the capital and whether or not it is suitable to be another breeding ground." The Doctor exined as Albert listened silently. "Despite her¡­ shorings, the failed product is still the most optimal subject when ites to stopping the Queen. There are pieces of her designed with the sole intention of fighting the Queen hence her overall strength may becking a little. So I would have to ask young master to avoid damaging the failed product too much if you wish to take out your anger." "I''m not that foolish to the point you have to tell me. I''m assuming stepmother has given you a task for me as well seeing as how you''re dragging this one." Albert narrowed his gaze. After his mother died to the monster, this strange woman had approached his father. He didn''t know why but eventually, his father married her and used the resources she provided. Regardless, she was now his stepmother and asionally, there were tasks that she wanted him to help out with. "Perceptive as always young master. And yes, the mistress has indeed given you a task toplete. Though rather than a task, it''s more of a letter. She has instructed me to let the young master know that you should rx and enjoy the northern sights. If you doe face to face with the monster, remember that we still need her blood." The Doctor nodded as Albert frowned. After a short pause, he sighed and nodded. "Alright." For now, he''ll wait for the Doctor toplete his preparations then they can scout out the capital. Chapter 517: Precautions Against The Third Source "I''m back~" Alice called out, returning to Caera''sb alone. With so many things needing to be prepared, Caera excused herself and had Alice head back first. Find more chapters on m_v l|e-NovelBin Originally, Alice wanted to help out but Caera rejected the idea. After all, she''ll be busy providing the cure to every Warrior that''s been infected. This would no doubt exhaust her so she wanted Alice to get as much rest as she could now. "Wee back, how was it?" Selen asked, leaning back on her chair and ncing towards Alice. "It was pretty good. Got a great reward and had some discussions on what we could do to help those who want to fight." Alice exined as she grabbed a chair for herself and slumped over it. "Unfortunately, there wasn''t much choice aside from what me and Caera already mentioned so the risk of them staying as berserkers remains. Though I''ve gotten the green light to see if I can make them into semi hybrids simr to Egil with the bloodline release. But that entirely depends on their talents." She shrugged. Thinking about Hybrids, Selen couldn''t help but wonder about her own state. Her hand gently caressed the feather just above her ear. "So what was the great reward? I don''t think I''ve ever seen you with such a skip in your steps." Selen shook her head and asked with a smile. This was the first time she''d seen Alice being this happy while sober. "Hehe~ You know the rare mead that I told you about? Ayrian mead that can''t be made anymore?" "What about it? Did the Queen have ess to it?" Selen tilted her head. "Nope~ But I made her mobilize pretty much the entire nation in order to reverse engineer the mead. Not only that but they signed a few contracts where they''ll only provide it to me and not sell it elsewhere without my knowledge. Oh I also get it supplied to me for free~" Alice rubbed her hands together with a grin. Hearing this, Selen''s smile twitched before letting out a sigh. "Isn''t that a bit of a waste though? This is your reward for saving the capital. Using on mead is¡­ Well, I wouldn''t say wasteful since it''s you who''s asking for it but wouldn''t most people request good equipment or something?" "Oh if you''re wondering about equipment, I''ve already sorted it out. I made another contract with Sigurd. In exchange for being able to use my blood as fuel for the fire he''s given me a 40% discount for five pieces of equipment. Naturally, they''re going to be high quality." Alice waved her hand with a grin while pulling out a bottle of mead. Since she now has the entire nation mobilising to recreate Ayrian mead, Alice decided to indulge herself a little and had a drink of the precious mead. Enjoying the taste of Ayr, Alice leaned back and rxed her entire body. Opposite her, Selen''s brain short circuited. Meeting Lord Sigurd was already a difficult task not to mention getting an equipment from him. But Alice has requested five! Five high tier equipment at a 40% discount no less! "Ah! Wait what about the blood? Wouldn''t that put him in danger?" Selen questioned. With the Zenias approaching the capital, Sigurd''s possession of another source of Alice''s blood will definitely make him a target. "Don''t worry about that, I''ve already taken the precautions. Whenever my blood is summoned, it''ll be detonated as fuel immediately. There is not a single chance that they can make use of it. Plus, you gotta remember that if the contract is somehow broken, he''ll lose ess to my blood." Alice shrugged. "I see¡­ Seems like there''s nothing I need to worry about." Selen smiled. She could still recall the times when she had to do everything for Alice since her body was injured. Keeping her safe, fending off wild beasts, feeding her and dressing her wounds. She was a little hesitant when it came to her decision to stay in the north but now that she was sure Alice wouldn''t have any issues, her worries were dispelled. All of them except for onest worry. "Say Alice, have you ever been to the east before? It''s very different from the north, Extalia, and even the Abyss." Selen asked. "I''ve been locked up for 10 years then thrown into the bowls of the Abyss. Of course I haven''t." Alice rolled her eyes. "Just asking smart ass. In the east, to travel the desert, you need a kind ofpass unique to the eastern kingdom. Thesepasses stop you from getting lost since the deserts there hold a unique property. Even with the power of the Void, I don''t think you''ll be able to travel easily since the space there distorts. You should also keep most of your body covered when travelling in the desert no matter how hot you feel. "Exposing yourself to the ''sun'' of the desert will poison your body." Selen warned. Hearing this, Alice paused and sat up with a raised eyebrow. "Poison my body?" "How do I exin it¡­ Honestly, I''m not that familiar since I''ve only visited the East once. But even for us experiments of the Zenia family, we can''t look down on the desert." Selen scratched her hair. Now that Alice was visiting the East, she wished she had paid more attention when they were exining these things in the past. "Things might''ve changed since Ist visited but these two are the main things you need to remember." Nodding her head, Alice made a mental note of it before thanking Selen. "Actually, I need to check something. Can youy down for me and take off your clothes?" Alice spoke up after a brief pause. "!?!?!?" Selen widened her eyes in shock while Egil choked on his saliva. "You want me to WHAT now???" "I need to check the effects of the hybrid blood in your body. You drank it, didn''t you? You reached the state of being a hybrid through unconventional means so we don''t know the full effects on your body yet. If I don''t check it, how do I know you''re in the clear? I wanted to do it before but considering you were unconscious, it wouldn''t be good." Alice rified as Selen coughed awkwardly. The tips of her ears were red as Egil took this chance to leave the room. Creating a makeshift bed since Egil''s mother was resting in the only bed they have, Alice had Selen take off her shirt, exposing her back. Sitting next to her, Alice ced her palm against Selen''s back and closed her eyes. Ayer of red appeared on Alice''s arm as spider lilies began to blossom. She could sense the concentration of blood within Selen''s body. Previously, Selen only had a small diluted portion of Alice''s blood. But now? That small portion had grown tremendously in size. In fact, one could say that it was now around a third of Selen''s blood. It was quite a miracle that she was actually able to survive without any major issues. ''Was it the environment? I scattered my blood through the capital and she might''ve unconsciously absorbed more than expected.'' Alice thought to herself as she continued to scan Selen''s body. But despite the increase in concentration, Selen''s body was holding on well. Her constitution was adapting well to the changes and even formed a bnce simr to Egil. ''Now the question is what is acting as that third anchor.'' Alice furrowed her brows. Egil had his Sigils, bloodline release and Alice''s blood. But Selen? She had her own Sigils, Alice''s blood and the third unknown factor. [Do you think it''s Miralith?] Ca spoke up. ''What makes you think that?'' [The prototypes, ones before the Hybrids, have been given a portion of a Lord''s power to act as a bncer. If the sealed Lords were to¡­ intervene, they could theoretically act as an anchor point. [With that in mind, it wouldn''t be surprising for Selen to be unaffected right?] Thinking about it for a moment, Alice agreed. But if that was truly the case then she wanted to make some back up ns. Having a sealed Lord acting as an anchor for Selen without her knowing didn''t put her in a great position. It essentially gives the control of Selen''s life over to the Lord. Since that was the case, then Alice needed to ensure that such a thing didn''t happen. "Selen, it might hurt a little but bear with it okay? Your body has formed a resonance type bnce with an unknown source, possibly the sealed Lord Miralith. I''m going to imbue my blood in your body with a certain¡­ power that should keep it at bay and cut it off if it gets dangerous." Alice spoke up as Selen nodded. She still remembered Miralith whispering in her ear about a contract, to give up part of her body and that''s not what she wanted. Taking a deep breath, Alice had Alyss rece her first Sigil with Allura''s Sigil! The spider lilies around them trembled as the blood began to shimmer with a silver light. Gritting her teeth, Selen clenched the bed cover as Sigils lit up across her body. Spikes and feathers started to manifest across her body, forcefully entering her into the hybrid state. ### "!!!" Rearing her head up, Miralith''s pupils constricted in anger. She could sense a foul power, a familiar one from ages past. The reminder of an old order that should''ve been destroyed. The one who helped defeat the old Lords and subsequently seal them away. "ALLURAAA!!!" Miralith roared, thrashing around in her seal as she wanted to break out but the chains held strong. The connection between her and Selen had strengthened thanks to Tiamat breaking out of her seal was now weakened again thanks to Allura! Selen would''ve been her chance to break out but Allura intervened again! When?! When did the girle into contact with Allura?! Questions flooded Miralith''s mind as she could only cry out in anger and indignation, sealed away in a ce where the sun couldn''t reach. Chapter 518: Preparations Before Leaving Giving Selen a light p on the back, Alice stood up and stretched her body. "Alright, it should be sorted now. If Miralith or whatever that third source starts to pull some weird sh*t, just use what I nted in your body. It''ll cut off the connection and return you to normal. Though it''s just a one time thing." Alice scratched her hair. "Thank you." Selen smiled, putting her shirt back on. "Don''t mention it. I gotta leave a gift behind if I''m heading to another nation after all." Alice grinned. So far, she''s given Egil hints on how he could use his power better and installed a safety for Selen. She wasn''t worried about whether or not Selen could harness her full potential since she''s smart. All she needed to do was be a little more free thinking like she did when she fought the hybrids. If she could achieve that state often, very few people could actually match her inbat. "If you say it like that, I''ll have to give you a farewell gift as well you know? And we both know we''re broke so." Selen shrugged with augh. Joking around with Selen for a bit before calling Egil back in, Alice gave them a rough run down on how they should use the hybrid forms and the limitations. By having a group discussion now, it''ll make it easier and save time for Selen and Egil. Egil needed blood to keep fighting and struggled with maintaining his focus. Meanwhile, Selen didn''t have this kind of limitation since she drank hybrid blood. For Selen, her limitation was entirely based on whether or not she could hold back Miralith if she decided to pull anything. Thankfully, that shouldn''t be too much of an issue. The dynamic between the two would be that Egil takes the frontline and Selen uses her powers to distract her opponents. That way, Egil can get his blood supply and not worry about his simple attack patterns. During this, Selen had also exined the new skills that she developed during the fight against the hybrids. Upon hearing about her skill to reverse her own time and heal wounds, Alice blinked her eyes in sheer confusion as she didn''t even think something like that was possible. Selen''s exnation didn''t help either since it was mostly instinctual for her. A feeling rather than words. Regardless, Alice was curious if she could use it on anyone else but that didn''t seem to be the case. The reversal was entirely limited to her. While talking, Alice couldn''t help but feel a little hesitant when it came to leaving. The time she spent with Selen and Egil was enjoyable and she''s learned valuable lessons with them in the north. ### Deep in the Abyss, a woman could be seen walking without care. The beasts around her trembled in fear and dare not raise their heads. "Well aren''t you just a sh*t stain that won''t disappear. Care to go back into your cage or do you need me to drag you back there?" Another woman could be seen, lighting a cigarette with her finger as killing intent seeped out from her body. "Bold words old woman. You can''t bluff against me when your body is in such a mess. The old Allura would''ve acted first before talking." Tiamat narrowed her gaze as she curled her lips up into a grin, revealing a row of sharp teeth. "I might be old and my body might be a mess, but still more than enough to deal with a sh*tty lizard like you." Allura warned. "I don''t know how but you managed to get out to the surface, what brings you back here?" She couldn''t figure out Tiamat''s goal. She clearly had ess to the surface and could do whatever she wanted to do yet she was back in the Abyss? Something was up. "I''m the sentimental kind. Can''t I have a look what what''s happened to my old home?" Tiamat asked with a shrug of her shoulders. Flicking her wrist, the colour of the world drained as the space near Allura was torn apart. "And I didn''t think you''d bring another walking corpse with you. What''s this? A cemetery?" Tiamat asked, dragged Gin out from the Void. "We both know you''re not the sentimental kind. Speak up while I''m still being civil with you." Allura warned. "Tsk tsk, still pping your mouth instead of acting. I''m disappointed Allura, I thought you would''ve made a move by now. Honestly, I thought you kicked the bucket when I saw a kid with your power. Turns out she was a weirdo that had the Queen''s power and hints of my own. Curious little thing isn''t she?" Tiamat snapped her finger and created a throne for herself. Sitting down, she crossed her legs and smiled at Allura who furrowed her brows. ''She came into contact with Alice? When? How?'' "Ohya? Seems like you do know of her. If I visit her again, I wonder if you''ll make a move." Right as Tiamat finished her sentence, Allura had already appeared in front of her wearing silver armour. Her de was pressing against Tiamat''s neck but it was stopped by her finger. "What did I say? You''ve grown weak. To think you can''t even cut my neck after I stuck it out for you. And I''m still injured too, this was probably your best chance." Tiamat let out a yawn. *BANG!!! The space around her erupted as Allura was flung back from the explosion. Adjusting herself in mid air, she widened her eyes as Tiamat was about to grab her head with her hand. *KRKK!!!! Parrying the grab with her de, Allura furrowed her brows. "Your body might be a mess but at least your instincts are still pretty good." Tiamat smiled before rxing. Turning around, she continued to walk through the Abyss. "Where are you going?" Allura questioned. Tiamat was too much of an unknown variable to be left alone. If she doesn''t keep track of her, who knows what she might do. "You can rx, I''m not going to spout some bullsh*t like ''the time for revenge hase.'' There''s too much weird sh*t happening in the world for that." Tiamat nced back. She could tell that if she didn''t give Allura a small hint of what she''s going to do, they''ll probably have to fight seriously. As much as she enjoyed entertainment, there were bigger concerns. "Some of the sealed Lords have died and their corpses harvested. Some are even kept alive as batteries. I''m going to check who is still alive in the Abyss." Taking a step, Tiamat disappeared from her spot as mes flickered where she stood. Readtest stories on m_v-l''e|-NovelBin Hearing what Tiamat said, Allura frowned. She dismissed her armour and de before pulling out another cigarette. "I''m starting to think I should probably retire now." Gin groaned. "Don''t worry about it. Tiamat is not someone I could take lightly even when I was in my prime. And while I''m weakened, she''s already had three of her seals undone. Two more and I would''ve needed to resolve myself to die if I wanted to take her down with me. And even then, there''s no guarantee." Allura offered Gin a cigarette as her mind lingered on what Tiamat said. Sealed Lords have died and their corpses harvested. Some are even kept as batteries. She had a person in mind but just using the corpses and sealed Lords as batteries didn''t make sense. There must be something else going on. Then there was also the concern about them somehow being able to birth a new Lord from the body of the sealed ones. White Death being the first one they discovered. Even though it was a newborn, it showed an absurd degree of adaptability. If they didn''t find it early and had Gin kill it asap, it would''ve be a monster even for Allura''s standards. But despite all of this turmoil, a smile could be seen on her face. After all, she got some news regarding Alice. From what Tiamat mentioned, it sounded like Alice had gotten much stronger. Not only did Tiamat recognise the power of the Queen inside her but also hints of her own power? Now that was something Allura was interested in. ''When did Alice get a hold of my Sigil? I don''t believe I fed her my blood.'' Allura couldn''t help but wonder. Thinking about her, a smile appeared on Allura''s face. "Say Gin, let''s finish up the things we need to do quickly. I want to see Alice again." Allura suggested. "Only if you stop going on random detours." Gin sighed. "I''m a busy woman and the worldcks capable people. Can''t me me now can you?" "I can and I will, I haven''t even gotten a letter from my granddaughter yet. She''s probably spending time with that brat right now." Gin spat out in annoyance, recalling that thest time they met, Alice and Ria were going to look for Luke. "Don''t be a party pooper now. Let the young''uns experience youth." Allura patted Gin on the shoulder. "Uhuh, so you say. And if someone was to try and woo Alice?" Gin asked as Allura ''smiled. "Who dares? They gotta meet the standard first ya know?" Hearing this, Gin rolled his eyes. ''And you say let the young''uns experience youth.'' ### *ACHOO!!! "Are you alright?" Caera raised an eyebrow as Alice nodded her head. ''Did you catch a cold?'' Alyss was confused. ''Not sure. Maybe dust got in my nose.'' Shrugging her shoulders, Alice nced out at the queue that was forming from the Warriors who wanted the cure. Once she was done with handing out the cure, it would be time for her to leave. Chapter 519: Fluffy Tail and Ears Surprisingly, the first one in the queue was actually the governor or the capital. Alice could see the familiar fluffy ears and the sharp gaze. Considering she was part of what Alice assumed to be a group called ''Hounds'', it was no surprise that she''d be here first. She was practically the first to respond to the danger after all. "Governor." Alice greeted with a smile. Seeing Alice, the governor nodded her head. "I believe you know the details of this ''cure'' right? I will be conducting two tests. One to see if you''repatible with a certain blood sample, the other is to see if you have the talent to activate something called the Bloodline Release." Alice exined as she gestured for the governor to sit on the chair in front of her. "I''ve been briefed. If I have an affinity for Bloodline Release, I''ll be turned to a hybrid where I can achieve equal or greater power using this new technique. But if I don''t have an affinity, I''ll be given two choices. One is a berserker and the other is to remain how I am now." The Governor replied in a serious tone. "Indeed. And you know that if you be a berserker, your fate is essentially sealed right?" "I''m aware." With the Governor aware of the dangers, Alice nodded her head and had her turn around. Even though she was tempted to touch the ears and the tail, Alice held herself back as it wouldn''t be appropriate at this time. First, she needed to see the capacity of the Governor to determine the ratio they needed to implement. Different people had different resistances to the curse so she couldn''t use the same form for everyone. Furrowing her brows, the Governor could feel a strange energy worming its way through her body, scanning her from head to toe. It wasn''t painful but it wasn''t exactly soothing either. "Caera, she''s lost around 35% of her capacity." Alice nced back as Caera began to adjust the forms. Getting the Governor toy down on the bed without her shirt, Alice pressed a single drop of her blood against her back. The instant her blood came into contact, the Governor''s ears and tail jumped up in shock as she gripped the bed cover. Biting her lip, she refused to let out a single peep of sound. Alice wanted to reassure her but the pain wasn''t going to disappear. The only thing she could do was to speed up the process. Closing her eyes, Alice began to overwrite the curse within the Governor''s body with her own blood. There was already traces of her blood inside her body since the Governor was exposed to the spider lilies and this made the adaption process much easier. ''She''s showing a lot of resilience.'' Alyss noticed as the Governor''s body had already ''quarantined'' the curse and Alice''s blood to some extent. A way for her body to protect her against the side effects. With this being the case, Alice would be able to inject a bit more of her blood than originally anticipated. But before that, she needed to see if she waspatible with Bloodline Release. "Try and follow the flow of energy." Alice instructed, pressing her palm against her back. Little by little, the energy around the Governor began to shift as a light blue mist was exuded from her body. Continue reading on m|v-l''e -NovelBin Above her, a figure was slowly forming and had a resemnce to how the Governor looked. The only different being that her body was made from a strange ck material leaving only the glowing eyes visible. The ends of her hair now had a cold ice blue and her wolf features were still there. With the Governor beingpatible with Bloodline