Abyssal Awakening

"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 glanced 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 occasionally 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 a large worm and a shark with large fins across its body to help it swim through the sands. Its body was split into several sections with a multi-layered head with rows upon rows of teeth.

Large pincers and reverse bone armour wrapped around its head as it would occasionally 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 plan!" 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 flames erupted out of her body.

Raising an eyebrow, Allura decided to not say anything for now and see how the flames would match up against a five star beast. If it could get stronger by consuming the powers of the Abyss and become 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 flames seemed to have a mind of its own.

Focusing all of her power on unleashing the flames, Alice watched as a cloak manifested around her. The material of the cloak was black while the underside looked as though it was created from a layer of moving flames.

Violet flames erupted from her hands as she jumped up and used the flames to catapult herself higher in a way similar to how Allura used her own flames.

Punching her hand down, a wave of fire rushed towards the beast from above. The dragon she had seen manifest from her flames during her fight appeared once more as it reared its head back and let out a roar before diving down. Slamming into the beast, the flames 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 flames 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 it lacked the bone like armour of its outer shell, large teeth decorated its flesh.

From the second mouth, a third mouth erupted out followed by a fourth as it bit down on the flames, 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 can latch 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 flames trying to find its way through the shell but the Bone Stalker was determined.

Once it realised the flame couldn't hurt it through its shell, it made sure to stop the flames 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 flames upon it.

"That's enough. Go back to the desert." Allura commanded 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 glance 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 flames will have a hard time killing its opponent… Since the flames are manifested from Alice's strange physique rather than a Sigil power from a beast, getting more flame 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 glad 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 to come 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 instinctively latched 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 speeding comet, 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.