Abyssal Awakening

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 glanced 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 flat 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 plan 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.

Glancing 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 muscular 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. Four large horns protruded from his head while two flaming orbs and a split revealing the flames 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 pillars of fire manifested along with a flaming 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. Accidents 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 platform 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 the last 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 Cayla 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 Flames - ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦]

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 slammed 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 placed 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 Flames. 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 glanced 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."

Glancing over the edge, Alice didn't want to climb all the way back up for another attempt.