Release, Alice nodded with a smile. "Congrattions Governor, you''repatible. I''ll inject a bit more of the blood into you so that you''ll be able to unleash more power in the future. This blood will also give you a certain resistance to Sigil abilities." With the initial steps done, the rest of the process was rather simple and soon, Alice had the Governor putting her clothes back on. Clenching her fists, the Governor had a strange look on her face since she wasn''t used to the feeling. The feeling of being able to sense two alternative sources of energy within her body. It felt as though she had three beating hearts. One was her original capacity, one was the blood, and the other was the Bloodline Release. These three formed a link and even without activating the power, her body was being passively enhanced. "You''ll need some time to get used to the new power. And as a reminder, you''ll only be able to fight as long as your Bloodline Releasests. Once it runs out, you''ll have to rely on own power." Alice warned as the Governor nodded and stood up. "Thank you. If there''s anything I can do for you, please let me know." Hearing this, Alice paused for a moment before folding her arms. With that kind of response, of course Alice will be tempted. After all, she''ll be leaving the north once she was done with this. "Can I¡­ Touch your ear and tail?" Alice asked after a brief pause. "Eh?" Blinking her eyes, the Governor''s expression was that of surprise and embarrassment as a blush could be seen on her face. "W-why would you want to touch my ears and tail?" She tried topose herself but failed. "Why not? They''re fluffy. Of course,e if you won''t want me to, that''s fine too." Alice shrugged. She wasn''t too bothered if she couldn''t touch them. But if she could, that''ll be one less thing that she''ll be curious about. Hesitating for a moment, the Governor sat down and nodded her head. She turned around, showing Alice her tail as her ears twitched. With the Governor''s consent, Alice gently patted the tail. ''HOLY MOTHER OF FLUFF!'' ''Sh*t! No fair! Let me cop a feel too dammit!'' Alyss protested but Alice was too distracted by the fluffiness of the tail. Despite its size, most of it was fur! The volume, the lushness, Alice could tell that the Governor took great care of her tail. ''F*CK! Lemme out!'' Alyss raged. Pouting slightly, Alice sighed and nodded her head. It wouldn''t be fair if she was the only one being able to enjoy this sensation. Closing her eyes, she swapped ces with Alyss. "Holy sh*t twinnie wasn''t wrong¡­" Alyss muttered. Running her fingers through the tail, her expression rxed as she nted her face into it. "Hyah!!" The Governor let out a cry as she didn''t expect Alice to nt her face into the tail. ''Alright tag out already, I still need to touch the ears!'' ''A little longer, this feels much better than a pillow hehe~'' Alyss grinned. However, Alice took over forcefully, hijacking the tail pillow. ''Hah! Mine now!'' ''F*ck! I call tyranny! Dictator!'' Alyss cursed while Alice only stuck out her tongue. Enjoying the tail pillow, Alice sat up and reached for the ears. Caressing them gentling, she noticed the Governor''s shoulders trembling as she leaned forward and saw her expression. Compared to the usual serious expression that she had, she was now a blushing maiden trying to not make a peep. A single thought appeared in Alice''s mind. ''I wanna bully her!'' She felt the urge to tease the usually serious governor and reached out for the other ear. "Ahem. Dear master, there is still a queue outside." Caera interrupted as Alice pouted. "Fine~" Alice sighed as the Governor quickly stood up and ran out of the tent. The people outside who the Governor run out felt a chill down their spine. How painful was the operation if it made their serious Governor look like she was about to copse on the ground??? The leader of the Hounds, the Wolf of Verona, reduced to looking like this? The next in line paled as Alice called him in. ### "There is a barrier put in ce by the Queen. So if we want to enter, we''ll need some way of evading her sight." The Doctor smiled while ying around with a stopwatch in his hands. "I believe you have the solution prepared already?" Albert nced over as he nodded his head. "This device will make people ''ignore'' your existence unless looking at you directly. It''s the same thing we used for the initial attack. Please carry it on you at all times and don''t make a scene. We''re only here for scouting purposes." The Doctor reminded. Nodding his head, Albert received the stopwatch as Eryn did the same. With the device activated, the three of them entered the capital with the help of Eryn. Seeing as how the barrier didn''t react nor did a flock of guards run to their location, the three split into two groups as the Doctor wanted to investigate the scene of the battle. But most importantly, it was to keep an eye on Albert. On the off chance that Alice was indeed here, he''s been ordered to observe his reaction. There''s been¡­ concerns that Albert was beginning to hesitate. Having Albert see the results of the Hybrid''s attack and the victims would be a good way to judge whether or not Albert''s stance on the family''s actions. A mission given to him by the mistress. ### "He''s keeping an eye on you." Eryn warned as Albert nodded his head. "I know. It''s not exactly surprising with the questions I''ve been raising." Albert shrugged. Landing on the roof, he nced at the map to see where he wanted to scout out first. Chapter 520: Alberts Doubts "Questions that you''ve been raising? Seems like you don''t approve of your family''s actions. Not that I know what they are." Eryn shrugged. Sweeping her eyes across the capital, she could sense the presence of two Lords and one strange aura near therge tree in the centre. No doubt the Queen. None of them were aware of her existence right now and she intends to leave it as such. "It''s not that I don''t approve. But I don''t fully approve of them either. It''s¡­ weird." Albert sighed. He wasn''t sure when he began to have these hesitations. In the past, he thought it was only natural for sacrifices to be made for the advancement of human kind. In all of history, there has been no advancement without sacrifice. Something was always being used as a cost. Whether that be human lives or something else, the cost cannot be avoided. In order for the people to enjoy reliable Abyss Blood, healing vials and more, trial runs had to be done. As much as he disliked the monster they hid in their prison, she had her uses. The only being so far to have shown a perfect resistance against the effects of the Abyss, allowing her to recover from any kind of side effects. It was the perfect target to test out any unstable Abyss Blood samples before giving out to the public. If it wasn''t for her, a vast majority of their products wouldn''t have even gotten past the testing stage. Of course, the burden couldn''t be solely ced on the monster. Due to her constitution, they couldn''t test for long term effects even if they seemed safe. That''s where others had to step in. He knew that and understood it. Which is why he never found fault in his family''s actions. They were simply born higher on the pecking order, no more no less. In another life, he could''ve been one of the people who were taken for testing rather than being an observer. But since when? Since when has their path diverged from helping people? While the ''main'' experiments were still conducted in the name of advancement and progress, their experiments performed in the shadows made Albert question the goal behind it. One of which being the Hybrid protocol. With Alice''s sudden disappearance, the Doctor sped up the process of the experiment, pumping the subjects with growth agents and sped up the development of their body. Despite looking like adults and having the body to withstand the operation, they were still in essence, child soldiers. Their fate was already set in stone before they were born. The mother is injected with Alice''s blood so that it would trigger a reaction in the body of the mother. Once they be pregnant with a specimen they deem worthy to create the perfectbination, they then inject beast blood into the womb. If the egg survives this kind of environment while developing, they''ll be given on more dose of Alice''s diluted blood before they are born. A majority of the children die at this stage. Even after adapting to beast blood in the womb, they couldn''t adjust to Alice''s blood. But for those that survive, they are pushed to the next stage. ''All of the Hybrids have been in development for five years. Losing so many subjects with a limited amount of blood left means we can''t make many more of them without risking huge losses.'' Albert thought to himself. He failed to see the usefulness of the Hybrids other than weapons. How were they supposed to help humankind? If they were given beast blood that granted abilities to heal and so on, he''d be able to understand it. But most of the hybrids were given the power to kill, to be the perfect weapons of war. Shaking his head, he took a deep breath and calmed himself. Their goal is to find Alice. To scout out the capital and see what happened after the attack. "Let''s visit the market." Albert suggested. After a tough battle, most people will look for a way to rx. They''ll go through each of the leisure spots one by one. Nodding her head, Eryn said nothing and stood behind Albert, escorting him and keeping an eye on any potential dangers that might approach them. Continue your saga on m|v-l''e -NovelBin ### "Urg¡­" Letting out a groan, Alice copsed on her chair as sweat drenched her clothes. This was far more exhausting than she had originally expected even with people deciding not to undergo the operation at all. After all, it''s not like being infected stopped them from fighting. It simply decreased their capacity and made it so that they couldn''t fight the way they could before. If the warrior possessed low cost Sigils that didn''t drain a lot of energy, they shouldrgely function the same. Choosing the route of the berserker was ast resort. Despite that, there were still quite a few who chose to be a berserker even after Alice warned them of the dangers. As for Bloodline Release, after the Governor, there were only 6 others that showed promise but none as much as her. Looking out of the tent, Alice let out a sigh of fatigue since the queue felt never ending. "Perhaps it''s fine for you to get a break." Caera suggested but Alice shook her head. The sooner she finishes this, the better. Snapping her finger, she created a set of blood curtains around her and changed out of her sweaty outfit. "Send in the next person, let''s just hope the path of the berserker bes less popr with the people remaining." Alice dismissed the curtains. Ideally, it should be a split between Bloodline Release or no operation at all with maybe a few exceptions for berserker. But currently, berserker was the most popr option which only served to annoy Alice. She wasn''t sure why they were so keen on sealing their fate as people who could lose their minds forever. All for the goal of protecting the capital. Was there something she didn''t understand? Was it simply a difference of viewpoints? Regardless, Alice was simply here to help them out. If that''s what they want to do then so be it. "Should I give it a try?" Caera suddenly spoke up as Alice tilted her head. "What do you mean?" "Give me a sample of your blood. I''ll see if I can perform the berserker operation. I don''t think I can help with Bloodline release but if it''s just the berserker operation, I should be able to replicate it to some extent." Caera rified as Alice folded her arms. She didn''t mind Caera giving it a try since she was the one who thought of it in the first ce. But the catalyst that''s required for the operation is ultimately her blood. Entrusting her blood to someone else¡­ Someone she barely knew, even if it was Caera, didn''t quite sit right with Alice. "It''ll be fine, don''t worry about it. Once I get used to the operation, it shouldn''t be difficult." Alice dismissed with a smile as the next person entered the tent. Nodding her head in silence, Caera gave Alice another nce before focusing back on her work. ### After exploring the markets and the other leisure spots in the capital, Albert couldn''t help but frown as there wasn''t a single trace of Alice. Mostly talks of the battle, murmurings of someone crazy for mead and the rebuilding process. "Should we take a look at the battle locations?" Eryn suggested. If they wanted clues, it was better to see it where the battle was fought. After all, there will always be traces of powers used. "Not yet. If we go there now, there''s a rather high risk of them spotting us even with this device. Let''s just take our time with it for now." Albert suggested with a shake of his head. Right when he was about to n his next spot, he overheard a conversation. "Do you think Alice will take a break or overwork herself again? There was quite the queue there after all." Selen asked while holding Egil''s hand. "Knowing her, she''ll probably overwork herself. Should we bring some food and mead over?" He gave a light chuckle. "We can look for some spicy skewers too for Alyss. Though¡­ maybe we can skip out on mead. I''d rather not see a drunk partying Alice while operating on people." Selen scratched her cheek. Whenever Alice got herself drunk, all of her filters just disappear and she bes a party animal. Drinking mead like it''s no tomorrow, jumping on tables and even making bets. If that kind of Alice was to appear during an operation¡­ Yeah Selen didn''t even need to think about it. Discussing which stores they should visit for food, the two left while Albert furrowed his brows. He was rather doubtful when he heard A mention that Alice seemed to have kept her old name. Even now, he was still doubtful but it was worth it to take a look. "Seems like this Alice girl is who you''re looking for. Anything I should be careful about?" Eryn asked, noticing Albert''s change in demeanour. "Whatever you do, do not let her blood enter your body. That''s all." Albert replied as they began to follow Egil and Selen. They were taking a bit of a detour to visit shops but Albert didn''t mind. After all, this was the first clue that they''ve gotten when it came to Alice''s whereabouts. ### Standing over the ce where the living shadows had died, the Doctor kneeled down and rubbed his finger against the dirt. Narrowing his eyes, he tried to determine the origin of such power as images of the battle shed in his mind. It was brief but he managed to catch a glimpse of the instance that they died. A one hit one kill. And this power¡­ It didn''t feel Abyssal or Holy. ''So its not the Abyss or the three Gods¡­ Void? No, that doesn''t feel right either. It''s something outside of these three sources of power¡­'' Curling his lips up into a grin, the Doctor began to piece together a theory on where this power came from. Chapter 521: Soul Sight Letting out a deep fatigued sigh, Alice nced at the list and tapped her fingers. Even though they met the ''quota'' for today, if she continues at this pace, she''ll have to spend the next week or so giving out cures. Waiting a week was a little too long for her liking. Doing it one by one was too much of a hassle so she needed a way to either streamline it or apply it to multiple people at once. Of course, small adjustments were needed for each individual, but that could be adjusted by separating them into groups. However¡­ These were people who are trusting their futures to her. She couldn''t disregard this trust for a moment of rxation. *Sigh "Bring in the next person." Alice let out a sigh. "Yo~ Seems like you''re pretty busy here." Selen poked her head through with a grin on her face. "You don''t say. I''m going to die of old age before I finish treating everyone in that queue." Alice chuckled as both Selen and Egil stepped through. "So what brings you here? Surely you''re not so free to visit me while the two of you were on a date." Alice asked with augh, gesturing for Caera to handle the next patient for now. "Well, we were just thinking that a certain someone might be feeling pretty bored and overworking herself to treat the people here. Therefore, out of the graciousness of my heart, I brought along some snacks for you. Sadly no mead since I doubt they''d want to see a drunk person operating on them." Selen held up a bag of snacks. In the other bag, Alice spotted spicy skewers and understood they were for Alyss. "How thoughtful of you. Now the real question is do I have to pay for them?" Rolling her eyes, Selen gave Alice the bag while cing the skewers on the side. Joking around for a little longer, Alice took this chance to have another break. "How long do you think that''ll take? The line''s pretty long and I''ll be honest, it''s not getting any smaller. Even the civilians are contemting about helping out now. After all, there''s even a chance that they could be a strong warrior if they''re able to use Bloodline Release." Selen folded her arms. "Don''t worry, that won''t be happening. After all, the entire process needs three sources of strength to stabilize. Sigils, the soul and the curse. If any of them is missing, it''ll be a major issue. During the attack, I''ve already purged the curse from the bodies of the civilians albeit with some minor side effects. "So even if they have the talent for Bloodline Release, they won''t be able to use it until they get Sigils." Alice exined with a shrug before switching out with Alyss so that she could enjoy the skewers. "To put it another way, it''s like giving a person a sword. An expert can make the most out of the sword while a civilian can only swing it randomly. If they''re unlucky, they might even hurt themselves while swinging the sword around. In that kind of situation, twinnie wouldn''t want to give them something they can''t handle." Alyss exined. "I see¡­ That makes sense." Selen nodded in understanding. Meanwhile, Egil was looking at some of the notes that Alice left out. He could see that she was adjusting the form for each individual, taking into consideration of their resistances and unique variables that may affect the operation. She wasn''t taking any shortcuts when it came to treating the people here. Despite not being a northerner and these people beingplete strangers to her, Alice was giving everything she''s got. For Egil, this made him extremely proud to have Alice as a friend. "Pst, Selen." Alyss whispered over as Selen tilted her head. "What is it? So secretive." "For giving me the skewers, I wanna give you something in return. Plus, we both know me and twinnie won''t be putting this to use." Alyss winked as she reached into the pouch. Gesturing for Selen to open her hand, Alyss ced a small vial into it before closing, not allowing Alice or herself to see it. "What is it?" Selen was still confused. "Don''t worry about it, just take a look when you''re alone." Alyss grinned. Alice was also curious but Alyss waved it off, saying it was something that they didn''t need. Waving goodbye to Selen and Egil, Alyss allowed Alice to take over again and resume her job. Meanwhile, Selen took a nce at the bottle and immediately shoved it into her pouch with a heavy blush on her face. "Did Alyss give you something weird?" Egil blinked his eyes in confusion while Selen coughed awkwardly. Continue your journey with mvl Her smile twitched and she shook her head. "Don''t worry about it." Out of all the things she could''ve given her, the gift that Alyss gave her was the Aphrodisiac that Alice bought without knowing! ### Ignoring Selen and Egil who were leaving, Albert and Eryn stood near the tent. "Don''t enter. If you enter, there''s no guarantee that the device can hide our presence." Eryn whispered over. On top of that, there was a strange aura inside the tent. She didn''t notice it earlier but only found out now. An abnormality that didn''t feel like any of the three major power sources. An outsider to this system that doesn''t belong to the Abyss, Void or Holy. However, Albert didn''t respond. He stood rooted in ce as he saw the face of his ''sister'' for the first time in many months. The way she styled her hair was different now. It was also split in two halves, one side being white and the other being ck. Her bangs hid her right eye but when she wasughing, he noticed a scar over it. The way she smiled,ughed, joked around with her friends, her voice¡­ All of it repeated in his mind. If¡­ If the incident never happened, what would Alice look like now? Would she also be smiling like this? Closing his eyes, he remembered the pics they would have with their mother, their walks around ake. The way she called out to him, stumbling on her step butughing it off. Clenching his fist, Albert gritted his teeth as his veins bulged in anger. "Don''t do anything hasty." Eryn warned. She could see the resemnce between Alice and Albert and understood they must be rted. She was probably the goal of his mission. However, right now they were deep in enemy territory with abnormal variables around them. Just as he was about to make a move, Eryn grabbed him by the waist and jumped off to the side. *BANG!!! A singrity appeared where they were standing a moment ago as Alice stepped out with a frown. Her sudden attack surprised the people in the queue as they weren''t sure why she suddenly attacked. "Ah sorry about that, I thought I felt something weird." Alice apologised before gesturing for the next person to enter. Once Alice entered the tent again, Eryn let out a sigh. "I thought I told you not to do anything hasty. You revealed your killing intent." Eryn frowned. It was brief but that split moment allowed Alice to sense them despite the device hiding their presence. If she hadn''t reacted in time and dragged Albert away, he would be on the ground missing his legs. Albert wanted to say something but seeing the stern gaze of his master, he took a few deep breaths and nodded his head. "Is she your sibling?" Eryn asked curiously. "No. She''s just a beast wearing my sister''s skin. She was killed 10 years ago." Albert spat out coldly. "Is that so?" Closing her eyes, Eryn activated one of her Sigils as it manifested around her eyes. The colours of her pupils shifted to a radiant gold. "There''s three souls in that tent right now. A patient, the girl just now and someone else within the same body- no. there''s three souls in one body. One of them is¡­ wounded and weakened. Perhaps sealed. And as for the person next to them¡­ She doesn''t have a soul. Or rather, her soul doesn''t belong to herself now. She must''ve given it to someone or something as an exchange." Eryn muttered. However, Albert focused on one fact and one fact alone. "There''s three souls in Alice''s body?!" "Yes. One is¡­ Young. Doesn''t seem to have existed for long so probably the ''beast'' you talked about that ''killed'' your sister 10 years ago. The other one seems more mature. As for the weakened one, I can''t tell exactly but I know it''s much older than me. If you''re wondering whether or not your Sister is in there, it''s probably the second soul if I had to guess." Eryn answered before closing her eyes. A bit of blood appeared around her eyes but she quickly wiped it away without care. Hearing this news, Albert copsed backwards as his pupils trembled in shock. His sister was still alive in there! There''s still hope! He can get her back! "Master, can you help me?" Albert asked as he stood up and dusted his clothes. "Perhaps." Eryn shrugged. "I want to save my sister. If she''s still in there, I don''t want to give up on her." Albert bit his lips as his hope was finally rekindled after so many years. "Depends. I might be able to see souls but that''s only so that I can eliminate it. I have no power when ites to manipting which soul controls the body." Eryn shook her head. "And what if you eliminate the one in control right now? The beast?" "I don''t suggest using such an¡­ extreme method immediately. Just because I eliminate one soul doesn''t mean the other will take over sessfully. In fact, it could even be the catalyst of the ''body''s'' death." Eryn warned. Gritting his teeth, Albert nced back at the tent before turning around. "Alright." ''Wait for me sis, I''ll get you out of there.'' Albert vowed as he and Eryn left the area. Meanwhile, inside the tent, Caera narrowed her gaze towards their general direction and her lips curved up into a creepy smile. Chapter 522: Alberts Plan Leaving the city, Albert gave it onest nce before walking away. He noticed the Doctor waiting for him. "Wee back young master, seems like you had a rather fruitful scouting. Was there any information I should know about?" The Doctor asked with a slight gleam in his eyes. Giving the Doctor a nce, Albert shook his head. "I haven''t found that monster yet. Though there seems to be a strange person living in the capital whose power doesn''t belong to any of the main three. She doesn''t have a soul either. We''ll continue scouting tomorrow." Albert replied before continuing towards the camp. Eryn was a little surprised that he didn''t share anything with the Doctor but held her silence. Your adventure continues at mvl "I see, that matches what I found at the site of the battle. Two Lord level beings were taken care of by this person." "Alright, keep me posted on what you find." Albert nodded, not wanting to spend more time around the Doctor. Upon arriving back in his tent, Albert noticed Eryn blocking the sound from leaving the space, allowing the two of them to talk in private. Her skills revolve around the perception of space after all. Whether that be the space the ''soul'' inhibits or a room, she could control it to a certain extent. "I thought the two of you were looking for this monster of yours. I''m guessing you''d rather not let her fall into the Doctors hands now that your sister is still in there." Eryn asked, sitting down on a chair. "It''s as you say master. The Doctor is someone who only cares about results and experimentation. Out of everyone who¡­ dealt with the monster, he was always the most eager. But if my sister is still in there, I can''t let him know that we''ve found her." Albert frowned. If the Doctor was to find out that his sister''s soul still lives, there''s no doubt that he''d want to find out more. Meaning, Alice will undergo even more rigorous testing than in the past. If it''s the monster, he doesn''t care. But if the target was his sister, then he couldn''t let that slide. "I didn''t want to involve myself too much in this. But I have to ask, what kind of monster is she? Setting aside the curious case of having three souls in one body, her soul was¡­ abnormal. "Young in age but abnormal in strength and everything else. It''s apletely different breed or type of soul from the usual. Artificial in nature yet capable of growth and adaptation. It''s the first time I''vee across something like this." Eryn closed her eyes and recalled the shape of Alice''s soul. Even though she''s a Lord level being, it still sent a chill down in her spine. She''d seen Artificial ''souls'' before but none of them were capable of growth to this extent. Whoever the creator of this ''soul'' is, they''re trying to make something that''ll surpass the limit of mortals. "I don''t know. That thing appeared out of nowhere during my sister''s birthday and ate her. It took over the body and wore her skin, absorbed her memories and tried to act as though nothing was wrong. But there''s always this bloodthirst around her that she can''t hide. "Her desires of blood and flesh are clearly that of a monster. We¡­ tried to figure out her origins but failed. The only thing we found out was the unique properties of her blood." Albert exined, hesitating at certain points and decided not to reveal everything. The best lies are ones that have some truth sprinkled in them. "I''m guessing that Doctor will want to find out more rather than caring about your sister." Eryn sighed. "Mnm." Silence filled the tent but soon, Eryn opened her mouth. "I''ll do you a favour. Not because I''m your master or because I owe your family a big debt. But as someone who also lost a sibling and never got a chance to get them back. See if you can lure her out of the city. I''ll iste a space and we can proceed from there." Hearing this, Albert widened his eyes before nodding his head in excitement. If his master was giving him a hand then it''ll be much easier to pull this off! All that he needs to do now is to find a way to lure Alice out of there. Considering what they''ve done to her during the 10 years they locked her up, it won''t be too difficult. ### "So you''re saying Albert is beginning to show more signs of hesitation?" A woman''s voice could be heard as the Doctor nodded his head. He was currently standing in front of a mirror and a veiled woman could be seen in the reflection. "During the scouting, he was clearly disturbed by something yet he never mentioned it. I believe he may havee across dear Alice and thought his sister was still in there." He reported with a light chuckle. The woman in the reflection waved her fan back and forth for a moment before pping it shut. "Let him do what he wants. The more they think they''re in control, the easier it is to predict what he wants to do. However, I am rather interested in this¡­ strange being that both of you found traces of. Take some samples back with you." She ordered as the Doctor nodded his head. The surface of the mirror rippled momentarily before turning back to normal. Walking over and sitting on his seat, the Doctor curved his lips up into a grin. Albert definitely came across Alice. If he didn''t, there wouldn''t be the sign of hesitation in his eyes. The habits of the young master was clear to him. The way he would y with his fingers, how he would try to show more confidence than usual all in a futile attempt to disguise what he found. But the fact that Albert chose to hide this meant that there was more to it than it seemed. If it was just the beast, he wouldn''t even turn his head to look at her. ''If he''s hiding it then¡­ it must mean he believes his sister might still be in there, somewhere.'' The Doctor rubbed his chin. If that was indeed the case then this brings in the topic of souls and consciousness. How did the original Alice survive? How long has she been in there? Was she ever in control? He recalled the countless experiments he''s done on young Alice. The anger, the killing intent, the raw hatred in her eyes and the bloodthirst. There''s been moments where she would fight back, moments where she would break down and cry as though the fighting spirit never existed inside her. But if the original Alice still lives¡­ It would make sense that the two were switching out at certain moments. And if that was the truth, was the youngdy ever present when Albert was around? If so, what kind of hatred would she feel for her brother that ordered them to continue with a cold look in his eyes? The disgust he felt towards a monster that was actually his sister? "Pft! AHAHAHAH!!!" Letting out augh, the Doctor couldn''t wait to see this reunion. A small entertainment before recapturing Alice for more experiments. However, there was one thing that he wished more than anything. And that was for the young master to show traitorous actions against the family that puts it in harms way. If he does, then it gives him the permission to treat Albert as an outsider. Once that happens¡­ What kind of beast could he turn Albert into? The members of the Zenia main family have all been reinforced and enhanced by the best Abyss Bloods they could get their hands on. To reinforce their physical bodies to the limit. If he was to turn that kind of being into beast, how far could he push it? Could HE be the one to make a being simr to Alice? Ah~ he wanted to find out immediately. ### After the first day of giving out cures, Alice had found a rhythm to things. Muscle memory in essence. She was able to go through the motions quickly without even thinking much and give the correct responses and procedure. Compared to the first day, everything was going at twice the pace now. Even Caera was surprised as she noticed Alice''s improvement when it came to controlling her energy and Sigils. The efficiency increased and same with the speed. A flow state of sorts where everything was given a boost simply due to her focus. Even the people outside were surprised as they expected to wait a long time but that was not the case at all. Upon entering the tent, they would see the focus gaze of Alice telling them to sit down in front of her. In one swift motion and one instance of pain, she would be able tell you your options. Whether that be Bloodline Release or Berserker. Once you answer, the operation begins and finishes before you even know what happened and she''ll call in the next person. Caera would then give them a sheet detailing what they need to focus on and the risks of their new form for them to read. The atmosphere was akin to a perfect working machine. Once lunch time hit, Alice called for a break as she wiped away the sweat. Now that she had gotten used to things, the process should be done within half a week maybe even more. Letting Caera know that she was going to get something to eat, Alice left the tent and made her way to the marketce. Since Alyss enjoyed the skewers yesterday, Alice had made sure to ask Selen where she bought themst night and made her way to the store. While she was queuing up, a figure appeared in her peripherals. A face that she couldn''t forget, a conductor of her torture and someone whom she used to look for seeking help only to receive cold disdain. Albert Zenia! Chapter 523: Alice Vs Albert *BANG!!! Jumping from her spot, Alicended where Albert was earlier and scanned her eyes around. Veins bulged around her neck as killing intent surged out in waves. Those who were weak willed found themselves passing out while Warriors felt a chill they had never felt before. It was as though a demon had just appeared in their midst and was now standing in the middle of the market. They dare not look towards Alice''s direction in fear of invoking her ire. ''Where!? Where is he?!'' Alice gritted her teeth. There was no way it was a figment of her imagination. That appearance, the way he nced at her, it was him! She knew that the Zenias would find her out sooner orter but this was far earlier than what she had expected. More than that, it was her damn brother that was here! ''Alice, don''t let him leave.'' Alyss narrowed her gaze coldly as Alice agreed wholeheartedly. Since he decided to deliver himself to her, there was no way she''d let him off the hook so easily! Experience new stories on mvl sping her hands together, she mmed it into the ground as the earth began to tremble. Her aura surged as spider lilies began to blossom. From the sky, motes of blood converged and scattered. Her pupil shifted to match her power as she activated the partial variant of her bloodline release to extract more power. She didn''t need the full version for now. Wearing a white dress with red patterns, an image of the entire capital appeared in her mind. This was simr to what she did underground with Ria when they were trying to find the members of the Eclipse. To map things out with her blood. Only this time, she enhanced it further by getting information about the person. Their silhouettes and the energy that flowed through their body. Even if they had a disguise skill, as long as her spider lily attaches to them, they''d never escape her gaze. "I found you." ### Running through the capital, Albert could feel cold sweat rolling down his back. One gaze. One gaze was enough for him to sense the brief instance of overwhelming killing intent that was simmering within Alice. Rather than a fight or flight response, his will to live screamed at him to run! ncing up, he could see blood motes forming before exploding. He figured that this was probably her way of trying to track him down. ''I need to get out of the city first. If master makes a move in here, that''ll only attract the attention of the other Lords.'' Albert gritted his teeth. Activating his Sigil which manifested on his ankle, he narrowed his gaze and sped towards the exit, turning into a blur. At that moment, he felt danger from above and nced up. He saw Alice''s partial bloodline release form as she aimed a single orb of destructive energy towards his feet. ''I need to block this!'' Instinctively, he knew that if he was to let this seed, he wouldn''t be able to leave the capital! Gritting his teeth, he activated his second Sigil. *BANG!!!! Summoning a longsword, he grabbed it with both hands and parried upwards, cleaving the attack in half as the edge of his de flickered with crimson energy. Flinching from the weight of the attack, Albert continued to run but Alice wasn''t about to let him have the easy way out. A portal opened up beneath his feet and his bnce was disrupted. Appearing in front of Albert, Alice came face to face with one of the people she hated the most in the world. Her anger reached levels she couldn''t even imagine as she grabbed him by the neck and mmed him into the ground. *CRACK!!! The ground fractured beneath her but Albert was unaffected. His body crumbled apart as it was a clone. He switched out the moment he lost his footing! Switching out with Alyss, Alice focused on tracking his location while Alyss focused on chasing him down. "Do you think you can run from me? Dream on!" Alyss cried out as her shadow twisted and twitched. Having Alice create a spear for her, Alyss twisted her body andunched it towards her brother. The shadow of the spear transformed as a single darkened hand reached out to Albert. "Tsk!" Pivoting on one foot, Albert cleaved the hand in half before resuming his run but Alyss was faster. Grabbing the back of his head, she mmed his head into the ground and tried to stomp down on his spine only to see that it was another clone. Veins bulged on the back of her hand. "Slippery f*cker! Twinnie, I''m switching out the first for inversion." Alyss clicked her tongue as Alice agreed. Switching out the first Sigil to one that they hadn''t used in a while, Alyss narrowed her gaze towards Albert. Abyss Lord of Duality ¨C Inversion! Mid step, Albert felt a pair of invisible handstch onto his body, shifting his controls. His limbs didn''t listen to him and the energy within was in turmoil! Stumbling on the ground, he nced back and saw Alyss approaching with rxed footsteps. He wanted to figure out the controls of his body but all he aplished was squirming around on the floor. Taking a deep breath, he activated his resonance! *BANG!!! Silver aura erupted from his body, cleansing him of all debilitating effects and statuses. White ted armour wrapped around him with blue energy pulsing through the gaps. On his helmet, a single blue me acted as a plume. Knowing that it was going to be hard to run outside of the capital without exposing himself, Albert needed to create an opportunity to flee! "That''s more like it. It wouldn''t be fun if you didn''t make it interesting. I''ll teach you the depths of my hatred with that body of yours." Alyss cracked her knuckles as a pair of gauntlets appeared on her hand. Ruinous Void ¨C Gauntlet Form! Stomping down, Alyss appeared in front of Albert in an instant thanks to Alice''s blood mirror and mmed her fist into his chest. There was only one ability for the gauntlet forms. And that''s to detonate the Void wherever she hits! *BANG!!! Feeling a sudden explosion of force crash into his chest, Albert''s body was thrown back before he could even counter. Sliding across the ground, he stabbed his de down to stop himself and prepared for the next hit. "Common! Fight back!" Alyss roared, wanting to grab him by the neck. Parrying her grab, Albert calmed his mind and mmed his shoulder into Alice, forcing her to step back. After two quick swipes of his de that was blocked by her gauntlet, he stomped his foot down and activated another Sigil. Alyss felt her body locking into ce as blue energy gathered around his de and unleashed a single powerful sh. Alice took over. The powers of the Void wrapped around her body as violet mes burst around her, dispelling the spatial lock. Using the gauntlets along with the Void acting as defence, Alice caught the de between her palms and lifted herself up into a handstand. Twisting her body, she unleashed a kick against Albert''s head as he slid back by a few steps. But since he was so trusting of his armour to the point he didn''t even want to try and dodge that kick, Alice narrowed her gaze. Creating a single blood de, she shed upwards. Void Flux ¨C Cleave! A wave of destructive energy shed towards Albert. *BANG!!! "!!!" Widening her eyes, Alice nced at her arm that was now missing from her shoulder. In that instant, her attack was thrown back at her. She could see a blue me appearing from his eye as he had a simr stance to her when she unleashed the attack. The de in his hands cracked away and sizzled with energy as blood seeped from his gauntlets. Not only did he parry the Void Flux, he also copied it and threw it back at her! But if he thinks the fight was over just because she lost an arm, he was sorely mistaken! Blood converged towards her arm as flesh and bone reconstructed itself. Regenerating her arm, Alice dashed into close quartersbat. Since he''s using a longsword with both hands, it''ll be difficult for him to handle extremely closed ranged fighting. Just as she wanted to grab his wrist, his figure flickered backways and raised his de. Widening her eyes, Alice reacted immediately and twisted her body. Sheunched a spinning kick against the face of the de, pushing it to the side before firing a Void Flux at point nk. *BANG!!! The attack was parried upwards once more as Alice took a deep breath to calm her mind. She''s getting impatient. A Hunter shouldy down traps for her prey rather than fight them head on. Even though she knew this¡­ Even though she knew she should be patient¡­ The images of their torture shed through her mind and her anger burst out. Activating her fourth Sigil, Alice jumped back and unleashed another Void Flux - Cleave. Seeing that Alice was trying the same futile attack, Albert frowned and activated his own Sigil in preparation for parrying and countering. However, right before his de could hit the attack, it phased into the Void! "!!!" He could see the attack reappearing in front of him. With it phasing through his guard, it was toote for him to use his Sigils. In this situation, he could only rely on his Personal artifact! *BANG!!!! Before the cleave could sh against his body, a pair of angelic wings blocked the attack, dissipating it as Albert''s wounds began to heal up. Seeing that her attack didn''t work, Alice bit her lip and tried to follow up. But without knowing, she had already reached the outskirts of the capital and was near the exit. Stabbing his sword down, Albertunched Alice with an illusionary de that forced her out of the capital! The space distorted as Eryn made her move! Chapter 524: Discovering The Truth Upon being thrown out of the capital, Alice felt a sense of weightlessness overwhelm her mind. ncing back, she could see a tall woman with a single longsword looking at her with strange eyes. It felt as though she was looking through her, seeing all of her secrets. But more than that, Alice saw the turbulent energy around her. A Lord! Widening her eyes, she wanted to brace herself for an attack but it was already toote. In the blink of an eye, she was dragged into an unfamiliar world. A cosmic sea illuminated by numerous vibrant blue hues shimmering with the light of countless stars. Above, a raging storm roared with purple lightning crackling through the clouds. Around Alice, the space fractured as though it was a piece of ss. She could see that she was alone. Furrowing her brows, Alice traced her fingers along the cracks and noticed she couldn''t touch it directly. "Are you a retainer of the Zenia family?" Alice called out, knowing that the owner was here with her, somewhere. "To a certain extent." "Don''t you think it''s a bit too much? A Lord bullying a measly five Sigil Hunter." She forced a smile while scanning her eyes across the realm. The flow of energy was chaotic and fractured with strands linking up in ways she hadn''t seen before. It was hard to make heads or tails of this ce. ''The only way out would be to use Ruinous Void. But she''s keeping an eye on me right now. If I make any hasty moves, she''ll be able to stop me before I can do anything about it.'' Against a Lord, she was helpless. And this time, she couldn''t drink the blood of one to push herself up into the realm of Lord forcefully. "I''m not bullying. Merely helping out." Eryn shrugged. She was just here to give Albert a helping hand. Seeing that the Lord had no intentions of leaving things be, Alice realised she was wasting time trying to look for a chance. Therefore, there''s only one option left for her. Break out forcefully! Just as she was about to summon her Personal Artifact, the space in front of her shifted momentarily before revealing Albert. *BANG!!!! Out of instinct, Alice had already created a de and swung it towards his head, only to be blocked by the cracks in space around him. "You really are a monster, no different from the time you were stuck in that prison." Albert frowned. His wounds have healed up now thanks to a healing vial and he had to admit that Alice''s power was more than what he originally expected. If it wasn''t for the fact that she was trying to keep him alive for a little longer, he might not have gotten the chance to push her out of the city. "Hah! Do you even hear yourself?" Alice let out a sarcasticugh before ring at her brother. "Who wouldn''t want to tear that f*cking head of yours from your shoulder when you''re the one who backed up the people that tore me apart? Should I be on my knees thanking you for using my blood? My body?" Albert''s eye twitched as he took a deep breath to calm himself. "You''re the one who''s wearing my sister''s skin and using it against us." "I may be wearing her skin but I''m not the one who ordered schrs to tear it apart from the inside out." Alice snapped back as violet mes burst out from her arm. The cracks around Albert faltered momentarily as he took a step back. Unfortunately, the mes didn''t reach him. Eryn was surprised by the power Alice was showing despite the power gap as logically, she shouldn''t even be able to move right now. "Where is she? I know my sister is still in there." Albert gritted his teeth, not wanting to talk to Alice anymore. Blinking her eyes, Alice tilted her head before letting out augh. "You want to see her? Sure, I''ll let you see her." Alice grinned. Between the two of them, Alyss and Alice, there was no doubt that Alyss held the most hatred for her brother. After all, she was the one who was experimented on the most. Closing her eyes, golden chains manifested around her body. Unsure of what''s happening, Albert nced back as Eryn swept her gaze over Alyss. "Your sister should''ve taken over now." Getting confirmation from Eryn, Albert smiled in excitement as he wanted to walk forward and give her a hug. *BANG!!!! Punching the space in front of her, Alyss clicked her tongue in annoyance. She red at Albert with cold anger filled eyes. "What''s with that look? Don''t recognise your own sister?" Alyss gave him a mocking smirk. "Or did you expect something else? "Big brother! You finally found me! I''m so happy! Blerg, f*cking disgusting." She acted in a sickly sweet tone before pretending to throw up. Taking a step back in confusion, Albert couldn''t wrap his head around the drastic change. "No, you''re not her. This¡­ This must be a mistake." Albert frowned. Turning around, he wanted Eryn to say that this was the monster talking. "This is the second soul. The main one has taken a step back." Eryn''s words felt like a hammer against his head as Albert nced back at Alyss. No longer was there the sister that clung onto her brother''s hand and in her ce, stood a woman filled to the brim with anger and hatred. He knew that if it wasn''t for Eryn protecting him with this space right now, she would''ve tried to tear him apart. "No¡­ No! You shouldn''t be like this?! What happened to you? Is it the monster? Is that thing the one who twisted your mind?" Hearing his nder towards Alice, Alyss narrowed her gaze as his shadow twitched. Darkened hands shot out but Eryn''s figure flickered behind Albert and cut it off before disappearing. "Tsk. Monster? What monster? Doesn''t that apply to me as well? The other ''me'' has done more for me than the Zenia''s ever had. She''s done more for me than you ever did. Where were you when I cried out for you huh? Remember that first experiment?" Alyss began to talk as she clenched her fist to the point it bled. "The first one is always the hardest to forget. You were there with br- no, I can''t even call him brother now. You and Agarin were both there with Luthor. Both of you red at me like I did something wrong. "How many times do you think I called out for you? Begging you to stop? Crying out that it hurt while you watched on. You watched as they stabbed needle after needle into me until I wasn''t even recognisable. If you had stopped there, I might''ve forgiven you to some extent you know?" Alyss gave a mocking smile. "But you made sure every experiment was more painful than thest. You wanted me to suffer. After all that, do you still think I can be the same sister that walked with you around theke?" Alyss asked as Albert stumbled back. Eryn was silent but she continued to listen. Little by little, she began to piece together what had happened. "I¡­ I didn''t know¡­" Albert muttered. He couldn''t avert his eyes and mind from the truth. He couldn''t convince himself that the monster twisted her mind when everything she said indeed happened. Every time she called out for him, begging him, he only convinced himself that it was the monster talking. That the monster wanted to take advantage of his love for his sister. "If everything can be resolved by ''I didn''t know'', then the world would be a better ce wouldn''t it? Twinnie didn''t know what she was doing either at the time of her ''birth'', but look at what you did to her. So I think we''ve talked enough now.'' Alyss red at Albert before closing her eyes. ''Go for it twinnie, let''s end this.'' ''Roger.'' Taking over, Alice mmed her hand down as Ruinous Void manifested around her hand. Ruinous Void ¨C Fractured Form! *CRACK SHATTER!!! Widening her eyes in shock, Eryn didn''t expect Alice to have something that could break apart the personal realm of Lords! It wasn''t done by brute force either, it was done by injecting the chaotic nature of the Void and the power it holds in disturbing space! "Sh*t!" She could see Alice activating her bloodline release as her soul form manifested behind her. mes coiled around her hand as a singrity spun to life. One hit, one hit is all she needed. As long as she can be faster than Eryn, Albert dies here! *KRK!!!!! Just as she pushed her hand towards him, Alice saw a sh rush past her. "ARGGG!!!" Stumbling back, she red at Eryn who had cut off her arm. The rampant energy of her attack was redirected into the sky before exploding and Eryn was untouched. Regenerating her arm, Alice red at Eryn as fighting a Lord was impossible for her right now. But since they were now out of the personal realm, the others could be here as backup! *p p p "Marvelous! Simply Marvelous! I was wondering what might''ve happened but it seems like my worries are unfounded. Ah~ Simply remarkable that you are actually able to escape the personal realm of a Lord. And that attack, a fusion of three different powers. You''ve grown dear Alice and d I am to see it." A joyful voice rang out as Alice felt a chill down her spine. Subconsciously, she reached for her own neck as her eyes slowly turned towards the source of this sickening voice. A figure that caused Alice to take a step back, fearing the consequences of capture. Giving Alice a small wave, the Doctor licked his lips in joy seeing how life had returned to her eyes. It''ll only make the enjoyment of breaking her a second time better than the first. To rip the hope from her hands that she desperately clung onto. This time, he will not let her slip out of his grasp once he recovers her. Chapter 525: Alices Full Power Alice''s gaze trembled as sheid her eyes on the Doctor. Her breathing began to speed up as she felt as though she could feel the cold metal of the cor burning against her neck. Sweat gathered in her palms as she gritted her teeth. Fight! She should fight! Take this chance to kill him! She should use everything at her disposal to get rid of this man in front of her right now! But¡­ But there was no opening!? No matter what she tried, her mind couldn''t find a proper angle of attack. ''No! I have to kill him now!'' Unable to hold herself back, Alice activated her bloodline release as the image of her soul manifested behind her. Artificial Resonance! Resonance! All Sigils Active! *BANG!!! The sudden burst of aura even took Eryn by surprise as her pupils constricted at the amount of power showcased by a girl with five Sigils. If she dropped her guard and allowed Alice to attack her like this, she wouldn''te out of that attack unscathed! Realising the danger, Eryn immediately stood in front of Albert who was still shell shocked by the fact that the one taking the brunt of the experiment was his sister all along. Then all the things that he did¡­ All the things that he ordered¡­ it was all done to her¡­ A crimson halo shimmered above Alice''s head. Her fifth Sigil had two abilities that Alice didn''t want to use often since it had a chance to exile her from this realm! But for the goal of killing this man in front of her, nothing could be spared! Halo of Ruin! Halo of ruin allowed her to siphon her enemy''s energy capacity until they only had 10% left. Their capacity is then transferred to her as a second container and in turn, makes her resistant to her attacks! Crimson Immtion! She enters a berserker state where all of her abilities are raised to the next level. In this state, she burns through her timer much faster in exchange so she has to end the fight quickly! Behind her, spectral wings began to unfurl as the Void Seraphin''s power was raised to the next level. Three pairs of crimson wings and a spinning halo above her head made Alice look like the manifestation of a wrathful angel hellbent on ughter! Dashing forward, Alice created two des. One shimmered with the deep purple of the infinite Void, sparkling with a cosmic light. The other roared with the mes of her second Sigil. In this state, Alice felt her mind open up to all of the skills she''d mastered and even made herself. In this state, she''ll disy everything she''s got! Void Steps! She didn''t care if her body was flung forward. One target, one chance. *BANG!!!! Appearing behind the Doctor, Alice raised the twin des above her head as she had Alyss swap out her third Sigil for Allura''s power! She didn''t need the Blood Coil''s ability right now. What she needed was the power to kill! From her de, the violet mes and a silver aura began to merge to form a new aura. *RUMBLE!!! The entire world recognised her power as a storm gathered above them. The crackling of lighting and the trembling of the realm. A maelstrom of cmity surged from Alice''s de as she twisted her body and cleaved down towards the man she hated with all of her heart and soul. She didn''t care about torturing him, she didn''t care about prolonging his suffering! The faster she can exterminate him from this world the better! In reaction to her desires and her burning vengeance, a golden marking appeared around her chest. Marking of Ayr! The Crown of the Abyss shattered before reforming with the crimson halo above her head. Energy flooded in from all directions, enhancing Alice''s strike. A pir of mes exploded out from her de, cleaving the sky in half while briar thorns and spider lilies erupted around her. A strike with everything she has on the line! This was no longer a Void Flux ¨C Cleave. No, this was the culmination of all of Alice''s experiences. The knowledge she gained from trying to craft a new skill, her masteries and the Sigils at her disposal. Everything for one strike! As the des crashed down, their contrasting energies began to mix as the space in front of her was cut apart. A convergence of multiple abilities pulsated through the realm itself as the powers of the Void locked the Doctor where he stood. He could not dodge- No! Alice would not let him dodge! "ARGGG!!!!" With a roar filled with all her anguish and suffering, Alice cleaved her des through the Doctor''s body. As her des struck his body, the entire realm cried out in pain as crimson lights dyed the northern sky red, an omen of cmity. The activation of Alice''s Halo of Ruin when bolstered by her Crimson Immtion targeted not just her opponent but the surroundings around her! The sudden disappearance of energy caused a vortex of chaos as the realm sought to repair ''gap'' that suddenly appeared. The defences of the Capital roared out in defiance but the walls began to break and shatter. Flung back by the explosion of her own attack, Alice red at the roaring tower of inferno that consumed everything within the designated space. Unlike the attack that she unleashed in Kvia, this was not one that was designed to destroy arge area. Rather, this was an attack designed to kill one target and one target alone! Deactivating her Crimson Immtion before she''s expelled from this realm, Alice couldn''t help but cough up a mouthful of blood as the bacsh of channelling a myriad of abilities through her body crashed into her. On top of that, she had also forcefully raised it to a level beyond her normal control! Gritting her teeth, Alice suppressed the feeling of pain as she watched the towering inferno rage on. Surely this was enough¡­ Surely she was free from his shadow¡­ Surely¡­ surely she can forget about the hell they had to suffer through¡­ *BANG!!!! From within the inferno, a pulse of energy exploded out as Alice''s pupils constricted in shock and horror. There were remnants of the Doctor''s body scatted within, still burning with the mixture of Alice''s abilities that was designated to kill him. But floating in the centre was a single ckened crystal and the flesh began to converge towards it once more. Bones were remade and the flesh wrapped around it. Shadowy energy gathered to form his attire once more as he adjusted his sleeves. Seeing this, Alice copsed on her knees. That attack was everything she had. All the powers at her disposal. Every activation andbination that she could''ve imagined. The optimal power and speedpensated by Allura''s Sigil. "HOW?!?!" Alice roared, on the verge of tears. "Rudimentary my dear Alice. But let''s focus on you, shall we? The word impressive cannot do you justice. Your powers, extraordinary. Surpassing even the greatest samples that I havee across. "As expected, there is no other like you. And for that, I must reim what is rightfully mine. You make an excellent specimen young Alice. I will make sure of it. This time, I will ensure that no part of you goes to waste. I will not allow you to escape again." The Doctor curved his lips up into a sadistic grin. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to stand up and grabbed her de once more. She felt pain shing through her body but she refused to heed its warning. She had to kill this man in front of her no matter what! Void Steps! Appearing in front of him, Alice cleaved up with her de as mes and the power of the Void coated the surface. But before her de couldnd, a hand grabbed her by the back of her shirt and threw her back. *BANG!!! Where Alice was standing, a strange portal appeared with a mass of darkness forming what seemed to be a hand. If Alice hadn''t been thrown away, she would''ve been captured at that moment. ncing up, Alice saw that Eryn was the one who threw her away. If it wasn''t for her¡­ Alice didn''t even want to think about it as her entire body trembled in fear. But the two should be on the same side so why was she helping? "Albert, I suggest you focus on taking the two of you away from here. The Doctor is strange." Eryn frowned, unsheathing her de as violet energy crackled across her body. The scars on her arm lit up with a purple hue as she entered an offensive stance. "Why must you interfere?" The Doctor asked with a sigh. He wasn''t concerned at all. "What kind of dark pact did you make to get that power?" Eryn didn''t answer and asked a question of her own. Standing still, the Doctor eyed her up and down before smiling. *BANG!!! A sh of lightning appeared in front of Eryn as an invisible attack was cut apart, surprising the Doctor. Even though he knew that Eryn was strong, he hadn''t seen her battle before. In fact, in the long history of Eryn acting as a guard and Master for Albert, she had never gone all out! As the two were staring each other down, Albertnded next to Alice and grabbed her. "Don''t touch me! I can walk." Alice pped his hand away as she gritted her teeth and forced herself to stand up. "Don''t be stubborn!" Albert frowned but feeling Alice''s re, he bit his lip before looking away. Guilt filled his eyes but it was toote to undo the past. "Master will dy the doc. If yound in his hands again, you''re never escaping his grasp. Is that what you want?" Albert asked, grabbing Alice once more as he nced back at his Master who was parrying the Doctor''s attack without any issue. Gritting her teeth, Alice suppressed the sense of disgust in her body and followed Albert for now. Between the two, there was no doubt that the Doctor was the most dangerous! The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 526: Eryn Vs The Doctor Running away from the battle with the help of Albert, Alice could hear the constant crackling of lightning. Chapter Experience: Even from this far away, she could feel her hairs stand on end. If Eryn decided to fight her seriously, she might not even be able to react to one attack. Once they were far enough, Alice tried to step away from Albert but he held on tight. A vein bulged on Alice''s neck as she aimed her finger at his head and energy converged into a single Void Flux. She might be injured after using everything she''s got in that attack but one Void Flux was still possible. "Don''t push your luck." Alice spat out as Albert frowned. "I''m not doing it for you. I''m doing it for her." "And what makes you think that she''d want your help after you abandoned her?" Alice clicked her tongue, pushing him away. "That- I didn''t- Tsk forget it." Albert gritted his teeth and looked down since there was nothing he could say to refute her. "What about you then? Why did the chains appear when she took over? Are you keeping her locked up?" He used. However, Alice ignored him since she wanted nothing to do with Albert and the same goes for Alyss. The reason why he was still breathing right now was because his master saved her from the Doctor. This was her repaying her debt. In the distance, she could see Selen and Egil rushing over. On top of the building next to her, Caera sat while observing Albert. She could see the resemnce he had with Alice despite the difference in hair colour. And judging from their brief conversation, she came to the conclusion that they were indeed rted. The key point being Albert focusing on the one inside Alice rather than Alice herself. "Caera, you saw what happened didn''t you?" Alice nced up, surprising Caera as she thought that she''d been suppressing her presence. Though perhaps she gazed a little too intently for too long, thus exposing her. "Indeed. It was a magnificent strike that you unleashed dear sessor. However, it baffles even me how that man survived. I didn''t see the entire fight but I certainly saw the strange crystal thaty in the centre of his being." Caera jumped down, surprising Albert as he didn''t sense anything. "Alice! Are you alright?" Selen rushed over, examining Alice''s wounds. However, the moment she saw Albert behind her, her pupils constricted as she conjured a de and tried to lung forward but Alice stopped her. "Alice! He''s-!" "A Zenia I know. Albert Zenia, first born son. Technically my brother." Alice gave Albert a side eye but he showed a face of disgust. "I''m not your brother. I''m Alice''s brother." But his reply only confused Selen who thought Alice hated her entire family. "Be that as it may, me and Alyss share the same body and my body is her body. My things are her things. And in reverse, her things are my things, same with connections. Don''t worry, the fact that we even share a bloodline makes me want to drain out my blood and rece it with something else but that''s not something I can achieve now is it?" Alice red at Albert before turning to Selen. There''s only one thing she needs to say for Selen to understand why Albert was still allowed to breathe in her presence. "The Doctor is here." "!!!" Selen''s face paled as she stumbled back. Egil caught her, confused but understood that this must be part of their past connectionsing to haunt them. "Albert''s master is keeping him upied but I don''t know for how long. I used everything I got to try and kill him but he regenerated from a weird crystal in his chest. I don''t think I can stay here for another day. Selen, you should keep yourself hidden too. The Doctor doesn''t like it when his subjects escape his grasp, no matter how small they are." Alice scratched her hair. "If he finds out that you used to be part of the experiments, he''ll track you down to the ends of the earth." Hearing this, Selen bit her lip and nodded her head in agreement. However, her concern was still on Albert. He''s a main member of the Zenia family, saying all of this while he was here¡­ Selen didn''t understand why. What if this was a ploy for him to gain Alice''s trust? "Caera, I''ll let you resolve the agreement I have with the Queen. You''re already familiar enough with the procedure to help with those infected by the curse. All you need is my blood now right?" Alice asked as Caera nodded her head. Taking out a vial from her pouch, Alice made a cut on her arm and drained several vials worth of blood for Caera. Even though her Sigil could create her blood using energy, it was still better to use the blood within her body rather than energy. Especially when it came to healing those infected. "I''ll make use of this with care. I suppose you''ll be departing for your journey now, right?" Caera asked, receiving the vials. "Mnm. I can''t expose myself to more danger than this." Alice nodded. "In that case then what about thed behind you? Should I deal with him?" Caera asked as killing intent seeped out but Alice red at her. "His life is mine and Alyss''s to take. Not you." "Understood." Caera bowed before taking a step back. "Now what to do with you." Alice narrowed her eyes at Albert. ### Taking several deep breaths, Eryn had a frown on her face as the Doctor was truly a strange foe. His attacks were invisible and he could recover from any strike shended on him. It''s as though he didn''t care what happened to this body since nothing would truly harm him in the first ce. "Why must you be like this? Has the family not treated you well all these years? We even helped your brother did we not?" The Doctor asked as Eryn didn''t reveal a single bit of emotion in her expression. Instead, she took a single step back as the scars on her arm seemed toe to life. The pattern began to shift before transforming into a dragon that coiled around her arm and up her neck. Raiko! *BANG!!! Before the Doctor could even react, Eryn had already appeared behind him as steam was exhaled from her mouth. Lightning crackled around her body as the realm seemed to be cut in half. The Doctor''s head flew from his shoulders but strange tendrils jumped out from his body, grabbing his neck and pulled the head back on. "Tsk!" Clicking her tongue in annoyance, Eryn flickered for a moment before returning to her earlier spot. "This kind of physical attack can''t stop me. Why do you keep up the futility? And you still haven''t answered my question yet either. Has the family not treated you well? We saved your brother, gave him everything he wanted and extended his life by five more years. "When you brought him to us, he was nothing but a husk and you know that. But our technology saved him. What do you think is the foundation of that technology? It''s the girl." The Doctor exined. "Without dear Alice, we would''ve never made such huge leaps in progress and development. Without her, your brother would never have lived as long as he did. Shouldn''t you be helping me recover her instead?" The Doctor asked but Eryn let out a deep breath while veins bulged on her neck. "Keep my brother out of your filthy mouth. If you stayed on the path of right, I would agree. I stayed out of your business because I care not for it. My brother was my everything. He''s far more kind hearted than I. I stayed out of it because I can overlook such actions since the Zenia family indeed saved my brother. "That was my gratitude to the family. But, if you decide to reveal such heinous acts in front of me and even show no repentance, my brother would only hate me if I didn''t make a move." Hearing this, the Doctors smile faded as he showed an expression of boredom. "Alright. If that''s the case, I''ll take you back as a sample as well. I wonder what kind of specimen you''ll turn out to be." The Doctor curved his lips into a grin. Closing her eyes, Eryn took a deep breath before snapping them open. Her right eye now burned with a blue energy as cuts appeared all around them. Rend! *BANG!!!! Sheathing her de, everything within the space was cut as the Doctor''s body was shredded apart, except the crystal. She had tried to target it with her attack but it was far more resilient than expected. "You can''t kill me like this." The Doctor was rxed as everything was under his control. "No. But I marked down your coordinates now. I may be a swordswoman but my powers focus on space." Eryn gave him a side nce before walking away. "By the time you return to the north, we''ll be long gone. Farewell." Tapping her sword against the ground, an array expanded beneath the Doctor as he realized what had happened. Just as he wanted to do something, the scenery around him flickered and he found himself deep in theyers of the Abyss. A frown appeared on his face as the growls of beasts rang out around him. A vein bulged on his neck before disappearing. "I''ll relent to you this time. Dear Alice still lives and there''s plenty of chances to track her down now that I know what she looks like." The Doctor sighed as a beast lunged out from behind only for an inky maw to jump up and consume the beast. Being annoyed with the current situation brought him no benefit. Instead, he should think about how to best utilize the Zenia assets to track down dear Alice. He''ll be the shadow in the back of her mind, always watching, always waiting for the right moment. And when her guard drops¡­ He''ll put the cage around the bird that''s grown used to freedom. Chapter 527: Departure From The Capital Taking several deep ragged breaths, Eryn copsed on her knee as blood dripped from her eye. Covering it with her hand, she gritted her teeth and pulled out a healing vial before drinking it. She could feel the cursed blood flowing through her veins, the allure of the Abyss creeping deep within her but soon, that feeling faded as she regained control over her own body. The wound healed and she soon up looking serious as usual. ncing towards the city, she furrowed her brows after noticing Albert not moving from his spot. Tapping her foot against the ground for a moment, she disappeared and reappeared near him. She could see him sitting on a stack of boxes while looking at the ground, contemting in silence. "Where did your sister go?" Eryn asked curiously. Even though the danger was over, it''s still best to keep a note of where she was. After all, the Zenia family''s goal is her. "She left. She had her assistant finish what she needs to do in the north." Albert shook his head as he leaned back and nced up at the sky. "Is that so? Honestly, I thought she would''ve tried to kill you. I even nted a safety just in case." Eryn folded her arms as she leaned next to him. That hatred the girl showed upon seeing Albert¡­ It was no ordinary hatred. Eryn has seen it many times before and that was the eyes of someone who''s willing to dedicate their entire lives on revenge. The curse of madness. Had it not been for the Doctor, she would''ve fought tooth and nail to kill Albert. "I know." Albert sighed. His life was only saved because Eryn helped Alice. If It wasn''t for that¡­ He would be a corpse right now. She even forced him to sign a Law of Agreement because she couldn''t trust him. "Do¡­ Do you think she''s in the right Master?" Albert asked after a moment of hesitation. "Which part?" Hearing this, Albert wanted to reply but recalled everything that he''d done to her. How he turned her away when she needed help the most. Her older brother, the person she sought out for help, turned her away coldly and watched as schrs tore her apart. It''s no wonder his loving sister would hate him. Even he would hate himself. He had convinced himself that everything he did to her was revenge for his sister, that the beast was using her visage against him. But to think that the two were actually living together in one body, treating each other as twins and relying on one another to survive this harsh world where her family abandoned her¡­ Albert gritted his teeth as regret filled his heart. "All of it. Everything that you heard¡­ Dammit! I should''ve listened to her! Why didn''t I?!?!" Albert jumped up as he threw the box against the ground and breaking it. Gritting his teeth, he wanted to punch something, anything to vent the regret and anger in his heart. All these years¡­ He''s been the one hurting Alice all along! He was not as stubborn as to not see his mistake, to try and find the easy way out by denying the truth. But everything was clear as day. "Honestly¡­ I agree with both of you. I don''t let those that harmed me off easily either. This life is kill or be killed and my path has been decorated by the corpses of many for me to live this long. So as for why the girl wants to kill you, I entirely agree." Eryn let out a sigh as she nced at her reflection in the ice. She could see a sh of her younger self, covered from head to toe in blood. Her first kill. "But on the other hand, I don''t me you for losing yourself in your anger and mourning. To you, your sister was killed and her body puppeteer by a beast. Granted, rather than torturing them and making use of their body, I would make it a swift death. After all¡­ They still have the visage of my sibling. "I''d¡­ rather not torture someone who looks like my brother, regardless of their identity." Eryn paused before putting her thoughts into words. Naturally, she couldn''t predict what she might''ve done if she went through the same as Albert. After all, human emotion is quite the chaotic thing. But right now, she doesn''t think she would go as far as torture. "I see¡­" Albert took a deep breath and calmed his mind down. He was still feeling bitter and regretful but he couldn''t change the past. "So what''s your n now? I don''t believe your family takes kindly to acts of betrayal. Even if it is their young master. What if your father steps in?" Eryn asked curiously. With the entire family focused on retrieving Alice, the fact that Albert stood in the way of that was the same as dering himself an enemy. Going back down would be no different from suicide. Staying silent, Albert hesitated for a moment before closing his eyes. "I¡­ Think I''ll leave the family." He revealed a bitter smile. He knew that Alice wouldn''t forgive him but he still wanted to make amends in his own way. No matter how futile it may be. "All the horrors that the family has done, I want to put an end to it. The grief of losing my sister has affected my father and little brother as well, even if I go back and tell them the truth now, I doubt they''ll listen. I''m not strong enough yet." "Hou? And how do you n on achieving that?" Eryn asked as there was a small smile on her lips. Albert may not have sensed it or noticed the change, but Eryn certainly did as someone who''s been observing Albert for a few years. There was a new sense of rity in his eyes that he''s never had before, a sense of purpose and a goal. The disturbance in his heart disappeared and he understood what he must do in this life of his. "Please Master, train me as you have done before. Not because the Zenia family asked you but because I''m asking you. I want to be like Master, able to hold my own. To make up for the wrongs I did even though it doesn''t change the past. So that when the day my sisteres to im this life of mine¡­ "I can confidently say that I did some good and be the same brother in her memories before the incident urred." Albert took a deep breath as there was a small bitter smile on his face. His rtionship with Alice was forever damaged but that didn''t mean he couldn''t put out an effort. That way, even if he died, he wouldn''t regret the things that he could''ve done and didn''t do. "Not bad. At least your hearts in the right ce now. I won''tment on the things that you did or the things you still haven''t told me, there''s plenty of time for that. Anyways, let''s pack up here and leave. The Queen and her retainers are in a pretty bad mood considering the fact that they''re watching us." Eryn chuckled before ncing up at the empty space. "The Doctor shouldn''t be able to enter this city even if hees again. I''ve exiled him from this space. But that doesn''t stop him from pulling any other underhanded tactics. So be warned." Eryn called out before grabbing Albert by the shoulder. They flickered on the spot momentarily then disappeared from the Capital. Sitting in the throne room, Verona sat with a gold glint in her eyes. The Zenia family¡­ From what Caera had told her, it seems like this was going to be rather troublesome. They''re targeting Alice but she had already left. With them being the source of the ambush, she wanted to crush them with her own hand. But because it''s the Zenia family, it wasn''t going to be easy. "Let''s support Selen and Egil, the two who decided to remain in the North. Alice took extra care when it came to adjusting them and the Selen girl even fought against the weird Hybrids all by herself." Sigurd suggested. Frida was silent. "I agree~ They''ll definitely help out if the north is toe under attack again. This is Egil''s home after all." Caera nodded her head while sitting above the throne. ncing up at the girl who was swirling a vial of blood that seemed to shimmer with an ethereal texture, Verona furrowed her brows. "Are you leaving once you dealt with the rest of the Warriors?" "Nope~ Dear sessor wanted me to stay in the north. With the Zenia family being much closer than anticipated, she couldn''t rest easy. She wanted me to help out if it does get out of hand." Caera exined. "And you agreed?" "Naturally, it''s an order from my Master after all." Caera shrugged. With Caera around willing to lend a hand, Verona felt a little relieved but also wary. There''s a strangeness around Caera that she had never seen before and it sent a chill down her spine. She was entric to begin with so Verona couldn''t put her full trust into Caera. Regardless, the North will be going through quite a turbulent period of time with the Zenias now setting their eyes on them. ### Sitting in a carriage, Alice nced back at the capital with conflicting emotions. It was a bit of a hasty departurepared to what she had originally wanted but it was outside of her control. No matter what, she couldn''t remain in the north for any longer. She had to head to the east as soon as possible and her next destination was the port. She''ll travel east via sea. Chapter 528: Ebonfrost Warden Sitting in the carriage that was making its way to a port city leading to the east, Alice nced up at the sky and let out a long, deep sigh. After bidding farewell to Selen and Egil hurriedly, Alice caught a ride on a small caravan heading to the port. There was a small party of guards assigned to it with 3 carriages in total and Alice sat with the cargo. [Feeling regretful?] Ca asked as both Alyss and Alice nodded their heads. ''What a waste¡­'' Aliceined. ''If the Doctor didn''t appear out of nowhere, it would''ve been a perfect kill.'' Alyss followed up. *SIGHHHH~ As they both let out another sigh, Ca closed her book. [You still could''ve killed him at the end.] ''I know¡­'' Alice agreed. If she decided to kill Albert then and there, it would''ve been easy. Eryn was preupied with the Doctor and she could''ve gotten Caera to help her out. But¡­ After being saved by Eryn and Albert of all people from the clutches of the Doctor, it simply didn''t feel right with her. Alyss refrained from answering as her mind lingered on his expression. The conflict in his eyes. Even though like Alice, she decided not to think of the Zenias as her family, she still had to admit that maybe there was still an ember of hope in her heart. A weakness she didn''t even know of herself. She still hated her brother, hated him for the fact that he turned her away when she needed it the most. But countless what-ifs ran through her mind. What if he wants to redeem himself? What if he truly feels guilt? What if he wanted to help her know that he knows she''s alive? Alice also noticed this turmoil within Alyss and didn''tment. This was for Alyss to resolve for herself, to make a decision. Regardless of what Alyss chose, Alice won''t deny it. She hated the Zenia family for everything they did. But during the tortures, Alyss took the brunt of it. She felt the biggest betrayals. ''The Swordswoman did save us. It didn''t sit quite right with me if we killed him there. I didn''t save him because he''s Albert, I let him go because our life was saved.'' Alice rified. ''But on the topic of the Doctor, I need to reevaluate my powers. That attack with everything on the line, it didn''t even scratch him.'' Alice frowned as the Doctor was too strange. She didn''t know what he did to his own body but that thing could no longer be called a human. [I can''t help you here. I''d already looked through the records of anything that might even resemble what he did but nothing came up as a match. This is somethingpletely new in the history of the Abyss and the surface.] Ca shook her head, tossing her book overhead and manifesting another one. ying with her hair, Alice closed her eyes as she recalled that instance. The moment when everything harmonized within her body. All of her Sigils, her techniques, the fusion of her powers and the resonance of her equipment with herself. Everything was at peak condition minus Ca and Void Fang. But even with that in mind, the explosiveness of her power wouldn''t have changed much. Her power may be strong in the physical aspect but itcked the final push to kill the Doctor. Allura was able to iste and sever the connection people had to their spiritual heart, making them effectively useless when it came to surviving her attack. She needed something simr. Something to decrease their defences and nullify their backup ns. Her first initial thought would be to rely on her blood but knowing that her opponent is the Doctor and Nyer in the future, she couldn''t put all her eggs into one basket. There''s no doubt that they''ll prepare their own defences against her, the Doctor specifically. He''ll go out of his way to find something that could neutralize her if she was to try to use her blood. All so that he could watch her struggle in vain. That''s the kind of person he is. *BANG!!! Feeling the carriage shake, Alice furrowed her brows as she poked her head out of the side and saw a beast fighting against one of the guards protecting the caravan. The beast was covered in white fur and strange garments with a cross pattern around the arms and waist. Tworge horns crowned his head as a pair of beady green eyes stared unblinkingly. Its arms hung down to the ground as it was far bigger and more muscr than the rest of its body. Twisting its body, it swung its arm against the shield of the vanguard, kicking up the snow and dirt while the vanguard struggled. Despite being in his resonance form, Alice could see blood dripping from his mouth. Behind the beast, an archer appeared on a tree branch and pulled back his bow. A convergence of energy spiralled into an arrow before firing towards the back of the beast. *CLANG!!! Protecting itself with its giant arms, the beast swatted the arrow aside. Just as it wanted to counterattack, a swordsman appeared beneath the beast. Activating his resonance, the energy of the wind gathered around his sword as he unleashed a devastating cleave against the beast''s ankles. However, noticing the danger, the beast jumped away to safety as its speed was shocking when taking into ount of its size. Pulling out the book that Alice got from the Governor, she flipped through the pages and quickly found what kind of beast the guards were dealing with. Ebonfrost Warden, a six star beast known for its powerful arms that can block most attacks and aggressive speed. However, the defensives are entirely focused around the arms, leaving the rest of the body rather exposed. As long as Hunters can restrain it or deal with the speed, cutting off the arms from the elbow would greatly reduce the beast''s offensive power. ''Seen as how the swordsman aimed for the ankles, they probably don''t have a way of restraining the beast. They want to deal with its speed first then take care of the arms.'' Alice thought to herself. There were five members to the guard party. A vanguard, swordsman, archer, scout and healer. The scout was looking for a good chance to intervene but with poor defences, one wrong move and he''ll be killed in one go by the beast. [Are you going to help?] Ca asked curiously but Alice shook her head. ''It''s not my job to intervene. Plus, they''re the ones hired for the job. Intervening will be akin to stealing their pay. Who knows if the employer wouldter say they won''t get paid since technically, they didn''t protect the cargo. Instead, someone random intervened because they couldn''t handle it.'' Alice exined. Of course, if their life is in danger, she''ll probably help. But from the way she saw things, they have it handled. From above, a rain of arrows descended as the beast raised one of its arms to block it, causing it to bounce to the side while the vanguard rushed in with his shield. Upper cutting the arm with his shield, he broke the guard momentarily as the swordsman rushed in once more. Noticing the danger, the beast wanted to jump away but the archer intervened. Snapping his fingers, the arrows that bounced off the arm detonated the ground beneath it, breaking the earth and causing the beast to lose its footing. With the sudden disruption, the beast found itself unable to move away in time as the swordsman and scout jumped into action. Twisting his body, the swordsman cut through the beast''s right leg while the scout severed the left tendons. *BANG!!! Copsing on its knees, the beast found itself unable to leverage its speed. With the issue of speed now dealt with, the rest of the fight became a test of patience and attrition. It was a slow methodical breakdown of everything the beast was strong at and they slowly carved away at its life until the beast died. Watching all of this, Alice felt a little bored as she could''ve handled the beast quickly with Selen and Egil. Egil would rush in with the help of Selen''s eleration. If the beast tries to run, she''ll cast deceleration and Egil would retrain it. As the one focused on offensive power, two Void Flux cleaves would handle the arms due to Egil retraining it. Once the arm is one, she''ll fire a point nk Void Flux down its throat and kill it from the inside out. 10 seconds. That''s the maximum amount of time she''ll need to kill this beast. In fact, if she were to go all out like what she did with the Doctor, 2 seconds is all she needed. To overwhelm the beast through brute force. Think of this, Alice nced down at her boots. The Void Steps. She wasn''t sure what went through her mind at that point but she was able to pull it off twice. The only thing she could think about was to use everything she had to kill the Doctor. The Void Steps were more¡­ instinctual than anything. But why? It wasn''t as though she hadn''t tried to use it instinctually before so why did it work this time? Why didn''t it throw her forward and make her lose control? ''Guess I''ll spend the journey experimenting with Void Steps again.'' Alice thought to herself as she''ll slowly replicate the variables during the time of the cast to see what allowed her to seed. [Just don''t run into the carriage and break it. We don''t have the money to pay for damages.] Ca warned as Alice coughed awkwardly and nodded her head. Since she had to leave hastily, she barely had enough to pay for the travels. In short, she was t broke again. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 529: Soul, Memories and Identity After the initial ambush by the beast, the caravan resumed its journey rather uneventfully as they approached the first camping site. All of the food and tents were already prepared and Alice ate her food in silence. The others were a little curious about her as all they could see was her eye since she changed her outfit before joining. In case the Zenia family was still around, she wanted to hide her appearance. Rather than opting for the Jester Sigil since she already reced her Sigil twice today and any more would hinder her fighting potential, she chose an outfit that covered her hair and body. She wore arge white hooded robe with silver highlights, a turtle neck white shirt, a pair of grey gloves, a skirt, tights and long boots that reached her knees. Even though she wanted to hide herself, she still needed to look fashionable to some extent after all. The only thing that the others could see were strands of white and ck hair along with a single visible eye. Nothing else. Receiving the food that was assigned to her along with her tent, Alice watched as they sat around a fire and joked about the previous fight. Normally, she would''ve sat around and listened to them, to hear about their experiences and take parts which she may find useful for herself. But not right now. ''Still contemting? At this rate, I might mistake you for a philosopher.'' Alice asked with a smirk as she took a seat next to Alyss''s throne. ''F*ck off.'' Alyss rolled her eyes but there was a small smile on her face. ''I''ve been thinking¡­'' Alyss began. ''Which you don''t do much of.'' ''. . .'' ring at her twin, Alyss rolled her eyes seeing Alice give her a grin and urged her to continue. ''As I was saying. I''ve been thinking about Albert. About the family. And¡­ about what he said when we confronted him. At that moment, I was too angry to listen to him. The feeling when he turned me¡­ well, us, at the time is still pretty fresh in my mind. ''But I can also see his guilt now. He¡­ really didn''t expect it to be me in there. Maybe if he knew, things might''ve been different.'' Alyss hugged her knees while ying with a strand of her hair. ncing at her twin, Alice leaned back for a moment. They both had the habit of hugging their knees when their emotions overwhelmed them. Alice recently when Selen showed signs of drifting away due to her rapid improvement. And now, Alyss as she is facing a decision of what she should do when ites to her brother. Alyss was always the more ''stable'' one between the two when it came to emotions. She was straightforward and rarely found herself doubting what she should do. A strong front for all the years of hardship. However, seeing Albert was like being hit by a hammer. Her strong exterior shell broke apart and revealed the fragile ''Alice'' underneath. The one who loved her family and felt betrayed when they turned her away. The fragile Alyss who built a wall together with Alice as the two relied on each other to face the Zenia family. The two of them were different yet also the same. They hold the same memories, went through the same torture and felt the same betrayals. But where they differ was that Alice understood she was not the original. She''s the byproduct of Nyer''s intervention. Even though the Original Alice is now called ''Alyss'', it should be the other way around. Alyss was only given that name at the time because they weren''t quite sure of their roles yet. Who was the hijacker and who was the ''prisoner''. After their roles became clear, it was far easier for Alice to separate herself from the Zenia family as she did so during the banquet in the Inverted World. There are only feelings of anger and hatred for the family. If Alyss was to ask her if she would forgive Albert, Alice would reply with a quick no. The two of them were essentially strangers. To Alice, there is only someone who wanted to harm her, and she who felt the brunt of his hatred. But Alyss was different. As she is the original, she still felt a connection with her family that was hard to forget. A bitter connection. Should she love or should she hate? It wasplicated and Alyss was in turmoil. She thought it would''ve been so easy to just forget the past and hate. But after seeing Albert''s mournful gaze, his panic realising what he had done, his bitterness and regret that cut his heart in two, Alyss felt doubt sprout in her mind. Should she see things from his perspective? To understand his reasoning and why he did what he did? Was it really true that he only went that far because he perceived them as his mortal foe? The one who ate his sister and wore her skin? Or was it all a lie? A delicate lie that the Doctor and Albert constructed together to fool her. To make her bring down the walls that she''s built up so that they could stab her in the heart again. ''Say¡­ Twinnie¡­ What do you think I should do? Is it right that I asked you to let him go for now?'' Alyss asked. The final point that sealed the deal for Alice letting Albert go was Alyss''s suggestion. No matter how Eryn saved her life, if Alyss wanted Albert dead, Alice would''ve agreed. But she didn''t and so she let him go. ''Hmm¡­ Dunno. Only time will tell. Maybe he stabs us in the back again, maybe he doesn''t. It''s not like we have a Sigil to read his mind.'' Alice shrugged. It really didn''t matter to her. Now that the decision was made, she''ll live with the choice and embrace the consequences. If he decides to stab them in the back, hell will swing wide its gates for his arrival. But if he doesn''t¡­ Well, Alice will let Alyss decide when the timees. He''s not her brother after all, even if Alice has the ''memories'' of them being together. She could separate her memories and split it into Alice and Alyss. From the time of her ''birth'', to the time when Kaden freed her, to her new family with Allura protecting her. It was a strange situation. She was both the original due to the memories yet also not due to her soul being ''artificial''. At this point, Alice had to wonder. Was it the memories that made the identity or was it the soul? If it was the soul... should the person lose their memories then are they the same person? They think differently and have different habits yet the soul is the same. And if it was the memories¡­ If someone were to die and another takes over, inheriting the memories, are they then the same person as the one who died? And if they are, then are the crimes of the original theirs to bear? She could go back and forth with this for hours on end and it''s something she had never quite figured out. It''s why they decided to call each other twins. Two sides of the same coin, sharing the same body. It''s a simple solution that ultimately leaves the questions unanswered. Hearing Alice''s answer, Alyss was silent. She stared at her own feet and kicked her legs back and forth. ''Don''t think about it too much. Just follow your heart when the decision arrives again. I''m always here for you just like how you are here for me. We''re twins after all, we have to rely on one another.'' Alice gave Alyss''s arm a gentle hit, causing Alyss to chuckle before nodding. ''That''s right, we''re twins. Since that''s the case then my mistakes are also your mistakes. If he stabs us in the back we''ll just have to deal with it by giving him the most brutal send off we can imagine.'' Alyss cracked her knuckles with a forced grin. Alice understood that her twin was trying to reassure her despite her uncertainty and she wasn''t about to pop that bubble. ''Sure, when the timees I''ll let you choose how we should send him off. But that''s future talk, let''s think about now. I need to figure out how the hell I''m supposed to use Void Steps since I seeded in doing it against the Doctor.'' Alice stood up and gave her body a stretch. ''True. That might''ve been luck but we need to turn that luck into consistency. Only then, can it be another tool for us to rely on.'' Alyss nodded before pausing. ''Thinking back, it was pretty f*cking reckless of you to use it against the Doctor of all bloody people. If you threw your body at him haphazardly we might be cut open on an operation table right now.'' Alyss''s smile twitched, understanding exactly what Alice did back there. Realising her mistake, Alice coughed and tried to run but Alyss had already grabbed onto her jacket. ''Deperate times desperate measures! I just needed something to close that gap ya know?!'' Alice cried out, trying to escape. She was akin to a baby kitten grabbed by the back of her neck, iling her limbs and trying to break free but to no avail. ''As if! You had other methods to use if that was the case! That reckless brain of yours wanted to experiment with the skill because you were in the flow you damn maniac!'' Alyss lectured, pushing her finger against Alice''s forehead. While the twins were arguing, Ca only gave them a side nce before returning back to her books. ''Idiots.'' But despite this, there was a smile on her face. They may be idiots but Ca enjoyed her time with them. Chapter 530: The Key To Void Steps After the long lecture from Alyss about how reckless she was, Alice used this time to excuse herself from the caravan momentarily. She found a small clearing in the forest next to them as she closed her eyes and visualized the fight against the Doctor. During that moment, her focus reached the absolute peak. Everything she obtained in her journey for power was disyed all for the sake of killing the Doctor. However, it wasn''t just her focus. She could still remember the strange sensation she felt when using the Void Steps. It was a little different from what it felt like usually. To verify her thoughts, Alice imagined the tree in front of her to be the Doctor and activated Void Steps. *BANG!!! ". . .Ouch." Alice muttered as she found herself crashing into the tree andnding upside down. The usual sensation for using the Void Steps returned. It felt as though she had the rug pulled from under her and she couldn''t keep her bnce. But against the Doctor, she felt as though she had a stable tform to stand on. Like walking up a series of steps, she was able to determine where to stop her Void Steps with ease. ''Was it because of what I activated?'' Alice questioned as she decided to activate her Artificial Resonance. Trying out the Void Steps once more, she mmed into the tree, this time with more power and directly breaking it in half. "Okay, so using Artificial Resonance turns me into a bullet." Alice murmured while dusting the piece of the tree off her cloak. If it wasn''t the Artificial Resonance then it might be her Bloodline Release since she activated that before the resonance. Manifesting the figure of her soul behind her, Alice tried for a third time. *BANG!!!!! Not only did another tree get destroyed, but the force also broke Alice''s arm as she pushed it back into ce and regenerated the wound. "Well¡­" Alice crossed her arms with a frown. Three attempts and two trees already got destroyed. If she was to keep on going, they might think a beast was wandering nearby. Closing her eyes, she tried to think of anything else that might''ve affected how the Void Steps worked. She tried her Resonance before to no avail, activating all of her Sigils, especially her fifth one might be the key to it all. However, Feris, the owner of the Void, mentioned that she could teach her how to use Void Steps properly in the past. Meaning, it wasn''t something affected by her fifth Sigil. It''s entirely based on control and her understanding of the Void. With this in mind, Alice had to figure out what else she was missing otherwise she''ll never master this ability. She had to limit her options. ''Was it your fourth Sigil? You were using the Seraphim''s ability to enhance your Void stuff during the fight against the Doctor.'' Alyss asked. "Hmm¡­" Activating her fourth Sigil, Alice closed her eyes and began to control the Void around her. The Void Steps should be instantaneous, the collision between two realms that forces her to ''blink'' forwards. Having this long of a set up wasn''t exactly great nor was it urate to the skill. Most importantly, even with the Seraphim''s power, she was struggling to make the same ''foothold'' as the one she felt. Not only did it take longer but she also didn''t take this long during the fight. Something was still missing. [Perhaps it was not something you did during the fight with the Doctor but rather something before hand? Right before facing the Doctor, you broke out of the personal realm of that Swordswoman, didn''t you? Maybe using Ruinous Void was the key.] Ca theorised. If nothing she did against the Doctor worked to activate the Void Steps then it must be something outside of it. Ruinous Void ¨C Fractured Form, disturbs the space around them and injects pieces of the Void into reality, making it practically impossible for a Personal Realm to be established. Ca''s theory was that perhaps it was this interference that allowed Alice to activate the Void Steps sessfully. After all, the interference doesn''t disappear immediately. There are still lingering aftereffects in the space. Maybe this fracturing was what allowed Alice to get a stable foothold. Tilting her head for a moment, Alice decided to give it a go. Summoning Ruinous Void, Alice mmed it into the ground and activated Fractured Form. The space around her began to crack as she narrowed her gaze and activated Void Steps. Even without beingunched forward, her eyes widened as excitement surged in her heart. This! This was the feeling! The feeling of being able to step on a stable tform! Her figure immediately blinked forward as shended on a tree branch without issue. Activating her Void Steps a few more times, she began to get the hang of it as her figure continued to blink through the area as though she was a ghost. Landing in the middle of the clearing, Alice was panting for breath but there was a wide smile on her face. ''The energy consumption isn''t that bad but it isn''t great either.'' Alice analysed. The main issue was that she needed Ruinous Void in order to sessfully activate Void Steps. Fractured Void was simply an extension of the way she could manipte the Void. A tool to make the task easier and make up for her ownck of technique. If she could master it and activate it on her own, it would make Void Steps far easier to use and less predictable. After all, Fractured Form sets up a boundary that the opponent could observe. She could sense the disturbance of the Void as she reached her targeted location. Simr to dropping a stone in water, the ripple across the fractures will expose her location. It might work the first few times but there''s no doubt that this signal will be noticedter. However, if she were to master this technique then this signal would be eliminated and transform the skill into the same Void Steps that Feris used. Or at least how Alice perceived it to be used. "What the hell happened here?" A voice called out as Alice nced down and saw the scout from the earlier party looking at the destruction of the trees. He looked up at Alice who was standing on the branch. "Sorry, I was just practising my skill. It kind of turns me into a bullet if I don''t do it right." Alice exined as she hopped off the branch andnded next to him without any issues. "Are you going to practice some more or are you done?" He asked curiously while ncing at the broken trees. If what she said was true then how tough was her body? These trees weren''t easy to break. But she was telling him her skill that identally turned her into a bullet caused all of this? How is she alive? "I''m done for now. I achieved what I wanted." Alice shrugged before pausing. "Say, you''re a scout right?" Alice asked while ncing back. "Yes, what about it?" "So you have good eyesight and reaction right?" Alice continued as he nodded. "Can you do me a favour then? I want to see how useful my skill is towards someone with high perception." It wasn''t a difficult favour and he was also curious as to what might''ve caused this damage. "Sure." Taking a few steps back, he crouched down and pressed his fingers against the ground. Narrowing his gaze on Alice, he focused his concentration on her. Seeing this, Alice smiled from behind her turtle neck cor as this kind of opponent would''ve been perfect for Selen. Her perception maniption would practically eat him alive as she was the worst type for him to go against. Activating Ruinous Void, Alice pushed it down and the space around them fractured. ### A strange girl stood in front of me. Right as we were about to leave towards the port city, this girl showed up asking if she could tag along and even paid a sizable sum with the help of another. She didn''t do much during the journey and simply observed our actions, judging us almost. Even during the fight against the sudden ambush by the strange beast, she watched with a slight hint of dissatisfaction. It was as though she felt like she could do better. Obviously, the others noticed this as well but they didn''t want to verbalise it. It was simply a little annoying. She asked me for a favour to help her test out her skill and it was perfect for me as well. I wanted to see where she got her confidence from. It must''ve been an attack skill that broke these trees rather than using her own body. After all, if she indeed used her own body then how was she standing in front of me? As I made my preparations to detect her movements, she pulled out a strange object and activated it, fracturing the space around us. My detection skill focuses on movement and people travelling around me. It allowed me to sense invisible opponents and even those with absurd speeds. Once they trigger this skill, I''ll be able to react instinctively. Since she asked me about my perception and eyesight, it must mean she wants to test out a movement based skill. I won''t let her out of my sight. "Hm¡­ Seems like it''s working as intended." !!! When?! How?! What?! I nced back and saw her standing behind me with a rxed gaze. When did she get there?? What did she do?! She recalled her object and began to walk away while I could feel a chill down my spine. Holding my throat, I couldn''t imagine what would''ve happened if she was an enemy who wanted to take my life. Chapter 531: A Chance To Grow Stronger Clenching her fist, Alice had a small smile on her face. The applications of Void Steps unlocked the door to many possibilities, all revolving around the concept of blinking through space. Now that she understood what allows her Void Steps to seed, she could adjust the steps and change the overallposition of the skill. Turning it from a movement skill to an attacking one. Snapping her finger, Alice created a singrity above her finger and transformed it into a Void Flux. Aiming her finger upwards, she then cast Void Steps. *BANG! In an instant, the Void Flux disappeared from its location, flying high into the sky and out of sight. By applying the ''faulty'' Void Step and adjusting the targeting of the skill to only apply to the Void Flux, she was able to essentially squeeze it through the realms and cause it to shoot in one direction at ridiculous speeds. To put it simply, the false Void Steps was eleration. It''s what caused her bones to break and her limbs to be torn off during the impact. And the True Void Steps was teleportation, blinking through space and being squeezed out where she intended to appear. That''s why there was no ''phenomenon'' of her arrival. No gust of wind or anything like that. Exactly how Feris did it. But the false Void Steps was not like that. It was far faster than her usual choice of ripping through the Void and running through it. If she wanted to, she could even make her Blood Mirrors far more deadly using this false Void Step. All in all, understanding exactly why it could seed allowed her a deeper insight into how she should use this technique of hers. ''Though¡­ it''s not exactly my technique is it ahaha. It''s stolen from Feris much like how my other skills are also stolen. My own skill is still in mid development *sigh.'' Aliceughed inwardly. When she unleashed the skill that was still in the process of being finalised, she felt close to grasping its true essence but fell short. Perhaps, if she were toplete the technique, it might be able to harm the Doctor. [There''s no rush. You also have to remember that these techniques are taken from those at the pinnacle of strength. One is an Apostle and the other is the owner of a realm. They are people who''ve alreadypleted the difficult task and crystallised it into an attack or technique that represents their struggles. You are going through that stage right now.] Ca cheered Alice on as making a person technique was no walk in the park. All of these techniques are made with a goal in mind and Ca had her own theories. For Allura, it was her desire to be an unyielding sword for Velouria. She might not have the power or raw strength behind her attacks but she''ll cut through anything and everything with lethal sharpness. For Feris, perhaps her identity as the owner of the Void was because she wanted to detach herself from the real world. Hence the Void Steps that allowed her to run. Alice was still trying to figure out what she wanted to do with her life aside from taking revenge. After revenge, what''s next? Rebuilding Ayr was done in mind for Allura. She has yet to fully understand and grasp what she is living this life for. Perhaps when she does, her skill will finally beplete and a name can be bestowed upon it. Making her way back to the camp, the scout soon followed behind her and she noticed that he was looking a little ufortable. Clearly, the quick demonstration of Void Steps startled him but Alice simply shrugged and moved on. Even if he tells the others, she doesn''t care since her only goal was to get to the port and make her way east. To explore the surface that has been out of her reach for so many years. ### "Miss, may I ask you to evaluate us?" Blinking her eyes, Alice nced at the five people in front of her. She had woken up early this morning to continue her journey and nothing out of the ordinary urred. A few weak beasts roamed nearby but the aura of the guards was enough to scare them away. But once they prepared to camp, the five of them finally approached her after giving her the asional nce throughout the day. "Care to rify?" Alice asked, taking a sip from some cheap mead she had stocked up in her pouch. "Allen mentioned that you were fast enough to the point he couldn''t register your movement at all. And during our fight, you seemed to be judging how you would''ve done it better. In other words, please give us some pointers. Anything that can help our growth as Hunters will be appreciated." The swordsman requested. Scanning her eye across the five of them, Alice could see that they were thinking the same thing and were being serious about it. "I wouldn''t say my pointers are suitable. My thoughts are entirely based on how I would fight and my own knowledge of my skill sets." Alice scratched her cheek. She was still just a student herself, learning to master skills and fight better. She wasn''t exactly in a situation where she could coach others outside of just sparring and trying to figure out their weaknesses. Plus, there''s also the case of the raw power difference between them. If the gap is too wide, Alice wouldn''t be able to give effective tips seeing as how she could just kill them all in the blink of an eye. "That''s fine. I want us as a group to take every opportunity there is to learn and get stronger." The Swordsman replied almost instantly as Alice''s smile twitched from his rather¡­ bright and upfront personality. Furrowing her brows, Alice thought about it for a moment but saw no reason to reject it. Plus, she might even learn something from this. "Alright, sure. Think of me as a beast you want to subjugate. Don''t hold back since it''s not like you''ll be able to kill me anyway." Alice curled her lips up into a grin. The shield vanguard frowned a little before epting it with a nod. "I''ll give you guys some time to strategize. You don''t need to tell me when you want to start, just attack when you''re ready." She waved her hand and stood up. Making her way into the forest, tapped her foot against the ground as briar thorns began to burst out from the ground around her. A field of spider lilies bloomed amidst the snow and Alice made herself a throne to sit on. Rxing her posture, she closed her eye and stretched out her senses through the blood she spread through the ground. ''What''s your n?'' Alyss asked curiously. ''The n is simple. Don''t make a single move and focus on casting. It should be rather doable and lets me focus on my control. Plus, I can put my new understanding of Void Step into practice no?'' Alice smiled. ''Just make sure you control the speed of the projectiles. I don''t think it''ll be good if one of them was to die now would it?'' Alyss reminded. ''I don''t think that''ll be an issue.'' Alice chuckled. At that moment, several strands of briar thorns jumped out from the ground, catching an arrow that was shot towards her. "A little too predictable if you were to imbue this much energy into it. Even if you made an effort to hide its presence." Alice muttered before pinching her fingers together. A swirl of blood gathered around the arrowhead before blossoming into lilies, preventing it from detonating. "Now then, your opening attack from the archer is caught. What will you do?" Alice asked as her gaze pierced through the trees and locked onto the scout. He felt a chill down his spine as sweat rolled down his cheeks. Despite this distance, she could still urately track him down even though he was using a camouge skill. However, there was one silver lining despite being discovered. She wasn''t using her movement skill! Instead of going through the close quartersbat route, she''s choosing to fight with casting instead. This was perfect for them. After all, their biggest concern was whether or not they could even catch her in the first ce! With her attacking method now discovered, they jumped into action. A surge of water rushed towards Alice like a serpent as it crashed into a barrier of blood. Behind her, the Vanguard burst out of the bushes with a golden glow around his shield. He was already in his resonance form but much to his surprise, the ground suddenly copsed beneath him as tendrils of blood grabbed his ankles. Spider lilies and briar thorns began to wrap around his body as he could feel the energy leaving his body. Cracks began to form around his armour. *KSH!!! A sh of light tore apart the briar thorns as Alice raised an eyebrow. While her briar thorns aren''t exactly the toughest material that she had ess too, they were still pretty tough by usual standards. Yet he was able to cut through it with ease. A little outside her expectation but nothing that''ll make Alice change her ns. Tapping her finger against the arm rest, blood converged into a single bead as Alice activated Void Steps on it. *BANG!!!! The vanguard was able to raise his shield at thest moment out of instinct but the collision was far stronger than he thought. It felt as though he was a piece of wood in a storm, thrown around like he weighed nothing. sting the two away, Alice watched as they regrouped and the healer healed their wounds. Since she asked them to treat it as though they''re hunting a beast, she''ll y her part. Killing intent seeped out as the Hunters paled. In front of them now stood a beast in the form of a human, nked by a mass of briar thorns and blood. A beast of ughter. Chapter 532: Disparity In Strength The sounds of swords shing against ''metal'' could be heard as the Swordsman struggled to close the gap between him and Alice. Each of the briars was reinforced by ayer of metal, preventing them from being cut easily. The Shield vanguard was upied with keeping the healer safe since there were far more attacks targeting her than the others. Above the trees, the archer tried tond some sneak attacks but with Alice already locking down on his location, it was hard for any of his attacks to breach the gap between the thorns. The Scout was constantly trying to find a time to jump in but Alice didn''t drop her guard. There was always a briar thorn pointed at where he was, making it impossible for him to just attack recklessly. ''The Healer doesn''t seem to have any useful offensive skills at this moment, all she can do is sit back and watch everything happen. The vanguard is busy protecting her while the Swordsman doesn''t have any buffs or useful skills to get past the briar thorns. The archer can''tnd a hit and the scout is too slow and can''t hide his presence.'' Alice thought to herself as the results of this fight were clear as day for anyone to see. With their confidence and determination, Alice had at least expected them to give her a little surprise. The bar for her expectations wasn''t set high yet they still failed to match it. And she was looking forward to potentially learning something from them as well. After all, they broke down the strong points of the Ebonfrost Warden one by one until the six star beast fell to their attacks. With that kind of teamwork, Alice wanted to see how they would identify her weaknesses. Letting out a disappointed sigh, Alice stood up and dismissed the throne. Seeing this, they all went on guard as it was clear that Alice was about to make a move. Raising her hand, Alice snapped her fingers as a blood mirror appeared beneath all of them, causing them to lose their footing. Falling through the Void and then being spat back out into the real world, they saw that they were now on the floor in front of Alice. She aimed her finger at them with a small spark dancing above her finger. "Bang~ and you''re dead." Alice spoke in a bored tone before flicking her hand, causing the Void Flux to disappear. The briar thorns and spider lilies withered away and disappeared as though they were never there. "Being able to judge whether or not something or someone is too strong for your current level is a skill in itself. After thates retreating. Growing stronger is good but having a way to escape means you get to live another day. By living another day, you''ll be able to get stronger." That was the best tip that Alice could give them. This was also the mistake she made during the fight against the Doctor. She misjudged his power and exhausted herself trying in futility to kill him. If she had focused on escaping, she wouldn''t need to owe Eryn the debt of saving her. Plus, if she really wanted to run, there were a lot of methods avable to her. Including the option of going into the Void and cashing in her favour with Feris to either kill the Doctor or escape. Though she wanted to kill the Doctor herself with her own hands if possible. Without waiting for their reply, Alice made her way back to the camp and sat down, enjoying a bit of mead. ### After the fight, the guards didn''t bother her anymore as they seemed to be contemting what else they could''ve done against Alice. However, it was simply the raw difference in strength that prevented the use of strategies. With their current skill set, no matter how much they strategized, Alice would break it apart with power. That was a variable that they had to take ount of. The same applied to her. The difference in power between her and the Doctor was simply too wide right now. She didn''t have a method that would allow her to reach him and kill him. ''Let''s think about something more useful for my sixth Sigil. My fifth Sigil is good but I can''t get much practice with it without just risking being exiled. Honestly, I''m beginning to think it''s a bit of a mistake.'' Alice sighed. ''Even if it is, we''ll have to just live with it. The exile part is annoying to work around but you can''t deny the benefits this Sigil gives. Not only does it slowly strip away your opponent''s ability to use their energy, but it also gives you extra energy to use. Just that alone allows you to spam your heavy hitting hits like it''s nothing.'' Alyss reminded as Alice agreed. The benefits of her Sigils were simply too good for her to give up. For now, it was her trump card. An ability she''ll only use once things get out of hand. Therefore, for her sixth Sigil, she wanted to get something that''ll synergise better with the rest of her things without risk of exiling her or something simr. ''I should probably think about a scenario where I can''t swap Sigils.'' Alice mused. Her first Sigil was probably her most ''useless''. The physical boost was now negligible and the main benefit was turning her blood into a hallucinogenic. But at this level, most of them had a basic resistance to effects like this. On top of that, because she didn''t focus on the poison side of her development, this hallucinogenic effect has stagnated. Useful against weak enemies but useless against strong ones. It didn''t suit her at all. [Now that I think about it¡­ have you ever thought about how your First Sigil even works? Like down to the details?] Ca asked as Alice was about to reply when she paused. Blinking her eyes, she tilted her head. ''Well I did experiments with the poison side of it.'' [And what about the physical boost?] ''That¡­ I don''t believe I looked into it much. I just¡­ kinda took it for granted.'' Alice scratched her cheek and activated her first Sigil. Clenching her fist, she felt a small negligible increase in strength but that was it. [You have to remember that Sigils are created based on the capabilities of the beast and how their body functions. When grafted onto a human through a contract, the Sigil is adjusted and adapted to the individual. [This is the case for all of your Sigils. When you copy the Jester''s Sigil, you don''t have a mirror like body like it does yet you can still disguise yourself. I''ve been noticing this but with you focusing on the wide variety of Sigils, you''ve been cking on fully understanding the powers you''ve been given master. [Right now, you''re simply using Sigils you think are powerful and synergise well without fully understanding the ''why''. Perhaps it''s time for you to reflect.] Ca took this time to give Alice a quick lesson as this was one of the fundamentals that Allura focused on. To make use of everything and anything. For normal Hunters, their selection has always been limited. Thus when a choice is made, they do their best to understand everything there is to know about their power. But Alice was different. She had a selection of every Sigil she''d taken from others. She could switch things out whenever she wanted so she didn''t need to think about the consequences of choosing a Sigil like the others. However, this also created one of her biggest weaknesses and that was not fully understanding what she could do with a Sigil before simply switching out. A surface level understanding. Closing her eyes, Alice began to observe her own body. With the first Sigil still activated, she wanted to find the source of this physical reinforcement. She could feel her blood pumping faster, the cirction of energy around her body. But most importantly, this blood that was circting was ''dormant''! Furrowing her brows, Alice activated her second and Third Sigil. She created a swirl of blood beforepressing it into a Void Flux. She could clearly sense that the blood she used here was filled with energy, packed to the brim and forming a connection with her Spiritual Heart. Yet when she used her first Sigil, this wasn''t the case. The blood was empty, it was simply flowing a little faster and reinforcing her muscles to amodate the slight increase in strength. However¡­ What if she was to ''activate'' this blood of hers? What if she were to fill it with power from her other Sigils? Her artificial resonance? Allura''s words rang out in her mind once more. Words regarding a Hunter''s growth being tied to their mind. How they need to think outside the box and how she should fully understand how each of her Sigils work before getting a new one. Standing up, Alice closed her eyes. She wanted to think about what would be useful right now. The power of her fourth Sigil allowed her control over the Void. What kind of effect would that have if she were to pulse it through her body? And what about her second Sigil? Her innate resistance to the Abyss? Of course, the passive effect of her blood already helped with this but what if it bes the focus? What if she were to actively surge it through her body? Could she dispel abilities that manipte perception and the mind? Could she make it so that she couldn''t be targeted by Personal Realms? If Alice''s skills was a tree, new branches were now being opened up. Newbinations and new ideas. Her most neglected Sigil was about to evolve in a way that she never thought was possible! Chapter 533: Testing Out New Possibilities With a new branch of possibility now open to her, Alice dedicated her efforts to mastering it and seeing what was possible and what wasn''t. Even though she wanted to test what happens when her own blood is amplified through her body, it wasn''t easy to get results. She couldn''t test if she could break out of a Personal Realm nor could she test the full effectiveness of the defences. Alice couldn''t test her fifth Sigil either since there were still some lingering after effects even though it''s already been a few days since the fight with the Doctor. She could instinctively tell that if she were to reactivate the Sigil, the likelihood of her being exiled was high. Thus, this only left her with two Sigils that she could test out her theories with. Her third and her fourth. The third wasn''t unique by any means. It simply gave her the power to manifest and manipte blood and metal. Rather than a stand alone Sigil, she obtained it as a means to augment the power of her second. The fourth might hold more interesting results though. By pulsing the energy belonging to the Void through her body, could she freely step between the realms without taking the time to open a portal? She wanted to test it out! That night, Alice found another clearing to use. Thoughpared to before, there weren''t as many trees around and mostly boulders. Sitting atop a boulder, Alice closed her eyes and activated her first Sigil. She could feel the flow of blood through her body, the slight boost in strength and an ''empty container'' waiting to be filled with energy. Activating her third Sigil simultaneously, Alice began to harmonise the two. It was simr to resonance yet at the same time, different. Rather than a resonance where the two are held in bnce, the third Sigil is solely focusing on enhancing the powers of the first. Feeding itself into it. She could feel her body temperature increasing as sweat dripped down her forehead. Alice could feel her body crying out in pain from the unfamiliar sensation, her veins trying desperately to hold on as a wave of energy coursed through them. *Drip¡­ Drip¡­ Blood could be seen dripping from Alice''s eye and nose as she furrowed her brows. Her method wasn''t quite right as her body couldn''t handle the pressure being put onto it by the first Sigil. Even with the passive bonuses of the Sigils reinforcing her body,pared to the body of Hunter''s who''ve consumed Abyss Blood over the years, she was still far too weak. She needed to readjust her method of distribution so that her body could withstand the stress. Otherwise¡­ Alice nced down at her arm. She could see tears in her skin as her muscles snapped and her bones were crushed under the pressure. "Yikes¡­" Turning off her Sigils, Alice took her arm out of her outfit and cut it off before regenerating a new one. Her outfit was soaked with blood but that was a small price to pay for her experimentation. Right now, her distribution of strength was too¡­ slow. Wherever the energy passed through, her body would break down. She needed a way to immediately spread out the energy so that her body can withstand it as a whole. However, this was much easier said than done. No matter how Alice tried to spread out the energy, her body would break apart before it could even reach the next area. If she was to do this in the middle of a fight, the others would only see her losing limbs left and right. It would be an effective scare tactic to some extent but that was not her goal. Hours passed and Alice decided to leave it for now. She''ll continue tomorrow and it''s not like her outfit could handle it anymore. It waspletely soaked with blood and hardened thanks to the temperatures of the north. Even if she could burn the blood away using her mes and control it so that it didn''t burn her outfit, it still felt disgusting for her to keep wearing. Looking through her pouch, Alice paused as she noticed that there wasn''t any cloaks left. This was herst one meaning she had to keep wearing if. Making a face of disgust, she let out a sigh and relented for now. As much as she wanted to buy new clothes, the money she had left was saved for travel expenses. Scratching her hair, Alice shrugged her shoulders before making her way back to the camp. ### There was around 3 days left of the travel. The mountainous areas have reduced significantly and they were mostly travelling through the forest with a few small hills. The roads here were well maintained and signs of the odd beast here and there couldn''t be found anymore. The most dangerous part of the journey was over and it was a smooth journey to the port city. Alice continued her experiments through the night and rested during the day. As for her cloak¡­ It was barely holding on with strands at this point. During the experiments with her third Sigil, rather than falling off, her limbs started to just explode at one point, hurling blood and shards of metal into the area. If she was to drop her guard and funnel too much of her Third Sigil''s power, she''ll manifest the metal inside her own body. With no progress being made on thebination between the first and the third, Alice decided to give the fourth a try. And well¡­ the first attempt left her nude with her clothes being forcefully flung off her body. When funnelling the power of the Void through her body, she enters a strange state. Like a phantom, she was partially in both realms at the same time. It was only for a split moment before her body showed signs of breakage and when she ''reappeared'' in reality, that caused a discement with her clothes that couldn''t follow her into the Void, leaving her standing in her birthday suit. Alice decided to not experiment with the fourth Sigil for now. Not only was it embarrassing for her, but it also had a risk of a full body break down. At least for the third Sigil, it was mostly the limbs that she could regenerate. If her entire body was to break down, Alice wasn''t sure if her regeneration could hold. Setting aside the strange case of her experimentations, Alice noticed the weather was improving the closer they got to the port. It wasn''t as cold as before, hell, it was even warm at times. It was also during this that realised her favourite outfits might not be suitable for her journey onwards. ''Maybe we should do a bit of clothes shopping after all.'' Alice muttered. ''Travel expenses.'' Alyss interrupted. ''But it''s hot ya know? I''ll be sweating from head to toe and it''ll be disgusting.'' ''Travel expenses.'' ''Surely you can''t have a cutedy like me walking around covered in sweat right? It''ll be embarrassing! Plus, I''ll stink!'' ''Travel expenses.'' ''But-'' ''Travel expenses.'' Alyss was firm on this matter. Aside from mead, clothes were the second thing that Alice bought the most. If their pouch was filled with 70% mead, the other 30% wasposed of 25% outfits and 5% misceneous items. ''Caaaa, Alyss is bullying me!'' Alice cried out to Ca but she only gave her tearful master a side nce. [If you''re worried about the heat, you can always wear Alyss''s outfits. You two have the same body after all.] Hearing this, Alice coughed awkwardly remembering her twin''s tastes when it came to clothing. All of it was extremely revealing! Crop tops, short shorts and shoes. It was practically showing off her entire body minus the important parts! ''Right~ There was that too. I''ll let you borrow my clothes if you''re really worried about the heat, it''ll let us save some money for travel.'' Alyss grinned. ''Urg¡­'' Frustration filled Alice''s mind as she began to pout and throw a tantrum by not talking to them. All she wanted was some eastern outfits since she''s travelling to the east anyways, why do they have to be so mean. Seeing her twin throw a tantrum like this, Alyss rolled her eyes but she was firm on her decision. Once they do a few odd jobs and get some money to spare, then she''ll allow Alice to indulge herself. But for now, they had to save what they could for travel. In the end, Alice decided tobine bits and pieces of both of their wardrobes to make something more to her liking for now. Something that''ll tide her over until she gets her hands on some eastern outfits. Her new attire consisted of a sleeveless ck shirt that exposed her back, arge white jacket that went down to her thighs withrge sleeves unzipped just past her chest so that it revealed her shoulders. A pair of shorts that Alyss enjoys and a pair of white shoes. She also got some materials from some of her other outfits that were destroyed in battle and repurposed the fabric. She gave herself an anklet, some belts to hold her jacket in ce and a few silver ornaments around the belts. Her hair had also been growing a tad too long for her liking so she gave it a quick cut. Previously, it was reaching down to butt but now, it only reached halfway down her back. She also adjusted her bangs a little so that it covered the scar on her right eye. Looking at herself in the blood mirror, Alice had a happy smile on her face as she was satisfied with her look. It was a little revealing around the legs since she usually wears stockings or long boots to cover them up, but a change of pace wasn''t bad either. Naturally, the guards were shocked to see a pretty girl under the cloak but dare not say anything. After all, Alice was someone who could p them to kingdome before they even realise what was happening! And soon, they arrived at the port. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 534: Port City Caethis As they neared the port, Alice could smell the saltiness in the air. While it wasn''t her first time at a port, it was her first time going without worrying about anything else. Thest time she visited a port city, she was infiltrating while also worrying about whether or not she''d die from the injuries that she''d sustained along with the biting cold. This time around, she was rxed and could enjoy the warm weather and clear skies. Originally, she was a little worried that the Doctor would keep chasing her. But seeing as how the journey was mostly uneventful and she didn''t receive a message from the Void Hawk, the capital was safe. With that in mind, Alice rxed herself a little. Naturally, to the guards, the image of seeing a cute girl swinging her legs back and forth while drinking mead was a little jarring. Especially when they consider that this was the same girl that kicked their asses solo just the other night. After entering the port, Alice was immediately surprised by the vast variety of people that she saw. Most cities would hide those with a visible side effect, especially if it made them look ''less human''. But everywhere she looked, there were people with gills or other aquatic details. "It''s not polite to stare. In this city, this kind of thing ismon." The Scout spoke up as he slowed down and walked next to Alice. "Oh? Why?" Alice blinked her eyes curiously. "That''s just how things are. It also makes their job of diving into the water much easier." The Scout shrugged. He didn''t visit the port often enough to know the full details behind it. Scratching her chin, Alice also noticed a thinyer around the gills. Probably because they weren''t being used onnd and they only needed it in the water. Aside from the gills, there were also those that were walking around with fins around the side of the head. They wore makeup and outfits that seemed to mimic the look of scales, embracing the beauty of this side effect. Of course, there was more than just aquatic side effects but they were the majority. Compared to them, Alice''s split hair didn''t stand out as much anymore. [Perhaps we should stay in this city for a bit master.] Ca suggested. Clearly, she was also interested by the uniqueness of this port as this kind of thing was practically unthinkable in the Abyss of today. Everyone hated the look of side effects as it was a clear sign of greed for more power. If you were living in the city and were seen to have side effects, you''d be reallocated to the slums and hidden from public view. Alice had seen this often when journeying in the Abyss. ''Sure, we need a moment to earn some money after all. I don''t think I have enough for boat fees to reach the east.'' Alice nodded with a light sigh when thinking about their current financial troubles. Since this was a port city, there''s no doubt that there will be ways for her to earn a bit of money. If anything, this ce reminded her a little of her first ''visit'' to the Abyss. Thrown into the deep end of the ughter Docks and forced to fight with her life on the line. She didn''t want to change any of the events that urred but if there was one thing that she regretted, it was that she couldn''t help her friend. Maybe¡­ if she was able to save Lilia back then, the two of them would be journeying together right now. Laughing, joking, creating trouble together. If it was now, maybe Alice could''ve helped Lilia resolve her issue with the Vampire Lily. To burn away the roots that are spreading through the body and help her recover. However, what happened in the past couldn''t be changed. The best she could do was to live a full and happy life. So that when she sees Lilia again, she can tell her that her freedom wasn''t wasted. Parting ways with the rest of the caravan, Alice decided to explore the city a little. She wanted to get a general understanding of where everything was as well as Inn prices. Surprisingly, the Hunter''s Guild branch here was rather run down. Most of themission didn''t need Hunters since they struggled with waterbat. It was much cheaper and far better to just hire local pirates or privatepanies that handle protection. While exploring the city, Alice had also discovered a rather fascinating piece of news. That being the fact that this city was split into threeyers. Main Port, Pirate Bay and Mercia. The main Port was self-exnatory as this is where most people reside. Traders from overseas and civilians all live here. Pirate Bay is a little further away and offshore but is still considered part of the city. It''s the home of the pirates and holds a different set of rules to the main Port. But despite the difference in rules, the two still live in harmony so long as one side doesn''t vite the peace agreements. Of course, Pirate Bay can''t control all of the pirates which is why if any show hostility first, travellers are allowed to kill on sight. And thest was what pulled Alice''s attention the most. The underwater city Mercia. It''s the home for those who can breathe underwater and is affiliated with the main Port. Not a lot of information can be gotten from there as most of the residents refrain from saying much. And getting permission to visit is difficult. Originally, Alice thought that it would be pretty easy to just go anyway since she noticed that there were a few tools to help a person breathe underwater. But both the Pirates and the Guards protect Mercia, preventing invaders. These three were the main factions that kept this city in bnce. On top of this, the port city of Caethis was independent from Verona despite being in the north. It''s a neutral ce that oversees trade between the North and the East. But with the current war between Extalia and Verona, the port has declined trade vessels from Extalia from entering. After all, if they allow Extalia tond, that''s practically telling Verona that they want to fight. And while Verona has respected their independence, showing such a case of hostility will have her sending Urigar to take care of them and that was something neither side wanted. Chewing on a squid skewer she bought, Alice noted down everything she discovered while exploring this city. But the best thing of all, there was a duelling arena! Alice wanted to scout things out a bit first and disguise herself. Plus, she also wanted to see if she could fight any of the easterners who travelled from overseas. If she were to get a taste of their fighting style now, she wouldn''t be surprised when she visits the East. Who knows, she might even learn something useful from them. ording to Ria, they''re professionals when ites to utilizing their bodies to their maximum efficiency. To put it simply, martial arts designed around the usage of Sigils. Alice wanted to get a first hand experience of these so called martial arts. ''Let''s find a ce to stay at first. We don''t even know if this ce allows gambling and betting on yourself since it''s the surface. The rules here are different.'' Alyss suggested. ''Fair point. Also, you should try these squid skewers, they''re pretty tasty with the spices imported from the East. It should fit your tastes quite nicely.'' Alice offered. Taking over momentarily, Alyss took a bite and folded her arms. ''It''s pretty alright but I''m not a fan of the squid. I don''t think seafood suits me.'' Alyss furrowed her brows. ''Shame. I''ll take care of this then.'' Alice shrugged. If Alyss didn''t like it then it was more food for herself. Finishing the skewer, Alice bought a map of the city and noted down where all of the Inns were. Because this is a trade hub, most of the Inns were a bit more expensive than the usual prices. Anything that was close to the port or even remotely close to the centre was beyond her budget. At this rate, Alice might have to sleep on the streets if the arena didn''t allow for gambling. Letting out a sigh, Alice crossed out another Inn on the map as it was too expensive. She thought she would at least have enough money for one night but that wasn''t the case at all. "I guess this is thest one¡­" She muttered, looking at a rather rundown building on the outskirts of the city. It was near the border and if it wasn''t for the map, Alice wouldn''t even know that this was an Inn. If anything, it looked more like a bar than an Inn. Pushing open the doors, her lips twitched as the door almost fell over. This kind of run-down ce was probably the only thing she could afford if the prices were low. But to her surprise, aside from the rather poorly maintained door, the inside was surprisingly high quality. Everything was clean and might even be better than some of the other inns she saw. "Ah sorry! I''m still working on renovating the ce. I''ll sort out the door tonight." A voice called out from the back. Furrowing her brows, Alice felt the voice was a little familiar but couldn''t put a finger on where she''d heard it before. But as the figure stepped out with a woman by his side, Alice realised who it was. The youngest cardinal to be appointed by the Church of the Moon. Tristan. A person who tried to figure out Alice''s curse when they ran into one another at the port stronghold. Chapter 535 Meeting Tristan Again As the two stared at one another, Alice only had one question on her mind. ''What the f*ck is he doing here???'' Considering he was a member of the Church of the Moon, Alice figured he would''ve made his way south by now rather than appearing at the port leading East. Was the Church nning an expedition East? If so, why was he dressed as a worker behind the bar? Alice knew he was a high ranking member belonging to the church which only made the situation stranger. "I didn''t expect us to meet again, so soon at that. Seems like the curse is still holding on strong though." Tristan threw the towel over his shoulder as he revealed a small smile. He had tried to dispel itst time but it only resulted in the curse fighting back andshing out at him. At that time, if the curse was designed to counter properly, he would''ve been inflicted with the same curse as the girl in front of him. "It''s not something that''ll disappear overnight. Though I didn''t expect you to be¡­ attending a bar despite being a member of the Church." Alice gestured with a raised eyebrow while sitting down on the new seats that he installed. "Well, this was kind of my profession before I became a member of the Church. It was coincidence that brought them to me." Tristan chuckled. "Now then, how may I help a dear customer?" He asked leaning against the bar counter. "I''m looking for a room. I want to stay a few nights but the other Inn''s are a tad more expensive than what my budget will allow. I already spent a bunch of money travelling here." Alice shrugged, hoping that the cost of the rooms was going to be less than 5 Gold per night. After all, mostmon families only earn around 10 Gold per week and could get by the week with 5 Gold. With her travel expenses deducted from her pouch, Alice only had 3 Gold pieces left of her overall funds. Though her hobby of mead and buying clothes were to me as at one point, she had more than 5 tina together with Selen. Yet now she was reduced to a measly 3 Gold. If she didn''t leave in such a hurry, she would''ve asked Verona for a bit of money. Shame be damned. "It''ll be 1 Gold per night, breakfast included." "The f*ck?" Alice blinked her eyes. It felt like a scam considering how the other Inns were five times the price of this one. Not only that, but due to Tristan''s assistance, this Inn now looked far better on the insidepared to the other ces. "We''re rather far out from the centre after all, it makes travelling a bit of more of a hassle. Plus, if the other Inn''s are outside your budget, you can''t spare more than 5 Gold. If you''re travelling with so little funds, you probably want to find a side job while staying here. Meaning ideally, more than one night. And finally, seeing as how you chose this Inn despite how run down the outside looks, clearly you''re hoping for something a lot cheaper than the other ces." Tristan analysed as the girl beside him hit his arm when he mentioned the run down outer appearance. "Ever thought of changing careers to being a detective rather than a member of the Church?" Alice''s smile twitched. She couldn''t believe that he deducted her budget despite not mentioning anything about numbers. "I wouldn''t consider myself a detective. I''m merely someone who gathered a bit of information and made an educated guess." Tristan gave a small chuckle as Alice ced two Gold pieces on the table. "I''ll take a room for two nights then. And since you know I''m looking for a side job, any rmendations? O'' one who gathered a bit of information." Alice joked as Tristan handed the money to the girl next to him. Folding his arms, Tristan closed his eyes. "It depends on what kind of job you want to do. From what I''ve seen, there is no shortage of guards or strong Hunters acting as protection. Plus, there are also pirates when ites to sea travel. So I don''t think you can earn money that way. "The Hunters Guild doesn''t get many jobs here so it''s a bit of a waste but you can certainly try your luck with it." "What about the Arena? I believe you can ce bets on yourself and win money that way no?" Alice asked but Tristan shook his head. "Unfortunately for you, the three factions that run this ce have prohibited betting when ites to the arena. Instead, they sell tickets and earn revenue while putting on a good show. There are¡­ methods to gambling but it''s run by some rather dubious fellows that I wouldn''t suggest. No matter how in need of money you are." Tristan shook his head. Hearing that gambling was banned, Alice let out a deep groan as she practically deted in front of Tristan. "Well, I guess I''ll figure out something sooner orter. So just out of curiosity, were you living here before you joined the church then?" Alice asked while looking at the assortment of wines, meads and other alcoholic beverages lined up on his shelf. "Nope. I used to be a Vagrant before I joined the church. I wandered from ce to ce, doing odd jobs and learning skills, looking for somewhere to settle down with my sister. A few months back, the Church found me and saw that I had a high affinity for their blessings and I agreed to join." Tristan smiled as he noticed Alice''s gaze and decided to make a quick drink for her. "Once the money started to roll in, we decided to settle down in Caethis since it''s a trading hub. The public safety of this ce is rather high and with trade between the North and the East, merchants frequent this ce often." Bringing out a ss, Tristan began to measure out and pour in samples of different beverages before pulling out some fruit from under the counter. Squeezing some juice into the ss, he cracked an egg and poured in some egg whites, confusing Alice. However, he simply smiled and continued. "So while I''m out on missions for the Church, Arwen can run the Inn. She''ll be safe here." Tristan exined with a smile. With everything ced into the ss, he grabbed another ss and sealed the two together before shaking it, blending the mixture. "Aren''t you afraid that your enemies mighte here and target your sister?" Alice asked curiously, ncing over at Arwen who was writing in a notebook. "That was a concern at one point but I''d already sorted it out. I''m confident that she''ll be safe here. Of course, I''d rather spend time next to her but I have my own responsibilities. It''s thanks to the Church that we can do all of this after all." Pausing his shaking momentarily, he threw in a few chunks of ice before continuing. "Seems like you hold the church in high regard then." Alice smiled. "That''s simply how life worked out for me. Do you follow any particr doctrine?" "Kind of but not really. I don''t follow any of the three main Gods." Alice shook her head. "Oh?" Tristan raised an eyebrow. He had a thought in his mind but he hoped that it wasn''t true. Because if it was, as part of his responsibilities as a Cardinal, he''d have to strike her down here and now. "I follow my own whims. Let my own decisions guide me through life." Alice replied. She noticed a slight spark of wariness but after her response, it disappeared. "I see. Most Hunters follow their own gut instincts so I shouldn''t be surprised." Tristan smiled, gesturing to Arwen to bring over a smaller ss with some ice in it. Pouring out the drink, he decorated it with a piece of fruit on the side of the ss. "Give it a try, it''s on the house." Tristan slid the ss in front of Alice. Looking at the drink, Alice wondered if this was a type of fruit juice considering its colourful appearance. It was a swirl of blue and pink that seemed to shimmer with glitter with ayer of white foam on the top and a piece of fruit to match the colour. However, she was certain he mixed in some alcohol. Hesitating for a moment, Alice decided to give it a sip. "!!!" Seeing her reaction, Tristan revealed a grin. "Seems like you like it." "Like it? I love it." Alice gave a thumbs up while licking her lips. The initial taste was sweet and fruitful followed by a lingering aftertaste of alcohol that warmed her up on the inside. A blend of sweetness helped disguise the bitterness of the alcohol, allowing the fruity vours to reveal themselves. If it wasn''t for the fact that it looked like it was a lot of effort to make, Alice would''ve been tempted to ask him for several bottles worth. "I''m d you like it. It''s my own personal blend that I made when travelling around the West. I worked for a rather unique bar that blended drinks together and I wanted to make something a little on the sweet side." Tristan chuckled, happy to see a customer enjoying the drink he made. Finishing the drink, Alice closed her eye and savoured the taste. At that moment, an idea appeared in her mind. A way for her to earn some money and repay Tristan for showing her this drink. "Say, I got a little idea. A way to drag a lot of customers to this ce if you want." Alice grinned. Chapter 536 Calista "Say, I got a little idea. A way to drag a lot of customers to this ce if you want." Alice grinned. "Oh?" Tristan raised his eyebrow. It felt a little suspicious with how she was saying it but he couldn''t see any malicious motivations behind her eyes. Additionally, he was thinking of doing some advertisements since the outer shell of the Inn was old. Arwen had bought this ce with the money she had saved up during their travels as well as the money that he sent back to her. But his original n was to advertise it once he finished redecorating everything. "What do you have in mind?" Tristan asked curiously. "So you know how the arena doesn''t allow for gambling anymore right? It means that the fights are more authentic wouldn''t you say? More people will go right?" Alice began toy out the scene. "I''m thinking of joining the Arena and doing a little post fight advertisement. Of course, most of the people watching the Arena are wealthy enough to afford the inns closer to the centre. However, what if we were to suddenly add another event? Apetition that''s being held here?" Listening to her suggestion, Tristan folded his arms and contemted the idea. Discover exclusive content at empire "You''ll have to run that by the Arena staff first. I doubt they''ll like it if you were to suddenly do an advertisement. If anything, it might get you banned and make a lot of enemies for this Inn." He shook his head. "I''m not afraid of them harming Arwen because of the things I put into ce but it''s likely that they''ll y dirty and hinder things in other ways. If they can''t arm Arwen then they''ll turn their attention on anyone who decides to rent a room and so on." Originally, Tristan was only nning on marketing this inn to travellers who were only staying here as a temporary stop. Common people who are travelling from one city to another and would rather not pay the exorbitant pricing of the other Inns. If they were to advertise in the middle of the arena then that''ll turn too much attention to them. In fact, the other Inns might even think they''re stealing their customers. "Then why don''t we advertise this as a high quality bar rather than an Inn? I''d say your drinks are far better than a majority of the bars I''ve been to. Does Arwen know how to make them?" Alice asked curiously. "She struggles a little with it. So I don''t think she''ll be able to serve customers with the difficult drinks while I''m away." Tristan shook his head. "What a shame¡­" Alice tapped her finger on the table. She wanted to help him out to repay him but she failed to take into consideration the consequences once she leaves this ce. If Arwen attracts too much attention, it would indeed be bad for the overall situation. She knew full well how petty people can be and if these Inns feel threatened, things will get ugly fast. "Thank you for the suggestion though. Just the thought of wanting to help is appreciated." Tristanforted. Shrugging her shoulders, Alice spun around on her chair for a bit before standing up. Bidding farewell to Tristan for now, she decided to make her way to the arena. She wanted to check things out to begin with. And while it''s unfortunate that she couldn''t earn any money from it, she still wanted to see the various fighting styles from the East. ### "Can you repeat that please?" Alice''s smile twitched. "If you wish topete in the arena, you need to first pay the sign up fee and see if you''re eligible. Once they determine whether or not they can allow you to fight, you''ll get a small cut of the tickets if you win. If not, your cut is deducted." The staff replied as Alice was simply one of many who also wanted to fight in the arena. "Not that part. I meant the part after." She shook her head. "The fee is 1 tina, non refundable." Hearing this, Alice felt like a spear had just pierced her heart. She was too broke for this ce! "So in the event that I''m not chosen, I don''t get my money back?" Alice asked as the staff was beginning to get annoyed. "Yes, the arena isn''t a ce that anyone cane and go as they like. How many requests do you think we get in a day? If you want to fight without paying this fee then go through the proper channels. A sponsorship that''ll allow you topete as a proper fighter. Now is there anything else?" Opening her mouth, Alice wanted to say something but let out a sigh and shook her head. Stepping aside, she nced at the long queue of fighters and understood just how much the arena was earning in terms of revenue. It''s no wonder they don''t care about gambling when ticket prices, participation fees, snack fees and so on earned them so much. The starting price was high but if you can win often, you''ll earn a profit after a while due to ticket sales. ''So what''s the n now then twinnie? We''re broke and we can''t join the arena at all to earn money. Guess we''ll have to do odd jobs for a bit.'' Alyss asked as Alice sighed. ''Seems like it. What can we even do to get some money quickly? I can''t pick a fight with someone random on the street as public safety will arrest me pretty quickly. The Hunter''s Guild is practically barren and the same with trying to get a bodyguard job.'' [Thed at the Inn did mention some dubious folk running the gambling ce. Maybe if you were to disguise yourself, you could fish for a bit of money there.] Ca suggested as Alyss almost fell over. The Voice of Reason has just suggested that they rob the underworld of this city. ''Oh hou~ I like what you''re thinking Ca. Alright, let''s take a look at this gambling ce shall we?'' Alice licked her lips with a wide grin as she made her way down the alleyway and switched out her first Sigil. She wanted to hide her skill set so that no one could link it back to her. With that in mind, there were three Sigils that she could work around. Naturally, they all belonged to Abyss Lords! The first and main Sigil she wanted to use was the Sigil of Duality. The second that''ll act as support was going to be the Sigil of Corrosion! The Sigil that belonged to Asur, the Lord of Corrosion that she made a contract with inside the Inverted World. Lastly, the final Sigil that she wanted to make use of was the Sigil of Apocalypse, which belonged to Tiamat. With these three, even if she''s against people with six Sigils, winning will be a cakewalk. She didn''t want to switch out her second Sigil since it was the foundation of her mes. If things do go wrong, she still wanted a backup n. Therefore, she was switching out her First, Third, Fourth and Fifth Sigils for this lineup. First ¨C Sigil of the Mirror Jester. Second ¨C Sigil of the Maiden of the Blood Moon. Third ¨C Sigil of Duality. Fourth ¨C Sigil of Corrosion. Fifth ¨C Sigil of Apocalypse. Her body began to shimmer as she changed her outfit and disguise. As long as she doesn''t take a hit outside of her expectations, this disguise will hold. She now had light pink hair with hues of rose gold, a pair of sky blue eyes and a set of sharp teeth. There was a hint of insanity in her gaze as her outfit consisted of bandages peaking through the gaps of the tattered Doll dress andrge sleeves. It was decorated with white frills and a headpiece. A pair of striped stockings and ck boots. Her fighting n was simple. She''ll focus on using Duality to disrupt her opponents while Corrosion will burn away their abilities and their defences. Tiamat''s Sigil will act as a trump card if needed. As for her resonance, now that she understood properly how they work thanks to her artificial resonance, she had no doubt that she could make something work between the three Lord Level Sigils. A resonance of the highest quality. And since she''s walking into the underworld of this city, it was a perfect chance to test if out as well if things go wrong. ### The ''Underworld'' of Port Caethis existed between the yers'' of the main port and Pirate Bay. It was a second of the city that was off limits to most people not because of anyws but rather theck thereof. Awless zone that migrated a few times throughout the city, appearing in different spots. The current spot was near a set of caves leading underground with a few passageways being created leading between theyers. In the Underworld, one could find gambling, whore houses and even the ck market that sold items that should be prohibited yet smuggled over from the port. The main attraction of this location was no doubt the ck market. Recently, there''s been a surge of unpurified Abyss Blood. While the side effects were violent, the effects were far more potent than the average vial. A perfect item for ves to use if the owners felt threatened by any signs of danger or wanted to push them past their limits. Yet these ves that drank the blood were now sitting in a pile of corpses in the centre of the Underworld. "How unrefined. Don''t you think it''s a little rude to send these brutes after a cutedy? No matter how much you find me attractive, at least take me out to dinner first." ''Calista'' grinned as she made her debut. Chapter 537 Lorien ring at the girl sitting on a mountain of corpses, the ve 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 ves empowered by the new berserk blood would help him capture her right? These are ves 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 copsed 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 ve 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 ve 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 Alicezily nced 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 ck horns sticking out of his head. He wore an elegant ck 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 y. 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 ves beneath her onest nce. "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 amodations." 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 nce. "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 arge gambling den with several paths leading elsewhere. Located in the centre was arge roulette table with several gamblers sat around it. Around the roulette table were various tables hosting different games from ckjack 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 ce? People don''te here without a specific goal in mind. Whether that be losing yourself in lust, purchasing a ve or following your addictions. There is always a goal in mind." Lorien asked as he nced 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 cor around her neck, Alice''s eye twitched for a moment as it was simr in design to her old cor. Naturally, this didn''t escape Lorien''s notice. "Seems like you''re displeased with the purchase and selling of ves." He smiled, raising the ss 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 ss 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 tina 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 upied 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 tina 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 tina." "Make it 2 tina 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 tina if all shipments arrive without issue." Seeing as how he was agreeing with the price of 2 tina 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. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!